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Armor sizing question


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Forgive if this question is in the wrong location. I'm still trying to navigate my way around this place. I have begun the long and exhauting (in a good way) search for the right armor for me. While I have seen plenty of posts on selecting armor for larger individuals, I have not seen any on what I will call Stormtrooper average. I'm 5'10" and about 170 lbs, putting me only a few holiday treats above the average built of a trooper in ANH. Money aside, are there any armors that are better suited to this average build, or are most of them made for average size (putting aside say RT-Mod which seems to be for larger troopers). Looking at the ATA Armor kit or the AM armor with the ATA helmet as of now, but open to other suggestions. Thanks for looking.

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With your screen-accurate height, your good to go for most (if not all) screen accurate armors.

For example, RS,TM, ATA, AP,T/MC, etc.

The problem might be your abdominal girth. Keep in mind, that the actors were pretty skinny, so that you maybe need to shim at the sides of the abdomen

 

Man, believe me: you don´t want to get yourself an AM ( also the old AM is not produced at the moment, cause they are working on new molds)

I got one, and I´m 6´00 and also about 170 lbs.

It would have been much easier for me to buy a screen accurate armor, cause many parts of the AM are so extended, that you need to trim it extensively to your height.

Especially the chest and back piece will need much trimming, then you want to create a new return edge with an heat sealing iron, and in the end it is still to big.....

To much work for a not screen accurate armor.

But hey, we all build our armor and in the end, find something that we might have changed if we only knew it before :D

Have fun with your build, regardless which armor you choose ;)

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Good advice, for which I thank you. I know (or believe anyway) AM is simply the 'new FX' or at least from the same makers. I'm intrigued by the ATA and shot an email over to him. As for the waistline, I hear you. Not a lot of girth on my end (thankfully! ;) ) but neither am I as thin as they actors were in ANH. We shall see, but I'll expect a little work in that area just in case.

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I have an ATA kit, I'm 5'11" and 155pds. My waistline is 32 inches. My Kit fit me pretty well with minimal trimming in the chest and ab sections. I still have quite a bit of wiggle room in the torso area. I trimmed quite a bit off the thigh area.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Definitely nothing bad to say about ATA. Great customer service. Always answered my emails within a day. Might be a little waiting list though.

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Really happy with my ATA I am 6 foot and 152lbs and take 30 jeans (sorry no US conversion lol) I built with only small cover strips and a fair bit of trimming, could have gone more but wanted to leave some room in case I added any weight down the track. Good luck what you decide.

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I'm 5'9" 170 and the AM shoulders, forearms, biceps and shins fit perfect on me. I had to cut the cod and trim the chest plate, hands, and top of the thighs but it paid off for the reduced price and gained some experience with proper fit/scaling and stuff that I feel I wouldn't have gotten if I paid more for a kit that fit out of the box. But I digress, AP and ATA were my other choices, I like the non screen accurate "cleaned up" look the AM gives me :)

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I aapreciate all of the input. I reached out to ATA and they (he) already go back to me. There is about a 6 month wait on armor although he does have buckets available now. I have a lot of prep work (selling stuff to raise the money :P ) so that's not a problem for me. But I'm still going to check out the other makers too just to be sure.

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I aapreciate all of the input. I reached out to ATA and they (he) already go back to me. There is about a 6 month wait on armor although he does have buckets available now.

My wait for ATA was 18 weeks at first then I think at the end it blew out to 21 weeks. I purchased the helmet first which was a nice way to start, then went about purchasing everything I needed for the armor build. Made a few blasters, belts, neck seals, there is a lot to keep you busy. ATA has had a lot of interest since I ordered mine and is becoming quite popular hence the long wait. Good luck what you decide :duim:

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Any suit will do you fine. I'm 6'0" and 180lbs and fit in to TE type armor (TE2, ATA). The only issue I have are the legs are a little short. TM will do you well too as it's only a bit bigger than TE type. RT could fit, but is usually best for taller or larger troopers really.

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I get the impression that ATA is so popular due to quality for affordability. Like I said, I need to wait a bit on purchase anyway until funds are freed up so that wait is not a negative. But I will still contact the other guys and chat with them. I did run out to Lowe's last night for something and picked up a pack of 14 clamps for future use! Baby steps, right. I have the Dremel, drill, and other tools already.

 

Actually, on further review, since neither TE2 nor AM are presently taking orders, it looks like the option for US purchase boils down to ATA (or ordering from Canada -- AP or RT mod). Boy the info you guys have put together here is really amazing.

Edited by Ibnzbass4
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True Bill. ATA is not the most accurate (TM and RS are better in this regard), however of the TE derived suits he has the best price/quality point out there, esp. if you like the less sanatized look (the helmet has the bumpy cap/back). That said, ATA is always tweaking his molds, and getting more accurate with every year.

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Don't be so afraid of ordering from other countries. How do you think I get any of my things? No one in Sweden makes anything. ;)

:lol:

My only reservation is the anticipated costs of shipping from the UK to the US. Beyond that, I have no worries.

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Personally I want the best and if that is going to cost me some extra, I simply save some more money to make up for it. It pays off in the long run. But everyone's situation is different of course. :)

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Don't get me wrong ATA is a great armor but now thinking back if I knew what I did back when I started this building journey I think I may have saved a little more, paid the extra postage and gone for something a little more screen accurate and original like TM or TE (derived). Good luck with what ever you decide, you can't go wrong with any of these armors :duim:

Edited by gmrhodes13
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I presume you don't mean the real TE. TrooperExpert (Matt Guathier) was banned from pretty much every trooper forum for lying and poor business practices.

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I presume you don't mean the real TE. TrooperExpert (Matt Guathier) was banned from pretty much every trooper forum for lying and poor business practices.

Didn't know that, still on the learning curve :blink:

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And AM sells the black armor on Ebay as user mypropcollection. AM, tupperwaretk, tkboots, mypropcollection, all the same guy. Its just where he sells the extra stuff not bought off the tkboots site. Plus its the only legit armor on the bay. The white version isn't sold there only black because he's trying to get rid of them while he works on the new molds. the price has been around 400 to 450 shipped

Edited by DizzyStormtrooper
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Sage words of advice from everyone, and something I will continue to think about for days to come. Never really gave any thought to going with black armor, but then again, I do tend to like to do something a little different, so I may look into that as well.

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