Hellraiser

Here's a tip for you. You should stop digging.... I think the hole is deep enough.

Through all of that nonsense and fluffy, barely disguised elitism....you neglected to answer TD-4935's question. You say you're NOT in it for the money. So will you sell him one of your oh-so-precious buckets for $500? I'll take one too at that price. No? Figured as much. You are doing yourself no favors by proving exactly what you are about.

WOW! What a thrill... Acted as one of two sandtrooper escorts (me, TD-4165 and Anthony Bailey, TD-8267) for Mr. Forrest today at the Laguna Niguel, CA Christmas Parade. As a proud MEPD officer I considered it my duty to do so.... The legendary 'Move along...' trooper was just fantastic to talk with. A nicer man you could not meet. I had forgotten just how much fun these events can be. My 2008 New Years resolution: Make time for more events.

The whole subject is just silly to start with...besides Mr. Gino those that live in glass houses shouldn't blast away at others. Just Sayin'. The bottom line is...who cares who casts/re-casts whatever? None of them now or in the past has a 'right' to do it. The rights rest with Lucasfilm LTD. Those that are willing to risk their investment and risk being sued (you should well know this) are rolling the dice...same as you. We, as the 'End User' just decide whether it's worth our $$$ and that's it. If it's a good cast, then why not consider buying it? If it's bad, then the people will speak with their money or not. I think, YOU SIR, have an agenda. You are trying to protect what you consider your 'turf' and that's pretty transparent despite your assertions to the contrary.... I support and agree wholeheartedly with the MEPD's policy. BTW: I own one of your first run helmets and I like it just fine!

Me & my son will be participating....he's 11 and does a great Jawa. Looking forward to it, I'll be there with BFG in hand!! A full report when I get back.

Looks great, you should have zero trouble with being approved. Nice job sir.

Hey put me down for one of your MG-15's when you have some ready to sell....it looks great!! email: hellraiser6502@sbcglobal.net Thanks!

Your first ebay item is Mark Cheng version 2, and they suck big time. The have a wrong "nose" to it, and the size is wrong too. About one size too small, then they say they are. One good thing about them is, that is that they are good strong white leather. Number two is the CA boots, the are the right size/shape etc. But in some bad plastic white leather. But the i will still take the CA boots, out of them two I highly recommend The CA Boots. VERY comfortable to walk in ...I've trooped for 4 and 5 hours in them and my feet never bothered me. What I did with them is scuff them up with a medium grit sand paper to remove the plastic-ey shine and then weathered with the same paints I used for my AP armor. Came out great.

The large Ribs are easy...Large black ribbed drainage tube from Home Depot looks almost EXACTLY the same....the only thing is...it's not quite big enough diameter . Soooo....just cut it lengthwise and slip fit it over the barrel. You will have a small gap (about 1/4 inch) on the underside that is not even noticeable. I can post a pic of my Hyperfirm Lewis with this mod if you want. Just let me know.

Wow that is one of the best I've seen...perfect!

I couldn't have possibly said it better myself....your post sums up my POV pretty much perfectly.

My question is not about accuracy or quality, but strictly SIZE.... I'm thinking of picking up a TE2 suit. I have AP now and I'm perfectly happy with it but it seems a little small, size wise. I fit into it but I'm probably approaching the upper limit (I'm 5'11", 190 lbs.) of it's comfort/wearability. Is the TE/TE2 Armor the same size as the AP suit? Bigger? Smaller? And if either of these...how much so. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!

Dude you are 6'? Wow! Standing next to him you look like my kid. I am the same height as you. I would definately have short man's disease next to him. LOL!! Again great looking armor!! Heh...Yeah the Duke (TD-4331) is a BIG guy and one of the nicest fellows you ever could meet...but yeah, most troopers look puny next to him! I'm actually only 5'11" but with the boots and a little foam in the top of my helmet I'm around 6' even.

Yep a local Praxair here in California is where I got mine too. Go for the 'number 3' darkness/tint factor on it, it's perfect....not TOO dark and not light either.

Wow that looks great! I was pretty happy with my scratchbuilt pack but after seeing a few of these kit packs you guys have done.....I may have to upgrade. That looks really great man, awesome job.

Well, it no longer looks blue! I would have guessed you painted it. Amazing that the detail (The black of the brow and the various grey areas) 'sucked' all of the blueish look from it.

Looking GREAT! So you ended up painting the whole thing white first before detailing? I'm a big fan of these AP kits myself and I'm about to start building my second set.

It's pretty amazing the amount of talent and creativity this group has. Simply amazing. Tom we are practically neighbors! I'm up in Palmdale.

Hey that looks fantastic! The Tamiya paint is waterbased...correct?

Thanks Nathan! You should come by sometime & I'll give you a demostration on how to do it.

Heh...I KNEW someone would say that! I'm right at 6' with my armor on and the other trooper in the pic, Duke (TD-4331) is 6' 7" without armor!!! Also I'm standing on a driveway that slopes downhill and he's uphill from me.....eh, nevermind!

You've probably already finished your weathering but in case you haven't. I used the water based 'Woodland Scenics' brand of paints, typically used for model train dioramas. Can be found in almost any hoppy shop. I used primarily 2 'Woodland Scenics' colors for mine: 1) Concrete 2) Raw Umber with a little bit of W/S 'Earth' color mixed with the Raw Umber in the low spots. The low dark spots, Raw Umber & Earth color, mixed and thinned 1 part water -2 parts paint, were first dabbed liberally (i.e. wet) and then patted with a towel carefully to feather the edges for a natural looking fade. Then the 'Concrete' color (really just an off-white shade) was dabbed on the whole of the rest of the armor, using an old hand towel. When you overlap the the 'Concrete' color on top of the dark areas (when dry), you create an artificial 'third intermediate color' that ties it together nicely. After wearing it for awhile the paint rubs off on the armor's sharp edges and high spots and looks extremely realistic to my eyes. The overall visual effect of these colors is very subtle & understated even in bright sunlight (see pics) Also, being water based it's easy to touch up or wash off & start over if desired. Hope this helps someone out there. Good luck.

Wow, That looks fantastic!!

That's a great shot! I have another untrimmed AP set in the box for my TK....just gotta get up the nerve to put it together. I have a feeling it'll be a little more difficult...less forgiving of any 'errors' in assembly.

Heh...yeah it's top notch, YOU should know! Thanks for all your help man. Give me call, I lost your #!