Bettinatk Posted February 27, 2021 Report Posted February 27, 2021 En 20/11/2019 a las 16:54, MaskedVengeance dijo: Hello there Troopers! My name is Caleb, and I'm from Chickamauga, GA, right outside Chattanooga, TN. I've been a lifelong Star Wars fan and have wanted to build a stormtrooper outfit and join the 501st for over a decade. I am finally taking steps to become a TK, spending much of my free time on this FISD forum saving links and soaking up a wealth of information, and I thought I'd start my official build thread to begin getting feedback. The goal: ANH Stunt, likely from ATA, built to Centurion rank specs. My wife and I have a 7-month old little girl, so my build time and financial resources (I'm having to sell personal items to make this dream a reality!) will be limited, and I expect this project to take 6-9 months to complete. My hope is that I can be a TK for Halloween in 2020, and walk my little baby Princess Leia (not her real name) down the street. I can just picture her holding my black-gloved hand (with flex guard!) and taking tiny 1.5-year-old baby steps. Maybe her candy bucket will literally be a small TK bucket turned over with a handle added. Ok, enough fantasizing and mushy talk. In a perfect world I'd be done with my TK build and Legion-approved in time to participate in some May 4th events (if any exist in my area). INDEX OF PROGRESS (THREAD LINKS) All-In-One Index of Tips, Tutorials, and Build and Request Threads Photos of Tools, Supplies, and Parts: Dremel, E-6000, and sanding sponges E-11, TB flexible hand guards, TB helmet decals, Testors enamel paint Snap fastener kit and monocular for blaster lenses Build Your Own blaster bases for DLT build Jigsaw, heat gun, digital caliper, and Joseph's Centurion hardware Hasbro blasters (for backup) and scratch build DLT pvc pieces 3M chemical gloves and lexan scissors Darmon E-11 holster and neck seal and rare earth magnets 3M 6200 respirator and filters Pre-attached flexible hand guards and gloves from Joseph Cut-resistant gloves, hand rivet tool, and holster lubricant Mounting hardware that came with ATA armor Sandpaper, Ditz drop box elastic, heavy chemical gloves, black nylon strapping, and Novus polish Humbrol and Testors enamel paints, Model Master spray and acrylic paints, craft foam, TB masking templates, Sugru, acetone, mineral spirits, and screw thread covers Thermal Detonator (TD) clips from Ukswrath Fabric by the yard and pinking shears Kittell Belt (Imperial Issue), enamel paint, Milliput, white adhesive velcro, and Rust-Oleum Truck Bed Coating spray DIY dowel sanding tool [NEW] E-11 Blaster Arrival E-11 Photo Review (separate thread) Flexible Hand Guards Comparison 421 Imperial Boots Unboxing HWT Build Thread Tangent (separate thread) Updated Build Component List Double Snap Strap System Arrival BBB Day and Unboxing Raw PRE-CUT ATA armor pieces: Forearms Biceps, Shoulder Bells, Thighs, and Calves Forearms, Biceps, and Shoulder Bells (additional) Torso pieces: Chest, Ab, Back, Kidney, and Posterior Sniper Plate, Shoulder Bridges, Drop Boxes, TD, and Ab Buttons Helmet Components: faceplate, top/back, ears, Hovi tips, hardware, TD end caps, extra ABS, Brow & S-Trim Belt and Knee Pack ABS hand guards First Armor Cut & Trimming: Return edge trimming: Forearms and Biceps + second round (separate post) Thighs, Calves, and Shoulder Bells All torso pieces Rough trimming: Sniper plate, shoulder bridges, drop boxes, TD, ab plates + additional sniper plate (separate post) ABS belt and knee pack Closer trimming: Thighs and calves Ab and Kidney seam connection Chest, Ab, and Backplate Posterior Sanding: Drop boxes and shoulder bridges + additional drop boxes (separate post) Holster Stretching/Forming + part two (separate post) Cover Strip Cutting Paint Colors Discussion Making Magnet Sachets I Dreamed A Dream COVID-19 Update Thermal Detonator Part 1 Thermal Detonator Part 2 (including MANY screen captures) Troopers Helping Troopers Helmet: Helmet Components: faceplate, top/back, ears, Hovi tips, hardware, TD end caps, extra ABS, Brow & S-Trim Helmet Work Begins Rough Helmet Trimming Imperial Dentistry (Teeth Trimming) Helmet resources, ear & brow Intro, side trap painting Vocoder test painting & teeth sanding question Teeth & eye sanding, Hovi tip reinforcement & painting, lens installation, interior painting, vocoder height adjustment [NEW] Cita "Printable/downloadable PDF of my entire build" THIS IS SO HELPFUL FOR ME, A WILLING TO BE TROOPER. THANK YOU SO MUCH! thread to this point contained in [THIS SHARED FOLDER]. The PDF will typically be updated within a few hours of my own new posts and will note sequential version numbers and revision dates. Anyway, here are the components I will likely move forward with. If any of you Troopers have experiences (good and bad) with any of them, reach out to let me know if I'm heading in the right direction, or need to reassess. As of today (11/20/19) I have not pulled the trigger on any of these purchases, but I will be doing so in the next few days and weeks. For reference, I am 6' tall and my weight ranges from 175-190 lbs, depending on the time of the year (Thanksgiving and Christmas are blissfully dangerous). UPDATED COMPONENT LIST IN THIS LATER POST (link) Bucket: ATA Armor: ATA Undersuit: tbd. Likely two-piece. Boots: Imperial Boots 421 Gloves: Trooperbay (glove + flex guard combo) Strapping: tbd. Likely double-snap strap system Blaster: Trooperbay E-11 rubber, similar to Hyperfirm and Praetorian (gotta splurge somewhere) Holster: DarmansProps (Etsy) Neck seal: DarmansProps (Etsy) Belt: Imperial Issue (TKittell) TD hooks: tbd. Preferably something prefabricated, with Centurion screen-accurate screw hole locations Since I would like to build my ANH Stunt TK kit with Centurion rank in mind, any tips regarding those specific details would be most helpful. In following different build threads I've found various photos of the requirements listed on the CRL, but I'm sure there are more things to learn and see diagrammed or photographed. The TK, EIB, and Centurion approval request threats have already been very insightful, and shout out to @zv288bot who has been extremely helpful on my local Georgia Garrison forum! I've also read that @pandatrooper has a great ATA TK build thread, but I can't seem to locate anything other than the TD thread on MEPD. Can anybody help with the link? Perhaps I don't currently have the proper account permissions? Here are a few questions I currently have. I understand that darkening the inside of my bucket will NOT disqualify me from Centurion status, and based on reading and advice, I'm considering using thin neoprene to "black out" the inside. Any tips as far as that is concerned? What members/vendors can provide pre-made double-snap strapping systems? I know that @TheRascalKing makes some, but he is currently out of commission due to medical reasons (we should send him well-wishes and encouragement from the Detachment and Legion!) I'm planning on using the "hand painted look" Classic Trilogy decals from Trooperbay. The 501st ANH stunt TK CRL states "Tears/traps shall be hand painted or use decals that emulate hand painted (with correct ANH TK details)," which leads me to believe that the Trooperbay decals could work. Would this also apply to the tube stripes? I'm a perfectionist, and I'm just not confident that I'd be happy with an imperfect [hand] paint job, though perhaps I should simply convince myself that perfect screen accuracy would actually be an imperfect paint job. I do understand that I'll still need to paint the teeth and ear/rank area. Should I really order a full size up from my regular shoe size when ordering from Imperial Boots? I normally wear an 11/11.5 US, so perhaps I should go with a size 12? Any personal experience with this? Obviously I'd prefer to wear extra socks than have shoes that are too small. I've been told that helmet fans are very necessary, and I'm wondering how easy it is to put something together myself (purchase components), rather than purchase a pre-made system. Component recommendations? Helmet padding: What pre-made pads have you used? I envision using velcro for ease of adjustment and removal for cleaning. I like the idea of padding rather than a hard-hat liner, but I hear that helmet shift could be an issue. Would a chin strap disqualify me from Centurion (assuming it's OUT of view)? Strap recommendations? I've been eyeing the iComm and Aker systems for voice modulation/amplification, but they're not exactly pocket change. (I've sorta viewed my blaster as the splurge of this build, but I'm not gonna lie, a TK voice would be AWESOME!) I hear that Aker mic placement and overall cabling can be tricky; any recommendations on after-market mics? I may also just look for a USED iComm down the road. Now that this post is sufficiently too long, I'll try to wrap it up. The pinned posts in the "Getting Started" area have already been, and will continue to be super helpful, as I'm sure all your feedback will be as well. Here shortly I will make a post in the "New Member Introductions" forum, but I wanted to start this Build Thread first so I can link to it in my Introduction post. I will, of course, be adding a lot of images to this thread as my build progresses. I look forward to joining the Legion, GA Garrison, and Venator Squad in the not too distant future! Thanks in advance, Troopers, for all your help! This is going to be a long, but glorious ride! Now off to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters... Until next time - MV Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted March 11, 2021 Author Report Posted March 11, 2021 OP (MV) Post #44: The Empire Strikes Back (A turning tide in my life) Boy has it been a month, and a year, for that matter. None of us need reminding of the global crisis that has impacted nearly each and every one of us, and I know there's still many more months of recovery ahead, but I wanted to share the recent developments with my personal situation. Many of you will recall that a little over half a year ago I had to put my first TK build on hold due to my family dropping to a single income, and intended to sell my armor. Due to frugalness through a budget deficit, and the extreme generosity of both family and FISD members, I was able to avoid doing so, and VERY slowly worked on my helmet and TD. Almost two months ago my boss at work gave notice of his resignation, opening an opportunity we thought might be an answer to prayer. I had actually been looking for new employment on and off for a couple years, and more adamantly throughout the pandemic, in an effort to better support my