Armor Master v4.5 Helmet, what comes in the box, my very first build

[Toothdoc]

Hello, Everyone!

I'm one of the newbies around here and if you've read my introduction bio over on the "NEW GUY" thread, you might remember that I'm on a personal quest to lose some weight and get healthier.  The other day I met my first goal and officially hit 25lbs lost!  My goal is to get to around 210-215 or so, starting from about 283lbs, just this spring.  I'm just under 6' tall and of pretty stocky build.  I think if I lose my gut and improve my physique around my chest and back, I can make this white armor stuff look pretty good!  All this is just another incentive to hit my goals.  I'm committed and excited to continue my journey and thought I'd reward myself for my first 25 lbs by ordering an ARMOR MASTER helmet kit (currently v4.5) from Dave at Dave's Darkside Depot.

 

Dave sent a brown box right away, following my payment and it came pretty quickly.  Since this was my very first order and all I've seen of these white plastic pieces was from pictures online, I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to receive.  Dave's Darkside Depot came highly recommended by a friendly gentleman I met on Facebook.  He told me that AM armor was cut generous enough for a bigger guy if I needed it to be.  I had been doing my research and found the RS Propmasters guys in the UK and watched their entire library of build thread videos on YouTube.  I just think it would be cool to just go hangout with those guys for a week and be a blast!  I learned a lot there and I liked the idea of an authentic reproduction from an actual screen used armor set.  But after a few Q&A sessions with my Facebook friend referral source, I thought I'd start giving the AM armor a serious look.  I could find a few good threads to read up on, but some were outdated and didn't offer a whole lot of great photos on what this stuff was really like.  So I thought I'd dip my toe in the water and take a chance with Dave's Darkside Depot and the Armor Master line and see for myself what all this was about.

 

With this thread, I hope to document and give the beginner a good sense of what exactly this helmet kit is all about with some quality photo documentation.  Let me say that I am waaay impressed with what I got from Dave's Darkside Depot.  The v4.5 AM helmet is much better than I had hoped for!  The quality is there for sure.  I can't wait to get the rest of the AM armor (with my continued success in health goals) and work towards acceptance with the 501st, FISD and my local garrison.  Hope these photos are helpful!  This is my first attempt at attaching photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking forward to seeing the progress, good luck

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Congratulations Bryan !!  Great photos and looking forward for your advances both personal physical goals and your armor .  

 

Let us know if we can help.  

 

[Firedog[TK]]

Congratulations on receiving your helmet and good luck on your build. You may find Eric Dyke's video series on assembling the AM 4.5 helmet helpful. I know I did.

 

 

[Toothdoc]

54 minutes ago, Firedog said:

Congratulations on receiving your helmet and good luck on your build. You may find Eric Dyke's video series on assembling the AM 4.5 helmet helpful. I know I did.

 

 

Thanks, Shawn!  Yes, I've watched his entire series several times.  It was quite helpful.  Just wish I could have offered him some critiques of his video techniques.  Glad we have such friendly, helpful and experienced guys on doing this. 

[LTM[TK]]

Welcome to FISD and the AM family. Kudos on wanting to be healthier, however you want to get to your goal. Vader needs all the troopers he can get!

 

Plenty of recent builds of AM kits, check out these and also look at submissions for EIB and Centurion (look at AM in the title)

 

 

 

[Jeffnmar[TK]]

Congrats on pulling the trigger on an AM build and kudos on getting healthier. 

 

I ordered a commission build from Dave back in February , and then Covid hit. Needless to say good things come to those who wait ( correct, its been 8 months of waiting ) and BBB day should be this week or early next week.  I'll follow up with you as soon as the armor arrives and let you know how things look. Several good builds with the AM line.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

almost there !!! 

[Toothdoc]

21 hours ago, Jeffnmar said:

Congrats on pulling the trigger on an AM build and kudos on getting healthier. 

 

I ordered a commission build from Dave back in February , and then Covid hit. Needless to say good things come to those who wait ( correct, its been 8 months of waiting ) and BBB day should be this week or early next week.  I'll follow up with you as soon as the armor arrives and let you know how things look. Several good builds with the AM line.

Appreciate your kind words!  My goodness, you’ve been pacient! Hope it’s everything you dreamed of.

