T-Jay

Thanks Marc. The blaster on that photo looks highly detailed. And with all the hollowed resin parts (as seen in Dan's unboxing video) this kit could become the new benchmark in terms of weight. Standard resin kits end up with something about 1.1 - 1.3 kg. This will surely be less...

Hey Dan, just watched your unboxing video (good job ) and now came across this thread. Did I miss it, or is the magazine lacking the end cap? (that thin piece with the engraved arrow and the letters OFF) Curious to see how this build comes along. Following...

Many thanks for your kind words, Dan. Coming from a real helmet expert , this means a lot to me. Thanks Brian, we will soon get to the weathering... Yes, if I was doing a full armor, it would surely come with a backpack - and of course a very badass weapon, Mario. However, my collection is just for helmets. I have no space, time and money to make a full armor here. Sorry guys. Maybe (and this is a big maybe) I can draw a picture of how the full armor would look like. Unfortunately I have no skills with digital drawing tools and only limited skills on paper... Thank you very much, David. Wow, many thanks Andrew. I am out of words. The good thing is, there will be two more updates before this project is done. Next one coming on Friday.

Thank you very much Glen @gmrhodes13 and Mario @TKSpartan Before continuing with today‘s update I just have to mention three minor corrections to this build. Daniel @CableGuy has collected some very good information about ANH helmet building and painting in some of his YouTube videos. Watched these just recently and then found flaws on the eyes and the paint job on vocoder and the HOVIs. See the following photos for the corrective actions: Okay, now to the update. Looking at the helmets from TIE-pilots and Magma Troopers, I found tubes or hoses to somehow look pretty cool. But adding them means they have to end somewhere. On a full costume you can run them to a chest box or a back pack. In this case it is just a helmet – with a classic RS Prop Masters helmet stand. So I started figuring, if just one tube could be fitted somehow… In this place it looks like supplying the flashlights or some other hidden electronics. By the way, that painfully reminds me of an aiming device I had planned for the right eye, just below the blast shield. Would be nice but unfortunately I did not manage to find anything suitable for this. Okay back to topic. It was time to run the other ends of tube and cable somewhere. The cable was easy, I just tape-glued it to the inside of the helmet. But that tube, oh boy … The diameters of tube and that chromish metal piece exactly matched. Would have been nicer to see one fitting into the other. However, I am pretty glad it still looks good this way. The next topic is ‚helmet personalization‘. Seems like there is a long tradition of individual drawings on various military vehicles and equipment. Even customized helmets seem common and can be spotted in the Star Wars Universe, too. Found different colors and sloppy lines to look more real than having everything perfectly lined up with just one color. While doing this, I thought about something like a slogan or motto from that trooper, hand-paint onto the helmet. But not with the letters of our alphabet, with letters in Aurebesh… Thought an officially looking military marking (white on NATO green) would be a good addition to this. Instead of sloppy lines, I now needed something that looked like being made with a stencil or template – in Aurebesh of course… The last photo shows the TK-ID is a bit crooked and the black slogan has an offset. First I was a little frustrated, then found it to look more real because such inaccuracies can happen with hand-made things. Anyway, it‘s the rear side which soon can‘t be seen in the display case. List of modifications so far: 1 - Blast Shield 2 - Black Interior 3 - Two-tone paint job 4 - Antenna and radio 5 - Utility belt 6 - Universal supply box 7 - Bacta canister 8 - Helmet flashlights 9 - Breathing tube 10 - Kill marks 11 - Aurebesh letterings Two updates to come - next one in a week.

Many thanks for your kind comments, Brian. Glad to hear you like it so far. Ha what a funny coincidence, because I am working on aurebesh letterings right now. You will see the result in the next update, coming on Friday.