family. Providentially, last week I was formally awarded the promotion, along with the duties I had already adopted a month prior. In fact, for the past five months I had already been pulling double-duty at work after one of the three of us on our team resigned, so really I've had triple the workload for the past month. Needless to say there has been no time for my build for many weeks, though back in late January I did make some progress on helmet painting, which will be included in my next build update. Another equally-surprising, yet welcome, blessing has been that two days ago (March 9, 2021) all of the employees at our College had the opportunity to receive our first dose of the Moderna vaccine. I understand that there are differing opinions on such things, but this has been a long-awaited sign of hope and step towards normalcy, for which I am very grateful. Time has definitely been on my mind lately. My BBB day was a year ago last week. One year of domestic and international distress and turmoil. New job duties a month ago, along with the title a week ago. My daughter turns two years old less than a month from now (she was seven months old when I began this journey) and will have her first birthday party. In fact, speaking of my daughter, she recently began identifying and speaking letter names, and guess what two of her first three letters were? T is for Trevor, our dog, and K is for kitty. When I took the below photo a month ago she also knew C, her first initial, but now she also knows M and D for mama and dada, and G for her cousin's name. For those of you that forgot that I periodically include non-build content in my thread, apologies for the rude awakening. =) I do try to keep everything related to my 501st journey in some way, and hopefully some of you will appreciate knowing where I've been the past two months. I promise to get back to my build in the near future; I'm anxious to hear some feedback on helmet paint issues I'm experiencing. Until next time, keep on trooping. MV 6 Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted March 11, 2021 Report Posted March 11, 2021 Great News Caleb!!! Glad to read things are going better for you and your family. Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted May 4, 2021 Author Report Posted May 4, 2021 (edited) MV (OP) Post #45: Tears and traps with traps and tears Lesson learned, folks. It pays to follow the general wisdom of painting multiple thin layers, rather than a single thick layer. I fell into the trap of following anecdotal luck and almost shed a tear or two while painting my helmet traps and tears. Don't be like me. Helmet traps Helmet tears Tips Questions Upcoming May the 4th Helmet Traps At long last I have another update, though I'm afraid I haven't really made any progress on my build, other than to finally make time to format and upload my photos, and write out this post. Continuing with my helmet, I set out to paint the black and gray on the rear traps and tears, and gray on the side traps which I had already painted black while fitting the brow trim. The perfectionist that I am, I wanted to use some form of template for the traps, but the Trooperbay masking templates didn't quite fit the bill, since I think the rear trap piece was designed for outlining with black paint after first painting the gray down. So instead I dug into my bin of supplies and found the Trooperbay decals shown in the first photo below. I had purchased these back in 2019 when I had planned to avoid hand-painting, but authenticity eventually won out in my mind. I figured that I could cut out the excel vinyl (or whatever the material is) and use it to mask my paint area. To check their size I traced their outline onto a clear plastic sheet (what I used for my eye lens template), cut them out, and test-fitted them onto the areas on my helmet. Satisfied with the fit, I traced around them in pencil to give me some guidelines for setting the makeshift templates. Below is the progression of the next steps in my process. In this previous post (scroll down) I described the paints I've been using, for late arrivals to this thread, they are Testors 1145 Gloss White, Testors 1139 Semi-Gloss Black, and Humbrol #5 Admiralty Grey. After setting the template and extra masking tape, I sealed in the edges with white, then followed up with the black. After 5-10 minutes of waiting, I peeled back the tape and cleaned up the edges with mineral spirits (end result not shown below). I repeated this process on the other trap, but unfortunately failed to realize that my trapezoid was a little lopsided, so I used some more decal cutout as a straight-edge, then added more black. After cleanup, it blends right in. If you compare the right end photo below with the one above you can see that the one above has a slightly more curved bottom edge; I will likely be remedying that in my next post. I then finished off one of the traps with the Humbrol #5 grey, hand-painted onto the black. Later on out decided that my black "outline" is a bit wider than I want, and doesn't appear quite proper with the outlines I have on my side traps and tears, so I'm hoping to paint another wider layer onto it, which I will ask questions about a bit later in this post. Next came the side traps. As already mentioned in my introduction of this post, I had previously painted the black while trimming and fitting the brow trim, so I only had the gray to do this time. I keeping with my recent success of a heavy-handed paintbrush, I laid down quite a bit of grey so as to maintain as smooth a surface finish as possible. At first everything appears perfect. But my "success" was only momentary. Actually, a couple days to be exact. I left the trap face-up to cure and it seems the paint pooled at the lowest point in the surface, at the trop right and at the leftmost edge, which I believe I discovered on the third day. The first photo of the compilation below shows the resulting wrinkles, which I was able to temporarily smooth away by rubbing it, but it always came back. The second photo shows it somewhat rubbed away. Then I had the brilliant idea of pressing that area down for the remainder of the curing time, so I found my decade-old oil-based modeling clay from college and pressed and clamped it to the surface. To protect my helmet and paint finish from the oily clay, and added a layer of cling wrap. Big mistake. In addition to clamping down the clay too hard, apparently the paint continued to shrink as it cured, so the cling wrap left a series of wrinkles in the paint. These can be seen in the last photo below, so in other light and angles, it sorta disappears, as shown in the second to last photo. To me, this paint job is unacceptable, so this is where I need input from all you experienced troopers. The way I see it, I have two options: Remove all the black and grey paint from this trap and start over. Sand down the wrinkles in the grey and paint another layer on top. To me, option #2 is attractive since I'm already very pleased with the overall shape of the black outline. If possible, I'd very much like to keep it. If I were to sand down all the wrinkles as well as the top and side edges of the grey, would another layer of grey on top appear smooth and seamless? Does anybody have any experience sanding this type of enamel paint? The photo below shows the width different between my two side traps, and ideally the second layer of gray on the right trap would have a little wider footprint than the first layer, in order to better match the left trap. Am I crazy for not simply removing all the paint (lots of mineral spirits!) and starting over? Helmet Tears Now that I've gotten that trap failure out of the way, on to an actually success story with my tears! After hand-painting both the black and grey layers, I was actually able to use the Trooperbay masking template for the lines. I followed the similar strategy of sealing the edges with the base coat color, in this case grey, then finishing with black on top. However, instead of painting the lines with the brush, I decided to try a technique that I saw @Cricket employ for her tube stripes. A makeup sponge! Essentially I brushed paint onto the end of the sponge, then patted it down in several light coats onto the helmet. This was my first time going light with paint, but it was important in order to 1) avoid excess paint being forced to break the edge seal with the template, and 2) to get a quick drying time in order to add multiple layers. After I believe three layers the black was sufficiently dark. And here were my results! A very clean hand-painted look if you ask me. I'm slightly bothered by the height difference between the left and right tears, but I've seen similar results before, so I can live with it. Besides, aren't these TK suits all about the tiny imperfections! A close-up shot to point out two things. Using the sponge left a slight texture in the lines which I'm unexpectedly happy with, since it is in contrast with the rest of the smooth surface. The raised surface of the template sticker also attracted a slightly greater amount of paint around the edges of all the stripes, which actually gives the perception that the stripes are recessed. Another accidental bonus! Yet to be determined if I was use this same method on my tube stripes, as I think I'm going to want them to be as smooth as possible. I have two pieces of advice to give, and they're very much related. Paint MULTIPLE LIGHT coats of paint, rather than a single heavy coat. I learned my lesson the hard way. LISTEN to those with more experience and wisdom. In fact, take this for life in general. Here are questions already mentioned in this post, but compiled and numbered here for ease of recollection and discussion. Should I remove all the paint on my right trap and start over, or sand down the grey and add another layer? Below are some close-up photos. If I were to down all the wrinkles as well as the top and side edges of the grey, would another layer of grey on top appear smooth and seamless? I would also like to narrow the black outline on one of my rear traps, and would like to sand down the edges of the grey to create a more smooth and level transition to the black paint before painting a second layer of grey. Does anybody have any experience sanding this type of enamel paint? Will mineral spirts be sufficient? Any overall thoughts on the thickness of my black outlines, particularly of my left-side trap and the tears, which is what I'm seeing to emulate on the other three traps? Trap paint completion Helmet face and cap assembly Finally, I thought some of you might appreciate this metal piece I saw at a local shop. It was actually reasonably-priced, but I didn't purchase it at the time, as it's not quite in the budget. But I may need to go back sometime... And I would be remiss for not making mention of today's date, so... May the force be ever in your favor. Ha. jk. May the 4th be with you. Always. Edited February 18, 2022 by MaskedVengeance typo corrections, section subtitles 3 Quote
