CableGuy

Hey there Tricky, Yes, that’s normal for the rubber S-trim. This is also RS and it’s the same. :-)

Nice work, Trooper. :-)

You’re making a good job of reworking that plastic Rubies helmet. Does the colour match nicely with the foam Armour? :-)

Is it worth linking this thread via FB? I hate to admit it, but, I feel most people use socials more regularly than the forum. A little note with a link on the FB group might stir up some more entries. :-)

Hey Tino, Many thanks. :-) Looking at the original pattern of the "chips" in the first photo (as I received it), I think they were also aiming for the "set for Stun" helmet, so I think they just went too far with the trimming. The trimming has many areas of concern so I think it was just an oversight. I always used to paint black first, then grey, as that's a little easier. However, after discussions with some of the RS guys and ArtooDan, I decided to go all out and go Grey then black. It's quite nerve-racking, however, I'm getting used to it and really like the results. :-)

After applying the fossil green, it’s time to start adding the liquid latex mask. I was asked to copy the Set for Stun trooper, so that’s what I aimed for. After this has dried, time to add a white undercoat (same brand as the gloss white the mat will be applied later): Then, Ford Diamond White gloss spray paint. The first coat was a little too satin... So, another can of spray paint purchased and a slightly thicker coat applied to get more sheen... Ooo, lovely. :-) (here’s a little peak at the spray painting) https://youtube.com/shorts/2cSwSZJOIOg?feature=share Once that has fully cured, you can begin to remove the liquid latex, revealing the fossil green undercoat (used to represent HDPE of the original Stunt helmets). Now it’s time to start applying the hand painted details. First up, Humbrol Grey #5: And now we get to today - I spent around 1 hr applying the Humbrol #85 Satin Black for the pinstripes and vocoder: Well, thats all for now. More to come soon.

Hi folks, So, I’m part way through a rather interesting project. When I saw a trooper asking about ways to fix a part-finished RS Prop Masters helmet that he’d purchased on eBay, I offered some suggestions. As the conversation continued, the trooper asked if I’d like to take a look at it in person to see what could be done. I agreed and he sent the helmet over to me. Well, opening the box revealed that it was already spray painted and the weathering had begun: When you look at the famous “lump” on the front of the RS helmet (part of the original helmet that this is cast from), you’ll see that the renovation helmet’s brow has been trimmed quite a lot more than it should have been: At this stage, this didn’t seem too bad. However, I hadn’t seen what was inside at this stage! ;-) After removing the ears, it was clear that the back and cap had been over trimmed: Also, the faceplate had been, once more, over trimmed.. The inside of the helmet had been sprayed black and, bizarrely, had lots of Velcro pads inside. I’ll explain these a little later... The only way this paint was coming off was sanding. So, the sanding begun... Taking apart the faceplate and back&cap, the faceplate was also over trimmed, as well as having various extra holes in unusual places. Although I didn’t know at the time, the Velcro pads inside had been stuck on to cover additional holes, all with ABS paste over the top(!!!); So, to add to the “fun”, I had to knock up some ABS paste and fill the various cracks and holes. After a long, long time trying to align this helmet “correctly”, it just was not possible with the way this was trimmed and the amount of holes in the helmet already. I did the best I could, also having to trim abs apply a new set of ears. Once aligned and assembled, on to the painting. As I’m going for a original look, the first coat was a Fossil Green; More to come in the next post. :-)

Hey troopers, I’m pleased to say that we successfully completed our 12 hour gaming livestream, on Facebook and YouTube, and had some great support. We raised a total of £325 for the MNDA (motor neurone disease Association), and hopefully a lot more awareness of this cruel disease. Here’s some of the photos from the event, before, during and after. A HUGE thank you to all of those that liked, commented, donated and/or shared.