In the last update the brown MUJI box got added to the 'utility belt' and I thought about what it could be for. A red cross came in my mind but we all know there is no 'First Aid' in the Star Wars Universe – there is Bacta. That made me think of something else - and that belt looked so empty with nothing else attached to it… Looks okay, maybe I change it later because the canister wobbles a little and the wires can be seen... In the opening post I mentioned gaps between face plate and blast shield. These needed to get filled. Did that with some black foam - plus something to hide the foam… The original plan was to have cable ties also on the rear ends of the flashlights. But they perfectly fit between the ear caps and the blast shield, additional cable ties aren't needed for that display piece. List of modifications so far: 1 - Blast Shield 2 - Black Interior 3 - Two-tone paint job 4 - Antenna and radio 5 - Utility belt 6 - Universal supply box 7 - Bacta canister 8 - Helmet flashlights Next update comes in one week. Thank you for reading.

Sounds good, Brian. Is it still possible to remove the T-tracks? That would safe a lot of extra masking work when painting.

Thanks Mario and Brian. Many thanks, that is what I indeed hoped for. And after these years your MUJI box made it onto that helmet and soon into my collection. Closer to the finish line but the aim is to put the maximum possible additions / alterations onto a single helmet, so yes, there is still something more to come...

More work done, here is the progress. And then things got weird... Next update probably comes next Friday. List of modifications so far: 1 - Blast Shield 2 - Black Interior 3 - Two-tone paint job 4 - Antenna and radio 5 - Utility belt 6 - Universal supply box Have a nice weekend.

Sprayed the inside of my helmet black for the same reason as Brien (@Harbinger) with simple spray paint. I totally love it but it got some light wear and tear during the 40+ troops made with it. Guessing that won't happen with Truck Bed Liner.

Reading this, I somehow feel bad now for buying a commissioned TK back then. Congratulations Mark and welcome to the ranks. As you said, a few tweaks here and there and you will surely have loads of fun with that suit.

Just changed my google settings to be located in Japan and here are the results for 'laser cutting online' : - fractory.com - ponoko.com - sculpteo.com - cotter.co - oshcut.com - laserboost.com - onlinelasercutting.com.au - sendcutsend.com Haven't tried any of these myself, it is just what google came up with. Keeping fingers crossed...

Okay, today we will finally see the color on that last unpainted piece of the helmet. But first to the teeth... Before painting the teeth, I first had to do the lower face. The two-toned paint job on this helmet helps to make it look like the lower section is a removable part that can be changed if damaged. I wanted this to have a metal-like appearance to give the impression of a new unpainted part and that these helmets are being made from Durasteel. A simple silver paint was not sufficient, so I checked my cans of Humbrol Metal Cote but 27001 was too bright and the rest was too dark. More weathering (later) will help to darken the silver. Hard to see on these photos but the brush strokes and the 2 layers of polished Humbrol Metal Cote really worked good. List of modifications so far: 1 - Blast Shield 2 - Black Interior 3 - Two-tone paint job Have a nice weekend Troopers and Cadets

Wow, are these made from steel or aluminum?

I hope so, Brian... Meanwhile the work continued: The last photo got posted to discuss the best color option for the ear screws. They could be painted in matte black, NATO green, Humbrol grey or I could leave them brass as they are now. What do you think? Thank you for reading and commenting.

Welcome to the ranks.

Oh, you will. Let's just wait until we can meet again in Leverkusen... A 'Pfefferschnitzel' is highly overdue. Thanks for mentioning Glen. Green and yellow sounds like a good combination, too. But to be honest, I already have something in mind for that last white spot on this helmet... Sounds like a great idea but in this case I am only building a helmet, not a full costume. This fact is limiting when it comes to integrate paint schemes and colors. However, I am still pretty confident...

No problem Jakob, you only took a two-years-break. Not sure about a source for the receiver tube but I might be able to help with the scope rails. Please check this thread and if you like item #35, send me a PM. Great to have you back and looking forward to your build progress...

Okay, the paint work is not yet completed, but at least I made some progress. Started with the Blast Shield and unlike the Mimban Trooper, I wanted it to have a different color. Had a weird idea for this... I was pretty happy with the result but now had to make a plan for the rest of the helmet. So I closely inspected the 501st registered costumes above. A classic white base seemed best but raised the question for a contrasting color. Blue and red are allocated to the Commander and the Incinerator. Would a dark orange work? Or would that look like a Stormtrooper version of Clone Commander Cody? Next I thought of green, which immediately brought up the idea for camouflage. Although not being very common in the Star Wars Universe, there are some examples for it: Kashyyyk Trooper, ARF Trooper, ARF Trooper Waxer, ARF Trooper Boil or the 41st Scout Battalion The idea behind this helmet is to turn the look a bit more towards a special soldier, equipped with many infrequent extras for his secret missions. A camouflage paint job would surely fit to that, so I researched the different types and considered, what I was able to do with the options I had. Okay, that test piece simply looked poor. Sorry, no camouflage here. Sticking to the special soldier theme, I then considered to go with NATO green only. The planned additions for this helmet will add a bit more colors later anyway. But I really liked how a different color on the mouth piece (see Incinerator Trooper and Sky Trooper) cause the impression of this being a separate and removable part. So I masked this area before spraying. The helmet appears a bit dark on the last photos because of the lighting. Thank you for reading.

Many thanks for your comments Glen @gmrhodes13 and Andrew @Sly11. Great to see you interested in such an uncommon idea. Thanks Brian. This helmet is meant to later look like some kind of spec ops trooper and I definitely want to add some serious battle damages plus weathering. Currently I am struggling with painting that thing and hope to update this thread soon...

Hello there Thought it was about time to start another 'with some modifications' - thread. As most people here, I simply love our Classic Stormtroopers: Since starting my research back in 2012, I also came across some very interesting variants from video games, comics and so on: (photos taken from the 501st CRLs) While each alteration and/or addition helped giving the armor a special appearance, the idea of being unbound and free of any CRL always appealed to me. With this MOC - helmet I will try to combine multiple modifications into a single helmet. Recently I got a suitable kit for this project and collected a few add-ons, so let's see what this turns into... Like with every other kit, my first step was a rough cut, before washing and drying it. Was not sure at all, if I could ever add such a big and symmetrical 3D-printed item (made from sturdy PETG) onto a wonky classic helmet. However, the top ends of the ears perfectly meet the Blast Shield with little gaps that I will later take care of. List of modifications so far: 1 - Blast Shield 2 - Black Interior Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next updates.

Hello Jason and welcome here. Sounds like you have done some homework already and you seem to be on the best way. If in doubt, ask questions here or start your own build thread when the time comes. We love photos. Good luck on your Stormtrooper journey.

Great choice and happy waiting. In the meantime you could think about taking it to the higher levels... https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/95-expert-infantryman-program/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/66-fisd-centurion-program/

Just two days ago we welcomed Jennifer in the New Member Introductions and she then followed the advice to post pictures here. Now that she did so, we only have such bad news for her. What a shame. It sounds hard, but I agree with @justjoseph63. A new suit can be trimmed to much better fit your size. On the current suit, the chest armor even overlaps the belt. And this is just one of many, many things being wrong with this armor. While it might be okay for Halloween or Party events, it is by far not sufficient to meet the 501st criteria, even not for basic approval. So sorry.

The caps made from jewelry strap ends (A) look a bit off to me, while the decorative metal screw end caps (B, C & D) look like a perfect fit. Wouldn't worry about the tube material, as it gets painted anyway, like you already said. Go with what is easy to get and work with. Would suggest such a set of needle files for this (of course cheaper ones). The square and flat files will be good to use with the clear ABS tubes (better than AL or brass tubes). The capacitors, well, they simply look perfect. Grab a thin wire, heat one end with a lighter and push it into the melting plastic to get those wires for connecting to the base plate. Or pre-drill with a very small drill bit.