Jonboy2312

This is beyond awesome! My build looks so rough in comparison...

EN: Looks great! The assembly and details (straps etc.) all look perfect, at least to my eyes. Where I would see a bit of room for improvement is the weathering... mind you, this is just my personal opinion (as a comic artist / photographer / videographer). You see, the dirt is distributed rather evenly everywhere, it looks like a printed camo pattern. I firmly believe the most exposed surfaces, like all protruding edges, and large bulging areas (front of chest, sides of thighs, etc), should be nearly clean, as they would be constantly exposed to rubbing. The dirt would mostly stick in grooves and in recessed areas. A great tool for that is a piece of rag with a bit of acetone soaked in it. After you've rubbed a bit of paint off chosen areas, the rag is still holding diluted paint which you can dab onto other areas, creating a very visually appealing hazy layer of "dusty" dirt wherever you want. You can see that on my helmet dome on the attached picture. Also, like others have already pointed out, there's not enough "desert" color... and a lot of black. Black should be used very, very sparingly, IMHO. I find Krylon desert camo paint works really well as it's more gray than yellow, and mixes well with their brown camo as well. Remember, this is just a humble trooper's personal opinion, I'm not the one reviewing your application. But Gerardo Follano himself really likes my weathering, so that's gotta count for something _____________________________________ PL: Wygląda znakomicie! Montaż i detale (uprząż itd.) wygladają perfekcyjnie, przynajmniej jak na moje oko... Niemniej moim skromnym zdaniem (jako artysty/rysownika/foto/videografa ) jest wciąż trochę miejsca na poprawę brudzingu. Widzisz, jest naciapane wszędzie i bardzo równomiernie, wygląda to prawie jak wyblakły wzór kamuflażu na wojskowym mundurze. Osobiście uważam stanowczo, że najbardziej wyeksponowane powierzchnie, jak wszystkie wystające krawędzie oraz duże, wypukłe powierzchnie (przód klaty, boki ud, itp) powinny być niemal czyste, gdyż byłyby poddane pocieraniu podczas ruchu, od broni, od składowania itp. Brud gromadziłby się głównie w szczelinach i wszelkich wklęsłościach. Idealnym narzędziem do tego, w moim doświadczeniu, jest delikatnie nasączona acetonem szmatka. Po wytarciu wybranej powierzchni masz w ręku szmatkę nasączoną leciutkim roztworem farby - którą teraz możemy naciapać delikatny "kurzysty" nalot na innych częsciach zbroi. Ten efekt zobaczysz np. na czapie mojego hełmu w załączonym zdjęciu. I ostatnia sprawa, tak jak już inni zuważyli, widać za mało pustynno-kurzystego koloru. Ciemne kolory jak brąz i szczególnie czerń powinny być tylko bardzo oszczędnie i wybiórczo stosowanym uzupełnieniem. Z mojego doświadczenia, Krylon pustynne camo w sprayu sprawdza się znakomicie (daje kolor bardziej szary niż żółty), i wspaniale się komponuje z odrobinką brązu camo tej samej marki. Pamiętaj, to tylko opinia zwyczajnego kamasza, nie ja rozpatruję Twoją aplikację... ale mój brudzing bardzo się podoba samemu Gerardo Follano... a więc coś w tym chyba jest

Isn't there a version with a re-done, more appropriate song (Bad droids)at the beginning?

I like those custom stands, guys! My old lid simply sits on a paper towel stand with a styrofoam chunk on it. I keep my precious AP on a DIY PVC pipe mannekin. Sorry about the mess in the room, I'm always working on something, LOL

i'll join in, too! Better late than never And of course this: (in old armor, though...)

you can click again, but the message says "thank you, but your vote has already been counted". He got his votes when the system was still cookie-only based. He would wipe his cookies and click, over and over again... Nala is catching up now, but there's only a couple of hours left, not enough time... A few fresh votes would help for sure...

