Armor too big?

[tckoolaid125[TK]]

I recently purchased a RS Prop Masters ANH Stunt Stormtrooper suit, fully assembled.  It was custom fit to my size or so they say. It feels huge in the tors/chest, thigh length, and back side.  I have cut the length in the wrist and calf by 3/4 inch.  What can I do to make it fit better and still be 501 st approved and look like no mods were made?

 

Thanks,

 

Tyler

[Starfox2010[TK]]

Hopefully they used E6000 to join the pieces or you should be needing a refund.

The chest, back, shoulder bells  and maybe the butt plate look ok.  Lots of trimming down on the biceps and forearms are needed.

 

Can you take off the belt and take close up pics of the ab,kidney and thigh piece.   The shins look like they are too big, cant really see the detail but the backs look like they overlap.

 

It's fixable but it will probably take as much time as if you had done it yourself. 

 

Hopefully a pro can chime in.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Can you post pics of your sides with your arms raised? Also, what is your height?

[tckoolaid125[TK]]

I am 5' 6" 140 lbs.  I will post some later today,  of my arms raised when I get home from work.

[gazmosis[501st]]

It doesn't surprise me that you have some part overlap and have some other parts sitting really close together.  According to your height, you are about 4-5 inches shorter than the original armor was built for. Which is why it doesn't surprise me. I have never heard of RS building suits to match specific heights. Body and arm diameters are another thing. If you are 140 lbs, I would suspect that you are very thin. But remember that the armor can only be made so small. You are also about 30 lbs lighter than the original suit was made for. The last time I was told, RS still uses A superglue type adhesive for their assembly. If your suit is just to uncomfortable, I would talk it over with them.

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Hi Tyler. The RS chest plate has an odd shape which makes fitting a little difficult. I have the same problem on my RS suit and what sort of helped tighten up the chest plate closer to my body was the make the belt tighter around the AB plate and kidney plate. You will end up with overlapping on the sides for those parts but it will pull the right & left chest bracket elastics tighter , and the chest plate should pull closer on the sides giving a nicer fitted look. I wouldn't trim anything more off on the torso parts, RS trims them as they were on their suit.

If you get the belt tighter and it still feels too roomy, you might want to re-adjust the length of those right and left elastic loops for the chest brackets . That might pull it all in better. Be careful not to tighten the belt too much. It could put the brackets under a lot of stress and cause damage. Also the return edges will end up buckling and warping. Have someone give you a hand and just try a little at a time.

 

If RS used their PVC glue then it will be a harder fix. If your thighs are really floating around your leg then you will have enough room for error if you plan on re-trimming. Other members might have more experience doing this and can give you the best way forward on this.

If it were me I would cut the thighs along the rear seam as close to the cover strips as possible on either side of the strip, then try to careful separate/cut away the excess plastic stuck to the inside of the cover strip. This will be tricky but a sharp cutter knife might be able to slowly separate the plastic. Or if that doesn't work , sand the plastic down and get the surface of the inner coverstrip flat. Then see how it feels after you removed that little bit . You could then trim away more if needed and glue that half of coverstrip to the re-trimmed half of the thigh. Your top ridge may not align as it did before but that can be fixed . Removing the entire coverstrip will probably end up destroying the strip and the thigh halves along those edges.

Sorry its hard to explain but hope you get the idea. If you are really worried about doing any trimming,etc, maybe a member of your local garrison can lend a hand.

Your suit looks good though. Congrats.

[Cantina Security[501st]]

It doesn't look like it would take much to get the unit right. Like Steve says, you can only make it so small. I think possibly talk it over with RS, but, if you trim the shins at the ankles, not much, start small, then reposition the legs thighs and shins. Make them line up with the contour of the cod piece. Then you may have a bit more mobility in the armor. Good luck.