TK ANH Stunt by CloseTheBlastDoor

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

This is what I have for the teeth trimming, does it look OK? I hope the photos are clear enough.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

 

5 hours ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Does "last" mean from left to right on either ear, or does it mean towards the back of the helmet? And the choice of which ear is up to me?

Correct, you can see on the references I've posted earlier in this thread  

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

3 hours ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

This is what I have for the teeth trimming, does it look OK? I hope the photos are clear enough.

Looks good, if you go any further you will be cutting into the gums  

 

When it comes to painting:

For Basic approval and above, Frown is painted gray and does not leave the teeth area.  Eight total teeth on the frown are cut out.

                                                                                 Please also note the taper on the ends of the frown.

 

                                                             

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

Checking in on the tear and trap stickers: I want to make sure that they appear hand painted enough, per the CRL:

 

"Tears/traps shall be hand painted or use decals that emulate hand painted (with correct ANH TK details)."

 

 

Are they acceptable?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

46 minutes ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Checking in on the tear and trap stickers: I want to make sure that they appear hand painted enough, per the CRL:

 

"Tears/traps shall be hand painted or use decals that emulate hand painted (with correct ANH TK details)."

 

 

Are they acceptable?

Entirely up to your GML, in the past many either purchased from trooperbay or hand paint. For L2 / L3 I would say not approvable as they are a little too clean/straight, add a couple of wobbly areas with permanent marker.

 

Here's a comparison of the decals from trooperbay

 

And screen used 

 

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

30 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

For L2 / L3 I would say not approvable as they are a little too clean/straight, add a couple of wobbly areas with permanent marker.

Yeah, I was afraid of that. These are specifically made for WTF kits. I will try giving it a more natural look with the sharpie. 

 

Thanks!

[shashachu[TK]]

I'm no longer a DO but I would not approve that at L2/L3 as-is. Completely fine for basic, though.

[JBar[TK]]

4 hours ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Yeah, I was afraid of that. These are specifically made for WTF kits. I will try giving it a more natural look with the sharpie. 

 

Thanks!

Gotta love having to make them less perfect XD. That being said where did you find the WTF templates? I just see the ones for his child sized helmet

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

1 hour ago, JBar said:

Gotta love having to make them less perfect XD. That being said where did you find the WTF templates? I just see the ones for his child sized helmet

Hi John, I asked Walt directly about the stickers, and he said that someone named Chris Zabka (who is on Facebook) makes them. So I got in touch with him, and he made me a set for a very reasonable price.

 

But I am talking about the full stickers, and not any templates, if I understand correctly what you're asking. I wouldn't know where to get templates.

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

3 hours ago, shashachu said:

I'm no longer a DO but I would not approve that at L2/L3 as-is. Completely fine for basic, though.

Thanks, Sha Sha, I am going to try and fix this, and I'm going to let the supplier know so maybe he can make them better in the future.

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

I am hoping to declare that the frown painting is done. Lotsa tape, lotsa time:

 

Then some paint, while again removing the tape in the painted areas within 5 minutes:

 

After this, more toothpick + mineral spirits action! Here’s a down angle so all the gumlines are visible:

 

Hoping this is good!

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Hoping this is good!

Once again should be good for base level, for L2 and above I would suggest just a tiny bit more removal, just off the gum line, you can see on the curved areas between tooth and gum.  

 

It may just be the angle of the photo but just check 

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

14 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

It may just be the angle of the photo but just check 

Here are some photos from a different angle, with better light. Maybe some of the ones you marked are okay?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

5 hours ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Here are some photos from a different angle, with better light. Maybe some of the ones you marked are okay?

 

Looks better at that angle, just double check none are on the curve of the gum

 

See how these have a small gap between the tooth and gum

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

2 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Looks better at that angle, just double check none are on the curve of the gum

 

I went over it all again, and now I have at least a toothpick's width of gap when held perpendicular to the tooth, and pressing down so the toothpick contacts the plane of the tooth:

 

It's so hard to get good photos of this area, I guess since it's such a bright white.

