R2Dan

You're welcome - and it only took 2 minutes from your initial post

I used to have one of those. A guy in the UK was selling tons of them on eBay a few years ago. The warped tubes and the forehead sticking out that far are dead giveaways it's that exact recast. I remember mine was a good quality cast though, actually we still have a few TKs here in Germany trooping with the same sort of lid.

Not an AP - a Shepperton Battlespech recast. It's fiberglass, right?

It's well known that AP lids are smaller compared to others, so are ATA helmets. It all comes down to recast of a recast of a recast with mould shrinkage and warping. Some do it better than others, as there are cheap and more expensive moulding products that will have different qualities (less shrinkage, etc). Funnily enough a mate of mine compared one of the recent GINO V2 kits he sold a while back to a CAP and found out that the Gino lid parts seem to be smaller... it's a weird world!

Yep, leave it flat and put a balaclava on - it's the best way I found, as you can evenly spread the hair around your head and won't get any problems closing your neckseal or putting on the lid. Long hair is easy, I remember one guy on the MEPD had dreadlocks

it's not WONKY (well not more than any other screen-lineage lid), it's mirrored - See: http://maidenfreak.ma.funpic.de/sheppertonfail.jpg I still wouldn't buy it though

That's true for about all of the lids out there Carsten. Even Gino's... but hey, it's not like this has been discussed a million times now, so let's just start again

I see what I see mate, that shin is not the left shin. See that bulge on the "outer" side? That's supposed to be on the inside of your leg. But then you seem to have it on both, so I guess you have duplicate parts and you'll have to live with it.

You should swap out those shins as you have the knee plate on the shin sculpted for your right leg.

It's not "another TK"... shame on you! It's Mr. Nostripes!

I guess I have to chime in again: MOST of the custom Mandos I've seen are rather sloppily put together, from a quality point of view. I don't even know if we have the "Mando Mercs" here in Germany, but we do have custom Mandos, and most of them are sporting cardboard armour and badly painted Rubies lids with some cheapo toy gun - the bigger, the better! That's not my cup of tea at all. I don't even get the whole "let us invent some guys that look somewhat like Boba, but not quite, so we can be individualistic", but again that's just me. I'm also not into geeky roleplaying, with invented characters and backstories. Again, that's me, and if you're cool with it, perfect! But don't turn into a sissy just because some others will go rolling their eyes when they see a crappily executed custom costume when their own standards are on a very different level. That's just how it is. Oh and I have seen well made custom Mandos as well (well, one) and although I still don't get the idea behind it, I can applaude that guy on a well-made costume that sells the look and seems like it could have been on screen in some kind of (Star Wars) movie. That was one out of a good few dozens... sad but true. By the way, we're getting all these custom Mando guys here all of a sudden, just after that comic was posted... the spirits that I called, anyone?!

Sorry, I just can't hold it back any longer. It's vertically challenged, not virtually... edit: no offence, the "teacher-to-be" in me simply forces me to point that out

Yeah, I was just thinking the same - has a different colour as well.

Isn't that what TM did as well? He got the Lucasfilm CDs, yeah, didn't share them, okay. But he offered his sculpt of the ANH armour featuring tells that many of us didn't know about or just had overlooked while looking at the available reference. Isn't that sharing as well? I'm not trying to defend him or am saying he's a saint, just saying it's not as black and white...

Fair point there! I'm not seeing it quite as black-and-white. There is a huge wealth of information on the original suits available, yet people still praise FX as a great Stormtrooper kit. And as the GMO of the German Garrison I get a LOT of "WHERE DO I GET A PERFECT TROOPER NOW!?" messages, and I always tell them to do their research first and ask educated questions if they want my help. I don't see why this is any different for "high accuracy" levels. Of course I appreciated when the Lucasfilm pictures were made available, as I've been eager to see them for quite a while. However, most of the information I had already seen before, through other channels and a little more low profile. So I'm probably a hoarder, too. However, I didn't demand knowing all "secrets" and I didn't make a big deal out of it after seeing them, even when I talked about it to friends... Would I like to know the name of the brand of the original shoes? Yep! Do I hate TM for not sharing it? Nope. It's something that the hardest of hardcore TK nutters want to know, and he sure is one. It's really just these small little details we're talking about here now. There's not much left out there in the TK world that is still shrouded in mystery. Those details are interesting for PROP enthusiasts (which I know you are just as much as I am), not for the general costuming community. And I'm glad I have some stuff still left do discover. Btw, I didn't say you can't discuss it, I just said it's been discussed at length and there's no happy "we're all one big TK family" land where we will all run around through HDPE coloured fields in some old 70's chelsea boots.

Sorry Mark... edit: Thought I'd explain: There are two extremes to this argument, and a lot of people who are somewhere in between. Both sides have their fair points, also both sides seem to think they're on a holy mission, explaining all the tension. Still I think both sides have been clearly stated and there's not much you can do. Do you think this thread will give us new information? I highly doubt it. It'll simply turn into a shucksstorm and won't help either party.

It's clear that whoever came up with this little doodle there is making fun of BOTH sides. Still I prefer to be our kind of nutter, especially because many custom Mandos look shucks regarding the costume quality. A lot of these costumes aren't about being individual, but about cutting costs - That's why you get guys with painted Rubies Fett lids and cardboard armor feeling like a "real badass"...

I'm glad I'm part of the TK crew

sweet! I'll be looking forward to them

I'd say it's TK photoshop

There's some ROTJ fiberglass copies out there who would also be 1st generation somehow. But I think for ANH there's only the TE lineage really.

same principle, but the archive pics clearly show the brackets on the suits were bent wire - this is too 'sophisticated'

got the flower rivets today. They're definitely too small, but else they look damn close. Guess there must have been a larger version...

well, it's not your fault I think tkrestonva has swapped them out with someone else's parts, looked ten times better. Here are some more recommendations, if you don't mind: - Your belt is sitting a little low, it should sit just below the "ridged button" bit on the abdomen. - I think you - as most AM wearers - have gotten the shins on the wrong legs. The one you have on your left leg with the kneeplate is actually the right shin, and vice versa. Looks a bit dodgy there. Try them on the other way, it should feel a lot better, too! Apparently the finishing strip on the back was put on the wrong side, giving the impression you're supposed to wear them like that...

I think that chest is way too big for you. In fact, I think it's way too big for most TKs out there, and it looks so off compared to the real deal... oh well!