The cheapest way to get Stormtrooper armour (or Am I mental?)

[Fry01]

Does anyone here know of anywhere that sells replacement parts for Basic Stormie armour? The Trooper gear is my Holy grail of Prop/costumes, and as someone with very, very, little disposable income, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a reputable site that specialised in spare parts so that I could, In theory, Buy a forearm one month, Shin Piece the next, Shoulder bells after another break, an so on and so forth......Is this a completely stupid way of going about it ?

(I could never in a million years afford the whole thing in one go, this way It might take a year or two, but I'd have a set eventually......)

 

[kessa]

In theory, Buy a forearm one month, Shin Piece the next, Shoulder bells after another break, an so on and so forth......Is this a completely stupid way of going about it ?

It's not a silly way to go about it, but it's a bit risky. The reason being is that it's possible the colour of the ABS plastic the supplier might change from time to time.

If you compared 2 complete kits made from different coloured plastics you may not notice the difference, but if you had a kit made entirely of pieces from different pulls then there's a risk it might show.

hope that helps

 

[Contec]

This reminds me of this Johnny Cash song : YouTube - johnny cash-one piece at a time

 

[Havok69]

If you're going that route, just save up until you have enough to buy one complete set. You're asking for trouble buying parts as people might stop selling, the colors may not match, the corresponding matching piece might be slightly different (i.e. two different arm pieces), and worse case scenario, they don't fit together correctly.

Although, if you're going for the ghetto stormtrooper look, that might work...

 

[Dave Ward]

What do they come in at, $600-$800? Not pocket change but for a holy grail of props it's not an impossible goal.

 

[cayman shen]

You can get them for half that, actually. It's the details that add up and have kept me from taking the plunge. A neckseal here, a piece of brow trim there...lots of dough.

 

[Weezer]

I have to agree with cayman shen. It's not the armor that kills your budget. It's all the extra details (neck seal, under suit, gloves, brow trim, lenses, voice amp, holster, blaster).

I was a click away from taking the plunge, then the total appeared and I got cold feet.

 

[ChaseKiefer]

If you have a computer, internet, and a printer you could do a stormtrooper out of pepakura and it would only cost around a hundred dollars in paper, glue, fiber glass, and paint.

 

[Fry01]

Many thanks for all your replies, I must admit I never considered the potential of the colour changing beween pulls.

The trouble with saving up for a set, Is that I'm self employed and going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment....Thinking about something cool like the Armour is one way to get through it all....were I to try and save it all up in one go, I have enough sense to use the money to feed and clothe my daughter, not Blow it on Trooper armour. The 'one piece at a time' was basically my way Of actually seeing some results without having to drop serious coin.

All your advice has been really useful though, as I really dont fancy the idea of 'patchwork armour'.........you've saved me from making a serious mistake... thank you all...

 

[Weezer]

Fry01
I kind of feel like we burst your bubble. I had the same idea after I backed out of purchasing the stormtrooper armor. I thought I could do it a piece at a time.

If you want to buy an outfit that way (piece at a time) why not try putting together a Fett? None of those parts really need to match in color. If you're handy you could get the templates and build your own armor. That's what I'm slowly doing... but I still wish I could have a set of trooper armor instead.:cry

 

[themanwoaname]

This reminds me of this Johnny Cash song : YouTube - johnny cash-one piece at a time

thats honestly how i completed a 1985 commando snake eyes. i started with the head, and now i have a complete figure, with weapons and filecard.

 

[Gorgot3000]

If you have a computer, internet, and a printer you could do a stormtrooper out of pepakura and it would only cost around a hundred dollars in paper, glue, fiber glass, and paint.

or use this template in pepakura and work with craft foam ( like camping mat ) and flexbond it

for example, i've made a Crash test dummy ( Canadian Kit Kat Commercial ) in Camping mat and it's look like a Clone trooper ..lol

 

[Weezer]

I wonder if you could do 3po this way?

or use this template in pepakura and work with craft foam ( like camping mat ) and flexbond it

for example, i've made a Crash test dummy ( Canadian Kit Kat Commercial ) in Camping mat and it's look like a Clone trooper ..lol

 

[Psammead]

Talking of clone troopers, if you want to go that way instead they 1) need to be painted anyway as part of the construction and 2) there is a really good budget kit at the minute.

However, having been in your boat I'd suggest that you put a little away of what you have left at the end of each month. Don't budget thinking you will save £25-50 a month as sometimes you can't do that and it feels like your goal is getting further away. It took me about a year to get the cash to do a TIE pilot due to hospital, surgery and tuition fees but in the end I have a very good costume that I'm proud of.

Moreover, I bought it in large chunks so I didn't pay the earth for shipping. I know this way it can seem like your getting nowhere fast but it is rewarding when it all comes and you'll have a bit more cash left in your wallet too. Good luck.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Some kits are more affordable than others, and some are more screen-accurate. Check out First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment.