Darth Aloha

That neoprene neck seal above would be way too hot for sure but easily trimable. The neoprene is very very comfortable. Imagine having a soft wetsuit around your neck They're big and tall because they're meant to be folded over when you wear them. The one below is also meant to replace a seal on a drysuit. The deal with a drysuit neck seal is that it is meant to be somewhat tight and flat against your neck to seal out the water. The ribs are guides to allow you to trim it down to your neck circumference with an exacto knife. My guess is that by the time you get it comfortable to wear for hours the ribs will all be gone. When you do trim it ensure that the edge is straight without any scissor cuts or nicks. If there are any nicks your neckseal will split when you pull it over your head. Also you'll need to either lubricate or keep powder on your latex neck seal if you want it to stay pliable and easy to get over your head. The latex gets kinda brittle over time and splits if you don't. Don't keep your latex neckseal near any source of ozone like electric motors or hot water heaters. The latex will degrade and crumble. I hung my drysuit in the basement and my wrist seals got super crumbly and broke. There are folks out there who make silicone neck seals for people who have latex allergies but I've never used one. Just google "drysuit neck seal" And if anyone is on Hawai'i Island and wants to go diving let me know. Aloha, -Eric

Aloha all, Beware, there's a bunch of cash burning a hole in my PayPal account. I have been mostly lurking here since about January. I read FISD every day, often multiple times a day. I curse the IP.Board iPhone app as a serious impediment to my productivity, but at least it looks like I'm doing work. The TK related trinkets I've purchased continue to pour in slowly but it is finally time to buy some armor. But what armor to buy? I'm posting in this thread because I'm 6'5" (when I stand up straight) and it didn't seem necessary to post yet another tall size related thread. My questions stem from a healthy fear of large swaths of black undersuit. I wear a 44L, 33-34 inseam, 40 waist (and shrinking), 37 inch monkey arms and I weigh 245 lbs. I don't have super long legs and most of my height is in my torso. Below are ELP's AM and RT-MOD measurements side by side. PART RT-MOD AM Length of Thighs 13 13 Length of Calves 14 14.5 Length of Bicep + Shoulder Bell 18 15 Length of Forearm 11 10.25 Circumference of forearm 14 16 Circumference of Thigh 26 29 Circumference around Calf Muscle 18 21.5 Circumference around Bicep Muscle 18 18.5 Waist 41 42 Cod and abdomen pieces combined height 21.5 20.5 Kidney and butt pieces combined height 20.5 19 Chest Height 12.5 12 Chest Width 18 24.5 Back Height 11 13.5 Back Width 16 23 According to these measurements, it would seem to me that RT-MOD is the way to go. I don't think I need much room inside the thighs or calves from AM. A little extra length in the RT-MOD forearm seems like a good thing too. The best reason for me to go RT-MOD looks like the slightly longer cod/ab and kidney/butt pieces? Also it sounds like Rob can customize some parts if I think they won't be long enough. Oh and I wouldn't mind the oversized RT-MOD helmet too. Is that EIB-able? What do you folks think? AM or RT-MOD? With Aloha, -Eric

Thanks for the heads up Banano. I'll just wait for the next run of 4261's fans. In the mean time would you be able to take a closeup of the label on that fan? Aloha and thanks! -Eric

I spotted these fans over on the SLD forum. While I think I have the skills to whip something up like this I don't have anywhere near the time. These fans seems more apropos for mounting in a hole in a vader helmet under the dome. The squirrel cage fans from TK-4261 are more TK-able, but two fans already wired up for $25 ain't bad. I'll probably buy a set to tide me over until 4261 makes mroe.... because I don't know if you've ever been here... it gets a little warm here on Hawai'i Island.

