runewolf

Yes man thanks for all you have done. Heck if you get to where you can start again, get the kids involved they might enjoy "craft day" with dad

AP, ATA, TM, TE are all more accurate than FX, but FX is easier to assemble.It all comes down to personal preference and how much $$ you want to spend. And yes you can make your own blaster.... In fact there are many fine examples of scratch built metal and PVC blasters on this forum.

Very cool guys! I love the kilted Imperial Officer in the background, talk about a super comfortable outfit! I love the "Abby Road" ! Althought the TX should have been moved back one and someone needed to take off their boots --------------

Fishing for someone with experience in both before I try to reinvent the wheel. Disregarding space requirements for two 4AA battery holders versus 1 9v and 1 2AA holder, how would run times compare between using 8 AA's to give you 12V to using one 9v and two AA's for running a 12V fan like this one-----------

Well I'd planned on getting home about an hour and a half before I actually did, so all I could get done today was glossing the helmet and the endcaps for my thermal detonator. I think bugs hate me or simply cannot resist bright white I have a couple that will need to be sanded out and some spiders decided to send little webbing around... So I'll have to figure out what to do about those fixes. I filled in the ears with plumber's putty and got them looking much better. Hey I think it looks good for my first time building!

FX is ABS plastic. You may luck out and get a helmet that matches, but if not you can always repaint. The boots are not accurate boots. From the CRL requirments: * Boots. These must be white leather or leather like, above ankle, with a flat sole, with small U-shaped elastic sections on both sides of the ankle. Jodhpur-type boots or an equivalent style. No buckles or laces. Elvis or mariachi boots are not acceptable. You can get a really nice and accurate boot for less than $50 from tkboots.com if they have them in your size. Please, spend some time researching on this site and ask questions. There is a wealth of info on here and in the long run it will save you money (or would have since you would not have bought those boots).

Yep should work just fine. Wear eye protection! Even if you think "Ah I don't need it I'm just going to sand this little bit right here." A trip to the ER to get something removed from your eye is no fun. As for what material to use, it depends on what you want to do with it. Display or troop. and what your skill sets are. Since you are asking the question, I'm going to assume that you are not a metalsmith by trade... So if you are looking to do an entirely metal blaster, go for aluminum or if you don't mind paying the $$ copper. Much easier to work with than steel and will be lighter for when you are trooping. I took an easier route after failing to find a suitable metal pipe to work with. I went to Tractor Supply and purchased a 1 1/4" low pressure PVC drain pipe and the PVC blaster kit from Doopydoos.com . It made my life so much easier. I used the templates from the blaster builders website you posted to mark and drill all the holes and then used an exacto knife (I didn't have a dremel yet) to cut out the ejector ports and the bolt guide slot. I'm waiting to get a resin scope and power cylinders to finish it out, but if I had all the parts on hand I could have made this one in a few days.

Ah, I know of similar stuff here. I used non-latex caulk on mine and it is not doing as well as I hoped. It is still spongy, so I can't decide if I'm going to try to remove it or use the putty to force it into the ear more and then be able to sand the putty smooth. I'm sure I could layer the paint on the ears enough to make it look smooth as is, but I'm not happy with it right now.

Very nice job man, looking better than mine hehe. What did you use to fill the gaps in the ears?

Maybe try another address mate. Do you have a gmail account or something you can try from? These guys are being slammed with emails from all of us, but somehow they are keeping it going and replying in a few days at the latest. I think you posted the right email address that you were sending to, if not here it is again: troopersupplies@hotmail.com

Hehe, my post has become a teaching post

For stunt: Eight cut teeth (4 / side) on frown For hero: Six cut teeth (3 / side) on frown I'm doing an ANH Stunt

I bought my Humbrol paint from http://www.squadron.com/ if you need a source for it.

Well I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I used some caulk on the ears to close up the gaps. I'll post a new pic once it dries enough to sand. I may have to do a bead over what is there now. I got a little too antsy trying to clean up the caulk that was outside the ears and left a kinda rough edge. But easy enough to fix up before I gloss it.

Great job man! Hopefully not too far behind you if I can get the weather to co-op.

It is a great price for armor. And I will say that at the armor party I went to, I did change some minds about the quality of HIPS. I had a sandy that was really impressed by the armor and is considering getting an entire new suit to go shiny for a while in lol.

Glad to see that mine wasn't the only one that looked like the back was not going to fit right! Nice looking helmet! Kind, here is a complete ATA for you to see. Mine will hopefully be done in the next few weeks. -----------

No the bottom of the ears look ok, need a little bit of sanding there, I just hate the gaps on the side.

I'm using a Krylon white primer. It was about 65 -68 degrees when I started painting and I was having a little problem with the paint building up on the front of the nozzle and when I shook the can it was ending up on my finger, so by the time I stopped, my finger was glued to the can lol. Overall I think it is working out ok, I just need some wet sanding and then the gloss coat. I'm using Rustolium High Performance Gloss White.

Thanks Gos! It could be better ( I trimmed too much from the ears before I had the helmet assembled). Now for some wet sanding and a warm enough day to gloss it!

Well finally had a decent day to start primering some of the parts and took the time this morning to finish putting my helmet together. I still haven't gotten the shins done or all the strips added down the arms and legs, but those will get done over the next two weeks I hope. I have to say the helmet has come together better than I thought it was going to a few days ago!

ArrrgH! If I do not get a scope and power cylinders, I'm not going to make it in time! Two orders from people outside the USA and both seem to be lost somewhere... I need a USA supplier or someone that has a spare they can spare!

You are correct.

Absolutely! and the price looks to be less than $500 which is great! The more I think about it, you could do the mods and when you need to troop with it, replace the barrel with a solid wood barrel and you are golden.

While it would be very cool to have and use, most places would not allow it to be used for trooping. It would have to be made to where it could not chamber or fire live rounds. Even in our little gun friendly town, I've seen years that our annual parade has reduced our cowboys to carrying cap guns.