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butcherbird

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Posts posted by butcherbird

    Helmet Padding

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    I'm not sure what thickness the foam is in the original helmets, but I ordered a "Foam Bed Topper" (Twin size, 1" thick, B-Grade) from this place:

    http://www.knoxfoam.com/

    They also have 2" and 3" thickness but that seems too thick to me. The photo on their website shows an accurate yellowed color, but when I received mine it was white. However, it is starting to turn yellow now. Don't know if that's from aging or light exposure.

    They don't ship international, though.

    It's pretty easy to cut it up into the star (or flower) shape.

    -Todd

    THE MOTHERLOAD!!!

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    Just wanted to bump this back up since I got the book a few days ago.

    All I can say is...wow.

    This book is incredible. It's the book I've been waiting for since I was four years old. Finally a full and detailed account of the making of my favorite movie. I feel like a little kid again! GREAT BOOK.

    Hmm. Upgrades.

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    I understand where you are coming from Todd.

    The difference is, to the casual observer and at-a-glance, it looks correct.

    But when heavily scrutinized against film original pieces, it falls apart.

    For some, probably for most, that is totally fine.

    For me though, I don't care about what the prop should look like, or what it looks like in my mind's eye. I want it to look just like the film prop in every way as if you set it right next to an original.

    I'm interested in it from an artistic/historic//purist/anal-accuracy point of view, as opposed from a practical costumer's point of view.

    Although, I admit, I started out with one point of view and over the years grew into the other. I wasn't always a purist.

    I find that happens to a lot of people when they stay focused on a particular prop area. They start to want the more and more accurate.

    Gino - Thanks for the input. I would just say that IMO what people like Paul are doing (and I don't mean to speak for him at all) is pretty firmly based on the pursuit of "artistic/historic//purist/anal-accuracy", and not merely practical costuming. To me, that kind of label would be better suited to FX-type items, where it's more of a general "stormtrooper" look rather than a specific look based on one specific movie.

    As far as I know (and correct me if I'm wrong), TE is the only one who claims to have seen authentic ANH armor in the LFL archives. Yet his "ANH" armor, especially the forearms, differs pretty drastically from what I can see on screen.

    I sincerely hope that one day an original ANH trooper suit will surface (preferrably screen identifiable) and we can all get a chance to unlock the mysteries.

    -Todd

    Hmm. Upgrades.

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    His definitely has more of the key aspects we associate with ANH but that doesn't necessarily make it the most screen accurate. It does make it the most visually pleasing to those of us looking for those aspects.

    Just for the sake of semantics, how can something that looks the most like what is seen on screen not be considered the most screen accurate? It either looks like the movie or it doesn't (or "less like" the movie, if we're going to talk degrees of accuracy). Construction materials aside, if it walks like an ANH trooper and quacks like an ANH trooper...it's an ANH trooper.

    No intention of argument, just trying to seek clarification.

    -Todd

    SDS Stormtrooper helmet IS from the original moulds

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    "From a certain point of view" is a totally apt description for this (not to mention the movie quote tie-in).

    I'm just a Joe Schmoe-type myself, but my thoughts have always been that there were certainly alterations made to the original 1976 Stunt helmet molds, either to make new versions (e.g. Hero, serrated tube-prototype, etc.) or to refurb any damage from continued usage. The real mystery to me is what the status of the molds was from 1976 through 2005, as far as condition, deterioration, damage, etc. As has been stated many times, AA's marketing statements were misleading in that regard.

    All marketing arguments aside, the real assessment of the lasting "value" of AA's helmets comes from two main criteria IMO:

    1) That they were made by the same guy who originally made them for the film.

    2) That they may have come from an original mold, even if that mold was drastically altered from its virgin 1976 Stunt condition.

    How much those considerations are ultimately worth to you will vary from person to person.

    -Todd

    Possible original color on backpack found

    in Field Backpack

    Posted

    Just for clarification...when you guys mention the American Accents "Slate Gray" do you actually mean "Slate Blue"? I was at the hardware store yesterday looking at paints and they had AA "Slate Blue" that looked pretty good.

    Also, as someone mentioned in another paint thread here, the ACE Hardware Enamel "Wedgewood" looks close, too.

    -Todd

    Who ordered the helmet comparison? Dial-Up fuggedaboudit!

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    Not at all, John, feel free to use them.

    I would think that line you mentioned would just be a trimming/assembly thing, but that's odd if you said you tried to adjust for it and it was still the same. The only major difference I can readily see is with the back swoop area on the TE from the side view. It has more of a pronounced "hump" and undercut than Gino's.

    Maybe Matt fettled his tumblehome.

    -Todd

    Who ordered the helmet comparison? Dial-Up fuggedaboudit!

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    Thanks everyone.

    Nice job on your AP Rolf!

    Paul is right, it's kind of a trick question since all of these helmets (supposedly) derive from the same source, just different generations. Differences in trimming and assembly (and molding skill) account for the discrepancies. They're all the same size.

    The one detail of the meatsock that I really like is how the right eye (when facing the helmet) is trimmed out. The way it turns up slightly as it comes to a point at the bridge of the "nose". For some reason that just looks cool to me.

    -Todd

    Thigh Issues

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    I think at some point along its evolution the FX armor thighs became more barrel shaped. The current thighs look much wider than the older ones did. I had an FX armor from back in the GT days (late 90's) and the thighs were closer to normal. I've even seen some FX suits where the thighs were so wide it looked like they were walking on stilts.

    Maybe there were just a lot of people requesting thigh shims so someone modified the molds. ???

    Hero prototype-New pics page 6

    in Sandtrooper Armor

    Posted

    I agree 100% with Seth's comments. I REALLY hate the bickering and mudslinging aspect of the trooper hobby.

    Obviously someone who deliberately copies/recasts items for their own financial gain or prestige should not be tolerated nor their actions condoned. But, as Seth alluded to, with the amount of YEARS Paul has spent researching and refining his sculpts (quite openly I might add), how could it be outside the realm of possibility for him not to be approaching a screen accurate replica? With the number of clear photographs of film-used helmets available and now with high res screen references, it wouldn't seem crazy for someone with sculpting talent to be able to recreate those items VERY closely.

    I give a lot of credit to Matt for having the balls to take apart a screen-used original helmet and cast it, and a lot of credit to Gino for continuing the quest for perfect film accuracy with the best set of molds from props with film lineage, but to me what Paul is doing is of no less value to the hobby.

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