pandatrooper

Personally, I painted mine silver on the Hasbro. I know the Hasbro isn't screen accurate (far from it), but the silver port gets it a little closer to looking like a Sterling, and less like a squirt gun.

Ah, now I get it. Thanks for the replies guys. I might try and do this at some point. Thanks for clarifying!

Looks much better! Nice work there Will!

The problem is that the frame that holds the plastic for most vacform machines is much bigger than a welders visor. I have a trick for this that I might do, basically involves a custom plastic holding frame that would allow the use of welders visors for 'that perfect shade of green". Either that, or getting a bigger sheet of plastic that's close to the right shade as possible, and making multiple bucks for the lenses, so that sets of 20 can be pulled in 1 shot.

I was watching a few ANH clips, and in the "let's go in the control room disguised as troopers" scene - I noticed that both Luke and Han have tighter fitting shoulder bells. They aren't just covering the biceps, they're quite tight, almost to the point of wrapping around the underside. I know there's the black elastic to keep the bell in place, but in the original movie did they heat up the bell and wrap it more tightly for a better fit? I notice this more on the Heroes than the Stunt TK's. Does anyone know if they heated the bells up and bent them to shape, or how / why was this done? Just curious, and I may consider this - just because.

IMHO = "In my honest opinion" I think the suggestion is to use a stiffer material (eg: white plastic) that more closely mimics the properties of the armor, as opposed to white fabric.

Good point Paul. I agree, I think that's fair that the side shims be made of plastic. There's plenty of options not limited to: - using scrap plastic from the armor - using white Rubbermaid type bins / plastic - using sign plastic - using any color plastic, then painting to match I don't think there's that many current EIB's that have fabric shims (correct me if I'm wrong) and to replace it with plastic wouldn't take more than an hour or two.

I would be very careful about testing the ears and how they fit before you cut the back that much. Just draw a pencil line of where you think the cut would be, and trim some of the ears down and test fit them, before you cut the back. Once you cut, you can't go back. You might also find that the cheek tubes on the back are very shallow (they don't have a lot of undercut) and the neck trim might not cover the gap left by the shallowness. Hard to describe, I'll see if I can find a picture. I think when these lids are made, the cheek tubes on the back are cut a little too high. Just test fit as much as you can before cutting. Measure twice, cut once!

I've done quite a bit of sculpting and casting, and you're right. Proper casting silicone pretty much doesn't stick to anything besides silicone. I've made things before and had to spot some bondo on top to fill bubbles / imperfections, and then did an impression coat on top with silicone, and it released just fine.

Most of the time, the aerator / mic tips have a solid flat base, and there's a bot sticking out the back with a nut on it. You just drill a hole in the helmet (approx. center of the "bump") and place the aerator bolt through the hole, place a washer in the back, and snug it up. Sometimes, the aerator bolt is not cast straight / centered, and or the hole you drilled is off, so some people will enlarge the hole slightly. Thats why you can use a bigger washer inside the helmet, to prevent the nut from pulling through the hole. It's not an exact science, the film used helmets were rushed through production, so they're not "perfect" and neither are most builds, but you can usually fudge the alignment to look pretty good.

Yes, I have. I was thinking of making green and smoke lenses Hero style, but with the right properties: - a curved, not flat domed shape (most I have seen are somewhat flat around the perimeter, and makes them hard to mount - bubbled lens, but flatter near the inside corners, to make it easier to see - I have a pair, but it's waaaay too thick to see through, so I'd use a smoke lens that's dark enough to cover the eyes, but not so dark to make it difficult to see I know not a lot of people want bubble lenses, but no one currently offers a good solution. It probably won't happen for a while, but it's something I've wanted to make for a while. If I can't find something I want that meets my needs, I'll tend to make it.

Glad I could help Dennis. Looks awesome, turned out really nice! As mentioned, you maybe just need a slight tweak to the shoulder bells but that's pretty minor. Nice work, congratulations!! I'm sure you'll get your TK number, no problem!

