Stormtrooper Customs/Kits

[Timothy2251]

I'm starting to see the allure of the colored Stormtrooper armor. Nice stuff, sir!

[newlyknighted]

This trooper custom looks like a real labor of love. I cannot wait to see your completed troops in the mail! Please put me down for 2 kits!

[SeattleEd]

I'm still down for a black and red set and probably a couple of mix and match colors.

[ZICA]

Thank you David,Very cool of you!!!

The Zica body situation is still a little fuzzy to me.I know i read something awhile back that he was selling off his tooling,etc to another company.I'm not sure if that happened,and if it did,to who,but after doing some thinking about this today,its probably best just to eliminate that potential problem from the equation and just go with a New redesigned Mego-style body.

I've already had some feedback from some people after i posted the How To on the body mods regarding the difficulty,so i think i can kill two birds with one stone here.It will take some more time but it will be more User Friendly and the bodies will be easier to get also.

Magyar1964,not a problem.It was a good thing.Thank you too.

Stay tuned,i haven't given up on these yet.

Sorry to jump in this thread so late in the game, I didn't even take a look at it until just now. First off, very nice work on the kits! Stormtropers have always been one of my favorite Star Wars characters. Second, I don't have any problems with reproductions, or modifications or whatever to the original ZICA body.

Craig

[galaxyexplorer42]

I don't know how I missed this thread when it was first posted. These kits look & seem just "off the hook" cool, and I'd definitely be in for a finished product, as my dremeling skills are lacking at best... It also looks like you have most everyone's blessing too.... Keep us posted...

[Boywonder0]

Sorry to jump in this thread so late in the game, I didn't even take a look at it until just now. First off, very nice work on the kits! Stormtropers have always been one of my favorite Star Wars characters. Second, I don't have any problems with reproductions, or modifications or whatever to the original ZICA body. Craig

You are a true professional and gentleman.

[piecemaker]

Sorry to jump in this thread so late in the game, I didn't even take a look at it until just now. First off, very nice work on the kits! Stormtropers have always been one of my favorite Star Wars characters. Second, I don't have any problems with reproductions, or modifications or whatever to the original ZICA body.

Craig

Not a problem.Thanks and Thank You!!! Thats Awesome!!! If the designer /producers of these,Craig and Dave dont a have a problem with my reproductions of their parts then i'm going to start reproducing.

[piecemaker]

I have been working on a new body and i'm going to finish it for people that want an easier to work with kit.Now i can combine the best of both worlds with this new body.The 'Meca' body will have the upper modified swivel arms from Zica and the legs are modified Mego that will adapt to the Zica body fairly easily,but will not have the upper swivel like the Zica legs.But now you will have a choice original modified or new modified. I'am working on the newer body now and hopefully can post a "prototype" picture later on tonight.

[piecemaker]

Here's a rough prototype of the new body.This will be much more user friendly.The arms and legs will be preassembled and predrilled.All you have to do is cut the entire arms and legs off the Zica body,put the mods in place and run a drill bit through the predrilled holes.You will only need to drill 4 holes and the body is ready.

[img]http://piecemaker.smugmug.com/photos/i-FBzVPwb/0/XL/i-FBzVPwb-XL.jpg[/img]

[piecemaker]

Another option which is even easier to use is the Zica swivel arm mods,which just became available again tonight. Use the boil and pop method to replace the arms and drill two holes in the upper "Mego" legs.Pic shows one arm with the Zica swivel arm.Or you can go with the original Zica swivel arm and leg mods.

[img]http://piecemaker.smugmug.com/photos/i-hpkQGkV/0/XL/i-hpkQGkV-XL.jpg[/img]

[SeattleEd]

Got my kits today from Kraig and have to say that the quality is top notch. Working on the Shadow Stormtrooper right now but the Magma Stormtrooper looks great and thanks for painting the helmet. Very happy and love building up these kits. They are like old school garage model kits.

[boss]

are these kits being sold now? If so, I need one.

[piecemaker]

Got my kits today from Kraig and have to say that the quality is top notch. Working on the Shadow Stormtrooper right now but the Magma Stormtrooper looks great and thanks for painting the helmet. Very happy and love building up these kits. They are like old school garage model kits.

Thanks Ed,glad you are happy with them!

are these kits being sold now? If so, I need one.

I just started this week getting some of these out.I shipped four kits out to different members this week.I'm shooting for four more going out next week. Yours will be one of those four.


I want to point out a few things again to people that are interested in these.I have mentioned this before in this thread,but its a big thread and some things may have been missed.

#1 You will NEED a Zica Version one body.Part of the kit is modified arms/legs that replace the Zica arms and legs.

#2 These kits are cast in color,But due to the different thickness of pieces and slightly differing mixtures of the coloring and resin,all the pieces are NOT going to be a perfect match with each other.If you want a perfect color match they will have to be painted.None of the completed Stormtroopers i did were painted and they look pretty good but if you look closely you can see the varying shades.

#3 Their is some work involved in completeing these.Their is excess resin/flashing that will have to be removed.All pieces will need sanded and shaped some.A Dremel and sandpaper is your best friend here.Their is some glueing and drilling of the arm/leg mod pieces.

#4 If you have any questions or concerns after you get this kit feel free to PM me or put in this thread.

[boss]

Sweet. I'm ready.

[piecemaker]

Stormtrooper Assembly Tips

#1)Ignore post 49 about heating the Zica body in hot water to put the upper leg mod onto the Zica body.I discovered the EASY way to do this.Instead of heating the actual body,you let the upper leg piece sit in very hot water for about 4 to 5 minutes and it pops right on.

#2) Remove the lower modified leg piece before putting the upper leg onto the Zica body.I have broke a couple knee joints off trying to put the leg onto the Zica body(the old way) and i dont want someone else to make the same mistake i did.

#3)You will need to remove the back snaps on the body suit for the back armour piece to fit right.I remove the snaps and then put in a couple of stitches to hold it closed.

Also to make this easier i'm going to predrill all the holes on the arm/leg mods so nobody will have to do this(unless you want to).You will still have to clean flashing(excess resin)sand,shape,fit all armour pieces and paint.