ATA Helmet Help Please!

[AvsMan]

Well, I'm in the process of assembling my first helmet (armor to follow soon!) and having a bit of trouble. I'm having a bit of trouble joining the two halves together. I can't seem to get them to line them up properly. Everything lines up on the face, but the base of the helmet looks off. Any help would be appreciated!

 

 

[DroidHunter]

That's normal. Is part of the fun of the wonky helmet. You'll see that it many of the builds including the one Gaz just posted. Once you anchor the pieces together and put the ears on, it looks correct. Keep in mind, the whole thing is a asymmetrical and looks warped even when finished. That's what gives it it's charm.

[87ninefiveone]

Looks like you've got another 1/4" to 1/2" to take off the cap portion in order to get the ears to sit right.

There's very little extra meat on the ATA helmet when joint the two though so trim just a bit at a time to make sure things will still fit when you're done. My biggest issue with the ATA helmet was that I trimmed right up to the line on the right and left sides of the faceplate which made fitting the cap difficult as they barely overlapped. My suggestion is that you don't trim the sides of the faceplate at all if you haven't already, it will make your life easier as you fit the ears and things start to come together more.

[Heathen Viking]

You have a lot of trimming to do around the curved section of the back piece where the ears attach.  What helped me a lot was following Pandatroopers ATA helmet tutorial. Take your time and be patient especially with the ears.  Looks like you're off to a good start though. Looking good.

[gazmosis[501st]]

It looks like you're doing a great job so far! Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a helmet kit that has the face and cap go together like puzzle pieces. You just need to trim back the lower portion of both sides a little more. Be careful, though, on the left side(as you are looking at the helmet. The overlap can get very thin on that side. You need a little bit on the tube portion for a second joining location to prevent the halves from hinging. I would suggest using rivets rather than screws. Once you join the halves together, you want that to never move again.

[AvsMan]

Thanks guys! I totally forgot about the ears going on. I was just looking forward (waaaayyyy forward) and thinking how was I going to make the bottom line up to put the neck trim on and still make it look good. 

 

I know I still have a lot of trimming to do, especially on the sides. I haven't even touched the bottom yet. I've been following a lot of build HOWTO's including yours Gaz. Each one brings a different perspective to the build, new things to watch for. The biggest one I learned from yours is trim as little as possible at first. I'm standing on the shoulders of giants! So, now that I feel a little more confident where I'm at, I think I'm safe to move forward. 

 

Thanks again everybody!