ID-8126 has made it to the top 5 finalists of Alvin Lee's poster coloring contest, beating hundreds of other submissions! Alvin is a great comic artist, particularly well known for his work on CAPCOM franchise, especially the Street Fighter series. For ID-8126 it was her first such contest and she's put her heart and soul into her entry. Come voting period, her piece was immediately established at a solid second place, after Monk's (who is the clear winner here)... Sadly, there's been some foul play with multiplying votes on the part of another runner-up... Needless to say Nala was quite unhappy about it. It's not about prizes (these only go the #1 winner, and that should be Monk), it's about fair play... Oh well. You can see the finalists here: http://www.alvinleeart.com/2009/10/alvinle...finalists-vote/ 8126's piece is the flaming one - posted under her artist name, "Nala Fontaine". If you have some time to spare, check out the entries - they're well worth seeing! And if nala's piece is to your liking... help her out with a vote to make her feel better. It would mean a lot to her!

Well then, re-read the requirements, then. This is exactly how our requirements are... For the longest time there was absolutely no mention of the buttons. It's just about the least noticeable detail of them all. A HWT? Give me a break.... No need to rush and do a bad job (the 4 button panel trimmed down to 3 will be way too short and would just look bad). I'll do the change once I have a proper part (not sooner!), and I hope Nol will do the same, too.

Nope... 3 buttons are encouraged, but not required. personally, I won't be touching mine until I get a proper, dedicated replacement part. I don't want a hack-job solution...

Everyone seems to be obsessed with the three-button thing. Last time i checked, it's not a requirement, and unless you have a good quality replacement part it's best not to touch it Great looking armor there, Nol!

Yes it's normal. in fact, it's the main selling point of the TE2 helmet. Some (well, at least one) helmets used for the movie had really badly vacuformed caps. Bubbles and dimples all over, especially near the edges. Furthermore, look at the 'trapezoids' on the sides of the dome. They're almost flat and non-existent. This is exactly how some of the 'stunt' (or 'background') helmets looked in the movie - probably those made near the end of the batch. one of those 'flawed' screen-used helmets was cast to create the current version TE and the TE2. Personally, I hate it... and like it at the same time! I would hate that cap on a trooping helmet, but I would love to have a TE2 lid as a display piece - I would also brush-paint it sloppily with some drips and runs, then let it sit in the sun to turn yellow... I'd make it look exactly like an original prop from 1976 Smooth and sharp helmet caps such as AP or old TE are also just as screen-accurate. These were just cast off a different screen-used helmet. By the way, assembly of all screen-accurate kits is exactly the same, what works for one of them will work for all of them (except maybe for material-specific glues, such as ABS cement) iconoclasta_88 has a very good point - you really don't want to mess up a quality kit like TE2 or AP. but on the other hand, if you get an FX to practice on, you'll later regret throwing money at it that could have gone into something better. I would advise getting one of the screen-accurate kits right from the start, but assembling it with assistance from an experienced trooper who did one of these before. Perhaps your local garrison has armor parties sometimes? Or you can just ask someone who lives nearby for help. EDIT: Another thought just came to mind. RT-MOD. It's custom-sculpted as opposed to cast fromt he original props, but it's done really well and looks great, keeping the shapes and proportions of the original but in larger scale. This armor would probably even fit Lou Ferrigno if assembled creatively, LOL. It's also tough like heck, being ABS. And it might just give an extra margin for error in assembly, I guess...

