iceknyght

Aw, thanks! Yours is pretty dang good as well!! I want to weather mine at some point too, cause it just looks "right"... One of the many things I still need to do...

I am 6’ (out of costume).

Mine has the black "liner", which I like (and would like to keep in, since I have my pads velcro'd to it). And it's comfy on my cheeks... I'll eventually do it, I just don't have a ton of time right now to make all the changes...

Thanks! Mine isn't to Lancer specs yet... Definitely the paint mis-match between the bucket and armor and a couple other little things (like cutting out the fabric behind the ears and some other stuff)...

That's what I am currently doing. The color of the helmet is an off white and the SC armor is regular white, but it's not super noticeable. I'll eventually re-paint to match, but for now, it works great!

Good question. I'll probably do a full repaint, since the colors don't match either (the RS is more "yellow" than my SC armor) and clear coating it would only fix one of the problems...

Sadly, this was not my case. I requested glossy in my order and even contacted Andrea and confirmed I wanted glossy. I did not get glossy, I got their normal finish. Andrea was nice when I emailed her and answered my questions, but when I got my order, it was definitely not what I requested. Oh well, it's still a great helmet and I'll repaint it at some point...

I wonder if those pics are before the final painting process... Which, if that was the case, maybe I should have asked them just not to paint it!

Sadly, no. They didn't do anything different (still came to me their normal matte). It's still a great helmet, but I will need to repaint mine at some point to match my armor. You can see more comparisons of what I got on the thread I started here:

Good to know! I'll definitely pick up a set then. Thanks!

Where did you get the decals? From RS or somewhere else? I saw that TrooperBay has decals, but couldn't tell if they'd work with the RS bucket...

Just finished my bag!

It was only a one of (he was only selling the one), but here's the link to what I ordered: https://www.ebay.com/itm/GREAT-BRITAIN-ARMY-1942-WWII-BIG-BACKPACK-HAVERSACK-1942-WWII-NICE/373037349546?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

That one looks too small... Great if you want a "purse sized" version! LOL! I just got my bag about a week ago. Found one from Greece, of all places... Took a bit to get here, but it the look/size was perfect!

Agreed! I bought one of the kits where he put it together for me (he had a sale at the time) and while it did take a little longer than quoted, he always answered my questions when I emailed him and the kit turned out great! I only needed to do some minor adjustments for fit, but other than that, it was pretty much ready to go out of the box!

I'll be curious on how the magnets work. My velcro works "okay" as long as I keep it on just the one side, but that side also doesn't sit 100% flush to each other (and I kind of pull the face plate out as I shut it over the velcro), so I can seat it where I want, but it's definitely not as easy as just opening and closing it!

You're welcome! I didn't think about the elastic either, and then I went to take the helmet off for the first time after I added it and realized that "just opening" it wasn't going to work! LOL! The velcro I have is the super strong/low profile stuff, so that's probably not helping things either... LOL! But it DOES stay closed!

I did the same thing on mine, but be careful, cause since you attached it to the elastic, when you go to pull up the front, it will stretch with it... I end up having to peel the velcro as I'm lifting, to get it off, and it's kind of annoying. Because of that, I only am using it on one side. I have thought about trying magnets instead, but haven't got that far yet... One thing I have done, to get the flare under control, is to use (1 1/2") safety pins on the inside of the sleeve. Pinch the inside of the sleeve together where the seam is and add the safety pin along the seam. I have been adjusting it to get the best look and once I dial it in, I'll have it sewed, but for now, the safety pins work great!

I have one for my suit and it works fine! I had to get a size smaller than I normally do, cause I felt my normal size (L) was a bit big/baggy on me and the new one (M) fits just about perfect! I also had to stretch out the thigh elastic, cause they were a bit tight, but those are pretty minor "problems". But overall, it works for my needs.

Yeah, definitely not a deal breaker! And I probably will repaint at some point, cause while the difference isn't huge, it's enough to bug me (and if I do decide to go Lancer, I will definitely need to repaint)!

So, I did a quick test (video) today and it is definitely noticeably different... Not that I am surprised, but still... It's still not *bad* overall, but definitely not ideal... But man, I do love the look of the bucket! https://youtu.be/tqvbBMnkWUI

Yeah, the SC helmet sits right above the bridge of my nose (like *right above*), so sometimes it can get a little uncomfortable, but the RS, I definitely don't have that problem! Luckily, I am pretty easy going on my armors (I have a TK that's a few years old and quite a few troops that still looks brand new), but I'll keep an eye out on the chest piece... This costume probably won't get worn a ton (especially this year, boo!), cause I have 4 costumes I cycle through... As of now, even though I got approved a few months ago, I still haven't had a chance to officially troop in it yet!

That was what I thought, but just wanted to be sure...

Good to know! Was the one you repainted the Red Label, or the ABS one? Would the difference in materials matter for the repaint if you're just sanding the top layer of paint? Definitely! Most people won't know... Most people think that the TIE pilots are Darth Vader too, so... LOL!

Your helmet did turn out great! Part of me liking the RS is that it's slightly larger and thus fits the rest of the costume better. The SC fits on my head fine, but the RS is just *slightly* larger and sharper and looks *right*. I don't really want to repaint it, but we'll see. Like I said, with everything on, it doesn't actually look *that* different, but I still want to take some pics to see how much in photos... And honestly, if I was going to repaint, it would probably be the armor to match the helmet... I think that would be easier! LOL! I have seen the little notch cut out before and don't plan on doing that at this point... Like you said, it becomes a stress point, and honestly, I think the armor looks fine without it... But if I do end up doing it, I *definitely* will add the reinforcement!