TKCaleb Posted January 2, 2010 Report Posted January 2, 2010 (edited) After a long time waiting, it finally arrived! ----------- My first impression of the armor was "wow this is sturdy". The quality is very good, and it seems to be made with a very thick gauge of styrene. Matt told me it was .09, but it seems to be a bit more thicker than that. Its also much heavier than my ABS suit. I scrutinized the armor detail by detail, and there is no doubt in my mind that this was made way back before Matt's recent batch. The armor is much smoother, and lacks all the little dimples and tiny markings that the new run of suits has. It that could also be from the poor suction of the vacuum former that Matt was using at the time. Overall, this suit is awesome. Im going to polish it very soon, and possibly spray a nice clear coat of semi-gloss finish over top of the armor. Matt had already applied krylon clear coat semi-gloss on some of the pieces, but im going to finish her off. Caleb Edited February 2, 2021 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021 Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 2, 2010 Report Posted January 2, 2010 Awesome find CALEB!!! It does not have the detail that your other suit does...but you stated it felt very thick. You said " that could also be from the poor suction of the vacuum former that Matt was using at the time." The thicker the gauge of material will tend to loose some of the detail if the vaccuum former's pump is not strong enough to evacuate all the air out. Which means that the plastic cannot conform as tightly to the mold....thus losing detail.. Could Matt not tell you about the age of the suit? Is this the styrene ROTJ armor set that you paid him for at the beginning of 2009 and Matt kept putting you off? Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see it when you are done!!!! cheers Quote
TKCaleb Posted January 2, 2010 Author Report Posted January 2, 2010 Awesome find CALEB!!! It does not have the detail that your other suit does...but you stated it felt very thick. You said " that could also be from the poor suction of the vacuum former that Matt was using at the time." The thicker the gauge of material will tend to loose some of the detail if the vaccuum former's pump is not strong enough to evacuate all the air out. Which means that the plastic cannot conform as tightly to the mold....thus losing detail.. Could Matt not tell you about the age of the suit? Is this the styrene ROTJ armor set that you paid him for at the beginning of 2009 and Matt kept putting you off? Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see it when you are done!!!! cheers More or less, it was the vacuum former used at the time. The styrene armor he had pulled this past year was .09, and the details were very sharp. Also, styrene is much easier to heat, which also should of given better details. Who knows why the armor is soft. But it really looks good. Matt told me he made this suit back in 1999, and that it was a "test pull". From the writing on the back, it looks like he worked with someone else, but i do not recognize the initials. And yes, this was the styrene armor that I have been waiting for. He sent off the ABS armor with very little wait after it was completed, but this armor was finished and in hand. More to come later. Caleb Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 2, 2010 Report Posted January 2, 2010 WOW a suit back from 1999! That sounds like you got a granddaddy of a lot of armor out there If it was a "test pull", Matt in '99 was running his wifes oven at 350 bake and not the broil setting like he has for the past few years.... That could account for the lack of sharpness in that he may have pulled the styrene out of the oven too soon. Anyhow it is still a great find!! Wonder who Matt was working with back then with the initials "CD" (hmmmm?) Very interesting. Quote
TKCaleb Posted January 2, 2010 Author Report Posted January 2, 2010 WOW a suit back from 1999! That sounds like you got a granddaddy of a lot of armor out there If it was a "test pull", Matt in '99 was running his wifes oven at 350 bake and not the broil setting like he has for the past few years.... That could account for the lack of sharpness in that he may have pulled the styrene out of the oven too soon. Anyhow it is still a great find!! Wonder who Matt was working with back then with the initials "CD" (hmmmm?) Very interesting. That would explain the soft details. Awesome. I like how beat up it looks. When it arrived, it was all dusty and had a bunch of scuff marks. I soaked all the pieces in my bathtub with warm water and some dawn dish soap for about half an hour. Then i rinsed them again with warm water, and then dried them all off. They looked really great after that. I need to get some novus polish and buff them down. Yea, i would like to know who CD is also. It could also be a nickname maybe. Caleb Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 3, 2010 Report Posted January 3, 2010 I like how beat up it looks. When it arrived, it was all dusty and had a bunch of scuff marks. Caleb Hey! All those marks and scuffs are like from the Battle on Endor!!! All the DARN Ewoks and their POINTY!! STICKS!! and ROCKS!!! :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: If I dig up any info on this "CD" person, I will pass it to ya! Quote
TKCaleb Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Posted January 3, 2010 Hey! All those marks and scuffs are like from the Battle on Endor!!! All the DARN Ewoks and their POINTY!! STICKS!! and ROCKS!!! :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: :ewok1: If I dig up any info on this "CD" person, I will pass it to ya! HAHA, yea really! Most of it is just some sticky gunk that i managed to wipe off, but there are deffinately scuff marks, and a few slight tears at the very tops of the thighs pieces. nothing really visible. Other than that it is very rock solid. much stronger than his recent stuff. I am thinking about displaying it on a mannequin, using duct tape to strap it together. I really do not want to glue straps on to it, i feel it would devalue the set. Caleb Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 3, 2010 Report Posted January 3, 2010 Sounds like a cool way to go, to display it on a mannequin. Not so sure about the duct tape to strap it together. Since you don't want to glue straps on it, how about a display case with a black background and shelf and put the pieces of the suit in there like a coat of arms? Maybe lay the armor out, like the full sit is worn, and have the top and sides of the display (clear) so you can see all the way around it. Have the bottom black for constrast to make the armor stand out. You get the best of both worlds. You can look at it without worrying about any harm coming to it. The money that you would spend on a mannequin could go toward building a display case. It was just a thought. If I come up with anything better, I will throw it out to you...... Tom Quote
