WTF First Time build. Need some feed back, thanks in advanced !

[Woody]

Started my WTF TK hero a couple days ago. Here’s some photos of my progress. I am concerned I have cut too much of the back sides of the helmet. I have it aligned with clamps currently. But I am curious if this will work. I know I need to clean up both sides of the black eye band so that they touch the back of both trapezoids. But I am also curious if once I have this together , am I able to cut the bottom out more to fit my big head lol, I don’t even have the s rubber on yet and it is extremely tight to get on, thanks in advanced ! Also already painted the face and going to paint the back after I find out what to do next.  Sorry for the photos being out of order I will work on that on my next post.  Hope I didn’t mess this up already.

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Looking good! The helmet is always a little tough, and my advise is to go slow. Trim little bits at a time; you can always trim more, but you can’t undo over-trimming. If you attach the pieces of the helmet with screws (rather than rivets), you can always disconnect them and trim more material off the neck opening (or even trim it assembled). Just try to do that before you fit and trim the S-trim that goes on the neck opening. If you cut it to length and then decide to widen the neck opening after the fact, the trim material will be too short.

Also in case it’s helpful, most of us put on our helmets sideways, then rotate it to achieve forward alignment. The opening is more wide than deep, which is opposite our head shape.


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[Woody]

Thank you! This has taken about 3 days , and I have been trying to exactly what you recommended! I will have to try that side ways method. I appreciate the input greatly , this is stressful, but excited to reap the rewards down the road! Lol

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Here are some great threads, I encourage you to have a good read through them, ears are the worst and do take a considerable amount of time and care to get right, adding a step also helps them to sit a little flusher.

 

Some references of screen helmets, many had gaps, now these are "Stunt" versions  

 

Rubber S trim will take up some room, looks like you can remove a little more from under the front of the chin. One thing I can see though is heat bubbling, if it was me I would request another faceplate from the maker.

 

References from underneath

 

 

Your thread says "Hero" but they have a few differences to the standard "Stun" version, here are a few just on the helmet:

3 bumps on the ears, only one painted

Bubble lenses

6 teeth cut out

2 ear screws

Black inside sides of mic tips (not white like "Stunt")

NOTE no indents of outer teeth recess

 

 

 

 

More references here http://www.starwarshelmets.com/original-ANH-hero-Stormtrooper-armor-helmets.htm

 

Make sure you compare with the CRL text https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_anh_hero

 

With changing of a helmet and a few other pieces you can actually do 4 versions of Stormtrooper:

ANH Hero

ANH Stunt

ESB

Heavy Weapons

something to keep in mind for later.

 

Guide to differences between the OTTK versions

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10tEVteIreh6AHMogW010cuH_Bf8TBfU6/view

[Woody]

Thank you ! You rock, I really do appreciate you taking the time to relay the info and give me feedback. Good feeling knowing people are here to help !

[ukswrath[Staff]]

You got this Woody

 

You're a wealth of information Glen, just like so many others here. Such a valuable assett

[JBar[TK]]

I recently put together my Walt kit. Man was the helmet stressful but as others have said, go little by little. From what I’m seeing everything looks fine and you haven’t cut too much. Here’s how I did it. Line up the ear screw holes so they make a straight line from the traps. Trace that out and just make sure you have enough plastic overlap for the screws to pass through both plates. Also keep in mind those helmet won’t look symmetrical from the top down. It’s part of the old school TK charm

 

I can get a better picture when i’m home tomorrow but here’s the underside of my bucket. It was tricky finding a balance between comfort and not cutting too much. Just keep going little by little and see what works. I personally trimmed out the bottom area last once everything else fits together since a lot can change by the time you screw the ears in

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Note: it is not a requirement only a suggestion so don't stress if you can't align the ears this way, some screen used helmets did not align perfectly  

 

The "ideal" ear placement is as seen below, where the screws line up with the rear angle of the trap right above it.  Because some armorers design their helmets differently or send them pre-assembled this is not always possible to achieve, but it is suggested that you try to get as close as you can.

 

Note:  Top ear screws should ideally be located directly below the rear of the trap.

 

                                          

 

 

[Woody]

You guys all rock thank you very much for the information! I will be tackling the ears tomorrow ! Will post more then!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

35 minutes ago, Woody said:

You guys all rock thank you very much for the information! I will be tackling the ears tomorrow ! Will post more then!

Slow and steady, when it comes to reducing any gaps look at what part of the ear is touching, this is the area you will need to trim to reduce the gap.

 

Fitting ears is really a tedious job and most find it difficult their first time around.

[Woody]

[Woody]

Made some progress today, well atleast I think I did haha. I started by finishing the brown trim. It’s not secured yet just sitting in place. I then trimmed my ear pieces down and got them ready for the next step of forming them. BUT first I wanted to make sure this is lining up good before doing so. I switched from clamps to 2 screws and a small bolt to hold it in place for ear trimming. I have a bigger head so trying to plan for that. I plan on trimming the bottom out soon after the ears are done aswell. I am trying to make room because I’d like to add padding and a fan if possible, 

 

open to all feedback , as always , appreciate everyone’s time and input. 
 