Nice work on the helmet so far :-) If I may, your left eye (when worn) has a bit of a bulge. I’d consider evening it out a little for a more typical appearance. Whilst you are there, you could consider squaring off the corners a little. As below, the eyes for ANH stunt helmets were quite angular. Glen provided some additional eye references before, also. They also show the same angular nature of the eyes. This gives the helmet a more menacing look, as apposed to the soft, friendlier look of softer, more rounded eyes. :-)

Well done, Grave. Excellent effort. Hats off to Arthur for his assistance and support, too. :-)

Hiya. I’d say that hot glue or similar is much more likely to just come off again, especially troublesome if it’s mid-troop (as you’ll NEVER bend down to pick it up) lol I’d go with a bracket to make it more stable. :-)

Hey Cory, For the best references for the Hengstler and how best to attach it, I’d check out the FISD blaster reference guide. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32111-fisd-e-11-blaster-reference/ The bracket is usually just a right angles piece of metal. One angled bracket is enough and can mounted under the front foot of the scope.

Nice work on the helmet, trooper. If I may, just a couple of things that you could consider. 1: the “tears” are currently quite small. Personally, I’d consider making them fill the moulded area a little better. Suggestion below; Secondly, you could consider filling out the vocoder paint a little more (the 2nd and 6th vertical bars). As per this link, the vast majority of ANH stunt helmet seen on screen had a slightly “fuller” vocoder; https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/48252-anh-tk-vocoder-examples/ Here’s an example of what could be done, if you wanted to. Keep up the good work. :-)

Thanks Tino and Tony. :-) I’ve given the scope another coat of Humbrol Brass 54, as well as the front end of the Hengstler. As the rear of the original Hengstler counters were plastic, they should not be sprayed with a brass coat. The plastic part would not have had metal effect weathering. I started to work on the “OFF —>” detailing on the end cap of the magazine, however, it’s not quite to the standard I’d like. I’ll likely do this again. And finally, the folding stock now has a coat of Hammered Black, so I test fitted it to the barrel. A little shiny still at this moment, but, I’m liking the finish. :-)

Hi Justin, Yes, I certainly see where you are coming from. And I believe the rivet placement is the key point in the discussion you're referring to, rather than the postitioning of the central ammo pack. That's why I specifically mentioned the different armour makers. With the best will in the world, even some of the 'most common' armour makes are not always overly accurate in some areas, whether this be with their kits or their commissions, so aligning the central ammo pack like the originals might not be possible. This certainly makes it harder for members when they feel their armour maker probably knows the "right" way to build it, yet, this is not always the case. Makers pre-shaping (and potentially pre-trimming) the ammo pack (or any other parts), is, I'm sure, meant with the best intentions. However, it does take away some of the applicants' choice to fine tune certain parts. Unfortunately, the armour makers are not obliged to make changes based on the CRL - it just depends how accurate they want to be. This then comes down to the purchaser on their choice of the various factors, including budget, accuracy, availabilty etc. Regarding the higher levels of approvals, I think a key point to bear in mind is that approvals are based around the wording of the CRL but also based on the visual appearance of the oroginal costumes. I quote "Text descriptions are only one part of the guideline. GML’s and costumers must consider both text and pictures (CRL and Reference) when reviewing the costume." Hopefully these reference photos will help future builders before they attaach their ammo pack. I'm a firm beleiver that the best reference material a builder can have is the oroginal movie suits themselves, within reason. Other build threads are good, especially when it comes to the certain "quirks" of certain makes, however, the end result is to look like those wonderful troopers on screen that we all fell in love with. :-) This is not just a response to the Centurion application that is being discussed, by the way. This has come up in another thread on a different platform and these reference images are hopefully hepful to all. :-)

Following a recent discussion about the thigh ammo pack on a Stormtrooper’s right thigh, I wanted to post some reference photos. Many of us assume that the central ammo pack (3rd of 5 ammo packs) should be in the middle of the thigh, in line with the coverstrip. As below, this was not the case with the majority of ANH stormtroopers. It was offset to the right, slightly, when viewed from the front. **Depending on the make/accuracy of each person's kit, this may or may not be possible due to where the ammo pack has to be attached to the ridge on the thigh. Photos below;

Oh my - he looks too sad for a commemorative coin... ;-)

