pandatrooper

Looking good! I agree with Paul, the bottoms of the thighs could be slimmed down in size. I would open up the back seam of the thighs, close it a hair tighter up top, and close it a lot more at the bottom. Just leave enough room so that you can get a few fingers under the lower edge of each side of the thigh when you're wearing them.

Personally, I cut the cod on my last 3 kits and have it attached with snap plates / elastic. Makes bio breaks much easier and mobility is easier for me (I have a short torso, so I cut the cod and remove an inch of plastic below the cut line). Just personal preference really. I don't find that it affects the look much myself unless you're bending all the time.

Here's how you can bend it if you want even bends across the battery packs http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=8757 http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=10434&st=20&p=137831entry137831 Make sure to use 1/8 inch wide, 1/4 inch long rivets (1/8 inch might be too short, depending on your armor thickness), and a washer inside the back of the rivet to prevent it from pulling out.

One thing that I do before I put that back cover strip on the calf, is make sure that the closure is correct first – before applying the Velcro. The problem is that your outer calf is not laying flat on the inner calf at the back. I fold the outer calf under the inner calf (so that the Velcro “doesn’t work”) and carefully heat up the back of the side and back of the outside calf with a heat gun. By bending and holding the outer calf beyond the shape that you want, after you have heated and cooled it – it will “be” the shape you want, since it always bounces back slightly. Does that make sense?

Mine are glued with E6000. I put the thighs on via garters, then boots, then the shins.

I did this image up. Thought it might be helpful for those that are building screen lineage armor and identifying which parts go where. It took a little digging to find out, but I found some info from old threads and from gathering reference from screenshots (you can clearly see the notch on the right bicep in many scenes, along with the more straight forearm being on the right arm, and the curvy one on the left).

Agreed. You'd fit into it without having to modify much at all.

Very cool idea Mark!

Yes, I did some cutting and reshaping of the shoulder bells along with a return edge. There are also some comparison pics to screen lineage shoulder bells for size reference. They are all on page 2 of the build.

I don't think a heat gun will do the trick, but a heat sealing iron (to press it flat), followed up by some sanding, then polishing would probably do the trick. I know the AM thumbprint is a bit over the top, but it doesn't bother me much. Hardly anyone notices it.

Thanks guys! I hope this inspires people on the forum to be creative with how they approach armor building. The goal was to take fan sculpted armor (with no real screen lineage) and make it look closer to the screen characters. It will never be screen accurate, but it can look like it - on a budget too!

Here's some completed pics one of my photographer friends took. Still working on a few small tweaks (fill and paint the rivets white, adjust how the chest plate hangs slightly, but that's it). Ive already trooped in it like 3 times!

Small update. Parts were top coated with Krylon black satin finish. Really pleased with the finish! Up next is weathering the ejection port / gluing it in, finishing the Hengstler box, and adding the port cover, and some final assembly!

Hey Andy. My only fear is that that coating would obscure a lot of the small details (like the engraved Sterling lettering, etc.) So I guess if that detail doesn't matter, then maybe try it out on a scrap section of PVC pipe first, and bash it around to see how it stands up. It would be great if it made it more durable / less prone to scratching, etc.

PM inbound.

You’re probably best suited to the likes of AP or ATA or TE2 armor. They are probably the smallest in terms of size. Do a quick search on FISD, there’s a few threads started by female troopers and most have been able to trim things down to size to fit. In my opinion, almost any kit can be sized down if you’re ingenious enough with trimming, Dremeling, heat guns, heat irons, etc. I have an AM kit (yes, it’s huge) but take a look at how much I trimmed off the parts-------------

Personally, I prefer lacquer based paints like you mentioned from Krylon , Rustoleum, etc. I don't like using enamels as they take much longer to dry and have a higher tendency to run. For pretty much anything you are painting, always scuff the surface, sand it, clean it (detergent / rinse with water / hang dry - don't use a towel as lint will stick to it). Then you can primer it, then paint it. Always go with several light coats, as opposed to 2 heavy ones. Some people like to paint primer first (it helps the paint stick) and some like to use paints designed for plastic (eg: Krylon Fusion). Depends on your intended use. I find Tamiya paints too thin and not enough pigment, you'll need multiple coats to get the same coverage for small details compared to Testors. I actually prefer Testors over Humbrol as they dry faster and are more opaque than Humbrol. I found out from a local supplier that Humbrol changed their compounds in their paint, thats whay they are more thin than before. I'm actually working on a tube stripe template I'm willing to share / post on the FISD Academy site. Stay tuned.

Congratulations Eric!

You only really need to paint armor if the finish isn’t what you want with the current plastic. If the HIPS is shiny enough for you, then leave it as it is. You can also polish it with Novus plastic polish (a 2 part polish) to make it shinier if you don’t want to paint it. Most people use the same tools for cutting their armor regardless of what plastic it is. You can use: - Curved lexan scissors (for cutting out RC car bodies) - Score and snap method (score a line with an exacto knife, then snap the plastic along the cut line) - Use a Dremel cutting wheel (use a slower speed to prevent melting the plastic. Some find that the diamond cutting wheel melts less) Then you can finish the edges by sanding them. I usually cut my eyes out on the lid by using a Dremel cutting wheel, then cleaning it up with the sanding drum tip.

20mm more isn't that much. Most people notice the front more than the back. I would just pry the existing ANH strip off, and make a new 20mm and make sure it covers the area you need.

Take a look at Mark / Firebladejedi's tutorial. His is all held with snaps so that all the pieces can be removed. This way, you can make a second canvas belt and just snap all the parts on it. ---------

Thanks Adam! I'll try and take some better pics of them and possibly a video too. I'll post some finished pics before I apply for the ANH stunt EIB. I'm still waiting on my AP lid (I ordered it a while back but it didn't arrive in time for my charity troop last week.)

Nice work Jesse! I think you should call them "Panda Claws".

I don't think the lettering makes a difference for EIB. The SR props E-11 had imperial cog logos and perhaps some other lettering on it, instead of the Sterling text (from what I remember, they closed shop so I can't confirm).

Anyone have an ETA on when it might be back up?