Digz Graavz

I'd sell my Skyhopper for some rubber thigh pieces. Those were the lucky ones.

5'7 should not be a problem at all. You may need to trim a bit off the bottom for length but not much. I say go for it! ANH Hero is pretty cool.

When I first started out, I was determined to just buy a ready-to-wear suit, but much research lead me to build my own. It's truly not hard and there's a ton of info available (both already posted on here, and yours to ask for). It's also a source of pride to know that you did it yourself, kind of like those Jedi scum who build their own lightsabres. What's your height/weight (if you don't mind me asking) as that can determine what sort of extra work might be required. I think it's all been addressed before so the info is out there to make the suit fit.

I used the 2 part superglue with the activator. I think I'll play more before making the new pair and see what works best.

Progress update: I've made a proper thigh support system (traditional belt and elastic setup). I also put some small foam strips on the sides of the thighs to help keep them in place. I have glued the straps for the drop-boxes into proper position. I have marked the belt for shortening. A friend is re-sewing the end for me on Friday. I have properly secured the mouth grate with Sugru (was just taped in). I have mounted my ICOMM and Voicebooseter in the chest plate. I've figured out the wire-routing for my helmet fan and made a mounting bracket for it. I also ordered a new set of gloves and flexi handguards. The first set the glue didn't take well on one hand and the other it took TOO well. I've done some trimming on them and they're Okayish but I am not thrilled.

OK thanks. Not going to bother then. I checked the fit and the gap at the bottom would have been horrible. Too bad... At some point maybe I'll order new ear covers.

Mic tips:

Paint's fresh but you get the idea I'll probably do a bit of minor touch up.

Mic tips as they came straight from AP: Also, if I want to fix my ear screws, here's where they will line up. Also, not that on the right side it looks like I will need to trim a bit of the back helmet section (as marked). Make sense?

LOL yeah Mark (AP) even emailed me and told me to cut off the shoulder tabs (done). I also recontoured them a bit. I recontoured the butt plate as well, as it sat well below the codpiece and I didn't like the stress it was putting on the straps, and how it looked. Here are the mic tips as they exist now, straight from AP: I'm looking at moving the earpiece screws too. I'll post about that in my build thread.

So today I repainted the vocoder, fixed the chest strapping (one of the brackets was off by over 1cm Rob- I think that's why the right side kept riding up), glued in new thigh support straps and trimmed the large section from the backs of the shoulder straps. I finally found the Sugru that I KNEW I had ordered so I am going to mount the mouth grill thingamabob properly. Mic tips question: It looks like I need to paint the inside of the tube white, correct? Thanks again.

Vocoder repainted:

OK - touch up time. As per comments in my pre-approval, I will be touching up the vocoder paint (well, actually removing some) and making a good thigh support system. I've found my belt and 2" black elastic so I'll get that glued up today (SNOW DAY!!!),

Weldbond is actually like a strong white-glue/wood glue. It dries VERY hard and will not flex much. Get E6000. I looked into alternatives, went E6000, and was very very very glad I did. I'm in pre-approval and making changes as I tweak my suit. It's TOTALLY worth it.

Thanks again everyone. Yeah, the Feb 19th timing sucks right now, but I'm pushing hard for approval before March 15th Comicon in Toronto.

Thanks for the tips. I've adjusted a bit of the paint on the vocoder. I don't think I can do anything about the screw angle really, but I can back off the ones that are bit tight. Maybe I took the "countersunk" a bit too much to heart Sniper knee foam - good call. Drop boxes I will solidify their placement, The thighs I will take a look at. Tonight was the first full fitting of the suit after 100% assembly so I figured there would be a few tweaks. I'll also take a look at the belt. Keep 'em coming!

Thanks. Yeah apparently there are 2 schools of thought on that. I think I would like to as they seem long on me, but we'll see what the experts say. My goal is Centurion and I built it to those specs.

It's UP! Thanks Rob (twosolitudes) for your gracious assistance.

Hi everyone, here is my submission for pre-approval. Name: Christopher Mann Future Garrison: Canadian Armor Maker: Authentic Props Helmet Maker: Authentic Props Cloth Belt Maker: Authentic Props Neck Seal Maker: Trooperbay Boot Maker: Imperial Boots Blaster Maker: Quest Design Canada Height: 5'9" Weight: 180lbs TK Type: ANH Stunt Troopers who helped with my build: Thank you so much to Robert (twosolitudes) and Brad (68Brick) plus everyone who commented on my build thread. I could not have done it without you!

Thanks again everyone. Rob (twosolitudes) will be here in about 90 mins to take my submission pictures! Check out these sexy TD screws! (They've since been painted black).

So... All strapping is done, other than the thigh garters and attaching the drop boxes to the belt (they're drying and the straps are on the belt). I want to complete the TD tonight, maybe get the thighs done. That will just leave replacing the cover strips on the forearms, which are not bad but can be better. Submission pics tomorrow unless the Universe throws me a curve ball Right now it's mostly Velcro unless snaps are required for Centurion. I figure the best thing to do is get it fitted 100% with the Velcro, then mark the positioning and add snaps.

5 minutes with a hair dryer and the curve is much less aggressive. Here is it with just the elastic to retain it.

Thanks everyone! I think the combination of Brad's guidance and experience along with the cuts I put in the corners may be a not-so-secret-any-more recipe. The shoulder straps are overcurved from the boiling process and that's why they look so close together in the photo. We aligned the heck out of everything and they're glued dead on the lines we used. I'll post more pics later with this morning's progress. Time to go unclamp and move on to more stuff. Ammo boxes, TD and the last of the strapping. Brad had me trim my forearms a bit so I need to redo those cover strips. If all goes well I might be doing basic submission in a day or two.

With 68Brick's guidance and a pot of hot water, we got the sniper knee looking pretty good this afternoon. Tonight's work: Shoulder straps are repositioned. Bells have their elastic gluing. You can see the strapping system in the one photo.