EVO3

Cuz it looks cool, thats why. Heres the version i did a few years back..... C'mon, you know it looks cool!

Licensed armor makers making good armor?? Thats an oxymoron if i ever heard one. I guess youd be proud to wear Rubies TK armor then, huh? Besides, even if quality licensed armor was available, he would still need the 501st to turn to when he needs publicity. So again, the scare tactic is not working. You put on your T shirt and i'll put on mine............ pic deleted

It all boils down to respect for the artist. Do we have a legal leg to stand on? Not really. If somebody copies a helmet of mine, i know that i cant take them to court, but that doesnt make the recasters actions right. For example, if my best friend slept with my wife, i couldnt sue him either. Does that make his actions right??? NO, it doesnt!! His actions are totally disrespectful. I'll give you another example. You study your butt of for an exam and the dude next to you copies all your answers. Now you pass with flying colors and so does he. The difference is you spent countless nights losing sleep while you studied and he didnt have to do anything but copy your paper. Would that make you angry?? I know i would be. It really sickens me when i see the comments made by Nathan and it sickens me more when i see the people that agree with him. It seems to me that the 501st membership is losing its respect for the people that supply them with good quality armor. I hear people talk about educating new members about how bad recasting is, but then the pro-recasters pop up and spoil everything. All you people that support recasting need to think of the long term, because before you know it, all youll have are recasters and no artists to make new props. I have already made serious considerations about not producing anymore new SW items. I will keep making the stuff i already have, but as far as making new helmets goes. Im done. BTW, for those of you using the "Uncle George is watching us" line. You can let that scare tactic go. He will never shut the 501st down. Why shut down a group of fans that promote your stuff for free???? That would be a stupid move, dont you think? He doesnt have to pay for armor and he doesnt have to pay for actors. We keep SW in the public eye and its all free for him! Your scare tactics are a lame excuse to try and put a damper on recasting discussions and possible solutions.

Keith, i think youve made made your case very clear. I guess that i had apperently stumbled across a poor recast of your aerators and just tried to make them better. Had i of known this, i wouldve never gone through the trouble of doing all the work i did. After the evidence youve provided on these, i'll step back and scratch build my own. PM is inbound to you.

I will also add that Armando mentioned that the interiors of Keiths aerators and mine are not the same. Why woould i go through the trouble of building a new interior if it was already there? Here is the quote.......

Ok, so i was just informed by a friend, about a thread on here that was accusing me of recasting Hovi Mix tips. I can tell you that i purchased a set of Hovi mix aerators a few years back. I cant remember who i bought them from but i do remember asking who the maker was. The guy selling the set wasnt sure. The aerators were cast in a tan colored resin and were almost solid all the way through. After getting them, i put them away in a box in hopes that sometime in the future i would have a more accurate TK helmet to put them on. Fast forward to about a year ago, when i decided to make the CNC machine comlinks. I needed a casting of a real Hovi mix aerator in order to size the rest of the comlink accurately. So i started digging through my greeblie box till i found the castings that i had bought a while back. After doing a bit of research, i found out that the hovi mix aerators i had were not as accurate as i had once thought. The aerator was supposed to have 4 horizontal slots cut right above the base of the aerator. The copies i bought, did not have that. Also, after doing more research and talking to a few people, i found out that there was supposed to be an interior to the aerators as well. From one pic that i found; it looked to be like some sort of nipple (for lack of a better word). As i stated before, the aerator i had was almost solid all the way through. I figured that if i could do enough work to it, i could make it more accurate. The first thing i did to it was to carefully route it out and make it hollow. Then i cut the aerator in half (horizontally) in order to rebuild the the four horizontal slots. Once that was done, i went ahead and started working on making the "nipple" shaped thing. When that part was finished, it was inserted into the hovi mix and the gaps were then filled in. I knew that the screens were just supposed to be pressed in, but there was nothing there to stop the screen from being pressed in to far. I then decided to put a step ring around the inside of the aerator tip in order to stop the screen from going in to far. As you can see, i did quite a bit of work to them in order to get them where i wanted them. I honestly cant tell you who made the aerators i bought years ago. All i know is that they were inaccurate and i just tried to make them fit my needs. Is it recasting? it depends on how you look at it. The recasting of "found parts" is a grey area. Not something that ive ever done, but i personally felt that i did enough work to this part, making it more accurate that it was ok. My goal was to make the most accurate comlink that i could make and to try and keep the price reasonable. I think i accomplished this. The resin parts that come with my comlink account for probably 5% of what you are paying for when you buy the kit or buildup. Most of what you are paying for is the machined part, the anodizing, and the shipping, time involved in making this prop come together. Have i sold a few of these aerators to people that asked for a set? Yes i have, but only to people that have asked. Ive never posted here or anywhere else that i am selling hovi mix aerators for TK helmets. In other words, im not making a killing selling aerators. Keith, ive given the whole history on my aerators as far back as i can. There was extensive work done to these to get them where they are at. I honestly dont know what "tells" you are talking about because as i said, they were extensively cleaned up. Any imperfections that are seen on the comlink photos came from a quick sloppy dump mold that had a few air bubbles in it. Those would be the dimples that are seen in those photos. If this issue wants to be pursued, then i will happily stop selling these aerators with my comlinks. I have worked hard to build up my good reputation, just to have it all wiped out over a $2 aerator. I still stand steadfast against people that recast "fan made" props. I spend countless hours working on props trying to get them as accurate as possible. The cost of this is, less time with the family, occasional arguments with my wife and no time to relax. I know that several other prop builders go through the same thing i do. It does suck to get something youve worked months on get recasted. Thats where the difference lies between recasting a "fan made" prop and reacasting a "found Part". How much time is involved in making a "found part" thats already made? Here are the slots that i made into the aerator. I have no pics of the interior detail but if anyone requests it, i'll make it happen. As everyone can see, ive laid it all out for all to see. Now i'll just wait and see what ya'll have to say about it.

Best cure for the pink spots is to go dirty. Then, no one can see them.

Nice work so far Keith. We'd love to see the progress on your Neyo project over on CTN. We currently have another member doing a WIP thread for a Cody, but i dont think weve ever had a Neyo thread to date. Just a thought! Ive got a Neyo bucket from SGB with the neck ring that i added. here are some pics if you need them for reference.

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing. I think the TKs lose some of their "Fear factor" when they only have a 2x2 as an offensive weapon, But now that we have pics, its canon, right? I hope Hyperfirm comes out with a rubber 2x2! Ive got my finger on the Paypal button! Disclaimer: This joke was in no way, shape or form meant as a knock against Hyperfirm or their partners. I have two Hyperfirm weapons and couldnt be happier with them. Again, this was only a joke.

Looks great so far. I have one question though (please dont beat me up for asking it) why is the helmet pull so rough? I know the screen helmets were a bit wavy in some places but thats REALLY wavy.

I am so sorry to hear about this. I cannot even begin to imagine what you are going through, and i dont think there is anything anyone here can say to make you feel any better. Im sure you have the support of your family and hers and thats what matters most in times like these. They are the ones who will see you through this. You have my deepest condolences.

i have both rubber and Nomex gloves. Depending on the event, i might wear one over the other. Star Wars Weekends or any other high profile event calls for rubber gloves. Hospital visits or small events get Nomex gloves. Theres no doubt that getting in and out of rubber gloves is a pain but heat has never been an issue. I say, get both! Rubber gloves are cheap. I think i paid $6 for mine at Ace Hardware a few years ago.