The various types of armor and where to find them UPDATED 2023

[Nicholls]

On 18/10/2017 at 7:57 PM, jordanewcastle said:

Hi guys!

 

First off THANK YOU for the info here, it certainly helped me make some better informed choices.

 

I have now purchased a Sandtrooper commission from RS Propmasters and cannot wait to get my hands on it.

 

My concern is that I have also ordered the E-11 blaster and DLT-19 heavy blaster to go with it, and being Australia, we are pretty uptight about importing even replica firearms into the country.

 

I am curious to know if anyone else has had an issue with this? The order is still 8 weeks away, but I assume I may need to contact Customs and inform them, and hope that they do not confiscate part of my order!

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Cheers.

i got my E-11 blaster and T-21 shipped from USA to Australia no problem 

[The Snake[TK]]

Well, despite all my research I made a big mistake. Someone told me WTF was doing large kits and I ordered from them--turns out this might not be true (waiting to hear back from them). I did get a response from Rob at RT who says kits are shipping in early 2018. I'm gonna email about AM as well.

 

I feel kinda dumb and a little sad today

[TK11369[TK]]

RT mod is the way to go. I am 6’ 230 and it fits great. 

[The Snake[TK]]

I spoke with Rocky today and he told me that they've begun doing longer cods and larger thighs. He said that he himself required a kit bigger than the standard WTF kit, and that's when the decision was made. He assured me that the kit would fit me just fine (I'm 6'1 and 250lbs) and even shared photos of a fellow WTF trooper who is bigger than I am, and he looked fantastic.

 

Just an FYI for anyone who's wondering about that!

[1001001spy]

Newbie question – want TFO/TLJ armor w/o helmet. My problem seems to be my size - 5’,7” weigh 140 lbs with a 27-28” waist, mesomorph shape, and in my 40's, located in Austin, TX. What armor supplier would y’all suggest? Or am I destined to making my own due to my size. It also seem that Anovos has still not shipped anything for over a year as of today...as there are a lot of angry people over on the Imperial Academy page.

[Harbinger[IPM]]

There's two people in our Garrison that are 5'7" and 5'8" respectively, one has the Anovos kit and one has Jimmi's kit and both had no issues. I'd say Anovos but you're lucky if you'll have your kit by Episode IX, Jimmi's isn't as accurate but you'd have it much sooner (and you also have choice of TFA/TLJ versions).

[ower]

Is there a 'armor for bigger folks" version for the FOTK kits?  I'm mostly concerned with the bucket for my giant noggin (24 1/2")  I want to say I have a old RT bucket that fits like a glove and looks proportion to my body .. I messaged Jimmi on another forum regarding his and I believe he said his was nearly same size as the Anovos, but not sure how say RT size looks next to a Anovos sized helmet and on their site they only list their standard fitting helms fitting up to a size 8 and the "premiere" does mention sizing at all but I will assume it's the same but just because it says it will "fit size 8" doesn't mean it will look good. I don't want to look like a reverse bobble head.

 

 

[Shdo69]

So has anyone heard of TKUSA? They have kits for sale for a good price but don’t know anything about them are they any good and 501st compatible?

[jethroskull[501st]]

$600 for 2 kits? My TGTBT alarm is going off...

[Shdo69]

7 minutes ago, Reklawcj said:

$600 for 2 kits? My TGTBT alarm is going off...

Yea that’s what I thought as well. Plus all the stuff to put it together. I’ve never heard of them that’s why I’m asking. Would love to get a kit but don’t want to spend the money if it’s not a legit kit. 

[starsaber25[Admin]]

1 hour ago, Shdo69 said:

So has anyone heard of TKUSA? They have kits for sale for a good price but don’t know anything about them are they any good and 501st compatible?

 

Hi Freddy.  Here is a good link for some reading.  Essentially the conversation is always the same with TKarmour, TKUK, TKUS, Stormtroopercity which are all different names for the same company.  Everyone says that David (owner) is a "nice guy" and the price is good.  There are mixed reviews as to the quality of the armor.  Some say it's okay and some say it's not that great.  The ONE thing that has never been shown by David is where he obtained his molds from and pictures of his molds and sculpting process.  If he has done none of the previously mentioned, then was he given permission to cast another set of armor which he has not stated he has.   For those reasons he won't be a recommended vendor.  It is likely he recasted another set of armor.  This will be the case until he can show some type of proof that it isn't.  I would stick to the armors mentioned in the first post.

