Stormtrooper armour

[Mr. No Stripes]

cool, Thanks for the pics. :thumbsup

I have another question about the boots. I am going to get a pair of black jodhpur boots and just paint those. Did you use some special kind of paint?

 

[troopermaster]

Yeah it was white leather spray paint that I got from my local cobblers.I've tried using the brush on paint on some other boots,but it didn't seem to cover as well as the spray does.I used white fabric dye for the elastic sides as the spray didn't seem to take too well on there

-Paul.

 

[dirtydave]

<div class='quotetop'>(troopermaster @ Aug 2 2006, 01:52 PM) [snapback]1292515[/snapback]</div>

Yeah it was white leather spray paint that I got from my local cobblers.I've tried using the brush on paint on some other boots,but it didn't seem to cover as well as the spray does.I used white fabric dye for the elastic sides as the spray didn't seem to take too well on there

-Paul.
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Hey Paul,Did you use gloss or satin spraypaint?

 

[troopermaster]

TBH I don't really know I reckon it was gloss,the boots are shiny but I just got what was available.

 

[tk3181]

Nice work. That is a truly beautiful suit.

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

I painted my boots. They look real nice. Very authentic looking. I am getting my MR blaster soon too. I'm excited. I am almost finished with my armor. Thanks for all the help trooper master.

oh. I do have one more question (one more for now... ) . How long is the pvc pipe in the o2 tank sappose to be?

 

[troopermaster]

I make my cans from 68mm PVC grey pipe and cut them at 176mm long.With the end cops on they measure 180mm.

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

nice :thumbsup ... thanks

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

I have a few questions about the shoulder bells. How do you connect them to the armor? Also, are the bicepts connected to the shoulder bells? Pics. would help out a lot. Thanks again

Do the forearms connect to anything?

 

[troopermaster]

I don't have the arms connected to the armour,instead I have a harness inside.Here's a diagram that I made to show how it's done.Basically everything hangs from behind my neck with elastic straps.

 

[OldKen]

thats pretty neat paul.

is that how they were done originally?

or your own idea?

either way it makes sense, even if you did use velcro and/or other methods, that could be used at the same time for that added reassurance.



so wheres my suit? :unsure :cry

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

That's pretty complex. Its a very interesting setup, but it makes sense. Yeah, I'm anxious to know if that's how the originals were done. Very well done trooper master... or should I call you Paul?

Does anyone have more pics. of an original costume on desplay... or better yet does anyone own one?

one thing I dont understand is what this face is doing... :lol or this one...

 

[troopermaster]

That is just the way I have done it,although I believe the originals were very similar just without strap 'D'.That's there simply to hold my inner waist belt up as my thigh's are always pulling them down.This is the best set-up I have used and works a treat.

I think the original arms were strapped as one piece like I have done and connected behind your neck.If you watch ANH,some of the shoulder bells actually go under the plastic shoulder straps so I don't see how they could be attched to them?Also,you'll notice Dengars' shoulder bells are strapped to behind his neck,and he used stormtrooper bells

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

<div class='quotetop'>(troopermaster @ Jul 29 2006, 10:00 AM) [snapback]1290259[/snapback]</div>

Interior shot as requested

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I noticed one thing about your armor that confused me. Is your chest plate connected to the AB plate... I'm pretty sure they werent connected in ANH. When the crew first get into the garbage shoot, after Han fires of a shot, and Luke says "will you forget it, I already tried it, its magneticly sealed." You'll notice that Han's chest plate is way under his AB plate.

The shoulderbells hanging from the back does make sense though, because that may explain why Luke's shoulder bell falls down while in the detention block... although there it looks like it is completly gone. Another trooper's shoulder bell falls down though right after Obi-wan gets slashed and vader pokes the cloak with his foot.

What I did for my shoulder bells was just make a loop of elastic and glue the ends to them. I then put the canvas strip with all the snaps through the loop. This made sense to me, because it hides the canvas... I didnt ever see the canvas in the movies... any thoughts?

