Stormtrooper opinion needed.

[matt black]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I will start doing some research.

 

[Smally]

Hey Matt Black,

As already stated, visit and join the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment forum and start doing a bit of digging on there. It will be easy to find some good armourers that know how to make some fantastic trooper gear.

IMO the best makers to look out for are Trooper master (TM) who is British or TE2 who is American.
Please do NOT confuse TE2 for TE (Trooper expert). I would strongly advise staying clear of TE.

I have dealt with both TM and TE2 and it's been a pleasure to do so.

Any questions then just PM me dude.
Hope that helps a little.
Smally.

PS Don't bother staying as a standard boring old stormtrooper TK, get Sandtrooper TD and join us at http://forum.mepd.net/ where we talk dirty!

 

[matt black]

Thanks Smally. That's a great help. Just one more question thats probably been asked a thousand times. What is the genaral opinion of SDS ?

 

[Smally]

Thanks Smally. That's a great help. Just one more question thats probably been asked a thousand times. What is the genaral opinion of SDS ?

I have never purchesed any of the SDS gear but what I have heard from those that have are mixed feelings. I think the general feeling is that his stuff is great for display and OK for trooping - despite being from the original maker. It can be pricey too, infact I know that for the price of one of his helmets you can have a completed trooper armour from a fan maker.

Seriously mate PM Trooper master (Paul) over on the FISD (if you are UK based) or TE2 (Tony) and they will get you just what you need.
Could I be rude and ask how much you are looking to spend?

Cheers,
Smally.

 

[matt black]

I have never purchesed any of the SDS gear but what I have heard from those that have are mixed feelings. I think the general feeling is that his stuff is great for display and OK for trooping - despite being from the original maker. It can be pricey too, infact I know that for the price of one of his helmets you can have a completed trooper armour from a fan maker.

Seriously mate PM Trooper master (Paul) over on the FISD (if you are UK based) or TE2 (Tony) and they will get you just what you need.
Could I be rude and ask how much you are looking to spend?

Cheers,
Smally.

I will send him an email now. Cheers Smally. I'm looking to spend £1000 - £1200. :thumbsup

 

[dog_biscuit]

for that kinda budget - you could get any kit out there mate!!
have a look at this page : fan made Stormtrooper Sub Menu
I would say TM, AP or TE2 too (if I could afford it).

tbh - there are now lots of TE-derived armor providers. People like ATA on the FISD boards or even CAP-W (think he is on FISD as well).

 

[RoCKo]

tbh - there are now lots of TE-derived armor providers. People like ATA on the FISD boards or even CAP-W (think he is on FISD as well).

TE-derived armor providers??? they are recasters!

Honestly, you should spend your money to the persons mentioned before:
TE2, TM and AP!
Maybe save some money for their helmets and buy a GINO V2 helmet instead, that´s how i would do it!

 

[GF]

Very important things to know, ABS plastic armor doesn't require painting and are way more durable, styrene you need to completely paint in gloss white, will scratch and peel off in time, with ABS you can just buff out any scratches, ABS costs more than double compared styrene, so take this into concideration with different pricings.

Good to know as a collector, the TM is a nice replica but does not originate from a movie costume, it's a complete fan sculpt, he captures the ANH look very well but IMHO his helmet is off and some of his parts oversized.

The TE, TE2 and AP all originate from a movie suit therefore the proportions and all assymetries are present which can never be captured accurately by a fan sculpt.

The SDS is way overpriced and used a fan made costume to make their own molds, including many of my old GF parts, all of the tells are still present, and his helmet is the least accurate from the above makers.


GFollano

 

[OldKen]

Very important things to know, ABS plastic armor doesn't require painting and are way more durable, styrene you need to completely paint in gloss white, will scratch and peel off in time, with ABS you can just buff out any scratches, ABS costs more than double compared styrene, so take this into concideration with different pricings.

Good to know as a collector, the TM is a nice replica but does not originate from a movie costume, it's a complete fan sculpt, he captures the ANH look very well but IMHO his helmet is off and some of his parts oversized.

The TE, TE2 and AP all originate from a movie suit therefore the proportions and all assymtries are present which can never be captured accurately by a fan sculpt.

The SDS is way overpriced and used a fan made costume to make their own molds, including many of my old GF parts all the tells are present, and his helmet is the least accurate from the above makers.


GFollano

I still have my GF bucket from back in the day!

I would get the AP armor and a Gino V2 if they are still available! The AP armor is ABS and like mr. Follano said ABS can be buffed out and doesn't need painting! The Gino helmet is prob the most accurate ever sold as a kit IMHO. And would be a nice upgrade! Cause the AP helmets have the same basic origin they are pulled with ABS and loose a bit of sharpness and detail.

All depends on what you want!

But I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt the AP looks a BILLION times better than that Ebay armor you posted!

If I recall correctly Mr.nostripes is in contact with AP so he is probably the person you should talk to if you really wanna be happy with your armor.

Good luck and let us know what you end up getting trooper!

