Pencap510 Posted February 3, 2015 Report Posted February 3, 2015 Looking good! May want to square out the teeth a little more, the square lines should follow the contour of the frown. A little less "Twinkie" shaped- Quote
Jedisaber Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Posted February 3, 2015 Thanks. Ive been following the Pandatrooper build thread and just did it like he did. I have polished off anything yet or made my own screen accurate decisions. I am also quite terrified of making that first rivet of front to back attachment. Quote
Pencap510 Posted February 3, 2015 Report Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) For the helmet- Just my recommendation of course, but I suggest using screws to secure the faceplate to the cap and back. This way you can EASILY remove it if you ever need to make interior adjustments. Rivets can be removed but typically require a hammer to "pop" out the rivet.. And that would scare me waaaaaayyyy more Take a look at page 8 of my build for how I connected the two just for an idea of what I'm talking about http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?/topic/24285-New-NE-build-Tampa-Fl Edited February 3, 2015 by Pencap510 Quote
Jedisaber Posted February 7, 2015 Author Report Posted February 7, 2015 So finally back in the garage since the weather this week has been crazy nice and went from 30 to 60! Here are some shots... However I have a few questions about the ears. I know this is everyones favorite topic. If you look at the two picts below you will see definitive lines on the curve. I am wondering how close to that am i supposed to trim? Quote
Jedisaber Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Posted February 8, 2015 because looking at the Pandatrooper ATA helmet build thread it seems like he left a ton of material and the ears look bulky where as looking at screenshots from movies it looks to me that the ears are actually very slim. Quote
Pencap510 Posted February 8, 2015 Report Posted February 8, 2015 I think those guide marks are good for the finished ear. The problem with STARTING by trimming to there is if you over cut anything your leaving very little to work with. I would just start by trimming the round piece first and fitting it where you want in the notch of the faceplate to the back. Once you get that lined up- start taking little by little off of the ear curve until you've got a nice fit. Work your way DOWN to that cut point - don't start there Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Posted March 10, 2015 Sorry for the disappearance, I took most of Feb off to concentrate on promotion testing. Now that that's over with I am back in the build process. Those damn ears! finally got one on. Not sure I am totally satisfied with it. This is an ANH stunt build which looking at pictures DO have a small gap in the ear, but i just don't know about it. I can't seem to close the damn thing for the life of me. Thoughts anyone? Quote
Bone[501st] Posted March 10, 2015 Report Posted March 10, 2015 The ear is okay, not perfect, but okay. If it bothers you, you can always go back and do a little more work on it. Go ahead with the rest of your build! :-) Did somebody tell you about the opening of the teeth? They should be more square, no rounded edges. Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 11, 2015 Author Report Posted March 11, 2015 Yeah, just haven't gotten around to them yet. That damn ear just bugs me. Can't seem to get it to close. But from screen accurate picts it looks fine. The other side is gonna be a pain, especially if it turns out fine, this one will drive me crazy. i know I'm not gonna get my build done in time for Celebration so Im just focusing on having a bucket to wear. Quote
Bone[501st] Posted March 11, 2015 Report Posted March 11, 2015 Aw, come on, it's plenty of time to celebration ... You could achieve it. Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 11, 2015 Author Report Posted March 11, 2015 If it happens it happens, but I'm not gonna rush anything. Gonna do it right. Quote
