pandatrooper

Hey Seth, I posted similar question a while back. the torso assembly and rivets for screen accurate look can get confusing, here's the thread on the subject. The pictures and diagrams posted were immensely helpful. ----- Also, Stukatroopers Flickr page is a great resource. -----

Not sure if you have already, but check Stuka's tutorial. My armor is from older AP molds (CAP / VT) and it doesn't line up worth a dang. Much can be done with a heat gun and heat iron though.

Anyone know where AP is located in Canada? I had not idea, I always though it was the USA.

As a person with game development experience, I would take the screenshots and game models with a grain of salt in terms of accuracy (unless that's the style you want to pursue). Judging by these images, the stormtrooper model is fairly low poly / low resolution. They may not have modeled it accurately in the efforts to make the model more efficient, render more of them, etc..

I'm not that familiar with rubberized paints. Was it just overspray that dried, or did the paint "stain" the plastic? If it was overspray, that should come off easily. If it stained the plastic, it may have soaked in. Try some Novus plastic polish, it might take it out. I used Novus on mine and it seems to do a good job of taking out marks, etc..

I would try polishing it first if you've already cleaned it as best you can. If it's ABS, worst case you could wet sand it, then polish it.

Point taken. Just thought it'd be a way to help people new to the hobby understand. I know it's a complex issue.

Congratulations! Very well deserved and an inspiration to many!

Thanks for the feedback guys, I understand. It’s not that I was suggesting to create contact info to promote recast products, more like a listing to make people aware of who is a recaster and who isn’t. I find it somewhat vague in that recasting info is sometimes buried deep in threads. Would it be better to bring it to the forefront, that way people avoid them? And if people don't know who is recasting, how would they know? Kind of like: "Known quality armorers": - Company A - Company B - Company C "Known Recasters": - Company X - Company Y - Company Z As least this might help educate people to make the right choices?

The Fett blaster looks awesome Steve! Very cool! Can't wait to see more pics from your AP build. I'm getting close to finishing my build. Mostly the belt and TD left, and painting my blaster.

Would it be a good idea to start a list of recasters, and possibly some kind of experience / rating system on their goods? Obviously, no contact information would be displayed or encouraged? Possibly a list of legit armor makers and known recasters? If it's something like: "Company X" - known to recast XYZ armor and ABC helmets - poor communication - known Ebay seller - etc.. I was just reading the "ebay armor" thread and thought for new people getting into the hobby, they might not know that someone is a recaster. Also, it's rather confusing in terms of armor maker history, and who got what from where, where these molds orginated, etc.. Would this help people make better decisions?

There's a tutorial on here that was bumped up today re: painting the chin / vocoder portion of a helmet. ----- I think citadel paints for miniatures are water based acrylic, is it not? Check the can or bottle. Personally, I prefer enamel (solvent based) paints for plastic, but that's up to you. I would just suggest going to a hobby store and getting a bottle of Testors black. They only cost a couple bucks. Painting it by hand isn't that hard.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1923217

You probably want a 10 or 11 actually. Check some online comparison charts, I just did a quick check and it says UK 10 is a US 10.5 or 11. There's a good amount of toe room in the TKboots, but they do fit narrow. http://www.safariquip.co.uk/i_shoe_sizes.html http://www.i18nguy.com/l10n/shoes.html http://www.dmusastore.com/uk-us-shoe-size-conversion.html http://www.convertalot.com/shoe_size_converter.html

A picture would help a lot. Also, what size boots do you wear?

Yes, most likely. If you have bigger calves (your real calves, not the armor calves) then you'll need to shim the calves with some kind of white plastic overlap piece.

I think they said that the first batch was small, depending on response they would plan for another order / restocking, in half sizes too. I was going to get an 8.5 but the 8's I got fit awesome. Super happy that i found boots, you guys have no idea... been going for months with a good chunk of my TK sitting here, but no boots! "The circle is now complete"

Yeah, the mic on those has to be REALLY close to your mouth for it to pick up your voice. You can also take the box apart, and there's a plug inside that you can disassemble, and wire up a better mic from a headset instead. Just an option for you, it will improve it in terms of mic sensitivity.

