Cricket's Hero Build (deep breath, let's do this!)

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Some careful tapering and well place foam and you'll be good to go!

[AWOL]

 

 

I've purchased lifts for my boots, though. So I'll be more like 5'7 when in full gear

Oi cheat some of us grew till we were 15 to get to that height!

Might buy some myself

[Cricket[TK]]

Yesterday I spent a few quality hours getting to know my bucket, trimming, sanding, trimming, sanding...  "This is great!", I thought.

But...

 

Let me begin by saying that the cut lines aren't all too clear on my helmet.   Everything is bumpy and lumpy around the edges, and it's very tough to see clearly where the helmet form ends and where the extra stuff begins.  I've had to view the inside of the helmet with a flashlight at just the right angle to get an idea of where to draw my guide line to cut.  

 

And I discovered upon temporarily fitting everything together that I had been too.... uh... enthusiastic on the cap and back part of my lid!  I had trimmed too much off the lower portion (facing left side) near the neck/cheek, and too much in one spot at the brow line.  Gah!  Crap.    This meant that there would be a gap between my ear piece and the cap/back part of the helmet.  My first thought was to just buy another bucket.  That thought was quickly followed with, "Could I fix this?  Maybe... how can I fix it?"  Light bulb moment....  ABS paste!

I have kept a ceramic ramekin of ABS paste on hand since beginning this project, and quite by accident.  I had made a batch of ABS paste for filling in the teeth (see posts above), and forgot to clean out the ramekin.  It had dried and hardened up to the point that I couldn't remove it from the dish.  So I added more acetone to it, covered it with some plastic wrap and secured it with a rubber band so I could clean it later.  I kind of forgot about it again (see a trend here?).  When I checked on what was in the dish last night, I discovered that it was the perfect consistency to sculpt out a new edge.  Yay!  

 

And I also discovered that if you dip your finger in acetone, you can gently smooth out the surface while the ABS paste is still soft.  Kind of like wet sanding a drywall patch.  It won't take out all the irregularities of the paste, but it helps to smooth out and blend it into the existing ABS plastic while it dries.

The area that was over trimmed by the ear will be mostly covered up by the ear piece.  But if I had not added the extra material, there would have been a visible gap of about 3mm.  And the area along the brow that I've built up will be under the brow trim.  The rest of my helmet is so bumpy that I should easily be able to blend the visible parts of my newly added edge without anyone noticing my build-up.  So while it's definitely best to cut SLOWLY and ACCURATELY, I'm finding that all is not lost if you cut too much in some areas; ABS paste is the bomb.  A few lessons learned for me!

[Cricket[TK]]

I tackled the teeth today.  Do these look about right?  I've been looking over and over at the ANH Hero Frowns diagrams.

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/album/27-helmet-frown-a-new-hope-hero/

 

I just can't tell anymore.  Did I make the holes too big?  Kind of worried about this.    

 

[Nagedzi[TK]]

I think the holes look fine....

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

That came out awesome! You're an ABS paste pro!

[Cricket[TK]]

I think the holes look fine....

That came out awesome! You're an ABS paste pro!

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys!  I really appreciate it.  It feels a bit like I'm working blindly here since I don't have any other troopers in my area to bounce things off of.  

 

Since my Dremel was still out, I figured it would be a good time to clean up the eyes today.  Despite looking at all the Hero diagrams, I'm still wondering if I should open up the eyes more.  Or leave them?  I would really love some feedback on what I've done with the eyes so far.  I've attached a big photo so you can see the detail better.  Be brutal with the feedback if necessary; I can handle it.  Thanks in advance!

 

[illusionz_09[TK]]

looks great. You can't even tell where you put that paste.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

You might have to drive north of Atlanta some or north east but there's a lot of troopers around you. Have you posted on your garrison's forums yet? 

[ABS80]

To be totally accurate the hero helmets didn't have a bumpy caps and your eye slots need to be trimmed more

Edited March 24, 2016 by ABS80

[Nagedzi[TK]]

For sure I'd trim out more of the eye near the nose bridge. Smooth out the curve on the outside, too. For reference, check out these on-screen ones:

[Cricket[TK]]

You might have to drive north of Atlanta some or north east but there's a lot of troopers around you. Have you posted on your garrison's forums yet? 

Yeah, I've been in touch with the GA Garrison (great group!).  Everyone seems to live north of Atlanta, and I'm about 45 minutes south of Atlanta.  Which would mean about a 90 minute drive each way just to look at some bucket details.  Unfortunately, I can't invest that time right now for such a small detail.  I will absolutely join them once my armor arrives, though!  There are no armor parties scheduled as of now, but I'm keeping watch for one.  I participated as a nerd herder at a troop event recently, and had a great time.  Can't wait to meet more of the 501st in person!

