Armor Review Input Welcomed!

[Stormy1992]

Looking at this armor set, would love to know if it looks okay before purchasing! Input would be great! does it look correct, accurate? nothing wonky? 

 

thanks!

 

[Raintrooper]

Where did you find this armor?  Do you know the maker? 

[Palpatine1977]

It's NE armour, made by the same guy who used to make AM.. very solid stuff, and its accurate yea.. even though the helmet may be a bit tricky haha

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Clearly not NE. Looks more like ATA for me. If so you can go for it, it's a nice kit.

Edited April 8, 2014 by The5thHorseman

[Locitus[Admin]]

It's NE armour, made by the same guy who used to make AM.. very solid stuff, and its accurate yea.. even though the helmet may be a bit tricky haha

No, that is not NE. It's a bunch of different makers.

[Raintrooper]

Over all the kit looks good and accurate!  A few of the pieces look a lot like my ATA, which I believe came from CAP (?).  Namely the biceps and forearms. The right arm pieces are straight at the join, and appear a bit larger than the left arm pieces, which have curves at the join.  I've been helping a future garrison mate with his NE kit and that ab/cod piece doesn't look anything like his, especially at the sides.  
I'm confused about the piece next to the thermal detonator plate (which looks broken or trimmed too short, btw..?).  Is that used to connect the TD to the belt? 

Edited April 8, 2014 by RainTrooper

[DroidHunter]

Are you still looking at ebay kits? I really think you should go with one of the lower priced kits from vetted sellers (all still high quality -- lots of current build threads available to look at). 

[Stormy1992]

Okay, Its a recast of ATA. made by the guy who took over CTM Props just recently. I know they have a bad name on FISD, but i wanted to see what everyone thought before i posted the maker. The former maker of CTM Props had a bad rep, but this is the new makers work.. wanted to check.

 

any further thoughts now? 

 

This armor, with an ATA Bucket?

 

Ive looked at MTK, may go there, 

ATA is good too, but id rather not wait half the year, rather get a bucket of his. 

[Stormy1992]

Over all the kit looks good and accurate!  A few of the pieces look a lot like my ATA, which I believe came from CAP (?).  Namely the biceps and forearms. The right arm pieces are straight at the join, and appear a bit larger than the left arm pieces, which have curves at the join.  I've been helping a future garrison mate with his NE kit and that ab/cod piece doesn't look anything like his, especially at the sides.  

I'm confused about the piece next to the thermal detonator plate (which looks broken or trimmed too short, btw..?).  Is that used to connect the TD to the belt? 

I believe it is what is used to connect the TD to the belt

[Minuteman]

Okay, Its a recast of ATA. made by the guy who took over CTM Props just recently. I know they have a bad name on FISD, but i wanted to see what everyone thought before i posted the maker. The former maker of CTM Props had a bad rep, but this is the new makers work.. wanted to check.

 

any further thoughts now? 

 

This armor, with an ATA Bucket?

 

Ive looked at MTK, may go there, 

ATA is good too, but id rather not wait half the year, rather get a bucket of his. 

 

 

Go with ATA or MTK, or every other reputable maker. Really.

CTM uses recasted molds, and I´ve seen some older pulls.

They were very soft, lacked detail and..... yeah, they are simply recast, the stolen work of somebody else.

 

Do yourself a favour and get a good kit with good service and reputation.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[Stormy1992]

does MTK fit like ATA armor?

[Locitus[Admin]]

does MTK fit like ATA armor?

Yes. Although Mike said initially that he tried to make it slightly larger.

[Raintrooper]

I'd go with MTK if I were you... if you want to avoid the waitlist.    Comparable price, comparable armor..  Good luck on your purchase!

[Stormy1992]

Alright guys. Also i know MTK comes with alot of extras for helmet construction which will help! 

[Locitus[Admin]]

No amount of extras will help you as much as knowledge. Make sure you gain that first.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Locitus speaks wise words. A Corvette is only cool if you know how to drive it.

