Rich330[TK] Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 No doubt you'll be surprised that I haven't spammed the heck out of the forum with millions of photos of my build. Well, I've been unusually busy of late and, strangely for me, I've not been able to take an extended period of time off to just sit down and build my armour. Add to that a rather annoying postal loss which has stopped me adding the final press stud fastenings to my armour, and the whole thing has been a bit stop-start. Nearly finished though and I will post photos of the construction and a final suit-up here when I'm done. Nevertheless, I did want to quickly offer leave some feedback on the armour and dealing with the chaps at RS. Much in line with my excellent experiences with other UK armour suppliers (TM, CfO), the service from RS has been absolutely spot-on. Quick communication, regular updates on everything, very flexible and immediate help on hand for minor problems (of my own causing). A+, chaps. And the armour? It's a first generation cast direct from original ANH armour. It's a trooper's dream. And most importantly, they've done a great job of capturing all those never-seen-before details. Looking at the state of Simon's suit, I imagine it was tricky work, but they've done very well. I sometimes find myself just sitting and staring at certain parts of it, e.g. the biceps, the thighs. That said, it's a little bit more of a challenge to build than a TM. But that's to be expected. TM is a pretty much perfect design, built from scratch so that every part matches and includes quite a lot of allowance on the moulds for tailored trimming. Paul has spoiled us over the years. The RS is a direct cast of one suit, built in a certain way, with all the little quirks. The lower leg assemblies are not for the faint-hearted, i.e. they consist of four outer parts and zero inner parts. An absolutely authentic part of Lucasfilm wardrobe department history on one hand, a little bit tricky to build on the other. I know the guys added a sculpted left arm to replace the duplicated right arm in the kit. Maybe this is another possible sculpted option to offer in the future? Maybe offer the 100% authentic quirky version for authentic replicas and the option of a set of shins that can be built as they were meant to be originally? My intention is to do a bit of mixing and matching and have both my authentic replica and then combine my suit with parts of a TM suit for trooping comfort. Anyway, I don't want to end on what sounds like a negative. I absolutely love the RS armour as it is. All in all it is unbeatable. The first geenration cast from ANH is what we'd long dreamed of. And luckily, it fell into the hands of Rob and Simon who look to have a very reliable setup. It's been a pleasure dealing with them. Pictures soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper1972 Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 I have seen the RS armour for myself and it is beautiful. Unfortunately being a bigger guy I will never get to wear such an awesome looking set but I may purchase one a build just to display.. I look forward to seeing your pics Rich, when you get round to blitzing us with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-4510[501st] Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Interesting, I was not aware that the shins were all outside parts. Do you have some pics of what your tlking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted December 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 I don't have any but there are plenty of current build threads on here at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted December 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Well, I finally got something finished to show you ... An ANH helmet, built by Rob (after I ballsed up my first one) and painted by me. I went for a clean freshly-painted-straight-out-of-the-props-department look with no fake paint chips. Wanted it to contrast my other helmet which I'm still hoping to save and finish as a chipped-look ESB helmet. On this one, it's just three coats of gloss pure white. My clothears belt also arrived so all I am waiting for now is my snaps issue to be resolved, so I'll soon have a complete suit. Nearly there ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW1 Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 ohh yes mate iam a liking , no more ear ake , what did you think mate when you were putting the armour together ? , i know its being a bit of a challange here but getting there with the PVC , i am waiting on my Clothears belt and holster , and a few other bits , cant wait to see some of your pics of the armour mate , Happy new year to you and Coney xxx . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billhag Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Rich Looking pretty darn sexy there mate The RS lid is just....beautiful. I'm not ashamed to say that I've spent many, many hours with one of these in my mits and I've not been able to take may eyes off of it. Great review by the way, and I'm looking forward to the build coming together matey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted December 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Thanks for looking, chaps. I do love my helmet. I'd like to tackle another myself one day but I was glad Rob put this one together. It's perfick! what did you think mate when you were putting the armour together ? , i know its being a bit of a challange here but getting there with the PVC In ABS it goes together great. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being TM (perfect fit, everything goes together totally easy) and 0 being anonymous armour (ROTJ-derived armour which has been f**ked about with so often and comes in a really heavy grade plastic and is a complete nightmare to build) ... ... I'd say RS 1.5mm ABS is a 9/10. The finishing strips take a little bit more clamping and I had to reshape one edge on the return edge of a thigh if I remember rightly but that's about it. And just look at those biceps! And those thighs! GRRRR! Happy new year to you and Coney xxx . Cheers, mate. Same to you and yours. See you in spring maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted January 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 With the excpetion of the thermal detonator, my build is complete ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted January 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 ... and this little lot if now for sale (details here: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=18252&hl=&fromsearch=1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locitus[Admin] Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Stunning work mate! But why the sale? I though this would be your new primary trooping kit. Good luck either way. Whoever snaps this up will be very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted January 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thank you, Mathias. I enjoyed the build and I think I did a good job. I'm having a total clear out and am selling all my stormtrooper armour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locitus[Admin] Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Aww man. Good luck with all that and hope you get cash you want for them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinSivertsen[501st] Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I feel a great disturbance in the force :-( Hope it works out for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted January 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I feel a great disturbance in the force :-( Hope it works out for you! Thanks, man. It will. And I'm sure we'll find a good home for this lovely set of armour too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebladejedi[TK] Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Top job on the armour build mate you look like you just left the set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Top job on the armour build mate you look like you just left the set Cheers, mate. It was a lot of fun to build. No need for adjustments. If you build the RS the same way as the originals, it simply is a stormtrooper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW1 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Hi mate , awsome build a true ANH Stormtrooper , Rich did you trim a lot of the bottom of the shins ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Hi mate , awsome build a true ANH Stormtrooper , Rich did you trim a lot of the bottom of the shins ? I tried to follow the natural line as much as possible. With these I find that they need to be cut with a steep arc. The U-shaped bits at the sides which cover the ankles swoop down low, but at the front and the back the cut goes quite high, so they look long but fit nice and low over your boots. If you don't cut the steep swoop, they'll be left too long I think. I know you always trimmed a bit off the bottoms on your TM so you might have to do the same on these for comfort. From memory they are pretty much the same length along the finishing strips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubVADER[501st] Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 beautiful stuff and i've got to say that the 330 in your avatar is equally as beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich330[TK] Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 beautiful stuff and i've got to say that the 330 in your avatar is equally as beautiful. Haha, thanks. My old faithful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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