dinkyfish

Finished! Thanks for all the help!

Almost there....

Some people have mentioned a US52 sized trim from seals direct as being the correct one to use.... http://www.sealsdire...tDepartmentId=3 they list it there as being 15mm.... My trim is 16mm.... so I might shave off 1mm from mine, as you suggested. I'm making the eyes a little bigger too... what do people think?

That was a 1/6 scale figure I made some years ago, before the days of internet. I only had a VHS version of ANH to reference from, hence the inaccuracies. This build will be a TK. I've noticed the trim ATA provide is a little wide.... I was thinking of trimming it down... What do people think? It looks a little too wide to me, and not black enough.

third coat, thin this time, after a light sand, and widened the frown and tears....mic tips done.

I thinned the paint, to avoid crinkling.... see below- perhaps what was meant was to apply the paint thinly, rather than thin it down with thinner? Do hand painter here use the paint straight from the can/bottle, or thin down first?

OK, here is the second coat....

yes, Stirred it for a good 5 mins. I did sand the surface a bit, but it still struggled to bite into the surface... Maybe it has to do with me thinning it with Tamiya Enamel thinner? I'll put on the second coat and see what happens

First coat of Humbrol 5 and Humbrol gloss black (with a touch of clear flat)...

Thanks Panda for the templates. Are the right and left as you see the helmet , or from the helmets point of view?

Eyes trimmed, Frown trimmed. Are the eyes and frown trimmed enough? I've followed the various references, but would like to know other's opinions. I've tested the Humbrol paints on some scrap plastic. They don't go on very well! Any tips on this? Do you need a primer under the traps? Is it just a case of doing 2-3 coats?

Here's some progress.... Trimming left ear now.... still have to do the eyes and frown... but figured I'll tackle the hardest bit first I am still unsure what colour the vocorder is - satin black or gloss black

ok, after a bit more trimming.... here is the back and here is the front... thanks for all the help so far.... any further comments would be appreciated!

thanks guys! fortunately ATA sends 2 sets of ears. Now I know why! I'll keep trimming until I get it right. I noticed the gap in the screen used helmets were quite big anyway.

I'm having a very hard time trimming the ears! This is not easy! Thought I over trimmed the back of the right ear.... Can get it to sit flush... like this but the front won't sit flush then.... and similarly if the front sits flush the back has a wide gap.... Help! Not sure where to go from here, I'm afraid I'll trim off too much! Does the back look too thin yet?

I'm actually referring to the gap between the trim and the face plate, ie how tight the brow should be on the forehead. in the photo below, about 2mm gap just at the end of the brow trim, in the area above where the ears would go. Sorry bout the confusion!

Is this gap too big, Do I need to move the face plate forward, or will the ears tighten up the gap when installed?

wonky brow, which I'm thinking of keeping. now I hope the ears will cover the flap! question: how much gap should there be between the brow and the faceplate?

thanks for all the advice! What can I use on the brow trim to smooth it out a bit. it's looking a little rough and worn. Is there something I can rub into it to blacken it up a bit? Perhaps some shoe polish? Is it worth getting a new brow? are the trooperbay ones better?

fiberglassed the inside of the mictips and this area, to prevent tearing. still wonky, but I think I'll leave the final trim to later. What do people think? How deep should the eye sockets be?

ok, thanks! should I go ahead and trim the brow area into a nice straight edge, or should I leave that till final fitting? Also, the rubber brow seems to be getting quite worn with handling, any tips on preventing this, or is it just a case of handling it with more care?

Man, I think I've taken off too much from under the front trap! Is this too much off? or can I salvage by placing the brow a little lower? this is how the other side looks

Just got my ATA kit and thought I'd post my progress here, as a record for myself and also for any constructive comments from more experienced builders. I'm planning on making a ANH stunt helmet into a TK version. I'll be aiming to incorporate a lot of the Imperfections of the originals into the one helmet. eg... -a mid placed wonky brown, with one end a bit short of the front trap -hand painted details, with airbrushed tube stripes Just started trimming today, and I've erred on the side of caution and cut well away from the lines, just in case I overshoot. Is this too much to leave or should I trim it back a bit more? I'm not quite sure how the neck trim will sit so I thought I'd start here and trim down until I have the right look. Lines done for the back piece. Any constructive comments appreciated as this is the first try at a helmet for me!