troopermaster

Ayup from a fellow Yorkshireman!

I think it would have looked better if you'd used a sand coloured paint rather than the black/dark colour.I think that weathering should only really be subtle and not too 'over the top'.Sand wouldn't stick too well to plastic so it would only be from wind blasting the sand at it that would stick to the hard lines and scratches/gauges in the plastic.I think the armour should look like it's done a few tours of duty,and would be scratched and lightly weathered,with yellowy brown hue to it and not black.You did ask for honest opinions! -Paul.

Hi Chris, Nice to see you over here! -Paul.

On the movie suit's they had a strap fixed to side of the chest plate and down to the ab plate.This helped keep the chest from riding up and behind the ab plate.There was also straps fixed to the bottom lip and to the top edge of the ab plate so the chest wouldn't drop too far down.You can see examples of this way of strapping when the chest buckles and flexes in certain scenes.

I have the foam 'maple leaf' in my helmet and it's spot on for me.At first though the foam was too thick,and the helmet sat too high on my head.I quickly changed it and for thinner foam and now my eyes line up perfectly with the lense. I have seen helmet padding advertised,and I have a sneaky suspicion that is is a cut up foam knee pad.They are quite cheap,and grey foam,but would look nice inside the helmet.Wether or not they would be as functional as a HH liner,or regular foam I don't know.I'll have to get a pair and see.

Well I'm glad to say that I am bang in the middle of that requirement-6'.0" And weighing in at 195 lbs maybe just a bit too big for the original skinny troopers,but that ain't gonna stop me wearing my armour! -Paul.

Now that is nice Matt,VERY nice!

Hey nice gear! I bet it was a ***** to hump the 'pig' across the desert! I bet it was fun to fire it though.I'd love to let rip with one of those,but no chance of that here in UK,oh well.

Hey nice drawing mate! I do a bit myself,maybe I'll draw one like yours.The helmets looks spot on too

Thanks TD2878! PM me your details,I'm sure I can knock up a pair for you I'm sure we'll never really know for sure what they actually were,but the pattern seems way too uniform to be anything less than a made part.Now whether the pattern was drawn on or not,who know's?Was it a vacuum formed part...again who know's?But at the end of the day,it's something a little bit different from what the regular sandtrooper wears,and it was worn in ANH.

Here you go Theo http://www.rpf.invisionzone.com/index.php?act=idx Got any pics of your armour yet?

Yeah,like I said after ANH.Maybe prototype was the wrong word to use,more like a concept helmet that he made from parts he had?

Well,it was 'claimed' to be from the original moulds,but more like from a prototype helmet that was made after ANH(the one with the ribbed back).Just like AA is claiming his new armour is fromoriginal moulds and it's a TE recast(albeit reworked a little). Your helmet may have a GF face,but that cap/back is not.Looks AA cap,maybe GF back.The GF helmet dome seems to be tapered more from the front,more 'pointed',where this one isn't.Anyhow,don't want to get off track here.Looking forward to seeing your armour pics!

Hi Matt, The reason I question the helmet is that on the dome,the rear trapezoids look really close to the dodgy AA/SDS helmet,and it doesn't seem 'pointed' enough to be a GF.Maybe the authenticprops 'master' is one of yours and a AA/SDS?Just a thought.

Hi Theo, Can you explain the 'smooth forearms',I'm not sure what you by smooth?What make of armour do you have and who is the maker of that helmet?It looks like an TE/AA hybrid?Can we see some pics of your armour please? Thanks, Paul.

Here's the plate with a bit more trimmed off,and I heated it with a hair dryer and bent it give it a bit more of a curve.I added a bit of weathering to it as well(nothing fancy!)

That's not the correct trim. The bottom trim should be 'S' profile and the top square 'U' channel.Some of the found helmets had 'U' channel on the bottom,but was different to that pic above. I beleive the most accuare stuff I have found anyway,is from www.sealsdirect.co.uk and you want US52 for the brow and SWR150 for the neck.They are almost a perfect match IMO.

OK,I got it formed today and just taped the forearm together and put it on my mannequin.I'll try and get the full arms formed this week or next.What do you think of the hand plate? What do you reckon to the forearm too....nice eh? More pics here http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/the_prop_...aster/my_photos

I can tell you that on the real ANH armour,the belt was attached to the ab plate,but only with snaps.The cod and ab was formed as one peice and butt was a seperate cast from the kidney plate. I hear that there's a big difference in cutting the ab/cod for better flexability,but I prefer my armour to be exactly like the movie suit's,no matter how good/bad they were Paul.

Hey,it's been a while but I finally got around to making a mould for these hand plates today.I'm going to try and get some plastic tomorrow and form these. I also finished the forearm too,you know,the real sandtrooper right forearm with 12 indents I'll form that too while I'm at it.I still have to finish the left arm mould and I have some nice ANH hand plates as well. Oh,and just wait 'till I show you guys my ab plate,NOTHING will come close to this for movie accuracy....NOTHING! Paul.

Both these two new found helmet are AWESOME! I'm hoping to make it down to Christies to go see them first hand I'll be taking lots of pics if I'm allowed.Can't wait......... Paul.

AFAIK,The sandies didn't have any plastic shoulder straps.On the movie suit's,they had a white cotton canvas strap underneath which connected the chest to the back plate.It was glued to the back,and 'snapped' to the chest.It also had two,possibly three more snaps along it's length,to allow for some adjustment.Just my .02

I agree TD6025,that is probably was a quick fix part they just stuck on.There is definately a pattern to it,with long slots and short ones.I'll give it a go anyways,will be a nice addition for many troopers.

The pic with the garindan is the only one I have found so far.I think the blurry pic is nothing like what the real guard looks like.I'll just have to go by that one pic. Do you think it is the same guard on each hand,or a left and right version? I made some nice sandy forearms recently too,with the 12 'indents' and 11 on the other side if I'm not mistaken.I'll try and put a pic up. Paul.

Can someone please post a good pic/pics of the sandtrooper 'dimpled' handguards? I need some reference shots as I'm going to make some. Cheers, Paul.