Aye, but accidents have a nasty habit of happening. A few years back an overly excited 'fan', quite well oiled at that time, grabbed a fellow trooper from the Polish Garrison by the neck edge of the back plate and pulled him real hard... I cringed at the sound of bent plastic. Fortunately, there was absolutely no damage... It was a brand new AP kit, which has become nearly standard issue in the Polish Garrison, especially among the polish MEPD crew: All save one are AP. The only exception was my custom one-off (the yellowish one) which was fiberglass and HIPS. This was two years ago, all ABS suits are still going strong and look the exact same, while the fiberglass/HIPS hybrid has been retired due to the HIPS parts simply disintegrating. Just my experience I guess it all comes down to display vs trooping. The PG troops a LOT. Ditto - it would be best to see a bunch of different kits in person first I have no idea where those urban myths came from I haven't noticed AP to be any smaller than other armors. I've worn SDS before and they feel just about identical. Here's a couple more photos, I think they show my stature well enough... Yes, I'm pretty big and I have a bit of a gut, which I intend to loose by means of intensive trooping in my portable TD sauna And here's a nearly direct comparison to an FX suit with a Master Replicas helmet. Luc is about the same height, but much, MUCH slimmer than I am. Still, even with the difference in our build, I think it's still an interesting comparison. The height of the legs is about the same and they give plenty of room. moreover, if you assemble the limbs the correct screen-accurate way, the connecting strips will give you even more potential room to adjust (personally, I had to TRIM the thighs rather than shim them - and I'm 6", 220lbs...) Well, I'll just add that I recall Paul / TrooperMaster presenting a super-flexible variation of his TM suit. This might interest you, too! (But Mark / Authentic Props also has an extra-flexible ABS-60 version). With TM, you also get a strapping system identical, to our knowledge, with the original movie props. Assembly is thus different, so read some build threads on the different brands of armor to see what you'd like the most. Do research yourself, lots of it. If you just ask people, each of us will most likely just recommend what he wears himself, LOL! Oh, and there's this photo of other MEPD officers comparing AP, TE2 and TM: Sorry, I forgot who's the author of the shot nor who the troopers are, so I can't give them proper credit, sorry If there really are any size differences between AP and TE2, they're marginal and negligible and in the end, your own assembly work has a far greater impact on final size. Bottom line is... do your own first-hand research, see some of those suits in person. The best choice will be the one you make yourself, based on your own research and knowledge

But isn't TE2 made of styrene? My old armor had styrene legs and belt front. They all cracked and split everywhere. The belt piece is missing the corners (they snapped off around rivets) and is near-completely split vertically in two different places near the middle. The thighs were cracking at the top... I would never, ever recommend anything styrene to a beginner. It makes a fantastic display piece for a mannequin, but that's it. Another thing is the helmet... It doesn't look like anyone informed the OP about what the cap looks like on TE2. TE2 replicates a really badly pulled cap as found on one or some of the actual movie props... Again, while it's cool for display, I would find it really awkward for trooping among fans. I don't know about Flatrabbit, but personally I think we should be costuming stormtroopers, not actors who played them... It's likely that as a beginner he'd only fully appreciate a TE2 set as his second kit, not something to start with... Don't forget he's asking for noob armor, not advanced armor, LOL TM is a good choice, I guess, but I've never seen one and thus can't speak for it.

AP out? Nonsense... I'm 6' 220lbs too! And guess what suit is this? Not only I didn't need any shims, I actually had to TRIM the back of the thighs to make them narrower. And better yet - I have a HUGE head, no hat ever fits me. And yes, the helmet is AP, too. I highly recommend AP as it's really tough ABS and an easy build, too.

Very good point! That's why you see them arriving in a LANDING CRAFT in the extended SE scene. Clearly new arrivals from the ISD in orbit. (The crappy weathering seemingly achieved so fast would then be... uhh... a poor attempt at camo? It certainly does look VERY artificially applied) The local garrison, however, arrives on local mounts. I highly doubt they would keep Dewbacks on ISDs... That gives us a pretty clear and logical division

No doubt a well constructed, detailed and weathered FX, with correct accessories, will look better than what they slapped together for the extended SE scene. Yours is a great example of that - I love your weathering, your accurate pouches and accessories complete the suit beautifully, and with a decent helmet like your MR it simply looks GREAT. But we didn't have these helmets back in mid-nineties, so my point still stands Our knowledge of sandies was still pretty poor back then... we'd probably have TK kneeplates, dropboxes and belly panels. So we would still have ended up a bit worse than LFL's effort, i think. This is not the topic of the thread, though

