Chef

I'd say it's roughly about 3/4 of the width of your waist. For me, that's about 10-11 inches. The aim is to make sure it's not too narrow. It's actually wider than you think. Just take a peek in the Gallery section at the one where the trooper is standing with his hands on his hips.

A few more updates. I reshaped the breast plate by raising the 'L' bits a little and sharpening the detail. I may have to sharpen the edges on the drop boxes a bit. They're not bad.... but I'd prefer better. I am definitely going to go with HIPS though. After some discussion with John (LW) and Nath (boba), it would seem as though it gets a better pull on the large home formers that we all have. I know HIPS has it's negatives, but I think they are counter balanced by the crisp pulls you can get with HIPS. These were made with pinseal ABS (apparently the same stuff they used on RotJ Stormie Helmets.... or so my prop buff buddy tells me, that's why I've got this ABS..). I personally won't be using it again because you get some of the stipple pattern bleeding through to the smooth side. These are all rough trimmed.

I see you managed to source that box section then. where did you get it from in the end?

can't see any real fault with them. You may want to be mindful of the two-tone seam on the sole. It's not as pronounced as some, but you can still just see that tiny little line around the top.

Yeah, you need to stand the collar up and add a small velcro fastening across the neck, so it joins up at the front.

if you're in Leeds,. Get in touch with Jules, she's in Leeds. She'll help you out no problem.

something like this?? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cotton-Twill-Fabric-Plain-White-New-Off-the-Roll-/190589730768?pt=UK_Crafts_Fabric_Textiles_SM&hash=item2c60087fd0#ht_1079wt_1144

finally some test pulls. A few issues to square away. Most of them are technique based I guess. I think I need to make the detailing a lot sharper on the bucks. The conversion of female panel to make bucks softens the detail on the final pull. I had anticipated this, so it's not like a massive shock to the system. I need to look at the centre groove on the chest plate, as the test pull didn't quite seem to vac fully into the groove. Again, the radius detailing probably needs to be a bit sharper. I've got the same going on with the back and hump too. That and on the tests I seem to keep scorching the ABS. But from talking to those in the know, this is probably caused by a number of factors, the major one being the hygroscopic nature of the ABS and it's probably not dry enough. So prior to it being floppy enough, the water content is blistering the surface. SO when I try to pull it before the surface blisters, it's not supple enough for a crisp pull. But hey, that's what tests are all about. So a few minor adjustments here and there, but progress is progress.

Little bit more... Inside of the chest plate laid up with glass. This is about a 6oz Lay up, so is about the same strength as a typical motorcycle helmet. And the same panel on the outside.

Andry... Yeah, I will be lengthening those areas on the bucks so the option is there for longer or shorter. You can always cut off, but you can't always add in!! Terry. The expanding foam was purely a filler material. The car body filler is what will take all the vacuum pressure, which is about a 20mm thick skin over the top of the foam. As long as I can get one decent pull from these, I can then use the resulting pull to make complete GRP bucks as and when they start to deteriorate. It's pretty easy to adjust the outer surface of the GRP buck, with sanding, body filler. So once I've got the base, that's the hard work done with.

Well, after a bit of consultation with various members of the community (going down the screen accuracy of ABS and the relative 'fear of the unknown' of GRP), and finally getting my Vac Former completed, I am now in the process of converting my GRP Fibreglass panels over into Vac Forming bucks. Sounds like a simple process, but to be honest it's a bit more complicated than it sounds. I've got a few spare panels which I have used as the basis for a buck, but I've needed to fill the backs, so they are suitable for Vac Forming. I settled on the fastest/simplest method, by which I filled the rear of the panel with expanding foam. Then when this had cured, I cut out sections and then filled the sides up with Car body filler to provide a solid area that will withstand the forming process. here is the foam layer (underneath the back hump) A layer of body filler over the foam... A bit closer to being finished up... For those panels that I didn't have kicking about, I've decided the fastest method would be to 'fence off' the open areas on the GRP moulds and then cast the entire thing in GRP. This will then give me a robust buck from which to form. Open sides of the GRP mould fenced off with Plastic-Card. First layer of White Gel coat to form the buck. More to follow as they progress. I may have to made some changes to the final bucks after I do a test pull, mainly because as you switch from female to male, there are subtle detail changes, and I'll have to see how that works out with what I have already. I've made the belt buck out of wood and is flat. I can't use the GRP mould in this instance because it is already pre curved to fit around the body, and it's not suitable for forming. Wish me luck!

no drama, I'm due to make a new det for mine anyway.

