pandatrooper

Mots "clubs" and parties where I live do not allow weapons of any kind. I remember I had some friends that dressed as SWAT guys, and had their toys guns held at the bar, etc. or not allowed in at all. one group dressed as "Kill Bill" and the Uma Thurman girl and the guys in suits / masks (Crazy 88's) had their kiddie plastic and foam blade ninja swords taken. It's all in the name of safety. All it takes is some drunk guy to start spinning a wooden stick around, and someone is going to lose an eye.

Heres the tutorial for thigh assembly in the tips and how to section. ---- The advice from the other posts here should help too. You basically need to make wider or tapered shims / cover strips. If possible, make the front closer to screen accurate and make the back wider.

A photo with the shins on would help us diagnose this.

The absolute best website to look at all the armor makes is the one you're on now! Read these threads Getting Started After you have familiarized yourself with the terminology, armor makers and finding ones that suit your needs, then browse through the armor threads. Pretty much every make of armor has been built by people of various sizes. These builds will give you a good idea of what each type is like, and how people built them. You need to invest some time and research your needs and what suits you. Don't rush out and buy the first thing you see. Kits generally come unassembled. Some makes that are in your price range are AM, ATA, and on the higher end TE2, and AP. Theres lots of build threads on those. You are the right height for a TK. You might be a bit slim, but thats easy to deal with. You have a budget in mind for the armor, but have you budgeted for everything else you will need? Eg. Helmet acessories like a fan or mic amp neckseal undersuit gloves belt holster blaster boots tools and parts for assembly like elastic, snaps, glue, etc this will all add at least a few hundred dollars on top of your armor total. Just several things to keep in mind and plan for. I dont know if someone has already mentioned, but stay away from Ebay. You can find all the legit makers on Fisd.

Other than making your own, theres 2 sources on Mepd for people selling accurate 3 slot pouches. http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=6979&pid=90067&st=0entry90067 http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=7342&st=0 I wouldnt get the ones you posted.

Thanks Noel, that's very kind of you! Brandon, I forgot to attach: here's the link for the Badlands Garrison which covers BC, AB, and Sask. http://www.badlands.ca/forum/ucp.php?mode=register

Welcome aboard! I say: Build it, troop in it, modify it, troop in it some more. You will learn a LOT more about armor, and down the road you might sell it and upgrade to something better / more accurate that suits your needs.

Hi Brandon. Sorry to sidetrack, but if you're interested in joining the 501st Legion, please make sure to register on your local garrison. You are in Victoria, which means you would be a member of the same squad I am in, the Outer Rim Squad within the Badlands garrison. You will probably meet a few fellow local members on the Island there. They just recently held an event at a charity toy show / food drive, and they are also planning to be attending Sidney Sparkles parade. Again, you should sign up on your local garrison forum for more info. Anyways, welcome aboard! Make sure to read those getting started links above, and hopefully you can troop in Vancouver some day.

That’s Cushman Paintball. They’ve been around for a while, they are not new. They make vac formed “shells†of weapons for paintball, etc. and branched out into other vac form weapons for reenactment, etc. They happen to make some of the SW based weapons because they were based on old WWII weapons. Most of the feedback on them has been: - Lightweight weapon, good for trooping - Looks good from 20 feet away, but not up close - very soft vac form pulls - poor trimming / seams - bad service - bad communication

Here's a way to make one from scratch. The mounting is pretty much how most people mount them (shims, angle it outwards to prevent catching on bottom of thigh)

Thanks guys, glad everyone likes it! I’m only 5 foot 8 inches tall, so the helmet looks a little big on me anyways (as far as I know, ATA is one of the smallest if not the smallest). It's the padding too (see below). Thanks Paul, glad you noticed that detail! I think I've stared and studied those tube stripes so much, I have them memorized by now. Thanks Mark. I just threw some padding in there and yes – it’s sitting a bit too tall. I’m waiting for some better fitting padding to arrive. Good eye and critique as always! Thanks! Here's the link to the tutorials if you want to know how it was done. http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=12695