MTK is a great armor and is quickly climbing to a spot on my favoties list. Although MTK shares the same base molds as ATA and the old CAP armor, he has been making slow but certain improvements to upgrade the accuracy. He has a great product and is great to work with. The above pictured armor is NOT MTK.

[Stormy1992]

Thanks for the words! I feel I have the experience after building one set and doing plenty of research now while waiting for things to fall into place, I feel I can build another set with out issue, especially with the guidance from FISD.

[CRISTONAMO]

New guy taken over CTM or not its still the same recast ATA parts. So it will look accurate because its the same from all TE lineage moulds. Good luck!

[Stormy1992]

So thats Bad?

[usaeatt2]

If you buy a stolen iPhone you might get a good price, but it's STILL a stolen iPhone.  That's bad.  If you buy recast armor, you might get a good price, but it's STILL recast.  That's bad.  Even if the armorer reworks the molds, they're still partially stolen work from someone else.  Adam Savage did an interesting interview on 'Tested' about recasting - he basically said a recast was ONLY acceptable for PERSONAL use (if you must have something that's rare for your own collection), but if it would be used in public or intended for resale, then it is NOT acceptable.  Why even tempt that line when you can get perfectly acceptable armor from a vetted supplier at a similar price?

[Stormy1992]

Note: no sarcasm or harshness here.. I'm just tying to understand this.

 

Alright, I see what you're saying, however then why is MTK acceptable? Is cast from AP armor (from what I read), yet its okay with most if not all FISD.

 

techinacally everything is cast from something is it not?

 

Are all the reputable armor makers on FISD such as AP, ATA, etc, did they all make their own molds from studies they conducted?

 

I'm just trying to see what all is going on.. I am new:)

 

Thanks!

[bzb]

I also have trouble understanding some of the recaster arguments... but simply buying a model and recasting it is DEFINITELY wrong.

 

In my experience, I can see MTK has done a considerable amount of his own work. MTK may have a base set cast off of others, but he's obviously done a lot of sculpting/redesigning work on his own with certain parts. Certain parts are very evident in its differences with ATA, AP, etc when you get them side by side at troops.

 

Basically, why reinvent the wheel (base) but work can be done to make things more accurate/sharp/feasible for trooping/sturdy/etc.

 

IMO, a stolen iPhone is a different analogy - I think it's more like buying a pair of knockoff Beats headsets or knockoff Coach handbags, where someone bought the originals and just copied them, selling an inferior product at a lower cost.

[usaeatt2]

I'll concede the iPhone analogy isn't the best.  I think MTK is acceptable because the molds were purchased or authorized by the original sculptor.  A recaster has no authorization.  A recaster is making money from someone else's hard work.  That's my understanding.  I lived in Korea for a year - almost everything I bought there was a knockoff.  I bought a pair of Nike Air Max running shoes and the thread used to sew the shoes together literally disintegrated after about a month, but I could buy about 4 pairs for the price of 1 real pair.

[Gep]

Kyle,

I've been reading through your posts and I'm puzzled.

You've been burned by purchasing a set of eBay armor, or similar.

Why are you insisting on deviating from the list of vetted sellers on this forum?

In the 'Getting Started' section, there is a wealth of info on what to look for and what to avoid.

I do not understand your insistance on deviating from that info since you experienced what can happen first hand.

What is the rush?  Great armor can be had for reasonable prices from the list of vendors many use.

[Minuteman]

Kyle,

I've been reading through your posts and I'm puzzled.

You've been burned by purchasing a set of eBay armor, or similar.

Why are you insisting on deviating from the list of vetted sellers on this forum?

In the 'Getting Started' section, there is a wealth of info on what to look for and what to avoid.

I do not understand your insistance on deviating from that info since you experienced what can happen first hand.

What is the rush?  Great armor can be had for reasonable prices from the list of vendors many use.

 

Amen I say!