ATA Bucket Build[*ATA]

[SCtrooper20]

I did.......and I am pretty sure everyone else has too, so yeah trim your heart out

[TK-7980]

I would leave a little extra for your next trim to cover up. It's what I've seen the makers of my helmets do.

[efreng]

good luck with the build..pm me if you need any help..im just in your neck of the woods..

 

 

ef

tk 5710

[2155TK[TK]]

Yup you should definitely cut out those parts. Be mindful of the side cuts though. always dry fit your helmet before realizing you've cut too much

 

On the bottom part cut to your hearts desire. I trimmed mine beyond the standard line to fit my big head

 

Btw, Efreng is one of our members in the Philippine Outpost. The first to get the Expert Infantryman Badge or Elite Badge for the Pinoy501st

 

He would be a great help with your build.

Edited July 26, 2010 by LUIS TK-2155

[Midnyt17]

I did.......and I am pretty sure everyone else has too, so yeah trim your heart out

 

Haha thanks, I will. But trimming the bottom of the face plate will have to wait 'til tomorrow when I get a pair of Lexan scissors. My fingers can't take the "score and score until it snaps" technique anymore.

 

I would leave a little extra for your next trim to cover up. It's what I've seen the makers of my helmets do.

 

Thanks for the tip. I've changed my trim line and will trim it tomorrow.

 

good luck with the build..pm me if you need any help..im just in your neck of the woods..

 

 

ef

tk 5710

 

Thanks. Glad to know there are people nearby who can help. Are you from the south also?

 

Yup you should definitely cut out those parts. Be mindful of the side cuts though. always dry fit your helmet before realizing you've cut too much

 

On the bottom part cut to your hearts desire. I trimmed mine beyond the standard line to fit my big head

 

Btw, Efreng is one of our members in the Philippine Outpost. The first to get the Expert Infantryman Badge or Elite Badge for the Pinoy501st

 

He would be a great help with your build.

 

Thanks again Luis. I've cut the sides and they look fine on the helmet now. I've got another trimming problem now though.

 

 

Should I trim this area? It's keeping the front of the helmet from fitting snug on the front of the cap. Or is that normal?

[TK_LEPER]

I would leave a little extra for your next trim to cover up. It's what I've seen the makers of my helmets do.

 

Second that!

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

 

 

Should I trim this area? It's keeping the front of the helmet from fitting snug on the front of the cap. Or is that normal?

 

 

You can trim here also, i usually leave this part there though..

[Midnyt17]

Why does it seem like the cap 'n back is a little too "wide" for the face plate? The sides of the cap n' back seem too far from the sides of the face plate when I try and fit them and have to flex the cap 'n back quite a bit to get it to align with the face plate properly.

[Midnyt17]

I just bought a pair of lexan scissors this morning. Will trim the bottom of the face plate and finish the teeth tonight and do some minor trimming here and there before I start drilling.

[2155TK[TK]]

Why does it seem like the cap 'n back is a little too "wide" for the face plate? The sides of the cap n' back seem too far from the sides of the face plate when I try and fit them and have to flex the cap 'n back quite a bit to get it to align with the face plate properly.

 

It's normal. everything will fit once you assemble the helmet using the screws/brow trim/ears.

 

Should I trim this area? It's keeping the front of the helmet from fitting snug on the front of the cap. Or is that normal?

 

Definitely trim that area to where you drew the line. don't worry it won't be seen anyways.

[Midnyt17]

It's normal. everything will fit once you assemble the helmet using the screws/brow trim/ears.

 

Yeah, I see that now. I finally built up enough confidence and was able to do a lot of work done tonight. I trimmed out the teeth more, trimmed the top and sides of the face plate, trimmed the front & sides of the cap more, drill the face plate and cap together.

 

Here are pics:

 

 

 

 

I'm going to put the ears on now. More pics after that.

[Midnyt17]

I've put on the ears and the neck/brow trim. The right ear fit pretty well but the left has gaps. I'm trying to accept the gaps but I might fill them in before I paint the helmet. What should I use if I decide to fill in the gaps?

 

 

 

 

The brow also went lower than what I wanted and it looks a little too "hero" for me. Is it? Will it still pass as an ANH Stunt or do I have to trim the brow line or re-drill?

 

Also, did anybody elses brow/neck trim come covered in dirt and oil/grease? My bucket feels like it can pass for a TD or a mechanic trooper. How do I wash it off the helmet and the trim?

[Midnyt17]

Anyone?

[TK-7980]

Soap and Water should get rid of the greasiness. If the brow is too low for your liking (it is for mine...) then all you need to do is trim the brow. No need to disassemble it. Without trimming it will pass ANH Stunt EIB just fine.

[Midnyt17]

I probably have one of the worst made helmets in FISD after what I did today.

 

I decided to re-drill 'cos the brow was too low and had too much of a gap from the face plate.

 

I thought re-drilling the right side of the bucket would be the correct way to go to tighten the brow onto the face plate. After re-drilling that side I then saw my mistake. The face plate was now turned to the left too much. It looked really ugly and wonky.

