An armor question

[Hoot34[501st]]

As many know I have pondering what I should do about purchasing a helmet. Recently I was wondering about the rest of the armor and I wanted to get the opinion of the forum about it. Is it worth the extra $$$ to outright purchase some black armor* or should I buy a set of TB (white) armor, that is sold for less, and paint it black.

 

*I am not including the helmet, question, in this discussion.

 

Any help is welcome.

[ELP[501st]]

That really depends on your ability to paint - not just skill but patience, available room and added cost.

 

There are a few troopers on here that have painted their kits - from white to black, and also from a matte black finish to a gloss black - hopefully they'll chime in but my personal feeling is spend the extra few bucks on the black ABS and then you can just concentrate on the build.

 

PS - I suck at painting , so I'm more than a tad biased

[bscheff[501st]]

How much more is the black kit? Keep in mind that any battle damage will show as white, which will need to be repainted.

[Chex[501st]]

For MC kits, there is no price diff between white and black. MC uses MLC helmets which are fiberglass and will need to be painted. They'll paint it for you, but if you want to purchase a bucket through them, finished, you're looking at around $600. It's a great bucket, so if you have the funds, it's worth it.

 

SC you can order armor by itself for a little under $400, but if you want the helmet too the whole thing is slightly under $700. The SC bucket will need a lot of work, as there is a seam line on the back you need to get rid of, as well as change to a more accurate snout, cut out the ears, etc.

 

You can get a black ABS bucket from KS..not sure of the priced, but my white finished bucket was $300, and I love it.

 

Overall, you can't go wrong with MC. SC is great, just not as accurate as MC..BUT...SC armor is good enough to get Lancer status over on BSN (if done right). Izzi has a set of SC armor, and I think Wraith does as well, so I would hit them up for some questions.

[crazas[TX]]

SC is great, my TB is an SC. But AM use to make scout kits in black ABS, (not sure he still does) Not as easy to put together as the SC (pre trimmed and finished) but if you have some skills using a dremmel it is not a problem to get an AM.

[T0R1[TX]]

I have an SC armor in white painted black and well I dont have the fund or patience to get the black gloss one since SC runs em in batches so it might take a bit of time

 

 

all my armor was painted white to black which I am getting the battle damage here and there...but it kinda looks neat till the point if i start looking like a really dirty TB i might repaint again

 

and my painting skills arent that great either...some cases i had bad cracking on the chest so i sand it all back down and repainted x_x so it does take a few trys

[lunar lord]

looks good to me

[GEORGETROOPER[501st]]

Nice....

[GHOST]

Hey guys,

 

MC has the BEST stuff out there and SC is the next BEST thing out there. If your looking to save money SC is the way to go. Buy the white armor, paint the underside flat black and then paint the top side with automotive black vinyl spray paint. You DO NOT have to sand or prime before using this paint. Plus it gives with the armor it will not flake or chip off. Another up side to this paint is it drys fast and gives a glossy look to it. The other glossy black enamel paints will take for every to dry and go from wet to sticky till it dries 100%. This stuff will not do that, it dries fast. If you get finer prints on your armor when it dries use a soft cloth to wipe them off no polish is needed. You can pick it up at any auto store.

 

Helmet - SC

 

yes it will have a seem up the back and you will have to do some bondo work to get rid of it. I myself like the rubies helmets once I have done all the mods to it. you can't tell it's a rubies at all. I get asked who made my helmet's all the time and when I say it's a rubies people freak out. now it takes a whole lot of time and skill to heavily mod one of these puppy's but in the end they look great and the visor goes up all the way unlike the fiber glass MLC buckets. Much better detail then the ABS helmet's and cheaper then both of them as well.

 

Pouches

 

Black cloth works well and is cheap but I really like real leather pouches over the cloth ones. Real leather in the saddle area and real leather for the rear end flap(mad flap) looks great to, they really sell the costume. The leg straps on help a great deal to hold in the balloon look of the flight suit just like on the biker scout outfit.

 

Boots

 

I made them from white and black marine vinyl using goop as my glue. I found that the black marine vinyl was harder to work with, when I did my last 2 sets of black scout boots. I switched from the shinny vinyl to a dull black vinyl and it seamed to work better plus the boots looked better to me. I aslo painted my holster flat black to match my boots. Looks really good this way.

 

Other Mod and stuff

 

Do what ever you feel looks good to you and you like, that's what costuming is all about having fun.

[T0R1[TX]]

yeah my helmet is actually a don post/rubies with mods if you can get your hands on one its good too its cheaper but little elbow grease of work to do modding if you dont have the tools for it (like me)

[GHOST]

Yeah man, i know what you mean. Lots of grease to make them look good, but in the end they do look good.

[Hoot34[501st]]

Everyone,

 

Thanks for your input. I do have a question:

 

SC is great, my TB is an SC. But AM use to make scout kits in black ABS, (not sure he still does) Not as easy to put together as the SC (pre trimmed and finished) but if you have some skills using a dremmel it is not a problem to get an AM.

 

Craza,

 

Could PM me on information on AM? They are someone I haven't heard about; I think.

[darkjawas[501st]]

I have a set of the AM armor

the detials are poor and a lot of work has to go into making it look good

not to count the trimming and assembly

my helmet is KS and kit form was $150

 

i do at little work on it from time to time

but it got put on the back burner when i got a fx TX armor kit