Just one little observation... Making an SE sandtrooper is actually HARDER than making a classic one. You'd have to add that lip around major armor panels, you'd have to completely redo the abdomen plate (it's more than just installing the control panel upside down), make a custom, larger buttplate (and make it one piece with the kidney plate), you'd need to heatgun and reshape the shoulder bells, and lastly, you'd need a ROTJ helmet, which is a lot narrower than normal and quite hard to find... And in the end, many people would still frown at all that hard work due to the general dislike for the SE sandies Oh, and Tube, that's a great idea about Lucas hiring the MEPD, but there's one problem. I don't think it existed back then, and the best armor the 501st had was FX. That would have been even worse...

I like where this is going

Actually, the new guys are not CGI, they're actors. But they're still VERY different from the original sandtroopers due to them wearing what's essentially ROTJ armor and helmets (from another batch of these made in the nineties just for the Special Edition and its promo material) The little control panel on the ab plate is upside-down and missing the raised area it's supposed to be on, the armor panels have a lip around them, the helmets are squished and deformed, with black frowns and bubble lenses, etc... The pauldrons are also completely different, as are the backpacks.

Pics, or it didn't happen Seriously, I'd love to see this

Almost done! I forgot to weather the handplates for the shots, but that's corrected now I think I'll do a tiny little bit of shaving/trimming on the upper corners of the kidney plate, as they tend to bite my ribs rather painfully. I'm also thinking of installing elastics connecting the corners of the butt plate to the kidney plate, so that the gap is kept smaller and the buttplate corners won't stick out so much. Other than that, I think I'm done Here are some hi-res shots next to the old armor... it's a world of a difference, I'd say

Thanks for the kind words, guys! I've been working on little details here and there again, and changed the weathering on the helmet. Luke, I'm looking forward to trooping with you again Any chance you might show up at ToyCon?

Oh I'll definitely be putting a mesh behind the grille. That, and a layer of mirror window ting behind the green visor acetate. I absolutely hate it when eyes show in photos - and it happens EVERY TIME when flash is used straight-on. I'll also install my microphone in there... But for now, I need to finish the strapping system

Well, the time has finally come - my self-sculpted fiberglass armor is now officially retired. It has served me well for the past two years and earned me my Deployed status in the MEPD. Just last Thursday I've gotten my box of goodies from Authentic Props and went to work on it right away. Voila, here's a near-complete preview, held in place with nothing but tape and the Will of the Force (tailoring stores are closed on labor Day, so I couldn't get my velcros, argh!!!). The thighs are not suspended at all, so don't mind them I botched the right thigh pretty bad - it turned out very late-FX-ish... i fixed that right away, though, and now it tapers down nicely. I still need to trim off the edges of the shins (the sponge in my left shin was to stop it from biting me real bad, LOL Here's the lid itself - a beautiful pull! I absolutely LOVE it Sorry about the ESB lighting on an ANH helmet, I couldn't resist playing with my strobes a bit, LOL AP is fabulous... i enjoyed every bit of assembling it (except having to open and redo the right thigh, but it was my fault) and I absolutely love how it looks. Sharp and detailed, and yet tough as nails. I just can't wait to troop in it So... any thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Anything else I botched and should fix? I don't mind putting more work into it, it's a pleasure to work on a great kit like this

TD-1226 of the Polish Garrison attended too. That makes 2 MEPD officers there. Here's my album: http://picasaweb.google.ca/Jonboy2312/FanExpo2009# We had a blast. It was the biggest con I've been to so far, some say 75 thousand people. And with nearly 80 people from the 501st, we had the luxury of being able to play around with other costumes, not just SW, at least some of the time This was the last troop for my old self-sculpted armor - I'm retiring it. It's been two years already... wow.