CT 1977 Posted February 27, 2022 Report Posted February 27, 2022 On 5/4/2021 at 10:46 AM, MaskedVengeance said: MV (OP) Post #45: Tears and traps with traps and tears Lesson learned, folks. It pays to follow the general wisdom of painting multiple thin layers, rather than a single thick layer. I fell into the trap of following anecdotal luck and almost shed a tear or two while painting my helmet traps and tears. Don't be like me. Helmet traps Helmet tears Tips Questions Upcoming May the 4th Helmet Traps At long last I have another update, though I'm afraid I haven't really made any progress on my build, other than to finally make time to format and upload my photos, and write out this post. Continuing with my helmet, I set out to paint the black and gray on the rear traps and tears, and gray on the side traps which I had already painted black while fitting the brow trim. The perfectionist that I am, I wanted to use some form of template for the traps, but the Trooperbay masking templates didn't quite fit the bill, since I think the rear trap piece was designed for outlining with black paint after first painting the gray down. So instead I dug into my bin of supplies and found the Trooperbay decals shown in the first photo below. I had purchased these back in 2019 when I had planned to avoid hand-painting, but authenticity eventually won out in my mind. I figured that I could cut out the excel vinyl (or whatever the material is) and use it to mask my paint area. To check their size I traced their outline onto a clear plastic sheet (what I used for my eye lens template), cut them out, and test-fitted them onto the areas on my helmet. Satisfied with the fit, I traced around them in pencil to give me some guidelines for setting the makeshift templates. Below is the progression of the next steps in my process. In this previous post (scroll down) I described the paints I've been using, for late arrivals to this thread, they are Testors 1145 Gloss White, Testors 1139 Semi-Gloss Black, and Humbrol #5 Admiralty Grey. After setting the template and extra masking tape, I sealed in the edges with white, then followed up with the black. After 5-10 minutes of waiting, I peeled back the tape and cleaned up the edges with mineral spirits (end result not shown below). I repeated this process on the other trap, but unfortunately failed to realize that my trapezoid was a little lopsided, so I used some more decal cutout as a straight-edge, then added more black. After cleanup, it blends right in. If you compare the right end photo below with the one above you can see that the one above has a slightly more curved bottom edge; I will likely be remedying that in my next post. I then finished off one of the traps with the Humbrol #5 grey, hand-painted onto the black. Later on out decided that my black "outline" is a bit wider than I want, and doesn't appear quite proper with the outlines I have on my side traps and tears, so I'm hoping to paint another wider layer onto it, which I will ask questions about a bit later in this post. Next came the side traps. As already mentioned in my introduction of this post, I had previously painted the black while trimming and fitting the brow trim, so I only had the gray to do this time. I keeping with my recent success of a heavy-handed paintbrush, I laid down quite a bit of grey so as to maintain as smooth a surface finish as possible. At first everything appears perfect. But my "success" was only momentary. Actually, a couple days to be exact. I left the trap face-up to cure and it seems the paint pooled at the lowest point in the surface, at the trop right and at the leftmost edge, which I believe I discovered on the third day. The first photo of the compilation below shows the resulting wrinkles, which I was able to temporarily smooth away by rubbing it, but it always came back. The second photo shows it somewhat rubbed away. Then I had the brilliant idea of pressing that area down for the remainder of the curing time, so I found my decade-old oil-based modeling clay from college and pressed and clamped it to the surface. To protect my helmet and paint finish from the oily clay, and added a layer of cling wrap. Big mistake. In addition to clamping down the clay too hard, apparently the paint continued to shrink as it cured, so the cling wrap left a series of wrinkles in the paint. These can be seen in the last photo below, so in other light and angles, it sorta disappears, as shown in the second to last photo. To me, this paint job is unacceptable, so this is where I need input from all you experienced troopers. The way I see it, I have two options: Remove all the black and grey paint from this trap and start over. Sand down the wrinkles in the grey and paint another layer on top. To me, option #2 is attractive since I'm already very pleased with the overall shape of the black outline. If possible, I'd very much like to keep it. If I were to sand down all the wrinkles as well as the top and side edges of the grey, would another layer of grey on top appear smooth and seamless? Does anybody have any experience sanding this type of enamel paint? The photo below shows the width different between my two side traps, and ideally the second layer of gray on the right trap would have a little wider footprint than the first layer, in order to better match the left trap. Am I crazy for not simply removing all the paint (lots of mineral spirits!) and starting over? Helmet Tears Now that I've gotten that trap failure out of the way, on to an actually success story with my tears! After hand-painting both the black and grey layers, I was actually able to use the Trooperbay masking template for the lines. I followed the similar strategy of sealing the edges with the base coat color, in this case grey, then finishing with black on top. However, instead of painting the lines with the brush, I decided to try a technique that I saw @Cricket employ for her tube stripes. A makeup sponge! Essentially I brushed paint onto the end of the sponge, then patted it down in several light coats onto the helmet. This was my first time going light with paint, but it was important in order to 1) avoid excess paint being forced to break the edge seal with the template, and 2) to get a quick drying time in order to add multiple layers. After I believe three layers the black was sufficiently dark. And here were my results! A very clean hand-painted look if you ask me. I'm slightly bothered by the height difference between the left and right tears, but I've seen similar results before, so I can live with it. Besides, aren't these TK suits all about the tiny imperfections! A close-up shot to point out two things. Using the sponge left a slight texture in the lines which I'm unexpectedly happy with, since it is in contrast with the rest of the smooth surface. The raised surface of the template sticker also attracted a slightly greater amount of paint around the edges of all the stripes, which actually gives the perception that the stripes are recessed. Another accidental bonus! Yet to be determined if I was use this same method on my tube stripes, as I think I'm going to want them to be as smooth as possible. I have two pieces of advice to give, and they're very much related. Paint MULTIPLE LIGHT coats of paint, rather than a single heavy coat. I learned my lesson the hard way. LISTEN to those with more experience and wisdom. In fact, take this for life in general. Here are questions already mentioned in this post, but compiled and numbered here for ease of recollection and discussion. Should I remove all the paint on my right trap and start over, or sand down the grey and add another layer? Below are some close-up photos. If I were to down all the wrinkles as well as the top and side edges of the grey, would another layer of grey on top appear smooth and seamless? I would also like to narrow the black outline on one of my rear traps, and would like to sand down the edges of the grey to create a more smooth and level transition to the black paint before painting a second layer of grey. Does anybody have any experience sanding this type of enamel paint? Will mineral spirts be sufficient? Any overall thoughts on the thickness of my black outlines, particularly of my left-side trap and the tears, which is what I'm seeing to emulate on the other three traps? Trap paint completion Helmet face and cap assembly Finally, I thought some of you might appreciate this metal piece I saw at a local shop. It was actually reasonably-priced, but I didn't purchase it at the time, as it's not quite in the budget. But I may need to go back sometime... And I would be remiss for not making mention of today's date, so... May the force be ever in your favor. Ha. jk. May the 4th be with you. Always. Hey Caleb, great post and instructions! Thanks for taking the time to share. So, when I click on the link to the trooperbay.com, I get error messages. No matter which browser I use....is that site still up? I'm looking to find, buy, download, templates for traps and tears. Any recommendations or help would be greatly appreciated. Bill Quote
