RBJ

..same here..plastic tub and a motorcycle helmet bag...and a luggage dolly with wheels..

well...I just went back and looked at my attempt thread..from JUNE!!! ..I went and tried to get the belt to sit above the split a bunch of different ways to no avail ..it just would not work/look right with my belt place where I had it in the front..and I am not spending any more on my TK at the moment ( I have finnished a TI and almost finnished my Vader since June! ) ...while I would live to join the elite ( and get a cool sticker! ) I kind of feel that some of the requirements don't make sense to me. I know the detachment has voted and thats that. I know my TK is one of the better ones out there...and that is enough right now.

My wife thinks I'm nuts....she gives me a little bit of crap about it, but not much. Luckily, she has close to no idea how much it all costs! The fact that we do it for charity makes it OK..

...get the TE2 and a cheepo amp (radio shack, wal mart thingie..) ..I would upgrade the outside, before tricking out the inside!

..the anonimity is very liberating! As far as how to act goes, taking the bucket off in front of kids/ the public really bugs me..it just ruins the whole illusion for all the troopers .." oh, it's just dorks in plastic..."

...fair enough! Personally, I like the inside tricked out a bit..I painted mine black inside after seeing a photo of myself from the rear where you could see the white inside the helmet...it sort of ruined the illusion. There is no way I could troop without fans in the helmet ..I wear glasses and they fog instantly without fans.And kids really seem excited when they talk to you and you respond in an amplified "stormtrooperey" voice from the mic tips...it sort of goes back to the old "screen acuraccy vs. troopability" thing..it's ALL good!

Why? screen acuracy or....?

:) http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lfsearc...bjectId=5026345

...maybe you were walking in front of Boba Fett and stopped sudenly..that would explain two dents...man, I am a NERD!

..I dremeled the bottom edge about 1/4" all the way around...now it's MUCH easier to get my big glasses wearing melon in there!

..mine didnt have a dent...

I got a REALLY small paint brush from the art store, dipped it in paint thinner, and kept "painting" the overspray parts with it untill it disapeared...clean the brush between each pass..workes like a paint eraser!

..be sure to post pics!

..speaking of perfectly symmetrical..check this out ( by No HumorMan ...from Sith Traing Temple) ------------

..I used pop rivits and they work great..I found the clips at Staples..

..I'm out here but thankfully not close enough to the fires to be in danger..it's weird..you can smell them, it looks like it's twighlight all day and there is ash all over everything..very apocolyptic...

..don't count on that..I have the same set up and adding foam behind the speakers did NOTHING to increase volume or reduce feedback....

I had my amp/speakers mounted behind my chestplate..I HATED it..it was LOUD, but the wire running out of my helmet drove ne nuts..I now use arreator speakers with the entire set up contained in my bucket and I love it!..and I painted the inside of my bucket black..cause it looks cool!

..looks great!..the best thing is that you did all the hard work..now all the ROTJ troopers can look to your suit as a guide!

..I'm all for grandfathering the existing FX elite..TK MD rocks!...I do feel that we should step up the standards sooner rather than later...

..here we go..... ..after reading the blaster thread, and seeing it nearly hijacked with discussion of the FX lid, I desided to start this can o worms! If the Elite is the best of the best, does the FX bucket fit the bill? Personaly, I would say no..and heres my reasoning..the helmet is the focal point of your costume.. there really is no way to modify it to look acurate like say, a Rubies Vader..even the FX armor can be modified to look very close to screen used, and for larger troopers, FX armor really is the only option ....but the lid? not so much....there are other large size, more accurate helmets available ( RT Mod, ANHV2..)..I have a big noggin and wear glasses, and I fit in a ANV2 with three fans and a voice amp no problem.. ..and I realize there are very few troops who have reached Elite status,I am still working towards it, but I don't think waiting to upgrade the standards makes much sence...we know what looks correct, most of it is readily available...so why wait to raise the bar? To me, the harder it is to achive, the more it will mean in the long run...

..I too have kept my big mouth shut and read this post from the beginning...at first I thought that eliminating the Hasbro was wrong, but after reading through the intire discussion, I agree that if the Elite standard is to truly represent the highest level of TK costuming, then the Hasbro should go....but not before the FX bucket...

...after reading this I had to go check all my batteries!! all is well..I have mine wired differently than your diagram..I have the red from the batt to one side of the switch and the red of the fan to the other side of the switch and the black runs straight from the batt to the fan...

..no, you made the NICE version...I made the gehtto version! howz about a thremal detonator/blackberry holder?

..well, it seems as though its as good as it's gonna get..witch is a MILLION times better than the amp in chestplate I had before..the wire from the helmet to the amp bugged me to no end!