Lufo1138

as everyone knows, the outer part of the left shin piece on the AP kit does not fit well because it is a copy of the inner right shin. I've had this AP kit for years and otherwise its great, but I need to replace this left shin with something that fits better. Outside of buying a whole new suit, where can I get either a replacement for just the outer half of the left shin that would be more correct, or the whole left shin? Does anybody offer this specific fix? Thanks for your help.

This my Wife! I've never actually worn this myself, just keep it for display, but she wanted to win the costume contest so I told her she could wear it. I didn't think she actually would. Despite being too short, it looked better than I thought it would...

These look really beautiful. He just needs to continue the stitching at the top of the straps so there is a stitch on the top border (the stitching should form an upside down "U"). Also if the D ring could be steel or aluminum instead of nickel-plated that would be a plus. These are nice without that, though.

All gone. You'd never want to troop with one of those anyway. Purely for display purposes.

Me, too. I also have three versions of it on laserdisc.

Actually he just hired the wrong director for the film. He originally wanted to hire Spielberg to direct, but because of his schism with the DGA and WGA over the ESB credits, he had to hire someone else. And he hired the wrong dude. He even realized it when dailies were coming in but instead of firing him he just stuck with his initial decision. We can only dream what Jedi would've been with Spielberg as director. *SIGH*

Do you have size comparison photos you can post showing side by side or some sort of measurement reference or discussion link? In the interest of dispensing with misinformation, of course. It would be nice to see this verified.

I believe you own or have owned more suits than were available to Lucas when they shot on location in Tunisia.

Actually the sandtrooper on the dewback is CG, and it looks worse even than the two actors in the modified ROTJ trooper armor in the foreground. It is so hideously bad, both modeling and animation. I don't think there are any rules against doing SE sandtroopers or any pressure here not to do them or consider them canon. I think some people have tried to do SE. In fact, if you want to take the SE version to the extreme, there were CG sandtroopers in Mos Eisley with no backpacks or pouches or weathering at all hanging around in the streets. They are just plain stormtroopers. So technically you could do sandtrooper with a plain vanilla ROTJ style suit if you really wanted and still be "screen accurate." But, come on... the original 1977 version of the sandtrooper is the coolest version that exists. Plain and simple. I think that's why they are the main focus of what people strive for here. It's certainly why I do.

Well I do WWII reenacting as German and I have worn MP44 pouches. The one in question here just looks too small and not the right shape for a MP44 pouch, but I agree as stated already, the reference frames do not show enough detail to be able to make a definitive judgment. We need a better pic.

I'm in Los Angeles and interested in this trip. October sounds good to me. I do not have an off road vehicle of any kind, though.

MP44 pouches are not smaller than MP40 pouches. In fact, they are bigger. And with magazines in them, they are huge. They even required an extra strap to wrap around the back to help keep them in place on the waist. In addition, Mp44 clips are banana clips, meaning they are curved, so the pouches are also curved and not at all squared off like the smaller MP40 pouches. They may look square in pictures with no mags in them, but they are not.

Oh man, you totally scored. Those look beeeeeyooootiful.

completely agree. You can get a real one for that price.

I have a pair of these I use for reenacting. That is a decent price, but let me delineate what is wrong with these pouches so you understand what the cheaper price is getting you: - There is extra stitching on the straps creating a square shape where the straps attach to the top flaps. The stitching should instead create an inverted U shape, not a square. - The D rings on these things are some sort of nickel plated monstrosities. Way too thick & rounded and too shiny. Should be made of steel. Same goes for the strap keepers... nickel plated - they are too bulky and shiny compared to originals. - The reloader pouch is stitched on the wrong edge compared to the version in the ANH scene. It will have to be removed and reattached to the proper edge so it overlaps with the mag pouches rather than hanging off the end on its own. The one saving grace to these IMA reproductions is that they actually are big enough to fit real mp-40 magazines, unlike, surprisingly, many of the repros now on the market which are too small. Boggles the mind.

