Peregrinus

One of the armour makers lauded on this board goes by the term "RT-MOD". He's a tallish bloke, who made his own armour to fit his frame, so it's well-suited to people over the 5'10" ideal of the more authentically-sized armours out there -- and more film-accurate in detailing than FX, the other "big" armour out there. --Jonah

Yup. It's called "orangepeel", for it's resemblance to same. --Jonah

Just make sure of the temperature and humidity. A lot of spray paints don't like cold temperatures or high humidity, and you might end up having to sand and do over. If there's any way you could hang some plastic sheeting in the storage shed and bring in a space heater... --Jonah

Not even a basement? Do you have a public storage facility nearby that would let you rent a 10'x10' locker on a daily pro-rate? As for garage issues, I've figured out over the past year (since last Winter) how to hang painting dropsheets (couple bucks at most) from the garage door tracks to make a three-sided full-height painting booth, with another draped over whatever stand I was using to hold up whatever I was painting. Overspray is almost non-existant. Of course, I also have a heater and dehumidifier in there, and good lighting. It's a very comfortable work environment for the sorts of things that get stuff everywhere, like filing, sanding, spraying, and the like. Of course, when I'm working, it eliminates the use of one of the bays by my parents for things like... oh... a car. --Jonah

Wonder if that was before or after similar details were added to the backs of the TIE pilot helmets... But in this case, I'm glad those were removed. --Jonah

And Mark, read past the tone of these posts to the substance. It wouldn't matter how many coats of paint on the outside, or how they were applied; the new moulds were struck from the inside -- where no paint was -- and nothing that was on the outside of the bucket would have made a bit of difference. So either AA didn't quite cotton to what you were asking, or made something up on the spot rather than saying he didn't know what you were talking about. Either way, his answer doesn't jibe with observed phenomena. --Jonah

I ended up with a Scout helmet that turned out to be nothing more than a fiberglass recast of an unmodified Rubies. The maker will remain nameless, as he is no longer welcome round these here parts. I'm butchering it into an accurate original Storm Commando (not the black Scout), as it's useless as an actual Scout helmet. *heh* I was a little miffed as the maker advertised it as an original sculpt, so my annoyance is more that it wasn't accurately represented than that it was a recast -- but it being recast was part of what annoyed me about the misrepresentation. So, gonna do my best to make a silk purse out of it. But since I originally got it to give Jen something wearable until I got her an MLC, and I have since gotten her an MLC, it had no further purpose. I think if you inadvertently find yourself with a recast item, get a non-recast when you can, and see if you can think of something else to do with the sow's ear you ended up with. --Jonah

He's talking about the shoulder bells, not the shoulder straps -- the straps he refers to are, I'm assuming, the straps that hold the bells onto the harness. I seem to remember there being a direction to the "swoop", but I'll yield to someone who knows this part more concretely than I do... --Jonah

Well, I said a while back what I considered to be the distinction between recasting and reproducing. At the time TE made his mould from the inside of a screen-used helmet -- whatever was done to it and whoever else it or copies of it went to (legitimately) down the road, it was a reproduction of something that was, at the time, not available elsewhere. George and his legal team know of our use of helmets made from moulding one of his originals, and he doesn't care so long as the makers don't advertise publicly. Which is why he went after AA like a ton'o'bricks. Recasting in the currently-discussed context is striking a mould off of a non-original reproduction (further modified or not) of an original prop -- i.e., profiting from someone else's work when that work is currently available elsewhere. If Meatstock had secured his own original helmet (or the use of someone else's) and struck a mould off of it to turn into a forming buck, that would put him in with TE, GF, AP, and so forth. As it is, no. --Jonah

They know me well at my local Ace Hardware. I spend a lot of time in the plumbing and electrical aisles. I always tell them, blank looks or not, and promise to bring in whatever it is the bits are for when finished. They love my force pike, and that something that's cobbled together from hardware looks so cool. They're fascinated by the idea of a $20 lightsaber. --Jonah

I'll second the idea of asking the legit makers if they have any reject helmet bits they'd be willing to part with for a discount, since you're going to be painting it. I want you to have your Shadowtrooper, and without bankrupting you, and with no stain on it. --Jonah

