sskunky

Mount them to a piece of Marine ply. It's much easier to demould with the helmet moulds on board. It gives you something to grab hold of. You can add a X section to the inside of the moulds and secure it in then screw the board to that...... Add filler to make the seam smooth and good. Once it's mounted just drill some holes on the bottom so the vacuum can work.

I'll be interested to see if the cup works. Have you got the vac moulds secured to a base board?

are the moulds feeling tacky when they are hot? some fillers and resins will soften when hot.... Also did you paint the moulds with anything? if you did the paint can stick to the plastic too....

Just a thought.... are you using talc on the mould? sprinkle talc on the moulds before you form them,....... it does aid the release a bit... That and a good blast of compressed air.

There is no easy way with a solid mould... The undercut on the back tube stops it from coming off.... Cut around the front and sides and cut as much of the back as poss, then with a pair of gloves on try get your fingers under the front of the cap and pull up and back pivoting on the rear tube..... Does that make sense? Otherwise you need a mould that collapses or a hydraulic plattern to pull the mould out of the plastic..... It's the hardest part of vacuum forming.... Especially these helmets.... It's the undercut..... You could try tilting the mould forward a bit so the undercut is more vertical.....

That looks the nuts!

Vern, You sound like you've done a lot of Vacuum forming? What machines have you used? You should see the machines I have my armour made on. 8' x 4' big monster of a machine. I still haven't tired of watching it form half suits at a time.

I will be doing ROTJ E11 blasters at some point. I have a couple of different versions in line. I have a MGC Sterling but it's a full working one and not sure I want to cover it in Silicone. :eek:

Also if you are getting webbing at all.... Try strategically placing small blocks of wood around the mould.... It's all to do with the draw of plastic and small blocks change that and pull the plastic away from the offending area....hope this helps......

It's actually easier to pull the form off the mould whilst it's warm. The plastic will release easier.... Vern, it shouldn't warp as the ABS should have cooled enough by that stage. If you are not getting enough pull on the detailed parts then the plastic is probably cooling too fast and unable to pull in there..... You can use a heat gun to aid in these areas... just be careful not to over heat as it will blow a hole. You will find as the moulds heat up after a few pulls they will form better.... When you first pull the moulds are cool and that in turn will cool the ABS as it hits the mould.

For some reason this forum posted a quoted post from another thread on here! please ignore!

Good luck for the exams!

Nice!

No offence taken Gino. Although I can find no evidence that you had access to actual T-Track other than your say so and that is not rock solid evidence in my book....... You showed plenty of photos of real T-Track on exhibition sabers and blasters but you never showed the real thing in hand as evidence to your research. I have never disputed that your T-Track is nice, it is but it's not a found item..... Are you saying the real deal is not black or made of ABS? Anyway, this is not a thread on our opinions of T-track. I am happy to discuss this via PM as I am genuinely interested that you had access to the real deal and if it's something you cannot discuss in public PM is the way to go.... As you say mine and Marvs is good value and it's a found item that is as close as I believe we will find today...... Do you have a comparison pic of yours next to ours? I would be happy to send you some for research purposes or you could send me a small length of yours? It's all good fun. I did not mean to offend you either...... Mark.

Great!, I didn't receive an email but glad they arrived safe and sound.....

Diana, Did your mic tips arrive? I did send out another set as the first didn't arrive..... LMK Cheers, Mark.

This isn't a bad effort for someone that has just decided to be a Stormtrooper...... If you need any advice myself and Rich are here for you....... p.s. Always ask an adult to help you when using sharp implements. p.p.s...... Great to see you back Mark...... It's been a while since the old timers were knocking around these parts.

I received some stock today. If you still want it from me let me know. I understand if you want to get it in your country and save on shipping but I have some if you need it.

I'm about to order a load of s trim and brow trim but I'm away for a week camping with my family. I can sort you out when I return.

Acetone is acetone..... shouldn't matter what brand it is... It will dissolve abs whatever brand......

Welcome back buddy, I received the payment and should fingers crossed be forming on Weds......... I'll keep you posted....... Looking forward to seeing the build....

So there!

Thanks Cedric! I do plan on updating this thread on my next build up. I keep forgetting to get my camera out when I'm assembling. It's down to being up against it and assembling more than one at a time.

Marvs are accurate. We prettying found the stuff at the same time. It's the only off the shelf stuff that's accurate today. Gino will tell you his are more accurate but his were made using photos as reference. It came from the UK to start with and ours is from the UK. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk