FX armor

[netslave[501st]]

So, I know that FX armor can't make Centurion. But I'm not sure why. I understand that it's not accurate enough, but I'm wondering, what it is about the armor that is so inaccurate? The general measurements? The details on the Ab plate? The way the pieces fit together? I have some FX, but I'm making it into a Sandy with basic approval as my goal. But as I do this, I'm trying to make it as well as I can. 

 

So what about the FX is so bad that it isn't acceptable for Centurion?

[BlayneFitz[TK]]

There is so much wrong with it if you want screen accurate. you will notice it yourself once you get into researching armours and watching tutourials etc. the lay man wouldnt notice much difference at a convention I guess. you probably wont notice differences, but your brain will.. :L straight off you will notice how different the helmet is. you wont be able to put your finger on it straight away but you know its there. as for the armour i am sure some of the experts will be able to give an in depth list of differences. from what I do know centurion requires very very screen accurate armour, which is a lot of work, time and money I hear. differences in the armour would be that they are made from completely different molds. if you compare the two side by side you will begin to spot it.

If your on a budget and want armour thats accurate to the untrained eye you could  pre-order a helmet kit from Anovos for $150, or somewhere else, since the helmets the most noticeable difference. then wear that with your FX armour.  I mean you probably dont have to do that at all if you are happy with the fx helmet. maybe leave that til much later..

 

Looking at the image below if i am correct, the second persons wearing full FX armour, whereas the fourth person (to the girls left) seems to be wearing FX armour with a more screen accurate helmet, which works i think. Actually now that i look at this image ALL these dudes are wearing FX armour (except the girl), but the first and fourth people are wearing more screen accurate ANH Stunt helmets.

Good luck, Hope this helps. FX armour will make a fine sandy i think.

Edited June 12, 2015 by BlayneFitz

[BlayneFitz[TK]]

Now that I compare them myself the differences are very subtle and not too bad but again most obvious in the helmet. with some extra work and effort you could get FX looking more accurate than it originally is if you scout the forums

Edited January 10, 2021 by gmrhodes13
photo updated gmrhodes13 2021

[netslave[501st]]

I am not using an FX helmet. Just wondering about the armor itself. I'm doing a lot of modding to it so I'm just wondering why the FX armor is a blanket 'no' for Centurion. Maybe it's the shape of the chest? I dunno. Just curious of the actual specifics. 

[Locitus[Admin]]

The short answer is "everything". There is nothing that is correct about the FX. Once you spot the differences you'll understand.

[Nicky]

It is possible to mod an FX armor to reach centurion-able accuracy, step one is to replace all the parts though. 

[Kredal[TK]]

It is possible to mod an FX armor to reach centurion-able accuracy, step one is to replace all the parts though. 

Oh come on, the left bicep looks fine! 

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

I am not using an FX helmet. Just wondering about the armor itself. I'm doing a lot of modding to it so I'm just wondering why the FX armor is a blanket 'no' for Centurion. Maybe it's the shape of the chest? I dunno. Just curious of the actual specifics.

You can easily make your FX armor look pretty good. Good enough to go Expert Infantry. Honestly just making your FX be approvable at all will make you look pretty great. There have been enough changes to the base level requirements that it will force you to make easy mods.

 

Just by replacing the helmet most of the general public (remember them? The people we troop for?) couldn't tell the difference between you and a centurion. Make it hit the base CRL and you'll blend right in easily.

 

Remember EIB was made to help fx look better and like the rest of the TK armor out there.

 

Centurion is for us.

 

-Eric

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kredal[TK]]

The three pictures from the Celebration in the newsletter were pretty telling.  "Here's ALL the Stormtroopers who made it!"  "Here's the smaller but still decent amount of EI Troopers"  "and here's what's left when we only see Centurions".  The average person (and I count myself as that still, really) couldn't tell the difference between the costumes of the three sets without being pointed right to them...

 

I'm going to go for Centurion on my build just for the fancy ribbon and knowing I'm as screen-accurate as possible, but I'm still gonna be really happy just to get a TK number from the 501st!

[chrskmbr]

Check out this site if you are going for a TD,  http://www.mepd.net/ 

 

If not already mentioned, make sure the you can take the AB buttons off the the armor for the TD

[netslave[501st]]

Thanks, I'm already at MEPD. Just asking here due to higher traffic. Also, I've ordered the anovos TK (for my TK) so I'm just trying to understand everything.

So, from what I'm seeing, let me know if this sounds right. 

Helmet - just completely wrong and misshaped. (not using this anyway). 

 

Chest - Pectoral section too wide, and chest piece is too long. 

Shoulders - too long

Ab section - box details placed too high. boxes shaped too big. buttons too big Too big of a gap between ab and kidney

 

Cover strips - pieces fit together with a built in cover strip, which is wrong. 

Biceps - shaped too straight, not enough curve/shape 
Hand guards - too big, use latex anyway

Thighs - Not enough contour. Generally don't go up high enough.  

