troopermaster

I have a spare set if anyone is still wanting a pair?

Very impressive Curtis Where would I get a liner like the one you are using please?

This is because it is a 'Hero' helmet which means it was used for close up shots so it had to be perfect. It is also made from white ABS and not painted, unlike the background helmets (stunts) which were made from beige/khaki HDPE and painted white

You already posted a pic of my armour in the Elite Status section, question 3, second pic down If you have some spare ABS or HIPS, you can cut a small square to stick behind the hole in your ab plate. Heat the square up until it is flexible and press it into the hole from the inside. This should make the hole fill up with ABS and then glue the square in place. If it doesn't work the first time, try heating the plastic more until it can be pressed into the hole. When I put the holes in my belt for the snaps, make sure that the belt is not tight against your ab plate. If it is tight then it will want to pop off so give a bit of slack. -Paul

Great pics there Kirk mate. Do you have them in hi-res?

"Sussed" means figured out over here in't UK

Joey has sussed it. Your straps are too close to the middle of your ab plate and should be near the egde so that they angle inwards and attach to your thighs. That way, the straps are pulling the tops of your thighs away from your groin.

Closing the gap doesn't mean that you have to rivet the ab and kidney together. The real suits were hinged at the side, probably with black elastic. The other side simply overlapped (or not if you were larger) so if you were to glue the plastic to either your ab plate or kidney, you would still use elastic to connect them together, that's what the rivets are for, holding the elastic. You could simply rivet the extra plastic to either you ab or kidney and just have the other section overlap and have done with it. Job done and looks good

I am guessing that your belt is flat, and may work better if you were to reshape it curverd so that there is no resistance and the snaps should stay together. On my belt, I put the snaps through the canvas and they are hidden behind the plastic ammo belt, pretty much how they did it for the real suits. The square tabs on the belt are only for covering the rivets which attach the plastic to the canvas, not for snaps. You can see in this below, the rivets and then 2 holes where I now have my snaps (I took this pic before I installed my snaps to show someone my belt set up).

These are just my opinions for Elite status..... 1. White plastic should be used to close the gap but white elastic would do at a stretch (no pun intended ) 2. 3 rivets to be used on the left hand side (as you wear it). 3. The bottom rivet is hidden behind the belt but should be there all the same. 4. Belt snaps should be used to keep the belt in the correct position. Just my thought's mate

Nice installation Alain! How do the hovi speakers compare with the standard RomFX speaker? The RomFX is excellent and I have one waiting to go inside my helmet. I bought a louder speaker but it is the same size as the standard one and was going to fit it to my belt, but I would prefer the hovi type speakers if they are loud enough.

Spot on my friend If you check out any suits that I have assembled I think you will agree that the seams look as wide as the originals. I will throw together a couple of pics later tonight to compare them. -Paul

OK, the ANH suit's only had the joining strip on the front of the shins, thighs and forearms presumably to help with assembly. The backs didn't have anything and could be glued shut with a strip of ABS, thus allowing some variation of diameter of the parts. Biceps didn't have any strips moulded so they were just butted up and closed with strips. ROTJ armour on the other hand, had the strips front and back, and were designed to be overlapped unlike the ANH suits which were designed to be butted up. The AP armour is cast from an ROTJ so it is designed to be overlapped. You can still assemble the AP like ANH, but the joining strips moulded into each part determine where you have the joining strip and no adjustment cna be made without adding wider strips or trimming the strips right down. I hope that makes a bit more sense If you glue the front and velcro the backs f your forearms, I don't see any problems if you wish to glue the backs in the future. -Paul.

Looks like mould damage to me. Probably from mould removal after forming and the plastic locking onto the edges. I'd simply trim the edge and don't worry about it. make a good clean job of it and the shoulder straps will cover it anyway

You want the 'butt seam' on all parts....no overlapping in ANH or ESB. You should remember that the AP is an ROTJ so it is designed to be overlapped, that's why it has the joining strips at the back of the parts and the ANH/ESB don't have this feature. When I use the 15mm strips, I cut the moulded front parts (you'll need to do the same on the backs for AP and TE) at 8-9mm so that when I glue the strip on, you can see a bit of the edge underneath and the strip is not hanging over, just like it looks on Hans in the picture above. If you want to use wider strips, that's fine. There is no law that says you must use what anyone else is using. It's your suit at the end of the day and you can do whatever you like. Cheers, -Paul.

20mm is way too wide for the arms if you are going for an accurate ANH look. See Hans forearms below...very thin strips..and it's the same on all the troopers arms. -----------

Looking really fantastic Brenard...top job Damn, now you have me wanting an ROTJ suit

What is the length of the thighs and shins on the AP?

Good luck with the upgrade Guns I am looking to upgrade myself. Maybe you could give me some tips when you get your new set-up sorted out

Found a pic of the old suits Disney used.

Nice one Chef Takes me back to the old days looking at your pics. I used the exact same process and materials....ooooh the smell of the gelflex I used an old microwave oven for melting the rubber. It was a lot quicker and easier than boiling it up, although it still stunk the house out! I found out that it was best to coat the sculpts with a layer of PVA glue to stop the air bubbles in the rubber. Without using it, it would bubble up when I poured the hot rubber onto the clay, leaving holes in the final mould. I used air-drying clay, not sure if your using the same? Good job so far and keep at it! -Paul.

I'm looking forward to seeing this completed mate Maybe you can PM John (stormtrooper) about the buttons but I am pretty sure they are grey and blue. I'm sure he will tell you and the proper configuration. *edit* I think you are using the tour suits for reference with the black buttons and not ROTJ.....there is a difference.

Oh dear The buttons are the same as ANH Bernard, not black. Just remember to turn the plate upside when sticking it to the ab plate and add the rubber trim. Don't forget to round off the top corner of the kidney plate too and use white velcro to attach the ribbed shoulder straps. Are you going to rivet the belt to the ab plate for uber accuracy? Don't forget that the ROTJ belts only have two rivets, one at each end with the centre one left out.

Is this skinny enough for you? PM me

Use snaps to attach the belt to the ab plate. It keeps it in place and stops it sliding around. Look at the pic below to show you where to put them.