Sgt-Lynch

I've started mine and was nice to see the tutorials from Mike and this post as (curiously) I had the exact same idea and have the materials already. Question: What did you use for padding? I'm thinking of shape cut foam, but I'm always open to other peoples way of doing things. L.

Merry Christmas eh?

Price is outrageous. Nice lid, but not at the cost of my left arm.

I love internet bravery... it's all good as long as he can hide behind his monitor. Face to face? heh, we all know how that would go. The gene pool is definitely on a downward spiral. FYI: We have internet in Canada... and Craigslist. L.

Funny... she doesn't look Druish! That movie is a gas. Anyone watch Thumb Wars? or for the real old crowd.. anyone remember Hardware Wars?? L.

Great stuff Paul!! I cant wait to participate next year.

I missed The Spice Girls and Milly Vanilly... shucks!

I was watching some reporter actually broadcasting his own house burning down lastnight. Truth be told; you can replace possessions, you can't replace loved ones. Here's hoping for the best from your Northern neighbors! L.

Yeah, the forearms need some trimming, the shoulder bells need to be a little tighter and the back of the calves need a trim too. The armor is wearable, but I walk up stairs like a stiff, old guy that needs a bathroom break. Getting the helmet off feels like I'm in traction too. I'm still fine tuning it, but it's good enough to stand around and hand out candy to the kids. L.

FX.. with the good ol 'bobble head' sized helmet. I'm looking at getting an RT Mod helmet soon. Thanks everyone for your kind words! L. P.S. Sandman... anytime you get yours done give me a shout! I'm up for a day at the Pub in this thing! Why wait for Expo 2008??? hehe

I'm with Chefhawk.... things happen for a reason, as indeed, silly as that may seem when things go bad. It sucks, but I'm sure everyone goes through it at some point in their life. L.

Done for the most part, just some minor fitting left... and just in time for Halloween! Forgot to wear my neckseal http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/Sgt_Lynch/Blog/armor1.jpg I look like crap because I had spent an all-nighter on it. Next stop... 501st! Suggestions/Comments welcome. L.

Killswitch Engage Ozzy 3 Doors Down Three Days Grace Tool 80's Metal

I'm only an inch taller then you (5'9") and got the FX. There is lots of room for trimming and fitting, and it's the cheapest thing going. I'm just finishing mine up and the only pieces I needed to trim more then an inch were the forearms. The helmet is a tad large so I'll be getting a RTmod down the road, but I'll be good for halloween this year easy. Lots of good info here, couldn't have done it without all the help. L.

I put it dead center. Snaps might leave a gap between the fabric and the plate, and since it's fairly rigid, the snaps might pop if you bend over. This is an assumption, not an observation, I used Arrow white rivets on mine.

LOL! Vader's socks! Priceless.

Hehehhe, I was going to say... talking into your belt is going to look kinda odd Nice job!!!

Don't worry about the backs so much, you'll probably have to trim away part of the area where your leg joint is so you can bend your legs and walk properly.

Thanks Why not just hinge the back plate an stuff in a laptop?? L.

Hey! Nice phone!! I wish I had seen your post, never thought of using elastic. Duh! I guess I made the over engineered version. Lynch

I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this. But I haven't seen anything posted so I figured I'd toss this up for anyone who wants to try it. It's basically a mod to make the drop boxes handy storage areas. Seeing how unpractical Stromtrooper Armor is, I needed a place to put my junk (phone, credit cards, cash, keys) So here it is in a nut shell: Home Depot hinge painted white, styrene back plate with raised ridge, drop box. All put together. I haven't decided on the latch to hold it closed yet. Probably a simple push button, but velcro, snaps, magnets, whatever will work. Lynch drop1.webp

I trimmed it to leave the V shape at the front top. Worry about the symmetry first, the smaller issues can be fixed trimming or filing. On the back, where there is that obtrusive lip, I removed just enough so the seam is flat, and the lip butts against the seam. Looks like I'm just one step ahead of you in building my armor. I have everything built, I'm just fitting it now.

I looks like FX. I just finished my legs and had the same problems. I ended up glueing the fronts, because they matched up best, then taped the backs together, checked the fit 10 times, marked off where it all had to be trimmed.. including the raised 'lip', then trimmed and glued the backs. It took the better part of 2 days to get them looking like they were matched. Lynch

I ended up going the Lycra Dive Skin route. Its one piece so I had a zipper put in for 'rest stops'. They are tight, so if you go this route go a minimum of one size up from your measurements. I went up two sizes and it fits comfy. If I had to do it again, I'd probably stick with a once piece. Its a preference thing I suppose. The Dive Skins usually have some logos on them which easily peel off, so you don't have to worry about flashy advertising all over you. They accept sewed on patches very well too. I put an Imperial patch on the breast and it looks great without the armor on.

I ended up there Sunday when I think most people were done. But I did have some great conversations with a few guys that were very helpful... and the armor was amazing! Great show too! BTW, that jawa has a firepower fetish!