Darth Ruprecht

Hey folks. I've been MIA for a while but haven't forgotten my goals. Thought I'd drop by with an update. Since my post last May, I've had to undergo knee surgery and dealt with the weight gain post-op from limited activity, plus the holidays. I was back above 200 on my birthday in February. I decided that was enough. Starting weight: 230 Current weight: 185 Goal weight: 170 I'm getting closer every day. I don't have my white armor yet, though my lid is complete. I'll be at C6 in August, hope to see you all there!

Yeah, I worked hard to get it the way I wanted it. I am ordering a replacement set of decals, not sure I like the way the tears go outside the recessed area. Anyone know of a more better set? Teooperbay looked the best to me. . .

Looking great, man! How do you like the ATA armor build so far? I'm going to be ordering the armor when I'm done with my lid and am wondering what to expect.

Well, after putting the helmet down over the weekend to relax with my daughter, I picked it back up last night. Here are the results: Sadly, because when I originally placed the decals on the ears were farther the left tube's decal is now swallowed by the ear. I'll be making a visit to TrooperBay today! I am satisfied with the repair I've done on the helmet, finally. Only thing left is to paint the ears and install the visor. . . and replace the decals on the tubes. . .

Thanks Dan, your help has been awesome. I've drilled out the rivets and am slowly trying to align it to my satisfaction. Your pictures are really helpful man. I'll post pictures tonight, I'm spending time today with my little girl. . . and trying to rescue the yard from the 100+ heat for the past week, and all of next. . . Gotta love Georgia in the summer.

Yea, I see what you mean about the size of the ears. I trimmed mine down quite a bit more than that but was able to get a decent fit, of course that was before I realized it is wonky as all heck. I'll see how they fit after the rework tonight. Looks like you had the same problem with the left side trap as I had, I didn't like the angle the brow trim dropped down right there, so I dremmeled some more material out. I also have noticed that the angle of your face is more steep than mine. Yours mostly follows the curve of the cap in front, where mine juts forward a bit more. I think this is also part of my problem which I'll examine tonight. I would like to see how much material you removed for the opening for your head, ie the bottom of the cap and face. I'm debating on removing more so my melon will fit once I reshape it as well, but am wondering how much would be too much before I start. As for pics tonight, a shot of the gap from the inside and the head hole would help, and if you could grab a shot of each side in profile that would be awesome. Thanks much!

Wow Dan, really? Well I feel better about that now, but still that's not cool. When you say gaps, where were they on the helmet? If you could post a pic or two tonight that would be awesome.

After thinking about this over night and looking at the reference pictures, I believe that the faceplate is attached incorrectly. Here is my reasoning: In these reference pictures, there is a fairly short distance between the tears and the ear piece. LEFT RIGHT However, on my helmet there is a larger distance on one side. Right: Shorter distance Left: Larger distance My concern is this; if I correct this distance and shift the faceplate back on this side, there is going to be a gap at the brow trim, no? I considered just rotating the faceplate, however the shorter side is at the edge of the faceplate beneath the back, so no shifting can be done there. If I move the longer side in more, and tilt the faceplate down to bring the top back in contact with the brow this will work. This is, however, just speculation since I'm at work and can't test it. I am also going to need to remove and replace the tube stripes once I do this. Ah, the joys of being a newb. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I have a very odd request; Will someone take a picture of their helmet from the top? As in, from the crown of the helmet down onto the top. I would like to see how the helmets should look because I'm afraid something is terribly wrong with mine. I realized this evening that the faceplate doesn't face directly forward, but actually is askew. Is this normal? I know they are asymmetrical but surely not THIS much. Thanks, and HELP!

Congratulations! My wife and I use that site almost daily in our quest to track down our family lineage. Good to know that subscription fee is going to a good cause!

So, while making a template for painting the ears on my helmet, I realized the details on the ears are different sizes. . . Is there a difference from left to right ear on the size, or do I have an ANH and ESB ear? The left ear has three (3) bumps and the right has four (4). I've looked over the helmet details on this site, but can't tell definitively that there is a difference or not. Help?

Thanks Jesse, I've seen that site and am using it as a reference for my build. I'm not so great with free-hand painting so the ears are giving me fits. Any tips on how to paint them correctly?

Okay, I opened the eyes up a bit more, closer to what I see when I look at the reference photos. I also taped off and sanded the questionable tooth. This is the result, looks much better now, I think. I have the black layer down for the ears, though I'm not happy with the shape of the black layer so I'm going to probably clean it off and start over. Rawr.

Hey Dan, yes, that is correct. That's the guide I've been following. I've seen helmets with square teeth but am not a huge fan of the look of them, then I saw Pandatroopers build and really liked the "twinkie" look of the holes he made for the teeth. When I get home tonight I'll definitely open the eyes more, but am going to look at the teeth one last time. I looked at the center front tooth last night and realized there was a bit of texture to the acrylic paint I used, as if it didn't dry smooth. Anyone know how to clean this up? I'm considering sanding it smooth and painting it again, but is there an easier way to do it than that? I would like to avoid sanding the helmet around the tooth accidentally. Thoughts?

Okay, so some good news: My mom is recovering well and is in good spirits. I'm back home now and will be returning to work on the helmet tonight. Plan for action: Open up eyes and teeth more and paint ears tonight. Then post pictures. Hopefully I'll be back on track soon. Thanks again to everyone for the support.