Heatshock

only thing I guess u shouldnt mix up is the MR mini replicas with the MR CE lid. I see lots of MR 0.45 replica helmets on the Bay in UK, but pricing quickly tells u the difference

nice stuff Nate always did like Andy's work - u seen his new cody?? bloody gorgeous

its funny how different costumes make u view differently materials I too got involved with Fett, and a few of the new clone lids. Fibreglass as a material isnt that bad. having said that - in Fett its only a few pieces of body armour + lid and in clones its the lids only. I agree with all thats been said already. Too heavy. Too rigid. Too uneven an interior is a huge pain to wear. all the current legitimate producers used ABS or HIPS. Its fair to say any TK armour made of FG is recast. its hard tryin to explain to people outside the hobby why recasting is bad - good luck mate and good on yer for trying. enjoy ur TM armour; it is gorgeous (just ask Nate TK9135 ;P)

on my FX - I used scissors recently on some AP armour, i started with dremelling - but wasnt happy with it moved to a combination of score/sna[, tin snips and those small plastic cruved scissors for cutting plastic as recommended by stukatrooper: like these---------- having said all that - Kevins CT armour is really thick 0.125 ABS IIRC good luck tony!

I love E6000 for just abt everything

its abt sharpness of pulls TE2 is HIPS - it grabs details more, but is a softer material, tehrefore less durable comapred to ABS. It a matte finish, but have seen some loverly paint jobs AP is ABS - more durable. shiny white straight out of box. polishable with Novus polish. Detail is ....different. Cos the plastic used, u will find edges have a more "rounded" edge; good example is in the traps in teh forearm armour. One thing I always wanted to run by Mr X. In the UK we actually have Gloss HIPS. WOuldnt that be a good material for TE2 armour?

thought I;d answer ur question here Clare yeah there will be some colour diff between lid and FX armour - but trust me; it will be ok. even diff batches of gloss ABS will sometimes have some colour differences - dont sweat it too much. only thing is - u wont get away with half painting a lid. if u have decided on painting the lid, u will prob have to go all the way, unless its a really small spot only.

Halfords - rattle can - white appliance gloss clare, problem is - the white wont match up with rest of glossy white of the original plastic! you might have to paint the whole thing nate

agreed velcro and that helmet - does it nto hold far too much senitmental memories for u to rip it apart?

rofl - tbh - been trundling along wioth this one - but got side tracked by a small clone project ;P will be done by the time TE2 decides on another run - HONEST!! Tom - yeesh trust u to bring this back up to the top of the thread list !! yikes - bear with me guys this will be done THIS YEAR! Nate (not talking to myself btw - TK9135 Nate that is!); I am gonna complete it dude! Nate

abt the ears... considering the amt of work u've done to make em stay put - I would keep em as is. but if u are anything like the rest of us... once u start delving into accurate lids; the ears will begin to bug you ;p heres a pic of my frown pre-file: --------- and after ---------- as for the re-round of exisitng teeth - I did on mine, but dont think many others bother. also the amt of space to create is fixed, diff runs of the MR lid had diff amts of space. Its an eye-ball thing. next up - tube stripes. Get new ones from TK4510'd decal shop to get the original ones off - UK guys had some luck with acetone - just the nail polish remover stuff. I sanded mine off as I was completely repainting it. wotever it is - the original ones need to come off. btw - I am sure I have posted this before - but heres my entire WIP: http://ukgarrison.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19182 No'l on this forums also has a very nice WIP *No'l tried to link to ur original WIP - wont work any more---------

ok 1st off Tom; lets talk abt requirements for clearance - this is ultimately determined by ur local garrison GML. But..... (1) your front seam still looks pretty obvious to me, here's a pic of mine filled in: (2) your frown does need to be opened out a bit more, nice work on the extra hole (3) your tube stripes dont look quite right - have they been replaced yet? next aesthetics - although its true abt the ears, it isnt a clearance issue. keep up the good work! Nate

I was tryin to decide on the ears - chickened out pic is 1st post - ears looked bulgey out enough, but the close up shot, ear cap looks quite low-lying MR LE suggestion seems good - especially after checkin out images on Jez's site.

