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AP/TM comparison


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Its ironic that the imperfections of the original suit has now become the race for perfection - to become as accurate to the original as possible.

 

In my opinion, TM still looks the most accurate to me...photo comparing part to part with ANH stormtrooper stills. :)

 

I did it yesterday and it's amazing how similar they are in every single part!

 

The fact is that in the end the suit it is so simple in design that if a single curve is slightly different you would notice it and the overall impression is different, because your attention is not driven away by details. It's like trying to reproduce a great melody with few notes, if you don't catch all the subtle nuances it won't work.

The greatest and simplest designs are the hardest to reproduce! I think this is what Gino or T*E intended in another topic when he said that every recast is better than a sculpted armor: a recast, even if it's bigger, smaller or less detailed, follows precisely the curves of the original, while a sculpted one guesses them from low-quality images taken from a motion picture filmed with different focal lenghts and watched on a flat screen by human eyes. But despite all this I chose the TM :)

Now that I've trained my eyes I really can't stand the inaccuracies in the FX armor and bucket, while when I saw it the first time I tought it was perfect! :)

I think that all the little asymmetries are made on purpose to make the suit more "real", interesting and friendly to our eye, as the bucket is asymmetrical like the human faces are (it wasn't a technical bound, they could have done it symmetrical if they wanted).

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I agree with the FX, I thought it was the most perfect set of TK armor out there, thats why i bought it..

But after joining the FSID, I looked at everything differently. :)

 

First I thought SDS were the most screen accurate you can get, then i saw a TE, then a TM!! :) :)

 

THANKS FSID!

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Well said, TKDUEUNO! To me each suit is like a work of art. It stirs us visually and emotionally! I guess we're all questing for that work of art that stirs the exact emotions we first had when seeing stormtroopers for the first time on the big srceen. Remember the Tantive IV scene at the beginning of ANH? That just blew me away!

 

For now, the closest thing I've come across is a TM suit. And the incredible thing being that it isn't a recast of an original suit but sculpted! I've got several suits right now but I'm hoping to get my hands on a TM - that will truly be my masterpiece! :)

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Well said, TKDUEUNO! To me each suit is like a work of art. It stirs us visually and emotionally! I guess we're all questing for that work of art that stirs the exact emotions we first had when seeing stormtroopers for the first time on the big srceen. Remember the Tantive IV scene at the beginning of ANH? That just blew me away!

 

For now, the closest thing I've come across is a TM suit. And the incredible thing being that it isn't a recast of an original suit but sculpted! I've got several suits right now but I'm hoping to get my hands on a TM - that will truly be my masterpiece! :)

 

It's the passion involved, also intended as suffering.

Recast and improvements: passion.

Spending 8 years tweaking self-made molds and watching the same movie scenes thousand of times frame-by-frame and praying for HD: LOTS OF PASSION.

 

And we, as lovers of the white armor, naturally feel that passion.

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I agree with the FX, I thought it was the most perfect set of TK armor out there, thats why i bought it..

But after joining the FSID, I looked at everything differently. :)

 

First I thought SDS were the most screen accurate you can get, then i saw a TE, then a TM!! :) :)

 

THANKS FSID!

 

FX was my first suit too. At that time majority of the 501st were using them, so I thought it would be the best choice. Having become more educated in armor since then, I've gone on to own several more suits...AP, TE, even a MovieFX among a few. I guess most of us go through phases. To me FX does have its place...its perfect for the heavier-set troopers who have difficulty squeezing into an AP for example. Just as I feel AP has its place for troopers who love looking like a 'more accurate' stormtrooper but with more symetry. To each his own, brother. :)

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As a fairly skinny guy [120 lbs., 5'11] The FX is pretty big around the thighs and pretty much everywhere except the Thermal Detonator. :lol:

Haha...Sounds like me when I was in FX. Time to look at upgrading then, bro. FSID is a great source of reference for making that choice on your next set of armor. At the end of the day, its personal preference. I know some die-hard supporters for GF and TE...and some guys who love their AP to death even knowing that its not movie-accurate. :)

 

As far as my personal search has gone. I'm very impressed with TM for the same reason TKDUEUNO mentioned. Its just incredible how the suit has captured so much of the detail and exactness of the original! That's my next upgrade. We keep moving forward. :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another little question: the TM helmet has the "tear" on its right eye?

I can't tell that from the pictures I've seen so far...

Can someone post nice pics of TM helmet, please?

 

Thank you!

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I made this pic to compare to a real helmet.

ESB-TM.jpg

 

I think you are refering to the bump on the right eye. The tears are parts under the eyes that are painted grey.

 

On the real helmets, the bump is only part of the flashing on the inside. It looks more pronounced the more the face plate is squished and not as noticable on some helmets. The assembly will play a big part on how much the HDPE flexes.

 

The AP helmets have this area over exaggerated IMO.

 

I handled an AP helmet for the first time last weekend at the 'Spaceport' exhibition, and these helmets are over modified and smaller than I thought.

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