ZeroRoom[TK] Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) Hi everyone ZeroRoom (Lucas) here. I've been lurking around these forums making the odd post here and there for around 4 years now, but mostly reading. Reading, reading and more reading. Like most of you here I've dreamed of wearing white armor since I was 3 years old. (there's a story there but I'll tell it some other time ) However, while I've kept in contact with my local garrison, picked up and proudly displayed an MRCE and stuck to weekly research here at FISD, it was not until now (25 years later) that I was in a financial position to make the dream a reality. Most of this was getting my business/ financial stability off the ground and much was due to the traditionally terrible exchange rate between the Australian and US dollar. Now that both the Australian dollar and my personal finances have risen, I have finally had the chance to make the leap and drop the cash for my personal set of armor. After years of weighing I decided to go with AM. Knowing that a lot of you are in the same position as myself, carefully researching BEFORE committing to a maker/ build (which I encourage anyone to do) I thought I'd start a post explaining the ins and outs of my decision for those considering their own. So without further ado: Why I chose AM Lite for my first set of armor. 1: Fit I'm 6'2". I'm slender (160 pounds) but have long legs and arms and was very concerned about proportion. My research has taught me that you can be any size difference from an on screen TK but proportions make all the difference. This has to do with the gaps between the shins and thighs around the knees, the arm gaps at the elbows and the shoulder/ chest plate gaps. Looking at other armor this definitely meant for me that that the shins, thighs and forearms would be a crucial element in making my armor look it's best. Particularly in the shins and forearms 100% screen accurate scale armor would look weirdly short on me. AM armor has also been sized on the press to fit larger individuals both in height and girth. As I said I'm thin and this did concern me but that's what trimming is for! Weight aside - if you are taller AM is scaled slightly longer and that is important for the 6' plus wanna be trooper. 2: Ease of assembly Remember this is my first TK suit build. Not only is it widely reported that the AM kit is one of the easier assemblies (for example it comes pre trimmed) but having read nigh on every single build thread on FISD it was easy to a certain that an AM build would be the simplest starting point. (Go PandaTrooper!) I work as an artist/ designer and have a great deal of experience with sculpture and industrial design of various kinds, so I have confidence in my skills, but I also have enough experience to know that you should always start easy and never overestimate your skills when building something you have never built before. 3: Idealised trooper vision It's no secret that AM is far from the most screen accurate armor but there is more to it than that. Firstly (as discussed above) truly screen accurate wouldn't look screen accurate on me due to my body proportions. Secondly it is, and always has been, my intention to go idealized over screen accurate. As I mentioned this has been a SERIOUS dream since childhood (I even dreamed up the idea of vacuum forming armor on my high school's vacuum table before I'd even heard of the 501st) so it was natural that I started with the presumption that full blown screen accurate was the only way to go. Intensive research and hours upon hour on FISD however demonstrated clearly to me that the amount of mistakes/ variations/ quick fixes on screen used armor kits varied so much form trooper to trooper that to live the dream as I had always imagined it meant developing a coalescence of various trooper elements to create a stormtrooper as I had always imagined them to look. (ie: no gaffer tape!) AM fits this bill with a bit of work and I have no doubt in my anal retentive attention to detail in making my own decisions as to which inaccuracies to fix and which to keep for the sake of idealism. 4: Fan Sculpt Since discovering the 501st and the FISD I have developed a real respect and affection for the "garage" work of the committed fans who use any and every method available to make this stuff for themselves. The idea of some screen lineage is obviously important for some troopers and I totally understand this but I really began to focus on RT, TM and AM as my love for the idea that this was original fan work, blood, sweat and tears that had sculpted this stuff. I suppose I am biased as a designer myself but I love the idea of a sculpt from scratch and this kind of dedication is the kind I'd rather reward with my money. 5: Customer Service Obviously I wasn't in a position to discover this until I actually placed my order but I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to praise the friendliness, professionalism and pleasure of dealing with Mighty Tank. A great communicator, he provided me with unbelievably fast replies to my enquiries, shipped like lightning, gave me tracking details and generally made the experience a pleasure. I could not recommend his services more. So that sums up the decision making process behind my choice of armor. It is not a recommendation - we all have our own specifics wants and needs when choosing our armor. I just wanted to provide a post that might add some "why" to the what's and how's so graciously provided on the FISD. Regardless of your final choice I hope that if you are in th market for your first TK kit this post will help you weigh up your options. Stay tuned for the "what was it like when it got here?' review! Edited May 10, 2011 by ZeroRoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroRoom[TK] Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) Post Edited By ZeroRoom - Photos fixed and thread moved--------- Edited January 25, 2021 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkrestonva[TK] Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Great post! It sounds like you took your time, considered your circumstances and options, and came to a well-considered solution. Can't ask for much more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Femtrooper Julie[501st] Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Good choice! I LOVE how shiny and pretty the AM stuff is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-2126_MD[TK] Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 very well stated and a good resume! I am currently in debating between AM ABS & a ATA ABS for my self...