crashmann

Somebody get her a MEPD t-shirt! Charlie TI-386

Holy cow! Armor is not supposed to do that! If you built a suit out of that stuff, you'd have no problem recreating this image: Paul, can you divulge what material that is? Charlie TI-386

I was thinking, "More parts than you can shake a dewback prod at!" Wow, what a day! I don't know how the weather is where you live, but Maryland in the summer is more humid than a bantha's armpit! Fortunately, there were beers to help stave off the heat, and there will most certainly be a sequel to the SB main box video! Mike got a significant cut with a utility knife as he was trimming out parts from one of the pulls. I always emphasize safety, and if he had not been wearing the gloves, it could have been much worse! So, enjoy your backpack parts... There's literally blood, sweat, and beers in 'em! Charlie TI-386

I gotta learn to type faster! TK-1536 beat me to the punch! Jo-ann Fabrics has a small section in the back of their stores for upholstery foam. You can get either white (which eventually turns tan) or high density green. It comes in a variety of thickness from 1/2' to 4" and you can buy as little as you want. Or go to K-Mart (or some other department store) and in the bedding linens section, you can find an egg crate foam matress pad for less than $15 To attach the foam to the armor, use E6000, Goop, or if you want to be super fancy, use the 3M spray adhesive (but it's a real mess to clean up if you overshoot!) The armor you want is either TE2 (not available at this time) or AP. The FX armor is sized a little larger, and is not very accurate. I'm sure some other folks here on the board can give you contact information for AP. Good luck! Charlie TI-386

I'd like to have one of those Twinkies on my backpack Great illustration Mike! It appears the top of the bellows unit is all one piece, not a separate add on cap like we need with the hamburger stackers. The mystery continues... Charlie

Are we playing nice yet? Charlie

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself! Charlie

You can also cover the rivets with the fuzzy side of velcro. Charlie

You seek the aisle where the screws and nails are located. On the opposite side, you will find steel and aluminium (as our British friends call it) flats, angle pieces, and rods. I've seen up to 1 1/2" wide and 1/8" thick. Good luck! Charlie

Praise and appreciation will get you very far in life Thanks! But it's really a team effort with Seth's exacting eye for photo analysis to size up the parts, and Mike's amazing sculpting ability to create the parts. I'm actually working up a smaller rig for prototyping smaller parts (no need to waste a huge 24" x 32" sheet of plastic for small backpack parts, etc...) The new vac table is based on Ralis Kahn's Halloween Fear Vac table tutorial So far I've got the base built with all the wiring except the oven. Tonight I mounted the forming platen with screws and globs of silicone caulk Next up, the vertical angle bars, and wiring in the oven. The whole thing will stand 3' tall, and the forming plate will take plastic sheets 13.5" x 18.5" so it will be relatively compact. Charlie TD wanna-be

Way back in the early 80's, I had lights that you would strap onto an arm or leg when riding a bike. The batteries inside were rectangular like a 9 volt, but much larger - about 2" x 3" They had terminals on the top just like a 9 volt. Kinda like these! I'm not sure what the thing between them would be. Maybe a power terminal strip? Charlie TI-386

Good luck Marc, and hopefully you can keep in touch with us on the board. Charlie

I'm registered, and I see VPier from the Clonetroopers board is on handling the message board, so it should be very well maintained. Looks like I need to build two suits of armor, just like our Sergeant at Arms! Charlie

Followed up by a belt sander! It makes fine tuning the fit of the armor so much nicer! Charlie

Oh, now that's funny!!! From the "Dirty Trooper" Charlie

T Cut is an automotive polishing compound found in Great Britain that allows you to buff out fine scratches and achieve a very smooth finish with a lot of elbow grease Go to any auto parts store and look in the wax section. You'll find plenty of rubbing compound to choose from. Charlie

Mike needs to work on his hairdo for complete and total accuracy Charlie TI-386

I slow motioned every scene with storm troopers, but I could not truly single out a single helmet the looked like ANH with bubble lenses and gray teeth. However, there is one trooper who consistently wears his right bicep inside out: It's amazing what you find when you slow things down! Charlie TI-386

Well, I had to watch ESB tonight and examine the handguards, and you are correct sir! However, it's a whole 1 hour and 30 minutes before we ever see a stormtrooper in the movie (not counting snow troopers) Here's a grab from the Han Solo torture scene: Thanks No Humor Man! Charlie TI-386

Howdy everyone! Charlie Mann from the Old Line Garrison here (unofficial Imperial Photographer). You may have seen my work with TD-1536's Sandy Point beach photos. I've been doing my Sponge Bob impersonation absorbing everything I can on the boards Currently a TIE pilot, and eventually working up a TD suit of armor. Thanks for hosting the dirtiest board in the Empire! Charlie TI-386

I'm impressed with the white tape used on the left trooper. You can see it replacing the left shoulder strap and holding on the right belt box. Before joining the board, I never would have noticed the RoTJ handguards and the little black elastic strings You can also see they are using green acetate for the lenses. However, the lineage of the helmet and armor on the right trooper is beyond my knowledge. Thanks for sharing the photo! Charlie TI-386