ABS80

AP offers ready to wear armor and does custom assembly to fit your size and also offer many new upgrades. email [email protected] for more info Mark (AP)

Check the build process of the new SiMan armor which was casted directly from ANH suit and a exact replica. ----------- Surprise!!! parts don't align perfectly either, that's the way the original were, the original molds were hand sculpted and rushed for production, parts were far from perfect, Mark (AP)

Jenny, first time I see photos of you wearing AP armor, you look great!!! fantastic job putting it togheter. Again thank you! Mark (AP)

If the helmet has lineage from a real movie helmet it's impossible to see size difference from maker to maker, the FX now called AM are fan sculpts and way oversized. Yes assembly can make a helmet look bigger or smaller, all depend the angle of face plate, low or high brow also creates illusion of overall size, Hero or Stunt though the parts are the same exact size the hero always looked smaller to me. Your best bet is to get helmet that has lineage from a movie helmet. Mark

Huuumm really! I would like to see a side to side comparisation with measurments, I don't see how ATA could be that bigger then AP which has lineage from a real screen helmet, the only thing that could make ATA look bigger is the assembly, it's usually the angle of which the face and cap are connected togheter. all the parts should be the same size. Mark (AP)

Fiberglass reinforced cutting discs, set dremel at full speed it will cut like in butter. For the straight cuts, use the score and snap technique, just score with exacto knife, I use Olaf brand the ones that you snap off the blades, just score using a ruler, no need to go deep just put a bit of pressure then bend plastic along the scoring line and the plastic will just snap off nice and clean, I actually trimmed a full armor this way in only a few hours no mess but take your time. Mark

Or save yourself all this trouble and get a nice white gloss ABS kit Mark

Yes definetely the solvent is attacking your vinyl stencil. Mark

I used vinyl stencil from Mike and not a single bleed, it's ideal to use a a airbrush or a spraycan, I only use spray method with stencil never a brush, you need to apply light coats and remove masking before paint cures. Here's what I did using Mikes vinyl stencils he custom made for me, it worked like a charm, it was time consuming and tricky to conform to the complex helmet shape, not for the beginner. Mark

Ok I see what you mean, If you look carefully thats a bad pull he did right there, you can actually see a webbing forming on the forehead which runs from bottom to top front, the plastic was too soft or had too much sag creating webbings (wrinkles) Mark

I didn't see the video but I assume this is to help release parts from molds but has nothing to do with eliminating stretch marks, my helmets are made on a 50,000+ machine but you still need the proper setting for ABS, it doesn't mean using a top notch machine the results are going to be automatically good, these big machines are made for mass production forming less complexe parts, a trooper helmet is formed one at a time, then manually remove each formed part from mold then reset machine for the next drop, I could easily pull 5+ AFX helmets in the same time frame it takes to make 1 ANH, AFX have no undercuts and can be self released by machine. Mark

because the top/cap is a tall mold it's difficult to completely eliminate stretch marks, with ABS the heating temp and timing has to be perfect to achieve a consistent stretch over the mold otherwsie the plastic chills as soon it touches the top of mold and thins out stretching down, ABS has to be heated longer and sometimes you need a plug assist, meaning you need to manually help the plastic stretch over the mold as soon as platic touches top of mold to avoid the chill factor, the top will always be thicker then the sides and forehead, no matter how good the pull you will always see some kind of stretch marks, in my case when the stretch marks are not accepatble I just sell them as B grades. Mark

Outer parts overlap inner parts for all legs and arms, but if you use the ANH strip method there's no overlapping you need to trim the parts so they butt each other and cover seems with abs strips, you can do overlapping only on the rear for the legs, but for all the arm parts the strips method is ANH accurate for both sides. Mark

Not the thighs, for the inner left shin I would prefer to get a hold of a original inner shin. Mark

Perfect!!!! Mark

I use Testors Grey #1138 close match to the decals and use Semi Gloss Black for the chin Mark

Thas exactly why I never changed mine, the added part are completely different in shape and stand out, I rather have original parts that match, BTW many armors used in the movie also used same parts for left and right, there's many promo photos showing same arm parts for left and right, one which is very noticeable is the bicep parts. Mark

If you can change them I would, if I was able to notice them from the photos it's even more noticeable in person, my kit comes with same size screw as original, remember it's the small details that make the big difference! Mark

They just seemed too small, I guess it's just a illusion since they are not painted white yet. I would use a larger drill so they sit a little more flush, then use a exacto around edge of hole to create counter sink so screw sits nice and flush. Mark

Did you use the screws that came with kit for the ear pieces? Mark

Rob, using my premarked holes will get you a helmet that looks exactly like the photos I sent you. As you can see there's 3 premarked holes on each side, the middle hole is to attach the face plate, the other 2 are for the ear pieces, you can just drill the middle hole and swivel face plate to desired angle to make desired brow trim sapcing, then drill proper new holes for the ear parts which will hold everything togheter. Mark

Oh I forgot, As you all can see from UPS tracking# his armor is shipping from USA address, like I said all orders are now shipped from USA. Cornelus you always made it sound that I was trying to rip you off after knowing my reputation, if I wanted to steal from you I would have just ignored all your emails, you need to chill out, patience goes a long way. Mark (AP)

Ok since this is now public, I guess he decided to post this after I provided him with tracking# yesterday, here is the original email I sent him yesterday afternoon. From: [email protected] Saved: Tue 1/04/11 7:39 PM To: [email protected] Hello Cornelis UPS has not Picked it up yet but here's the UPS tracking# 1Z7198930394800466 Again very sorry for the delay. Back in late September US customs seized 8 of my packages, I'm still resolving this matter with them, it's something about plastic specs ect... US Custom have been very strict lately, anyhow this happened during the busiest time of year which is right before halloween, this whole situation set me back quite a bit, all my kits are now shipped directly from USA so no more Custom issues, basically I had to replace all 8 seized orders and unfortunately ended short and had no more in stock to send one to Cornelus which was part of the 8 kits missing and had to wait for a new batch to be ready, also the shop I deal with was back logged and could only take me in after he finished his big contract, please understand I deal with a industrial vacuumforming shop which deals with big contracts, they squeeze me in whenever the chance, that is why I only ask for a deposit when not in stock, I had in stock when Cornelus paid me in full but ended being short when because of the 8 seized I had to replace. This is the first time I had problems with Customs, I always try to deliver in a timely manner, I've been very stressed out with all this as I take my reputation very seriously, for the record I still owe 4 kits which are being shipped. Jenny thank for your understanding yours is on the way aswell. I appreciate all who have been very undestanding. I'm a big collector myself and wait months for my expensive props, as you all know which I don't have to explain, we are fortunate that there's people offering awesome props to fullfill our childhood dreams! Sincerely Mark

Yes I see what you mean, but if done correctly you can reproduce a perfect mold replica. The best is to use thin plastic .40 gauge is ideal with many well placed vacuum holes, the plastic at that thickness will get sucked down in the smallest crevises, I'm talking a industrial strenght forming machine here not a homemade shop vac type. To avoid the thin plastic from deforming when pouring the cast material, I usually make a second pull from thicker material just for support, I just sit the thinner pull in the thick one or I put the thin pull in a sandbox so when I pour the platic won't budge. Mark