Most Durable Stormtrooper armor

[stormtrooper98]

I'm the commanding officer for a stormtrooper/empire themed airsoft Milsim group, and we've been trying to put together a kit that's strong enough to withstand BB's and be durable enough for moderate use in the outdoors. Were currently using thick resin helmet molds and real life tactical gear, but we'd love to upgrade to 'actual' hard armor, and we figured we'd consult the experts in the 501st Legion.

 

We tried ABS plastic from stormtrooperstore.com and it was less than ideal when put up against 20.mm BBs...What materials would you guys reccomend and where would you advise we obtain it?  Some people have reccomended fiberglass, while other people have said it'll crack easier. We've also looked into HIP or Kydex plastic, but can't seem to find anywhere this material is availible as armor. 

 

We know no matter what it''s gonna get worn and scratched up, just as long as it doesn't crack or dent easily under stress impact or climate change, and screen accuracy isn't TOO important to us.

 

Thank you! 

 

Long live the Empire 

 

 

Vivat Imperium

TK-98097 'Storm' 

709th Imperial Stormtrooper Corp

Idaho Deployment

[Sly11[Admin]]

Most of the TK armour we wear is ABS plastic, the other material used is HIPS. Thickness varies across parts due to their size and Vac forming process, so larger pieces like the chest plate can tend to be thinner at the edges and prone to cracking. You do need some flexibility in that part as well.

Some makers use 2mm and have softer pulls, others use around 1.7 mm for sharper details, but that probably wouldn't bother you guys with what your use and intentions are.

Ultimately, the parts only have so much flexibility, and the thinner edge areas will crack with heavy use.

Visibility is terrible in a TK helmet, as can range of movement be depending on how you assemble the armour, so if your adversaries are not wearing it, you are going to be sitting ducks 

Keep a roll of white duct tape handy, cause you're going to need it when things start to crack. That's what they used in the original film production to keep the movie suits going, and I can imagine you guys will be far more harsh on the armour when in battle against other teams.

 

It sounds like a lot of fun, but you will have some challenges for sure, if your plan is full armour.

 

 

[stormtrooper98]

That's really helpful, thank you! 

 

Lol, yeah we knew right off the bat the classic TK helmet was going to kill us, so we've since been using scout trooper helmets and thats been working fairly well. 

 

Our plan isn't full armor, were putting together a custom kit that's essentially camo/olive drab stormtrooper armor with the upper thigh armor removed for mobility, and a scout trooper helmet. Tactical efficiency and durability is more of our concern rather than lore accuracy. 

[Armor9[TK]]

That would be fun to play in.  Any reason why not to just go full Scout Trooper armor?