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bpoodoo

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Everything posted by bpoodoo

  1. Maybe they got the idea for the FN black shoulder bell from this TK from ESB having a serious wardrobe malfunction. After seeing ESB for the gazillionth time I just noticed this! -------------
  2. KO22 makes a good suggestion. The point he's referring to is here. --------- There's a lot of stress at this location after the ears and u-trim are installed. Rounding off or squaring off where those two cut lines meet will reduce the chance of the plastic splitting there. Just cut out a small diameter semicircle or notch (2 mm or so) at the point where the cut lines meet. Don't make it too big, since It's also where the bottom of the U-trim will be, and you don't want it to droop. i.e. like this (I feel like I'm using a TRS-80) -----
  3. The ear trim trace as you have it might be too aggressive and leave a gap, particularly just before the end of the the round part to the bottom of the ear. You might want to make your first trace more conservative there to create a thicker ear at first. You can always trim and sand thinner but can't add back on. The best ear trim will depend on how you've assembled the helmet and where exactly you want to position the ear on the helmet. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29238-my-helmet-ear-tutorial/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/27375-howto-draw-an-approximate-ear-trim-line-with-no-gaps/
  4. Somebody in the prop department put a white cap on a black can of spray paint Next thing to figure out: is it flat black, satin black, or glossy black?
  5. No such thing as "too short to be a stormtrooper" after all! Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
  6. Ah! dang yes looks like you will use the same legion ID # just with a TK prefix. But keep them in mind for someone when he's ready for his first 501st costume!
  7. Might I suggest as your Legion ID# 16308 16038 16309 30816 or 30916? They are available! http://www.501st.com/members/search_avail_ids.php
  8. Replace the on your helmet with a on your face! Wishing the best to you, your wife, and your new son.
  9. Nice work. How did you cut out the mesh into circular disks? Stainless steel woven mesh with the thicker wire diameter can be tricky to cut out and not have it unravel. Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk
  10. Looks good! I believe the satin black used is correct. It will look different according to external lighting and from differences in the light reflectance value of the paint itself. Going with the MKII frown may hit a snag with respect to approval (I'm not in a position to say) since there's not a CRL specifically for this variant even though there are screen-used examples that match. You might want to get DL/GML feedback. Changing the CRL is a big deal, but sometimes exceptions have been allowed (e.g. 5 teeth instead of 4 for basic approval stunt ANH).
  11. And a nice job Nagedzi replicating that particular bucket. I agree the welded on look just doesn't look right. OT stormtroopers are simply too busy shooting and missing to worry about whether their ears are on straight! Kidding aside some do prefer a very clean precise look and no gaps which is fine for basic and infantryman approval. DrDataCenter the way the right ear flares out is often done intentionally on helmets made by RS propmasters. Rotating the top of the ear outward like that allows the bottom half of the ear to fit well and not be too thick. ANOVOS did a decent job on trimming the ears though I usually prefer the bottom of the ear to be above the S-Trim. But the ANOVOS S-Trim is so meaty I suppose it makes sense. Plus it covers up some of the ear flaring and assembly slop (present on mine at least). But it was good enough for me and I just left it alone. But I did repaint the frown trimmed up the eyes and raised the brow on mine. Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
  12. I think the ears look perfectly fine as they are. Gaps are screen accurate and even required for Centurion level approval. Plus to close those gaps you'd have to trim elsewhere and you'd risk trimming the ears too thin (I've been done that!). Regarding the eye trim, check the ANOVOS helmet rebuild thread by gazmosis. Anything you see that he did that you replicate will be "on point". Just trimming that one or two mm of flashing away should be fine. Some screen-used helmets do have some of the flashing intact so make sure you're not wanting to replicate that look. Also you might not want to trim too much from the lower half of the eye sockets. The lower corners of the eyes slant and stick out more on the ANOVOS helmet. Trimming too much there might cause the lenses not to sit flush or slant a bit too much. Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
  13. Plastidipping this helmet seems to be the preferred defense against cracks. I'm considering adding it to mine. On the ESB decal front, I bought a couple of sets from skoooch (CAP-W) a while back. They look accurate and fit my Laws / TE-derived helmets fine. But 2 decals don't fit well on the ANOVOS helmet dang it. Right tear shape mismatches in size and shape. Right rear trap is much larger on the ANOVOS. Decal way too small. Course it's not his fault I actually like them a lot. They fit the helmets they were designed for. UPDATE 3 March 2016: Actually after comparing the decal fit of Centurion-approved helmets and those of screen-used ESB (the "patch" helmet shown on starwarshelmets in particular), these decals I have should be fine. The back right trap decal is smaller than the trap area on those examples also.
  14. I also got my clam shell hand guards from troopermaster; thinking of doing an ESB conversion at some point also. I didn't see it in this thread, so want to be sure you know the holster for ESB goes on the right side: (from ESB CRL): "Holster is worn on right side of belt. Holster will be made of completely black leather or leather-like material and be worn on the right and affixed via two black loops over the belt (no fasteners)."
