IanL

Yup the armor used to belong to the big dude on the left in H_T's sig. I am happy to see that Hippie has offered to round up the guys for a road trip to Pensacola to help me finish te weathering

I acquired (for free) a resin Lewis Gun. As you can see it was broken, most likely by a disgruntled spouse. It is cracked pretty cleanly, at the cooling rings, so I am looking for the best way to put this back together. I also need to refinish it, since the paint job is all cracked and alligatored. What's the best way to strip the paint (chemical or sanding). Lewis gun currently in 3 pieces. Need to glue barrel on somehow, and also fasten the stock back on Picture of pieces together at the break View inside at the break location

I am getting closer to joining the ranks of a TD. My armor finally came (bought from another XL sized gentleman) and I also picked up a free Lewis gun. Check everything out here http://www.flickr.com/photos/47559996@N00/sets/1832214/ I am in the process of acquiring the remaining pieces of armor, then i'll be redoing the weathering to get it all uniform.

I got my TD armor yesterday (finally!) but I didn't realize the seller removed the aerator/mic tips from the helmet. Does anyone have a source for these? I don't plan on hooking up speakers there so all I need are accurate tips to glue into the holes. PM me I will post pics of the armor tonight for all those curious, but it will look familiar to all those that know Hippietrooper's sig.

Love the logo design!!!! Put me down for a few patches and a t-shirt or two. Makes me want to move to Alaska and troop there!

I just started my Lewis, and I think I'm gonna steal your cooling ring idea there. Very clever. How does the tube attach within the brass couplers? Is the tubing glued all the way around or does it just rest on the barrel? I will update with pics of mine as I get further along.

Sorry to dredge up an old thread Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of the Hyperdyne and RomFX boards? Hyperdyne stated their boards would be back in stock next week and I'd like to get one, but everyone raves about the RomFX. Just wanted to know how both size up for a TK looking to add the static burst to his amp. And I saw Triktoys is now selling it. Any experience with that model?

Here is my very first TK accessory. Weathered and beat up binocs. I still need to add the lenses on the end and the viewscreen needs to have graphics and lettering added. The buttons on each side also need some weathering. (Sorry for blurry image...text around buttons is aurebesh)

I'm looking to add some Aurebesh writing to my accessories. What is the easiest way to do it for someone who can barely write his own name. I have the Aurebesh font on my computer so I can print stuff out if needed. Any tutorials out there?

I'm working up a pack concept in my head. Can someone tell me what the width of their backpack is (shoulder to shoulder), or else, what is the width of an ALICE pack frame?

Thanx for the offer 6025! I am a member of the Florida 501st board, however being Florida, there is not much interest in snowtrooper costumes. I know I can't figure it out either. I also recently joined the New England message board. I have put together or have a line on getting most of the items (hard and soft goods), right now I am looking for some tech support on putting everything together, and maybe some advice on the little things that complete the costume. I also do not mean to pollute this board with talk about other costumes, so feel free to PM me or email me at expedition03.daddy@gmail.com. Thanks for giving me a forum here to speak, and Rule!

Your pack has inspired me. I love the use of the hinged cases for hidden storage. You mentioned that the two "briefcase" pieces were CD cases? Do you know where those came from? I'd like to use those for the base of my pack. Great job on it!

I apologize in advance if I hit on a touchy subject here, but you guys have welcomed me and I have a particular vent that perhaps we can discuss here between both 501st members and prospective members. Let me start off by saying this site has been immensely helpful, and I am happy for the opportunity to post and read all of the helpful advice here. That being said, as a prospective 501st member (read: no completed costume, and no TK number assigned yet), I am running into a lot of resistance trying to get hints and tips to complete my costume. I originally sought out to build a snowtrooper outfit, as the plastic reqirement is less than a TK. Plus my size makes fitting an ebay suit of TK armor somewhat difficult. Unfortunately a lot of good resources for piecing such an outfit together are forbidden from me since I am not an official 501st member. There is an official snowtrooper Yahoo message board that requires the 501st membership to access. No exceptions. And herein lies the double standard. I could take the easy way, join the "jumpsuit brigade" for the sole purpose of acquiring a 501st designation, and with no other ambition to use that specific outfit. Or I could put my time, effort and money into the costume that I would like to have but be completely in the dark with advice and feedback on my costume until it's too late. I understand the 501st's motivations to keep out the "riffraff" who are not sincere about participating in trooping events and such, but it leaves guys like me high and dry. Well that's my rant. I was fortunate enough to be offered an almost complete set of TD armor from a guy on the Florida 501st board who used to be my size, and I may join the 501st as a TD first depending on how things come together. That being said, I hope this website keeps up with the great information for us newbies, and can help create an entire legion of awesome desert troops.

