Swannee's Pre-Approval Thread

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, ears are the worst so make sure you read up on those before you start trimming, some great tips in those links I previously posted  

[CT 1977]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Looking good, ears are the worst so make sure you read up on those before you start trimming, some great tips in those links I previously posted  

oh yeah, I've been looking at them and found another good one on You Tube. Funny story...I got to looking at the 4 ears I got from ATA and almost panicked that they were all the same. But once I took a better look, it was clear which was which.

[CT 1977]

Just now, CT 1977 said:

oh yeah, I've been looking at them and found another good one on You Tube. Funny story...I got to looking at the 4 ears I got from ATA and almost panicked that they were all the same. But once I took a better look, it was clear which was which.

oh yeah, thanks for taking a look and spending the time on a Sat & Sun to help me out.

[CT 1977]

The teeth didn't come out as well as I had hoped. I ended up taking a bit too much out and had to carefully compensate. Pretty followed Paul's technique using the Dremel barrel sander to open the holes then worked them with the needle files. I found that the far right/left tooth holes were easier to use a 5/64 drill bit with a very slow rotation then clean it out and shape it again with needle files. Comments, thoughts, improvements or changes I should make, just let me know.

 

 

 

[CT 1977]

I just traced out the ears but will wait to the next session to start trimming and fitting.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Better to trim less than to trim too much at first, it's a long tedious process

[CT 1977]

Thanks, Glen. That's pretty much what my research has shown too. Its telling that the kit comes with two sets of ears. 

[CT 1977]

I set up my dremel in the vice and used it like a grinding wheel. I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of this but it really helped. I was able to control the grind much better.

 

I started with the left ear as I've heard the right ear is harder...not quite sure where I read or heard that but went that direction...just in case.

 

 

I pretty much followed Paul's lead in just using screws for the faceplate to helmet and I'm glad I did. I had some adjustments to make that made a big difference in how the ears fit.

 

 

 

My plan is to make adjustments to the right side then fit the ear. Once that's done then I'll work on getting the faceplate done then paint the inside, rivet the faceplate to the helmet and attach the ears. THEN...figuring out what kind of helmet fit apparatus I want to use...padding or hard hat helmet liner.

The paint I'm planning on using is below. Anyone tried this one? Any reason I should look at something else?

 

As always, I'm open to suggestions and ideas so please feel free to post - Thanks!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, minimal gaps, looks great

[CT 1977]

Thanks, Glen. I was going for no gaps, which I plan to end up with when I put it all together.

[Brew12[TK]]

6 hours ago, CT 1977 said:

Thanks, Glen. I was going for no gaps, which I plan to end up with when I put it all together.

Your ear looks great! What method did you use to do the initial trace? Did it take much in the way of adjustment after the initial trim?

[CT 1977]

20 hours ago, Brew12 said:

Your ear looks great! What method did you use to do the initial trace? Did it take much in the way of adjustment after the initial trim?

Thanks, Steven. Ha, yeah. trim, look, measure repeat 500 times. It's not really completely done. Another trooper, Paul, had the idea to bolt the face and helmet together, get everything fitted and done then rivet all together, which is what I plan to do and, especially with the ears, make the final..."surgical" adjustments. Much was done with small files ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YCC28NF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) that I bought at Amazon for $25...really perfect for this kit. Also, I took my Dremel and put it in a vice and used it like a mounted grinding wheel to make smaller, more controlled adjustments. I gotta tell you I was pretty nervous about it, still am a bit but not as much as before. I poured over all the ear tutorials. Panatrooper has a build that was helpful...even though it was 10 years ago it's still appropriate 

. Good luck with your build and I've learned there's plenty of experience armor builders out that are more than willing to help. This is my first build but if I can help at all just let me know.

[CT 1977]

Just now, CT 1977 said:

Thanks, Steven. Ha, yeah. trim, look, measure repeat 500 times. It's not really completely done. Another trooper, Paul, had the idea to bolt the face and helmet together, get everything fitted and done then rivet all together, which is what I plan to do and, especially with the ears, make the final..."surgical" adjustments. Much was done with small files ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YCC28NF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) that I bought at Amazon for $25...really perfect for this kit. Also, I took my Dremel and put it in a vice and used it like a mounted grinding wheel to make smaller, more controlled adjustments. I gotta tell you I was pretty nervous about it, still am a bit but not as much as before. I poured over all the ear tutorials. Panatrooper has a build that was helpful...even though it was 10 years ago it's still appropriate 

. Good luck with your build and I've learned there's plenty of experience armor builders out that are more than willing to help. This is my first build but if I can help at all just let me know.