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

Moving back to getting the hand-painted look on the tears and traps, I kept thinking about @JBar’s comment about making them ‘less than perfect’ . I initially tried the sharpie, but the ink wasn’t really sticking to the surface very well. So I went back to a fine tip brush and paint. This is what I wound up with, hopefully not too imperfect now!
 

 

Keen eyes will note that the rear trap sticker is on the other side of the helmet now. I got that wrong, and had to re-stick it.  I have no ‘before’ photos of the other set of stickers, but the imperfectness is similar.

 

Look OK now?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looks hand painted to me  

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

46 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Looks hand painted to me  

Thanks, bro!

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

Looking at painting the vocoder now, and finding a color guide in this thread/comment:

 

 

So… it is saying that I should use Humbrol #85 Coal Black Satin, or the equivalent Testors 1139 Semi Gloss Black? I've seen some back and forth on this topic, but this looks like the most recent info.
 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

21 minutes ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Looking at painting the vocoder now, and finding a color guide in this thread/comment:

 

 

So… it is saying that I should use Humbrol #85 Coal Black Satin, or the equivalent Testors 1139 Semi Gloss Black? I've seen some back and forth on this topic, but this looks like the most recent info.
 

Correct, semi gloss or satin black, you can see in these references it's not fully gloss

 

 

Vocoder should ideally be painted black using a satin finish, but gloss is acceptable.  Lines should be crisp, clean, not extend beyond the ridges and symmetrical on both sides .

 

        

 

 

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

Well, of course I don’t have the semi-gloss black, so will need to pick it up at Michael’s when I’m over that way. In the meantime, I painted the torso buttons. At first I was going to laser cut a template so I wouldn’t mess up too much, but concluded that I was overthinking it, and instead did it freehand. Good light, hand on table, workpiece on table, and magnifying glasses are all useful.

 

French blue is a pretty color!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

3 hours ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Well, of course I don’t have the semi-gloss black, so will need to pick it up at Michael’s when I’m over that way. In the meantime, I painted the torso buttons. At first I was going to laser cut a template so I wouldn’t mess up too much, but concluded that I was overthinking it, and instead did it freehand. Good light, hand on table, workpiece on table, and magnifying glasses are all useful.

 

French blue is a pretty color!

Nice work

[CloseTheBlastDoor[TK]]

I will need to finish up the rest of the helmet while I’m still waiting on the vocoder paint. The visor is up next, and I see many approaches to fastening it, most of them seeming a bit complicated (Chicago screws, gluing cork, etc.). This one is great, but maybe too involved for my taste:

 

Is there a simpler, effective way to do this?

 

Same question for the frown screen.
 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

Is there a simpler, effective way to do this?

 

Same question for the frown screen.

I trim the lens just larger than the eye openings so there is an edge to grip too.

 

My first helmet I glued plastic tabs around the lens to hold in place, held them with magnets until they dried.

 

Last few helmets I just added some silicone in places around the lip of the lenses, holding the lenses in with tape until the silicon dried.

 

Original helmets had one piece which was held by the side ear screws.

 

 

Frown screen I use the metal flyscreen mesh, it can be folded and stays that way and also can bend to match the frown, no sharp edges to snag on facial hair , glue with E6000 in a few places.

 

Some other examples of interiors 

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

10 hours ago, CloseTheBlastDoor said:

I will need to finish up the rest of the helmet while I’m still waiting on the vocoder paint. The visor is up next, and I see many approaches to fastening it, most of them seeming a bit complicated (Chicago screws, gluing cork, etc.). This one is great, but maybe too involved for my taste:

 

Is there a simpler, effective way to do this?

 

Same question for the frown screen.
 

 

I went with the OG method.

 

Cut one side on the lens to match the bridge of your nose.

 

Allow the ear screws to protrude inside the helmet 1/4" or less.

 

Position lens in the helmet so the bridge cut aligns with the lower section of the eye holes.

 

Starting with one side position the lens over the ear screws. Mark the screw location.

 

Drill holes in the lens to match the screw locations.

 

Install lens in the newly drilled side. Ensure the lens is still centered with the eye holes (side to side, top to bottom).

 

Press other end of the lens into the remaining ear screws. Mark. Drill, and install.

 

If all goes well your lens should be centered, fixed, yet easy to remove and clean as necessary. 

 

Hope this helps