The scene after that there is a trooper that gets hit in the left shoulder and flys up to reveal with a white strap under the chest plate... dont know how to explain that... any ideas?

 

[troopermaster]

You'll notice the white canvas shoulder straps on Luke's suit when he is in the trash compactor trying to contact 3PO on his comlink,and also when Han is talking into the intercom in the detention center control panel.

In the trash compactor scene,the suit's would have been modified to allow them better freedom of movement.I've noticed how Han's chest plate seems to flap about which suggest's to me that the lower chest straps were removed.All the movie suit's chest's were attached to the ab plate with three straps,although I have left the middle one out on mine(holes are there though for rivets)

-Paul.

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

<div class='quotetop'>(troopermaster @ Sep 18 2006, 12:34 AM) [snapback]1322014[/snapback]</div>

You'll notice the white canvas shoulder straps on Luke's suit when he is in the trash compactor trying to contact 3PO on his comlink,and also when Han is talking into the intercom in the detention center control panel.

In the trash compactor scene,the suit's would have been modified to allow them better freedom of movement.I've noticed how Han's chest plate seems to flap about which suggest's to me that the lower chest straps were removed.All the movie suit's chest's were attached to the ab plate with three straps,although I have left the middle one out on mine(holes are there though for rivets)

-Paul.
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Oh... cool. Yeah I've noticed the rivits on the bottom middle of the chest plate in ANH, but was confused as to how they were connected... (You can see them really good in the scene where the stormtrooper hits his head.)

I went back and watched ANH again... I did see the little loop for the white canvas. It looks as if the rest is hidden. Does it go under his neckseal or something?

I have another question about the thighs... do you know if the originals were attached to the harness (like you diagramed), or were they attached to the AB plate?

thanks again Paul... sorry if I am asking too many questions. you are truly the trooper master.

 

[troopermaster]

The thighs were held up with a thin leather black belt,and not connected to the armour.No problem with the question mate,I'm more than happy to try and answer any questions

-Paul.

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

<div class='quotetop'>(troopermaster @ Sep 19 2006, 01:28 AM) [snapback]1322618[/snapback]</div>

The thighs were held up with a thin leather black belt,and not connected to the armour.No problem with the question mate,I'm more than happy to try and answer any questions

-Paul.
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That's very interesting....
Four more questions then

1. Is there any part in the movie where you can see the belt? do you have a picture of what it is sappose to look like?

2. Were the original stunt suits made from a greyish/ kaki PVC? I know some suits were made from ABS.

3. I know that there is a little strap that goes over the plastic shoulder bumpy things... whatever those are called. What is that little strap made of and what does it connect to?

4. I noticed on your armor that there are little metalish plates where the rivits are... what are those?

I may have a few more, but this is all I can think of. Thanks so much for your time.

 

[troopermaster]

1.Check out the trooper in the detention block that blast's through the door just after Han say's to Chewie "Get behind me,get behind me",you can see the belt if you look closely as well as the 2" wide elastic for the thighs.Also you can just see it in this pic

2.They were white,but I highly doubt ANY were made from ABS,at least not the ABS the replica suit's are made from.

3.Most likely elastic,but have been a white rubber band?

4.Those are brass strips that I use instead of washers.They hold the elastic in place better and there's no chance of the elastic ripping over the strip like it could with the washers.

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

Cool... that's kind of a funny picture.

thought of a few more... sorry

1. I noticed that the backs of the drop boxes in ANH had backing on them. Is that just an ABS strip, or what is that?

2. How thick are the drop boxes sappose to be? I think mine might be too thick, I'm wondering how much I need to trim off.

3. Did you rivit the 2" strap to the belt, and the thighs... I dont see any rivits on the thighs.

4. Are the calves connected to the thighs?

Thanks again, you've been a tremendous help.