I forgot to answer your first question...I traced out the cut lines and used standard tin snips to cut well below the line then made many small grinds and files along the way. One of the biggest helps was to make a small cut-out for where the helmet joins the faceplate, that really helped it comply.

[CT 1977]

Cool, I got a promotion

[CableGuy[TK]]

Nice work on the helmet so far :-)

If I may, your left eye (when worn) has a bit of a bulge. I’d consider evening it out a little for a more typical appearance.

Whilst you are there, you could consider squaring off the corners a little. As below, the eyes for ANH stunt helmets were quite angular.







Glen provided some additional eye references before, also. They also show the same angular nature of the eyes. This gives the helmet a more menacing look, as apposed to the soft, friendlier look of softer, more rounded eyes. :-)

[CT 1977]

On 4/5/2021 at 3:15 AM, CableGuy said:

Nice work on the helmet so far :-)

If I may, your left eye (when worn) has a bit of a bulge. I’d consider evening it out a little for a more typical appearance.

Whilst you are there, you could consider squaring off the corners a little. As below, the eyes for ANH stunt helmets were quite angular.







Glen provided some additional eye references before, also. They also show the same angular nature of the eyes. This gives the helmet a more menacing look, as apposed to the soft, friendlier look of softer, more rounded eyes. :-)

Hey Dan, that's a huge help, thanks so much. I'm always open to any tips and advice. I'm putting together my materials for lenses and frown mesh now. I'll be basing it on Paul's idea (or Paul's use of another troopers idea) of using standoffs and JB welding putty. I'm planning on using "Plastidip" for the black coating on the inside of the lid. I'm always open to any advice so keep'em coming.

[CT 1977]

Since I first started building my ANH Stunt bucket (and probably long before) I always wondered as to the official design and technical features of the helmet. I found this image online and wanted to post here and see what the real experts have to say about it.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

There are also these images, 3D files are available for this too also here

 

[CT 1977]

11 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

There are also these images, 3D files are available for this too also here

 

Good stuff, Glen...I love it! Thanks!

[CT 1977]

I had planned to fix the eyes then work on installing the stand-offs for the lenses but thought I'd post the photos first to see what you guys think (Glen & Dan). I ended up taking more material from the left eye outside corner than I wanted. The other aspect I became aware of was to make sure the inside and outside corners were even on top and bottom so that the lenses would sit flush and without gaps.

 

 

 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

1 hour ago, CT 1977 said:

The other aspect I became aware of was to make sure the inside and outside corners were even on top and bottom so that the lenses would sit flush and without gaps.

Nice work so far Just wanted to say that you don’t have to worry to much about gaps as it helps airflow and thus reduce the risk of the lenses fogging up 

Edited April 24, 2021 by TheSwede

[CT 1977]

1 hour ago, TheSwede said:

Nice work so far Just wanted to say that you don’t have to worry to much about gaps as it helps airflow and thus reduce the risk of the lenses fogging up 

Cool, thanks Dan! That's great advice. I'll be working on the lenses next, setting up the standoffs then spray the inside with plasitdip. 

[CT 1977]

Here are some pic's of setting up the standoffs that will hold the lenses in place. I liked the way that Paul used the standoffs but he he used sugru and I used JB Weld, mostly because I thought I was a bit more familiar with that type of epoxy. Looking at Paul's build, it looks like sugru might be the better way to go as it looks like I'll be adding at least two more coats to build up to be strong enough. Tomorrow I'll add the second coat...more photos to come.

 

 

 

[CT 1977]

Oh yeah, my goal is to have my armor complete by May 4, 2022. Yeah, a year off but with home projects and beer brewing, I hope I can meet that deadline.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work with the teeth, you could just match up the two center teeth, one is trimmed out a little more than the other