Chef

very true... I'm just thinking of visual impact here.

You deciding to go Black?? I still think that the weathering/mould/rot would have more impact on the white armour. Plus it's a lot less work!!

The Studio Creations one you posted about.

Firstly.... AVOID Stormtrooper Costumes like they have a dose of the clap... They sell overpriced useless tat and you'll just be wasting your money. Jeff's set of armour will see you straight. It's a good solid bit of kit at a decent price. He's a stand-up guy so you can't go wrong there. There aren't many others who pull stuff in black. Not stuff that I consider to be any good. Not your side of the pond at least. Boots... make these yourself buddy. You'll save a packet, and if you're pretty handy with a sewing machine you could be able to do most of the other parts yourself too. If you check out this download.... Scout-Tutorial.pdf It's a scout one I did a while back (bit outdated now), but it contains all the stuff you'll need to known. The shadow scout or Storm Commando to give them their proper name are exactly the same, just the armour is black. So everything can be applied in the same fashion. Hope this helps.

Yeah, let us know your findings and thoughts and we'll chime in with ours. Welcome aboard buddy. You're going down the right path.

That reference pic looks like one of our very own Mr Haggis's little diagrams. We've got millions of them over on the UKG forums. They are a bit anal about their TK's.

There is nothing wrong with this Peter... It's how they did it on the ANH Screen used stuff. Admittedly the rivets are lower down on the belt (exactly as if you turned your belt upside down), and they use the outer part of the loop to go behind the belt, not the back bit. But the process is absolutely spot on. Incidentally, as a handy tip, if you use pop joiners (so the popper part is on the inside), then you can have your holster so it is detachable for transportation.

well, technically aren't these dudes supposed to be Zombies, and therefore not much blood at all! I'd personally keep the blood to a minimum, but certainly have some rotten flesh or some such hanging out. What I'd have the most of is dirty weathering, mud and filth. Armour damage and the such like. General neglect.... that sort of stuff.

Yeah, the swampy is just plain green. The Kashyyk trooper you speak of is a Prequel Clone (from one of the 'other' films). The armour, whilst similar is entirely different to that of a Scout.

Yeah, I know... I was just listing some random camo names. For the most part, I think I'll be needing something more verdant (green based). Stuff like A-TACS, Digital and the likes tend to be more arid/desert based. It needs to be greens based, like US woodland, but preferably greener still. Vegetato is nice (I use that myself for airsofting), but something like CADPAT or the old Mitchell (spring -summer) Pattern, and some of the Roggenwolf family of patterns look pretty cool. But that's the sort of thing I mean.

Righty.... now we've got the Snow Scout sorted (ish), it's time to move on to the next one. I know some of you are considering/researching the swampy, so I shall leave that one to you chaps. So that leaves me the Forest Trooper. So in the interest of pushing research further, are there any inhabitants here who are on this new SWG-Emu who could possibly try and drag up some decent all round shots of this armour, in various lighting shades if possible so we can get to see the actual pattern on the armour?? Also, from what we have here, and the opinions of everyone, how do you think using some form of existing camouflage pattern (although a sufficiently obscure one) of a temperate/jungle nature would suit? If there are any patterns, any suggestions chaps? A-TACS, Vegetato, Digital, RealTree of some form? Like i mentioned previously, the idea would be to embed some of the material in GRP resin. I'm going to see if I've got some old combats kicking about to try the theory. Obviously, not much point in me running down this route, should this avenue be a non-starter. But always open to a bit of discussion.

If you can't find anyone your side of the pond buddy, drop me a line. I've got a few mis-pulled parts kicking about.

I'd go as far as to say the man is a con artist and one who blatantly lies about the suitability of his stuff.... We have a bit of a running saga with this company over here in the UK. We are forever having new recruits turn up to the garrison with his stuff, and have to deal with the fall-out when we gently tell them they've bought a pile of overpriced crap. Avoid.... and you'll probably find something much cheaper and more suitable over your side of the pond. Good luck.

Hey there bud... good build. My own personal observations (everyone gets these..) Pouches, I'd make some out of fabric, rather than vinyl as you have done there. Vinyl tends to balloon out and not keep a good shape. Maybe make the shoulder bridges out of cloth fabric, rather than vinyl. I'd lower your belt a little so the bund doesn't poke out of the bottom, and bring up the drop boxes a couple of inches. They only want to sit about 3-4 inches below the belt line ideally. Then I'd consider taking in your flight suit, it looks a bit baggy in places, try to get it a little more 'form fitting' and then add in the suede patches and flaps, and thigh straps... and remove the visible zippers on it too. I'd paint your helmet bolts black, along with the tube on the TD (which you've noticed is upside down... good job). And if you want to be really snazzy.... add in the top strap to the knee armour. Further than that... Welcome to the dark side of the dark side!

Not so sure about over your side of the pond. There are a few, I'm sure. LSFU and Artemis Cuts are two I think. There are probably more over on BSn. If you're feeling brave with a sewing machine, you can have a bash at making your own. It's only like a cut down T-Shirt with padded sleeves, a wide neck and velcro closure up the back. Any half decent seamstress should be able to complete one. I've got some pattern pictures somewhere if you need them. They're not great, but you should be able to get the idea from them.