 

 

[AikiBushi]

Great thread. Thanks to all for the info and upkeep. This helped me a lot. 

[1001001spy]

Contacted Anovos and got this - notice word choice of SHOULD and no firm commitment:

Hello Randy,

We only schedule delivery by season as exact dates are always very tricky with the large bulk of shipping that goes out of here.  My understanding is that if you purchased the kit w/o helmet now, it should delivery in Winter December 22 2017 - March 20 2017.  Obviously not in time for Christmas, if that was what you were hoping for.  Yet no so long that you couldn't give it as a present and know that it would come not too terribly long thereafter.

Charlie
ANOVOS

[Along]

On 6/15/2010 at 8:38 PM, Daetrin said:

First and foremost...

 

There is no one 'best' armor. There is a 'best' armor for *you* depending on a few factors:

1) Your budget

2) What your body size is (yes, different armors lend themselves for different body types) *

3) How experienced are you at building armor

4) It's not the kit, it's how it's fitted to the wearer that counts *

 

While FISD does not endorse any particular armor maker, below are sellers who have proven themselves time and again in terms of customer service, honesty, and quality.

 

All makes below can be made to be both 501st and FISD acceptable.

 

MATERIALS

Armor is made from either HIPS or ABS.

HIPS

--- Pros: generally less expensive, easier to trim.

--- Cons: needs painting or serious polishing to look shiny. Most HIPS will not be as durable as ABS or take the stress of ABS

--- Suitability: will hold up fine for regular trooping

 

ABS

--- Pros: no need to paint, high durability

--- Cons: may lack the detail of HIPS, usually harder to trim

--- Suitability: will hold up fine for regular trooping plus take a lot of abuse

 

OTHER TERMS

Untrimmed: means the kit comes untrimmed and you'll have to trim the parts before starting assembly.

Trimmed: parts are pre-trimmed and you can start assembling right away

ANH Derived: traces back to a screen used helmet. Armor came from an incomplete ROTJ suit that was supplemented with parts from a tour suit, with this base being modified to be more ANH accurate in detailing. Parts will need to be butt joined with a finishing strip glued on top.

 

* ON SIZING

ANH Derived armor (TE2, AP) was sculpted for a typical UK actor circa 1976, e.g. 5'10" and 165lbs. While good for smaller body types, it has been successfully made to fit people as large as 6'4" 235lbs though requires a bit of shimming to pull this off.

 

1. If you are taller or larger in frame/girth, you may want to consider AM, RT, or TM armor makes for easier fitting.

2. If you are shorter, while ANH derived armor may lend itself to your size, even FX armor has been made to fit and look good on people as small as 5'6" and 115lbs (and smaller!).

3. RT has upsized his helmet by 4-5% which makes it equivalent to the size of the old FX but is more accurate in appearance.

 

So, while it's true that every kit has a certain ideal body type, every make has been made to fit every body type and still look good.

 

Who to Avoid

1. Be aware that this site - http://www.stormtroo...s.com/home.html - is not considered commercially available. It is run by a person selling recast parts, and at a healthy premium over what you can buy direct from vetted sources. You've been warned...

2. Do not buy from e-bay - kits are over-priced, the quality is often dubious, and always recast.

 

 

VETTED MAKERS

While there are many other sources for armor, the list below only contains those who have proven track records of honest business dealings, quality craftsmanship, and that are free from recast debates. You are certainly free to buy where you will, but if you vary this list we strongly encourage that you at least do your due diligence inquiring about the seller's quality and reputation before parting with your money.

 

=== ANH DERIVED ARMOR ===

 

 

Type: ATA (Affordable Trooper Armor)

Country: USA

Contact: Supertrooper on FISD / ATAworks@yahoo.com, please email for armor inquiries.

Kit: ABS (HIPS by request), untrimmed, ANH derived

Availability No known problems.

Assembly: Armor needs to be trimmed, parts butt joined with finishing strips, HIPS needs to be painted.

Comments: The quality of HIPS material is such that it is the most durable of all HIPS armor makes. ABS is a custom made ABS for color, gloss, and durability, so you can order it either way and feel confident.

