Sideshow 12" Stormtrooper PICTURE THREAD

[jkno]

I'm in OZ (Australia) and the Sideshow storm is going for $200. I know you guys are ( America ) are doing it tough. But here prices have gone through the roof it's crazy. So the helmets not much more.

What helmet do you intend getting: MR CE or ME/eFX LE Stormtrooper helmet? The eFX/MR LE is around $400 and the CE is much cheaper. I have both and they are really cool.

 

[Ausfan]

It is a TE ANH stunt helmet .

 

[barryo]

question for those of you that have used pledge/future on their stormtroopers.

has anyone used two coats of future & does it make a big difference to using just one coat?
on mine i used one coat so far and i think it looks great but wondered about the second coat and would it be worth it to do again.....

 

[Deoxyribonucleic]

question for those of you that have used pledge/future on their stormtroopers.

has anyone used two coats of future & does it make a big difference to using just one coat?
on mine i used one coat so far and i think it looks great but wondered about the second coat and would it be worth it to do again.....

I used two coats and it looks soooo super shiny. I actually ended up using 3 coats on the chest, for some reason it remained a bit dull after the two coats but three did it. Just make sure you wait 8 hours before applying new coats.

Here's some pics of one futzed and one straight out of the box.

For the one on the left, I did the following:

a) boiled and reshaped the armor for a better fit
b) added velcro to the inside of the chest/back armor so it stays together
c) repainted the aerators
d) repainted the eyes to get rid of the black paint in the corners
e) put on two coats of Pledge Future
f) added a piece of foam under the cod piece to make it look bigger
g) did not put the helmet all the way down on the peg, gives him a longer, much better looking appearance

The one on the right is straight outta the box

 

[LoveMinusZero]

That looks great. What way did you use to shape the chest armor, and how long did you hold it in the shape you wanted? I tried the boiling water but it didnt seem to work. I either didnt hold in long enough or didnt keep it in the water long enough. What type of paint do you guys use for the touch ups?

I just have to say that this figure has been such a headache, there's no way I should have to do this much work to a 100 dollar figure to make it look alright. Sure, customizers have no problem fixing things up, but I'm not a customizer and this figure is incredibly aggravating. The armor problems are bad enough, but not only can it not stand on it's own, but it can't hold up it's arm either. It's more frustrating than it's worth.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic]

That looks great. What way did you use to shape the chest armor, and how long did you hold it in the shape you wanted? I tried the boiling water but it didnt seem to work. I either didnt hold in long enough or didnt keep it in the water long enough. What type of paint do you guys use for the touch ups?

I dipped it in the boiling water for 5 to 7 seconds each time. It definitely takes more than once to do it. Guessing I did the dipping about 5 times, then ran it under cold water for a bit to keep the shape.

For the paint, I just used a generic "JoAnn's Fabric" acrylic paint, flat white and flat black, $.50 each

I just have to say that this figure has been such a headache, there's no way I should have to do this much work to a 100 dollar figure to make it look alright. Sure, customizers have no problem fixing things up, but I'm not a customizer and this figure is incredibly aggravating. The armor problems are bad enough, but not only can it not stand on it's own, but it can't hold up it's arm either. It's more frustrating than it's worth.

I totally understand where you are coming from but for me, futzing is super fun. Just something to look forward to and a little break from "real life." Mind you, I'm no super customizer. With a little patience, I think anyone can do these mods to their troopers. But again, for $100, it should have come perfect

 

[LoveMinusZero]

Thanks for your help man. I know it is fun for some people, it's just that I'm terrible at it and I want to be able to just buy one that's already fixed right. Thanks again.

 

[Valfar]

Man, the mods are easy to do..though i never corrected the eye lenses on mine because i think it looks better without doing so but, when i boiled my chest plate it seemed to just curl in naturally after i quickly brought it back to the figure and held it on over the body for a min and the future is so easy to do..just dip each piece of armor into a bowl of future with tweezers while having made some cone platforms out of foil to put the leg armor on.(heard this on Rebelscum maybe) works perfectly and the extra coat going inside all the pieces of armor is going to provide a bit better fit to all pieces going on the legs and arms etc..

 

[barryo]

I used two coats and it looks soooo super shiny. I actually ended up using 3 coats on the chest, for some reason it remained a bit dull after the two coats but three did it. Just make sure you wait 8 hours before applying new coats.

For the one on the left, I did the following:

a) boiled and reshaped the armor for a better fit
b) added velcro to the inside of the chest/back armor so it stays together
c) repainted the aerators
d) repainted the eyes to get rid of the black paint in the corners
e) put on two coats of Pledge Future
f) added a piece of foam under the cod piece to make it look bigger
g) did not put the helmet all the way down on the peg, gives him a longer, much better looking appearance

thanks for the reply, i kind of figured a second coat wouldnt hurt.
i pretty much made the same mods you did with the exception of repainting the eyes (im okay with them).
btw i liked the helmet before adding the future to it but love the shiny look to it now.

 

[Jmek]

Damn it, I just snapped and ordered one of these. I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more figures and now feel mighty guilty, ahh well :chew

 

[Gruff Old Bear]

For all of our fellow freaks residing outside of the U.S., Future is sold under various names in different countries. For more info, here's a good link.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic]

thanks for the reply, i kind of figured a second coat wouldnt hurt.
i pretty much made the same mods you did with the exception of repainting the eyes (im okay with them).
btw i liked the helmet before adding the future to it but love the shiny look to it now.

Glad to help! Sewbacca was instrumental in helping me get my Stormies looking awesome!

Are you going to "Future" the helmet now that you see it in it's shinny goodness?

 

[Fia2k9]

do you have to use Future ? Would acrylic gloss hobby paint like Tamiya damage the plastic ?

 

[barryo]

Glad to help! Sewbacca was instrumental in helping me get my Stormies looking awesome!

Are you going to "Future" the helmet now that you see it in it's shinny goodness?

actually ive already done all of that. i was just asking if a second coat of future made a difference vs. one coat & worth putting on. ive never dealt with the stuff before but i do know that a lot of customizers use it (especially for the eyes).
i just use testors acrylic gloss.

 

[EVILFACE]

do you have to use Future ? Would acrylic gloss hobby paint like Tamiya damage the plastic ?

Since the armor plastic feels pretty much just like model car plastic, I think acrylics would be fine.

 

[toystales]

For all of our fellow freaks residing outside of the U.S., Future is sold under various names in different countries. For more info, here's a good link.

Thanks for the link! It is most helpful. Now I can start to work on my Stormtrooper's armor. :chew

 

[LOPIE]

This is how I did my neck extension. It works a lot better than just slightly putting the helmet on the peg.

 

[LOPIE]

Here are a few pic of my custom Starkiller and SS ST

 

[pixletwin]

Looks good Lopie. If you clean out the insides and put an HT michael scofield head on there it rests at exactly the same level... but I guess you lose a bit of the articualtion.

 

[LOPIE]

If I make another one I'll use a HT body. But I had to use what I had on hand, times are a bit tight right now.