 

[matt black]

Very important things to know, ABS plastic armor doesn't require painting and are way more durable, styrene you need to completely paint in gloss white, will scratch and peel off in time, with ABS you can just buff out any scratches, ABS costs more than double compared styrene, so take this into concideration with different pricings.

Good to know as a collector, the TM is a nice replica but does not originate from a movie costume, it's a complete fan sculpt, he captures the ANH look very well but IMHO his helmet is off and some of his parts oversized.

The TE, TE2 and AP all originate from a movie suit therefore the proportions and all assymtries are present which can never be captured accurately by a fan sculpt.

The SDS is way overpriced and used a fan made costume to make their own molds, including many of my old GF parts all the tells are present, and his helmet is the least accurate from the above makers.


GFollano

Wow that does surprize me. You would think that SDS would be the best seeing as they made the originals. Thanks again for your help.

 

[dirtydave]

I would listen to OldKen & go with AP armor & GINO V2 helmet kit.

Dave

 

[Alric]

I may be wrong as I'm no SW expert but I thought that SDS only made the origional helmets not the entire armour ?

 

[dog_biscuit]

TE-derived armor providers??? they are recasters!
Honestly, you should spend your money to the persons mentioned before:
TE2, TM and AP!

really? thats a rather broad brush - I am sure ATA and CAP-W are legit, maybe some 501 FISD members would like to chip in?

I mean there are others like MoT and PT who arent. Others I am unsure of like NGB - Rocko, I think he is German based; can you shed some light on this.

oh and isnt TM banned from these boards - not sure if its recasting related though. Dont get me wrong, AFAIK it is fan sculpted, although there was a thread about some trooper experts arguing about this a while back? I still would like TMs gear though!

not trying to open a can of worms here - just referring to previous posts and my own reading. I am still in the research phase of my armor purchasing.

- S

 

[OldKen]

TM paul is banned for insighting verbal assaults etc. here. His armor looks really good except for a few things here and there size wise. There are people who accuse him of recasting and reworking things and claiming them to be personal sculpts though. I won't mention the people who think that... they can chime in if they want. I know they have seen this thread.

SDS is pure lies.

Andrew Ainsworth recast recasts to make a full set of armor. His helmets openings are different and the caps are cleaned up.

There have been 4,265 threads on this subject. SDS is overpriced crap. Get an AP they came from the same sets of armor anyway. Gino, GF and TE all have the same lineage. The AP is just a slightly cleaned up version of the old TE stuff and pulled with ABS.

Go to starwarshelmets.com and familiarize yourself with the different fan made troopers. Compare an SDS to a Gino suit. If you have decent vision and have seen ANH more than twice you should be able to see the difference! LOLOLOL!!!

Seriously... AP. That is the best choice at this moment in time. You won't be labeled as a recaster supporter and you can be proud of the lineage it shares with some of the best out there! Not only that but you don't have to paint and repaint from trooping. Just polish it up!

 

[RoCKo]

really? thats a rather broad brush - I am sure ATA and CAP-W are legit, maybe some 501 FISD members would like to chip in?

I mean there are others like MoT and PT who arent. Others I am unsure of like NGB - Rocko, I think he is German based; can you shed some light on this.

oh and isnt TM banned from these boards - not sure if its recasting related though. Dont get me wrong, AFAIK it is fan sculpted, although there was a thread about some trooper experts arguing about this a while back? I still would like TMs gear though!

not trying to open a can of worms here - just referring to previous posts and my own reading. I am still in the research phase of my armor purchasing.

- S

sorry, i didn´t want to derail this thread with going into the details of recasting issues.
PM me if you want to discuss, dog_biscuit

 

[Mr. No Stripes]

I would listen to OldKen & go with AP armor & GINO V2 helmet kit.

Dave

Gino's helmet is probably the best I've seen.

However, unless you plan on painting everything, I wouldn't recommend mixing and matching kits, because the plastic will look different... especially in pics. It just looks odd. If you're gunna get a full set of armor, you would get it all at once and from the same maker.

Here are some pointers for buying...

don't buy from SDS.
don't even THINK about buying a Rubies.
don't buy from eBay UNLESS you can verify it is not a recast. Reason being... recasts carry less detail, and supporting people that copy other peoples work and selling it for cheaper is just nasty.

ATA is a recast of TE2, and last I heard it was not approved by TE2, so you should probably stay away from that.

TE2 (as a person) is also somewhat difficult to get in touch with, but the armor carries great detail because the plastic is thinner. Although, the plastic will break easier. paint is also required.

TM armor is very good. It is a bit more expensive, and has no lineage to an original suit, because it is all sculpted. I will say though that the detail is almost spot on. It's an excellent set of armor over all.

AP armor is very good, and is probably the best you can get as of now. Its not as sharp as the TE2, and the back plate is one piece (which is remnant of its ROTJ lineage), but it is more durable, and some of the parts are a bit more accurate.

If you need AP armor let me know. I can also get you in contact with TM, and maybe TE2

 

[JoeR]

I sell cast from original ROTJ helmets now too.

PM me.

Joe