 

Type: Authenticprops (AP)

Country: Canada

Contact: authenticprops@hotmail.com

Kit: .080 gloss white ABS, can be ordered Untrimmed, Fully trimmed (ready for assembly) or Ready to Wear out of box.

kit includes correct split rivets and cap rivets for centurion build and optional white rubber hand guards and C02 metal clips.

ANH Derived. Helmet is screen derived but cleaned up with a smooth cap and back. Armor similar to TE2 but with some parts being different. The AP helmet includes resin hovi mic tip replicas, Centurion approved painted look decals, green acetate lens, inner drop boxes, rubber brow/neck trim and all correct hardware to assemble helmet.

Availability: No known problems obtaining this, though there is a waiting list.

Options: untrimmed, fully trimmed, fully built- ready to wear/modify. Options for helmet upgrades, belt upgrades and other options. Contact AP for detailed pricing. The ABS is bright white and has a semi-gloss finish like the originals. Now you can order a fully built helmet with advanced upgrades. upgrades include: chinstraps, cloverleaf helmet foam, and darker lenses. Options must be ordered when contacting.

Assembly: requires cover-strip and butt-joining for assembly.

Comment: To fit a wider range of body types AP added 3" inch extensions to the sides of the AB and Kidney plates for a total of 6" extra inches to easily fit up to 38" waist, also added 2" inches to all legs parts for a seamless authentic look without the need of shimming, extra material can be easily trimmed to original size or custom trimmed to perfectly fit your size, also includes matching ABS strips in the event you still need shimming.

 

Type: RS Prop Masters

Country: UK

Contact: studio@rspropmasters.com or http://www.rspropmasters.com/

Kit: 1.5mm ABS or 1.5mm PVC, untrimmed or ready-to-wear, only 1st Generation cast of an original ANH armor. Is Expert Infantry ready out of the box, and Centurion ready with very little work on the accessories (hand guards and such).

Availability: 3-5 days

Assembly: Parts are untrimmed and requires cover-strip and butt-joining for assembly. Can be ordered pre-assembled for an additional fee.

Options:

1. Helmet + Armour - Kit

2. Armor only - Kit

3. Helmet - Kit

4. Helmet - Fully finished and hand painted

5. Armor + Helmet - Armor trimmed to your specification but not assembled + Fully finished helmet.

6. "Fully loaded" - Accessory package, when bought together with armor. Contains strapping kit, latex handguards, rubber gloves, canvas belt, etc..

All prices are excluding shipping.

Comments: The only 1st Generation cast of an original ANH armor. Comes unaltered with all the good and bad that brings. May require more skill to assemble than other kits. Extremely accurate when assembled with care. Armour is more generous than SDS or AP, but not as large as RT-Mod or AM.

 

Type: RWA (RWA Creations)

Country: Isle of Wight, UK

Contact: Email to rwacreations@gmail.com .. Facebook: RWA Creations

Availability: 6 weeks

Kit: ANH, ESB untrimmed kit in 1.5mm ABS, 2mm ABS, 2mm Acrylic capped. Black or White.

Options: Helmet assembly service or fully finished (excluding padding). Neck seals, Canvas Belts, Aluminium Thermal detonator clips. 2" longer shins available on request.

 

Type: T/MC

Country: USA

Contact: tray@traynichols.com or PM Tray on the FISD boards

Kit: .090 ABS, untrimmed, ANH Derived. Helmet is screen derived. Armor similar to TE2 and AP but with some parts being different and others being modified. The left inner shin is a duplicate of the right outer shin. The arms (Bicep, forearm and shoulders) are the same, there is no unique left and right arm. The helmet comes with resin cast hovi mic tips, which are acceptable for EIB use, and all assembly material excluding paint. Comes with your choice of Smoked gray bubble lenses or flat dark green lenses. This is most comparable to AP with some slight changes.

Availability: 3-4 months for delivery and sometimes sooner than that.

Assembly: Seams are overlapping joints making it a reasonably easy build, though one can use finishing strips instead.

Comments: The armor is ABS, not bright white and glossy like FX. Due to material thickness lines are a little softer than some other makers. Should shine well with Mr Sheen.

NOTE: available in black too!