Looking good there buddy. If it were me... and it's not so please feel free to ignore. I'd paint your snout (and change it for a more accurate one rather than the KS) and helmet bolts a darker grey, or black. And loose the covers from in the ears. I'd hide the zip on the front of your suit, and add in a velcro closer over the neck. Add a Flak Vest Add in the Riding patch and Thigh Straps to your under suit (I assume the flap isn't there too) Paint your Thermal Det Tube black (looks light grey to me) Add in the extra knee strap with rivets at the top. Like I say, they are just observations, don't feel obliged to do any of them.

You not finished this yet Jim! Chop chop.

Steve.... I think the confusion has come about because nowhere in the CRL does it state that the AMOUR should be black. Obviously, there are pictures of Black armour next to it... but nowhere does it actually say "ARMOUR MUST BE BLACK" As for the "gloss".... I'd leave that to some interpretation. We had this massive discussion over here in the UKG and it took in a load of the background information surrounding the Storm Commando, and our GML requested that all UKG Storm Commando's are made with a 'Satin' finish, to represent the 'Reflec' sensor absorption coating that their armour is treated with. I personally think Gloss, sort of defeats the 'stealth' nature of the costume. I'd go for satin or matt. But that's just me.

Here is the copy of the CRL direct from the 501st website. Helmet For 501st approval: Lenses must be black, dark green or a silver mirrored. Helmet may have scout detailing or left plain. If detailing is present it must be black or dark gray. Licensed helmets are acceptable with modifications: Any deformation of shape (helmet flare must be corrected. Remove the manufacturer logo Lens opening widened and lens replaced with a darker transparent material. Remove "fish-hook" logo Replace stock bolts with flat-disc "elevator" bolts Replace inaccurate aerator. Repaint to match the armor. From what I can understand (and it is a bit vague). The Helmet itself must be BLACK (the same colour as the armour). Any detailing on the lid can be either black or dark grey. You need not add any detailing if you don't wish. Now, my own personal view on this is that the helmet (and armour), should be satin or matt black colour (to represent the 'reflec' material that coats them as per the background material). It should have detailing present, just because it looks rubbish and very bland without, and the detailing should be of a contrasting shade to the rest of the armour. I made mine with a Satin finish, and did all the detailing parts (decals, bolts, snout etc) in Gloss. Subtle, but it works. Mike at Trooperbay does a set of satin/gloss contrast decals for storm commando buckets. I asked him t make these for me and they are truly outstanding. I think he's kept them on.

You got any pictures of this Aban's lid for reference?

Well.... as you know, the whole debate over this is raging at the moment. So anything could happen.... I like to keep you in the loop on this because you are effectively the one driving it and I certainly wouldn't want you to go and do something which then turns out to be wrong. In terms of the costumes. The current thinking is along the lines of, there will be a base costume (the minimum requirements, which are reflected in the current CRL which you can find on the 501st), the "specialist" standard, which enters into a lot more detail and brings it in line with the Screen used Scouts, and then the "animated" version, which follows closely the game references that you provided. The latter two are no walk in the park, and there has to be a few hoops to jump through for those dedicated to creating that costume. It is a journey to a better place.... trust me on this. I have suggested that the Thermal Det is a different one to the standard screen used Scout. The references you provided clearly show the round knob with two raised rectangles (one above and one below), and then three square buttons in a sunken zone on the left of the Det. This detail is then repeated on the top of the det too. So I've gone for keeping as much to the reference source as possible. With warts, omissions and imperfections and all. This is to set it well apart from the other lines. It clearly has to be 'one' or 'the other', not a mish-mash of base/animated depending on which is the easier part to complete. Making the det would be pretty easy with some plastic card. it's only a box with a bit of raised detail. Certainly not something beyond the capabilities of a determined man. Like I say, it is all in a bit of flux at the moment.

I was going for a mix... on reflection, I should have put Blue-Grey.

Alex. I've just submitted the Draft "animated Swampy" CRL to the head-shed. Nothing is set in stone yet, and there may well be details that change but what I've put based on your screen grabs is this. 1: No tank Topper, and 7 ranks stripes on each side of the tank. 2: Standard Fish hook on both sides of the Visor Shroud. 3: Helmet bolts painted Blue/Grey.

Alex... The CRL updates are very much in progress. I've been asked to be on board (hence the recent addition of the CRL tag! whoop whoop) to get these moving. I've just submitted the Storm Commando specialist requirements for perusal and approval. I'll be doing all the others in the near future. I can easily knock up the swampy ones, based on your research (hence me pestering you.... thanks), but there is one in existence already. Makes sense that this is the next one on the list because you are currently 'in progress'. If your new GML is likely to be coming here, then ultimately he is likely to be getting information based on your research (and thus the circle is complete). The CRL for the swampy exists on the 501st boards, so it should be approvable (Izzi, darth, correct me if that is wrong). We can only push for this costume. If you build it... We'll back you up to the hilt. I don't know the full machinations of the 501st..... but considering the research that has been done already. I think we've got a very strong case.

There are only a few people making Black Scout armour. Jeff, at SC. This is probably the best option for someone in the states. I think MonCal can do them (expect a long wait though). There is the Mystery MG armour, but personally, I don't think it looks right so would avoid. There is a rumour that I might be able to make some, but I couldn't possibly comment.