Making Good Of A Bad Suit

[trooper96]

A while back, a friend of mine came into possession of an armor kit. The origin of the suit was unknown at the time, but after some research, I believe it to be one of the copies you can find on ebay. He got it at a very good price, but you get what you pay for. The 0.060†HIPS material was dull, fragile, and soft on some of the details. We decided the only way to improve the suit was to remake it with a better material. We used the suit as a guide and started making molds. Where possible, we made our own molds, but in full disclosure we made some pieces directly from the suit. I guess technically that makes the project semi-RECAST (cough, gag), but improvements to those molds were needed even so. My friend, who is an actual real life MacGyver type, built a vacuum forming table and oven out of materials he had in his shop, and we purchased some 0.063†black ABS from the local Grainger store. After much trial and error, we were finally able to produce a few usable parts. The ABS we used is a vast improvement over the original HIPS material. Much more rugged and flexible.

 

Please, before I get flamed here and branded a recaster, I just want to say that this project was started only for the purpose of making good of a bad suit. While I realize it would have been MUCH less expensive to just order a good suit, the project has also fulfilled a need to be creative and learn new skills. The table is only 24†x 24â€, so we have no capacity to mass produce. We are only making parts for personal use. I am not advertising or taking orders. I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for this great hobby and show off some of the hard work we have invested. Here is a picture of what the project looks like so far:

 

 

Still a lot of work to do yet. The helmet pictured here is not ABS, but a paper mache project I made. The blaster is scratch built. I welcome any comments or good advice.

[trooper96]

Here's the neck seal.

 

 

[Scubacat[TX]]

Hey if it was cheep and it can be fixed then I say why not. I was in the same problem with an eBay one when I first started but it was not a recast. It was just a really old and beat up kit that was way too big for my frame and things had been done to it to where I could not change it.

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

recaster? come on, we aren't the FISD. you did yourself a favor lol

[trooper96]

Thanks. Guess I was a little gun-shy after reading some of the zero tolerance opinions on the matter. I just want to enjoy being a part of the 501st community, and so far I have had a blast learning about vacuum forming and all the small details that go into making a proper suit of armor. But that's what it's all about, right?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

It's a fine line to walk. If you aren't selling kits and you are making your own molds off of what you have, but improving them, shouldn't be a huge deal.

[Master Tej]

Yeah, this looks like a pretty neat deal as far as I can see! Good job!

 

- Master Tej -

[Rezori[501st]]

Nice, looking forward to seeing your progress! My husband picked up a kit in rough shape too - he's not recasting but it's a lot of work either way!!!

[trooper96]

Here's the vac formed helmet...

 

[Rezori[501st]]

Very nice pull! It looks a bit textured though, is that just the photo or do you have to sand and paint it all?

[Darth Agnon[501st]]

Hopefully with some work you can join us soon!

[trooper96]

Yes, the underneath side of the ABS sheet has a rough texture. It shows through a little especially in the thinner areas. Sanding seems to make it much less noticeable. In the picture above, it had not been sanded.

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Think you'll get the shine you need out of the sanding or are you planning on painting?

[trooper96]

It will probably take primer/sanding and paint to get the finish I want.

[trooper96]

Here's a helmet we pulled last weekend for a friend.

 

 

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Looking pretty good there!

[THE TROOPER[501st]]

Where do i send the funds for one bucket ? Lookin good man

[trooper96]

Thanks, guys. TROOPER, I actually have one extra helmet kit that we pulled. I sent you a PM in case you are genuinely interested. As I said earlier, we are not set up for production but if we have some extra parts, we would be happy to make them available to any who would need them.