 

Type: WTF (Walt)

Country: USA

Contact: Walt on FISD

Kit: ABS, untrimmed, ANH derived

Availability Current wait times are 6-8 weeks.

Assembly: Armor needs to be trimmed, parts butt joined with finishing strips.

Comments: No issues with quality or service reported to date.

 

=== ANH FAN SCULPT === 

 

Type: Troopermaster ( TM )

Country: UK

Contact: Please see info contained in for sale threads when posted.

Availability: PM to ask, varies

Kit: ABS, fan sculpt. Reputedly the most accurate fan sculpt. Seams on legs and arms are butt-joins with cover strips. Available in ANH, ESB and ROTJ (and snowtroopers)

Options: untrimmed, trimmed or ready to wear.

Comments: This is really beautiful armour and extremely movie-accurate. It comes at the price of being pretty tricky to assemble though, with potentially a long wait for supply. TM now supplies all his armour in acrylic-capped ABS. His ABS suits are incredibly glossy and, if assembled with care, look fabulous. Armour is more generous than SDS or AP, but not as large as RT-Mod or AM, although he also offers an XL shin for taller/bigger troopers.

 

Type: RT-Mod (RT)

Country: Canada

Contact: trooper7@shaw.ca

Kit: ABS, trimmed, fan sculpt. More accurate than FX/AM but not as much as TM/TE2/AP. 

Availability: Currently about a 12 month wait.

Assembly: Parts are trimmed and designed to be easy to put together (regarded as one of the easiest kits to assemble). Helmet comes assembled.

Options: ANH Stunt and Hero helmets are available.

Comments: Designed especially for taller/larger body types and has more capacity to fit these troopers (without shims) than TM or AM. Arm and legs molds can be adjusted up or down to custom fit measurments supplied by trooper.  The armor and helmet are sculpted at 4% larger than an original kit. The difference is subtle but makes fitting/sizing much easier for taller/larger troopers (has been worn very easily by troopers from 6' to 6'5").

 

=== ROTJ ARMOR ===

 

Type: CFO - note this is for ROTJ armor only (ideal for ROTJ, TK Commander, or Incinerator Troopers).

Country: UK

Contact: PM Sskunky on FISD

Kit: ABS or HIPS untrimmed. Kits can come in lite, full, assembled and weathered please inquire for prices and custom orders. ABS is standard and screen accurate. We can make the armour in any colour HIPS with a 25% deposit. Kits come complete with all plastic parts.

Helmets come with resin mic tips cast from an original, black rubber trims, decals and lenses all subject to availability and stock.

Availability: Kits available at all times with approx 4 week turnaround time. We have a US distributor who will be able to ship kits within the USA.

Assembly: Parts are trimmed and designed to be easy to put together - along with RT is the easiest kit to build.

Comments: These suits are cast from original therefore there will be warps, lumps, bumps etc. present on the plastic. The original suits were made to fit actors in the region of 5'10" and 180lb.... there is some flexibility as with all armour which is down to assembly. This armour is no way sanitised or idealised, it is a true representation of what is seen on screen in STAR WARS "The Return Of The Jedi".

Other Notes: Hand guards O2 canister/detonator detail and end caps, belt, knee belt and shoulder straps are own sculpt. Necessary/minimal sharpening was done to the moulds to attain the correct level of sharpness lost from the original fibreglass moulds obtained from Cameron Oakley. The original shape and contours are intact and the details and edges have been sharpened as documented in various threads on the FISD and other prop forums.

 

=== ROGUE ONE ARMOR === 

Type: Jimmiroquai

Country: PI

Contact: email jimmiroquai@yahoo.com

Kit: Kits are lightweight flexible fiberglass. 

Availability: PM to ask, varies

Assembly: Fully trimmed and partially assembled, e.g. if it fits out of the box one can go straight to rigging and painting.

Comments: No issues with quality or service reported to date.

 

=== FIRST ORDER (The Force Awakens | The Last Jedi) ARMOR === 

Type: Jimmiroquai

Country: PI

Contact: email jimmiroquai@yahoo.com

Kit: Kits are lightweight flexible fiberglass.  Can come with both TFA or TLJ details.

Availability: PM to ask, varies

Assembly: Untrimmed.

Comments: No issues with quality or service reported to date.

