Ales ANH Stunt ATA helmet assembly

[Ales]

Two days of trimming of one right ear 

[Ales]

So it is finally done....the right ear only!!

Using dremel sanding drum as rough cutting, then sandpaper by hand. Very addictive action

As I understand it is impossible to fit the ear "in-line". When you try it slightly covering there is one look. When you try it by hands making some pressure, knowing that there will be the bolts - another look. And when you screw it up by all of the three bolts  - looks at all the different.

 

 

 

 

 

Don't look at the bottom of ear, I'll trim it when S-trim will be installed.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You have done a nice job there, nice work, exactly how i did mine, btw the way the left is usually worse lol good luck

[Locitus[Admin]]

Looks like you still have some excess plastic at the bottom of the ear. But the rest of the trimming looks great.

[Ales]

Looks like you still have some excess plastic at the bottom of the ear. But the rest of the trimming looks great.

 

Oh, this is the easiest work, I'll trim it during S-trim installation.

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

One of the best ear i've ever seen ! Unfortunately there's two of them : p

 

Good luck with the second !

[Ales]

While I'm not on the working table let me ask question about the mic tips. Here is some sign or symbol on the side:

 

 

What is it mean, and how to position the mic tip on the helmet concerning this mark?

[edwardowan]

The symbols on the side are a representation of the original Hovi mark which is HOVI-MIX Pa2 

as for placement someone with more knowledge will need to chime in but I don't believe the alignment matters so much but I would probably put them above or below to hide the mark although its mostly unnoticeable once placed anyway.  Great build by the way!  thinking about getting on that long waiting list for the ATA myself.

Edited September 7, 2013 by edwardowan

[Ales]

Fufff... I have adapt the left ear. But it take me nervous for some time. 

First thing is that is more curved planes that should be fitted. But I did it:

 

 

 

 

[Ales]

The symbols on the side are a representation of the original Hovi mark which is HOVI-MIX Pa2 

as for placement someone with more knowledge will need to chime in but I don't believe the alignment matters so much but I would probably put them above or below to hide the mark although its mostly unnoticeable once placed anyway.  Great build by the way!  thinking about getting on that long waiting list for the ATA myself.

Oh, thanks for the info!

Yes, ATA is beautiful, I wait for my kit 9 month.... But now I savour the building after so long waiting

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Awesome work on the ears, well done, now move along, move along

[Ales]

He he, now I see all the imperfections of the original stormtrooper helmet - twisted contour, curled nose, egg-shaped dom and others. I really love this, it is so humane and much more attractive than EFx I had.

See the ear positions from the top. The left one is far behind matching to the right ear  

 

[edwardowan]

Yes, the lopsided asymmetry is what gives the look its character but it also reads better to the human eye since even the human face is not perfectly symmetrical in the sense that each side of the face isnt an exact mirror copy of the other side. So your mind's eye looks at Darth Vader, Stormtroopers and Boba Fett and the helmet is aesthetically pleasing to the eye! It "seems perfect" but its the imperfections that make it look correct to the human eye.  That is what went wrong with many of the licensed products in that they cleaned it up too much and made everything perfect and even all the way around and you can instantly tell that those helmets don't look like the actual stormtroopers. all of the imperfections really make it look like the real thing!  for me the stormtrooper is such a perfect design!

He he, now I see all the imperfections of the original stormtrooper helmet - twisted contour, curled nose, egg-shaped dom and others. I really love this, it is so humane and much more attractive than EFx I had.

See the ear positions from the top. The left one is far behind matching to the right ear

 

Edited September 8, 2013 by edwardowan

[Ales]

Painting in progress:

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely

[Tolo[TK]]

I wish I had the b@lls to paint my bucket. It looks so much better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[Ales]

I have used the trooperbay stencil for the stripes. It's really help to make it without nervous tension:

 

 

The same I want to do with the tube stripes. May be using airbrush.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Ales

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, a trick mentioned with the tube stripes is if you paint white first then if you get any bleeding through the stencil only the white will show, paint the blue over the top of the white and all should be fine.

[Ales]

Yes, good trick. But I didn't find in local hobby store the white enamel, there  is only the acrylic paint. And I don't know if it possible to lay enamel over the acrylic and if it will be durable enough..That's why I want to go using airbrush. The airbrush allow to paint carefully covering the surface, as if falling from the top to down. And not to crawl through the stencil. The other one thing I want to say is that stencils a very good adhesive first time using. So If I'll be lucky to put it right way initially it will be no overspray totally, I'm sure. When you detach the stencil it going stretch and very difficult to use again without gaps. These are my observations when painting black stripes. So if I'll apply the stencil perfectly, I'll use just the brush easily.

The good thing is that trooperbay supply the double stencils in one set ($20), so if you spoil one sticker, you have the second one trial.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Ales

[el trooper]

very cool looking , I start my first ever to day and your post is being very helpfull ! thanks !

[Ales]

I need help with the tube stripes. I saw the picture of original helmet:

 

 

There are 16 stripes on the left side and 15 stripes on the right cheek.

 

I have such stencils:

 

 

There are also 15 and 16 stripes accordingly, but I'm not sure about end stripes camber. Is it the right orientation of stencils on my photo according to helmet?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Correct, nice pick up, some don't see there's a difference

[gazmosis[501st]]

With the talents that you have I painting, I would not use an airbrush for this. I have had a great deal of success using the templates by just placing them correctly and marking them with a pencil then painting them. It takes a little time and patience but the look is great!!! Not pristine.....but hand painted.   By the way, the markings on the mic tips make no difference where they are. They won't be seen once installed

[Ales]

Wow! Steve, the first your picture cleared my mind. Thank you!

[Ales]

He he  The left one is ready:

 

 

 

Do you want to know how I didi it?