R4ZORBL4DE Posted March 11, 2015 Report Posted March 11, 2015 The ear looks good. I have a small gap in mine as well . I have seen buckets with a bigger gap than that. Do you have a picture of the backside of it ? And, Is that how high you are keeping your BROW LINE ? Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 11, 2015 Author Report Posted March 11, 2015 The gap in the back is smaller. I will get a pict up later tonight. The brow looks a little off because the black trim isn't on it, which evens it out a little and the other side isn't all bolted which will also even it out. Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Posted March 13, 2015 Back in the garage today and decided to quit playing with the ears. If i keep going my OCD is going to end up messing the damn things up. For my first bucket I am going to let them be. Started on some other parts and need to get painting before Celebration. Curious about how other people secure the brow trim... glue? Also trimmed the neck seal and fitted it in... Playing around with pads for the inside makes me realize exactly how large my head is. Also fitted the lens in. Using the ear screws to hold both the lens and ear pads in place. Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Posted March 13, 2015 Going to be squaring up the teeth while I await comments... Quote
Snaps[TK] Posted March 13, 2015 Report Posted March 13, 2015 (edited) It's looking good. Don't worry about the ear gaps too much....if you look at some reference screen shots, you can see gaps in the ear pieces.. Yours look fine! I've heard some use glue for the brow...I didn't have to use anything on mine. If I had seen this sooner, I would have recommended painting the inside of your helmet black....it helps keep bright sun light out and makes it a little more mysterious when the kids are looking up trying to get a glance in your helmet.... Nice job so far! Edited March 13, 2015 by Snaps 1 Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 13, 2015 Author Report Posted March 13, 2015 I saw someone who had used cheesecloth and black something or other to line the inside, i plan on looking into that... 1 Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Posted March 16, 2015 Getting ready to start painting details. Anyone got any secret tips I may not have read about in my hours of research? Also going to try plastids on the inside. Shoulda done before cutting but its not the end of the world. Going to try the cheesecloth method to give it some weight also. Any help would be awesome. Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Posted March 23, 2015 So, I started painting today. If I might say, it didnt turn out as bad as i thought it would. Swore i was gonna muck it up. Any who, here are some picts. Thought for sure this would be the hardest one seeing as how it didnt have any real lines attached to it. Wasn't half bad. I might try to clean it up on a second pass. followed the painting tips from Pandatroopers ATA build thread. I kinda wish I had filled that trap in all the way because as you can see below... There is some weird paint cracking lines? that came through on the first coat. Hopefully the second or third coat will help hide those. Thoughts? Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 24, 2015 Author Report Posted March 24, 2015 Also, anyone got a good solution to cleaning paint brushes. The Humbrol paint seems to be oil based? I dunno it was a paint to get off my hands and brushes and was wondering if there was an easy way. Quote
HansDC[TK] Posted March 24, 2015 Report Posted March 24, 2015 I use kerosene to clean the paint off my brushes. Also cleans off excess paint spots on your ABS. Just dab a tiny bit on some cloth to rub out your mistakes. I think your ears look good. The gaps might close up if you tighten the screws a little bit more. Looking food so far man! Quote
Jedisaber Posted March 24, 2015 Author Report Posted March 24, 2015 I have tightened them quite a bit and was afraid to do more. If you look at the picture above you will notice on the left rear trap there is a little bit of a smudge underneath. I got some paint there and freaked out thinking it would be hard to remove. I had some cheesecloth ready and the only chemical i had to do the trick was Acetone. Turns out thats a little bit too strong. Its not too noticeable from a distance but if you really inspect it up close you will notice some roughness and still a little paint smudge. I think the acetone might have rubbed off a bit of the gloss from the ABS. Also, the two rear traps look good when you look at the individually but when you look at both at the same time they don't look exactly symmetrical. Is that normal? Quote
Tusken RTT Posted March 24, 2015 Report Posted March 24, 2015 Agree- nice job! Definite NO to the acetone on the armor! You learned the hard way, yep it will melt it like acid. I used paint thinner on mine for the brushes and armor cleanup. You can wipe away those cracks with the thinner and start over if you need if the 2nd or 3rd coat does not hide them. Quote
Bone[501st] Posted March 25, 2015 Report Posted March 25, 2015 Wow, you went straight for the worst solvent to use on your armor! Acetone is used to melt plasticchips to make ABS-paste for filling gaps on your armor. You learned the hard way and have been lucky! Quote
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