TheRascalKing

Heck yea, CONGRATS! You can have those pins - you EARNED em!

I placed an order by reaching out via Facebook Messenger recently. He's definitely still around, but unsure what availability/lead times are like currently.

I have two of Jim's kits and have had several ABS kits over the years - I would not say either one is any more or less prone to cracking. It happens. Fiberglass can be much easier to repair, but also requires paint on top, which can make it better and worse. They're just different materials. That being said, the kits that Jim makes are typically ones that are made by the studio in a flexible injection-molded polyurethane material, so Jim's flexible fiberglass is the most accurate approximation we currently have (or are likely to get) to the screen used armor. I did an additional layer of

INTEREST LIST POSTED!

We're in the home stretch - keep those submissions coming and keep an eye out for an interest thread for those victory pins soon!

Hahaha yup, email him. I totally understand about product availability, but I will say that it is pretty much confirmed that the Rust-Oleum 2X Gloss White that I used is at least what the tour/Disney/etc FO troopers used, so it is probably the standard to shoot for for the actual color, if you rattle can. Plus, the majority of FO and white-painted-armor troopers in my Garrison used it, so I won't stick out in a lineup. Montana is excellent quality tho. Makers definitely keep a low profile and it seems sketchy at first, but no one wants a cease-and-desist from the Mouse is all... I used to

I'll pipe up and add one for Hellhounds Props since he hasn't been mentioned yet. He's a bit newer and out of CA but makes one of the nicest rubber blasters I've seen yet - specifically, the separate, metal scope rail is a great detail many other rubber blasters miss. Praetorian is excellent as well, but currently out of commission after hurricane damage from my understanding. Both are US based. https://www.facebook.com/hellhounds.props/

Personally, I painted all of my pieces separately, then assembled, to ensure good paint coverage in all of the gaps. I went back and scuffed up any non-visible contact surfaces before gluing though to help with the mechanical adhesion of the glue. Good luck!

Figured I'd weigh in a bit here! So keep in mind that whatever kit you get, it WILL need to get painted. Prepare mentally (and financially) for that - if you have NO experience with paint, and high standards... I would absolutely pay someone to do it for you. If you have the time/patience/budget and want to learn, it will be a great opportunity. If you're an experienced painter, it's probably not too bad since it's all just white. I'll lay out a couple positive and negatives for each if it helps. I have Jim's kit and would hands down recommend it over the ABS options, but make your own call

Excellent - you're off to a great start! Anovos can be built into some beautiful armor, so just do your research, ask questions, and enjoy the ride! Let us know if we can help

I did, thank you! I reeeeeeeeally don't want to cut anything after paint, but it's becoming very clear that the thighs will have to get chopped more. I'll be researching the shape to try to get a template going, and hopefully I can manage to trim and sand without ruining the paint...

Thank you! No polish (yet?), just the gloss white and 2K clear. I may try to cut and polish some of the dust, but... later. They're not bad enough to prevent approval forsure and I just wanna get this thing submitted. Yea I'm curious what it could have been and why it ONLY happened there... but oh well. Thanks! Just self-adhesive EVA craft foam sheets - they weigh like nothing, much less than all that metal hardware (which still isn't bad) and definitely help with the rubbing.

I still don't think it would be an ergonomic or efficient method for the volume I'd potentially be looking to do, even if that did help I think @Dielotski is closer to the mark of what I'm looking for here, but I'm open to stuff I haven't seen or tried before as well!

I was tempted, but the price held me back... Yeaaaaaaa, the ONE time my apartment neighbors finally complained about my costuming was after setting about 60 snaps with a hammer. Apparently the shared floor transmits banging too well for this to be a realistic option for volume, even IF it was efficient. Yup, the purple Dritz ones I referenced are very similar, and these definitely aren't the worst... but I think we can find better! This is much closer to what I'm looking for! But yea, I don't see Line 24 snaps listed under the

Update time! Made some decent progress over the winter break (despite only taking the actual Christmas and New Years holidays off)! FINALLY finished painting ALL of the pieces in white and clear! The shoulder bridges had a weird paint reaction and had to be sanded down again... then reacted AGAIN in the same spot. Unsure what was going on, but I couldn't leave it like this, so after sanding a third time, I just powered through and decided it was good enough. To mask the helmet, I used one of my sheets of self-adhesive craft fo