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ggriffaw

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Posts posted by ggriffaw

  1. I did email asking for it in kit form and they said that this wasn't possible. If I want a kit helmet then they suggested buying one separately.

    Offering a kit helmet or assembled helmet would have complicated the packaging and order fulfillment if they were both packed with the armor or increased shipping costs if the helmet was shipped separate from the armor. I would have preferred the helmet to be a separate package even though it would have cost a little more. Plenty of people wanted the assembled helmet and plenty of others wanted the kit.

    • Like 1
  2. Hopefully the faceplate and dome aren't glued. Or if they are hopefully it's an E6000 sort of glue rather than ABS cement.

    I'll most likely need to adjust mine for my Sandtrooper.

    :smiley-sw013:

    You could also order a helmet kit if adjusting the assembled one is difficult. The Tested helmet build video made it sound like trial and error to get the faceplate lined up.

     

    I wish they would have had an option to get the helmet kit with the armor kit.

  3. Even the December email update was postponed because it wasn't approved in time. I can't imagine how bad the scrutiny is for actual product before they are allowed to release it.<br><br>

    Some of the people are complaining about things that aren't really very late if at all. I guess they didn't read the minimum lead time before ordering. Some items certainly are well beyond the minimum lead time.<br><br>

    Keep in mind it might still take a while to receive an item after shipping starts if you are down in the ordering sequence.

  4. Even the December email update was postponed because it wasn't approved in time. I can't imagine how bad the scrutiny is for actual product before they are allowed to release it.<br><br>

    Some of the people are complaining about things that aren't really very late if at all. I guess they didn't read the minimum lead time before ordering. Some items certainly are well beyond the minimum lead time.<br><br>

    Keep in mind it might still take a while to receive an item after shipping starts if you are down in the ordering sequence.

  5. Just looked at there price and it says starting at $650.00. As another post mentioning a discount code is needed to reduce the price. Any word as to the quality and actual price. i am just getting involved and am in contacting the group in Albuquerque New Mexico. Any advice or help with this would be great.

    It is likely some people will decide to sell their kits after receiving them. Some may be trying to make a profit, others may decide the build is too intimidating, others may not like the kit.

    • Like 1
  6. I think the intention here is that Lucas envisioned the hero armor to be the "ideal" and the stunt to be the cheap, simpler version. The idea of fewer teeth, bubble lenses, etc., were intended to be the "main" version. And since the stunt armor for the most part was intended to be for more distance shots (or at least for briefer shots), the more expensive and hard-to-see-through bubble lenses were tossed. More teeth at a distance helps make the frown look sufficiently prominent. You don't need that up close or for a longer exposure.

     

    So think of the hero armor as the primary look, and the stunt for distance or brief shots. Ironically, I think it's the stunt armor that got more published coverage, so now, many see the stunt armor as the more "in-universe" version. I know I prefer it.

    The lens difference makes sense. The difference in the frown still seems odd. The idea that the stunt needed a larger frown because of the distance may be an explanation, but that certainly doesn't fit with how they used the stunt helmets.

     

    Other than the lenses, I can't think of anything that actually makes the stunt version better for stunts. Things like weapons are way more obvious. The stunt version of weapons frequently look really bad up close. Ironically, someone would probably be rejected for 501st approval if they tried to use most screen used stunt items. They generally aren't meant to be seen up close.

     

    The arguments about the number of rivets on the holster seem a little odd. I understand the ones with two rivets generally went with stunt armor and the ones with four rivets generally went with hero armor, but it appears they didn't always keep them as complete distinct sets of armor during filming. The film makers didn't seem to care what combination appeared on screen, but people trying to make screen accurate armor do care.

  7. Actually, the 501st is about the most screen (seen) accuracy (as opposed to prop replication) that we can get, and this forum being part of the 501st continues that mission. You are right, if it looks overly sharp compared to what we saw on screen, it's a step down, not up. This is why perfectly symmetrical helmets always seem a bit off to use as well.So, you have it right Mark. If anyone is uncertain, it's well worth re-reading both the 501st and FISD charters.

    I have also been looking into Imperial Officer uniforms. The impression I get on their forums is they sometimes go against screen used accuracy for consistency. The rank bars are an example.

     

    The classic Stormtrooper approach seems much more screen accuracy focus even if the accuracy doesn't make sense in the Star Wars universe. An example is the distinction between stunt and hero armor. The empire would not have issued armor with those slight differences as distinct uniforms. I never understood why they sculpted a slightly different helmet for the hero costumes. It doesn't appear to be better built, it's just a slightly different design. Usually stunt props are cheaper, more practical for stunts, or some other advantage but I can't think of any advantages to using the stunt vs hero stormtrooper costumes during filming.

  8. The picture on the website is the same picture they had up at the beginning of this process. That's a prototype picture. It even says that in the black text up the side.

    The prototype pictures most likely are not the Anovos kit at all. That is a legitimate concern with how they are handling the orders. It is very difficult to know what you will get since the actual product isn't pictured and some people want to know specific details of the product before ordering. I would have preferred that they added more photos of the actual product like some of the photos they had in the newsletter updates.

     

    I wonder if the Shadowtrooper armor from the Tested YouTube video is the Anovos design.

  9. I think this comes down to some people wanting replicas of the screen used props and others wanting replicas of what the screen used prop was meant to represent. The screen used props had bumps and blemishes because they only needed something good enough to get the shots. Quality of the props in the 70s and early 80s was less critical than it is now with much higher resolution images.<br><br>

    The empire would not have issued armor with all of the bumps and blemishes the props had.<br><br>

    I prefer replicas of what the props were intended to represent not what the actual prop looked like.<br><br>

    It is interesting to see how bad some of the actual props look in person, but that isn't what I want to display.

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