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orbit_77

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Everything posted by orbit_77

  1. First, thanks to everyone posting their build threads. I've been reading for months and tried to follow all the great advice shared here. I think I was mostly successful in assembling my bucket. I'll post some photos at the end and would appreciate all comments and suggestions. As has often be stated the AM2 helmet is a bit quirky to fit. I ended up having to re-drill three times before I got it level and without a 'bump on one side. The first time I tried I ended up with a slight bump on one side where there was a gap between the top piece and the faceplate, resulting in a off-kilter brow line. In the end I started on the left (while looking at the front), which someone else had recommended, and set that side with one screw. I then followed the same advice I read on the ATA threads to push the faceplate tight up against the top/back, keeping a lot of tension in the plastic before marking the right side. The tension is to take up any slack between the two pieces, and to put pressure on the black gasket and eliminate any gaps. That worked, and I ended up with a nice, level brow with no gaps or bumps. Because the the AM2 comes pre-trimmed, I realized that I was going to have to screw the faceplate to the back just above the cheek tubes to pull the two halves together. There is pre-marked dimple for this on the right side, but I had to do it for both sides to get the ears to fit. Even after taking the above step, the left ear still wouldn't fit if positioned over the dimples, so I had to re-shape the shape of the half-circle on the helmet to allow the ear to sit about 1/4" lower, which let the inner curve of the ear fit up agains the cheek tube correctly. I still had to use a model iron to reshape the left side to push up the tube into the ear, which I did before adding the extra screw I mentioned above. After sitting with the big, brown box in my house for several months, I really wanted a helmet I could put on, so I have used a few temporary fixes that I'll update as I get the items I need (as in I used blue fun-tac to install the mesh and lenses just cause I wanted to see what the helmet should look like), and for now I just have the thin AM2 supplied plastic. Once I have more scrape ABS, I'll build posts and install thicker lens material in a more secure way. Anyhow, here are the photos: Front: Left Side: By moving the ear down, I ended up creating a small gap that I'll fix once I have scrap ABS by glueing a small piece on the side of the helmet. Because the ear was pre-trimmed this way, there was no other way to get it to fit. Ear bumps still need painting. Right side: You can see that the right ear naturally sits slightly below the brow, so that was the big clue for me that it would be alright for me to adjust the left side down to get it to fit. I'll reshape this ear later to try to eliminate the gap on the lower portion, but I was doing this in my kitchen so I couldn't do any serious sanding. Insides: When deciding to join the 501st and build a TK, I knew that I not only wanted to look like a storm trooper, but I wanted to sound like one too. Very early in my research, I came across ukswath's post on helmet electronics and knew that I wanted to do the same thing. I ordered the rom/FX and hovi-tip speakers, along with echo's fan bracket. I'm glad I decided to abandon the ATA helmet, because even with the extra size afforded by the AM2 helmet, I still feel the rom/FX touching my hair on the back of my head, so there is no way it would have fit in the smaller ATA. I just hope there will be enough room for the hearing aid board (once I assemble it). Right now it's all battery powered, but I plan on following ukswrath's instructions to wire everything to an external battery on my torso, which should give me a bit more space in the helmet. Inside Front: Here you can see the fun-tac and the thin lens material I will upgrade later. I will likely have to replace the blowers that come standard with Echo's bracket as they are so wide the mounting screw threatens to draw blood every time I take the bucket on and off. Does anyone have any recommendations for low profile (and quiet) blowers? That's it for now. What's next? the armour! Still debating if I should start with arms or legs... thoughts?
  2. After a summer/fall hiatus, I'm ready to tackle my first armour build - an AM2.0 TK Stunt. I previously started an ATA helmet, but soon realized that it was going to be too small, so it sits abandoned and half finished in a box, but it gave me the necessary experience and confidence to tackle the AM2 helmet. This weekend a decided to get started and am excited to be sitting beside a almost-complete bucket. I'll take some photos and post them here shortly, along with the a few comments/suggestions on assembling the AM2 helmet based on my experience. Cheers, George
  3. Just as a belated update after putting everything away for the summer, after a bit more test fitting I had to admit that I will never fit my head into the ATA (as in my eyelashes touch the return edge on the eye sockets, so once the lens are installed it would be even smaller), not to mention that that there would be no rooms for fans or other helmets electronics. I've started on my AM2 helmet which is bigger and gives me a bit more room inside, so I'll start a new build thread for that project. Some great AM2 builds have been completed over the last few months. Lots of great material to follow here and to be inspired by.
  4. And mine is with Canadian customs Cleared at 4:35pm local time! Yay [emoji3]
  5. Congrats! Mine is on its way as well, although with family visiting soon I won't get it started until later this summer. I'm glad to know there should be a few build threads by then I can follow!