Chemi[Staff] Posted February 27, 2022 Report Posted February 27, 2022 hace 29 minutos, CT 1977 dijo: Hey Caleb, great post and instructions! Thanks for taking the time to share. So, when I click on the link to the trooperbay.com, I get error messages. No matter which browser I use....is that site still up? I'm looking to find, buy, download, templates for traps and tears. Any recommendations or help would be greatly appreciated. Bill Hi!!! Use these links... Templates: https://trooperbay.com/trooper-helmet-masking-templates Decals: https://trooperbay.com/decals/prop-replica-decals/star-wars-props/troopers-tk/classic-trilogy-stormtrooper-helmet-replacement-decals Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted March 1, 2022 Author Report Posted March 1, 2022 OP (MV) Post #46: Tribute to Terrell Reber, ATA Founder Terrell Nash Reber September 2, 1978 - November 30, 2021 November 30, 2021 marked a day of great sadness for the entire Stormtrooper and FISD community with the passing of @SuperTrooper Terrell Reber. Terrell served the community as the maker of Affordable Trooper Armor (ATA), and though I never had the chance to meet him, I did share a 48-message email string with him over the course of 12 months beginning in November of 2019. Despite questions that, I'm sure, reflected my novice status, Terrell was always a gracious veteran and quickly answered my questions en route to my first TK armor purchase and build. Though my ATA armor is still a work in progress, I hope to do his armor kit justice and eventually don a finished suit that Terrell would have been proud of. Following are some words from Troopers who knew Terrell personally. "If you were ever fortunate to have spoken with Terrell, you will know he had an affect on people. He had a way with words that made you feel like a lifelong friend, he was intelligent, talented, and believed everyone should have the opportunity to live out their Stormtrooper dreams. Terrell is a huge loss to our community in many ways. His service to FISD our members and the Legion at large will never be forgotten. Rest in peace good sir, and may the force be with you always." ~Andrew Franke @Sly11, Detachment Leader "It is with a heavy heart that I mourn the passing of Terrell Reber, who was my XO for many of the early years of FISD and later became DL in his own right. In that time, he contributed his insight and wisdom in many areas most particular in the areas of armor, molds, and armor making. He was the first person to find a legitimate, conflict free path to selling TE derived armor when he founded ATA. It may be hard to believe, but there was a time those years back when a decent set of FX armor was $1200 and TE type armor was hard to acquire from a reputable person. ATA changed much of that, and ATA set the bar for providing quality armor at an affordable price. Hence ATA: affordable trooper armor. He was very picky about quality and hunted for plastic suppliers who would provide virgin material with the right shade of white. He could have charged more and had a long wait list, however felt that would be against his principles. These days there are many options for people to procure quality TE type armor at an affordable price, and we have a solid list of reputable makers. It can be hard to believe that it wasn’t always this way, or that even having a public list of vetted armor makers was considered taboo. With a glance at a picture, he could tell you the make of the armor or helmet and could spot all the “tells” that was uncanny. He gave selflessly his experience and advice to FISD members time and again. However, most of all I will remember him as someone who was always there to take a phone call when needed. Who gave selflessly to this hobby that he loved. 43 is just too young. Buckets off, as I drain it of my tears." ~Paul Hoeffer @Daetrin, Detachment Founder "It was a shock to hear of the passing of Terrell Reber TK1787 "SuperTrooper" due to complications with Covid. For those that may not know, he was ATA (Affordable Trooper Aarmor) and for many years has supplied 501st members around the world with quality TK armour. Not only did he make great armour, but he was a former Detachment leader of FISD. [...] Our condolences go out to his family, friends." ~Glen Rhodes @gmrhodes13, PRO Newsletter Buckets Off. A Sad Day for FISD December FISD Newsletter 2021 Eternal Legionnaire Terrell's Obituary Sadly, only two weeks after his passing, Terrell's wife Tracie also passed, leaving behind their son, Tyler. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. 2 Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted March 1, 2022 Author Report Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) OP (MV) Post #47: Personal Life Update Today is March 1st, 2022 and my last thread post came on May 4th, 2021. What have I been up to, you might ask, so here is an update on my personal life. (Don't worry, an actual armor build update is coming immediately after this short personal post). In my March 11, 2021 post I mentioned having received a promotion at work, which was very exciting news on the financial front, but little did I know that I would remain an office of one (down from three employees) for the next six months. After a lengthy candidate search and three declined job offers I finally hired a new staff member at the end of August and we are now in the fifth month of a full-year training cycle. Extra hours at work, raising a toddler, and pandemic complications have kept me from my build until recently, but I now have actual progress to show. Read on in my next post. Of course, the absence of build progress was not indicative of the lack of Star Wars in our household. I gave my daughter her first Stormtrooper toy (a LARGE plush), followed soon after by her first donning of a WTF TK bucket I won in a raffle (isn't she a little short for a Stormtrooper, with the perfect head tilt?!). Boba made his annual Christmas tree appearance, this time joined by icicle Luke, and my wife's big Christmas present to me was a Black Series Mando helmet. She also adopted some gifted socks that were too small for me. Edited March 1, 2022 by MaskedVengeance image width adjustment 1 Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted March 1, 2022 Author Report Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) OP (MV) Post #48: Helmet Repainting In my previous build update I covered my initial painting of the helmet traps and tears, and while I was happy with the results of my tears, I was too heavy-handed with the paintbrush on the traps, and some paint wrinkling occurred. This update will include the following: Trap Repainting Frown Teeth Repainting Ear painting and Countersink Reinforcement Tips Helmet Interior Hardware Paint and Lens Polishing Faceplate and Cap Alignment (pre-attachment) Neck Opening Dimensions and S-trim Questions Upcoming Response to Comment Trap Repainting First up, repainting one of each of the rear and side traps. In both instances, I previously went too heavy with the enamel paint, resulting in some wrinkling. I was happy with the external profile and placement of the black "outlines" that I had painted before, so I decided to try to sand down the wrinkles on the grey, then repaint a second layer on top of the first one (as opposed to removing ALL the grey and black paint and starting fresh). Below is a photo progression of the process. First I put down two layers of tape around the perimeter of the sanding area in order to prevent scratches on the white ABS. Then I began with 220 grit sandpaper then worked my way to 600. I did not want to use any courser grit so as not to accidentally scratch too deep into the paint. After sanding I wiped the area clean with rubbing alcohol, removed the blue tape, then proceeded to hand-paint the gray portions again with Humbrol #5 gloss. Before painting the gray on the left-rear trap (which had been left black for the past year so that I could paint it at the same time as the right now) I also wanted to straighten out the bowed bottom edge that I had accidentally painted when using excess Trooperbay decal material as a template as documented in this post. Some blue tape, 91% isopropyl alcohol, and craft (popsicle) sticks later and I now have a sufficient bottom edge. On the right-side trap and the right-rear trap I also wanted to narrow the black outline, which essentially meant painting the grey out a little more. In order to minimize the first layer paint edge from creating a visible seam line on the new top coat, I sanded down the edges of the first coat to create a smooth gradient to the bottom black layer. I was also hopeful that the base layer of black underneath the new extended grey area wouldn't result in the grey appearing darker than the main center mass of the grey, and I think it looks just fine. The narrowed thickness of the black outline now better matches my left trap and the tears. With the base grey and black outline now complete on the rear traps, it was finally time to have a go at black vent lines. I decided to use the exact same strategy that I employed for my tears, using a TB masking template and sponge technique as documented by Cricket. Joseph also has a Template Painting 101 thread for those of you new to the craft. First I sealed the template with a thin layer of grey, and then I sponged on several coats of black. The top photos below show the state before cleanup with mineral spirts and toothpicks, while the bottom pair shows the initial final result. As can be seen when looking closely, this is where I ran into my first problem. Somewhere along the way I erred with paint thickness or drying time (I pulled the templates up within five minutes, which was surely too soon for drying), because when I pulled up the templates some of the painted extreme tips of the vents came up with them. After cleaning it up as best I could with mineral spirits, craft (popsicle) sticks, and toothpicks, I was still not satisfied, but I decided against free-hand painting the problem areas due to the finesse that would have been required. Unfortunately, in that moment I had to head off to work so I had to table the paint work and lose valuable cleanup TIME before the paint fully cured. After a day or two of deliberation busy life obligations I decided to try something crazy, which was to reuse the same already-used masking templates. Note that, at least back in 2020, Trooperbay included two sheets of each template, so technically I had some to spare, but I wanted to save my second set. Surprisingly, it worked ok, and though I did have to spend some time cleaning up paint that seeped under the template, I’m mostly happy with the end result, shown below. The first three photos show my process up close, first with what the reused template looked like before repainting, and then my cleanup tools (mineral spirts in a small bottle and DVI cable cap). This quad-photo below shows the traps before (left) and after (right) cleanup. It's not perfect, but I can live with it. In hindsight, I slightly wish I had used a standard template instead of "hand-painted" one, in order to achieve more uniformity. Frown Teeth Repainting I spent months debating whether or not to add more paint to the teeth, not due to the first coat being too light, but instead due to the teeth color stopping well before the gums. Essentially I was trying to decide whether the teeth needed more coverage, particularly at the bottom. In my heart I knew that answer was yes, but I was hesitant to potentially compromise the very smooth paint job I laid down with the first coat. I had certainly used borderline too much paint in order get a buttery smooth surface, but luckily didn't experience any wrinkling, likely due to there not being a concave surface for paint pooling (and instead a