Great designs, Greg!!! :-) If I may, as this is about celebrating the detachment, rather than Stormtroopers themselves, I’d love to see some designs based around “Troopers helping troopers”. This way, it is more about 15 years of helping people reach their dream, rather than just stormtroopers. I’d love to throw some designs in but an a bit tight for time at the moment with other projects. Perhaps our excellent designer folks might have some ideas around? Personally, I’d still include the classic stormtrooper image somewhere on the coin, but would also add “Troopers Helping Troopers” - something that encapsulates the spirit of the FISD

Hey troopers Myself and my good friend Rough Dimon, and some other friends along the way, will be gaming and live-streaming from 12pm til 12am on Good Friday, April 2nd, to raise money and awareness for this disease and the MND charity. So, why are we doing this... A trooper friend of mine is bravely working his way through the challenges brought to him through motor neurone disease. Despite the changes that this has made to his day to day life, he still manages to support others with positivity and kindness and is a true inspiration to myself and others. He knows who he is. If you would like to watch the stream, or donate any amount, large or small, we’d appreciate your support. I will stream on my personal Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.branton.186 My friend will stream to YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/RoughDimon https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cableguydan

Hey folks, A little bit of progress on the painting front. After a couple of different sources confirming the presence of crinkle paint on the original weapons, and thus likely the props in ANH, I went ahead with applying Hammerite Hammered Black spray paint. First coat was very glossy and had a lot of separation. The paint in the below photo was still wet, so extra glossy. However, upon drying, the paint looked a little pitted. The second cost went on much nicer, filling those “pitted” gaps and making for a much better finish. And here is where we are up to. I have test fitted a couple of metallic parts, just for contrast.

Sorry Rich - I meant for blacking out the interior. Check out this vid to see the interior of one of my buckets. The EVA foam sheets are around 2mm thick and self adhesive, so you just cut them to strips of various sizes and apply within the helmet. :-)

Hey Rich, Welcome to the other side. ;-) You could try self adhesive black EVA foam. I used that for one of mine abs it worked really well. :-)

Well done, Grave. Overall, that’s looking great. :-) Just to add to what Glen highlighted, one of the rear decals appears to be bigger that the trap and is overlapping the ridge. Also, as it’s a Centurion application I can’t help but mention the helmet alignment. Not that I expect you’ll have to change it, but more for your information if you choose to make another helmet in the future, or for any other troopers looking at this Centurion application. I wanted to highlight the construction/alignment of the helmet. As it stands, it has a very close resemblance to Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) or ESB MKII helmets. These were different to A New Hope and had a different look. Let me stress that this is not a criticism and that 99% of the public would not notice the following at all. I’m purely mentioning this as it’s at Centurion level. Here’s a look at your helmet vs an original ANH stunt helmet; And here vs ROTJ; The main difference is how the faceplate is aligned. You’ve aligned your faceplate with the eyes pointing up into the brow (green line). This gives the helmet a longer appearance (blue line) and a very angled face (red line). The ultra low brow look is more ROTJ, also. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/47588-imperial-stormtrooper-choosing-your-brow-height/ The back/cap of the MTK helmet does have some similarities to the ROTJ helmet (soft lines) so this is perhaps a helmet derived from an ROTJ helmet. (I don’t know much history of MTK). Changing this at this point would be difficult as the holes have already been drilled etc. As I mentioned at the start, I would not expect you to have to change this for Centurion approval, however, it is hopefully useful information for any future builds you may undertake or, more importantly, for any troopers looking through Centurion applications for reference. If you did decide to change it, here’s an approximate example of how this could be done: Best of luck with your approval, Grave. Best wishes CableGuy

Hi troopers, The painting process has begun. A grey primer for pretty much all parts, to start. Then, on parts that were originally made of metal, a metallic silver undercoat: Below, a mixture of grey primed parts and the silver bolt. The scope also had a grey primer, then a coat of Humbrol Brass 54 More parts with metallic silver applied. I’m still trying to decide on Crinkle black paint for the barrel and stock or not?? I’m told that the screen used blasters would have had a crinkled texture - very hard to see good enough quality reference photos. More to come soon. :-)

Welcome aboard, Alex. There’s some amazing people on this forum and lots of help available. Any questions you have, don’t hesitate to ask. :-) Best wishes Dan/CableGuy