Thanks Striker and Rick. I may just buy the TKboots and chance it. Aloha! -Eric

Aloha all, My size US12 dogs are at least EEE wide, if not EEEE. The nice folks at TKboots don't think a 13 will be wide enough. Does anyone else have wide feets? If so, what did you do? Thanks, -Eric

Woo! Yeah as DV said... It looks like http://forum.501stsithlords.com While I think this skin looks good.... I enjoy the TK whiteness and the background of the 2010 skin. I don't actually care what FISD looks like. It'll still be my favorite place on the intertubes to avoid work. Aloha, -Eric

Maybe Darth Aloha will try and get over his cheap rubies costume embarrassment and find a way to get to kawaii kon. I mean when you're wearing board shorts and a lei, who cares how inaccurate and chintzy your getup is? Great photos. Aloha! -Eric

Brilliantly clever! Hopefully I can find someplace nearby that sells screen protectors at a reasonable price. Here on Hawai'i island you get one or the other. Close by or somewhat reasonably priced. Rarely both at once. I wonder if a bit of saran wrap might do the trick. In other hasbro blaster news I was able to grind away just a little bit of the screw tab under the barrel as to fit the folding stock over it. I didn't have to grind the screw at all, just plastic. Thin files have been my friend in cleaning the plastic up. I have small triangular and a round rasps that do the trick inside the front sight and scope rail. I think I just need some final sanding on the barrel before I drill holes (without splitting the body.) Aloha and thanks again for your help. -Eric

Well it seems that everything is easier when you split the blaster in half. My scope rail is torn up now after jabbing it repeatedly with a dremel. I doubt anyone but me will notice all said and done. Now I'm sitting here with an exacto cleaning up a mess that I could have prevented... so it goes. Sometimes being impatient takes way more time. This process is fun and cheap enough that I might just do two hasbros. Luckily the orange tip and the rail I ground off where the holes will go went more smoothly. Although I need to put a couple drops of solder on the LED on the front for good measure. I'm going to try and drill the holes today without splitting the blaster. I'm hoping that a slow drill press and good clamping to the press table will prevent the bit from wandering around. One more question Michael (this post)... how did you end up masking the LED from getting sprayed? Aloha! -Eric

Hey Jorran, Great looking hasbro... I hope mine comes out as half as good as yours. Would you mind describing your process to hallow out the scope rail? What dremel bits did you use etc? Mine is rapidly becoming a mess. I had to walk away from it today after the dremel got away from me a few times. Aloha, -Eric

Funny... I've seen this suggestion from you about removing any plastic innards from behind the holes numerous times but it never sank in. I got impatient and filled my screw holes with bondo. I have noticed that the bondo doesn't stick very well to the plastic so maybe I can easily just dig the bondo out. I wonder if I use a slow speed and use a drill press that the stuff inside wouldn't be an issue. That way I can clamp the gun to the table for better hole placement. Anyone ever tried using a drill press to drill these holes? Or I could just forgo drilling the holes and move on with life. Or... maybe I buy another blaster and kit and make two? Thanks for the help Panda. I did notice an indentation in the folding stock but no notch. I thought about just taking the screw out and cutting off the tab. Still an option. Thanks for your help everyone. I'll post pictures as soon as I get my hands on another dremel -Eric

After two months I finally received my droopydoos v2 kit. Today was my first day with the hasbro blaster on the workbench. I went into work today to get the dremel and all the various attachments but sadly someone burnt up the motor without telling anyone. I guess I should just buy one for myself eh? I have two questions (For today. There will be more I'm sure)... first is about getting rid of the track on the port side to be able to drill holes. How do people deal integral track below the preexisting holes in the white hasbro. I was going to just grind it off with a dremel sanding drum. If someone has some tips or can point me to a thread here on FISD (I did look... a lot) that talks about getting that area smooth for hole drilling I would really appreciate it. Below is the area in question: Next question is about the little screw tab thing that gets in the way of the folding stock. I've seen some kits pictured here on FISD with a little notch for that screw tab thingy. Do people cut that themselves? My idea was to just take the screw out and dremel off that little tab and just glue the stock on. Does that make sense? The screw tab folding stock interference: Aloha and many mahalos in advance for your help, -Eric

I'm 6'5" and thinking about RT-MOD for my armor as I save my pennies. From my laytrooper's perspective the thighs and shins are really far apart... so before I forget this thread exist when I get my armor and want to ask... is there anything a taller trooper can do about that? Or will that be fixed once everything is strapped? Aloha and thanks, -Eric

Shirt is no longer available. Bummer. I have too many t-shirts anyways...