Just got mine today, they are awesome! They're just a tiny bit "pointy" in my opinion, but there's good toe room. I ordered a pair of 8 and 9 since I'm actually an 8.5 I fit the size 8's well, the 9's a little bigger but that's OK, I will put padded insoles in them for long troops. **For those that have commented they fit snug on the sides, make sure to take out the thin layer of foam padding inside the boot, near the upper surface!** I think they put that there to help them keep their shape during shipping. I put on the 8's and said "Dang, these are so tight! Then I realized the foam came out.

Yes, there's Michaels in Canada, I get my E6000 there.

Do NOT use a hot glue gun. As stated by Joey, you can melt the plastic accidentally, and if you drip hot glue on the armor on a "good" surface, it might be hard to remove. Zap a gap is not nearly as flexible. If you decide to change your mind later and use a different glue, you're going to have a mess on your hands trying to remove the Zap a gap. Also, Zap a gap fumes can cause the plastic to etch / frost if you're not careful. I would really go out and just buy a tube of E6000. It's got great working time, is flexible but strong. Do it right, the first time. You won't regret it.

I glued the side that matches up first. After it set overnight, I pulled the other side until it matched up (under tension). Put some tape on to hold it in position while I glued the butt seam with plastic weld. Then I did the inner shims with E6000. Yes, the top / elbow area comes out uneven, but I fixed it with the iron. The AP might be designed with no return on the wrists, but personally, I chose to leave a very small return. I personally think the armor looks "thicker" and more substantial that way. Just opinion of course. Do it however you like.

No problem. You just need to "make it fit" Match the ends up, pull them gently into place, tape it all up and glue it.

Hey Andy, I thought I'd reply in more detail. Here's what i did: 1. Should I line up the pieces from the back or the front? When I do one of the edges stick out. Was this a problem with other troopers who have assembled AP Kits? Line up the forearms at the wrist, don't worry about the elbow. Since you have a heat sealing iron, you can re-shape it and cover the sides with strips. 2. When trimming out the wrist and elbow how far should I go to the edge? I used Stukatrooper build as a reference, but you need to assemble it based on what fits you. If you're going to glue the forearm permanently closed, you need to make sure you can still fit your hand through the opening. This is what i did: - Dremel the wrist opening to whatever return width you want to use - If your forearms are big, I would suggest trimming the butt seam edges bigger, before you need to trim more. What you want to do is make the forearm fit your arm, but still have the wrist hole be big enough to fit your hand / glove through. That's why you need to Dremel the wrist opening / return first. I would suggest trimming the forearms on both edges to about 20mm on each side (that would mean 40mm total) and tape them together and put your arms through. Mine ended up just like Stukas: 12mm on each side and then butt seaming. Some people use 7-8mm per side because that makes the finishing strip look good, but you might not be able to get your hand through - or you need to glue one edge and use a velcro closure on the back side. It's up to you if you want the forearm glued or glued and velcro in the back. 3. I have a Hobby modeling Iron. After trimming. Should I iron the pieces before or after gluing? Do it after gluing, so that you know how much the plastic needs to be manipulated. I'll post a picture up in my build thread (probably start posting it tomorrow) and you'll see. Many parts of mine were way out, and the back of one of my thighs was a perfect example. I glued it, then heat manipulated it, then Dremeled / sanded. Looks great afterwards! 4. Can I use a plastic sign ie, a "Beware of the dog" "For Sale" that you see in stores to cut up small strips to make the "Butseam"? The reason I want to save the trim strips for snaps and front trim. As people suggested, use styrene for snaps and save the trim for the outside. I used slightly thicker styrene (2.0mm). Personally, I used the kit trimmings for making shims that I glued onto the inside of all the legs / arms. My inner shims run the length of the pieces, not just the beginning and end 5. If so which glue would you recomend? E6000, Plastic Weld or abs weld that you find in home improvement stores? I used Plastic weld for the butt join, and E6000 for the inner shims and finishing strips. I used Plastic weld for the snap plates. See my tip in the Tips section on how to rivet snap plates for more surface contact. Works awesome!

As people have said, line it up at the wrist and use a heat sealing iron on the elbow ends, or if you don't want to do that - blend them as best you can with Dremel / sanding. The finishing strip covers most of it anyways.