convex plane). This first triple-photo below shows the "before" state from my first found of painting a year ago. For a time I considered simply adding some paint at the bottoms of the teeth, but I knew I'd never be happy with a visible paint seam. I was also worried about a ridge at the edge of the undercoat being visible through the extended top coat. To test whether or not this would be an issue, I pulled out my trusty paint test strip of ABS that I'd used for various paint tests (paint thickness, opacity, finish, color, sanding, straight-line clean-up) in the past. I sanded down an edge of an old painted rectangle then painted a new later on top of both it and an un-sanded edge. Once it cured I noticed that a faint line of the bottom layer edge was visible in the top layer, which cemented my decision. To combat such a ridge I decided to very carefully sand down the edges of the original coat of teeth paint in order to create a more gentle taper to the unpainted portion of the teeth/gums (this was the same technique I used for my aforementioned fixed traps above). With edge sanding complete, it was time to dive into the new coat of Humbrol #5 gloss enamel. Rather than rely solely on and painting to masking tape like I did the first time, I elected to use a combination of freehand painting and masking this time, particularly since I know knew how easy it would be to clean up over-paint while it’s still wet. I decided to mask the tops of all except the center tooth since I wanted to maintain the top edge, and also added guide tape at the bottom of the teeth (shown in the before and after photos below) to mark the front edge of the frown curve. However, rather than paint to that bottom guide, I free-handed the bottom painted portion, ending well before the line. It was really more a point of reference. The goal of this repainting was to have a “full” frown when viewed from the front when previously some of the teeth looked like they were missing their bottoms. This before and after photo below shows the difference between post-sanding, after which a little bit of the edges of the teeth paint had been removed, and after they had been repainted. Notice how the paint extends lower, even compared to the very first photo in the triple-pane at the beginning of this teeth section. I think I succeeded in eliminating the appearance of white humps at the bottom of each tooth, as hoped for. The triple-photo below shows pre-cleanup teeth immediately after removing the masking tape, followed by larger images of my finished product post mineral spirit cleanup. I am now quite happy with the result. Ear Painting and Countersink Reinforcement While I had my paints out I thought I would also try my hand at painting the rank bar areas on my ears. I suspect that most builders usually do this after their helmet is assembled, but I wanted to take advantage of having the untrimmed ears sit flat on a table to maximize stability during the hand-painting process. I understood that I might make errors in my ear trimming so I painted all four of the ears that came with my ATA kit. Once I move on to trimming and sanding the ears I will cover up the painted area so as not to damage the finish during the constant handling and sanding process. Throughout my TK-building journey I’ve grown to appreciate the imperfections and abnormalities of this white armor, and one area I was intent on maintaining was the rectangular vs rounded edges of the painted ear areas. This was done very easily on my ATA armor and I essentially simply followed the form of the ABS. I laid down some masking tape on the four sides of each rank area then followed up my Testors 1139 semi-gloss black enamel paint application with some mineral spirit cleanup. I let the black layer cure for several days before returning with the Humbrol Gloss 5 gray enamel in order to allow me to clean up any mis-painting without impacting the black layer below. Similarly, I waited several days before returning to do the single black rank marking on each ear. Thoughts on my ear painting? For those of you interested in an alternative to painting these ear details, Trooperbay sells pinstripe tape and rank bar decals. Personally I almost caved on the rank bar lines since it took me three tries (wiping off the paint twice to start over) to get it to my liking. My method of paint application may have been a bit unconventional, using the large end of a toothpick and then cleaning up with the pointed end. Also related to the ears, a year ago when I used milliput for my hovi reinforcement and lens mounting I had some extra left over so I decided reinforce the inside of the ears where the mounting screws would need to be countersunk (for higher levels of approval). Here is what that looks like. Notice that in one ear I also painted over the milliput with Testors 1145 gloss white enamel, which apparently dried to a bit more of a cream color. I had planned to use that same paint for the various bits of armor hardware that needs to be painted, but not anymore. Instead I think I'll spray paint the screw heads similar to how Justin did it. Any tips on an appropriate white spray for the very cool white of ATA armor (I believe similar to WTF and AP)? I cannot stress this enough—NEVER EVER RUSH through paint application, or build steps in general. I've previously stated this advice in the past, but it's worth mentioning again. Your build is not a sprint; it's a marathon. In regards to paint work, if you have to ask yourself and deliberate whether or not you have enough time for preparation, application, and cleanup, then you probably don't. Take your time. Do things methodically. No shortcuts. Leave extra time to spar should something unforeseen arise. The context of this advice this time is that I rushed through my trap painting and didn't initially give myself enough paint clean-up time, and also cut it very close with my ear painting. Paint multiple thin layers. Every time I paint I keep attempting to walk a fine line between laying down barely enough paint for a smooth enamel finish, and too much which will result in wrinkling. In the past I experienced wrinkling twice while painting two of my traps, and this time I can extremely close with my ear painting. I applied just a little too much gray on my ears, which resulted in a few tiny pinholes (perhaps from air bubbles, which could have also been the result of poor paint stirring or brush technique). Interior Hardware Paint and Lens Polishing On my known to-do list was also painting the raw metal screw heads and washers inside my helmet so they would disappear into the rest of the black interior. I removed my lenses and hovi tips and sprayed the screw heads and exposed washer sides matte black, being careful not to paint the threading. I accomplished this by pressing them into a piece of cardboard to hold them steady and cover the threading. A long time ago I acquired some screw post covers, so after cutting them to length, they essentially black out the hovi posts. With the lenses off I also tried to polish them up since I scratched them up a bit while sanding the edges. At that earlier point in my build I didn't have any sanding experience and didn't realize how easily the lens material would scratch up. Using Novus 1 and 2 I was able to buff out some of the scratches, which I'm sufficiently happy with, but some do still remain. I used the Novus paper towels by hand, but would a polish drum for my dremmel provide a better solution? I have the three levels of Novus, but would another agent work better? Or perhaps I'd be better off sourcing some replacement lens material? The photo below shows pre-buffed lenses with tape covering the screw post holes to keep the Novus 2 paste from entering. Faceplate and Cap Alignment A long time back I had previously posted a mock-up for faceplate and cap alignment to inquire for feedback about brow height, but I wasn't yet ready to attach the pieces at that time, so we'll try it again now. Using Dan's excellent reference posts on helmet alignment and brow height, I set out to achieve proper alignment, with perhaps a slightly lower brow than the average Stunt trooper. I'll admit that I've always loved the menacing presentation of a lower Hero brow. So friends, what do you think of this? I'm sure @CableGuy has some thoughts, and I feel like I've seen @ABS80 comment on alignment in the past, though I admittedly am not working on an AP kit. I do know that some additional trimming around the edges of the pieces in the ear and neck area are still in order. The first quad-photo below, admittedly, utilized lights at a bad angle, so the brow looks deceivingly low due to shadows. The last photo provides a more accurate depiction. For attachment of the face and cap I'm intending to use two screws on each side, with washers and a regular nut. Would a locking nut or washer be better? I hope to place one screw somewhat between the top two ear-piece screws, and the other towards the bottom of the ear. I imagine this lower one should go above where the bottom ear screws in, correct, so as not to congest that area near the S-trim? Neck Opening Dimensions and S-trim Finally, in preparation for my helmet face/cap assembly, and ear trimming, I'm hoping to crowd-source some information on neck-opening sizes. I know that getting a helmet on often requires putting it on sideways then rotating, and that things can get tight quick, so I want to ensure I give myself enough room before making a final cut in my S-trim. Can any of you share measurements of how deep and wide your neck openings are, and what your recommendations would be for sizing? I'd hate to cut it too small then have to widen it up down the road and then have an insufficient length of S-trim. The first dual-photo below is an example photo of what I'm looking for, using a WTF bucket that I won from Stormtrooper Ranch last year (which has been helpful for hands-on observation). The second show my ATA faceplate next to the WTF. Are there minimum and maximum recommended opening sizes? As a reminder, this section contains all the questions I asked throughout the post, and sometimes also new ones which are generally listed first. I've always been hopefully that such a consolidation might increase the likelihood of them being remembered and answered. =) Are any improvements needed on my rear and side traps? Thoughts on my ear painting? Any deficiencies? Any tips on an appropriate white spray to match the very cool white of ATA armor (I believe similar to WTF and AP)? It seems both Testors 1145 and the Humbrol gloss white are both somewhat off-white. Would a polish drum for my Dremmel be