 

I then decided to remove all the screws on both sides and align the center of the cap to the center of the face plate. So I did that and ended up realizing that I should have re-drilled the left side instead of the right. So after re-drilling the left side and returning the right side to it's previous position I finally had the face plate acceptably centered and snug to the brow and had the brow line at the height I wanted.

 

My helmet now has 9 extra holes holes on it. None of them are seen from the outside but I know I'm going to have reinforce those at some point.

 

My helmet is also an asymmetrical mess now; The gap between the left tear and ear is around 3/4 of an inch but the gap on the right is around 1 1/2 inches. And the alignment of the eye to the vent on top on each side is different.

 

Will try and take some pics later.

 

Oh well, I hope it's good enough to pass membership and EIB.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

Don't panic you can cover the holes on the inside with a strip of plastic. Get some pics up for us.

[Midnyt17]

Here are the pics of the bucket:

 

 

 

 

The damage from the re-drilling:

 

 

 

Now I personally know the importance of measure twice, cut/drill once.

[2155TK[TK]]

Still looking good Martin. not too much to worry about. I don't think the extra holes will affect the integrity of the helm since they are drilled far apart from each other.

 

I bet you can't wait to paint that beauty Btw, how is your armor going along?

[firebladejedi[TK]]

Personally I don't see anything wrong with how the helmet looks. I've had a couple of lids that I've adjusted which had extra holes left inside.

[Midnyt17]

Still looking good Martin. not too much to worry about. I don't think the extra holes will affect the integrity of the helm since they are drilled far apart from each other.

 

I bet you can't wait to paint that beauty Btw, how is your armor going along?

 

Personally I don't see anything wrong with how the helmet looks. I've had a couple of lids that I've adjusted which had extra holes left inside.

 

Thanks guys. It means a lot coming from you. I'm not so worried about the holes but I'd like to reinforce them one of these days just in case. Any suggestions on what I should use?

 

I'm actually really tempted to go ahead and paint it and just hope it matches with the AM kit

[Midnyt17]

I asked this on another pandatrooper's reinforcing aerator socket thread but no one seems to read that anymore.

 

I want to reinforce the aerator sockets on the bucket following panda's method so I went to the hardware and this is the closest thing I could find to what he used and I was wondering if it was ok to use this:

 

 

WATERSTOP

WET & DRY SEALANT

THE ONLY SEALANT THAT WORKS ON WET & DRY SURFACES

 

CHARACTERISTICS

 

WaterStop Wet and Dry Sealant is a breakthrough sealant for all roof repairs!

 

The ONLY sealant with Hydrobloc, an active ingredient that effectively blocks the entry of water. Works on DRY, WET and even UNDERWATER surfaces!

 

Hand moldable so it's easy to apply.

 

Dries fast to form a crack-proof water-tight seal guaranteed to last for more than five (5) years.

 

Solvent-free and has no toxic fumes, non-flammable.

 

MATERIAL APPLICATION

 

Excellent for repairs of holes and cracks on all types of roofs: GI sheets, plastic, concrete, including gutter joints and downspouts. Just Mix, Mold and Apply.

[2155TK[TK]]

That's ok. just don't use too much because it will affect the chin weight of your helmet. Trust me you'd want a light helmet during troops plus the extra chin weight might cause the helmet to slide forward/downward while you're trooping.

 

You mentioned getting an AM kit? Is this the new version of the FXlite? Wow I'm excited to see it!

Edited August 2, 2010 by LUIS TK-2155

[Midnyt17]

That's ok. just don't use too much because it will affect the chin weight of your helmet. Trust me you'd want a light helmet during troops plus the extra chin weight might cause the helmet to slide forward/downward while you're trooping.

 

You mentioned getting an AM kit? Is this the new version of the FXlite? Wow I'm excited to see it!

 

I only have the small 2-part package of the sealant. That'll probably only add a 1/4 cm thick layer on top of the plastic. Just to thicken up the plastic 'cos the pull on the aerator sockets of the ATA kit are pretty thin. I'd rather it be a bit heavier than break off if the mic tips get snagged.

 

And yeah the AM kit is the new version of the FX. I'm going to be following pandatrooper's tutorial when I get my kit which won't be for a couple of months unless I come across a large sum of money

[Midnyt17]

I just put the sealant on the aerator bumps. Will let it set overnight before I try and drill. Crossing my fingers that it sets right.

[Midnyt17]

The sealant set pretty well. Not as concrete hard as I imagined but still good enough to add some strength to that area. I've drilled and screwed in the aerators. Are they really a little bit wonky? The wonky-ness isn't so noticeable though.

 

What paint should I use to paint the resin aerators? And also the inside of the bucket since I'm asking about paints anyway. I want to paint the aerators and the inside of the bucket already since I don't really need to wait for the rest of my armor before I paint those. Any advice or links on the type of paint for the aerators and the inside of the helmet?

 

I'm going to work on the lens while I wait for someone to reply