Diana's RS Props Build- ANH Stunt

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Ha ha, the good thing is you can scowl (i'm absolutely not sure about this word ) under your helmet unnoticed when people get "funny". I'm lucky to be 6' 1" in armor so i'm not bothered with that question

 

And here's a picture of a D-ring i was talking about, it's a ring with a "D" shape that goes on the end cap of the blaster:

 

 

Thank you, Germain.  I've seen those and never knew what they were called.  6'1".  Sigh.  

[aicire]

 

I used the padding from a child sized full face helmet

 

 

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[vecspeed12]

you looked great today Diana. i'm sorry i couldn't help you with the shoulder bell. my gloves doesn't really let me touch much. as for your last couple posts about helmet paddings. i use the star foam but i also have those military pads on the sides, forehead and back area. it works great. i wished i could have seen some of the issues you were having and maybe helped you out but you looked like you were doing good. awesome trooping!

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1399223592.351173.jpg

 

I used the padding from a child sized full face helmet

 

 

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Hi Ericia- Thanks for the pic!  Love the way the child padding looks in there.  I can see why you are getting a snug fit.  I was commenting to my husband and son that I probably would have been better off getting a helmet from TrooperMaster who who actually makes the kits for younger troopers.  But, using child-sized padding is a great idea.  Did you order the padding online?  Do you have a link?  

[aicire]

I have two younger brothers, aged 6&7. I just took apart one of their extra helmets LOL

 

I think a youth helmet might look disproportionate to your armor. You look great.

 

I found that the side and top padding was all I needed. Fits snug and still leaves a lot of room for air flow and my hair LOL

 

 

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[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

you looked great today Diana. i'm sorry i couldn't help you with the shoulder bell. my gloves doesn't really let me touch much. as for your last couple posts about helmet paddings. i use the star foam but i also have those military pads on the sides, forehead and back area. it works great. i wished i could have seen some of the issues you were having and maybe helped you out but you looked like you were doing good. awesome trooping!

Hi Joey-  Thanks.  I had a great time yesterday.  It was a really fun troop.  No worries about the shoulder bell.  I'm amazed I held together as long as I did.  I was hugged and squeezed so many times yesterday that finally my arm pieces came down and my shoulder bell popped off.  Those people in Haight-Ashbury are a very affectionate bunch.  

 

I had issues last week at LakeShore Elementary where I couldn't see the point where I was pretty much mowing into Kyle, (fortunately he has been very patient with me.  That trooper deserves a metal for putting up with this noob.  Seriously.)  This week I had much better look with the all the new padding I put in plus the combat padding, but it still isn't quite tight enough.  I can certainly see well enough to troop and even managed crazy little steps they had going on all over the place, but I still had to reach a hand up and do a helmet adjust once in a while because of "slippage."  Would love to get it so I don't have to do those little adjustments anymore.

 

I hear you on the gloves.  RS sent me two pairs of the screen accurate gloves but they are both so large on me I can't really manipulate my hands in them.  I might try adding silk liners to see if I can size them down and make them stay on my hands better.  Right now I am using Nomex gloves and I can move my hands so well I was able to slide someone's TD back on when it started popping halfway off their belt yesterday when they brushed up against the brickwall.  I figure that is pretty advanced stuff with gloves on since those brackets are so tight.

Edited May 5, 2014 by AsBlondeAsLuke

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

I have two younger brothers, aged 6&7. I just took apart one of their extra helmets LOL

 

I think a youth helmet might look disproportionate to your armor. You look great.

 

I found that the side and top padding was all I needed. Fits snug and still leaves a lot of room for air flow and my hair LOL

 

 

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Assuming you mean a bike helmet, then?  I have extra ones of those lying around since I have a twelve year old and we're always buying extra helmets for his friends to use when they come over.   At this age, they don't seem to have any survival instincts when they get onto something with wheels.  

 

You're probably right about the helmet.  I guess all that sliding around gets a bit frustrating but I know I'll figure out how to pad the thing perfectly.

 

Ha ha.  OK, I'll admit it.  I think about my hair.  But, between the balaclava and being in the helmet for a couple of hours, when I come out it looks like someone sat on my head.  

 

So I've added a brand new must have item for my trooping bin... a hat.

[aicire]

A hat! Hahahahahaha

 

I used a full face motorcycle helmet. I considered using a bicycle helmet, but that padding was mostly styrofoam.

 

 

 

 

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[vecspeed12]

I use nomex gloves in the rubber gloves. It holds the sweat and i can use my hands easier.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

I use nomex gloves in the rubber gloves. It holds the sweat and i can use my hands easier.

