Daetrin

One more thing - do you use the same technique on pouches/pauldron or something else?

I don't intend to go clean again, so if it can only be removed with soap/windex should not be an issue. Which acrylics did you use? FWIW, I'm going more for the black/grey dirty look than the brown/sandy look.

Excellent news as this is the route I was planning to go. Here in the Seattle area we do get rain a good bunch of the year, so the possibility of being in uniform in the rain (e.g Halloween) is a possibility. Will the tempura stand up at all in the wet, or is it fragile that way?

About how many hours does it take to dirty the armor, and is one method faster than another? Free time is in short supply when your baby is still an infant, so I'm trying to get an idea of how much time to budget for the process. Thx, Paul

Eh, what's a VSF and how is it different?

It's especially nice that they haven't been restored or mended. I hope whoever gets them keeps them that way.

Here is one from the White Armor Chronicles, shows it for the shins http://www.multiplehat.com/whitearmor/mods.htm

Smaller as shorter or smaller as thinner? It seems for thinner, adding foam padding to the inside of the armor is the way to go and requires no trimming of the armor. There are several tutorials on this available.

Yeah we could work on it this next weekend, but I'd rather we spend our time on the Lewis Gun project...or getting dirty! Speaking of that - which tutorial should we follow? Paul

1. I did, but he doesn't have the same type of part anymore. 2. None available. I talked to another maker who will put one up soon, but it will be of the other mold type and thus won't work. 3. Yeah, that's my last option and I can do it and try to hid the damage under dirt, but would like to see if I can get a replacement before doing all that cutting. Sure, next week will be fine if I can't locate a spare. Heck with all the cement overrun and scuffs I'm creating up it's 1/2 dirty already Even if that does work, it would be great to know that I can get replacement parts if it ever becomes unrepairable, as I like these thigh backs more than the other kind.

While making the sandy mods to my TK suit I also ABS cemented a lot of things together. It all went well until I cemented my thighs. The left one fits fine, but the right is now too tight. If you look at the http://www.merentha.org/dsc02410.jpg you'll see that the left one is molded a bit bigger than the right. When I was in velcro- land I guess I didn't close the right all the way and thus it all fit comfortably, but now the damage is done and it's way too tight. I tried dremeling a bit but it's not working well enough to make a difference without me cutting away a fair amount of plastic. Apparently there are two molds out there, one with a large circumference and rectangularly angled backs, and one that is more narrow with low angled backs. I have the latter but it seems most people these days only have the former. See http://www.merentha.org/dsc02409.jpg to see the backs that I have. Any ideas on where I can get a replacement right thigh? And if there is anyway I can get a new right thigh before Halloween, that would be Nirvana. Thanks, Paul

Good to seem someone really dirty - makes me less afraid as I attack my TK suit in earnest (which having just completed my mods, is the last thing on hte list to complete!). Great work!

Stay positive- you still have your growth spurt years ahead of you. One idea: start out as an Imperial Tech. This is perhaps the cheapest costume - jumpsuit, boots, gloves, hat, belt - not that expensive at all. Save up your cash and by the time your 18 you'll be tall enough and rich enough and can come join the proud ranks of troopers. In that time you'll also meet a lot of folks and develop contacts skills in armor building. I know, it seems a long time to go but we've all been where you've been. (True! my first Star Wars toy was back in '77 and was a Stormtrooper figure. I had to wait many more years to become one, but in the end you get there!)

What's the consensus on the optimal way to mount the sniper plate? I was thinking of riveting it, but then you'll see the rivet. Is it a good idea to try to cement or hot glue it, or is it best to just velcro it on?

Wow, I haven't been 5-something in 20 years, but now I see I can get back in the fold. I'm 5'12" Perhaps the empire allowed some error when they stated the height of a trooper to keep costs down: 70" +/- n%. An n of 10% would account for most troopers out there.

I guess I make #3 from Garrison Titan. Hmmm, what a coincidence Got my mods laid out, will start working on moving from TK to TD this weekend. Paul

Aside from someone calling an orange pauldroned one "sir", is there any evidence that points shows that white is NCO & black is enlisted? When I look at the movies, it seems to me to be other way 'round.

At first I didn't like them because...we'll they weren't canon. But people have brought up a lot of valid points on that topic. I think it's a great idea to stretch the design of the TK/TD to see what it could have become years later, or might be on different systems. All military units update their hardware over the years. I'll second that "where can we get these" post, I think it would add a new dimension to the TD suit and would make a great addition to events where we don't need to be canon, like the other stuff we put on on suits. Paul

Lasers consume a lot of power, so one could rationalize that they are energy packs, each pack being only good for so many discharges. But they weren't lasers. A laser beam travels at the speed of light and the weapons clearly shot something that did not. More like energized bullets or bolts of plasma traveling at a high rate of velocity. If each "bolt" were analogous to a bullet, then you'd have magazines of such things just like we do today.

Did you hand paint or use decals? Sorry - am in the middle of painting helmets now - am looking for all the tips I can get. :-p

FWIW, I found them online in the US via: http://www.hometown-hobbies.com/humbrol_paint

Sweet. Where are good places to find it?

Am going to paint my frown (and other helmet parts). What paints is everyone using? I tried some Testor paints, but didn't get the color I wanted.

Excellent - thanks! Just what I needed.

I have a new helmet and am making it Sandy and want to custom paint it instead of using decals. What paints/colors did you use?