There's padding in there? -Eric

Hey Folks, In my life I have seen many star wars items pass me by. For example the life size han in carbonite at some shop at the mall for $1,000 or so? Countless helmets and masks I wish I had purchased (riddell mini helmets anyone?). I couldn't let the $109--------go by. It's troopable and when I finally get a real lid this one will look pretty good on a shelf with other starwarsaphenalia. At this time I do not intend to get my bondo on and mod it. So far I have a D-ring, a hasbro blaster, a holster (on the way), and droopy doo kit (on the way). I'm debating between AM and RT-MOD being 6'5" and 240... I'm still combing through the tons of info for armor for bigger troopers. There have been -------------of this helmet, but I thought I'd share the funny copy written on the box. FEARLESS AND UNSWERVINGLY LOYAL TO THE EMPEROR, STORMTROOPERS ARE THE MOST RECOGNIZED SYMBOL OF IMPERIAL MIGHT IN THE STAR WARS SAGA. ENCASED IN WHITE ARMOR OVER A BLACK BODYGLOVE, STORMTROOPER MAKE UP THE BULK OF PALPATINE'S GROUND-BASED ARMIES AND SPACED-BASED IMPERIAL STARFLEET. THEIR FEARSOME LOOKING HELMETS ALLOW THE STORMTROOPERS TO BREATH IN THE HARSHEST ENVIRONMENTS, INCLUDING THE VACUUM OF SPACE. THEY ARE ALSO EQUIPPED WITH LONG RANGE COMMUNICATIONS, ENSURING THAT THESE ELITE SHOCK TROOOPERS CAN BE DEPLOYED WITH SPEED AND EFFICIENCY TO QUELL INSURRECTIONS AND MAINTAIN ORDER ACROSS THE MANY WORLDS OF THE EMPIRE. How dumb. ------ There are many reasons why I cling dearly to the Star Wars movies. Without getting out my forum therapist couch, I'll just admit that it makes me feel like a kid. A 39 year old kid. ---------- I might as well send it back because Santa gave this bucket to a child... of any age. And what... not a toy? And seriously where am I going to put an eFx sticker? I have enough shame posting about the thing here on FISD. There is no reason for me to advertise to the world how lame I am. ------------ What I didn't expect once I put the thing on is how close my eyes are to the green lenses. My face is quite pressed up against the front. It was a little disorienting at first. With aloha, -Eric ---- The rest of the photos---------

From the same youtube user... White Trash Stormtroopers... which is not a bad collection of reference material in between all the trooper deaths.

Mele Kalikimaka and Hau’oli Makahiki Hou from the Big Island of Hawai'i to the FISD-verse -Eric

Argh. Getting things shipped to HI is very very frustrating at times. Nothing can make me lose all my Aloha like trying to get something mailed here. Apropos of this post... I was buying something from a guy on forum.501stsithlords.com today and he ended up charging me $5 more for shipping to HI. It was fair thing to do and he felt bad but that's just the way it goes. I was telling him about how much I want to reach through the phone and choke someone from Amazon. There are whole categories at Amazon they won't even ship here. Diapers for a timely example. I tried to sign up for Amazon Prime (the free shipping club they have). Amazon was happy to take my yearly fee, but then still charged me shipping to HI. I tried to order something from a website recently that did't even list AK and HI in the address web form.... which is common. A friend in NYC sent me a couple boxes parcel post. Not only did it arrive 6 weeks later, but the boxes were beat to hell. I can't agree more with Julie. Do not ship anything you care about parcel post here. Priority mail is the most reliable way to send something to Hawai'i. It's even more reliable than FedEx or UPS. Rarely will UPS send anything to the Big Island overnight. They'll charge you overnight but it typically takes 2 days. Anything sent FedEx from the west coast will come overnight here but typically 2 day from the east coast. I once had a package come from Canada, hit the Honolulu customs hub and was promptly sent to China for no good reason. The priority flat rate boxes are the best and arrive quickly and without hassle. Scuba diving lead is stupidly expensive here on island. I had a friend buy some for me in Seattle and stuff it into a flat rate box and it saved me tons of money. We've made other friends and family go to Trader Joe's for us and stuff a flat rate box full of goodies and it still comes out to be a good deal. Hawai'i is the most like living in a different country you can get without requiring a passport. With Aloha, -Eric