Wook's Totally Dirty (TD) Build - AP

[sandtrooper[501st]]

Awwwww, it's all too clean . . .for now. 

 

Good luck on the build!

[wook1138[TK]]

Not much for progress this weekend. Two sick kids really put a damper on everything. Anyway, I’m done my first pass at shaping the eyes and teeth. Not quite there but close. I need to fix one of the teeth. I trimmed too much so I will need to glue a piece of abs to the back and add some abs paste. I struggled with the teeth - the return edges make it tricky to get the width right while keeping the thickness (front to back) looking thin like the original.



My attempt at the teeth imperfections.



A collection of some of the reference material I’m using.


This is a composite image of my faceplate matched to the original helmet (Photoshop). It is hard to make out but it does allow me to see areas I need to fine tune.




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[CableGuy[TK]]

25 minutes ago, wook1138 said:

This is a composite image of my faceplate matched to the original helmet (Photoshop). It is hard to make out but it does allow me to see areas I need to fine tune.




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Very clever - good thinking, sir. 

 

Hope the children are feeling better. Oh, and watch out for those tube stripes... (now, where did I put my badge?)  

[wook1138[TK]]

 
Very clever - good thinking, sir. 
 
Hope the children are feeling better. Oh, and watch out for those tube stripes... (now, where did I put my badge?)  

Looks more clever than what it is Kids seem to be on the mend, thanks. Oh, and here you go...




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[CableGuy[TK]]

Looks more clever than what it is Kids seem to be on the mend, thanks. Oh, and here you go...




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Firstly, glad the kids are on the mend.

Secondly....that badge is AWESOME!!! Would you mind if I copy it for my collection, please? That’s so funny!! ( and detailed - very British, tube stripe details in the middle - awesomeness!!


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[wook1138[TK]]

1 minute ago, CableGuy said:

 

 

Firstly, glad the kids are on the mend.

Secondly....that badge is AWESOME!!! Would you mind if I copy it for my collection, please? That’s so funny!! ( and detailed - very British, tube stripe details in the middle - awesomeness!!


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It's yours!!

Edited April 9, 2018 by wook1138

[CableGuy[TK]]

It's yours!!

You are a true gent. Right, off to do some police work. ;-)


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[GilFran007]

awesome progress wook!  so fun to follow your build as a fellow TD.

 

I'm loving your attention to detail wrt the original packless D94 captain....I almost went there but decided that I didn't want the PO or SWAT status on this build.

 

 

[Pyrates[TK]]

Keep rocking brother!


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[wook1138[TK]]

A little more work last night on the helmet.

Just something I do - I start any hole I drill with this handy dandy tool.  It gives you a more precise start for the drill bit.  Anyways... .  I drilled the holes in this half of the helmet.  I will mark up where the bottom hole (not shown) lines up with the other piece once I raise the brow as much as I can - while still getting my head in the helmet.

 

Speaking of the brow, mine looked too wide compared to the reference picks.  I lined up the brows in my Photoshop project and the difference looked to be only about 1.5mm maybe 2.  I thought the difference looked larger so I added a mm.  Now I've probably cut off too much - when will I learn not to "eye ball" things.  Anyhoo, I fit the brow onto one ruler's edge and clamped another ruler to act as a cutting guide and shaved off 3mm. 

 

It is hard to see, but I only cut one side so If I really don't like it, I can flip it around and try again on the other side.

 

Here is the new brow.  This is also as high as I can get the brow without trimming.  I shaved a little off the opening for the head - and I will likely have to take a little more off in places.  It is tight now, so the added thickness when the s-trim goes on will make it nearly impossible.

 

So I've referenced the helmet with some tape with marks on it.  I will take a image like this into photoshop and overlay with the original to see how far up I need to trim to get the brow to the right spot.  I also did a little more shaping on the eyes - they still need a touch more TLC but are getting very close.  You can see my jar of ABS shavings ready to go for some ABS paste



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Edited April 11, 2018 by wook1138

[GilFran007]

Love your attention to detail sir....be careful though; if you are OCD like me, it will rule you.  I spent many a night trying to achieve the 'Streets of Cairo' hat bash on my fedora....and finally realized that HF and my head shapes are very different....too different.

 

it seems that screen used helmet had a cap that was tilted back to achieve the high brow.  You can see that with the amount of 'forehead' you can see in the picture....ie- your AP bucket is higher.  I was thinking of doing an elasticized helmet that would allow you to slip it on like a flex-fit cap....but that design is still just a cerebral fart

[wook1138[TK]]

11 minutes ago, GilFran007 said:

it seems that screen used helmet had a cap that was tilted back to achieve the high brow.  You can see that with the amount of 'forehead' you can see in the picture....ie- your AP bucket is higher.  I was thinking of doing an elasticized helmet that would allow you to slip it on like a flex-fit cap....but that design is still just a cerebral fart

The camera plays tricks - in most of the other pictures, the original seems to have a higher forehead - distortion of my iphone lens (and me not holding the picture upright ).  When I test the planned location of the brow with side pictures, I should be able to figure out just how much the original was tilted back versus having the brow trimmed.  At least I'm hoping that will work.

 

And yes, the OCD is strong with me . 

 

Elasticized helmet?? Interesting!  I like it. 

[GilFran007]

I hate those camera tricks!  one day you think you nailed the look......then a different angle proves otherwise....(but also works in reverse too) LOL

 

I'm dancing on the line of trimming my cap....but my bucket is finished painted, loc-tited in......I just ripped it all down and re-built it two weeks ago to give her it's third paint-job....I would rather buy a new bucket from Mark and start from scratch than demolition it for the second time

 

I'm hoping I could live vicariously through your build....lol

 

I'm also looking forward to your weathering section.....and hoping we could do that at the same time

[wook1138[TK]]

6 minutes ago, GilFran007 said:

I would rather buy a new bucket from Mark and start from scratch than demolition it for the second time

Copy that!  I've promised myself that if I botch this helmet in any way that I'm going to order another one.  I was thinking of giving RS Propmasters a try. Nothing against AP, just wanted to try something different and the RS helmets have all the bumps and imperfections molded right into the ABS.

