TK:TK

Well done. Looks good. The buttons do look a bit too large.... Perhaps it's the photo... My only suggestion would be to wear the belt a bit lower - the top of the belt is covering the lower frame of the ab box.

Kiel, great job on the armour. There is something bewilderingly funny about a soldier building armour for a different war while in a real theater of war. I am astounded you're able to pull this off. Well done.

Great looking armour. Not only is it well built, but it fits you really well. So congratulations on a great job assembling the suit, but also on making your body precisely the right height and weight (ha!) ...and the Hamlet shot was great. Very clever.

aaaargh! It's all over for Star TREK! Just read the linked article and much of the commentary flying around about the new Star Trek prequel. I'm leery of armchair sociologists writing to make a deadline. If - as seems likely - that Trek becomes the next pop touchstone for explaining every cultural nuance and hiccup, they'll kill the thing. It's the kiss of death. There were a few days when the movie Forrest Gump was entertaining. Then it was saddled as the anthem for the baby boomer generation. Pathetic.

I do not post often, but whenever I do, I'm certain it's pure, unalloyed genius. Well, perhaps it isn't genius.... Nor unalloyed.... Nor pure... but I am certain of it. I think.....

I grouse about how often my kids grow through shoes, but you're now on the hook for a new suit every year! Great armour. You're a great dad.

Wow! Great looking armour. Artfully assembled and artfully photographed.

Great story, and what a great mother. Please pardon the slight hijacking of this thread, but did anyone else notice that Amish Trooper is back! (see his reply to this thread above) Amish Trooper, how are things? Where have you been? What's going on?

It depends somewhat on what you want to create. If one wants a "film-y" look (sorry for the technical jargon) with layers of transparency, feather/faded edges, etc, I'd use Photoshop. The pixel base allows this kind of look, but images cannot be stretched beyond the resolution of the original. A 72ppi image cannot print well in a 300ppi commercial print job. If one wants a more 2-dimensional feel with sharp, well articulated edges, use Illustrator (AI). Plus, Illustrator now has much better text capabilities. And text will always print sharper in Illustrator than in Photoshop. Illustrator's vector system understands its files as algorithms. So an AI file can print well as a postage stamp or as a billboard.

Congratulations on the promotion! But does this mean Michelle Obama won't be able to put her arm around your shoulder?

As long as they are "low-tar" cigarettes that ought to be OK.... I suggest that you just keep your hands casually at your side, elbows gently bent.

Congratulations! Your site is great. It's been a real help to me. Plus it's really fun to read.... btw, with a million hits you can now grouse (when necessary), "Man if I had a nickel for every time someone visited my site..... (I'd have $50,000 by now)"

Yes, you go first. I'll be right behind you.... Congratulations on getting Elite status!

So, how did it turn out? (the painting, not the baklava).... I did the same thing to my SDS helmet. It was a great improvement, but it did require a sT e Ad Y hand....

It must be aggravating to save up money for armour only to have another "need" swoop in and claim the money. You made a commitment to your education (which is good... very good), so follow through with that. Buy the laptop. However, once you graduate you'll find that there are lots of "needs" (some real, some stupid). Take care of the real needs, save up some money, and then bite the bullet and buy the armour.

Last year there was a snowstorm (with no significant accumulation) at FISD. What's the forecast this season?

It took me a while, but eventually it dawned on me that Humbrol paints are not in every corner shop around here. I bought some on-line from Hornby America ----- 14 ml cost $1.89, but the shipping was $5.00

I would have logged on yesterday, but the tryptophan in turkey was my undoing. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.....

Darrel, I am very sorry for your loss. What a horrific event made even more heartbreaking in light of your impending engagement. Give yourself plenty of time to grieve; Melanie sounds like a very special person, and the evident pain you are suffering is a testament to how much you loved her. I will think of her the next time I see a beautiful sky.

Brilliant! I laughed so hard I was crying.... That spider drawing is worth at least $100.00

Congratulations! I'm very happy for you. Now stop reading FISD posts and go to bed. You have to be up early....

If I counted correctly, there are 28 helmets in this photo - half of the 56 or so made for the filming of ANH. I read somewhere (probably StarWarsHelmets.com) that one of the surviving helmets was sold at auction for $30,000. Using this amount as a crude measure (I'm just having fun here, I figure the helmet sold for $30,000 because there are so few original helmets left), we're looking about $840,000.00 in this photo alone. Extrapolate it even ridiculously further, and we could brag that the total 56 helmets would be valued at over $1,680,000. Also in the photo are stacked sheets of uncut armour. I can't even begin to guess what their value must be. Any guesses?

Sounds great! Thank you, Smitty.

It's been just over a year since - to my wife's horror - I stepped outside the house in my TK armour. However, over the year I have made a variety of improvements. Small tweaks here and there - no budget-busting reworks, but I think the cumulative effort is starting to show. I also credit all of you at FISD for raising the bar. Below are two photos taken 1 year apart. The 2007 photo was taken outside. It's nighttime. It looks cool. The 2008 was (cough, cough) obviously taken in the children's art museum wing of the Death Star. Two things I am lacking are a blaster and a holster. Perhaps this year..... In the meanwhile I tell people I am with the Quaker garrison - we just try to talk out our differences with the rebellion. Can you spot the changes? For those keeping score, the changes I made were: recutting/filing the eyes (inspired by TK-4510 "Pimping the Helmet" thread) repainting the teeth with Humbrol 5 Dark Admiral Grey green lenses from Smitty mesh behind the frown helmet liner that fits nudged the brow up a bit canvas belt from Gundamzeppelin. this one was a big help. really cinched in my front and back ab plates. Otherwise the clamshell it fit like a rainbarrel (I'm on the skinny side). ...and a cheapo sound system (you can see the wire that was falling down by the end of the evening). It isn't great, but sound really adds a whole new dimension to the illusion. and moved the sniper plate up by a 1/4 inch.

Heresy, I know, but I'm down on the screen mesh. I have it my helmet. It helps obscure my shiny white teeth, but I wonder if it cheapens the whole effect. Let me explain: I took my kids to see the easter bunny last spring. The eyes and mouth of the rabbit suit were all black screen mesh. Recently the kids got to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog. Clifford's eyes were covered with black screen mesh. I'm thinking that "black screen mesh" is now a visual shorthand for "life-sized novelty costume". People don't see my face anymore through the frown (which is good), but the screen gives it away that it's JUST a costume (which is bad). I have it in my head to scrounge around for some old computer board/memory cards and glue them in behind the frown. It might seem more consistent with the illusion we're trying to create with the armour.