pandatrooper

I assembled most of my ATA styrene kit with E6000 with no problems. As described, sand both surfaces, spread E6000 on both surfaces - don't over apply it in a thick bead, it doesn't work that way. Don't apply it to the metal on snap plates, just use it on plastic to plastic, or for snap plates use Plastic Weld instead, again avoid applying it to the metal backing of snaps, it seems to cause a bad reaction. I applied covers strips with E6000, and assembled most of my joins with it, and it works fine.

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I use 3/4" x 1/8" thick rare earth magnets, 2 stacked together (2 on top, 2 on the bottom). Each one pulls 22 lbs. I know some other troopers use big square ones but I couldn't find them locally so I used these: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32065&cat=1,42363,42348

You should always glue plastic to plastic, never onto paint. It's not going to stick. E6000 works great for styrene or ABS, sand both sides, spread glue on both sides, join and clamp for 24 hours. Use a metal ruler and exacto blade to score straight lines in the plastic sheet to make cover strips. Then snap them and sand the edges if necessary.

Nice pics Paul! I hope I can attend the next one in the future! That TIE fighter is awesome! I think you should hijack it for me so I can keep in my backyard.

I'm kind of shocked I didn't make one of these before, these are so awesome! I would love to make one for every costume I own! A duct tape mannequin is a great way to: - create a form that is a very close replication of your body shape - awesome way to display your armor - a great way to test sizing for parts, armor mods, etc. This is nothing super new, people have made duct tape mannequins for years. They started off in the seamstress / dress making hobby (people would use duct tape to create a torso dress form for tailoring their own outfits), and there's been many Legion members who have made these for their costumes. It's not that hard, it just takes time and some simple materials. Materials: 2 large rolls of duct tape (don't get the foil kind, just the regular silver kind PVC pipe (I used 3/4" pipe) 1 PVC cross connector 4 PVC "T" junctions 4 PVC 90 degree elbows PVC cement fiberfill / foam / pillow stuffing Scissors with round tips Old long sleeve top, pants (sweats will do) and socks A friend to help you 1. Get dressed in your old clothes. They should be somewhat thin / not too bulky 2. Go to the bathroom before proceeding (important!) 3. Stand in whatever pose you want. I chose to keep it neutral. If you want to bend the elbows for shooting / blaster poses, it's possible - just keep in mind it may be harder to dress the mannequin. Also, you (as the model) will get hot. Try not to move too much, and don't do this outside / in the sun. 4. Have your friend / helper start wrapping you in duct tape! Star from the bottom and work up. Avoid wrapping the tape "off the roll" if you do this, the tape will be very tight / uncomfortable and the mannequin will be smaller than you. Tear off sections of tape about 12" long and make sure to overlap half the previous strip as you work up. I chose to wrap the bottoms of my heels so that I can insert the mannequins legs into the boots. This is why you need to wear socks. Don't bother making the feet, it won't likely stand on it's own anyways. You can add a post / stand for it later, or simply lean it against a wall. 5. Continue wrapping the upper body. I found that I was slouching / leaning forward, so try to stand straight. Make sure to press the tape down evenly and smooth it out. 6. Make sure that the tape overlaps all the way around the back. I'm bringing sexy back! Yeah! 7. After you have wrapped one layer of tape, it should be good to cut the tape and extract your self. If you're bigger / taller, I would recommend 2 layers of tape - again, overlap the seams. Use scissors with round tips, or if you have some - medical safety scissors also work great (the ones for cutting bandages off patients). Cut a vertical seam down the back, across the back of both arms, and down the back of the legs. You should be able to step out easily. Here's my "body wrap" laid out on the floor. I have laid the skeleton / support frame on it. 8. Go get a drink of water to rehydrate. 9. Make your skeleton support. I used 3/4" PVC pipe. Copy the joints here or make your own. Use your own body as a guide for how long each should be. Notice that I bent the legs of the skeleton outwards to match the pose I was in. I didn't bother making bones / supports for the arms, as I wanted my arms to lay at the sides anyways, and it's just extra weight. Use PVC glue to attach each section of pipe. 10. Tape over the seams starting at the feet, and do about 12"-16" at a time. Tape one section, then stuff it with the fiberfill / foam, etc. You can buy it at fabric stores and even Walmart, it's used for stuffing pillows and such (my wife and I joked about how we should walk into one of those "Build a Bear" shops with my empty mannequin and say "I need this stuffed". Here's mine after stuffing. I threw some old worn out bike shorts on it since I want the under suit areas to show through as black (*TIP: simply cover the elbow, armpit, and knee areas with black gaffer tape or hockey tape! It will look like an undersuit without the cost! 11. Dress your new action figure! Many thanks to my wife for helping me out for a few hours. She thought this was pretty funny, but said it was very cool and turned out great!

Crazy ridonkulous!!! That is beautiful!! Great job Pete and Paul!!

No problem, Matt. If you need any help / guidance on silicones, mother molds, prepping, etc. Let me know. I have a good amount of experience with molding and casting. Cost wise, good quality silicone is expensive, but saves you headaches if you intend to do more copies down the road. I live 5 mins from a high quality retailer for casting materials, etc. I'd love to get maybe even 2 or 3, so that I can have some on hand for out of town troopers (saves them from having to pack their blasters and travel with them). You might also want to post this on Badlands, Canadian Garrison, etc. T.

