Chef

Yeah, AA's claims in the StormTrooper world are a little flaky at best. But it does look incredibly cool. And in the sneaky world of Special Operations, nothing is impossible. Remember, there are 3 more episodes coming up. All those conceptual artists and story boarders will be needing some decent reference material.

I take it you chaps are aware it's very easy to obtain mirrored HIPS plastic. Would be a doodle to pull a stormtrooper suit in it (I've even got a sample sitting here somewhere) because there are no joined and filled seams on a stormie, each part just overlaps the other with a covering strip over any glued joins. I would have done a scout just for a laugh, but the lid construction method would have meant the need for vac-metalisation (it needs to be filled and sanded). So I've never bothered.

Looking sweet. Nice use of a 1911.

it's easy bud... When you look at the picture in Photobucket, go to the right of the screen and you'll see a box with a load of link in. Email/IM, Direct, IMG etc... Click on the IMG one and it should say 'copied'. You then just paste that link into your text on here, and it will look like a load of gibberish but it will have .... [ /img] at either end. Then when you publish your post, the pictures will magically appear.

Depends on what you mean by 'better maker'. MonCal armour is more screen accurate, but last I heard it is considerably more expensive and there is quite a waiting time. Whereas Jeff's at SC is still a good robust suit, but it's cheaper and he'll get the stuff to you in double quick time.

tidied it a little for you.

I need the cost of base materials and living to come down in Britain, and then for the Exchange rate to go more favourably and not have such drastic shipping costs! (just as an example, Diesel is £1.38 per Litre here, *calculate* that's $8.40 per gallon) Then we might be on a winner. Granted I can get more than one set of stuff in the box, but shipping is always done on volumetric weight, so it's the size of the box and not what's in it. I sent 4 sets of Colonial Marine armour over to the states for the same price as 1 a few months back, all because I could get them all in the same box. Suddenly made the £40 shipping a little more reasonable.

You say none are weathered!! My own armour is painted, Satin, over gloss. This has over time naturally weathered revealing the gloss plastic underneath. It doesn't tend to show in pictures because it's very subtle. But in person it's quite noticeable and does add a real dimension to the armour. I use the background source material outlines below as a basis of this approach. So, I have the base black armour as the shiny 'armour' part. and the satin painted coat as the 'reflec' coating. As it weathers, this coating is removed. That's what I tell people at least.

As Above... Everyone here in the UK uses Satin because it looks meaner. But there are quite a few 'unpainted' ones out there, so naturally they look gloss. Might be worth having a word with your GML to see if there are any others locally, and fall into line with them. If you're the first, I would suggest you go with Satin. But use Gloss on the highlight areas, such as the chest indent, greeblies and helmet detailing. (it's the little things....).

Shush... Don't tell everyone, they'll all want one.

er... yeah. They've been on the decline for a while, and it's either a combination of worn (read, 'shot'...) bucks, and bad forming. But either way, they shouldn't really be leaving for customers. Not with how much they are charging!

Judge for yourself....

To be honest, it doesn't need that much more out of it. The one on the left (as you look at it) could probably do with curving a little more to match up the right hand one, and a tiny bit of rounding in the top corners (not a lot). What make of lid is it? Just out of interest.

sweet job... I've just finished painting one myself. If you've not got your decals yet (or fancy some cool ones), then Mike at TrooperBay does a real swish set of Storm Commando ones. They are satin backed, but with gloss detailing. They add in a real nice touch of contrast in what otherwise is a very plain lid.

Welcome aboard... Any questions, just shout up.

This is the issue you get with comic stuff. There is always some inconsistency within the cell frames. You have to look at the majority and see what 'most' of the detail looks like as there will always be some anomalies (same can even be said for screen used stuff if you look hard enough). And I think that most of the source material shows the belt as black, so I would advise sticking to this. As most of the other troopers have too. You don't want to give your GML any reason to query your build. You are right that there is one where they show red... but you'd have to fight that with your GML, as it is not consistent with the CRL and all the other Weirs out there currently.

The seamless tank should not be a clearance issue, so don't panic about it. The screen used items were a two part design because of the limitations of vac forming (or at least that's the summation), and were probably meant to 'look' like a one part item. Yes we can see a visible seam, so best practice is to try and replicate the seam, but it isn't essential.

That's what I'm here for!!

Yup, all of the UK troopers go for a Satin Black on their Storm Commandoes. Looks ace. Proper 'Shadows'. Just be advised Evan, I'm not sure how your Garrison will sit with the Riding Boots. They do need to be more like the Scout boots. It'll come down to what they say.

Well, if you look in his reference pictures, you can clearly see that in some of them, they are weathered and worn. So the precedent is there for weathering.

Or try here.... http://www.ukgarriso...p?f=127&t=44942 And if that doesn't enlighten you. Speak to the Organ Grinder himself. Just shoot me a PM.

And in reality, the referenced one is the only one the 501st are likely to entertain on a 'clearance' basis. So if anyone is planning on this costume (and I will do eventually, just out of a sense of completeness), then that is the way we should approach it. We've got the Sea Trooper and Forest Trooper to get on the boards. Then we'll have the full compliment of Scout variants.

great minds eh Todd..

try something like this. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Football-or-Lacrosse-Helmet-Visor-INSERT-fits-Oakley-Under-Armour-Nike-Arsenal-/261178700883?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=560186053350&hash=item3ccf76b453

To be honest Gene, it's actually easier to go straight for Level 2 from the outset than it is to try and retro-fit those items at a later date. Most of it is just about the fit and finish, with a few small detail parts that aren't really all that expensive. It's bits like having to take the suit apart to put in the correct patches, or unstitch bunds etc that become a real pain. But done from the start, it's not a drama. As for blasters... they're out there if you know where to look..... or who to ask. *nudge nudge*.