In a world of mediocrity, poor craftsmanship, laziness and an interest only in the $$$, I saw something this weekend that really floored me. I was at a friend's house and he happened to have just received a set of "AP" armor and hadn't even taken it out of the shipping box. We lookeed through the armor together and I can't even begin to tell you how impressed I was with this seller and his product. We all know the source and we all know it is a bit idealized but for the first time, I was so impressed by the QUALITY of the pieces the fact that this is a less than perfectly accurate suit didn't bother me.
First, the armor was very neatly stacked and arranged in the box with no trash or debris from the rough trimming process. You might find it odd that I comment on something as simple as how the box was packed, but to me it just shows a level of quality and care by the maker. I have sadly received pieces from others that was simply dropped in the box apparently after being rough trimmed directly over the box. I am sad to say this has happened on more than one occasion.
Every piece of the armor was clean and neat and free from major blemishes. In fact, it was free from minor blemishes as well. The armor is absolutely immaculate. On many vacced pieces from others, I have seen lots of blemishes, clearly from trash on the mold because the bits of trash actually are still trapped in the backside of the blemish on the plastic.
Seriously, how hard is it to clean the mold or the plastic before forming? Apparently it is not hard at all for "AP" as each piece is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
Also each piece is roughtrimmed with a VERY wide arc around the formed piece. You can actually see where the mold ends and there is still extra plastic. You might be thinking this means more to trim off and while that is true, I would MUCH rather decide for myself where I want to trim my armor than have someone else decide for me. With the "AP" armor, the decision is totally yours. Sadly, with other sellers, I have seen where it was rough trimmed so sloppily that actual pieces of the prop itself were cut away.
Also, the "rough trim" is actually a very smooth and nice trim. Again, it seems like a minor thing, but to me it is another testament to care and quality on the part of the seller.
Each part is SUPER thick. Too thick to be accurate, yes, but if you wanted a set of DURABLE armor to troop in, this is it. The thickness seems suprisingly uniform across all the pieces. I am sure you are wondering about sharpness since the plastic is so thick. While I did think the suit was a bit too soft to be screen accurate, for the thickness of plastic used it is VERY sharp and perfectly usable. Again, sadly in comaparison, I have seen others use even thinner plastic and not turn out as sharp parts.... One area that really impressed me (again, not in terms of accuracy but quality) was the area under the chin on the helmet. Due to the nature of the pull on this part, it is almost always thin and prone to splitting. Not so on the "AP" helmet. Yes, I know the face was cleaned and idealized but it was still impressive to see a thick strong helmet that still has crisp details.
The armor also has a nice gloss finish, which is cool because it means no painting.
I do not know "AP" at all. Never have met or talked to him/them/whoever but I feel just from seeing his product, I now know something about him and would sure be glad to meet him some day and shake his hand. The quality, care, and craftsmanship seen in these parts is something ANY seller should be striving for. For someone who is NOT easily impressed, this armor really wowed me. :lol I don't even own a set and it is unlikely that I ever will, but I am proud to say I have seen one. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to check a set out. We need more people like this.
First, the armor was very neatly stacked and arranged in the box with no trash or debris from the rough trimming process. You might find it odd that I comment on something as simple as how the box was packed, but to me it just shows a level of quality and care by the maker. I have sadly received pieces from others that was simply dropped in the box apparently after being rough trimmed directly over the box. I am sad to say this has happened on more than one occasion.
Every piece of the armor was clean and neat and free from major blemishes. In fact, it was free from minor blemishes as well. The armor is absolutely immaculate. On many vacced pieces from others, I have seen lots of blemishes, clearly from trash on the mold because the bits of trash actually are still trapped in the backside of the blemish on the plastic.
Seriously, how hard is it to clean the mold or the plastic before forming? Apparently it is not hard at all for "AP" as each piece is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.Also each piece is roughtrimmed with a VERY wide arc around the formed piece. You can actually see where the mold ends and there is still extra plastic. You might be thinking this means more to trim off and while that is true, I would MUCH rather decide for myself where I want to trim my armor than have someone else decide for me. With the "AP" armor, the decision is totally yours. Sadly, with other sellers, I have seen where it was rough trimmed so sloppily that actual pieces of the prop itself were cut away.
Also, the "rough trim" is actually a very smooth and nice trim. Again, it seems like a minor thing, but to me it is another testament to care and quality on the part of the seller.
Each part is SUPER thick. Too thick to be accurate, yes, but if you wanted a set of DURABLE armor to troop in, this is it. The thickness seems suprisingly uniform across all the pieces. I am sure you are wondering about sharpness since the plastic is so thick. While I did think the suit was a bit too soft to be screen accurate, for the thickness of plastic used it is VERY sharp and perfectly usable. Again, sadly in comaparison, I have seen others use even thinner plastic and not turn out as sharp parts.... One area that really impressed me (again, not in terms of accuracy but quality) was the area under the chin on the helmet. Due to the nature of the pull on this part, it is almost always thin and prone to splitting. Not so on the "AP" helmet. Yes, I know the face was cleaned and idealized but it was still impressive to see a thick strong helmet that still has crisp details.
The armor also has a nice gloss finish, which is cool because it means no painting.
I do not know "AP" at all. Never have met or talked to him/them/whoever but I feel just from seeing his product, I now know something about him and would sure be glad to meet him some day and shake his hand. The quality, care, and craftsmanship seen in these parts is something ANY seller should be striving for. For someone who is NOT easily impressed, this armor really wowed me. :lol I don't even own a set and it is unlikely that I ever will, but I am proud to say I have seen one. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to check a set out. We need more people like this.