Oh, that's brilliant.  I didn't think of that.  The handplates on my Nomex gloves are attached with Velcro, so I can pop those off and then use the Nomex as liners for the rubber gloves.  Thanks for an awesome tip!

[Dday[501st]]

Keep in mind, you don't need to troop in rubber gloves You can certify Centurion and troop in any level of approved costume. Rubber gloves aren't so super in high heat! It's all up to you though.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Mmm... Interesting. So many choices. How lovely to have all these choices. My sweaty palms thank you.

[aicire]

Mmm... Interesting. So many choices. How lovely to have all these choices. My sweaty palms thank you.

 

LOL

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

There are some pivotal moments in a girl's life.

You know, like:

- Going to the prom.  (OK, the prom never really was my thing.  I'm a geek girl at heart.)   

- Getting married.  (I aced getting married.  I have a husband who looks like Jango Fett and puts up with me being a stormtrooper.)

- And, then there is the decorating of the armor bin....

 

I seriously can not tell you how ridiculously pleased I was today to add my new personalized TK sticker to my armor bin. I even made my son stop what he was doing to admire it with with me.  (He was not impressed, but I made him pretend like he was or threatened to take away his computer privileges for the rest of the day.  He declared it a "work of art.")

 

Dragging that bin around town is almost as much fun as trooping itself.  OK, admittedly my arms are a bit short so sometimes the bin hits me in the back of the legs.  I have even smacked myself in the butt with it.  I'm sure there is a fine bin dragging skill that I have yet to master.  Perhaps I need to drag it around the block a few times to work up my bin dragging muscles.  But, people got out of our way last week when we were dragging our bins down the street in the Haight.  Maybe because we made more noise than a pack of pachyderms.  But, wow, that is good fun. 

Edited May 12, 2014 by AsBlondeAsLuke

[drscifi[TK]]

Congratulations Diana! Your build thread has really kicked my build excitement up! I'm still squaring away my helmet but your dedication to quality and working alongside loved ones was such a fun read. Can't wait to see more troop pics.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Congratulations Diana! Your build thread has really kicked my build excitement up! I'm still squaring away my helmet but your dedication to quality and working alongside loved ones was such a fun read. Can't wait to see more troop pics.

Aw, well, Darren, since you asked for more trooping pics, I do have more.  I just didn't want to bore anybody. 

 

So, I have pictures and stories to share from the latest troop which was May the Fourth.  

 

I carpooled  up to the troop, since Kyle is always telling me "never troop alone."  So, carpooling guarantees I won't be alone.  This time, I went with two other 501st members and it made it easier with sharing gas, parking, driving, and figuring out the directions and where to park.  Plus, they shared great stories with me of past troops.  Finding parking in San Francisco is always a bit of a challenge, but it was easier with three pairs of eyes.  And, then we walked a few blocks in the city hauling our cool bins, and well, that amuses me to no end.  (I'm so easily amused anyway.)

 

The Super 7 Store is located on Haight-Ashbury, which is an amazing location.  OK, granted everything there is a bit small and cramped, but hey, it's the city.  It's good for me to get out of the garlic capitol once in a while.

 

 

So, the first big challenge of the day was getting to the changing area.  The store was small and narrow and it was like a little obstacle course getting through the store and to the back rooms.  Fortunately, I had just traded out my big Stanley bin for a smaller and lighter bin that I could carry more easily.  I was especially glad of the lighter weight when I encountered Stage 2 of the mighty trooper obstacle course: the big stairs.  Yes, the changing area was outside and upstairs.  The stairs were steep, too.  An easier-to-manage bin was a blessing with the steep steps.  

 

Weather was awesome, warm and sunny.  San Francisco can definitely go the other way and it was very pleasant armoring up outside on the back deck behind the store.  I had a chance to meet over a dozen other people from the GGG.  (There were a number of troops to choose from on May the 4th, but I specifically chose this one because it was such a popular troop and gave me a chance to meet so many fellow GGG members all at once.)  My favorite moment was when I was getting dressed and struggling to get snapped up.   I turned around and three of my garrison members were all right behind me, ready to help.  In no time at all, I was snapped up and ready to go.  Just an awesome example of "troopers helping troopers." I was very touched by how willing they were to help me.  It meant a lot. 

 

Now that I was dressed, I still had to make it down the steep steps.  I left my helmet off until I reached the bottom, (because I wasn't going to tempt fate), but otherwise had no problem with the stairs.  I was glad I had practiced going up and down stairs at home. (The next thing I am going to work on is figuring out how to sit in my armor without cracking it or embedding shards of plastic in my butt.)