the best solution to buff out scratches on my helmet lenses? Is Novus 1 and 2 the best buffing products to use on lenses? Would it be better to simply source some replacement lens material and cut new ones? What do you think about my faceplate and cap alignment? Is it ready for attachment? For attachment of the face and cap I'm intending to use two screws on each side, with washers and a regular nut. Would a locking nut or washer be better? I hope to place one screw somewhat between the top two ear-piece screws, and the other towards the bottom of the ear. I imagine this lower one should go above where the bottom ear screws in, correct, so as not to congest that area near the S-trim? Can any of you share measurements of how deep and wide your neck openings are, and what your recommendations would be for sizing? I'd hate to cut it too small then have to widen it up down the road and then have an insufficient length of S-trim. Are there minimum and maximum recommended opening sizes? Did you miss me? ;-) Not armor build related, but still relating to the hobby, do any of you have suggestions for a chrome spray paint? Faceplate and cap attachment (screws) Ear trimming and fitment Neck opening sizing and S-trim installation Tube stripe painting My completed ATA helmet build vs the WTF TK/TD I won from Stormtrooper Ranch And there we have it. My first real update in nearly a year. Here's to progress, and rebuilding momentum to continue my build and journey to the 501st! As a reminder, a specially-formatted (not just a webpage printout) downloadable PDF of my entire build thread to this point is contained in [THIS SHARED FOLDER]. The PDF will be updated within a day or two of my own new posts and will note sequential version numbers and revision dates. Additionally, I've now revisited all my previous posts on this build thread and updated (reduced) the image widths where single rows of two to four images bled onto a second row due to a narrowing of the whitearmor webpage to accommodate the activity column last year. In a web browser this thread should now display as originally intended. On 2/27/2022 at 2:38 PM, CT 1977 said: Hey Caleb, great post and instructions! Thanks for taking the time to share. So, when I click on the link to the trooperbay.com, I get error messages. No matter which browser I use....is that site still up? I'm looking to find, buy, download, templates for traps and tears. Any recommendations or help would be greatly appreciated. Bill @CT 1977 - Thanks for your kind words; I'm glad to hear my content has been helpful to you! Trooperbay is definitely still up and running, though ironically I faced a similar access challenge when attempting to navigate to the site from work. I think some filters block the site, and certain browsers might display security certificate issues. But Trooperbay is definitely the place to go, and this masking template link is working for me right now, as is the other one that Chemi linked to. You may also try utilizing a different device, such as a tablet or phone, if you've been on a computer. Edited March 2, 2022 by MaskedVengeance typo correction 4 Quote
CableGuy[TK] Posted March 1, 2022 Report Posted March 1, 2022 Great work, Caleb. Regarding the brow (as you asked), to me your’s has a clear gap between the eyes and the brow - that works for me. It’s the ones that touch or obscure the eye sockets that aren’t quite my cup of tea ;-)Your paint work has come out really nicely. Superbly documented, too. Best wishesDan Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted March 3, 2022 Author Report Posted March 3, 2022 Thanks Dan! Your stamp of approval is good enough for me! Now to just figure out exactly where to drill the holes and bolt together (particularly at the bottom). Quote
CT 1977 Posted March 12, 2022 Report Posted March 12, 2022 On 2/27/2022 at 3:06 PM, Chemi said: Hi!!! Use these links... Templates: https://trooperbay.com/trooper-helmet-masking-templates Decals: https://trooperbay.com/decals/prop-replica-decals/star-wars-props/troopers-tk/classic-trilogy-stormtrooper-helmet-replacement-decals Hey Caleb, thanks for this. it turns out my AVG Antivirus was blocking the website showing it was infected with a Trojan virus. I tried it on my iPad and was able to order it there. Again, great thread and very helpful...this is my go to thread now for painting my bucket! Swannee 1 Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted March 27, 2022 Author Report Posted March 27, 2022 (edited) OP (MV) Post #50: Quick Ear Update Just a quick update to say I've spent the last several weeks very slowly working on the ear and neck opening sections of the face plate and cap pieces of my bucket, as well as ear trimming. I decided to use one set of my ATA ears as a draft of softs, to help me hone in on final installation of the second set that came with my kit. We'll see how that goes; hopefully I don't have to source spare ears from previous ATA builders. Haha. I'm hoping to have a final helmet update several weeks from now. Talk about a snail's pace... Some residual questions from my previous post, in case anybody has any insight. Any tips on an appropriate white spray to match the very cool white of ATA armor (I believe similar to WTF and AP)? It seems both Testors 1145 and the Humbrol gloss white are both somewhat off-white. Would a polish drum for my Dremmel be the best solution to buff out scratches on my helmet lenses? Is Novus 1 and 2 the best buffing products to use on lenses? Would it be better to simply source some replacement lens material and cut new ones? Can any of you share measurements of how deep and wide your neck openings are, and what your recommendations would be for sizing? I'd hate to cut it too small then have to widen it up down the road and then have an insufficient length of S-trim. Are there minimum and maximum recommended opening sizes? Faceplate and cap attachment Ear trimming and fitment Neck opening sizing and S-trim installation Tube stripes Edited November 2, 2022 by MaskedVengeance typo Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted March 28, 2022 Report Posted March 28, 2022 On 3/27/2022 at 1:11 PM, MaskedVengeance said: Can any of you share measurements of how deep and wide your neck openings are, and what your recommendations would be for sizing? I'd hate to cut it too small then have to widen it up down the road and then have an insufficient length of S-trim. Are there minimum and maximum recommended opening sizes? Hi Caleb. Here are my Anovos Helmet aprox measurements . 9.5 Inch wide 7.5 Inchs deep 30 inch S-trim Length Helmet Reference images Hope this can Help. 1 Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted March 30, 2022 Author Report Posted March 30, 2022 On 3/28/2022 at 5:47 PM, TKSpartan said: Here are my Anovos Helmet aprox measurements . 9.5 Inch wide 7.5 Inch deep Thanks so much for those figures, Mario! Those seem to be right in the ballpark of where my pre-built WTF and in-progress ATA are. Once I finish the ear installation I'll make final trimming adjustments to the neck opening. 1 Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted October 26, 2022 Author Report Posted October 26, 2022 (edited) OP (MV) Post #52: A baby changes everything It's been a while troopers, for a build update at least. This short post is simply to say that I've made extensive progress on my build, and I'm in the process of compiling several thread updates for posting. In regular conversation some of you probably heard me give August, September, or October completion times, but something else has been occupying my time. Constantly moving targets over the past two years notwithstanding, I was really aiming to complete my build prior to the arrival of my second daughter, but both physical/time and mental barriers kept me from doing so. In fact, I worked right down to the wire before delivery, and on the day our baby was born (nearly three weeks early) I had stayed up until 2:21AM trimming and fitting pieces. Little did I know that we'd be heading to the hospital seven hours later, followed by virtually no sleep the next two nights (and coming weeks). Over the past two months I've picked back up my lexan scissors, sandpaper, E-6000, and daughter (HAHA), and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Helmet completion Faceplate and cap attachment Ear trimming and fitment Neck opening sizing and S-trim installation Tube stripes Biceps Forearms Edited October 26, 2022 by MaskedVengeance photo formatting 4 Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted October 26, 2022 Report Posted October 26, 2022 Congratulations for you new family member Caleb!! Great to see you're on the way . Step by step you'll reach the finish line brother. Looking forward for your advances. Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted October 26, 2022 Report Posted October 26, 2022 Congratulations on the new youngling addtion Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted December 15, 2022 Author Report Posted December 15, 2022 OP (MV) Post #53: Deadline I should have been in bed hours ago to help recover from the Flu/COVID-like symptoms that I, along with my entire household, have come down with, but I'm working on a tight deadline, @justjoseph63. More details in future posts, but I finished up some edge and screw sanding late tonight. And miles to go before I sleep... 