Wow. I am definitely putting this on my list of places to go for a day trip this year. Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source...=15&iwloc=F

It is a fabulous tutorial and everything looks terrific, but am I the only one who thinks those main seed trays are a tad too small? I got the same trays a while back and found them to be too small for the vintage boyscout backpack frame, and they look too small even on this homemade frame. Are there really just no manufacturers out there that make a bigger seed tray? Do we really have to resort to fan-made castings or kitty litter boxes for this part of the backpack? I am feeling quite surprised at how hard it has been to track down a found part for this that will work.

Looks fabulous! Where did you get the seed boxes?

Just finished up with the weathering on the armor and I am moving on to putting together the backpack. Still looking for a good source for accurate seed boxes if anybody knows any. After that I am buying a real MG34. The E-11 just looks so..... puny (on a sandtrooper anyway).

Couldn't disagree more. It is a true abomination. Some of the new effects are truly laughable and would never make it out the door of ILM. The amateurish execution and the unwittingly gleeful acceptance by fans makes me want to cry. This is BETTER? Pffff. <_<

How sad. Can you also be arrested for wearing an M17 or M18? German military design is all over Star Wars design and props and the M35 is echoed pretty obviously in Darth Vader's ulitmate-mullet helmet (as well as samurai influence). But if you want to dress up as waffen-SS and not cause a stir you might want to join up with a WWII reenacting group. They are all over the US and Europe. You can wear the beautifully designed M35 to your heart's content (though you would have to correct the liner pins on your helmet to something more accurate). BTW, those goggles are beautiful. They look fairly star-warsy to me.

yeah, don't be afraid to slap gaffer tape to hold things together here and there. BTW, is there a diagram or some documentation somewhere that shows/tells how it was all strapped together on the originals?

Do not get them. I got them and I am sending them back. They are too small. I found that the lips on these boxes is more than an inch on each side which they have included in calculating the box dimensions. The real width of the box is more like 10 1/2". Its just too small. Do NOT get these. Anybody know another source for accurate seed boxes that are the correct size?

I guess, I am asking where that idea comes from, because there is nothing about it in the movie. Is it from an RPG? A Video Game? A novel? The fanfilm Troops? Because I think this idea of a militia/police comes from something other than the movie. Why do you send a detachment down from space when you already have troops on the ground? Just wondering aloud here. Wait. Stormtroopers have names? Or is that an actor's name? I thought the original idea for the stormtroopers was a carry-over idea from Lucas' first film, THX-1138, where you don't have a name, just a number. Because they are all clones anyway. No wait. I don't want to know the answer to that. I dislike most of the expanded universe stuff, and I am pretty sure that is where this name must come from. That stuff ruins the film for me. My bad. Sorry about that. I appreciate the insights though, thanks.

So I am new here, and I have a pretty silly question, but I have to get it off my chest. Why does this group call itself a police department? Bear with me, I am getting ready to geek out here. The reason I ask is because if you consider the plotline of ANH, the sandtroopers originally arrive on Tattooine as a detachment from the star destroyer Devastator that captured the Tantive IV. Right? Their presence in the story is as a team that has been dispatched by Vader specifically to hunt down the stolen data tapes, which then turns out to be a hunt for droids. Sticking strictly to the plotline, they are never shown as a garrison force, or a police force, but a special force with a specialized mission. So where did the original notion of a Police Dept come from exactly? Is it simply because of the roadblock scene or is it something that comes from sources outside of the movies? I am a diehard star wars geek, but forgive me, I do not read or watch any of the peripheral expanded universe stuff. I am assuming something somewhere paints a picture of a garrison force in Mos Eisley that does its part to help with the special detachment sent to recover the data tapes? Is it the influence of the short "Troops", the "Cops" spoof? Or is it possible it just sounded like a cool idea for a forum name? Perhaps it is that simple? Edumacate me. Thanks.