 

I still had audio feedback right at the beginning, so I had to tug my helmet off and turn my Aker down.  With the volume down, it is much harder to hear me.  (Sigh.)  Next troop I am going to try a different microphone.  (I already have the mic and have tried it around the house and in the backyard a number of times this week, much to the great distress of the dog who now hates amplified audio.)

 

My new helmet padding helped a lot.  Visibility was much better than last week at the SuperHero Saturday event.  I still had to do a few minor adjustments to get my helmet to sit properly in front of my eyes sometimes.  And, I definitely couldn't see the little kids when they asked me to "give them a high five," but that is just the limited sight view of the helmets.  I was griping to a friend: "What idiot designed these helmets anyway?" She said: "Uh, that would be George Lucas." Ha ha. Right.  (Actually, I think it was Ralph McQuarrie and the design is more about style than functionality.) Anyway, functionality aside, the more I wear the helmet, the easier it is to figure out how to "see" with it on.  Plus, if I dare insult the helmet, somebody here will probably have my head.  (Just saying, though, from a design standpoint, a T-visor makes more sense because then you can see down your nose.  I would be able to see the little kiddies asking for a high five.  Imagine.) 

 

Here are some more pics from the day.

I am the fifth one in from the left.  It is very fun trooping with such a large group.  We literally stopped traffic.

 

This is the view from the street of people trying to take pictures and get a glimpse of the 501st.  People were telling us they drove in from two hours away just to see us.  As they should, because we're worth the trip.  There were all these tour buses going by and people were hanging off the sides to take pictures.  Even the SFPD stopped to take pictures.  It is nice to stop traffic.

 

There was a photo booth in the back of the store, and we all took turns doing "photo booth" duty.  As I was headed back to take my turn in the booth, one woman remarked to her husband, "Oh, they sent the puny one."  I wanted to give her a look, or do something to let her know we're not deaf because we were helmets.  But, I let the comment go and politely took pictures with her. She could be rude, but I couldn't since I was representing the 501st.  

 

The photo booth was fun, despite being very hot in the store and crowded.  I did my best to be friendly with folks and help them come up with good poses.   Eventually, I did so many pictures that my armor started coming off from being handled too much.  I'd done so many pictures with folks having their arms around me that my biceps slid and one of my shoulder pieces came unsnapped.  So, it was time to call it quits rather than pose with imperfect armor. This week, I am adding even more padding into my arms.  Hopefully, it will make me look bigger and ensure those pieces can't slide no matter how hard I get hugged and squeezed during pictures.

 

 Kyle realized I was a popular choice for picture taking even outside the store, too, because of my height.  Why?  I make people look taller in pictures.  Kyle nicknamed me "the mini-trooper."  I'm totally fine with being known as "the mini-trooper."  But, I draw the line at being called puny.  

We were on NBC and ABC.

Yup, that's me.  The wee little one to the right of the snow trooper commander.

 

 

And, here I am second to the left of Commander Wolffe.   

Aw, cute little princesses.  They're adorable with that whole Leia bun hair style going on.

 

Aw, a wee little Jedi.  There were less of us out at this point, because a bunch of folks were on break eating lunch.  The restaurant next door provided us with free lunch.  Nice!  Food was good, too.  Not sure what it is, but trooping makes you hungry. 

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

What a great way to celebrate Star Wars weekend! I'm really happy the armour fit is working out for you

 

It fits you perfectly (like the armour was molded to your body). Looks like all the hard work paid off

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Great pictures and sum up of the troop, Diana!! It would deserve a topic in the "Field Training Exercise" section of the forum:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/13-field-training-exercises/

 

And btw, Ralph Mcquarrie made the general design of the Stormtrooper helmet, but Liz Moore sculpted it

[Dday[501st]]

You will learn to track people as they come up, so you can't see them, but you know you are there, then, you can preemptive lay stick out the hand for a shake or a 5. But yes, it's not super visible.

 

 

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[drscifi[TK]]

That's a great post! I can't wait to be trooping. I'm hoping to make it to a 4th of July parade. Score and snap, score and snap.

 

 

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[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

A very worthy goal. Good luck with your build. Everyone here on the FISD is wonderfully supportive. Remember to research, research, research and measure twice and cut once. The biggest mistakes we made were when we rushed steps. Then again, my dear husband, while a brilliantly talented man, can not be faulted for being the most patient man. Putting in those extra hours of research will always save days of backtracking and headaches later. When in doubt, ask questions. Truly, there are no dumb questions.