5 Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted January 23, 2023 Author Report Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) OP (MV) Post #54: Helmet Completion You read that right. This post will cover the remaining steps in the assembly of my very first helmet. Note that internal padding and electronics will be covered in a later post. Supplies Resources CRL Helmet Alignment and Attachment Brow Trim Adjustment Extra Interior Paint Neck Opening and Attachment Trimming Ear Trimming and Painting Tube Stripes Neck S-Trim Final Helmet Exterior Questions Upcoming Pencil Masking tape Magnets Ruler Lexan scissors Xacto (hobby) blade Mounting hardware of your choice Mini trangular craft swabs (NEW, see photo below) Below are some resources links that I've previously posted when I first began my helmet work and are now particularly applicable with there I am in assembly. I've divided them into five categories: brow alignment, ears, example builds, tube stripe painting, extra build threads, plus a link to the FISD OT Gallery at the bottom. BROW ALIGNMENT Choose Your Brow Height by CableGuy (Print PDF) Helmet Alignment by CableGuy (Print PDF) EARS Helmet Ear Tutorial by gazmosis (Print PDF) Draw No Gap Ear Line by bpoodoo (Print PDF) Ear Placement by justjoseph63 (see particular posts) (Print PDF) EXAMPLE BUILDS pandatrooper's ATA Brow & Ear Section (Print entire thread PDF) Ales ATA Ear Section by Ales (Print entire thread PDF) ANH TE2 Helmet Build by TK-4510 TUBE STRIPE PAINTING Template Painting 101 by justjoseph63 (Print PDF) Tube Stripes by CableGuy (Print PDF) EXTRA BUILDS A.J.'s Helmet Work LTM's Helmet Work Cricket's Sponge Template Painting and Lid Work (several posts) zv288bot's Helmet Assembly, Scimitar's Excellent Helmet (Pages 1-3) wook1138 Helmet Progress Ensi's Helmet Work dereferenced's Photo-Heavy Posts plus Flickr album TheLorelei's Helmet Posts (across many pages) FISD OT Gallery (screen references and props used) Click image to enlarge, or navigate directly to the CRL. Helmet Alignment and Attachment To continue where I left off back in [insert month and link], while tackling my faceplate and cap alignment I had two goals: Set my brow-height at the lower end of the Stunt acceptable range; certainly not as low as Luke's Hero. Align the pieces in which away that enabled me to line up the ear screws with the rear edge of the side traps, as shown in the photo below. Though that latter goal may seem more ear-related rather than general helmet alignment related, it is relevant as I wanted to ensure I properly trimmed the cap edges so that its overlap seam with the faceplate would fall under and be obscured by the ears at the angle I wanted them to be set at. I also wanted to be sure position the screws for the face and cap in a way that would not hinder placement of the ear screws. Thus, before drilling holes for attaching the face and cap, I drew a light pencil line down from the trap rear edge to mark the lateral placement of the ear screws (knowing, of course, that the end result wouldn't be exact since I'd be somewhat at the mercy of pre-formed screw-hole dimples on the ear pieces). I also removed the ears from a WTF helmet to measure roughly where the ear screws would be placed vertically along my drawn line. If the ears are positioned as far up (high) as possible, touching the brow trim, then then top ear screw will be about 0.5 - 0.75 inches (1.27 - 1.91 cm) from the brow trim, and the second ear screw would be 1.75 - 2.00 inches (4.45 - 5.08 cm) from the brow trim. Once again, I realize this is only approximate, and the only reason I wanted to mark this on my helmet was to drill my face and cap attachment hole sufficiently away from the future ear screws areas. I then split the 1-inch (2.54 cm) difference between the ear screws area and drilled my face and cap attachment hold 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) forward from my pencil line. With the eventual addition of the two top ear holes, the three holes will essentially form a triangle. And here we have my bucket with face plate and cap attached and with magnet sachets removed for the first time. I used some extra screws, washers, and locking nuts from my lens installation, rather than rivets, to give me ease of disassembly in the future. Eventually all the internal hardware will be painted black to match the rest of the helmet interior. While I had the WTF ears off the other bucket I laid them over the top of my ATA helmet sizes to gauge what the form of the ears would cover on my cap piece so I could determine how much more plastic to trim. I had previously trimmed the flashing of my pieces very conservatively, so after taking the photos shown above I disassembled the helmet pieces and trimmed a little more ABS around the cap ear areas and the neck opening on both helmet pieces. Note that I placed blue tape over my painted traps to project against any nicks from my scissor tips. Here is where I landed after this next round of trimming. I figured I could still open up the neck area even more, but before doing so I wanted to get a basic form of my ATA ears in place, so I left things as is. Brow Trim Adjustment Through the many hours of my helmet assembly I had no doubt observed the tiny details of the sculpt and assembly details. One tiny insignificant detail that I wanted to address was one that I’d never before seen any other builder do, but once I had the idea in my head, I couldn’t rid myself of it. And what was this, you may ask? The flushness of the end of the brown trim with the helmet at the rear edge of the side traps. OCD me wanted that little tiny gap to disappear, so I set out to create a spacer on the inside of the helmet to pull the rubber brow trim right up against the cap piece. I trimmed some ABS scraps that already had a curve in them and E-6000ed them to the cap. Viola! Very clean looking if you ask me. Note that I was aware of the impact that adding a thin spacer on the inside of the cap would be. The faceplate would no longer be able to sit as flush up against the cap with the spacer in place, but I figured that added span would be easily masked with the ear pieces in place. Easily curable with a slight deeper cutout step at the top of the ear pieces. Extra Interior Paint While I had the face and cap pieces disassembled I added a little extra pint to the interior of the helmet. After finally attaching the two halves of the helmet an unpainted section was left exposed. My original can of truck bed liner spray was on fumes, but it got the job done. Neck Opening and Attachment Trimming Before moving onto the actual ears I needed to get the faceplate and cap to fit more harmoniously with each other, so first I widened the neck opening a bit, mainly on the cap piece. I added a second screw on the right side to encourage a better fitment then proceeded to evaluate the next trimming steps. Below are some before-after photos of additional trimming for both sides of the helmet. I always marked my intended trim lines with pencil to prevent accidental over trimming. Without pencil markings a reference, it can be easy to get carried away and shave off too much—something worth remembering for your entire build. At this point I had some rough-trimmed ears to use to help guide my trimming, and I used my heat gun for forming purposes for the first time. I needed a bottom section on the right-side cap to curve inwards a bit more, so I “insulated” the surrounding area with popsicle sticks (not sure if it was effective). Still not entirely happy with the form on both sides, I used an xacto blade to actually thin the plastic to create more of a flush surface at the seams. More on this again in the next EARS section! Ear Trimming and Painting Undoubtedly the ears had been a mental barrier for me for the past year, but the time had finally come, so I reviewed the helmet and ear resources I had saved (some of which are listed at the top of this post) and set to work. ATA ears have very minimal, and in some areas practically non-existent, ear trim lines fabricated into the pieces which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. My goal has been to line up the ear screws with the rear edge of the side traps, but that’s not how all builders assemble their kits, so there truly can’t be any one-size-fits-all ear trim lines. In this case of not having distinct guide lines I actually had fewer limitations on cutting locations. The trickiness of ear completion is rooted in the three-dimensional nature of the form, thus requiring trimming on the x, y, and z axes. And, because of the diversity in cap and faceplate tolerances and installation placement, there’s really no template or guide to use when trimming ears. It really simply comes down to trial and error. The perfectionist and “engineering” side of me went to work. Rather than utilize methods such as using a compass or aluminum foil, I decided to employ an elementary (literally) technique—paper mache. Essentially I would create a paper mold atop a “good enough” rough trimmed ear, and then use that mold to trim the final ear. I decided that it may be helpful to have several spare ears on hand to help perfect the technique, so I reached out to recent ATA builders to ask if they had any they could spare. (INSERT TAGGED users) @Cheeseballs, @Cali_Nole, @PajamaTrooper, answered the call, and @Cricket even sent me an old pair of RS ears. In the end I acquired five individual ATA ears, all pulled (vac-formed) from within a year of my own armor and thus all a color-match. Iza @Cheeseballs even sent me the awesome cartoon below: (And no, @Morgi, you cannot have my ears.) The first thing I did was to pencil-mark the very faint trim lines on one of my original pairs of ATA ears (ATA kits ship with two pairs), which I had already painted black on for practice. I then proceed with trimming to the lines using lexan scissors and an xacto blade. No dremmel at this point. After attaining a rough profile that was acceptable, though most definitely not the ear gaps I was after, I aligned the ears with the traps and drilled the mounting holes. I recalled seeing a technique involving drilling the holes in the ear pieces and installing tall screw posts in the cap in order to maintain proper and consistent ear placement when sanding and test fitting, shown in the photo below. With the “guide post” screws inserted from the inside of the cap I proceeded with some further trimming, and the following images reflect where I landed. Notice the ear gaps are quite pronounced due to first-time-builder over-trimming, but they would be rendered moot by the forthcoming paper molds. Happy with the semi-final profile and placement of the ears, I then moved into the paper mache phase. But first a brief explanation on why I opted for a paper medium. I had considered using molding silicone but thought it might be too messy, and the ear gaps would have posed leakage problems. I also desired to stay away from any recasting appropriateness discussions, and hence fell back on paper, and more specifically, toilet paper / bath tissue. Haha. I prepped my helmet in a wash bin, poured some water in a small container, and raided a bathroom closet for some low quality toilet paper leftover from the beginning of the pandemic. I then set alternating layers or wet and dry toilet paper atop the ears and the surrounding helmet area. The goal of this was to capture a true form of the seam between the helmet and ears, so I paid special attention to the borders of the ears where they rested on the helmet. Here is a three-stage photo sequence showing layering in progress, the completed wet mold, and the final dried product. Note that I poked hold in the wet mold so that I would later being able to discern proper seating upon the ear. As shown below, the edges of the hold did pull up from the helmet surface, due to shrinkage while drying, but the edge