MintImperial’s Newbie WTF TK Build

[MintImperial[TK]]

Hi folks.

 

I’m just getting started. Though I feel like I’ve been trimming ears for a decade or so.

 

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

To start off, here’s the E-11 from Kassaraptor that I’m working on on the side.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looks like you are off to a great start, ears are the worst.

 

Nice looking blaster.

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress, good luck

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

4 hours ago, MintImperial said:

I’m just getting started. Though I feel like I’ve been trimming ears for a decade or so.

 

Great start. BTW ears are a nightmare , but not impossible.  

[MintImperial[TK]]

I’m really just getting started. Would love to get your feedback on my WIP bucket.

 

Have I trimmed my eyes and teeth ok?

 

Do you think I’m ready to start painting the frown yet?

 

Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom.

 

 

 

 

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

Here’s where I’ve got my ears. Does the angle look ok?

 

 

 

I’m a bit worried about the backside bottom of the right ear. I’ve trimmed three sets now and they’ve all ended up this shape. Is it acceptable?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Eyes could do with a little more trimming. When in doubt check the gallery sections

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Angle of ears is looking good, a helpfull trimming thread here 

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

God, the ears!

 

Thank you, gmrhodes13, for your crazy fast feedback.

 

For the eyes, did you mean could do with more meat or more trimming?

[MintImperial[TK]]

Here’s where I’m at with ears. 

 

I’m happy for them not to be perfect as I prefer something more authentic.

 

Also going for thinner ears. But are they too thin?

 

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

Details are a bit soft on the vocoder. Do these lines look about right for painting?

 

Edited July 2, 2021 by MintImperial
fixing a typo

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

14 minutes ago, MintImperial said:

God, the ears!

 

Thank you, gmrhodes13, for your crazy fast feedback.

 

For the eyes, did you mean could do with more meat or more trimming?

Yes more trimming, be amazed howuch more view you will have 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 minutes ago, MintImperial said:

Details are a bit soft on the vocoder. Do these lines look about right for painting?

 

Looks good, some nice references

 

http://www.starwarshelmets.com/original-ANH-Stunt-Stormtrooper-armor-helmets.htm

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

The DaveM helmet!

[CallMeMrTibbles[501st]]

All the best with your build.

Hope you enjoy the process as much as the finished article!

 

Might have missed it, but are you building stunt or hero armor?

 

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

Thank you, CallMeMrTibbles.

 

This will be a stunt build.

[MintImperial[TK]]

OK. So, I’ve trimmed the eyes out quite a bit more.
 

Took the DaveM helmet as the inspiration.

 

 

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to drill holes to line up with my ear holes, so I taped my ears into position and drilled through the existing holes.

 

Of course, they match up nicely now, but I ended up drilling out the nice countersunk hollows I’d created earlier.

 

So I created a little reinforcement plate behind each hole, glues in place with ABS paste, which I also used to fill up the holes, ready to start again.

 

That should hold ’em.

 

[MintImperial[TK]]

On 7/3/2021 at 6:46 PM, CallMeMrTibbles said:

All the best with your build.

Hope you enjoy the process as much as the finished article!

 

Might have missed it, but are you building stunt or hero armor?

 

 

Btw, Glen, congratulations on your FISD Achievement Award.

[Sly11[Admin]]

Just make sure you give those eye sockets a light sand so you dont have sharp edges or any lose material. If you put fans in your bucket a a small piece drops in it can get spun out of a fan and into your eye. Not a pleasant sensation at all, and you dont want to have to remover your helmet in public and spoil the illusion for the kids.

Build is looking good so far, keep up the great work James.

[MintImperial[TK]]

On 7/8/2021 at 2:58 PM, Sly11 said:

Just make sure you give those eye sockets a light sand so you dont have sharp edges or any lose material. If you put fans in your bucket a a small piece drops in it can get spun out of a fan and into your eye. Not a pleasant sensation at all, and you dont want to have to remover your helmet in public and spoil the illusion for the kids.

Build is looking good so far, keep up the great work James.

Thank you for that sage piece of advice.

[MintImperial[TK]]

My build is progressing in fits and starts.

 

In resolving a problem with the left & right sides of my ab plate not being the same length

(thread here:

 

I’ve shortened my kidney plate, butt plate and back plate to better fit my 5’8” frame.

 

Shortening the back plate was terrifying as I knew I wanted to keep some return edge on it.

 

I needed to take just over half an inch off it, as indicated in the markings below.

 

 

The lower pencil line was my cut line. The upper line was where I wanted to create new return edge using a heating iron.

 

Given the extreme curve of this piece, I was expecting a lot of buckling as I folded the material under.

 

And the result was every bit as disastrous as I feared, with pronounced buckling all along the curve.

 

 

Despite the horror show above, I’m still confident I can save it now that I have the basic shape I wanted.

 

(Btw, the overall fit is so much better now. The straps no longer stick up over my shoulders.)

 

After letting it rest for a day or two, my first approach will be to heat it up again, small portion at a time and try to flatten each part with a clamp before moving along.

 

If that doesn’t work, I will let it rest again and try plan B: making small cuts so that i can fold the layers slightly over each other (like tabs in paper engineering)

 

and again try to flatten them by squishing them together with clamps.

 

Plan C is to fill the hollows with ABS paste and grind it all out for a nice smooth curve.

 

The only thing part I’m really concerned about is the “dent” about 1/4 of the way along from the left, where I folded the material too high up.

 

I’m hoping to correct this very slowly in a few passes, pressing against a round buck that I have.

Edited September 15, 2021 by MintImperial
typos

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

It does take some practice, clamping small areas after heating will definitely help, good on you for taking the plunge, looking forward to seeing your progress

[MintImperial[TK]]

 

First pass with the clamps was a success.

 

Still a long way to go but I’ve reduced the buckling by one order of magnitude.

 

It may not look like it here but it’s already way better than before.

Edited September 16, 2021 by MintImperial
typo

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking good so far, James!  The underside doesn't have to be perfectly flat (no one sees that anyway) but can you add a photo of the back and posterior plate together?  That will give us/you a better idea of how much more work needs to be done.  Keep up the great work, sir.  You can do this, and we can help!