  6. I had a bit of time tonight, so I reviewed a few of the key builds and how-to's (this one and this one especially) and I went ahead with positioning the two halves and drilling the holes. I also removed the strip off the front of the brow, and now that the two pieces were one, how could a resist trimming the neck just enough for me to squeeze my head into it and try it on for size (verdict: I am not going to need a lot of foam!) Here are a few pics: Marking the brow (score and snap), as well as marking the centerline Oh yeah, I also washed it inside and out in the sink with warm water and soap to get it nice and clean before painting. Here I am drilling the first pilot hole (I did it all by hand just to be safe) I then opened it up to the final size with progressively larger bits until the screw just barely slide through. Repeat on the other side. I then followed the steps here to mark the first side, attached one screw, then apply tension to the brow before marking and drilling the second side. Other side: The result: I wanted a very low brow and I positioned it like this at every step of centering, marking then drilling the holes. I'll probably push it down even a tiny bit more when I attach the bottom screw/rivets (any thoughts as to using screws vs rivets for the helmets?). I like the look of the low brow, plus I realized as I was doing the marking, the lower the brow, the larger the natural opening at the neck becomes. I have a very large head (size, not ego!), so this will be advantageous for me later. From the side: Now that I knew more or less where the two halves were going to sit, I marked the front neck opening. I really wanted to try it on, so I did a rough cut, leaving extra room at the end until the final alignment is set. And it worked! I could just barely squeeze it on (the side screws are going to have to be shortened), but I did: Next steps: painting the interior with Plasti-dip, deciding on rivets vs. screws to attach it together properly, and then attempting the ears.
  7. @Khazid - my mistake. I've updated my post and provided a link to your walk through. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  8. Hi everyone. This will be my build thread for an ATA helmet I ordered. I'll start a separate thread for my armour when it arrives (AM2). I've made some progress on this bucket and wanted to post some photos and get some feedback hopefully before I proceed any further. Big thank-you to all who come before me. FISD has been invaluable. I hope this will be my little contribution (probably most from the 'don't do what I just did' side as this is my first project of this sort!) Anyhow, I attended an armour party hosted by the Capital City Garrison, which gave me the confidence to start cutting/sanding. One member even let me practice scoring and snapping on a fairly mistake-proof piece of ABS from his kit, what was a big help. Between then and now, I've gotten the eyes and teeth done, and the back trimmed and brow fitted. Personal experience/comments so far: For larger areas and straight lines, I find a mouse sander is easier and more forgiving than the Dremel - this may change as I gain more experience with a Dremel (I used the Dremel on the edges of the faceplate for practice, but ended up using the mouse sander for taking the eyes down from the inside). Learn to score and snap as soon as you can! I practiced on in a safe area, then ended up scoring and snapping the brow line . I finished up with the mouse sander to bring it up to where I wanted it. (always score slightly back from where you want the final edge) Find your local hobby store! While Amazon is great, nothing beats walking into a store and discussing with someone what would work best for your needs. I found a great model-sized needle file set that let me do the teeth with nice sharp angles (X-ACTO needle file set (X73610) I saw just in the last couple of days someone who posted a how-to on making little cloth pouches for their rare-earth magnets with the polarity marked (*edit - check it out here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?/topic/31701-HOW-TO%3A-Assemble-Magnet-Sachets. I loved the idea, but as it was 8pm on a Sunday and I didn't want to risk scratching the ABS, I just used wide painters tape, and instead of wrapping it tight around the magnets, like I've seen in some photos, I left the tape wide and somewhat long so each magnet has a good 'tab' I can use to pull/slide them off of each other. I also marked their polarity with a Sharpie so it's easy to get them in place. In terms of questions I have before going further, I'd love any and all feedback, criticism and feedback .Specifically: 1 - should I take the eyes down further? I can still see my original pencil line, which means I'm not quite and the seam in the mold. 2 - how are the teeth? The centre-right one ended up slighter taller than the centre-left one - should I raise it up to match? Here are some photos and comments/questions: Straight on view - see the slighter higher middle-right tooth? Is this a problem? For the teeth, I used the Dremel w/Sanding Drum from behind until they were open. After looking as some of the screen-used photos, I decided to go for more angular corners, so I put my new hobby file set to use and filed all the teeth to get the right line and corners. I used the three-sided triangle file the most for this and don't really see how I could have done it without that one, so if you only buy one file, buy the triangle one. Right Side: Left side: Q - do I need to take the sides of the face in more, or does it matter since it'll all be covered by the top piece? Q - do I need to trip the 'forehead'? As you can see in this photo, it bend out right at top. Should this be trimmed? Close-up of teeth (with flash): Q - Are my pencil lines about right in terms of where I should end up painting? Inside view - you can still see my pencil line on the both eyes. Should I take it down further? And now it's starting to look like a stormtrooper! Here are the painter's tape tabs I mentioned earlier. How is the top/brow/ear curve trim looking? Everything okay? Other side: And now its time for a glass of (Canadian) Whiskey with R2-D2 ice cubes to savour the progress made so far! Next steps, once I get feedback on the above, is to reshape the right side of the top piece to get it to fit better before connecting the two halves. After that I'll be tackling the ears!
  9. Thanks for sharing your experience. I have an ATA bucket as well I've just started and I was hesitant to go the heat gun route, but you made seem easy enough I'm going to give it a try. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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