form capture remained most uncompromised. Here is what the inside of the paper molds looked like. Notice that even the screw head forms were captured by the mold. If I recall correctly, complete drying took between 24-48 hours, and once that was done I laid the molds over another set of fresh ears and traced the form line over via pencil. For redundancy to check my work, I then also formed two layers of aluminum foil over the helmet and ears and compared the resulting form lines to those from the toilet paper molds. As shown in the last photo ABOVE, there were some slight discrepancies between the paper and foil lines, so when I proceeded with actual ear plastic trimming I stayed conservative and followed the more shallow lines. Note that in the photo above, the ear pieces are actually a color match; there was simply some white-balance issues while photographing. With the molds complete, I was also able to determine that one of the spare ears that I had acquired was already over-trimmed for my purposes, as shown below. I then proceeding with trimming out new ear forms, which I actually planned on being a second draft of sorts. I estimated that there may be some inaccuracies with my rudimentary molds, and that I may also simply make errors due it being my first real attempt at close form fitting. (Recall that with the first set of ears I cut for molding purposes, I paid virtually no attention to the helmet-ear gaps). Here are some photos AFTER trimming with an xacto blade but BEFORE fine-tuning sanding; honestly, already passable as-is, if you ask me. Before moving on to trimming and sanding my final set of ears for actual use, I had initially decided to paper mold all my remaining new ears simply to double check that their profiles were all identical to begin with. Finding that they were, and behind quite happy with the results of my second draft ear sanding with negligible gaps, a new thought dawned on me. Rather than reusing my original paper mold for my final ears, or even remolding the helmet with my second draft ears, and could simply remove my second draft ears from the helmet, place them inside the new molds, and trace the ear edge/trim line onto the inside of the paper mold. I could then cut the paper molds along the lines and then place those molds atop brand new ears and trace the outline back onto the ears. I suspect that sounds really complex in writing, and as of now, I have not actually executed that process (other than molding the ears as shown below). To this point, the ears shown attached to the helmet above (with red background) were intended to be intermediate ears that we then be replaced by final ears. However, they turned out so well that, coupled with working on a tight deadline over the past two weeks (January 2023), I elected to keep them. There is a stray hobby blade slice that is visible upon close inspection, that that imperfection may push me to eventually redo the ears, but for now I can live with it. At one point in my build I wanted to be able to done my helmet so I actually painted up these intermediate ears, minus the rank bars. I had recently discovered little craft swabs, which looked line minimalistic and dangerously pointy q-tips, and worked GREAT for paint edge cleanup. Just dip them in a little mineral spirits and crisp straight lines are achieved in no time! Some of you may recall me having previously painted ears as documented in this post, and those were to be the FINAL ears, which remain unused at this time until I get motivated back into action. You'll notice in the ears above that there were not yet mounting holes at the bottoms of the ears so I went back and drilled them at the pre-molded areas, starting first with a small drill bit then working up in size. I think used a countersinking tool (TURNING BY HAND) to properly cradle the screws (required for higher levels of approval). To restate, DO NOT countersink using a drill or you will likely bore all the way through the soft plastic. To finish off ear installation, I spray painted the six screws with white glossy white paint and a clear enamel. I'll dive more deep into this paint process when I touch on painting the rivets for my ab and kidney armor pieces. Tube Stripes For the past several years I had intended to hand-paint my tube stripes, but when I realized that there were actually ANH-style decals that individual stripe pieces instead of one large piece of vinyl (like ESB), I changed course. There's no way I'd be able to paint, even with a template, as clean as a decal, so I purchased a set from Trooperbay (link to be added later). In preparation for application, I cleaned off the helmet tube surface with isopropyl and let it air dry for a few minutes. * Note, I've since redone my frown teeth paint job, so disregard the teeth paint. * Two of the critical factors in tube stripe application are 1) Orientation of the stripes, and 2) distance from the top of the tube/edge of the fact. First, orientation. As shown in the image below and documented by Dan "CableGuy" in this thread, the stripes should tilt or fall forward towards the front of the helmet, as opposed to appearing to be leaning backwards. Once proper orientation of the left and right sets are determined, proper placement must then be judged. The edge of the stripes are to be roughly one pencil's width from the edge of the face of the helmet, and so for my build to trimmed my decal paper to match that space. See the first photo below showing the pencil, and note that that particular decal is for the wearer's right side of the helmet. I then ran a pencil eraser over the top of each stripe to ensure maximum adhesion with the top layer of "contact paper." Convenient to have a pencil so handy. Next was to peel off the topper, and hopefully the stripes would peel off the backing paper with it. I peeled up at an angle, say perhaps 45-degrees, instead of straight parallel with the length of the decal. A few times the stripes didn't immedialy pull up, but in those cases I simply lowered the top sheet back down and and tried pulling from the other edge (essentially just changing from 45 degrees on one side to 45 degrees on the other side). In the end each stripe pulled up very well. After trimming the top rear corner of the decal paper to gain clearance from the ear (next photo below), I carefully placed the decal down onto the helmet. Screen-used helmets had varying numbers of stripes on the sides, and I opted to use all 16 stripes on Trooperbay's left-side decal, and 15 stripes on the right side. I then got my handy eraser back out and scrubbed it over the decals again to maximize their adhesion to the helmet surface (see photo below). This would hopefully combat them from peeling up with the top contact paper. Here is the final result on one side of the helmet, and I was equally satisfied with the other side as well. Neck S-Trim The final component of my helmet build was to install the S-shaped trim around the opening of the neck. Note that some armor makers provide trim that has a U-profile rather than S, but the S-profile trim (shown in the first photo below) is required for higher levels of approval. Another point of nuance is that some builders place the seam of the trim at the back of the helmet, but it's actually most hidden when set in the front at the Vocoder paint. This area of the helmet is so recessed that it's impossible for onlookers to see, while a seam in the back would, in fact, be visible. When fitting the trim it's important to try to pack it as tight as possible in order to maximize tension and thus retention. Start with one end at the Vocoder area (close-up shown below), and squeeze it onto the the helmet, trying to get as deep a fitment as possible. Once you've wrapped it all around, before cutting it to length, go back and try to squeeze more tension by working around the whole length again. You may be surprised to find that you were able to compress an addition 1cm to 1-inch onto the helmet the second time. Once you've done this you may now cut the excess trim, and I would recommend adding in an extra 1cm in length just in case. You can then try to compress it again, and if absolutely necessary, cut it shorter if it simply won't fit. Better to have to cut again then cut too short the first time. On the wide shot above you'll see that the inside of the trim may "bubble" away from the rest, which is due to the curvature of the inside edge, which is technically shorter than the outside edge. If this is really bothersome to you, you could consider gluing those areas down with E-6000. Final Helmet Exterior The big reveal. Moment of truth. Final product. Here is my first ever build helmet! This next set of images more closely reflect what my helmet now looks like after receiving feedback for my Expert Infantry (Level 2) submission. I was asked to remove some paint from the bottoms of the teeth, as it appeared to extend onto the gums. I also took the opportunity to "re-form" the end tips of the frown. First Attempt: Second/Final Update: Helmet interior ATA vs WTF Comparison Forearm pieces Printable/downloadable PDF of my entire build thread to this point contained in [THIS SHARED FOLDER]. The PDF will typically be updated after each new post and will note sequential version numbers and revision dates. Edited January 23, 2023 by MaskedVengeance 5 Quote
revlimiter[Staff] Posted January 23, 2023 Report Posted January 23, 2023 Holy heck, the paper ear molds are amazing. I never considered doing that. You might think about giving that step its own thread in one of the armor sections. Just brilliant! And the little spacer for the brow trim is also brilliant. My bucket may be getting that soon. Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted January 23, 2023 Author Report Posted January 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, revlimiter said: Holy heck, the paper ear molds are amazing. I never considered doing that. You might think about giving that step its own thread in one of the armor sections. Just brilliant! And the little spacer for the brow trim is also brilliant. My bucket may be getting that soon. Yeah I think eventually I'm going to pull out all my helmet content into it's own thread someday, but perhaps even the ear technique would be worth it. Just be aware that the brow spacer impacts the cap-face gap, so you may need to adjust the notches in your ear pieces. 1 Quote
Morgi[Staff] Posted January 23, 2023 Report Posted January 23, 2023 vor 45 Minuten schrieb MaskedVengeance: (And no, @Morgi, you cannot have my ears.) Sure I can't have them? Looks good so far! Quote
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