Khazid

Only two things this newb can see so far: A) Teeth could be a little more squared off. In the pics you posted they appear to be rounded still. I really like the look of buckets that taper the eyebrow trim in line with the trap above the ear. I would suggest looking at some examples of that and then plot your own course. Your work looks great so far!

No problem, I hope it helps.

Modeling paints don't stick too well to metal surfaces some times. Try cleaning the surface with simple green. Once dry, buff with a 600+ grit sand paper. Clean with rubbing alcohol. Once dry, prime with a white primer, then paint away.

Here is what I have learned in my short time here. 1) If you just want to get into the 501st and troop, it isn't that hard to find a "one stop" shop that could get that done. 2) If you want to get more screen accurate and shoot for EIB and even possibly Centurion status, then your best bet is to spend a week or two here reading all the research threads and sub-forums. You'll quickly learn that a one stop shop will miss some of the elements. As the others have already posted, doing the build yourself will be more rewarding. I ultimately decided on option 2 and as my journey has just begun, I can tell you I am already feeling the better for it. The path you choose is your own, but FISD is a great place to learn.

Here is what I am currently planning for my bucket. I am still in the design phase. 1) Evilboy fan kit to act as intakes. Both fans will be placed on the frown screens and "aimed" to go to the outer edges of the eyes. 2) Eyes will be floated to 0.25mm to allow for some air to escape and cut down on fogging of the lenses. This will be down with styrene floats that small PC screws can mount the lenses too. 3) Exhaust fans to be mounted on the rear traps. I am planning on two 5mm x20mm Evercool fans to achieve this. They will be floated like the eyes at 0.25mm and be covered on the intake side with PC fan filters. The filters will act as a "screen" to prevent hair from being pulled into the fans (ouch!). 4) Skyminer's EAS system is going to be installed into the HOVI mic tips and then plugged into an inexpensive pair ($15 from amazon) noise cancelling headphone pieces. The headphones will be bashed to remove the brackets. I plan to install them to the walls of the bucket with Velcro. 5) Wireless microphone to be used to connect to the AKER amp that will be mounted in my chest plate. 6) An Anker 15000 mah battery will be installed in the back plate to power all the electronics. This will eliminate the need for any battery packs to be installed, which will cut down on a substantial amount of weight. The Anker weighs just under 2 pounds and will mount easily with Velcro. I removed the weight of 7 AA's, 1 9v, the casing for the wireless mic (I pulled out just the circuit board), and two battery packs (one for the EAS, one for the fan kit). I haven't weighed how much weight will be removed from the bucket. I am currently working on the circuitry to bash together the EAS system, fan circuit and wireless mic amp. I am using 7805 voltage regulators to trim down the 9v circuit to 5v for the fans and the EAS. The wireless preamp runs on 9v so nothing is needed there. I have eliminated all the noise in the circuit from the fans and the EAS mics, but the wireless mic is still giving me trouble. I think I have a ground loop that needs to be isolated, so more experimenting is going to be needed before I can post up a final mock up of the work. Early tests have shown that the system is stable and ran for 14 hours and took the Anker down to only 25% from a full charge. Lots of possibilities to do with the electronics and I am no electrical engineer. Most of what I have learned to do this circuit was found from threads here and via the power of internet searches. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. All the ideas for this system came from various threads here, and my own OCD wanting to plan out a bucket that can have a set of electronics, but not all the weight.

I appreciate all the advice. I had overlooked the foam "dampeners" to cut down on vibration to the helmet. Making that note for my design process. My plan is to use standard pc fan filter plates to cover the intakes to prevent hair from being pulled in. I'm sorry you feel it is a waste of time ABS80. However, the frown holes are right at the installation site of the "intake" blowers, so using that same space for a neutral exhaust is normally not efficient for air flow. The bottom of the helmet is something I had not fully considered, but the intakes just will not move enough pressure to move anything significant through that area as it is also neutral, meaning nothing pushing the air out that way. My thoughts for very small profile (5mm x 20mm evercool) fans is to generate a flow that moves from front to back across the top of the head, creating a small flow of air that should help in regulating both the internal temperature in the bucket, along with promoting perspiration. Is that over engineering? Probably. Is it a waste of time? Maybe for some, but for me that challenge to stay as cool as possible is one I want to take on.

Is that the CRL Level 4 TK? I gotta go for that with my armor when it comes....

Check out the Foundry here in the forums. Should be a big help. Good luck!

I bought what I wanted based on reading several build threads and some of the tutorials. I have learned so far that strapping can either be screen accurate or based on your own comfort. I looked at the screen strapping and didn't feel like my skills would be up to the task at hand. I have opted to go with webbing, which is much more familiar to me. Either way, there are great resources here to keep you on track.

If it helps, here is what I have ordered and started to receive so far. As an FYI, I'm still 8 months out from getting up to the plate for my set of ATA armor. Boots - TK Boots Electronics - TK Products (aker amp, icom, wireless headset) Electronics #2 - EAS Mics from Skyminer Electronics #3 - Evilboy Helmet Fan kit Belt - TKittell (off-white) Neckseal - supplies from Jo-Ann Fabrics, hand made following Panda's tutorial, already finished. Strapping - Strapworks.com Gloves - Trooperbay Holster - Trooperbay Undersuit - Target (champion warm) Rivets - Jacy-Cee Sales & Rivet Magnets - K&J Magnetics E-11 Blaster - on waiting list for DVH E-11 ANH pipe kit, scope decals from trooperbay, electronics for the skyone arduino build. I am storing all the goods in what I hope will become my troop kit (heavy duty wheeled tote, I forget the size 30 gallon?). I will focus most of my attention on the E-11 build while I wait out the armor kit. I am also toying with laying out a camelback mod to put in hydration, but will not progress with that until I have the armor kit. I hope this helps

Check out the Commissary/PX here. There is a post that contains links to several items you can get up front. Trooperbay is also a good site to check out.

Thank you for the quick reply Gazmosis, shouldn't be a problem to go back and do that. I was going to make the slits prior to painting on the stripes so that the black would seep into the gaps.

I am still quite a ways off from starting my build (July 2015), but I have started the hunting and gathering process for my ATA build. I am a planner and am laying out what I would like to put in my bucket for electronics. I am already planning on a fan kit to help with circulation, but would like to put some "exhaust" vents powered by small fans. I am considering putting very small slits within the painted stripes on the rear fans to disguise these vents, then covering the inside with frown mesh to further hide them from view. This is not an original idea as I saw it on a build thread in all the reading I've been doing since signing up. My question is this though, I would also like to shoot for centurion status. Will those small slits in the back of the helmet be a cause for concern on that application? Any advice is welcomed.

There is a great thread on an arduino based E-11 by Skyone in the Electronics for Blasters/Helmets sub-forum. I tried to paste a link to it, but I guess I don't have enough posts yet.