I know the 501st has no "official" stance on recasting, but my personal take is: once someone finds out something is a recast, how could they even possibly still consider getting it? I don't care if the price is good. This isn't a hobby for the impatient. Save up a bit longer and get one of the honest makers' offerings. I don't rant as vitriolically as some on these boards about recasters, but I still feel pretty strongly about it. Luis, are you getting it from Meatstock, or from someone who bought it themselves some time ago? --Jonah (P.S. Ease up on the punctuation, there. One or two are plenty to get the point across. *heh*)

I'd suggest getting some black panty hose and cutting out little bits to glue down inside the holes, and then back those up with wire mesh if you feel they need more structure to them. Alternatively, take some plastic strip, paint satin black, and glue behind the holes -- leaving a millimetre or two for air to pass. Then back up with black panty hose to prevent any light bleed. I'm still working on alternative "invisible" mounting rigs to help bolster the illusion. --Jonah

I'm working on one of my unstarted faceplates now to show where the centrelines of various features are -- chin grille, frown, nose, goggles -- to show how they don't line up. Not to mention the traps and tears and aerator shrouds are different sizes/shapes from one side to the other. --Jonah

Thanks, Paul. That's the thread I was looking for earlier and couldn't find. --Jonah

Fair enough, but -- from either of those -- what am I asking for/looking for? In looking at the first site, I found three or four that looked correct-ish... --Jonah

Which is the one used for edging the ROTJ armour? --Jonah

When it occurred to me to think about it, I preferred to think that Luke and Leia's innate Force-sensitivity, and Han's probably-Force-derived uncanny luck were warping those 'Troopers' perceptions and causing them to miss just enough. It wouldn't have been enough to defend against a point-blank, carefully-aimed shot, but the hastily-snapped-off shots of a running firefight can be nudged astray by the strong Force-assisted desire to not be shot. This is also how I explain Luke making it to the end of the trench. He was even throwing his dad's aim off. Look how badly Vader overcorrected when he was aiming low and then hit Artoo. *heh* --Jonah

Wish I had video of Han and Chewie doing the Young Frankenstein "Puttin' On The Ritz" act from Celebration III... --Jonah

In the PS2 version, at least, you can only play as a Stormtrooper, Navy Commando, or EVO Trooper. Finished the game and I'm going back and picking up the holocrons I missed. A lot here for Special Ops, Sovereign Protectors, BikerScout.net, and the Armored Cavalry Division, but so far, all the otherwise standard Stormtrooper armors but the plain white ROTJ Stormtrooper have Clone bits. I'll have pics to post in the next day or two. --Jonah

"It's 'Frahnken-SCHTEEN'!"

Right, but not all the NPCs are unlockable costumes. And I don't know of any cheats that give you all the holocrons... --Jonah

More of a mishmash than that, after looking closer. Thighs, knees, and forearms are TK. THe rest is probably TC. The helmet is a clone helmet around the top and back, with no mohawk, and a TK faceplate. I recently finished on Felucia, but I didn't get any good grabs of the 'Troopers there. I've got over half the holocrons now, but none of them are of the Felucia Stormtrooper Commander (yet). Or the Shadow Guard, Senate Guard, Temple Guard, EVO Trooper... *heh* --Jonah

Having had a few days to look at what I have and ponder in light of the discussion and advice here... I'm going to keep working on the one I'd already cut apart. Once it's done and we can all see how it looks. At that point I'll make a choice about the other two. Can that be an acceptable compromise for the time being? --Jonah

Brian, thanks for your concerns. I really only bought one MR CE so I could fondle it and examine it in person, see how it compares to the TE2, its suitability as a guide for potential mods -- either way... That sort of thing. And I know from the MR CE mod threads that I can then fix it into something closer to the look of the original. That one, I'm going to paint red and use for my Royal Guard Stormtrooper armour. As for the concerns over my brutalizing the TE2s... They're accurate, not that expensive, easy to work with, and Tony's a sweetheart to work with. But I don't consider it a movie-TK holy grail. If that were my aim, I'd have gone for a TE HDPE or Dan Laws' new offering. Thank you all for helping me think this through, though. More WIP pics forthcoming. I have a roll of film to finish and develop first. --Jonah