Knockerbot

Could stand the look of it so I straightened the lenses lol

I ended up angling them because I tested it and the lenses may rest on my nose when the helmet is built so I'll just trim them later at the top to straighten them out on the inside. I'm happy with the result. I'd say the gap is about 3/32" and is pretty unnoticeable but I'm sure it'll help with fogging.

Before anyone asks, because the question is always asked, JBweld does not heat up enough to deform ABS. Maybe it would if it was thin ABS but the plastic Dave uses has no issues. I messed up on an ear and already used the weld to repair it. I'll make a post about it if it works well enough to use the ear but I'm just going to replace it if the ear looks strange after repair. I'm 99% sure it will work though.

Also I realized that I miss being a sandy. The only reason I sold my old TD was the AP kit just was honestly so painful for a guy my size to wear. I had to do some serious construction to make it even wearable and every time I moved it restricted and hurt. So I decided to move on from it but now that I have a chance to rebuild one I think I'm going to do it. So this is now a Sandtrooper build BUT I'm going to keep the build thread updated here and keep you guys abreast of how my build is going because as much as I love MEPD it's kind of a dead forum. It's not that the guys don't want to help with builds, it's more that there aren't many people online to help. With this being a more active forum and with me already knowing the differences well enough to just make the changes needed without help on them I'd rather stay here and then peace out after I'm built lol. Thanks guys!

The posts will hold the lenses slightly out from being flush because I have found that it will keep them from fogging up if there is a little bit of airflow around them. I am doing a slightly smaller gap this time but even a larger gap wasn't noticeable from the outside on my last helmet. At the moment I'm considering just leaving the JBweld blue but I also might paint it white. I'm not too concerned how the inside of my helmet looks so I might leave it.

Installing the posts for the lenes today. I used JBweld to hold some Tposts in around the edges of the lenes. Last helmet I used 3 per lens I believe but this time I went with 2 per lens. I can add a third if it doesn't hold like I want. I've used a version of this approach last time but used Chicago screws last time but I didn't like the result with the head of the screw being too big so with the tposts the screws are 6-32 machine screws so the heads are a third of the size and will be painted black so they aren't distracting like the silver old ones were. I trimmed off half of the post so they fit closer to the edge of the the holes. I put tape on the bottoms so the JBweld doesn't go into the screwhole from the bottom and fill it up.

All I ever need to keep plowing forward is that sentence to be posted by you haha.

I am going to be doing a bit of a clean up around the holes with 600 grit sandpaper to get any remaining debris. I also traced and cut my lens today. In the past 8 years I have read so many builds and tips that I can't remember where my ideas came from or if they are actually even my ideas lol. So I traced the outline of the lens holes on paper, added 1/2 inch around the whole thing, cut the paper out, taped them to the lens and cut. I always wear cutproof gloves! I work with my hands and the last thing I can afford is a stupid injury because I slipped. Which I do often lol. Ill round them off with a rotary tool later to make them cleaner.

Alright, here I go. I secretly built a first helmet for a friend who isn't going for approval so I learned the ins and outs of this kit the last few weeks. Made a few mistakes and found a few things out that I would have missed and regretted missing on my helmet. This helmet is different from the AP helmet I built before so it was nice to have a go at it with no real consequences. Today I used a rotary tool with a sanding drum on it to clear out the teeth from behind very slowly and then used needle files from behind only to clear up the edges. Did I get the corners correct? I can never remember if they should be more rounded in the corners or not.

I have gotten my box as of Sunday. I've built the helmet twice haha. I'll do an update tomorrow

Me too buddy! Saturday!

Yeah, the good thing is because of his history with the 501st and the interactions I've had with him personally I completely trust that it'll come eventually. Being patient is the hard part for me lol

I made my second payment over a week ago. Still haven't gotten shipping information but I'm sure it'll come soon

Followed the advice I have given to others and finally gotten cut resistant gloves.... stole them from work lol

He is getting through his list. He will for sure get to you soon