Just wondering what everyone thought on this topic. I am gathering the bits and pieces together for my TD and I am hung on what to do about the backpack. Truth to tell, I'd rather just pick up one than to make it from scratch, but those kits/pre-made packs are not cheap. What has everyone spent to put their packs together? Looking for rough ideas, assuming you have NOTHING around the house to use. I would also like to be fairly standard in my design.

Looks great! I'm a fan of the Lewis, I think it's the most prominent BFG for the sandtroopers (who could forget the Captain talking to Garindan before marching into Docking Bay 94). After I finish my E-11 it's next on the list. If you guys don't mind, let me ask: What's the best material/kind of pipe for the barrel? I picked up a 3" PVC pipe but that thing weighs a couple pounds. Anything lighter that they sell at Depot/Lowes?

I hope I didn't come across sounding condescending or rude. It was not my intention, and your ideas are completely legitimate. I guess my beef is that personally I will never be a "screen-accurate" TK/TD due to the fact that I am a good 5 inches taller than most of them. Therefore I am pursuing a set of armor (custom chest and helmet, supplimented with FX extremity pieces), and once I am done weathering and beating upon it, hopefully the little differences will not be so significant. Either way I know I will be a passable trooper, just from a clone vat that got a little too much growth serum or something. Keep a journal of your progress on your new suit I know I would love to see how one of those comes together!!

I'm new here too, so excuse the possibly dumb question, but What is wrong with the FX armor? I am sure you spent a pretty good amount on it, and I think you should be proud of what you put together. I think you could always improve the details or the add-ons to what you have, but I don't see the need to completely scrap a perfectly good set for what may or may not be more "authentic" to what was worn on the screen. Do you think others will notice the little flaws and differences in your armor? Heck the last troop I went on, half the TKs were wearing white tennis shoes. The kids there all though the stormtroopers were "cool" anyway.

Okay IanL, satisfied? You've started a small conflict here on sandtrooper.net. WELCOME aboard!!!! The important lesson here is just enjoy your journey to the dirt-side. How far along are you? What type of armor do you have/want? Are you a 501st member? Got questions? This is the place to ask them. Again, allow me to welcome you to the "best **** job AND website this side of the outer rim terrorities"! Now, get to work! Guns Thanks for the intro 2581. I am actually "inheriting" a partial set of TD armor from a guy on the Florida group. I am a new member, still not assigned a number yet, but I am looking for as much help as possible. I have more questions but I will let one controversy die down before I start another.

As a new TD recruit, I need to know what color pauldron I should wear. I don't think I've earned a general's rank, but someone needs to boss around those clean suited TK's.

I noticed that Amazon has these available for a pretty cheap price. TK409's website has a great tutorial on turning it into a piece of Imperial hardware. Check it out http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 60-6321604

Hi All, I apologize if this is off-topic as far as the trooper type is concerned, but it appears we have many great experts that can possibly help me out in my quest. I am a prospective member of the 501st, and I am currently assembling a costume. I was thinking about trying out a snowtrooper costume as well as a TD. I checked the 501st member roll for weathering ideas on a Snowtrooper and every costume seems to be pristine white. I would think the Blizzard Force would get as banged up and dirty as the Desert guys, so I was hoping to get some hints on colors and techniques to weather up a set of snowtrooper armor. My second question is along the same lines. Weathing the hard goods seems pretty easy, but how would you recommend weathing the soft goods in a snowtrooper outfit such as the duster jacket and tail, and the boots?