JeepGrrl's Shadow Stormtrooper Build

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

My armor is here, squee!!!! Here she be.

 

So shiny and purty! Holy cow, is the AM bucket big compared to ATA... I'm planning to build this bucket to see what it looks like on, but may end up looking for a different one in the future. I've seen some AM/FX TK buckets and they didn't seem so big and wonky - I'm hoping it wil look different assembled.

 

Otherwise I am so excited to get started on this build. It'll be slow going juggling school and work, and right now my first priority is helping the bf finish his TK. One more hard weekend at it and I think we've got that.

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Whoo-hoo, it's party time! Best of luck on your build and post questions if ya got 'em!

[Darth Agnon[501st]]

Squee indeed , lol

[Shade]

Wow, that looks like an awesome shine! Now I see why shiny ABS can be preferable over HIPS. Hardest part I've have so far is just making everything look nice and smoothly shiny, haha. Kinda wish I had gone this route for a little more ease of the whole process Best of luck on the build!!

[RaiderNick[TX]]

You will likely want to replace the AM bucket anyway. Unless you are around 6'2" or taller (or around 250 lbs or more) it just won't look right. Not to mention most of the legion frowns on using it because of how inaccurate it is. You will want to replace it with an ATA.

[ARAKYEL[501st]]

Buy a ATA a bucket because it's perfect and and very shiny:

http://i.imgur.com/foPyC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Ibur2.jpg

[izzi[TX]]

Oooh... Armor... Let us know if we can answer questions!

 

-iz

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Overall, out of the box, it will seem quite big, AM are one of the largest sets, but it also can be trimmed down well with the bucket bring the only exception.

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

Well honestly, I got the AM kit knowing it was big, because I'm not exactly a waif lol.

That's me on the left. Yeah I don't have many pics of me so Halloween was the best I could do.

When we first hooked up with the 501st, I was thinking I was too big (not to be tmi, but especially up top) to wear armor and was planning a soft costume (even though I really wanted to be a trooper). But after trying on James' AM TK chest, I think I may be able to make it work. I guess we'll see how it goes. If it's an epic fail then he'll have a TX too! That being said, I still think you guys are right that I'll want an ATA bucket. James' bucket is ATA and fits well and looks fairly proportionate on me, imagining the armor.

[Griffin-X[501st]]

It's all good! We come in all shapes and sizes Heather! Glad to have you on board.

[izzi[TX]]

How's this been going?

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

I haven't done much of anything yet honestly, not because I haven't wanted to though. I should have more time here soon to get started. In the meantime, I've been dropping a few unnecessary lbs that I won't need in my armor.

Thank you for asking, it's actually pretty cool and quite motivating to know someone is interested in my build

[emoid10t]

Take you time! I tried to have mine (I bought the same set) done before CVI and was not successful in completing it but I did get the helmet done. I have found out that even though you can get approved with this helmet, the Squadron here in Fl look down on it. Actually they look down on the entire outfit but I decided I don't care. I also bought ANH armor as well. I am interested in knowing your progress as well and good luck!

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

Thanks EMOID10T When you say your guys look down on it, do you mean the AM or blackhole troopers in general? Here there's lots of AM TKs and, other than the lid, I haven't heard anyone complain about it.

[Darth Agnon[501st]]

The Legion as a whole does not look down on the AM/FX bucket. It is a little larger and less screen accurate than most, but the majority of the Legion actually uses this bucket. There's nothing wrong with using this bucket until you can get a new one or even deciding that it is the one you want.

 

Not encouraging this bucket, but not discouraging it either.

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

I want to put mine together at least, since I have it, and most likely get a different bucket before I start trooping. I don't know if it will pull in a bit when it's all in one piece, but the 3 pieces being separate the face just looks so wide and the top is quite rounded. I haven't worked with the black ABS yet so doing the bucket might be kind of a good way to get a feel for the material I think. It's capped, right? Does that affect the way I should handle it, e.g. score & snap ok when I get to the trimming?

[RaiderNick[TX]]

Only score and snap on pieces like shims or very wide pieces. For any precise work,e.g. the bucket, use those curved lexan body scissors made for RC car bodies. I used them to trim 90% of my armor, and scored and snapped the shims and cover strips. Some people recommend tin snips, I tried several types and felt they were too large and clumsy to make precise cuts.

 

[Darth Agnon[501st]]

It's an uphill battle with all the elitists.

 

and that's the problem. we are not elitist here. we accept all our members.