 

 

=== NO LONGER MADE ===

 

Type: TE2

Country: USA

Contact: HDPblues on FISD

Kit: HIPS, untrimmed, ANH derived

Availability: None, since a long time. Best to look elsewhere.

Assembly: Armor needs to be trimmed, parts butt joined with finishing strips, then painted.

Comments: Helmet is considered very screen accurate. While he rarely makes armor anymore, he's a solid buy if you find any.

 

Type: FX

Availability: No longer made. Do not buy this armor - we list it only for posterity in case you pick up a suit second hand from a current Legion member.

Kit: ABS, trimmed, fan sculpt.

Comments: The armor can be made to be FISD EI acceptable for about $50 and an afternoon of work. The helmet is not acceptable by any Detachment's program, and many GML's are no longer allowing it to be accepted at the Legion level.

 

Type: AM/NE/AM2

Country: USA

Contact: troopergear@gmail.com

Kit: .090 gauge ABS - trimmed - Fan sculpt

Availability: Expect 1-2 months

Assembly: Butt joining required for the legs. Arms can be overlapped but trimming those overlaps off and butt joining is recommended. Comes trimmed out of the box, but you will still be required to trim for proper fit to your body size.

Comments: An updated version of the older AM kits with a more accurate helmet and some other accessories. Best suited for the larger troopers who can have problems fitting into screen-sized kits. Comes in full or "lite" kits. Lite kits come without helmet, ABS cement or polish.

Nice!

[Beaker[TK]]

Popping up all over FB, says it ships from Ireland, but when you click on the page it shows UK. Isnt this tkuk?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, Beaker said:

Popping up all over FB, says it ships from Ireland, but when you click on the page it shows UK. Isnt this tkuk?
 

No TKUK does original trilogy armor not first order. fnarmour is believed to be a recasted armor and not very good quality.

[Thecommanderwar]

If Im considering to join MEPD,which armor should I go with?

 

[Harbinger[IPM]]

Any of these kits should work, some come with the sandtrooper-y parts whilst others you may need to purchase seperately or make them yourself. Best to head over there for advice on which kits are preferred by MEPD as I’d have no idea.

[starsaber25[Admin]]

Basically any kit is interchangeable between a sandtrooper and a stormtrooper. Most kits that I know of come with parts to build either or. But yes the MEPD would have all of the information you would need. Have fun!

[The_blue_guy808[501st]]

This will be very helpful when I start my armor build. Mahalo

[lucnak[TK]]

Should AM info be updated? I understand that they are producing kits again.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

19 minutes ago, lucnak said:

Should AM info be updated? I understand that they are producing kits again.

Source for that?  I haven't heard this yet (but am not always up to date).

[lucnak[TK]]

1 minute ago, Daetrin said:

Source for that?  I haven't heard this yet (but am not always up to date).

Looks like someone at least got a helmet recently.

 

[sylverbard[TK]]

32 minutes ago, lucnak said:

Should AM info be updated? I understand that they are producing kits again.

thats a thread from september.  people are just getting delivery of them now.

[sharkbait[TK]]

On 10/31/2017 at 9:23 AM, joshole2000 said:

Hello all. Unfortunately I found this thread after placing my order with jedi-robe.com. Its being delivered in a couple days... Does anyone here have experience with returning kits to jedi-robe.com? I did use PayPal for the purchase so there might be some protection there. I understand if I have to eat the shipping both ways.

 

It's not all bad though. I have a set of untrimmed (mostly) AP armor I ordered a year ago but my confidence in my build abilities is so poor (got the bucket mostly done but freaked out while painting it and quit and screwed up one of the calves) that I decided to spend the money to have a ready made suit and felt confident in jedi-robe.com's quality after reading thier FAQ's (stupid of me I know). After much reading on this thread I am convinced that there is no salvaging the jedi-robe armor. I would like to become 501st approved and would rather not be a pariah in my local garrison because of this armor. 

 

Anyway, any experience with returns to jedi-robe.com would be appreciated. 

 

Thanks for the thread and help!

 

 

I've heard plenty of bad things about Jedi-Robe, but I don't know much about returns... generic advice would be to stay on them and don't let them get away with anything; you'll likely eat the shipping, which sucks, but could be a lot worse.  Good luck, regardless!  Let us know what happens.