TKCaleb

I don't want to sound pessimistic but I already have a tough time taking this film seriously when the armor looks like something I could buy off Ebay...

I had to clean a pool while the owner flirted with me.

I was looking closely at the images too. The armor looks very different from the TKs seen in the original trilogy. The shoulder bells look off, the thighs, chest plate...

If you want a set of armor as close to an original as you can get, look into RS props. Their suit was molded from an actual production used suit created for A New Hope.

Lucky!! Very cool, I have heard before that the shin and thigh armor was made of rubber for stunts but wasn't sure if it was confirmed.

are you strapping the chest plate to the abdomen? I have my chest and abdomen pieces strapped with two elastic straps. That could help keep your chest plate from continually moving up.

Very cool! Yes I too love that it is ROTJ armor as well.

If I had got my hands on them, I would of probably been kicked out or arrested for giving those punks an eternal @$$ kicking.

Nice job! Nice to see another ROTJ trooper!

I never realized that the tubestripes were silkscreened! I'm always learning something new. Silkscreening the ink onto the vinyl is one thing, but cutting each individual decal out is a entirely another. I do not see any way of mass producing these without having a metal stencil forged. Otherwise, these will have to be cut out manually.

EXCELLENT PHOTOS MAN!

I went to a local hobby shop and picked up a pack of micro abrasive pads, they worked really well on my rotj helmet. I worked up starting from a 2000 grit pad, all the way to a 12000 grit. super shiny and smooth. Caleb

When I built my CFO helmet, I used a product I picked up at a local hobby shop called Tenax-7R. The employees there swore by that stuff and after I used it, I understood why. The product fuses/welds ABS plastic right at the seams and takes less than a minute to bond. Only issue I had was the price, which was close to $10 dollars for a small 1 fl oz bottle. -------

I think the frown looks great!! The helmet in general looks really awesome!! great work!!! Now just go and weather it up! Caleb

The helmet looks wonderful Juan!! While I do agree with advice given from both Mark and Joe, I think you got the finish of the black paint spot on! Its not quite shiny, but not too dull either, its a perfect in between. Also, I really have to hand it to you on the messy smeared glue details and the metalized mictips, they look great! The nick at the crest of the frown is also a nice touch! Caleb

Ohh okay! Obviously I cant tell between the two.

Thanks for the kind words Juan. The helmet is looking great man!! Very nice! Im glad you where able to remove the paint from the frown safely. I cant wait to see it finished!! Post some more pics once its complete. By the way, is this the JoeR/CFO helmet or the newer CFO helmet?

Very exciting!! Good luck!

The man was legendary. It is truly sad to hear of his passing. RIP

Thank you Juan! a SE sandy eh? That will be awesome! I dont think there are any currently, so I am sure it would be thrilling to be one of the first! As for the frown, yes I masked it off using painters pin striping tape. You can buy some of this tape at hobby stores and possibly specialty paint shops. I also painted the frown using a quality synthetic brush, not spray paint. It took me awhile to get the frown right, I looked at A LOT of images of the original ROTJ helmets and carefully plotted out where to mask it off. If there was anything I was more concerned about with the build, it was surely the frown. I also used a blend of two different paint finishes. Both paints were the same brand and color, except one was matte and the other semi-gloss. I mixed equal amounts together to form a sheen which was more so a "correct" satin finish. Of course in the photos the black paint looks a bit like semi-gloss due to the flash and all, but in reality it looks dull. I also suggest that even if the black is to shiny, dont go over it with a matte paint, just use a deglosser (liquid which removes sheen off a paint surface) or fine sand paper to scuff out the sheen. It would look much more realistic! Also, the first time I painted the frown, it looked like ****. I did not sand down the paint job, but applied a paint stripper which was safe on plastic. It worked very well, but took A LONG time to work into the paint. I would suggest picking up some of that! I believe it is made by testors..again that too should be found also at a hobby shop! Good luck man!

Looks wonderful man! Great work!

Agreed. The shoulders are especially unique to ROTJ armor!

ahhaha! nice!

Dont forget the shoulder bells!

I read that interview. I feel sorry for him. I don't think he realizes what kind of an impact the original movies made on everyone, and how his obsession degraded his films. I believe many would approve of his added VFX for the special editions in '97 but everything else after that was just too much, ESPECIALLY WHAT HE DID WITH THE BLURAYS!!!