I'd be very interested, especially as seeing as you're in my back yard! I have always wanted a Hyperfirm, but they don't ship internationally. You have to be careful with exporting them though. I have seen people "flagged" within Canada by customs for shipping replicas / airsoft, etc. as in some circles they are still illegal to own and ship. That's a concern too: if you cast them in black, and customs opens them - you're in for a lot of trouble seeing you're shipping out from Canada. That being said, if they are resin colored (grey, beige) maybe that makes it easier to ship? I believe that's why Sci Fire does not ship internationally. I know there's one seller in BC that makes resin blasters and sells them on Ebay. Materials wise, I have always really liked the Sci Fire approach to the E-11 blaster. I got to handle one and see it up close at a cross border troop. A hard rubber outer shell, with a foam filled interior and sometimes a fiberglass or carbon rod running inside for rigidity. They cast them in a black rubber, so that only weathering paint is required. Really light, durable for trooping.

Caboots is pretty much the only other choice, but they cost as much or more than TK boots. The other option is to find riding / jodhpur boots and dye or paint them. Thats what they did in the films.

How to identify the arm parts ----------

If you use elastic that's too thin, you'll get shoulder bell "floppage". Make sure to use slightly wider elastic. I use 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" thicker elastic, and it works good. Also, make sure you have the elastic that wraps around the shoulder bell around your bicep. Adjust the length so that it hugs your bicep a little more, that prevents rotation too.

Looking pretty good! I'd lower the biceps a bit. Definitely ad that strap for the cod to butt, it will straighten it out a bit. See if you can extend the chest down a bit. Good work so far, trooper.

Yes, that's how I trimmed mine. I found that ATA sometimes has the "bumpy lines" left from the molds / buck. You can usually follow the line. Try maintain as much of the return edge / rounded corners as possible.

I would trim that neck line more. I use lexan scissorsm, then some sandpaper to clean up the edge and take the sharpness off.

Congrats Tiffanie, it turned out great! Nice work!

Happy birthday to one of the sharpest looking troopers around. All the best on your very special day, Pablo!

I have tackled the bucket first and I am taking my time. I have done the bulk trimming and sanding, now I am on the details eyes and teeth. Personally, I would suggest working on other parts first. It will get you experienced with all the tools you need, and if you make a small mistake, it will be less noticeable on something like a bicep. If you cut too far on a helmet, it's harder to fix. My questions are: Eyes - to get the bubble lenses to fit properly and to get as accurate as possible do I need to trim more out. I think I do and I have put a pencil line there, which isn't really visible. I just dont want to take out too much and have it look strange. Yes, I think you need to trim more. Use the pictures from Starwarshelmets.com as reference. Teeth - Do I need to make the holes a bit larger? Do I have the tape in the right place for painting or do I need to take it further down? Your pictures are a little too blurry to make out. Again, use the reference from SWhelmets. There should be no grey on the "lips" of the mouth, only on the teeth themselves.

Can you take some pics?

I've used a flat chisel / Dremel cut off wheel and use it to grind / cut along the seam to break the bond (make sure to put most of the "damage" on the snap plate - not the armor), then carefully pry it off. Sand the area down, make a new snap plate, re-glue it into place.

I think it's your cotton suit doing this. I've had 3 sets of armor now, 2 ABS and 1 HIPS while wearing an Underarmor style suit with no issues, and I've been trooping a lot lately. There's always going to be a little wear and tear on the edges but the discoloration seems to me like it's coming from your suit.

Great detail and clarity as always Mark! Thanks for doing this. Pinned and closed.

Tom, I'll send you a PM and hook you up. They will be cost (what i paid retail) plus shipping.

Yes, that would work. I used black elastic and rivets. You could use rivets, snaps, jeans rivets, etc. I think Firebladejedi said the outer heads are about 11mm in diameter. I suppose you could use Chicago screws, but there's not a lot of thickness there, just plastic and elastic. If you are using them , make sure to use loctite so they dont come loose.

Tandy Leather makes them, you want line 24 size - they work really good for snap plates. By coincidence, I have a set of 100 extra line 24 snaps if for some reason you don't want to buy them from Tandy. I ordered 100 which was all I needed, but they goofed and sent me another 100 and billed me too! I was going to return them, but if you want to buy some here - I could sell you a set for your conversion.

You don't need a return edge on areas you may have trimmed for Legion approval or EIB that I know of. The people that do it tend to do so to return cut areas to original / screen look, or if there was one at that spot before. But I don't think its required. Also, keep in mind that you should know where you want the return edge to be before you trim the armor. You want about 3/8" or so extra to create the return, then trim it to even it out. If you already trimmed it and then do the return, it will be shorter than the intended length. I tend to do at least a couple passes with the heat iron. I don't use the heat gun on the area first because I find it results in uneven heating ( one area becomes really soft and the area next to it is still hard. Work on small sections as a time, I only heat about 2" at a time. You don't need to apply a lot of pressure, just hold it against the surface to heat it up, and keep the iron moving.