Madmartigan

I think you'll find with the amount of work it is to mask, thin the paint, clean the airbrush, etc., and the relatively small areas you are painting in a limited number of colors, it's just much easier to hand paint.

Looks like the holes. You should probably look into trying to get replacement ears from AP or even ATA since you'll likely need to paint them anyway. I've tried putty when you make a hole too big like that and it never holds like you'd want it to. C

Have a picture? One above, one below, and one at bottom is the standard stunt configuration.

Here's a silly question: for ANH buckets, do you run the "S" side around the rim of the helmet or the "U" side?

With regards to one of your specific examples, for the lenses in my trooping bucket, I am putting the more accurate green acetate as a layer over a more sturdy green welding shield. That way it looks more accurate from the outside (they see the shiny green lenses), but the shield ensures people cannot see in with or without flash photography. I'd say I'm incorporating as many "screen accurate" elements as I think will help with the overall look -- without being impractical. Rivets on the sides, the proper types and width of elastic where we know they were used, etc. But I'm using a more comfortable batting helmet liner in the helmet, the screen mesh in the frown, velcro on the back of the calves, etc. And my trooping helmet is not white painted HDPE, it's molded HIPS. So, it's a balance. But I think when all is said and done, most people will look at it and say "that's pretty accurate!" without realizing it's somewhat idealized. I think that's a good way for me to approach it, personally.

Finished! Had to get dressed and use the tripod and timer to take these, so I hope to put together my new shins (the ones I have on are my "seconds") and take some better pictures during the week against a backdrop for legion and EIB submission. Just waiting on the new trim for the bucket so I can pop in my fans and ROM/FX. Then when i get my t-track from Smitty I can finish the trooping blaster and put the modified MR back on display. Beautiful stuff CAP makes....

Probably 15mm for arms and 20mm for legs....

Once my belt from Mark and t-tracks from Smitty get here, I should be ready for 501st submission within a week and EIB shortly thereafter. BTW -- anyone making accurate blaster d-rings?

I'll be using a ROM/FX in my helmet with the AA boxes and plan on duct tape over 3/4 of the sides and industrial velcro on the side with the most plastic. Just peel the duct tape off and replace when I need to swap batteries. I'm a big fan of the KISS school.

Hero ears and everything? Show us the ears!

Well...that would just be obnoxious. lol Congrats, again, Aaron!

all.

to us....

An inspiration....

It really isn't right now.

One other thing you might do before you even start to cut the bottom of the chest piece: Unless it's just a shadow, it looks like you have some room between the front "neck" edge of your chest piece and your actual neck. If that is the case, I would first make sure that the webbing or elastic connecting the neck to the back is short enough that it pulls the chest piece all the way up. If it's not right up against your neck, you need to tighten up the webbing, elastic, or whatever is holding the chest and back together. Then I'd make sure my plastic shoulder "straps" are moved down so that the 5th, 6th, or in your case, even 7th rib is at the edge of the part of the chest plate that goes over your shoulder. Lots of people seem to make the mistake of putting these too far back. When you have them right, they will actually start to encroach on the "pecs". I had to glue mine with E6000 for almost a day so they would bend and conform to the chest: After you've done that, there will still probably be plenty to trim off the bottom and mod, but this will get you on the road to creating that "proud chested" trooper look.

Well, I went with the direct snaps for accuracy and simplicity's sake. Gluing snap plates there would also have meant heating the tabs to shape to the curves, so it seemed simpler. And I don't plan on putting too much stress there.

Making progress! ..and after figuring out the kidney orientation thanks to Paul: Thighs aren't low -- the ab is actually a little high. They wouldn't get much higher anyway since I am blessed with Earl Campbell thighs (dating myself a little there. ) I adjusted the suspenders after I saw the pictures to drop it a little lower. The final straps on the chest plate to ab will help, too. Left to do: - ammo belt and drop boxes once belts arrive from Mark - strapping front of chest to ab to hold it down - strapping backplate to kidney to secure it - shorten elastic closure straps on right side. I'm fortunate enough to need no shims, so I should close this puppy all the way up! No gaps! - aerators, vocoder painting, padding, fans, and Rom/FX into helmet - finish blaster when Smitty's t-track arrives later this week - (Optional) Snap plates inside shoulder bells and strap across chest to keep them pulled in?? But I creep closer!

How's that for subtle?? Actually, I was wondering about the strapping from the butt plate to the cod piece. I've seen one reference where -- rather than snap plates -- the snap backs actually show on the outside of the armor on the butt, at least. Do you guys use a snap plate inside and hide the connection or drill the hole and put the male snap directly through the armor?? One or two male snaps there (thought I saw 2 in one reference shot)? And do you do the same for the cod? Snap plate to hide it or drill right through? Thanks! Chris

You're totally paying for labor there. Probably $20-25 in materials. And while having the snap tabs pre-made is fine, it's only useful if he countersinks the snap into the plates. And the straps are less useful because he's predetermined the length. IMO, better off buying your own elastic and making your own tabs. Then you can determine where to place the tabs and make the elastic straps in only the length you need. Oh...and here's a helpful tip I discovered making mine: once you've attached the male part of the snap to the ABS or styrene plate, if you want to avoid using a heat gun and heating the entire piece of plastic (which can misshape it), use a soldering iron! Get it nice and hot and place it in the hole in the center of the back plate for the snap. It will superheat only the snap and you'll see it start to sink into the plastic after about 30-45 seconds. Pull the soldering iron tip away, press the back of the snap in gently, and let it cool. Viola! The rest of the plate retains it's shape and you have a nice flat plate on the back.

Very cool. I've noticed that detail in your armor in Pete's build. Love it!

Poop. Now i have two different opinions. lol Let me go check and see which way the butt seems to match up better. Seemed like it worked either way.... *sigh*

Amen. Once you've trimmed within a few mm of where you want to be, nothing beats a dremel -- especially on curves. For perfectly straight edges -- like where I want my ab and kidney to meet -- I snap and score right on the line I want and gently sand.

Thanks, T!

------------ Looks like Option 1 is right to me. But that's just a guess based on knowledge of anatomy.