ddocvjm

.....anger leads to hatred, hatred leads to suffering.....

I placed everything in the natural indentation in the backpiece. I have two radio shack powered speakers in there, facing forward (toward my back and out under my upper arms). I "velcroed" a piece of black lycra over the gear in the indentation so you can see nothing, but the sound easily passes through. I also put my Hyperdyne voice amp in there as well. My on/ off switch for the powered mic is behind the right side of my chest piece and is unseen and easy to reach. The wire from my mic goes under my "TK409 neck seal" and down the front of my shirt and then plugs into the on/ off switch. I have absolutely no feedback and I can clearly be heard half a block away, if I necessary. Vince

Guns, Great photos! Thanks for sharing with us! Vince

Mike, Thanks for your web site. You provide such good information. Vince

I have a Cushman MG-34 and I just purchased the hyperfirm MG-34 on ebay last week. Of course, the hyperfirm is far superior but more expensive. In this case, you do get what you pay for. My Cushman MG-34 did not look anywhere near as bad as those pictures. I did do a lot of sanding and customizing after I received mine about 8 months ago. I carved more detail into the plastic, removed all the seams, filled gaps, and changed the bipod mount to be more accurate. It actually turned out good and I got a lot of compliments on it. You can really fix them up nicely if you have the time and skills. It was good to troop with because it is very light, probably less than 3lbs. Still, I really wanted the more accurate hyperfirm MG-34 and am glad Nathan made one available last week. Vince

Matt, Good to have you in the islands! You will love it! Aloha, Vince

I used superglue gel. I attached one half of the brow at a time. I placed a line of superglue half way around the helmet, lined up the rear edge of the trim with the left side gray trapezoid, then placed the trim down. After a couple of minutes, I placed another line of superglue down, then placed the trim down and lined it up with the rear edge of the right gray trapezoid. The trim can stretch a bit so you will be able to pull it around, if you need to, and line it up with the rear of the second trapezoid perfectly. Test fit before you glue! The results were clean, fast, and perfect. Vince

Stereo, I bought my first set of FX armor from 333trip on ebay. His service was excellent. If you have good "skillls", I would try to get a set of TE armor. I got excellent information from the website of TK1536. You really need to check it out, you will learn a lot from him. I also learned a lot from TK409.com as well as the White Armor Chronicles. Vince

Tonight was my first time out in public in my armor! I started the hobby about five months ago but I have always wanted stormtrooper armor since I first saw Star Wars. I was handing out candy to the "trick or treaters" and the response from everyone was amazing. I had my photo taken with so many kids and people were gathering in the driveway, lining up to get their pictures taken with me. People were just in awe of the armor as well as the voice effects. I did not expect such a reaction. Cars were pulling up and stopping in the street all night, unloading people to take a look. Thanks to all of you for your construction tips and insights. Aloha, Vince

I got one of those vacu-formed MG-34's and it didn't look like much to begin with but with some work it is awesome. It is simple, just use your modeling skills and make it look like you want it to. I modified the tripod mount, as well as using modeling clay, sanding, and finally painting/weathering. I should post some photos. A word of advice: although the Hyperfirm MG-34's are perfect, I have had problems with Sci-Fire (the company that makes them). I ordered their E-11 back on Jun 21 and was told it would be ready in about 1 1/2 wks. I still haven't seen it or heard a word from John at Sci-Fire since. I asked for a refund about 2 weeks ago and still no reply to my repeated emails. Sorry for venting...

[/b] When someone asks, "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?", I'll reply, "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you..."