trooper18938

You could also use bicycle spokes. 16 is a fairly thin spoke gauge and bends easily enough for this application. They are stainless steel, as well.

I actually scored a pair on Ebay NEW for USD 1.00 so they look good on the manequin for now till my mark chengs arrive

I won the Black Helmet - 15+5 shipping = Its actually a pretty cool helmet - tiny compared to a trooper bucket, but still fits comfortable on the head. There's an elastic band going around the inside to keep it in place.

Awesome!!! I'd be down for 2 helmets if you decide to do a run!!

I think you have to adapt the propmakers philosophy. Take yourself back to the 1970s and remember you only had a few hours per suit, or something like that. After your first build you'll have the learning curve, and the next one you'll not over-think anything, and just bang it out. Only if you're trying to replicate a specific helmet does the ultra-time consuming part come in.

I remember this helmet style from childhood - one of the many non-licensed things that hit the market. Remember there was HUGE Demand and VERY LITTLE supply for Star Wars stuff in the early days, so these type of things were everywhere. On a related note - a nice kids helmet is a converted Disney Bank. I'm almost done mine, and will post up pics - cut out the neck, eyes, teeth, put in some foam and green lenses, add some rubbertrim and black paint detailing, and - presto! For $24$ that disney charges, its a cheap and fun project.

Frisket Liquid Latex masking agent is available in the US at art supply stores - it's slightly orange hued,

That picture of armor is from 2002 - It is a GF hero ABS suit owned by a collector in Hong Kong who has since sold it a few years back. - Definitely NOT the suit you would receive.

Run the tip of the E6000 through the notch of the brow and neck trim while squeezing the tube lightly. You'll get enough E6000 in there to keep the trim stuck onto the helmet without having it seep out. The neck trim meets at the back of the helmet on most of the original reference material available.

There is a detail on the right hand side of the mowhawk - on the top edge just above the ram's horn - it is a notch. The notch can be seen on Gino's, the original AT-AT helmet, and my SDS TIE. I've also seen it in a picture of Luke's X-wing helmet... Easy enough to replicate - but a consistent detail, nonetheless. Just my 2 cents - no opinion on the provenance...

Looking good - I like the "rough look" as if it was glued up in the 80's

In my experience, Bathroom sealant remains gooey and soft - probably not the ideal adhesive - check out Keith's thread ... and remember to put the notch in the top of the earcap so it will sit flush between the step caused by the join of the 2 helmet halves.

Regarding the above "Imperial Guard" helmet... the "bumpy" plastic actually mimics the stuff you see in automobile interiors - like the center consoles, door handles, ashtrays, etc. As the only fact we can rely on is that AA ran a kit-car business prior to ANH, is stands to reason that any "prototypes" (and I use that term lightly) such as the above may have been formed from the same material... Remember the pulling of the film costumes was a side project, leftover plastic was probably used, as in the HDPE/fishpond for helmets story... We'll never really know, but it is fun to speculate, it is a hobby, after all. We all live for those special days when something like Simon's armor and helmet come into the light...

John, I have a GF hero lid and suit from 2002, but removed the decals long ago and painted the lid. The decals from GF were a brownish vinyl, and the black outlines and lines were die cut vinyl applied on top of the brownish base decal - a 2-layered decal. The overall size of the tear was smaller than the current decals, and the traps were perfectly sized for the lid (which was heavily modded by GF). Mike's decals should do the part, infact I was thinking of reconverting the lid to a ROTJ-era lid, since the cap and ears are so slim. I'll try to find the original decals and post up a pic if you'd like.

the top photo looks to be from one of the LFL exibits - the bumpy texture being the double-sided tape used to secure the two halves of the gauntlet - ala Boba Fett.

One Minute Galactica does the best parodies - Professionally done, and educated humor. Check out his "Gary the Cylon" episodes - absolutely pricless, and feature a real Cylon suit, also (the only Gold Cylon existing from the original series)

The steps in the ear caps are actually significant. looking forward to the finished lid...

Just for laughs... so this thread doesn't get into "personal attack mode" against all the good producers on this forum:

look at the faceplates of the different helmets - My old TE has a "Forehead" that is lacking from AP, and modern helmets that are cut off the molds straight across the brow, See this recently released pic of an original to see what I mean:

Interesting photos for those of us in the U.S.A. thanx for posting these... Yes, AA is cureently selling most of his stuff in assembled AND also in kit form.... will wonders never cease......

Love the deep curve in the lenses.... how did you make those? and are they more green or blue in color?

Welders shield for trooping durability, acetate for accuracy.... although stage lighting gels are uber accurate... a good independently owned art supply store should have the green, and also red for the Royal Guard, in large, inexpensive square sheets for a few bucks each, just cut what you need.

Do some research on older posts/threads, and spend your money wisely ..... a few members on this board offer superior products at better prices.....

I agree with those who have accumulated the information.... remember it wasn't too far back when we thought Marco suits were the bomb? Noobies here have it a lot easier than we did......and they have to remember that! TM keep the name as you see fit, remember what happened when camera people learned that their old rusty Graflex's could be sold to star wars geeks? Information like this is prop specific, and has a place on another forum... there are many acceptable white boots available on this one. For me, all I want for christmas is a picture of the Original "Hovi Mix Pa2" Soda dispenser/ ?mic?........

E 6000 NO CONTEST even for the elastics