TKCaleb Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Posted January 3, 2010 I like that idea! I mean, i know its not like the actual screen used armor and some might think its silly to go to such extremes, but this is most definitely the un-modified aka. sharpened ROTJ armor, and from what Matt claimed, is one of the first suits he pulled. So its a bit of an enigma, and id hate to just keep it locked away in a box. Caleb Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 3, 2010 Report Posted January 3, 2010 To box away collectibles, Prop, art work, or abstain from something that gives you happiness. I do not believe in. Where is the fun in that <_< . Enjoy it I say!!!! A few years ago, I was in a pretty bad car wreck and could have died. After the accident I realized that I could have no longer been here. It hit me, I could be dead and gone! And ALL the things I hadn't seen or done.... It was a real eye opener. So, if it was my "first edition TE rotj styrene armor" I would display it... Tom Quote
TKCaleb Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Posted January 3, 2010 To box away collectibles, Prop, art work, or abstain from something that gives you happiness. I do not believe in. Where is the fun in that <_< . Enjoy it I say!!!! A few years ago, I was in a pretty bad car wreck and could have died. After the accident I realized that I could have no longer been here. It hit me, I could be dead and gone! And ALL the things I hadn't seen or done.... It was a real eye opener. So, if it was my "first edition TE rotj styrene armor" I would display it... Tom I see your point sir. I will be displaying it, possibly the way you mentioned it, like a coat of arms. It would look great! I just gotta figure out how im going to build it. Caleb. Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 3, 2010 Report Posted January 3, 2010 I see your point sir. I will be displaying it, possibly the way you mentioned it, like a coat of arms. It would look great! I just gotta figure out how im going to build it. Caleb. Hey Caleb, No need in using sir, I only 35 When I read "sir", I ran to the mirror to see how many gray hairs I've!! LOL!! IT"S ALL GOOD!!!! I think the coat of arms with the Empire Cog would be AWESOME!!!! I will try to draw up a couple of ideas and see what you like.... It should not be that difficult to build.......so Stay Tuned..... Tom . Quote
Star Wars Helmets Posted January 4, 2010 Report Posted January 4, 2010 It looks an extremely nice set Caleb - certainly seems like quality. Its just a shame he cant deliver without these huge delays - as a matter of interest how long did it take between order and fulfilment? Cheers Jez Quote
TKCaleb Posted January 4, 2010 Author Report Posted January 4, 2010 It looks an extremely nice set Caleb - certainly seems like quality. Its just a shame he cant deliver without these huge delays - as a matter of interest how long did it take between order and fulfilment? Cheers Jez Well, I bought two sets of armor from him. When i first contacted him in August of 2008, he had told me he was doing a run of ROTJ armor in the original .06 biscuit colored ABS. I told him that I would like to buy a set. He shot me an email around mid-to-late december of '08 stating that he is selling both ABS and styrene armor at introductory prices, and that if i bought the armor right then, i would save a lot considering he was going to jack up the price in the next few months. So I bought the ABS suit, and had requested for him to build it for me. I received the armor in early September. Now the styrene set was a little different. We were talking on facebook via IM around early March and he told me that he had a set of ROTJ armor from back in 1999, and that it is suit number 1. He told me it was the first suit "they" pulled. I took his offer, and purchased it. Now, this suit was already made and partially built, I expected him to send it a few weeks later, but he did not. He told me he was tight on money, so i had asked him how much it would be to send, and he told me $70. I sent him $70 via paypal. I did not receive my armor until December 31st. Caleb Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 7, 2010 Report Posted January 7, 2010 (edited) Hey Caleb, You probably thought I forgot about working on the display case for your TE ROTJ suit. I wanted to run one of the concepts for it by you before I get a parts list together for you and how to put it together. I have another idea for a different concept, but still working out some of the kinks before I show it to you. This display I call, Fallen Warrior. My thoughts on it were that the armor was from a fallen Stormtrooper. To have the armor laid out as a tribute on display, like you might see in a museum. The concept of the plaque has the added cog. I just put some writing on the plaque just to give you an idea of what it would look like once you had it engraved. You can go to any trophy shop and have them use any style font and color of material for the plaque. Let me know what you like or dislike about the concepts and I will work with you on making the changes if you have any ideas. Edited February 2, 2021 by gmrhodes13 photos updated gmrhodes13 2021 Quote
TKCaleb Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Posted January 7, 2010 Hey man! Thats a fantastic concept drawing! I like it a lot! All i have to do is build this baby. Caleb Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 7, 2010 Report Posted January 7, 2010 Great, I am glad you like. I will get started on a parts/materials list and the blueprints / how to..........Stay tuned! Hey man! Thats a fantastic concept drawing! I like it a lot! All i have to do is build this baby. Caleb Quote
RogueTrooper[TK] Posted January 7, 2010 Report Posted January 7, 2010 I will still finish the other concept, just so you have two plans!!!! Quote
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