[Darth Agnon[501st]]

We aren't going to be the ones accepting the costume though, her GML is(mine hates fx buckets). My point being, I just advise to avoid the AM/FX if possible.

 

Her GML still has to follow basic Legion CRL's which still allow the AM/FX for basic membership. Which we do here as well and we will continue to do. It is known that there are alternatives to the AM/FX but we will not discriminate anyone who chooses to use it. And this belief is the reason why this detachment melds so well. We accept all of our members regardless and we all generally get along because no one is going to tell another what they should or shouldn't do. We are here to help each other become Legion members. There are other threads for better accuracy and those topics should be discussed there.

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Her GML still has to follow basic Legion CRL's which still allow the AM/FX for basic membership. Which we do here as well and we will continue to do. It is known that there are alternatives to the AM/FX but we will not discriminate anyone who chooses to use it. And this belief is the reason why this detachment melds so well. We accept all of our members regardless and we all generally get along because no one is going to tell another what they should or shouldn't do. We are here to help each other become Legion members. There are other threads for better accuracy and those topics should be discussed there.

 

Agreed, and thanks BH.

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

It is good advice that someone may want to upgrade from their FX/AM later on, but for some troopers, especially bigger noggin'd ones, the FX/AM is the only bucket that will fit on their head. It is a great, affordable starter kit. When choosing a kit there are a lot of options and factors. Cost, detail, etc. Something cheaper might not carry the same detail, but it still looks great. I have made many mods to my armor, but aside from the bucket, the rest of it is still FX armor and it still looks good when done right. If an old FX suit or a new AM kit is available (which they usually are) no reason to push someone away if it lines up with their budget and desire, but there is also no problem pointing them to the other available kits just in case they are not aware of their options.

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

So I've been working on my armor for a couple of months but hadn't posted any progress yet. Here's a little update…

 

Around Thanksgiving, I got to troop a GT buddy's TK (a hybrid of his armor and an extra chest/back that he had laying around). It was incredibly fun, not to mention I learned a ton of little things about how I want to build my armor. The most important thing I learned was that the AM bucket I had would probably not work for me. No matter what I do, the chest will always sit totally differently on me than it would on a skinny guy. We opened up the extra TK chest piece a bit, fit it to me and I wore his AM bucket. The bucket was so large and the chest rode so high that the bucket rested on the chest and kept trying to lift off my head if I moved. I spent the whole 4 hours tilting my head back to try to see, even then I could barely see through the eyes, and certainly couldn't turn my head at all. It's so pronounced, you can tell in the pics like the one below. I thought I looked downright awful standing next to James' picture-perfect TK lol. Here is he & I:

 

 

And this is me "looking down" at these kids... you can see what I mean!

 

 

I am so glad I got that opportunity! After the troop, I immediately ordered an ATA bucket, and it turned out that a guy in my garrison was looking for a display bucket as a Christmas present so it worked out nicely. Here it is with the lenses just being held in it (they came in today):

 

 

 

For my color scheme, I've decided to go with silver mirror lenses, silver frown and flat black traps, tears, vocoder and stripes.

 

So also... biceps & forearms closed, back and kidney attached with elastic, ab and kidney/back fitted and closed with velcro'd shims. Thighs & shins closed, thighs hung. Eventually I want a shiny belt, but for now I made it from black canvas like a TK belt. Chest and back opened up and fitted. James built my bucket before we fitted the chest, and so far I'm happy with the way it all fits. I would post pics of the pieces, but I haven't been taking them lol.

 

For the boots - to start with, I ordered Amsterdams. When they got here, they were entirely too big. I was on the fence about Amsterdams vs the Shires Woodstocks, and I decided instead of ordering a smaller size of the Amsterdams, I'd replace them with Woodstocks instead. I put some insoles in the Woodstocks and they fit really well. I'm still deciding on how I want to try to keep my shins from turning - I read a really great post about that today.

 

Anyway just wanted to stop in and say hi. I'm getting really close to being finished and I absolutely can't wait to troop it!

 

Hope you are all doing well

[Master Tej]

You look really stunned in the pictures with the AM helmet, what with the size of the eyes! Good progress, can't wait to see it finished.

 

- Master Tej -

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

I was making a dumb face but you can't see the rest of it under the mask!

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Glad you found a bucket that will work for you. My first one was an FX, and it was super huge. I'm a tall skinny dude so it looked kind of funny on me. I sport the Arakyel lid now which looks much better.