dougefresh

I was wondering the same thing. Can't say I've seen that make before-- very curious about it. Care to enlighten us?

That stinks, dude! What glue were you using? I know there's a thread on here that talks about making a kind of plastic repair paste using small shreds of ABS/HIPS and acetate. Apparently, it works pretty good.

That turned out beautifully!

Aww man -- being an ex-pat from Calgary, it hurts me to hear you say that. If you're looking for comfort and practicality over accuracy, the lining from Wilson tee-ball helmets and junior baseball helmets are AWESOME for TK lids. Just rip the liner out of the batting helmet, and install it backwards in the TK lid. Works like a charm. I can post some pictures later, if you like. eBay is crawling with cheap ones, too-- just do a search for Wilson batting helmets. I'll get you the model number as well, if you're interested. I know you can get E6000 online as well. Most online hobby stores offer it. As far as visors go-- our very own Smitty makes some very nice trooper lenses; you can even get 'em pre-curved to fit the bucket perfectly.

You're kickin' my butt, big time. I've got another two weeks, at least. Idiot that I am, I took on a freelance web-design project on top of my regular job, so free-time has been non-existent. Can't wait to see your build though! It's gonna be cool to see the finished product!

Great idea, Rolf!

Ya' made it look easy! Nice going, Richard!

Very impressive, Keith! All your efforts to get a nice gloss effect really paid off!

Agreed -- it's amazing how much the character of the helmet changes with just a slight repositioning.

Joey beat me to it!

Here's how I did mine... Before putting them in the Hovi, a put just a *tiny* bit of CA glue around the edge of the screen. Then I took an Xacto blade, inserted the point into the mesh, and kind of lowered them into the Hovi, sideways-- so that the mesh disc was running parallel with the longest wall of the Hovi. Once I had them in the cylinder, I used the Xacto blade to wedge one side of the screen at the level I wanted-- if you can picture it in your head, I had the screen about 45 degrees from horizontal at that point. I held it there for just a few seconds, so that the CA glue would get slightly tacky. Once the screen had stuck to one side of the Hovi, I removed the Xacto knife, and then re-inserted the tip of the blade in the lower side of the screen. Using just a small amount of pressure, I drug the lower side to the same level -- so that the screen was perpendicular with the walls of the Hovi. From there, the few drops of CA glue held it in place. Not sure how much sense that makes, but I hope it helps. I'll be finishing the mic tips in my ATA soon, so if you'd think it would help, I'd be happy to take pictures. Just let me know!

I think you'll be good to go, Richard! Well done!

Unless they have candy. Then they're like little pinatas.

Wow-- you weren't kidding about being detail oriented. Showing us comparative paint swatches? Awesome! This is a great thread! Thanks for being so thorough!

Thanye and Pablo-- anytime! Thank you for sharing so many great pics! Not much progress tonight-- just applied a few layers of Elmer's glue to the inside of the faceplate to thicken up the mic-tip recesses. I know-- riveting, right? Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to report as the week goes by.

I can't tell you guys how disappointed I am right now. Hopefully you all can appreciate my dismay: My friend's kid is going through a Darth Vader phase-- which is awesome -- and he's taken to wearing the helmet 24-7. Only takes it off to eat and sleep. Tonight, he decided that Darth Vader needed to give a public recitation of "Fantastic Fish", which he somehow managed to read aloud with the bucket on. My point is --- doesn't this little ankle-biter know ANYTHING?!? Darth Vader doesn't READ. He just chokes the librarian until they give him the information he wants. I have taught this kid NOTHING. NOTHING! Just needed to vent. <_<

Ha!! As I misspell your name. Oh yeah -- I'm a stickler for detail, lemme tell ya'! Man, I'm a dork.

Fun idea, Natahan! And very cool of you to put up such a great prize! Do you mean September 27, though?

Thanks, Thayne! I've actually been using pictures of your helmets and GundamZepplin's as references, along with screenshots from the movie, and Mike's assembly tutorials! I just feel lucky to be able to crib from so many great builds... Pablo, Stukatrooper, Smitty, the list goes on... it definitely makes things MUCH easier, and really gives me something to shoot for. If my stuff turns out HALF as cool as some of the rigs I've seen here, I'll be stoked!

I used to have an FX, and it was damn near impossible to look down-- it's just the inherent dimensions of the helmet. Being that it's pretty big, the chin runs into the chest plate pretty quickly when you crane your neck down. Lots of guys have FX armor and an ANH helmet and make it rock. There might be a slight difference in the shades of the white, but nothing horrible. I'd say go for it!

Looking sweet, Keith! Your thread, and several of the other ongoing ATA threads are definitely keeping me inspired and motivated. You guys are setting a pretty high bar! Definitely fun to follow along! Keep it up, dude!

I can't wait to see everything when it's done. Judging from your progress photos, that thing's gonna' turn out unbelievably cool! Nice job!

I think you're doing great so far! Lookin' really good!

It's made from HIPS, so it's not quite as robust as the kits made from ABS, but I wouldn't say it qualifies as flimsy. Generally speaking, the thicker the material, the less detail it carries.., and conversely, the thinner the material, the more detail. I think ATA's a pretty good compromise between strength and detail. Not as sturdy as FX or RT-Mod, and just *slightly* thinner than an AP. Thankfully, any parts that feel a little thin are all in places that are unlikely to take much stress. If you're looking for something you can run around and tackle people in, ATA's probably not a great choice. If you're looking for reasonably durable armor that *might* need occassional maintanence aftyer heavy trooping, I think you'd be just fine with it.

Oh, man-- that stinks! So sorry to hear that happened to you. Hopefully someone will get a guilty conscience and return it. I really hope the situation works out for you-- that's terrible, dude!