troopermaster

Does anyone know where I can get some yellow foam for the maple leaf shaped helmet liner? It looks to be roughly 20mm or 3/4" thick from what I can tell. The only stuff I can find here in the UK is blue foam which is no good, so if anyone knows where I can get some (or can get me some ) I would be very grateful. Cheers!

Thanks for the link Pete, I just bought a pair to try I usually use heavy duty snips for cutting plastic, but I have to admit that cutting curves is very hard and these scisssors look great. I actually like my Dremel and use it with the sanding drum to sand away the plastic after I have cut close to my pencil lines with my snips. I then scrape off any excess with a razor blade which usually gives me a nice smooth finish. If not, then I use some sandpaper to make it smooth.

The Humbrol grey is terrible. Every tin I buy is the same. It's thin and streaky, and you really have to mix it well to get any kind of good coating. I mix it up with the handle of my paint brush, stirring it really fast, then scrape of any thick stuff into the rim of the paint tin and use that to paint with. Most of the other colours seem fine, and only need a quick stir to get a nice covering, though I have had a similar problem with satin black.

Can you remember what you were wearing 30 years ago? I know I can't (probably because I was 6 at the time ) We know for a fact that actors in the OT have got details wrong in the past. I doubt for one second anyone thinks that these people are lying, just mistaken. People want to believe them just because they were there, but the evidence is out there which goes against what they are saying. Now, if this person has photos of leather belt, that's great and would back up what he is saying. Like I said, there may have been the odd leather belt knocking around but the majority, if not all the belts were canvas.

The belts are canvas, no doubt about it. I suppose it's possible a few 'may' have been leather 'if' the costume department ran out of canvas while making the belts. Your friend in ANH could easily be mistaken as it was over 30 years ago. I've asked questions to ANH stormtrooper actors at the cons and they don't always give me the correct answers. Even though they believe they are right in what they are saying, I have evidence to the contrary. It was just another acting job to them and I doubt they took that much notice to the costumes they wore.

I agree with Joe. All the ROTJ screen helmets have rounded off frowns from what I have seen over the years. I believe the helmet and armour featured on SWH.com in the link above is an ESB promo suit made before ROTJ, but made from the same moulds that made the ROTJ armour. It may have been used on screen, but as I say, I've not seen a helmet with a squared off frown.

Personally, I like to trim the general shape of the face and back-cap before I do the final trimming. I trim the main two pieces and offer them up for assembly. You don't really want to use the drill marks on the AP helmet, just get the face where you want it, which would be tilting slightly forward, and you won't need to trim too much of the forehead to raise the brow up.Then, drill your own holes to bolt or rivet the two parts together. Only trim the ear caps once you have assembled your helmet and again, try not to use the trim lines when cutting the ear caps as you will find some gaps if you haven't used the pre-marked drill holes. Keep trimming bits off the ear caps at a time and keep offering them up against the helmet to get a good fit. Slight gaps are nothing to worry about

ROTJ stormtroopers had webbing belts, but the ANH and ESB were definately 100% canvas. If your looking to make one, try and find denim canvas at your local fabric store. There are other types of canvas available, but I believe that denim is the closest to the originals. A small strip of velcro keeps the belt closed at the rear.

Fantastic work as usual Keith! Great job mate

As far as I know, the missing parts from the original ROTJ armour that was recast was missing the full belt assembly (canister, main belt and drop boxes), knee plate, thigh box strap, shoulder straps, inner left shin, inner left forearm, inner left bicep, outer right bicep, outer right forearm. The arm and leg pieces were doubled up from the existing parts to make up the complete set. All the other parts were scratch built. Later, the doubled up parts were replaced with parts from a Tour Suit. The TE2 moulds have been remade a few times during their lifetime, and each time losing the original lineage. As far as the original armour, the arms and legs are handed, just not identically mirrored.

No matter how much you trim or position your armour, it will never look like the original ANH armour. The fact is that every single part of your armour is different in shape and size compared to the originals unfortunately, so it can only resemble ANH. Plus, the assembly and the correct plastic are key factors here. I'm not knocking your suit, just stating facts.

Every part of the original ANH armour is unique (except the drop boxes on the belt). Brian may have tried to sculpt the arms and legs symetrical, but I remember him saying something along the lines of "I would sculpt each part (or parts) and they would be cast by the plasterers" so I am assuming that he may have not had the opposite side of the arms and legs to use as reference to get them symetrical or mirrored. Plus, it may have not even been an issue at the time, as long as they 'looked' the same? The arms and legs are all different sizes and not the same for left and right. The TE2 armour is a mix and match. If I remember correctly, the original TE ANH was different from the TE2 as new moulds were made a few years back. The lost parts were added from a tour suit as well as other parts which were scratch built when the original ROTJ was recast. The new moulds that were made were altered and lost some of original look. This is only for the body armour though, not the helmet, which is fantastic! I think the TE2 armour is a 3rd or 4th generation recast of the original ROTJ while the helmet is a 1st generation recast of the original ANH helmet.

Here's my ANH hero suit. Sorry about the bad quality photos, my crappy camera was on the wrong setting (again )

It's not that good Jez I bought it a few years ago, strictly for the trooper suits, the rest is total garbage! I got the Star Wars Donny and Marie show for the same thing. Real screen used suits, I just wish the picture quality was better.

I Know...strange innit Move along......

Congratulations Garth Great job on the eyes too! I think your the first person I've seen trim out the eyes correctly instead of leaving that horrible stye in the eye which makes the AP look bad. Well done!

Are you able to supply these in a matt finish Mike? Here are some hi-res photos of a tour suit. The decals are the same as ROTJ but they do look to have a sheen on them where ROTJ seem flat. I don't have any of the rear traps unfortunately. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/the_prop_master/Stormtrooper_Paris001.jpg

Anyone looking for a simple and effective strapping system should try this.... Just add extra snaps on the elastic if you want to adjust anything

I have standard brow trim if that's any good to you? PM me if you'd like some.

I'd put dyed Jodhpurs at the top of the list myself. That's what they used on screen so how can you get any better than that Just my opinion of course

Who made the armour Dan? I don't recognise it.

Satin black for ESB teeth and vocoder

I use silicone sealant regularly and the best way to get a neat finish is to apply the silicone to the desired area, then spray a fine mist of soapy water over the silicone before you touch it. This will guarantee that the silicone will only stick to where you have applied it and not anywhere else. Rub smooth with a wet finger but be warned, silicone can be toxic so sticking your fingers in your mouth is not always the best idea.

You can get all your snaps and elastic on ebay. The good thing is you just type in what you want, buy it and it gets delivered to your door. I've found that you can buy full rolls of elastic for the same price as a few metres in the shops. Whoever you get your snaps from will probably sell the setting tool as well. HTH's

Got any pics Kev?