8 minutes ago, GilFran007 said:

I'm also looking forward to your weathering section.....and hoping we could do that at the same time

Don't wait for me   This is probably going to be a slow build.   But yeah, I can't wait to get to the weathering.

[wook1138[TK]]

Lol.  Hey man, good to hear from you! I hope things are well.

 

Thanks!  it is good to be back at it.  This will be a slower build than the last.  Maybe we can meet half way for an armor party.  Chicago?   

 

 

[wook1138[TK]]

Not a bad idea. . . Watch, your “slower build” will still surpass my build. I haven’t touched my gear in over a month. What made you decide to do a sandtrooper? What’s on deck, Scout? Snowtrooper? 

Why sandtrooper? I wanted to get dirty. It was either a sandy or a death trooper (R1). The death trooper looked like an intimidating build. So, just no time for the build or did you get hung up on a part? What can I do to light the fire?


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[wook1138[TK]]

Tonight’s work.

Here is another composite of my helmet and the original. I put tape on according to the measurements I did with the marked tape. I realized that the original appears to have extra plastic trimmed from the bottom- good news for my big Mellon.


Made some marks and trimmed


Adjust the locations of the bottom screws.


I might shave a bit more off in the centre part of the brow but I’m pretty happy with how it is looking. I had to shape the sides a little so the brow ran parallel with the top and bottom of the traps.


Compared with my TK bucket.


Oh yeah. This came in the mail a couple of days ago. Thanks m4vrick (Vincent)!! The TKs are probably going “what the...”.




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[TheSwede[TK]]

6 hours ago, wook1138 said:

The TKs are probably going “what the...”.

Oh oh I know I know!!  

 

Excellent work on the helmet so far

 

[Artshot]

Great thread and build, i have a helmet on order that i am thinking about making into a Sandy display helmet, might just be generic as i dont have the patience to go as far as your going.

 

Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

[wook1138[TK]]

3 hours ago, Bud Spaklur said:

Got hung up on the right thigh we were discussing a month ago. I didn’t taper it when I made initial cuts. If I cut at the angle you suggested on my build thread, and I pull the back of the knee together per your suggestion, the top opens, causing a “V-like” gap. The more I pull the back of the knee in, the more separation at the top occurs. Very annoying. So I’m taking a break.

As for lighting a fire, Frank’s been on me daily about getting back to it. It’ll happen...I’ll probably get back to it soon.


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Good for Frank!    Sounds like the cut may not be straight.  If you are ready to tackle it again, post some pictures (or PM me) of the issue on your thread and maybe we can figure out a solution.  If it is along the back, and the separation isn't very much, there are some easy fixes for that.

[wook1138[TK]]

2 hours ago, TheSwede said:

Oh oh I know I know!!  

 

Excellent work on the helmet so far

 

Closest thing I could find to a stormtrooper raising his hand for a question (and not spending more than 4.75 seconds on Google).  If this is the Hero promo suit, I've never seen this pose before.

[TheSwede[TK]]

Me neither but I don`t care much for the promo trooper (such a silly gun for a Stromtrooper) maybe it`s made to look like Han in disguize with his rebel gun....ah well....just recived word that my canteen is in the mail, super-fast by m4vrick (Vincent) at MEPD Gonna look great on the field pack Also ordered the pouches from blaster  8266 (also MEPD) the other day, always a step behind 

[wook1138[TK]]

Picking away at things. I’m upgrading my TK right now for a big troop in a couple weeks, so not much time left for the TD.

I got the ears rough trimmed and on for my first of many rounds of seeing where I need to trim. This guy has spaces, so I don’t need to close the gap.



Here are the ears. The tape are reference markers for paint blemishes on the original.


The original has a very roughly painted surface. I won’t be replicating every bump of course - just the ones that are seen onscreen or have been pointed out in previous SWAT applications. Of course, SWAT applications are notorious for becoming more strict every application. I did consider painting the helmet HDPE-like green and then painting over with white - but I didn’t want to do that for the whole suit. Plus, I want the whole thing to still look good in person to the general public. I want it to look like how they think they remember the armour looking, if that makes sense.

I’m trying to test how I’m going to add the paint drips. Just using white paint doesn’t work well - it is a warmer white and just interacts with light differently than ABS. So I’m planning on using ABS paste. Really runny ABS paste as it turns out. Paint is on the right. My first attempts at ABS paste on the bottom. Final test on the left. Should work.



You can’t tell from the pick, but I was able to fine tune the locations of the blemishes by overlaying pics in photoshop.



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[wook1138[TK]]

So I just bit the bullet and went ahead with the defacing of a perfectly good TK bucket. I mixed up some ABS paint. Which is essentially coloured acetone, and proceeded to slop it onto my helmet.

This will take a few attempts and some sanding and polishing, I’m sure. It is just a few drops here and there, but still nerve wracking.




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Edited April 20, 2018 by wook1138

[wook1138[TK]]

Found some time to work on my helmet again today... happy stormtrooper day (TK 4-21). I had no idea that was a thing until today. Anyway. I think I finished my paint blemishes and I fine tuned the shape of the brow some more. I still have to finish shaping the ears and cut some length off the brow.

I found this on someone’s SWAT application - used it as a partial check list



Here are mine. The lighting isn’t great and you can’t really even see the large run on the top, but weathering should bring out some detail.








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