Bulldog44

Thanks for posting this. I wish there were more comparison photos like this to help people see the helmet/armor differences, especially when you are on the fence about which one to go with. I thought the RS lid felt big when I first put it on but the SDS certainly looks bigger.

Post some pics when you get a chance! Sounds like a great set up and very interested to see how it fits in the DVH kit. I am putting my kit assembly on hold until I see how you assemble yours with the electronics. Your last post post with all the electronics lingo went right over my head but it sounds good! Looking forward to hearing more of your progress. Best of luck!

Only if you can, no worries though. The suit looks great, congrats!

Thanks for the photos. Useful reference for RS builds. If you have any other shots of the armor pieces from different angles, please add them to your album. Especially areas like return edges.

Here are the drop boxes. The edges will be evened out and cleaned up. I ended up trimming the boxes to about 12mm for the outer boxes and 11.5mm for the inner boxes. They may lose 1mm after the edges are all finished. Mentioned in my last post, here is the mini greenhouse which will act as my portable workspace. My living space in Japan is rather small and all the sanding with my dremel has resulted in a fine mess on the furniture. So I am hoping to minimize the dust and also fumes of the glue as the build progresses. I really envy everyone out there with a proper workspace. As you can see in the photo, I have to put all my stuff back in it to save space when not working on the build. Painting the blaster kit will be another hurdle but I want to finish the armor first.

Magnificent!

I was just about to ask the same thing and thanks Echo for the answer. I think I will sew my straps together as well for durability. I was wondering if it is acceptable to use some adjustable clamps or fasteners for the elastics? Maybe they wouldn't hold as well but leave room for re-fitting parts better. Since I have been off the radar again with my build here is a quick update minus the pics, sorry. Will add those tonight. - Finally measured and trimmed the drop boxes to size, still need to clean up the edges. - Chest plate, back plate, ab & hip plate, all trimmed and cleaned up on the edges. Ready for strapping placement,etc. - Working on Working late into the night when I can plus living in a building complex with little to no room for building things has really put my build at a snails pace. I came up with an idea to use my outdoor mini greenhouse as a small working space indoors for sanding and messy work to keep dust & dirt at bay. Really hope to document and keep things moving in the coming weeks/months.

Thanks for following up on this with the images. I am feeling a bit better about having to place them on the face of the ab plate. Mailed Rob at RS also to ask about what I can do. He said as well that their original suit had it this way and so all their builds are done the same. More work on the suit this weekend... I hope!

Thanks Rob.If I run into any trouble trimming my drop boxes and screw things up I will certainly drop you a note.

Thanks Karin. I wanted to keep some of those odd features but thought to tone down the corner a bit. Whatever heat treatment I did do not do much so it still kinda looks the same.

Loads of help Echo. I think I can deal with it at that measurement. Just that one corner really bothers me how it pops out but as you mentioned, not so noticeable when wearing it. I tried a bit of heat treatment to get some flatness but that started to get funky so I left it as is. Off to sleep but will get cracking on those drop boxes in the morning! As always, Arigato!

Would anybody be able to tell me the correct dimensions for drop boxes at least for the depth? I am working on drop boxes for my RS kit and one of the outer drop boxes is badly formed and trimming will not hide the defect unless I trim it down a considerable amount. This would leave the drop boxes at about 7 or 8 mm in depth. The one on the right has a corner that flares out making it hard to decide how thin or thick to make these boxes. Any advice is greatly appreciated! ----------

Thanks again. Those measurements are helpful.

Thanks for the quick reply Echo. Pictures of that would be great. Quick question about all the rivets, wire brackets etc, when you built your kit did you have measurements as to exactly where they need to be placed or did you just eye most of it from photos? This was one of those things I was telling myself to be careful about. After seeing how other builds use the wire brackects on the top, I prefer that better but now I guess I am left with the front placement unless I squeeze them in. It will probably result in them tearing out though at some point unless I add some support or extensions to mount on the ridge. On a note regarding return edges, I have been pouring over ANH fram by frame feverishly these days and can't help but notice how little the return edges are on all the parts. I feel like I am being too conservative for the most part but wondering if I should go with what I see on the screen and start trimming down more.

Some pics of the ab plate return edges.

Finally started to work on my kit again this month after a long break from my last post. I have discovered I made a mistake already and would like some advice about what to do. I trimmed the ab plate a while back and now having another look at it, I see I trimmed off way too much at the top for the return edge where the brackets should be placed. I might have done this partially because most of the parts were already rough trimmed and there was little return edge left or I must have referred to the bracket placements on the RS suit and cut according to their set up. I did some of these trimmings late at night and should have waited for my brain to actually register what I was doing. Is it wrong to mount the brackets that go the ab plate to the face of the plate or are they supposed to be mounted on the top return edge? I have seen a few other builds with the brackets mounted on the top return edge. But then RS props seem to mount them on the front of the ab plate. I thought I saw a TK in ANH with the brackets mounted on top in the Vader choking the rebel guy scene. (The TK standing front/left : you can only see a glimpse of screw head on the top ridge right underneath the chest plate.) My return edge at the moment on the top edge measures at 5 mm. Too tight to place the brackets ? or better off mounting these on the front? I will up load some pics if that helps.

Love your build so far. Well documented and some great ideas like the counter face plate to add the numbers. Think I am going to try that with my kit. Keep up the great work. Can't wait to see this finished.

Nice job! Can you tell me where you got the light from? Are the electronics part of the original gun or your own set up?

Great photo documentation of the build and it looks really nice. Well done!

Thanks Locitus! Don't know how I missed that. Is this the only other hero helmet TK seen in the movie besides what Luke & Han wear/ TKs guarding the Falcon? I read there were 6 made for the movie but just wondering how many times the hero helmet appears. Watched the movie beyond count but only caught those scenes for the hero.

I checked the gallery but I could not find any screen captures of the Stormtroopers who were watching Darth Vader & Obi Wan's dual, especially the TK with the Hero helmet. Could someone post those in the gallery if they are not already there? If I missed those in the gallery please point me to the right section. Thanks.

That electronic set up is awesome! Would love to see a tutorial for assembling the electronics. Great work!

Impressive......most impressive!

Where can you get that acrylic tubing? Looks awesome.

Wow! Dan, Congratulations! Sorry I have been missing in action with my build. Zero progress but I hope to start up again soon. Your kit looks great. Did you have RS attach the snap buttons on the ab plate? Nice helmet collection going on there. I just picked up an RS stunt helmet kit to build and will use my previous helmet for reference. Love that hero bucket. Honestly, I think you will be finished with your kit well before me and I will certainly need your advice. Your post has motivated me to get going again on the build. Best of luck and enjoy your new suit! I will certainly be following this.