modifications on ANH armor, need advice

[TKSarge]

Hi,

 

I recently received my ANH armor but need to do some modifications to improve the fit. Indeed being athletic but not very tall (5'7") I must:

- enlarge the biceps and calf shells;

- shorten a bit the thigh shells;

Questions:

- can I use wider shims/strips to increase a bit the separation of the shells ?

- can I shorten a bit the upper part of the thigh shells while keeping the original shape ?

... without loosing eligibility for approval or Centurion ?

 

on another topic:

Is the wearing of a pauldron permitted (I've read on StarWars Wiki that regular Stormtroopers also wear Pauldrons) ... I had white in mind for Sergeant.

 

Thx for the info

 

[BananoPower22[TK]]

Stormtroopers don't wear pauldrons. Only Sand Troopers and HWTs do.

Edited June 20, 2013 by BananoPower22

[TKSarge]

I forgot to add this one:

Is a helmet suspension (as helmet liner) allowed or does it need to be a foam ?

Thx again for the info

 

P.S. not sure if this is the correct thread to post these kind of questions. If not, please feel free to move into the correct place and let me know. Thx

[iconoclasta_88[501st]]

 

...on another topic:

Is the wearing of a pauldron permitted (I've read on StarWars Wiki that regular Stormtroopers also wear Pauldrons) ... I had white in mind for Sergeant.

 

Thx for the info

 

 

Como to the dirty side, you can shoot jawas and burn down moisture farms!

 

 

Saludos

[FunkyTrigger[TK]]

You can use a liner or foam inside your helmet.

Whatever you prefer.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Hi, Steve!

 

For non-canon troops like cons, you can wear a pauldron if you want to. Because yes, apparently they are for all armored types dating back to the clone wars. We just never see that in the movies, so it's not considered canon... Sandies are really just stormies who got stationed on that sandy backward planet, but too many are wearing them... ultimately it's all just a wardrobe/costume problem and nobody standardized what they were doing in Tunisia.

 

Inside your armor - helmet, strapping system, etc, there are again canon ways of doing this (i.e. replicating the systems used in the movies) but ultimately this is up to you. You can use foam or helmet liner or tactical padding or whatever. If you use foam, it does not have to be a star shape. You should do whatever it takes to get the helmet to fit your head exactly the way you want it to, and it may take a few trials before you figure it out. For example, with the star foam my lid was too high, forcing me to look "down" to see through the eyes. I removed this, and now use tactical foam on the sides and a little apholstry foam on the forehead mostly to prevent the welders shield from pressing my forehead. Some people manage to stack a whole helmet's worth of tactical padding in there but I have just the two pieces. If I put one in back of my head, it pushes my face into the lens. You get the idea... it's all about YOU!

 

As for your biceps, etc., if they were originally glued with e6000 you can carefully rip them apart without too much pressure (to break anything) - the glue is stringy when pulled so i slice it with a razor or some kind of blade while gently separating it. You peel off all the extras with a thumbnail and voila! ready to start over. Use standard sized cover strips (15mm arms 20-25mm legs) on the front-facing or visible parts and if you need widening you can use larger cover strips in the back. I had to redo my thighs three times to get them just right, including tapering them a bit (girl legs are not cylindrical like guy legs). Centurion has many requirements, but most importantly is that your armor FITS YOU PROPERLY.

 

And yes this is the right thread.  Good luck!

[TKSarge]

Thx Ingrid for your detailed explanations. You really saved the day.

One more question: Am I allowed to shortened the top of the thigh armor parts to enhance fit ? I would carefully respect the curves so that they would look the same but I will loose the 'return edge' of the original cast. These parts are simply too long. Doesn't look good as there is currently no gap between the upper thigh and lower abdomen, can't properly move/walk... and ... they do pinch, well you know, my best part ;-) ... couldn't troop like this... 

Thx

[FunkyTrigger[TK]]

If you are short and need to shorten your thighs in order to walk, then I guess this is what you have to do.

It is possible to add a return edge again with a modeling iron.

 

Please do not over cut your thighs and make them silly short. Maintain the small black gaps.

 

The Stormtrooper suit does not give everyone maximum mobility.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Yes you can shorten the top and as Phil suggests, if you want to you can put return edge back on. I trimmed mine a little so there is return edge on the outer/hip edges and not so much in the between-legs areas. 

 

Also if extremely necessary you can trim a little out of the backs of the knees on both the lower thigh and upper calf. This is where a lot of people get the most bites and makes stair mobility difficult. But like Phil said, there is no real "maximum mobility" in these things. I can kind of do yoga in it, but some guys barely move like robots. I think there is some leeway in it being troopable but Looking Awesome. If you sacrifice too much of yourself to be 100% accurate, you'd probably not enjoy wearing it.

[TKSarge]

OK folks, thx for your inputs. I highly appreciate.