Darth_Nickel

Not that it makes a lot of difference, but I beleive the poll should have closed after tomorrow. It was opened on 1/27 and was to be open for 2 weeks. 2/3 was 1 week, 2/7 is the end of 2 weeks.

My 2 cents. Plastic looks much better, and frankly this is about looks. The majority of the EIB requirements are about looks, so this was a natural evolution. Sure there are other materials that are white that can cover the gap, but in my oppinion the intent was to make it look like the armor and improve the overall look of the armor. That said - I vote for plastic and all EIB be required to update. I voted for 12 month to allow more than enough time to complete the upgrade.

I too use the garters (although, I like the ones you posted Terry... I might have to upgrade....) The downfall... it seems to make my hose run more... and I can never get that line on the back of my leg to line up just right...

I get some of the worst "armor kisses", as Paul would say.... Cat like, we are not. Pretty darn cool looking.. we are.

pretty funny... who are these masked men???

no, it's more of a mod. I'll take some pics and when I get a little further, I'll create a thread in the mod area. I don't know if it will turn out or what. It's not been "easy", but I think it will be cool.

I'm 6'3" and use the FX thighs. I want to try the RT thighs. From some pics, it looks like they may actually be a bit bigger. I've also got a little project that I'm SLOWLY working on. I am extending a spare set of thighs. If it works out, I'd be happy to do it again for someone else. It would remove the need for any shim, make them longer for less black, and perhaps even a little more better shape than the standard FX thigh. I don’t know… It does require a paint job, so either you would have to paint your armor to match or live with possible multiple shades of white.

after putting them in the freezer and/or using a chisel, I find the easiest next step is to send a note to tuperwaretk..... get 2 new parts and not make the same mistake

Paul - this is an amazing trooper break through. I can't wait to see more. Well done man. Well done.

Don't worry about the chipping... it will chip. Just be careful, it chips easy!!! HDPE by nature doesn't hold paint well.

looking good trooper!!!! well done.

The problems I've had with CA is that over time it seems that the stress of the joint will break the glue loose. I've not had good luck with a metal to plastic bond using CA. It can hold, but the strength is not great, and I've had the metal parts pull away in time. Now a snap that is attached to the actual plastic and a CA bond to plastic on plastic.. it's like a ROCK. When attaching a snap through plastic, be sure you have a "rod" long enough to clear the plastic. This will be sure that the snap connection is good as well, so you don't have a case of popping the female or male connector off the back on the snap. Remember that Plastic on plastic bond for CA is like a ROCK... it's not a fun fix.

Thanks Terrell. I didn't realize that. Looking at reference photos, I just assumed that it was in the standards.

Be sure that you add rivets for the holster. They don't have snaps on them. The holster is actually riveted to the belt where the straps are on the inside of the belt. For elite status, you need to have the holster riveted to the inside of the belt with 4 rivets (2 on each side) and use the brown strips of leather for the straps.

Darryl - Here is how my belt attaches to my ab. There are 3 snaps on the hard front of the belt. Then I have a small piece of Velcro that is sewn into the front that matches up to the center of the ab. Then once the belt is tight, it stays in place. The hard part about the removable belt is you need to make sure you are centered when you put it on. The Velcro in the front serves well on the duel purposes.

No, it's not the same price as a TE2. The eFX is more for a collector, and I would not recommend trooping in it at all. I've got the MR LE (which is the same as the eFX LE). It's heavy (fiberglass) and tight (with all the padding). It looks great on a shelf, but you would be much happier with a different bucket when trooping. I "think" you would be happier if you got Ooe that would be lighter, one that you can add fans to, one that you could add a voice changer to, etc...

Noel is right. No one has the skills until they do it.... I'm here to help ya too DJ. You are not too far away from me It's really not too difficult, but it does take time. So if number 1 is the main factor, then well.... ya know. But with time, you will find yourself with a nice result.

my 2 credits DJ... get it dirty with bondo, and repaint the bucket. There are a lot of mods you can do on a CE to get it looking really nice, so I think it's best to really get into it.

Thanks guys for the compliments. It means a lot. It looked like it was an older helmet. The plastic was really yellow under there.... check out some of those pics above. I think that rules out any MR question. The vocoder really lacked definition. I added a sculpting resin (magic sculp), cut the groves/lines again and added the second little ridge toward the neck as well. Paul - I agree. I don't like the look of the FX. It's just...well... wrong. I DO like the overall size for bigger people, but the FX just doesn't cut it. I've tried to correct some of the points that really get under my skin, but it's still FX.... I do like how the ridge came out on the back. That helped a bit.

Thanks Thayne. For the 4th tooth, I have to keep them pretty small. It's hard because there really isn't any "dent" there so if it gets too big it looks like what it is... I cut a hole in the frown I will take a file and see if I can clean them out a little better.

Thanks Thayne. I guess there's not a ton of interest in this. o well... Here are some of the updated shots. Starting to add the details. I've painted the traps, vocoder, frown. I've got to add the ear caps, lenses, ear screws next.

AND Stormtroopers....

I like it a lot. Nice find.

Here is the Top Coat complete (for now) I'm now working on painting the details. I just got the black on last night, so I'll start to add the gray to the frown and traps. I don't know if you can tell in these shots, but I've already outlined the areas in pencil. Just a little trick I picked up here...

And with a shot of primer to check the progress. I saw a couple cracks and I still saw the "ripple". I'll continue with another round of bondo.... This was the best shot of the cap ripple I think... After lots of sanding, buffing, bondo, sanding, buffing, bondo... bondo.. sanding... This is just the primer, buffed and ready for the top coat. One item of interest... the vocoder. Since it's molded onto the plastic, which is odd for an FX... it didn't have good definition. I decided to resculpt it on the helmet to provide a little more to it. I also added the "second" bump beat the neck trim... just for fun. I don't have a picture under the bucket yet, but I will... Continued next post