 

I got my ESB decals from TB today.  Fast service!  Once they’re all on board and I get a chance, I’ll upload some pics of my almost completed ESB variant helmet.  Looking good!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Congrats on your AM helmet, Bryan!  Strangely enough, I received my latest kit from Dave as well last week and am also doing an ESB as my next build.  Don't forget that the holster is a lot different than ones used in A New Hope.  I got mine from Darman (a tried and true seller here on the FISD).  Link here.  Dave normally includes the correct hand plates for ESB as well so you should be good to go.

 

You will be more than pleased with AM armor.  I have been trooping in it for years with no cracking, splitting or yellowing.  Looking forward to seeing that bucket completed!

 

 

 

[Harder[TK]]

Those are great pictures. Did you take those with your phone? You’re gonna have so much fun with building that.


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[Toothdoc]

14 hours ago, Harder said:

Those are great pictures. Did you take those with your phone? You’re gonna have so much fun with building that.


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Hey, Craig!

Yes, Sir!  I took those with my iPhone X.  I wanted to get some great shots of what this AM v4.5 helmet looked like, especially for the rank beginner like me.  A lot of photos here on the FISD, but don't REALLY give you a good sense of what you're actually getting.  I was really blown away by the quality of these vacu-formings and the details and pre-trimmed stuff that Dave does.  I couldn't recommend it highly enough for a new guy!  I am told if I like the helmet, just wait until I get the rest of the armor!  Most impressive as well! 

 

Just got a new iPhone XII today.  currently moving my stuff over to it.  I will post my COMPLETED photos here as soon as I get a chance and my phone frees up again.  Hurry up, Phone!!

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

I’ve done the exact same thing with my build thread photos—taking tons of photos of even the components untrimmed—so future builders can see exactly what they’ll be getting. And just like you, I use an iPhone, though I’m running a bit older with an 8+. Good stuff! Keep it up with your build!


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[Harder[TK]]

Excellent! I sorta figured it was one of the latest iPhones. Your intent of clear pics Untrimmed and trimmed is a great idea. It definitely helps.

Side note, I was “eh” about the new iPhone 12. You’ll have to tell me how you like it!


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

9 hours ago, Harder said:

Excellent! I sorta figured it was one of the latest iPhones. Your intent of clear pics Untrimmed and trimmed is a great idea. It definitely helps.

Side note, I was “eh” about the new iPhone 12. You’ll have to tell me how you like it!

Here's some great tips on taking photos

 

[Theeternaljafo]

Good looking build

[CallMeMrTibbles[501st]]

Looking forward to following this.

Also, good work on the weight loss I've been trying to lose too, and finally getting the point where I'm happy to trim the armour to my waistline Keep at it, we're routing for you!

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[stormtrooperguy[501st]]

It's an older thread, but it struck a cord for me. I've put on quite a bit of weight over the past few years, and my old ATA suit doesn't really fit like it once did. I picked up an AM kit and plan to use it for motivation... rather than sitting around moping that my suit doesn't fit, I'll build something that does and get out and troop more

Any progress lately?

[Toothdoc]

It's an older thread, but it struck a cord for me. I've put on quite a bit of weight over the past few years, and my old ATA suit doesn't really fit like it once did. I picked up an AM kit and plan to use it for motivation... rather than sitting around moping that my suit doesn't fit, I'll build something that does and get out and troop more

Any progress lately?

Well, yes and no. It’s slow going, and I’m working on it, also working on a Scout which will probably get finished first.

I’m still motivated…


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[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

I was in a state of limbo with my AM 4.5 build with updates coming in months at a time. What finally got me to finish my armor was wrangling for the first live troop since Covid at the 2021 Flagstaff 4th of July Parade. Having over 100 members of my garrison showing up was awesome and so I quickly got motivated and submitted my photos.

 

I am a little on the heavier side hence the Armor Master build, but I was super conscious about my weight and felt less and less motivated as I put on the armor, much less submit my photos for approval.

 

after the parade, I took a deep breath, asked my local garrison members to help take the photos for me, and sent them off to the GMLs. Two weeks later, I get an email saying that I got accepted into the legion without any modifications needed. That gave me the confidence boost I *really* needed, and made me excited for my first troop that was just a few days away.

[viewoptic[TK]]

AM armor rocks that is what I use! Ive went through 2 other different armor brands until I found what I really liked which is the AM armor. Its very thick compared to other armors and super durable! You won't be disappointed! Have fun with your build! 

Edited October 15, 2021 by viewoptic