I'm the same... Mine is the other way up. It is confusing because there are screen caps that suggest both ways, and the Blu-Ray Special features (which show it, in it's clearest detail) has it with the the tabs down (even though the actual det is the wrong way up on the mannequin).

yup... separates.

If they were going to faithfully recreate the original, then it really should have been done in ABS, and in the same process (i.e., two halves, a la the LW one) no matter how convenient or financially acceptable. GRP lids can be very strong, depending on how they are laid-up. if they are made with only a couple of skins of tissue then they will always be very frangible. If they are made with some serious beef behind them, then they are very resilient. After all, that's how real motorcycle helmets and some car body panels are made. I think it's just a question of economics for them. It's expensive to make moulds for GRP in terms of time and they take longer to make than pulling an ABS one, but when it is done you have very little to do in terms of 'finishing'. They don't need to be painted etc. Where as whilst pulling an ABS one takes a fraction of the time, the complexity of construction afterwards (as any LW builder will attest to) probably makes them not financially viable to make in this method. That would be my take on the reasons. Either way, some people won't be happy with the product, but they will invariably all sell because enough people will want one no matter what.

Both are clearable for Lancer, and the DJ one is more accurate in size than the SC one, but the tank on the SC kit is smaller, so using the SC one will possibly be better in terms of scale to your kit. The DJ one has the rivet effectively moulded in already and just needs to be glued on top of the tank. How you go about attaching them is really a personal choice thing. The L-Shaped bit of plastic riveted to both the back and tank is the majorly accepted method. If you use this method with the DJ topper, you can either use a flush rivet and hide it under the topper, or drill the 'faux' rivet out and place the real rivet in it's place. hope this helps. Rob.

Yup.. The screen ones either had 1 thick, 4 thick or 6 thin. Your choice. Who decided it was a rank bar, if it is indeed one is unclear. I, like John, would conclude that it is more of a vent detailing rather than a rank bar. So stick to what you see on screen. Most popular is 6 thin.

It is the same one yes... I think it's a bit of an optical illusion, and how the taffeta bunches up around my rather fat belly (must remedy that). Some bits seem to bunch more than others for no apparent reason. It is a bit of a concept to see if the system works. If people are happy with the results (fabric/number of stitches, not the execution), then I'll tidy it up a bit. I've got enough material left to make another one. I have to say, it is a bugger of a material to work with. It's pretty lightweight and does pull all over the place. I am going to have to do some extra bracing around the top, because the pouches keep pulling it down at the sides, which doesn't tend to happen with the cotton ones.

here's a few pics of it all put together. And before anyone says it.... Yes I know I've got normal trousers and a T-shirt on! No point in getting all suited and booted for test fitting. Sorry for the picture quality, iPhone and taken in a mirror too.

I'd say the overall shape is good. But the Cylinder part needs to be more 3/4 of a tube, rather than 1/2 as you have it now. That would be my only suggestion. The printing process isn't as sharp as I was expecting. But then I don't know what I was expecting never having seen it before.

I always start in the middle and work outwards. Get the Chest/Back/bund sorted first and the rest naturally follows on from them. Or the lid, because that doesn't really cause much knock on to the other parts.

I stick some poppers on the top of the bund and corresponding ones on the inside of the chest plate. Works a treat, certainly no coming apart. Helps keep it all centralised too. Could be worth doing similar on the belt too, so the bund and the separate cod are popped to the belt. It'll stop the belt slipping down and revealing any gaps.

The Cod is padded. It's literally just because it's the way it's shoved in. I didn't have time to set him up properly. They are purely comparison shots. You think it's worth seperating it from the main bund and having it attach behind the belt? I did have a good look around. Couldn't find anything that was less shiny. Could find plenty that were more shiny. I think it's not bad. Only when you get in real bright sunshine does it show up. And we had some (a rarity of late) hence the reason I took the pic. Just so we can see what it looks like.

Off topic alert.... Apparently they all have names... it's a mannequin thing. back on topic..

About the Greeblie.... There are screen grabs and stuff that point to orientation in both ways. They're all a bit tenuous, and the current thinking is that it can go on either way until something definitive pops its head up. don't panic about it.