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Starting the painting process. It was warm out this week so I got the primer on.

Well boyos, its time. What better way to spend your second bout of covid than to sit infront of a computer 8h a day and work on new TK files! Many uni assignments have been set aside and neglected to bring you these haha. Also thought id add a little prefece. When I did my original Files they were poorly optimised and were among some of my early work. Im still very proud of what I achived with it, I still think theyre some of the best TK 3D files you can get atm, however they werent perfect. since then Ive studies the TK and learned MUCH more. I now feel more comfortable to do it PROPERLY, as I not only have better knowledge on TKs but also the 3d software. My original models were poorly optimised as I just smoothed vac forming files, they were ok but the file sizes were huge and also some of the softness was incorrect. I am working dilligently to updatethese with a MK2 fileset thats been made from scratch again. The MK1 will be grandfathered and available as a free resource. That being said, onto the show! The torso parts are complete. Ive included side by side comparisons with the original files to see how far theyve come. Please note, some details may look small/thin, these are vac forming models and the plastic has thickness and also needs space to pull into for channels. I learned a lot with making the helmet you cant "trace" the details on the outside and expect them to work on a buck. I dont doubt some of these will need some slight mods but for now they are modeled with manufacturing in mind. I will go back and fix the sizing for the consumer file set. Defos keen to hear critisisms as always. The chest was completely redone as I didnt achieve the correct form the first time around. I think this was due to perspective of some reference I was using but Im pretty confident this is looking good. I used a modified version of my TIE torso. Back again was completely redone. I was missing some details like the subtle bump in the lower back. Also the rectangle is not flat and symetrical whereas the old one was. Abs were my favourite section to work on, almost as fluid and ununiform as the helmet. My lower section was decent however the vertical bar was not offset. I did my best to make the surface as ununiform as possible after doing a few hours of form study on the abs. Finally the rear. Not much changed here, I slimmed down the vertical raised section and made the sides more straight and inline with each other. Also made the parts asymetrical.

Hey troopers, As many of you know, I’m a bit of an OT TK nut (gasp). I’ve had my head in the world of TKs for a long time now and have learned a huge amount. However, there are some other amazing characters out there from the Star Wars universe, and the Imperial Tie Pilot is just one of them. This kit is from UK maker RWA Creations and is a “fan sculpt”. It came complete with all of the parts to make and finish the helmet, although I added and/or modified parts along the way. Here’s how it arrived: As with many builds, I started with some pencil lines to draft my cut lines. The RWA faceplate is a little narrow, so I used a heat gun (carefully) and widen the top section of the faceplate a little. After the basic trimming was done, I started on the Mohawk. Next, I used the supplied brass nuts and bolts and attached the faceplate and dome together. I was careful to match the positioning to screen used helmets. By studying reference photos, I noticed that the RWA trident was a little thick, so I trimmed it down a little - as per below pencil line. Another cool feature (one not carried out on a lot of builds I’ve seen) is the big cutout in the faceplate. To stop the helmet having a huge gap here, this part was backed with an additional piece of black ABS. Next up, I glued the trident in place. With the main build done, I started on the painting. I used screen shots of the original screen used hero helmet of this style, then made a template using a CriCut machine. The paint that I used here was Rover Gunmetal spray paint, painted on with a brush (not sprayed). More to come in the next post… :-)

Look!!! It's Darth Vader!!!

Yeah, but that would be at least $1400., plus boots, rubber gaskets, neck seal, gloves, etc.

There are 2 straps on TLJ cape. Not 1. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exceptional, one costume I must add to my collection at some point

Awesome build!

Awesome build as always Dan, congratulations!!

Great build, Dan. Did the same, based on a Tie helmet from RS and even transferred all damages and scratches visible at starwarshelmets.com What about running a black hose from hole to hole? (around the rear of the stand)

Continued… As I’m a stickler for details, I replaced the RWA greeblies with slightly more accurate one. Even the alignment is the same as the original helmet, as well as the greeblies being mounted BEHIND the trident, not on top of it. I also swapped out the decals for slightly more accurate ones from CFO. I precariously attached the bubble lenses using hot glue. Now applying the pill box on the rear. And now to some final glamour shots. I will add some weathering soon, but this is the completed helmet in clean form. :-) Here’s some of the finer details in video form: Many thanks for reading. Please ask away with any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. :-) Best wishes Dan (CableGuy)

Yeah it’s kind of strange with the pricing, If they mark it a 600us helmet why ”only” 700 for the full armor kit with gaskets. I paid Anovos 850 back in the day and additional 150 for the helmet. The stand alone FO helmet was at the time 199US (If memory serves). Anyhooo….still think you should get one, can’t beat the lineage-feeling

For those that are wondering why certain acronyms are underlined, we did that to make it easier for folks to know what they stand for . If you scroll over them the full wording shows up.

@Soulart can you clarify this by chance? If the CRL is incorrect than this is a quick and easy adjustment I can make, just need to request CRL access and I will amend.

Wow this appears to be great news for the many awaiting various bits and pieces. certainly glad you have received some packages, maybe there is hope after all.

The FOTK is said to ship no later than June so fingers crossed and as you say, more likely than not the Anovos molds are now in DN hands. Would be very surprising if that was not the case. Anyway, they seem to follow through on everything they have said so far so I’m pretty confident the FOs will start to ship as well But there’s always that off chance my feeling don’t serve me right…I have been known to make mistakes…from time to time…

Great news, good to hear you at least received something for your money. What has struck me as odd is Anovos had supplied FOTK's but obviously with money and manufacturing issues they could not supply the rest of the orders, I would think though the molds and bases of the costumes would have passed onto DN, but they seem to be concentrating on other items, god knows who'd be buying those though. I hope others see a resolution to their outstanding orders soon.

Decide to hunker down and research more. I'm trying to figure out BF2's texture system and once that is done the body is a breeze. I managed to get it in the game. I'm so close. lol

Thanks, those are the measurements I used. Here are the two together:

Congratulations Trooper, Welcome to the ranks.

Yup yup. I further messed up my ATA 2” one trying to pry the control panel off the tube (so much E-6000 used) anyway, so I’m all in on a 68mm one. Only two groups that supply them outside of the UK are AM and MonCal (Far Away Creations). And previously Anovos. Of course, paint-color matching and spraying might be in order to match the rest of armor. I definitely went overboard with those photos. Part #3 of my TD construction will feature detonators I have from five different makers (two 2-inch, and three 68mm that have in-hand now), and hopefully a sprayed and completed one to use for my armor build. I had an AM one that is possibly a perfect color match for my ATA armor, but the end caps came trimmed shorter than the standard, so I’m hoping Dave is able to send me a new kit when he finally gets more ABS. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk