Seamless armor?

[DarthJen]

I know that a lot of the guys doing clone trooper armor are seamless. Isn't CGI great? What are your thoughts on the seamless issue? Should the GM armor be seamless?

[apollo]

do what you can seamless, leave what you can't seamed. I try to get all pieces seamless but I know I won't be able to do everything that way and I don't want to impose my view of what makes a clone good on anyone else. The legion membership officer for the 501st said that he does not plan on ever making clones required to be seamless either

[Deleted]

There are a few guys over at ct.net who are WAY more excitable about it than I, but I love seeing seamless. I mean, sure, this IS the canon issue and all that, but I just personally think armor looks better seamless. But honestly, anyone who builds this stuff in their basement and can make it look good, is cool in my book seamless or not. The only thing that absolutely shouldn't be seamless is the Chest plate to back plate. I believe that everything else technically is supposed to be.

[irricanian]

Personally I think any armor based on a CGI character should be given a bit of leeway, CGI may be seamless but real life parts are not especially given that we all come in different shapes and sizes and are not perfect clones

It's always a challenge building a costume to a CGI reference, Darth Revan comes to mind

[Deleted]

That's what I'm saying. I mean, I would love to see most everything seamless, but I doesn't bother me.

[sgtcarida]

I'm one of those "excitable" guys over at CT.net, LOL! I think that I've loosened up a bit during the election process though. Seemless should be the way to go when/where possible. My Ep2 Clone is 100% seemless but I'm tall and thin so it isn't a problem for me to get into it. The chest and back plate are not seemless. There is a small gap where they meet under the arms. Most of the armor can be seemless minus the shins and forearms. If you can't bend your foot to get it on then you have to have a seam. If you knuckles are too big you might not be able to get the forearm on over them.

I will say NO RIVITS on Clones that are visible. I have several rivits on my diaper/belt section but they are all on the inside and not visible.

[General Fidelis]

Awe, crap. Here we go.

Here's my take on this subject:
If you can't open a can of Bondo (or similar filler product), mix it up, and slap it on a piece of plastic, then you shoud not be building a clone.

Now, the GM is much easier to build than a standard clone. In addition, this costume is still in the prototype stage. With that said, that's not a reason for us accept or encourage lower standards for this build.

As far as filling seems on a GM build, there isn't anything very difficult to worry about. We've only got:
> biceps/triceps
> forearms
> shins/calves
That's it!

We also have the benefit of painting the armor a dark color and then weathering it, too. Even if you have never touched Bondo in your life, it's really nothing to smooth some on your seams, sand it down, smooth on a little more (if needed), and sand it again. You don't have to do a "perfect'' job filling the seams, because of the paint and weathering you'll add later.
Honestly, you'll be doing much more difficult work to your GM than filling seams, anyway.
C'mon, folks. Don't poo poo seamless 'till you've given it a shot. You'll probably be glad you did.

[apollo]

I really do like the seamless look and I practice it, I'm just saying that I wouldn't tell someone their suit was automatically bad because it wasn't seamed. As you said, bondo is fairly easy to use (I make it even easier on myself by using wood filler) and clones are supposed to be seamless so it is the optimal way to go. However, we should accept a lower standard than optimal because 1) not every seam can be filled in (I know I can't get my foot into a decent looking seamless shin) 2) It's not even the most important aspect of the costume. Show me a seamless clone with a fair paint job next to something seamed and painted by TC-2917 and I'll pick the latter any day. I encourage going seamless and applaud those who do because they should be proud of themselves, but it's not the be all end all of clones

[sgtcarida]

Tom has a really good shin that is seemless on the outside and velcro on the inside. You can't tell it is like that and looks good.

I use Bondo followed by a thinner type of body putty. It is for smooth, final filling and really smooths it out good.