[sskunky]

Diana, Did your mic tips arrive? I did send out another set as the first didn't arrive..... LMK

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Yes, they arrived right in the middle of when I was working on my EIB approval pics.  I was very happy to get your package.  (I did send you an email last week.)

 

This pic was taken with my old tips:

 

And, here is the detail shot with the new ones.  

And, when I complete my RS bucket, I'll be switching my beautiful new tips over into that one.  (I'm planning on using the other helmet as a display helmet in our Star Wars room.)

Thanks again for sending.  Nice work on the mic tips.

[sskunky]

Great!, I didn't receive an email but glad they arrived safe and sound.....

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

So, I received my EIB approval on May 29th.  A glorious moment for the Empire.

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/27414-tk-95020-requesting-anh-stunt-eib-statusrs-383/

 

Actually, it was the day I did an undignified "squee" and ran around in happy circles, but "glorious moment for the Empire" sounds better.

 

I'm very grateful to everyone that took the time to provide comments and suggestions on how I can further improve my armor.  I am especially grateful to Steve who obviously put so much time and thought into reviewing my approval and coming up with the suggestions on what I can do before Centurion.  My whole goal, from the start, has been to create the best armor possible.  So it means a great deal to me to gets such help from my fellow troopers as I go through this process.  It was also wonderful getting congratulations from everyone after I received my approval.

 

We've spent the past two weeks working on the list from Steve, looking over the suggestions from everyone else, as well as making some improvements that I wanted to do.  I decided that June would be a "no trooping month."  Because I was working on getting my armor ready for Centurion, it was easier to pull the armor apart and not have to worry about having it back together again for the weekends.  Not that I don't miss going out and trooping, but it is about having a higher goal in mind.

 

OK, the first thing we tackled was the first area Steve had mentioned:

 

SHINS:

I know how much of your grieves (shins) you needed to remove. I know you were going for the tapered look you showed in your screen grab. RS shins aren't designed, unfortunately, with that taper out of the box. With the amount you cut off the bottom makes that a greater challenge. The end result looks very wide around your ankles. With the boots on, I would squeeze the shins around your ankle. If there is comfortable, significant overlap, I'd trim those down to "slim up" the look of the shins.

 

 

I didn't mind trimming the shins.  They did feel loose on me.  Granted, it did feel odd to be doing more trimming considering how much we have already taken off of the armor.  But, we ended up taking even more off.  Each time my husband trims down any more off the armor, he says to me: "You can't gain any weight.  We keep making this smaller!"  I keep teasing him: "Ah, that's what shims are for... I'll get fat in my old age like everyone else."  (I've actually been trying to bulk up at the gym so I don't look so small in the armor.  I want to take the padding out of the armor.  Not sure I'm succeeding.  I'm working on it, though.)

 

And, you can see the problem with the shins on these pics from my most recent troop.  "Star Wars Day at the Library."  From the back, my shins look decent.  (Not complimenting my legs, mind you, just talking taper here.)

 

 

 

But, from the front, my shins are definitely drooping.  Total sag going on.  A couple of times I have even reached down to make sure that my shins haven't come unhooked.  Yes, I definitely feel a draft walking around.  So, I have no problems with trimming those ladies up.

 

 

We looked at the "Jes Gistang" thread because I liked the shapeliness of her shins, and I think she is about the same size as me.
 http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/15279-jes-gistang-research-thread/page-9

 

Squeezing those ankles and measuring.

 

Fittings.  Wow.  This brings back memories.

 

This is how much we ended up trimming off.  More ABS for our ever growing scrap pile.  (We recently ended up using spare ABS to repair our refrigerator door handle.  Well, we have so much of it now.)

More fittings.

 

We were happy with the shape so we moved on to gluing.  Believe it or not, we couldn't remember which way the cover strip should be facing.  I know.  Funniest thing.  we cut the old one off and then couldn't remember which way to glue it back on the next day.  Gah.  We're getting old.  But, anyway, it's in the CRL.  Cover strip faces the inside since shins must close toward the inside.  

 

 

Time to glue.  Clamps.  Can you ever have enough clamps?

 

And yes, we still use the reference binder all the time.  It is very full now.  I might need to move on to a bigger binder.

I printed out my EIB approval thread so that I would have everyone's comments.  Plus, I've been referencing Steve (WideAMG's) RS build again since we are now building my RS bucket.  Mmmm... you can never have enough research.

Edited June 16, 2014 by AsBlondeAsLuke