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroRoom[TK] Posted May 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) Anybody else getting question marks where the pics should be? Not sure what I'm doing wrong here- the code is right but the pics seem to come and go of there own accord. Are they visible? {EDIT}: Think I got it fixed. Let me know Edited May 11, 2011 by ZeroRoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Femtrooper Julie[501st] Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 "X" for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroRoom[TK] Posted May 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) Grrrrrr... no time to fix it now - will have to get back to it later... Fingers crossed I've just fixed it - let me know. Thanks I don't get it! I edit the post fix it up and the images are there fine and dandy and then I come back 20 minutes later and they're gone again!?? Anyone know what the hell is going on? Are there any known problems with images hosted on MobileMe accounts? Edited May 11, 2011 by ZeroRoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroRoom[TK] Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Thanks tkrestonva! I know that AM is often dismissed as an armor kit for "John Citizen" and not for the serious trooper. I just wanted to show that there is more to it than that when it comes to serious decision making and I can safely say having had the armor arrived I made the right call. Now it's just up to my build skills to get it right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroRoom[TK] Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the heads up Julie. Fixed the photos and moved the thread----------- Edited January 25, 2021 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboxer[501st] Posted May 15, 2011 Report Share Posted May 15, 2011 Thanks tkrestonva! I know that AM is often dismissed as an armor kit for "John Citizen" and not for the serious trooper. I just wanted to show that there is more to it than that when it comes to serious decision making and I can safely say having had the armor arrived I made the right call. Now it's just up to my build skills to get it right! Lucas, thumbs up on the AM armor choice! My AM armor is trooped in constantly and seems quite allright with my squad members (Star Garrison- North Texas Squad). I would consider myself a "serious trooper" too... serious enough to have been granted EIB status with my AM kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD-3425 Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) Ordered my AM set today. I am a large guy (6'3", 210lbs) and so AM was definitely the choice for me from all I read. I haven't received my brown box yet, but I highly recommend Mighty Tanks kits, and that recommendation is based solely on my interactions with email and questions. Super professional, to say I was impressed with even just that would be an understatement! I look forward to receiving my armor and getting everything ready! Can't wait! Southern California Garrison Edited September 15, 2011 by Trooper324 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdfeed Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 So, I've gathered that the AM armor is best for larger people, but what about for smaller people? I'm 5'6" and 118 lbs, so would the AM not be good for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroRoom[TK] Posted September 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 If I were you at that size I would definitely go with kits like TE2, AP or TM. TM being super accurate and TE2 or AP being screen derived, all are already leaning toward the slender smaller trooper. AM would take soooooo much trimming to get to your size. All the info indicates that the average on screen TK was 5'10"-11" and slim so take advantage of the fact that you can go screen accurate. You'll still need to do some trimming Mark Hammill style but not anything like you'd need to do with AM. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdfeed Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 (edited) If I were you at that size I would definitely go with kits like TE2, AP or TM. TM being super accurate and TE2 or AP being screen derived, all are already leaning toward the slender smaller trooper. AM would take soooooo much trimming to get to your size. All the info indicates that the average on screen TK was 5'10"-11" and slim so take advantage of the fact that you can go screen accurate. You'll still need to do some trimming Mark Hammill style but not anything like you'd need to do with AM. Hope this helps That helps immensely. Thanks! Are you familiar with the fit for ATA, by chance? Edited September 23, 2011 by birdfeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroRoom[TK] Posted September 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 I'm not personally familiar, but I do know it derives from the TE lineage so I'd say it's the same fit. Paul actually owns both so let's see if he chimes in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle84 Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Just for clarification purposes, I am 5'11 and 210 lbs. AM armor? I too have been having a back and forth with Mighty Tank and I would have to agree with your statements about the excellent customer service. I am currently waiting for more lite kits to be produced and I'm on my way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazoaj Posted September 27, 2011 Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 whats the best way to contact them? I'm itching to get my first set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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