Looked like a fun event, I'm sure the kids were stoked! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Looking really nice! Keep up the good work. I know people do the teeth in different ways, but I personally sharpened the corners on mine a little more with some small flat and square files. Totally up to you on the style, it's a personal choice on how to approach it. I am so tempted to get one of these kits. I probably wouldn't have time to build it for a year and a half, but they look really sharp!

Has Ebay not responded to the complaints?

You should contact him directly from the site. You can see size comparisons of his latest RT mod suit with the more screen accurate sized ones, very helpful for reference.

RT mod is considered a "bigger fit" armor, as everything has been scaled up for bigger guys. Check them out. http://www.rt-mod.com/main.html Try to avoid Ebay if possible, you can direct usually for cheaper.

Just wanted to offer an opinion. I haven't read all the posts (it was pages long) but this is just me walking through the steps / process. Let’s just say this was me (so as to not use any names). If I got my hands on a screen used helmet - bought from a Christies auction, or was loaned a real screen used one - and prepped the inside for molding (via mold release and using plaster or Ultracal (casting material), thus capturing the detail of the inside of the helmet. I would now have a positive form or vacuform buck that “touched the inside of a screen used helmet”. If I was using this positive form / buck to make new helmets, I could make the claim that these new helmets were created with molds that “touched the inside of a screen used helmet”. Because they literally did touch the inside of a real helmet. However, as a craftsman / prop maker I probably wouldn’t do it because eventually there would be wear and tear on this “first gen” positive buck (not to mention personal collector value). I would instead make a silicone negative mold of the first gen positive buck, and then use the silicon mold to create a new Ultracal positive buck. This would then be a “second generation” positive buck. I would use this second gen one to create helmets so that no wear and tear would ever effect the original first gen, thus keeping it preserved. If this second gen positive buck ever did get worn down, I could still go back to the silicone negative and cast another second gen positive buck for creating more helmets. If this is the technique that was used, then it’s unfair to make the claim that the molds used to create the helmets I sell, “touched the inside of a screen used helmet” because they didn’t. The molds used are second generation, and I don’t think that counts. But that’s just my personal interpretation of it.

This Yoda talk scares me. Can you imagine?.... what if GL decides to digitally replace Yoda in ESB and ROTJ too? Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with a puppet. That's part of the charm. He didn't replace the stop motion Tauntauns (thank god) I just want him to STOP changing stuff. The only things that should have happened with the special editions, is salvaging the original negative for archival sake, and fixing matte lines around ships. The rest was fine on it's own, un-altered! That being said, if the 3D release happens and there were trooping opportunities, how could I NOT troop at them? It'd be a great opportunity.

Ah, but when you're so close... why not go all the way?

Take your time, enjoy the work, and have fun. Don't rush it. Refer back to the forums and tutorials, you'll do just fine. Look forward to seeing it!

Very awesome indeed. I wish there was this kind of enthusiasm and traffic on the Badlands Garrison forum. I know it's winter right now, but I'm lucky if there's a few new posts a week!

Looks awesome, nice work! The only things I don't see are the 6 rivets on the left side of the ab / kidney. These are should have's, not must have's. For more accurate nerdyness, you could also add the exposed snap on the upper corner of the AB plate. Do you have another photo of the other side of the blaster? That's the only thing I can't see. Other than that, it's looking pretty good for EIB!

Wildabeast, definitely go for the E6000. You have to spread it on both sides, let it tack up for a couple minutes before joining and clamping the parts. It has to cure overnight, but it's very easy to use. Highly recommended!

Sorry guys, wasn't meaning to step on toes. Just wanted to help get some info out there. I'm just as antsy as the next enthusiast, and everyone wants a a fast reply / something to read! Anything to help get people headed in the right direction. I'm sure you guys know there's still way more blaster suppliers I have no idea about (especially garage operations, club suppliers, etc..)