pandatrooper

Thanks Jon. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the Terminator (I did the T2 version in college, I had some robotic arm bits and everything, pretty good for a low budget version). Here's an image of the Alien I did based on James Cameron's Alien. Along with the link to a post I made a while back with pics of other costumes. http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=8257 On the topic of Jar Jar (ah, the poor guy) I'm actually rather proud of the work I did to create it, and I'm not embarrassed about it. Keep in mind that I started the costume before EP1 came out, and that at the time no one knew what a useless character / bad comedy attempt by GL he would be. Regardless, I still wore this costume to a few parties and most people thought I had bought it. My friends that have kids that saw me in it were super excited about it, so that matters more to me than what hardcore fans thought about him (as a character). I also went to a few parties with it including a big EP1 launch party at Virgin records where I won a pretty big prize package, which was a pleasant surprise. The Vader, Maul and a few other hardcore attendees weren't as impressed. The costume is in storage now, but ideally I'd like to sell it and see it go to someone who appreciates the work. Whether they want to display it or do a sacrificial torching it is up to them. At the end of the day, my TK is still my favorite. Here's a few "making-of" pics and some completed ones.

Not sure if these count, but I have a bunch of notable ones (not all are SW related): First home made costume at 7 years old - Stormtrooper Ninja Turtle Terminator Speed Racer Kato (from the Green Hornet) Alien from Aliens Jar Jar Binks (seriously, I'm openly admitting this now) Darth Maul Transformer Army of Two Rios ANH style - Stormtrooper (come full circle!) Already planning for the next costume...

Nope, there is no strap that connects the chest to back, I was referring to the shoulder strap that connects the top of the chest to the top of the back, and then an elastic strap that comes out at 90 degrees to attach to the shoulder bell. This isn't a great picture on mine, but you can see the white straps with snaps on them.

For the snaps you can order them online at "Tandy leather". The size you need is "line 24". The heat sealing modeling iron is used to seal RC model airplane wings. Try online shopping at Tower Hobbies. Good luck!

Saw it over the winter break, enjoyed it. I tried to lower my expectations slightly before watching it, but it surpassed my expectations. There's definitely some simplistic "inspirations" for the story, but Cameron's delivery and presentation were great. I think George and Mr. Bay could learn a thing or two from this James Cameron guy...

Very cool! I wish I could do one of these. They'd be so much fun!

Were the tube stripes really hand painted, or airbrushed using a template? Looking at the pictures on Starwarshelmets.com (picture borrowed from there for reference)... ------------ I find that the individual stripes have very sharp corners. This would be crazy to try and achieve with 50+ helmets for a film production on a short time frame (note, I’m a traditionally trained artist, so I know how to handle a brush, and it’s hard to get the lines that sharp freehand). Also, I know the individual blue lines themselves have an organic, hand done look to them, but the “row” of stripes (the actual width) is very consistent, which leaves me to believe at least some masking tape or stencil was used. Does anyone know the actual process used? Were they maybe brush painted with masking tape to mask the rows, and then a brush stroke was done to paint each stripe? Or was a mask / template used and the whole thing was airbrushed?

Does anyone know how the original screen used ANH helmets had their tube stripes done? Were they painted or decals, stencil / airbrushed? Also, were the tear ducts / traps always hand painted? Thanks!

Wow, fantastic pictures! You should have been EIB a long time ago! I was surprised when you got your TK number! Great job Pablo!!

I noticed one leg is separated at the thigh, but the other is not. Make sure you can get the thigh armor on without having to cut a leg or something before buying!

I've been scouring the internet for one for a while, and found the same things. People were jacking the prices up or they were sold out. I wouldn't have a problem paying $25 or so, but $50 and up was a bit of a stretch! Thanks for looking Tom, and thanks to everyone for searching! Ah, the power of the Dark Side.

Trim it where Alex mentioned. You don't really need to trim the face plate much, just get the brow done first and line things up. Cute the eyes and teeth out and clamp it down. You'll want to grind down the pinches on the face cheek tubes to make sure it matches up with the tubes in the back. Again, before you assemble it, make sure you leave a gap for the brow trim.

Thanks for the info, that's a bummer! Thanks for looking into it! Hopefully I can find one somewhere.

Thanks Derek, I'll check that out. I'll just be using some of the Doopy's pipe kit parts for now. However I'll make my own bracket for the stock, scope mount, and my own versions of the magazine / well and Hensgtler as I need these to be hollow. I'm going to scratch build those and then cast them in 1 piece for durability, but they'll be hollow for electronics. I'll also hollow out part of the trigger and make my own working trigger assembly to actuate the electronics. I may or may not do something with the scope. Ideally (read: later) I'd like to make it hollow for weight savings and some kind of scope / light FX. This blaster will have electronic sound / light FX, so I've spent enough money on it as it is! It was time to upgrade from the Hasbro! I'm saving my time for another project this year, so the pipe kit will have to do for now.

I'm considering making my E11 pipe blaster barrel / body from 1.5" aluminum tubing instead of PVC for lighter weight, and more room internally for electronics, etc. Anyone have any good sources in Canada or the USA for thin walled aluminum tubing for an E11 blaster build? I'm not really sure what thickness of aluminum would be best (1.5mm? something like 0.1" wall thickness?) I've heard of metalsupermarket, but never ordered from them before. Are they good? Any input would be great, thanks!

The older FX kits and newer FX (AM = armor master) seem be the most cost effective. There's a few AM builds going on right now that people are documenting. Don't always go for "cheapest". Cheapest not always the best solution for your needs, and the wrong direction may cause repercussions down the road.

Thanks Tom! We have none of those types of novelty stores in my area, I'm always stuck getting stuff online.

Yeah, that's one of the expensive ones I found, but it's too pricey and they won't ship to Canada anyways.

I'm just looking for the closed mask / Vader face, not Stewie's face. You can still find those open face ones online for a reasonable price. Thanks though!

Oh, and the cheek tubes near the ears probably have horizontal pinches in them (from vac forming), no? Don't worry, for the most part, they are covered by the ears. I did sand mine down with a Dremel before assembly.

Mine cam out fine. You can pretty much use most reference from TE and AP builds as a guide. I think the helmet comes somewhat pre-trimmed, so you don't really need to cut much at all as the overlap from the back onto the front will be hidden under the ears. You do need to trim the horizontal brow line all the way to the end of the grey temples, in order for the brow trim to fit properly. After you make sure the brow is straight, line the 2 halves together and tape them together, and make sure it matches the pics from Star wars helmets.com There's even pics of helmets riveted without ears (see below) for reference. http://www.starwarshelmets.com/original-st...sub-submenu.htm This is my armor build http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=8811 For the helmet, I would suggest riveting the halves before installing the screws, it makes assembly a lot easier and is even screen accurate (even though you never see it from the outside). Just make sure to leave a gap for the helmet trim! Thread discussing these rivets http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=9486&hl= And this is a tip for strengthening the aerator sockets. http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=8686 Hope that helps!

Very cool pictures! Thanks for sharing everyone!

That would be most awesome, thanks Daniel!

Thanks for the info Paul!

When you replied, I got so excited I almost "Sithed my pants". Alas, they are hard to find now. There's one on Amazon but it's $55!!! These sold for $10 originally! That's out of my price range. Doesn't matter, as they won't ship it to Canada anyways.