  15. I have one of those flexible molding curves. It can be useful for some applications to capture and transfer a 3D contour, but only when the curves change gradually. The sharpest bend you can get from them is limited (approximately 1 cm minimum radius of curvature), and not good enough to capture the transitions near the tubes of the helmet. Craft wire is also an option. 16 gauge (1/16" diameter) worked pretty well for me. But it can be frustrating and difficult to get the wire to lay down perfectly on the helmet all the way around. To capture the shape accurately, you need to bend the wire slightly more than the curve you're trying to follow. Otherwise, it tends to spring back. And as you're bending in one spot, you might affect the trace you've already established elsewhere. It can be done, but it's tedious. And even after you're done, if you accidentally bend it, you've got to recheck and probably redo. What would be ideal is to capture the 3D contour with something that is moldable and lays down on the helmet easily but then firms up and is solid when you're done. Instamorph is the best option I've found. It's moldable after it's been heated in water (140-150 deg F). While it's warm, it's moldable for a few minutes (when it's clear), and hardens to opaque white and retains its shape. Instamorph when warm and moldable will stick to many plastics (including ABS) and rubber , so you MUST cover the ear/helmet with cellophane wrap as you're shaping it. After it's cooled and opaque white, it won't stick at all. One of the big advantages of using a removable 3D contour whether from craft wire or instamorph, etc. is being able to see a variety of potential ear trim traces by placing it over the ear. In particular, you can see how the trim can change with different angles (top-to-bottom and back-to-front). Below I show how if you have too thick of an ear trim at the bottom, using the top as a pivot, you can change the angle top-to-bottom of the contour and cause greater deflection at the bottom curve of the ear and not change the thickness at the top of the ear very much. I still use the compass as a tool for fine-tuning all the way around the ear after it's been attached to the helmet, and of course refer to the ear trimming tutorial by gazmosis. David
  16. A big thanks to the executive staff for a great newsletter and for your unswerving dedication to the FISD. For those with occasional bouts of Blue Harvest Blues, set your DVD to record "Droid Tales" episodes when replayed on the Disney channel. The OT stories are retold in a very funny tongue-in-cheek Lego-style animation. Seeing a group of stormtroopers SITTING huddled around C3PO as he recounts ROTJ, well only those who have tried sitting wearing armor will get the full humor of that scene!
  17. Of course! Disney is under a lot of pressure to turn their $4 billion investment into a profit. A favorable reception of TFA by a broad demographic being critical. Disney understands that keeping the core fan base happy is good for business.<br><br> And don't forget the shopping season isn't over. If you haven't picked up a Star Wars The Force Awakens dartboard or an inflatable floating R2D2 they are in stock.
  18. "This will begin to make things right." was the first spoken line in TFA.<br><br> And yeah I do think that was a double entendre referring to how the Star Wars franchise had veered off course into the Jutland Wastes with the prequels. But I don't think it was an insult directed at George Lucas.<br><br> I think it was declaration directed at Star Wars fans that they are committed to putting the franchise back on course. And perhaps even an apology to Star Wars fans for some vewwery bombad "artistic risk taking" resulting in content that did not meet the expectations of many Star Wars fans. If that's the case, then personally I say apology accepted (pending release of the original trilogy despecialized version in 3d bluray format).
  19. For me there was a mix of excitement and skepticism as I patiently waited for the movie to begin (after what seemed like an hour of previews!). No one wanted a repeat of the prequel experience, which in a nightmare a few months ago, I feared might start off like this (click the link then Begin): http://www.starwars.com/games-apps/star-wars-crawl-creator/?cid=5620c380e4b0d066fbab8511 We wanted a return to the sense and feel of the original trilogy Star Wars. And I think for the most part, J.J. nailed it.
  20. "Everything's changed but nothing's changed." You'll understand Mark Hamill's remark after you see TFA. And it's all good. It was a given that the special effects would be amazing, and they are. I'd recommend that everyone see the movie at least once in IMAX 3d they did a really got the job with the 3D effects. The movie overall seemed quite large in scope almost like a full trilogy in itself, but the snappy dialog and action keep things moving at a good pace. Most welcome is a return to basic storytelling in which characters are fully developed. We understand what they feel and we care about what happens to them. Through dialogue and careful scene direction we see in detail how the characters react to events and to each other. And sometimes with subtlety we see those moments that are turning points for a character. With deft direction J.J. Abrams succeeded in evoking that essential aspect of Star Wars that makes it so compelling to many of us: that people from very different worlds find themselves drawn together by fate or luck in pursuit of a common goal and form friendships, camaraderie, and loyalty to each other. It's an age-old story that may be corny, but when told well, it never gets old.
  21. It looks like a recast SDS Battle Spec pieced together in 3 parts. I agree with the other posters - lots of great alternatives are available.
  22. Steve is gazmosis on here. Like he said, it's a nice helmet. I'm just commenting from the peanut gallery here - I have no say as to what passes for Centurion. Steve would be the guy to talk to. As for the depth in the profile view, you might provide profile views from different camera distances. A perception of geometric distortion can occur in 2D close-up shots. It's nothing to do with lens distortion, it's just without the depth cue of 3D, features along the helmet can appear distorted with closer features appearing larger (the "selfie" effect). Pulling back to 3-6 feet can give a more accurate depiction of what it looks like in person, IMO. Here's an example of one of my Dan Laws helmets (work in progress) from 1 ft and from 6 ft:
  23. Some of the advice you're getting is from experts (Steve in particular) who lived and breathed stormtrooper helmets for years. I'm not as seasoned but I would say that the revised tear is a bit too flat; The front edge too straight; and on this side the back edge a bit too far back - if you extend an imaginary tanget line from the back edge it should hit just barely inside the corner of the eye. This shouldn't be the case for the tear on the other side where that line would fall outside the corner of the eye. Original helmets are beautifully asymmetric.
  24. If you go to starwarshelmets.com and look at the original screen used helmets you will find the indentation for the fifth tooth on both sides. They're never cut out but the indentation is there. Looking at the set for stun helmet as an example, the fifth indentation on the right side (as you look at the helmet) is more prominent than the fifth indentation the left side.
  25. TM is top notch - have fun with the build. Luv the stormtrooper keyboard in the background!
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