 

[Tilheyra[IPM]]

It may be an artifact of the angle of the photo, but it appears the black brow trim is higher between the eyes than on the outside edge of each eye. It is easier to correct this prior to fitting and securing the ears with screws or bolts, so you may want to make any changes to this prior to securing the ears. 

 

 

As for the ears, what do they look like when overlapping with the joint between the front and back pieces of the bucket? It can be a bit difficult to tell given that the ears are not trimmed to accommodate the curves of the helmet, but it is good to test for an overlap.

 

Overall, in addition to slowly working to incorporate the proper curve in the ear pieces to fit around the curves in the helmet, you will want to make sure the ear pieces completely cover the joint between the two pieces of the helmet.

 

The ears are tedious (as others have mentioned), so expect that this will take a lot of time, and be diligent to do a little trimming, then checking fit, then trimming, then checking, then trimming, then checking, and repeat until the fit is about as good as you can get (and in line with the CRL). Also, as the helmet tends to be a bit asymmetrical, do one ear piece at a time and expect some differences in trimming you will need to accomplish for each ear. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Some helmets had a small rise in the middle of the brow trim  I do prefer the straighter look though.

 

[Woody]

Thanks for the feedback! The brow trim is not secured yet , I believe I could find that still, I do kinda like this look, that is not a requirement correct ? I will mess with that more tomorrow or the next day when I get back at it , overall though your personal opinion , do you think this is ready to fit the ear caps ? Thanks again!

[Woody]

Actually just took a look at it and the trim can move to be straight , it must of gotten bumped before photos , thanks for pointing that out! I may just go for the straight look lol

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Woody said:

Actually just took a look at it and the trim can move to be straight , it must of gotten bumped before photos , thanks for pointing that out! I may just go for the straight look lol

You can wedge some offcuts of plastic between the cap and faceplate to keep it in position and to stop it moving, glue doesn't really like sticking to the rubber.

[Woody]

Great idea , thanks !

[Woody]

 

[Woody]

So today I am working on the ear caps. I know this is no where near perfect, this is where I got with about 4 hours of work on it. Using a dremel and a knife. I used a lot of the tips and tricks I had seen on here and really did take my time. I see now why this is a “dreaded” part for most. I am now starting to work on the other side and going to try and make it better then this one. I know there’s a gap, but I am proud of this because it’s my first time doing it and it took so long. I am happy with this look with it being my first time. 
My question  is do you see any possible issues with approval? I did my best to line the screws up with the trap and brown trim as well on the angle.

 

As always thanks again for all and any input, and happy Monday to you all!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 hours ago, Woody said:

So today I am working on the ear caps. I know this is no where near perfect, this is where I got with about 4 hours of work on it. Using a dremel and a knife. I used a lot of the tips and tricks I had seen on here and really did take my time. I see now why this is a “dreaded” part for most. I am now starting to work on the other side and going to try and make it better then this one. I know there’s a gap, but I am proud of this because it’s my first time doing it and it took so long. I am happy with this look with it being my first time. 
My question  is do you see any possible issues with approval? I did my best to line the screws up with the trap and brown trim as well on the angle.

 

As always thanks again for all and any input, and happy Monday to you all!

Your GML will either deny or accept your ears for basic level, for higher levels I think you will need to trim the tops of the ears as they are quite thick

 

As you can see from these images

[Woody]

Thank you! I will trim them down 

[Tilheyra[IPM]]

Reducing the width of the ear tops should also help with the gap on the front of the ear piece. Once the width is reduced, you may need to trim the rest of the ear piece just a bit to get a closer fit.

 

Having some gap is okay (I have the same), but it is best to reduce that as much as we can.

[Woody]

Thank you guys ! 5 hrs in just on ear caps today, I’m going to get back at it tomorrow or the next day, I am also going to try and join the Great Lakes Garrison , (Michigan) I have been in touch with a few guys how would I find out who the GML is? That way I have who will being approving me watch my build and give pointers to meet there expect expectations aswell as the ones that are required ?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

5 minutes ago, Woody said:

Thank you guys ! 5 hrs in just on ear caps today, I’m going to get back at it tomorrow or the next day, I am also going to try and join the Great Lakes Garrison , (Michigan) I have been in touch with a few guys how would I find out who the GML is? That way I have who will being approving me watch my build and give pointers to meet there expect expectations aswell as the ones that are required ?

GML (garrison membership liaison) you would find through your local garrison, you can search here https://www.501st.com/members/displayUnits.php. Once you have found your closest unit click on Roster of Unit Members Costumes, command staff are listed there.