crashmann

Many folks have taken an old school backpack and cut the padded shoulders straps off to use on their sandtrooper backpack. You could also use a few inches of elastic to connect the top of the frame to your shoulder straps. This would act as a shock absorber while you're walking. I don't understand the mechanics, but the chest straps do alleviate some of the load off your shoulders. If you could find backpack straps with those already built in, that could save you some work. Charlie

Thanks for doing the work to capture all of the screenshots and sharing them Markus! I was going through the scenes last week and was surprised that there is only 90 seconds of screen time for the sandtroopers! Of course, it's because the sandtroopers are so awesome that they made such a huge impact with such little screen time :-) Charlie

Wow, you've created a very nice pack! Most impressive! I really like the bottom shape of your gray bottles. The ones used on screen have a sharp angle at the bottom, just like the ones you've found Good job setting the angle for the radar dish! Your eye for detail really shines through in the pack you've built! Charlie

I knew the kidney plate notch thread was around here somewhere. So many words to read... Ultimately, the best thing to do is carefully examine the screen captures: https://starwarsscreencaps.com/star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope-1977/28/ Charlie

Yup, that's Gordon Tarpley. He put it together on a whim with some inspiration from his wife way back in 2012. His thread on the RPF shows molds were made, but I don't think it ever went to production :-( https://www.therpf.com/f9/star-wars-christmas-story-crossover-leg-lamp-171297/ Charlie

It's a major award! Charlie

Your flexible PVC pipe reminded me of something... Thanks for the wiggle wiggle wiggle! Charlie

Here's the solution to your kidney / ab plate issue: Get your skinny bike riding butt to McDonalds and eat a bunch of Big Macs with extra special sauce! Don't forget to order super size fries too! Or, Find the midpoint of your sides, then mark the kidney plate with a pencil, or tape, and trim it halfway to the mark. Test the fit and make sure you haven't trimmed too much off. Trim until the kidney just meets the ab plate. Just like hair, it's easy to cut off plastic, but much harder to glue it back on. You'll want to do the same thing with the thighs. They are a much goofier shape, so you'll need to follow the original contour. You'll lose the return that pokes into your legs, unless you get a fancy sealing iron and bend it back in. Most folks don't worry about this, but since you're a Lancer Biker Scout, you may aspire to be SWAT here. https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?I=LXHZ17&P=0 The tops of the thighs are crazy. Definitely look at other SWAT applications to see how the halves do not line up. The outside left thigh is lower by 3/4" than the inside. The inside right thigh is also lower than the outside. It's madness I tell you! Check out Hausi's SWAT application. Lots of great photos and comparisons to screen captures, and he's got a similar physique as you: It looks like he trimmed the ab plate so the split is a little more toward his front than the exact middle of his sides. Also, there's something about a notch on the kidney plate visible just below the belt - other folks will need to chime in about that tiny detail... Good luck, and don't forget about those cheeseburgers! Charlie

It looks like there was a lot of scratching and stress on that section of the frame where it split. Is it hitting your backplate when you're trooping? Maybe add a layer of foam on the seed trays where they meet your back to help reduce the load on the frame. You should be able to fix the frame yourself, especially by adding a wooden dowel inside since that is a straight section of PVC. Slide the dowel down the PVC tube, then use some PVC cement to join the broken parts together. Squeeze them tight for about a minute, and that should fix it. I wouldn't bother adding the expanding foam. It won't increase the strength of the PVC pipes. Good luck, and let us know your results! Charlie

Wow, what a great way to heat up the PVC and avoid kinks! Thanks for sharing your experiment and thoroughly documenting the process with so many photos. The end product looks fantastic! Charlie

Depending on the pack your building, the mortar tube is about 30" long and 2" in diameter. However, the #1 backpack has a significantly shorter mortar tube. This is the backpack with a small rectangular filter on the upper left, and a flying saucer shape on the center bottle at the top. Check out the backpack comparison here http://www.looksirdroids.com/backpacks.html Charlie

I love looking inside trooper buckets - that's where the real innovation happens! Does your microphone tip line up with your mouth? My Aker mic is very picky - if it's not right in front of my mouth, then the sound drops off significantly. It looks like you should have plenty of room when putting on or taking off your helmet without banging up the fancy electronics. Do you have enough cable to mount the battery in the back of the helmet, in the "tumblehome?" Charlie

I know a few people that have trouble with not being able to move their helmet. Unfortunately, we're not all born with long necks. With all of the stuff jammed on your shoulders, you need a neck like a giraffe to still have clearance to move your helmet. If you pad the top of the helmet to lift it up, then you're looking through the bottom of the lenses. Perhaps neck stretching exercises? Wasn't there an African tribe that uses plates to stretch out their necks? Where do you have the speakers for your audio? The aerator mounted speakers seem like a great idea, and would put your voice where your mouth is, but since that's right next to the microphone, it usually doesn't work out well. I've got my speaker behind my chest plate. It's a little muffled, but that's a nice effect for our communication. It's certainly not as bad as the Death Troopers! You might try putting the speaker in one of the leather pouches. My microphone is on a wrap around headband (Aker amp system) and frequently gets out of position. I'll do a shoulder shrug to lift the helmet and mic, then grab the foam windscreen with my mouth to get it back into place. Are you wearing it headset style, or is your mic mounted in the helmet? Can you post a picture of the inside of your helmet? Visibility and comms have always been a weakness for the Imperial issued equipment. Even that Rebel terrorist complained "I can't see a thing in this helmet!" Charlie

Your orange pauldron turned out great, and I love all of the detail they've put into the figures, including proper trigger finger discipline! Charlie

It would be great if you could get the audio clip of C3-P0 waking up in Empire Strikes Back - "Oh no, I've been shot!" Charlie