Most people rivet a backing to the shin, then glue the plate onto the backing via layers of plastic / shims between the plate and backing. Here's how I did mine. It's rock solid. http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=6775&view=findpost&p=83101

Hey Bill. I think there's a few different threads discussing the same topic. Might be some good info here ---------

I replicated the tube stripes on the helmet by taking screenshots into Photoshop, and re-warping / filtering the image, then re-drawing it. Printed them out to scale, then cut them out of sign vinyl and airbrushed them. Here's a comparison of the screen used helmet and the replica. Comparison of the original "Stop that Ship!" helmet from Starwarshelmets.com to the replica.

I've finally completed my replica "Stop that ship!" trooper / TD, and it was Legion approved yesterday. Still waiting for MEPD Deployment approval. My goal was to make a "dirtier" version of the original "Stop that Ship!" trooper in ANH. I didn't want to paint the armor or helmet yellow (like it looks "today" on StarWarshelmets.com), more like "what would this trooper have really looked like on the set of the film shoot in Tunisia?" My AM TK is great as an idealized Trooper, but I wanted this build to be a lot more accurate in as many ways as possible. I came up with a unique way to replicate the oil / dirt / sand weathering, and tried to replicate most of the dirt patterns on the helmet, chest and ab plate. Along with that came a screen accurate backpack build, and a scratch built T-21 blaster. Armor: ATA TD version (sniper knee plate, no ab button plate, 3 vertical ab buttons, no armor shoulder straps) Inner shoulder straps: white elastic Helmet lens: green welders visor Helmet details: hand painted Mic tips: “Keith†Hovi mic tips Neckseal: custom sewn Belt: custom sewn MP40 pouches: Modified with screen accurate flaps and snaps Boots: TK boots Undersuit: Under Armor Pauldron: custom sewn Backpack: custom frame, Crashmann seed trays and small parts, Radio Shack tool box, Gordonator cistern, customized radio faceplate w/ Crashmann knobs, Tupperware radar dish T-21 Blaster: scratch built. Includes ribbing for barrel, 2 replica WWII Enfield slings, custom sight cover at base of ribbing Weathering: Liquitex / Golden acrylics

You should be able to strap everything with elastic. Its more flexible than webbing.

Do a search on the fisd for VT armor, its been reviewed many times now.

Hope you get better soon Chuck! BTW: I'm not really seeing the resemblance in this pic...

No problem guys. That's what "Troopers helping Troopers" is all about. Remember, this is just one way to assemble a kit. There's other methods too, like the screen accurate wire hangers, elastic, etc. It just depends on your intended use and how accurate you want it to be. Review the different construction methods, then pick the one that best suits your skills, needs and budget. Good luck with your builds!

I believe TM makes a kids version too.

Very nice work! Great job!

I would try and use the narrowest cover strip possible on the front, and have a much wider shim at the back of the thighs. Eg; most people use 20mm up front, but maybe try a 30mm strip withe the front ridge lines just outside of that, then in the back of uou need something big like a 70mm cover strip, then thats fine. The front will look closer to screen accurate than the back. Theres no guideline for EIB stating that cover strips need to be a certain width. You could even do overlap with no strip and it would pass, but butt join seams and a cover strip look better. Also, please taper the thighs so that they are narrower / more close fitting around the knee. A lot of people make the thighs fitted at the top, and the area around the knee has this giant diameter thigh swinging loosely. Tailor them to fit! Hope that helps!

No problem!

The forearms are attached to the biceps with black elastic as you mentioned. Theres a snap plate at the bottom of the bicep. The other end is attached with industrial velcro on the inside if the forearm and velcro sewn to the end of the strap. I like doing it this way because i can dial in the length until its just perfect. The velcro at the end is about 2.5" long and has never failed.