 

 

Does this sound like a fair assessment? 

[Nicky]

When it comes to generalization, more or less yeah.

 

But one big flaw with FX kits is their individual origin (~how it was obtained), most are second hands and copies of FX, trimmed and modded as tastes and fantasies went in different times and different hands. Even if we come up with a list of all that's wrong in general, there's even less certainty over each individual case of FX kit and wearer together. Sure it will be possible to fix, shim, bondo, but we're beyond generalizations. 

 

FX has a ticking clock, we try to avoid getting it, we never recommend it and we try not to talk about it too much because there are still many using it and happy about it and that's totally okay, so we won't point out how wrong it is for some greater good in the community. But when it comes to your kit, show pics of what you have and we'll advise in that specific case

[gazmosis[501st]]

One of the main issues that excludes it from Centurion is the fact that FX was designed to be built with overlap construction. All the two piece parts interlock with each other and have a molded cover strip to hide the seam where as the originals had the parts trimmed to but against each other with a TOTALLY separate cover strip positioned and glued to cover the seam.

The next thing is in regards to the ab. The button plates in the front of the FX suit are molded into the part minus the ab buttons. The molds are wrong so even when the trooper buys the correct size of ab button (the BLACK buttons that come with the suit are gigantically inaccurate) they end up being positioned way too far apart. The proper ab button plates were a separate piece all together glued on. The buttons were molded into this piece and were painted.

Without making this a 15 page manuscript, the remainder of the parts differ too much and are poorly sized compared to the originals. The armor was great for its time. IT was the foundation that made this Legion possible. It's molds were also sculpted based on stills on a VCR and from magazines. This is progress. If "good enough" was indeed good enough, we would still have computers that filled an entire room and cars would still have carburetors.

Stormtroopers are no different from any other respected character in the Legion. Boba Fett's armor is different for each film...no one complains about that. If All Darth Vader helmets had a point in the middle dome and the triangle vent under the chin was all the same size it would be an outrage and change would be demanded. Why? Because that's not how it was in the films. Many of the armors we have here are still more accurate than FX but not perfect. Leniency with this character is vast. But any way you stack it, FX is still too far off.

[Pilot trooper[501st]]

Netslave, thank you for asking this question and bringing this discussion out. I'm sure a lot a of newbies have similar questions when they first get here. I know I did. It is good to hear answeres from the horses mouth. That being said, I agree with the veterans above. There are very many subtle differences in the FX. I have been comparing pics between FX, my own armor, and the centurion submits for a few months now. The longer you look the more details you see that are different.

 

I would add to your list:

 

-Shoulder bell shape (too straight)

-no return edge on shoulder bell

- kidney/posterior one piece. Can be cut but never looks quite right.

- whole ab detail is inaccurate. Not just box and button strip.

- both thigh and shin contouring inaccurate. Specifically, top of shins an bottom of thighs. Accurate shin tops and thigh bottoms generally end in a ruff hexagonal shape (looking from above). FX ends in a general circular shape.

 

While I agree that FX shouldn't be centurion eligible because of all these flaws, I've noticed that some on these boards mislead all the way to the point of telling new guys that FX armor ( I know the helmet is a no go) is completely unworkable even for basic 501st approval. I'm all for promoting screen accuracy but let's be truthful.

I have been working on mods to a set of armor that predates and was actually the predecessor to the FX armor (I have had to make cuts just to get it to look like FX...) It is a lot of work. Probably is more than just starting with a new kit. I am enjoying the journey and at the end of the day, it won't be centurion (actually police officer/ swat because it will be a TD) but it is a lot of fun and kind of cool to restore an old dinosaur up to standards. There is more than one way to have fun with the 501st.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Pilot trooper

[netslave[501st]]

One of the main issues that excludes it from Centurion is the fact that FX was designed to be built with overlap construction. All the two piece parts interlock with each other and have a molded cover strip to hide the seam where as the originals had the parts trimmed to but against each other with a TOTALLY separate cover strip positioned and glued to cover the seam.

 

This is one thing I aimed to make look better on my armor. I needed to widen the thighs anyway, so for the thighs and shins, I placed the 'overlap' strips side by side, and then widened the back to fit my legs. Then, I bondoed the entire front and back strip section, essentially evening out the place where the overlap molded section is. In hindsight, I probably should have just cut them out and replaced with a better shim, but C'est la vie. In any case, I now have thighs and shins that look like one solid piece all the way around (but the shins still separate in back to allow me to put it on), and I'm now gluing on cover strips that are the correct size. 

 

Like I said, I'm not worried about trying to make it Centurion level. Just trying to figure out what more, past the EIB standards, I can do to make it look the best I can.

[netslave[501st]]

I think I may end up, in the future, cutting out some of the boxes on the Ab section, and replacing them with better sized boxes/buttons. But for now, I think I'm good with what I have going for now.