tk1888

I use 'Plastic Welder'. You can find it with the other epoxy glues in the paint aisle of Wal Mart. It is a 2 part epoxy that dries in 8-10 minutes, it is designed to bond with plastic and resin and it is easily sanded and painted. I have actually used this stuff as a filler. I would not recommend doing a lot of filling with it, but it is great for small patch work.

Yes...I used the Sci-Fire "Wood Grain Tutorial". The key to the effect is using a VERY small amount of latex paint with a really crappy paint brush. You know the kind when you load it up with paint, all the brissels stick together? That is what you want. You want to brush it on very lightly so that some black streaks show through. This will give the effect of the grain. After that, just follow the layering technique in the tutorial. I also used the "Metalizing" tutorial Sci-Fire provides as well. I used a sock and in this case, you also want to use VERY little paint. I put the silver (I actually used aluminum and it looks the same) and rub it into the areas where you think there would be wear spots, such as on the edges. I also rubbed a little on the trigger guard and the handle grip (not the side grips) where I would guess the metal would look worn from your hands. There you have it.

Here is the boy playing with the old Cushman. I don't care if he tears it up now! Shot with E7600 at 2007-07-04 Here is the new blaster. Thanks Clutch. Shot with E7600 at 2007-07-04 Shot with E7600 at 2007-07-04

I am also interested in this information. Thanks

I don't think they look bad, by any means. If you did want to cut them small to try and change the shape you could always use white vinyl trim that you can pick up at Home Depot. This is what I used. I cut my thighs too small as well and I used this as a spacer and just riveted the material.

There was some residue left in the sink from the dye and I used a scouring style cleaner that is made for sinks and it came right off. The dye recommends using bleach, but all that did was make the sink smell like bleach. Once I used the scouring cleaner, it came right off. The sink actually looked brighter than when I started. My wife was actually pleased

I used the RIT and it worked pretty well. The only advice I have is don't skimp in the dye. I started out soaking the pouch for 30 minutes and was not happy as it just looked dark green. I then added more dye and it turned out much better. Don't skimp on the dye!! I placed PVC tubes in the pouches and it holds pretty good shape without being too heavy. The bottom even looks somewhat square, even with the rounded PVC in it. Question: I have the chest mounted pouch on, but how is everyone mounting the side pouch on their belt? The repro has the slanted loops and I was wondering what the best method is for adding it?

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have some black RIT from dyeing my boba fett ESB jumpsuit. I will try that.

I noticed there has been some conversation on dyeing the canvas pouches black. I have purchased some really great canvas repros and I want to make them accurate. My question is: Has anyone tried Plasti Dip spray paint? I just wondered as the 'paint' creates a sort of plastic layer that may soak in on the first coat, but should create a 'layer' afterwards. Has there been any thought to this? And if so, how would I 'seal it' afterwards. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The overall observations of the Cushman is correct. The details are very soft. It is a 'kit' and with most fan made kits there is usually some sanding, filing, filling, etc....to be expected. I would love, just as much as anyone else, to have a hyper firm, but I can not afford one. I purchased the Cushman and keeping the price and the quality I recieved in mind, I am very happy with it. It is by far not perfect and there actually is one thing about the Cushman that is spot on accurate. Since it is a kit, and you have to insert a 1" PVC pipe in it, you can fully cut out the holes in the cooling shroud. This is exactly how the original mg-34 was. There was an inner barrel and the outer shroud was a seperate piece. Of course this is trivial in the overall accuracy, but I still thought it nice to bring up. From a couple feet away it looks great, but on closer inspect, yes, the details are not very crisp. I really like it and I have also gotten a lot of compliments on the gun. Shroud (Click on Pics to increase size) Finished Gun

Here is a shot of my pack. I used the Marmit Pic for my comparison. Hope you don't mind me using it Slave... Comparison Shot: My Pack: Top View Here is a closer shot of the radio. The lenses light up and I have them on a circuit board my friend built so they slowly fade in and out instead of blinking rapidly. Also, I used the 'shower drain' for the radio speaker, as visually noted by tk409's tutorial and others. I use a tore down Newton amp in my helmet and I use the mini speakers in my aerators, so I used the speaker from the Newton amp and recessed it in the plastic box, behind the shower drain. I built a 2 watt amplifier board you can get at electronics hobby stores and it plugs into mp3 players or walkmans and I can play the Imperial March while trooping!! or other tunes as I wait around. The sound is VERY load. I have toggle switches wired on the side of the pack for both the lights and the amp. I plan on hiding the mp3 player in my chest armor and will be accessed via the sides. Side shot: I also added, just for fun, some computer fan covers to the side of the top, main box. I also have lights behind these. They look really cool because of the way they light up the pattern of the fan covers. Hope you like the pack. I tried to keep it close to the reference but add some flair at the same time.

Thanks for the input fellas. I just ended up going with the 2" PVC pipe. The endcaps overhang just slightly, but hardly noticable. I liked the look of the art tubes, but I was trying to stay on a very tight budget and I didn't want to have to order them. Thanks again.

Ok, so where did everyone find 2.5" PVC pipe? I have gone to Home Depot and other hardware stores and they carry 2" and 3", but not 2.5". I guess I can get it online, as I have searched and found some suppliers, but I would like to avoid the shipping charge if possible. I live in Indiana, and if someone close to me and does not mind the trouble of shipping me a 3 foot piece (like if you had to buy the standard 8 foot of it), I would be greatly appreciative. I could pay Paypal. If anyone knows of any other general stores that carry this, let me know! Thanks for any info.

Well, yes, you can use them. They have the same basic shape as the ones used in the films, but they are canvas and will collapse some. The film pouches were made of leather and were much more rigid. If you reinforced them with something, the only noticable difference would be that they are canvas and you may be able to make them appear more 'leather like'. For the money though, you can get leather reproductions from gotarmor at his website or on ebay and they are reasonably priced and are pretty accurate. The price is a little more, but by the time you have time and materials into making those more accurate you could have bought some decent repros. IMHO.

Hey guys, I am new to the TD's website here and I just joined the 501st. I am making the TK to TD transition at the moment and I happened to purchase an ANH E-11 from this guy about 3-4 months ago. I beleive that this guy truely wants to make a decent go at prop making, but his skills and materials are lacking. The blaster had a pvc barrel and the entire rest of the blaster was made from bent and formed sheet metal that was paper thin. I was very disappointed. I am not sure if his quality of work has gotten any better with his MG 34's but I would be very leary. I did purchase one of the vaccum formed MG 34's in kit form from another vendor. I have done a considerable amount of work on it and it looks pretty good. I would recommend them if you are on a budget.