Too clean. :P The clone looks like it's coming along great! I noticed that you attached the commander's buckle to the back of the belt. I did that at first, as well, but I ran into problems with it coming off, both when I secured it with industrial Velcro and when I glued it directly. I ended up mea...

Ah, that's a good solution for the paint stripe on the shoes! I didn't have that problem with mine, but this is definitely something to keep in mind if/when I need to make another pair. I went a similar route that you did with the straps, except they are made from sentra instead of HIPS. Is your bel...

Looking very, very good. I like how you've put the belt together - it's different from the other ways I've seen it done (and have done myself). Definitely let me know how it works during trooping. It will be nice to have another 327th clone in the garrison!

If you want the boots to look just like what was used on-screen, then you would want to go ahead and buy the Jodhpur boots and use white shoe polish, as that was how it was done. I don't know the pricing or availability of these boots, although I do know that they are still made. It's a shame that T...

Well now you've done it. I had a nagging feeling in the back of my head that I should look into CRLs. I want all the parts to match one movie, but I don't care which movie. I've now grabbed all the current movie CRLs off whitearmor.net. I've been pouring over them to understand those differences be...

Not meaning to make the decision any harder, but are you going for a specific type of TK (ANH, ESB, ROTJ)? I ask only because it might make a difference in the type of accessories you want, as well as the helmet. As far as I know, full AM kits still come with the old FX bucket, which could look over...

I agree with Chris H. I built a suit of clone armor out of HIPS and the pieces would tear during the construction process. Im not sure why, but they also didnt react well to a heat gun, they would warp. Perhaps it had something to do with them being re-heated after the original forming process, Im ...

It all comes down to personal preference, really. Both ATA and AM are good armor makes, and you've already listed some of the main differences between them. I've seen both up close - ATA (HIPS) at CV, and we have a member or two here in the 70th with AM, and they both look good. If you want sharp de...

Congratulations Charley!

Great job on the TD, Bill! I think the weathering is well done and gives the appearance that the armor is being maintained as best as it can be, while still in an environment that's not friendly to cleaning. Nice.

That helmet looks awesome! Nice work on it.

Apologies for the lack of updates. I've been working on the costume off and on while waiting for a couple of key pieces to arrive. Over the past week or so they showed up and have been added to the suit, and now Lord Darth "NOOOOOOO!" Vader is now more-or-less complete! http://i257.photobu...

Out of curiosity, which brand of paint did you use? Somewhere I thought I read that certain types tend to give that orange peel look more often than others, but I can't recall where I heard that.

Aside from that small thing, nice job on the helmet so far.

well, all the suits should be but joined with the over lap strip. it is the accurate way to do it, and daetrian over at whitearmor tells me very soon it will be a requirement. I haven't talked to Paul about this detail, but I am wondering if what he meant by that statement was that having butt-join...

I just got in touch with ATA. Looks to be a wait list of 2-4 weeks which isn't bad. So in the meantime what tools should I be getting? Looks to me like the specialized glue, tons of clamps and a dremmel (can never spell that). What type of paint should be used for the armor? E6000 glue works wonder...