Darth Lars

ABS (or HiPS or styrene) must be bent very gently. I have learned to do it in iterations: Heat it while counting how many seconds that you apply heat. Then bend the part with your hands more than the shape that you have intended, and hold it there while it cools. When you let go, it should bounce back a bit. If the shape when you have let go is not the one you want, then do it again but heating it a little longer than before. Be very careful that if you heat a spot too much, it will turn soft and warp from its own weight. It will turn from merely pliable to soft in an instant.

I got one, for twice as much as what many have bought it for in the US. Hasbro does not import it for domestic stores. I am disappointed with how much is missing from the "undercut" in front of the cheeks. That part is for me much of what gives the Stormtrooper helmet its character - and what makes this toy helmet look like a toy. Any artisan that would make accurate R1 helmets would have to rectify this detail. Other inaccuracies I have identified (compared to the screen-used Rogue One helmets) that could be rectified in a proper Rogue One-style sculpt: - Some tube stripes are wider than others. - mouth is not made of individual rods - overall, edges are not sharp enough: - edge above teeth - mouth and cheek recesses - tear recess Can be fixed without having to repaint: - middle tooth too wide - teeth do not look like individual pieces Other inaccuracies that others have identified and fixed: - black pinstriping around grey fields like ANH helmet, but which R1 helmet does not have - brow trim is white on the underside (electrical tape, plastidip or just black paint) - missing seamline between snout and cheek. - edge trim in back does not match front - add frown mesh - replace lens with one less transparent Then there are those who want to rotate the angle of buttons on the ears, but I am not sure that it is inaccurate. The helmet is also uncomfortable for people with large heads, so many remove the electronics compartment in the back completely. I am still undecided whether I am going to try to sell it or try to accurize it some time in the future. I had been hoping to be able to mod it without paint - by filling the gaps with ABS sludge made from parts of the helmet itself and polishing that up, but it does not seem to be possible to do to a level that I would be comfortable with. For starters, most of the interior is a different plastic - so it can't be used as a donor. Only the battery pack can be melted. My painting booth - which is my shower - has been occupied with a clone helmet for a much too long time now and I would like to keep that area clean for a while when it is done...

IC-11327 requesting 501st access. Sorry for the long delay... Thanks in advance. http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=15975

I read in another forum that removing the cover over the electronics in the back could help. Some would want to remove/replace the electronics anyway because of the microphone's low sensitivity. However, once the helmet has snapped together, it could be very hard to get it apart again to do that. If you know that you have a large head, you could remove the inner cover and the electronics before you assemble it.

Sorry, but the ESB blaster's T-track is not metal, just grey resin. You can see that in other pictures from the same set. The guy who made the run of replicas wrote that the blaster was cast as one whole piece and so were his very limited set of replicas. The blaster in the other picture does not have T-track but square U-channel. All guns used at Elstree were rented and were stripped from their greeblies afterwards. That gun must have had replica greeblies added before the auction, like other original blasters sold at auction did.

I once used this technique to try to fix up a helmet that was a very thin cast. Dried ABS goo has slightly different properties than ordinary ABS. It can shrink when it dries, so if you use it for larger repair/reinforcement work, the shrinkage could warp the helmet. It can also become spongy inside - if you sand it, you can reveal bubbles inside that need to be filled. Spongy ABS is of course also more brittle. These problems can be avoided by applying only a thin layer at a time. BTW. ABS goo is also easier to use than Polystyrene goo.

Based on my research, there is at least one "hero" prop which has at least one greeblie. Check out the shots where Leia is being escorted on Cloud City. Most E-11 blasters seen in ESB were resin casts of a master, which had all of them: The most distinguishing feature of these blasters is that the last step on the nozzle is missing. Offering a set of resin-cast greeblies is something that I have wanted to do, but not got around to yet, because I have prioritized other props. Only two types of greeblies have been identified by prop nerds: - The long flat piece behind the ejection port on the right side is from a Phantom 4E model kit. Greeblies from this kit can be found on several other blasters, so it is well known. - The two clips on the left side are nylon clips used in the construction industry. These are more difficult to find. You will have to sculpt the other parts. These are three round knobs on the right side (11 x 4 mm - like a button-cell battery ), some kind of clip where the Hengstler counter would have been and also two greeblies on the scope rail. One thing that is aggrevating when researching this prop is that many casts were incomplete - pieces of greeblies have been broken off or been simplified by filling with clay before casting. I believe that more than one mold was used to cast the "stunts" - and the details differ somewhat between them. If there is enough interest, I could redraw my blueprints of these parts on the computer and maybe publish them on the board. (BTW, the pic on the ESB details page shows a ROTJ blaster, not an ESB stunt)