 

To be totally accurate the hero helmets didn't have a bumpy caps and your eye slots need to be trimmed more

Ah, yes, you're correct on the bumps.    I'll just have to make due with making the rest as good as I can then!    Thanks for the feedback on the eyes!

 

For sure I'd trim out more of the eye near the nose bridge. Smooth out the curve on the outside, too. For reference, check out these on-screen ones:

This is very helpful!!!  I've printed out the RogueTrooper pages for reference, but after staring at the pics, then the lid, then the pics, then the lid...  it became very difficult to see what details I needed to correct.  I knew something wasn't quite right.  I will get on cleaning up the eyes this weekend (between coloring Easter Eggs, dashing around Easter Egg hunts and recovering from a Easter candy coma...).  Thanks everyone for the feedback!

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Yeah, you might have to drive farther than the golf carts of Peachtree City can take you! Only place in Georgia where there are more golf carts than cars. Have a great Easter and good luck with the rest of your build! 

[Cricket[TK]]

Ears.  Stormtrooper ears.  I hate them.

 

I accomplished getting the right side one to fit first after a few hours of careful sanding.  "Yay, me!", I thought.  Easy!  

 

Then the left one.  Oh, wow.  Spawn of Satan piece of ABS.  This was me:

 

I was fitting the ear to the curve the entire time.  Which made the top part that fit against the helmet sit too low.  Gah!  Now I know why Terrell includes two sets of ears for the helmet.    Onward!

[68Brick[TK]]

Ha! Love the GIF.

 

Your ABS paste skills are impressive .... most impressive.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I had to order a backup to the backup. Ears are the hardest part to do!

[illusionz_09[TK]]

Yup, no one ever gets it right with the first pair!

[Cricket[TK]]

Okay, guys, opinions please!!!  Is this ear gap too big?  I can live with it if it's acceptable to y'all.  If not, I will continue to tweak. (not twerk, I don't do that kind of thing...)

Just to note:  I don't have the second screw in at the bottom yet.

 

 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Looks perfect! Great job

[Cricket[TK]]

Looks perfect! Great job

 

Thanks, Jason!  It's so tough to tell what is acceptable when I don't have someone else's completed bucket in front of me.  Thanks for the feedback!

 

And so, with that bit of encouragement, I trooped ahead with getting both ears on.  A little more sanding here and there, screws placed in the top and bottom of the ears, and they were done.  

 

Front right:

 

Back right:

 

 

Front left:

 

 

Back left:

 

And a lowbrow shot:

 

 

Whew!!!  So glad that hurdle has been cleared.  (And can you believe that I still have one ear to spare?  I'm sure I will need it for a backup...)  I'm feeling quite chuffed right now.    

Next step: finishing up cleaning the eyes and detailing the teeth. 

Edited March 29, 2016 by Cricket

[illusionz_09[TK]]

The ears look great! That is actually minimal gap compared to if you really look at the screen used buckets!

you are on the right track!

 

Move Along!

Edited March 29, 2016 by illusionz_09

[Cricket[TK]]

The ears look great! That is actually minimal gap compared to if you really look at the screen used buckets!

you are on the right track!

 

Move Along!

Thanks, David!      You're totally right about the screen used lids; the gaps are much more significant.  As I read more and more build threads here, I'm discovering that ear gap preference depends on the trooper.

 

And now I'm moving along ...  

[Nagedzi[TK]]

Looks great! Personally, I've gone from liking the look of "no gap" to purposely ADDING gaps to my builds. With that said, most Hero helmets had relatively small gaps compared to the majority of Stunt buckets.

[Pyrates[TK]]

Beautiful job on those ears!

[Cricket[TK]]

I was doing a little Star Wars reading yesterday while waiting for my kids to finish their karate classes, and I stumbled upon this bit of history (which I'm sure many of you old timers know already!):

"...once they were dressed in the white outfit they could not sit down.  After a while, the men got tired and tried to sit down, and of course bits and pieces started to come adrift.  So after shooting we would be back in the wardrobe, putting them together again for a couple hours.  We had jam jars full of solvent we would use to melt the plastic, as a glue, because I don't think we found a glue that would hold.  So we used the solvent to stick the elastic onto them." - Colin Wilson (Star Wars Costumes, p. 30)

Thank the Emperor for E6000!!!!