R2Dan

Just a small update (after all, what project is ever actually finished?): A good while ago, I redid the tube stripes, using a different blue that was suggested by a good friend of mine. I also recently got some of keith's amazing mic tips. The RS one piece cast tips aren't bad, but not quite as nice as the new ones, hence the upgrade. I just installed them and used the chance to take a few more pics:

Good to hear

True, I wasn't. That's why I'm asking. It is extremely odd. I did contact Rob about it, he said they're aware of it and he'll sort it out. He is just as puzzled though. I'm sorry you had this experience, but mine paints a very different picture. Either way, I hope Rob will chime in soon.

Pretty straight forward. My name is Dan, and I got into organised fandom through building and then driving R2 around at events. Been doing it for almost ten years now. Time flies!

This looks more like a heat gun treatment gone wrong to me. I have built several (read: more than 20) RS suits over the years, mainly PVC, and I have never seen the material behave like this. And I have used heat to reshape it as well. Are you sure you used water only? It's just super puzzling...

I have no clue as to how the moulds were made, I just know what the lids looked like. They were out of production when I got involved in the scene, but still donned by a few German Garrison members back then.

That's an old Movie FX lid, based on the Don Post statue.

Thanks mate! I know what you mean, a lot of the replicas actually look fake, not just because of the amount, but also the shapes of the chips. It is not that hard, just use what we see on the real ones as inspiration, then try to think of places that would chip naturally. All it takes is a little attention to detail I guess Oh, I kinda love the lid as well

Stop, you're embarassing me

apart from just bumping it against all sorts of edges and corners, I also used actual dirt (how ingenious! ), some rubber trim and - probably the "main" ingredient - an aquarelle pencil in black. It allows you to make "scratch marks", but it will also smudge with a bit of moisture and leave a "layer" of black/greyish grime on it. You should give it a shot, works quite well for me

Hi guys (and girls) - it's been a while since I've posted anything on here. Doesn't mean TKs haven't been part of my nerd life - quite the opposite actually! Those of you who remember me know I'm an accuracy hardliner, always reaching for that one holy grail... the ultimate suit. Not there yet (and it will probably take a good while longer), but with this project finished, I think I've got the helmet pretty much sorted. A little introduction to those who don't know: RS Prop Masters have an ongoing (yet highly limited) run of "green" lids - helmets pulled from khaki PE plastic, a dead-on match to Simon's real lid and an actual vintage new old stock. They initially had plastic for roughly 100 helmets, 60 have been pulled so far. They call it their "SA Edition", SA standing for screen accurate, they all come with a numbered plaque - but I cheated and got the 77 on purpose. Guess I don't need to explain why . So obviously, the helmet you are about to see is one of them, which I finished myself to get it as close to a real lid as I possibly could. that obviously includes the full paint job - red primer, white topcoat, all handpainted details, chipping it (no sense in keeping all the green covered up ) and adding a good bit of weathering to get that brilliantly grimy "used on set" look. I also sourced some vintage elastic and added the proper Newey snaps, and the foam star was cut out of some old foam I ripped out of an old armchair - goes perfectly with this kind of bucket I'd say. Enough of the banter, here is some eye candy for you: First picture I took after I semi-finished it last week on Friday, just prior to leaving for a brilliant nerd weekend in Manchester: And then a couple more from all sorts of angles, taken this week. You might see some added chips, also notice the neat helmet stand also done by my good friends at RS, goes perfectly with the plaque (and the lid, of course ) # plaque close-up Newey goodness! Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do! And if anyone is thinking of adding one to their collection: Don't wait too long, when they're gone, they're gone - and they are absolutely worth it!

This was the very first helmet to use this paint for the khaki undercoat, way before I was able to match it to the real deal. It was all eyeballed from the pics available at that time... I was pretty happy to see it's damn close to the real stuff

Seeing only animated style armour is now allowed for Clone Wars clones, and this looking NOTHING like ANH or ROTJ (to me), wouldn't it be wise to make this an entire new costume. Everything would have to be very edgy. The helmet needs to be really flat. The detonator would have to be heptagonal in shape. Everything would have to be painted and chipped to show khaki (at least the buttplate), etc. And yes, I'm being serious here. Just saying "oh it looks sort of like X" and then go with it, well, that's like the FX days all over again.

The white elastic on Simon's suit holding the chest and back together is only 45mm wide, not 50mm (which would be 2"),

Yeah, the negative vac forming is a plausible explanation, although I wouldn't give much on what AA said, for obvious reasons...

Hey guys! I was going through the BluRay features the other day with my mate Dennis, and while looking at the Luke torso we thought "Hell, this doesn't actually look vac formed at all!" Why, do you ask? Look at this screen grab of the Luke suit (which I nicked from another thread, hope that's okay): See how sharp those ridges are? Here's another of an archive suit: You notice there's a colour difference, not a surprise as they most likely were added on later, but were they vac-formed at all? Or maybe cast? Something completely different maybe? Vac formed into a negative mould to get the sharp detail? What do you guys think? I'm not convinced they're cast, but I'm not 100% sure they are just another vac formed piece anymore either...

you guys do remember what the real vintage Stormtrooper action figure looked like, right?

Sounds like them I'm sure the boy will love it!

This sounds very familiar... I don't think I have a single cap that is not covered in paint on the inside

err, Rob - that is a shoulder Edit: Wow, I should have hit refresh before typing my answer... LOL

The helmets won't ship for a little while longer, they want to release the first run all at once. Most of the helmets are formed though, the finished lids will keep us waiting

And that's a good thing!?

What's with the red stripes and all - TKs are white!

And why wouldn't they be able to? Make a plaster mould of the real deal, pull it out, pour in new latex. It's that simple.

you need a stronger fan! More power!