I have been sat here with my MR and AP for abt an hour and various other pics... (one day tony.... one day..... TE2 lid will be mine bwhahahahahahaha!!!!) I would have to agree with MR lineage for the following reasons: (1) nose as already stated (2) aerator detail (3) roundedness/bulginess of the bit of the frown as it turns in in-between the teeth. AP and TE2 look a little more recessed wonkiness of face throws me off though, cos that cant be MR go on boss - wot is it???? I wants to know! Nate

hey Bruce - pm's replied every1 makes mistakes dude, dont feel too bad. the link u provided is one of 3 known recasters in UK - they all use FX recasted armour. Some with modififed SDS lids, some with plain old FX. Common mistake buying from em. As is, the kit will prob be clearable tbh. ta for links Terrell - the paint for the frown is real easy to get in UK - Humbrol gloss grey (admiralty grey); let me know - I got a local hobby store that stocks it. decals as details provided by by teh DO or trooperdecals for a UK based provider. also sign up with UKG - loads of UK troopers who can lend a hand easy Nate

hey clare - u registered on UKG forums yet? if not u want me to post ur call out on there? pm me email or something so guys/gals in area can get in touch *psst hit up mike for a nice built up TE2 lid - best builder in the biz; and ur a girl, he'll listen to you ;P*

I cant believe I am actually quoted from teh movie - Legally Blonde. "... bend... and SNAP!" but on a serious note: check out Daves garage video on you tube. think it boils down to 4 techniques: (1) dremel or rotary tool with cutting wheel (2) score with a hobby knife and snap it (3) tin snips or sharp hobby scissors specially made for model making (4) good ole fashion scissors all edges will have to be smoothened anyways. I personally used a combination of (1) and (2) on my FX. Recently added a tin snip into my building kit - so will prob use all optins 1 through to 3!! (I stopped using (4) when I got into real trouble by using the wife best pair of kitchen scissors to do armour) they all work really Nate ps omg a woman! from England!! pps sign up at UKG - sure there will be a wealth of local garrison guys and gals willing to help a new trooper!

agree with ur sentiments Andreas, btu time and time again, we get new people posting on these boards w/o doin some basic research ie using the search key SFP is a vendor beware on ALL the costuming and prop forums I surf. I know it wasnt ur intention, but everytime some1 like u comes a long and posts links to his auctions, it seems like another free plug for that scumbag. there really should be a way to get these threads shut down and deleted once the info is shared. mods wot do u think? glad u had a near miss Andreas Nate

check out the jolly roger squad - the 501 detachment o omega wing. also look up star wars helmets.com options I say are : Rubies with quite a few mods, easliy get from loads of shops SF - last I heard his molds were broken, check out the RPF for ongoing interest DLaws - hard to come by Old Don Post - ebay or other costuming sites, not made anymore the 1st 2 are smaller than movie-accurate size. the latter 2 are larger, movie accurate size. AVOID SFP AT ALL COST - recaster, poor business ethics, fugitive from US, outstanding allegations of unsavoury business with kids. oh yeah SDS as well - but would be really expensive if u get cash to splash - Laws is tha way forward.

soz to hear that mate

as far as I am aware - all FG TK lids are gonna be recasts of existing helmets off here; therefore would avoid. I have used FG for other lids, boba, clones. Not that bad. links - I did an idiots guide to MRCE modding with all pics and all. IN fact the thread is in this section at he botom of the page if you look. or if better, can re-post all the pics from that original thread on UKG forums on here in the tutorials section? not sure if thats a done thing ie can I re-post a whole WIP again on a diff forum? the original one I used by wannabetrooper (Luis?) - no longer has pics Nate

theres a lot to consider in making a lid choice. price, material, availability. reason theres no 'table' for comparison is that people make their choice based on the 3 things above. in terms of quality - theres the major separation between the likes of DP lids and those available here. those available here are FX, AP, TE2, TM. And DL has a new sculpt I believe. MR CE is certainly a good starter lid. Licenced. Good price. But symmetrical. Its something you are going to search through the forums and decide for yourself. questions to ask: (1) purpose = display or for trooping? (2) material = ABS - stronger, but not as detailed, HIPS - not as strong as ABS, but sharper detail (3) cash = all screen accurate/screen like (ie asymmetrtical) are upwards of $200 (4) availability = TE2 not pullin helmets atm, but some may come up for sale in the For Sale section if u looking for picture comparisons - look up star wars helmets.com lastly - avoid ebay, avoid recasts. hope that helps. Nate

aye the top is ok - happy to put some heat onto it it was the bottom bit - think I am going with gluing it as is, and fill the gap with some milliput or silicone

thanks pete any1 else with alternate ways of doing this?

right guys - I'm bbbaaacckkk building armour again havent forgotten my TE2, but personal life/troubles means I have shelved it temporarily (all but snaps to do now ) in the mean time, a mate has asked me to help with his AP thighs. been trawling through here and stukas armour builds and the question I have has to do with the end bit of the thigh, just above the knee. For my example I will talk abt the right thigh. The outer half has a seam line, and right at the edge, the seam line has a rasied bit. On the inner half, the seam line is flat throughout its length ------- in stuka build (hope u dont mind the mention pete)- he seems to have molded the flat edge up to meet the raised edge however, I noted in TK2416 build thread (post #31)----------- that he glued the main seam line together and then filled the gap with silicone. I must admit, this is prbably the say I am going. what have the rest of you AP builders done? Nate