krudler

Thanks guys, it was a nice learning experience, definitely going to do another one, might pick up the full ATA armour with another helmet included and dirty up the one I have. Its an addictive hobby thats for sure

Its pretty much finished, just need to get the eyes in permanently and fix the neck trim, it was driving me nuts and wouldnt fit so I cut it in half, the join is underneath so you cant see it which is fine by me:

Added more lacquer, think it looks better now gloss wise

Another update pic, not really happy with the lack of gloss, its more satin finish than shiny like I wanted, might add more lacquer to it:

This looking glossy enough? the light dulls it down a bit but it seems ok

Started painting today, primer is on so will leave it a day before the gloss white goes on

Yeah I'm gonna trim the teeth out a bit more, just to make them a bit more smooth looking, dont think its going so bad for my first attempt at this

Its assembled, lenses and mic tips are test fitted, painting begins tomorrow I'm not really happy with the gap between the ears but I'll live with it, might get some filler or try glue it down a bit

Yet more progress, I've been having trouble getting the ears fitted, I think I either trimmed too much or not enough of the back of the lid so theres a gap also getting the bottom of them screwed into both the faceplate and the back is proving to be a bit of pain, I might have to sacrifice screen accuracy and use two bolts to hold in the bottom of the ears: ps excuse the mounds of masking tape have no clamps and only two hands so needed as much holding the helmet together as possible

More progress, going to assemble and mount the ears today, hope I cut everything right:

Progress pics, have the eyes, teeth and ears cut out, ears need refining, am about to start the cap n back, the pics below are where I marked it does this look right? Also does the underneath of the face need to be trimmed? it looks like theres a lot of excess plastic there, pic below:

Right the eyes, mouth and ears are cut, ears need trimming to fit properly but its going ok so far, the back part of the helmet, thats what I'm going to start next, hope I dont mess it up, does anyone have a link to a good tutorial on where to cut the lines on the cap n back? dont want to go too far

Ok so far today I've got the teeth and eyes cut out, its been years since I used a hobby knife so I went as slowly as I could, its not so far though, needs a bit of fine tuning, question about the eyes though should they be cut out as far as the mould grooves or just inside them? You can see the lines just outside where I've cut here, I was scared to go too far but looking online it seems to be right so I'll take another bit out, I was really surprised how easy the plastic is to cut, only bit I had some trouble with was the small corners of the teeth, they're looking ok though, for an utter newbie Also, what should it be washed with before painting?

YAAAY my very first lid arrived in the post this morning, an ATA. perfect timing too as I'm out sick from work with a foot injury so this will keep me occupied now I have plenty of time to do it lol, its a really exciting feeling getting a big box with a white face gazing out at you when you open it Pics with my also arrived TK-4510 decals:

Need advice on spray paint, Rustoleum isnt available in Ireland but most hardware places sell Plastikote paint instead, can get white primer and glossy white which I hope will do the job,anyone in the UK use this?

Lol thats very true about the dremel, every man should have one, thanks for all the tips that TE2 build thread is exactly what I was looking for, now I need to start shopping for supplies

So I took the plunge and ordered an ATA helmet, now I have questions lol. When it comes to the paint job, is it spray paint only or can it be done by hand? and which way is better, assemble then paint or the other way around? Do most people use hobby knives to do the cutting or would it be worth investing in a Dremel tool? theres so much info and options on here its overwhelming lol

Great What would a total noob be looking at to invest in to get a helmet built? there's a games workshop nearby that I can get paint and knives for cutting it with, sandpaper is no issue, I think my local B&Q would have screen material for the frown, I'm looking forward to all this, must be hugely satisfying to assemble something rather than just buy a mass produced one

Does anyone know if the Tk-4510 decals will fit an ATA helmet? or are there others that would suit it better? so many options....

Ok I think ATA is the way to go, does it work just as well with decals or is painting the way to go? This will be my first stab at this so I might take the easy route if possible as I dont have much experience with painting, not since as a kid anyway

Just did thanks for that

And another complete noob question, where do you get an ATA helmet? ebay? or does someone on here sell them?

Is there much involved in putting one of these together? total newbie at this and am deciding whether to go with a kit and put it together or go down the MR or FX route (am still trying to figure out the abbreviations for everything lol ) and get it already assembled