Laspector

Turned 43 on April 9th. Still kicking. My gut and my love of Star Wars grows bigger every year.

What is this"Tamiya weathering master" in "soot"that you speak of? Is it some kind of spray paint or what? How about a pic of the stuff and the bucket?

You may have got a bad tube. If it's real old sometimes it doesn't stick. Also make sure you mix it really good and let it set up for a minute before applying. i've been thru about twenty tubes of this stuff in the past few years and I only got one that was bad. But I swear by the stuff.

Devcon Plastic welder. Get it at Walmart. Great stuff. It's in the hardware section. Dries in about 15 minutes. Hard as nails.

I did kind of the same thing only I applied the velcro directly to the shoulder strap. I did all this before I knew that people were using straps to support the weight. It gives it a little more strength. At least I think it does. Anybody else tried this?

I just fold everything very carefully and put it all in my wallet. LOL

I just used a heat gun and heated it lightly and then just bent the ears a little. No gap to deal with!!!

I can hear other people okay. It seems the biggest problem is hearing other troopers. You never think about it but just seeing someone's mouth really helps you understand what they are saying. I am not a lip reader but I find that it helps. I really don't know why. But hearing my buddy in his suit is okay in complete silence but when there are other people around and background noise it is almost impossible for me. Anyone else notice this?

my Skullworx works fine. Never had a problem with it. For the price I think it is pretty good.

Skullworx for me. But I would upgrade if I ever get another helmet to replace my FX

TrooperDad, those are my sentiments EXACTLY!!!!!!!!! You read my mind.

In the one about the donkey if you replaced the word "dirt" with "sh!t" it would seem more appropriate to modern life. my girlfriend tells me I worry too much. She says 80% of the things you worry about will never happen. Therefore doesn't logic dictate; "the more things you worry about, the less they will happen to you"? It was just a joke--she didn't like it either.

I have had to drive before wearing the armor. If the back and butt plates are separated you can bend a little. But you might have to remove the thigh pieces to bend the legs enough (I do). Also either remove your thermal detonator on your belt. Or if it's attached, remove the belt. I think not wearing the helmet is a no-brainer. Even with all this IT AIN'T comfortable!! Plus I wouldn't drive over a few miles this way because it could break. But to be honest I don't think driving while suited up is really very safe as you ARE restricted in movement.

If you cut the cod piece like in the preceding post , attach it to the stomach piece with straps and just use a 3 or 4 inch strap with snaps to attach to the butt plate between the legs. Then you can just unsnap between the legs and lift up the cod piece to pee. Of course this only works if you have a 2 piece undersuit or either a zipper in the crotch....I have no idea how female TKs handle this problem.

If you have a Hibbet Sports store in your area they sell underarmor--both regular and cold gear. But it's only two piece. I find that's better anyway for going to the bathroom

try this for info on wearing glasses and contact lenses in the suit ---------

I'm a little confused on this issue. I have seen the OT at least 500 times per each movie and have tons and tons of pictures from them and I've never noticed any blue tube stripes. Now I'm not saying they aren't there, if most of you believe in them then I'm sure you are right but for the life of me I can't see them in the movies and cannot find a picture with blue stripes. Can someone post some screen caps of visible blue stripes? Or am I just totally blind on this subject?

You are right on that point. Some of the hip hop you speak of I really don't have a problem with, even tho it's really not my personal taste. It's the hardcore gansta stuff I was referring to. The kind where every other word is a cuss word and every song is about pimpin' and ho's and bustin' caps up someones an impolite person or glorifying selling drugs. That is the stuff that will make me mad and I will get up and leave. What bothers me is that some people just listen for the beat. EXAMPLE: my girlfriend (37 years old) and her daughter (18 years old)---if I play an Alice Cooper song or something along that nature, they get mad at me and say the lyrics are disgusting. And yet they will listen to the gansta crap all day. When I confront them about the lyrics they just say "well, I just like it because I can dance to it. This kind of double standard is what really irks me. That is my personal opinion and you are entitled to yours. It doesn't make either one of us right or wrong.

My faves are Alice Cooper Blue Oyster Cult KISS Pink Floyd But actually I like pretty much all types of music; Rock, Heavy Metal, Blues, Classical, Country, Jazz, Motown, DuWop, Pop, Bluegrass, Folk, Disco, Swing, etc. Anything but Rap--I ABSOLUTELY @#$&$#@ HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HATE IT--HATE IT-HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!

I know how you feel bro, a couple months ago the same thing happened to me--Walked into work one Monday morning, was called into the office and laid off along with 2 other guys..I was a department supervisor--they said I made too much money and they had to cut overhead. Ain't that some SH!T?....Been on lots of interviews, I seem to be overqualified for menial work and under qualified for higher paying jobs....Unemployment runs out in about a month, hope I don't have to sell my armor to pay bills.

I still say the tube stripes are part of the ventilation system. If the grill is possibly the intake then possibly the tube stripes being the output vents. It seems to me that if the tube stripes were some sort of designation like combat drops, wouldn't there be troopers everywhere with 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, or even 30 stripes. Other than Mr. no-stripes(which I call just a movie flub) it looks to me that all troopers have 12 stripes. Just my opinion--not trying to start an argument. Everyone has the right to think what they want.

I have an FX suit and bucket (please don't start on the accuracy thing) that I like very much. My helmet is already assembled and I did not paint the inside black, as I see many people have done. Has anyone ever gone back and painted the inside after it was assembled? I realize that spray paint is pretty much out at this point because it is already put together, but I would really like to paint the inside...Anybody got any advice? Also, I am WAAAAY down here in the south and it is hotter than the fires of Hades down here. Does the black paint increase the heat inside the bucket?

Those are AWESOME tutorials!!! I wish I had the tools to do an E-11 that way. Do you work in a machine shop? How did you get all those tools? My other half throws a fit if I even buy an electric screwdriver!!! Her mindset is "buying shoes-good,buying powertools-bad"

If this is your first time I would absolutely recommend NOT starting with the bucket, it is by far the hardest thing to do (not impossible but very scary). My personal recommendation would be to start with the chest and back piece and work your way out from there.It seems to me that everything, as far as trimming and fitting, seems to relate to the way the chest piece fits. Cannot stress the point enough to SLOW DOWN!!! I know how it is, and you want that puppy finished and ready to wear. But it is better to go slow than to mess up! I was lucky enough that a friend and I purchased our FX armor at the same time. Neither of us were members of the 501st at the time and we had no clue as to how to do it. We spent several Saturday mornings together just doing research and bouncing ideas off of each other. Here's a tip: Go to EVERY website you can find on armor assembly and check out the many, many different ways that people put theirs together and then decide what is best for you!! Do not just follow any one person's methods blindly. Not everything works for everybody. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!!! Test fit everything before cutting, gluing or adding snaps or rivets. When test fitting it is always best to have another person with you to look at it and help you hold it together. Something may feel good to you but not look right when completed and then it may be too late. If you are like us you will probably come up with some ideas of your own that work better for you than anybody else's ideas... If you have ANY questions come here and post them or get on the 501st boards. If you are not a member of the 501st you will not be able to get on the official 501st board but go to the "contacts" part of the 501st boards and it will give you the links to individual garrisons and outposts and squads.Even on the public side of most of those boards there are costuming threads that can be very helpful. I personally went to every single one and checked out their tips first. and Yes that took a while to do but I cheated and did most of that during down time at work. Two sets of brains working together is a major plus and two sets of hands is practically a must!! This doesn't mean you can't do it all by yourself but it really helps!! I personally recommend the Devcon plastic welder. Also just throw away ALL the velcro that came with the kit and go buy industrial strength velcro. You can get it at Walmart as well as the snaps, straps, and plastic welder. Rivets, on the other hand, sometimes have to be bought at a hardware store. When buying rivets be sure to get washers for them. Also when gluing it is always better to sand the ABS areas and slightly score them before gluing, this helps the glue have something to grad onto and hold better. Hope these tips help.

What are you guys talking about with this "brass bar" deal? What is it and where does it go? I'm clueless.