Lord_Potato

I got a little better with the cover strips. Turned out all I had to do was make a whole lot of cuts against a ruler (as a guide) instead of a few hard cuts which made me loose stability. So the front cover strip on the left thigh is dried and secure. I was nervous doing the back part......making sure it aligned and the hardest part was eyeballing the middle of the back for the cover strip. I decided to do my best and make out the middle, cut out the excess plastic and butt the ends together. Now I am just waiting for it to dry and hoping if it all ends well I can do the same thing on the right thigh. If this back cover strip sticks together well then the only thing left to do for this thigh is sand down/even the return edge and add snaps to attach to a belt.

Today I didn't make much progress (not for lack of trying). I did get the right thigh front ridge to a width of about 20mm (more like 21mm). So both front of both thighs have a 21mm ridge. I then decided to put a cover strip of the front of the left thigh. I figured I should have the front secured before I start trying to make the back of the thigh to meet at the middle. I kept messing up the cover strip. I had no idea such a simple task was going to get the best of me. I found out after looking at a YouTube tutorial that I was putting to much force on my cuts. I guess when I put the metal ruler down it is better to make several light cuts against the ruler instead of a few hard pushed cuts.....my strips kept coming out uneven. Like a frustrated child I took the best looking one and glued it with e600 onto the front ridge of the left thigh. I guess tomorrow I'll look at it with a fresh set of eyes and see if I need to take it off and do a new cover strip. This time I'll do several of light slices until I get past the middle. The plastic from Walt's seems very thick.

Okay, so I went back to my left thigh to try and to and make the front ridge/cover strip area closer to a 20mm width instead of 25mm. To help me make a better cut the second time around I cut a 10mm strip of tape and put it on the ridge to act as a guide. It seems to have worked and I did the same thing to the other side. Now the join up pretty well. And the width is just a little over 20mm Heres how the thigh looks on me: I think I have it sized pretty well. It's fitted but not too tight. I can easily stick a finger anywhere on the top portion of the thigh and two fingers with minimal effort. The only potential issue I see is not having enough plastic on the back to meet at the middle. In the back section of the thigh, there is plenty of overlap at the bottom but as it nears the top it gets pretty close to the edges. From the looks of it, it seems like it will work. Placing a damaged cover strip in the overlap area, it is able to cover where both ends meet and it looks to be right at the middle. Any comments are appreciated. I also got my imperial boots.

Thank you very much

Thank you!!! I was afraid my job made me sterile LOL

Thank you very much

Thank you!

This weekend I intend to touch up my shoulder bells and work on my thighs..... I am still mustering the courage to go at my ears again. I have trimmed my left thigh and taped it together for a rough fit. Looks like its gonna fit me pretty well. There is overlap in the back so I need to make sure when I cut it I have the back side ends butting together at the center. My thigh is a little thick near the top and tapers alot as it goes down. I have more room to work on the taper near the bottom but less room near the top. Another thing is that I ended up cutting the front ridge area to have a 25mm width. I tried making it down to 20mm (since a 20mm cover strip is ideal) but I guess I overcompensated when I made the cut. I am a little nervous to cut the ridges again and accidentally make it so they both add up to less than a 20mm width. The uneven shape of the ridge and shape of the curve makes it hard to measure a uniform length. Here is how the left thigh looks thus far:

More stuff coming this weekend, I've been a little distracted with life, biggest thing was finding out I'm going to be a dad after trying for a couple of years and also getting promoted to the next rank for my job (now I can stay at my job long enough to retire. Yay job security).

Thank you for the tip I will be doing that. I was also hoping if you could take a look at my TK's eyes. I feel like they are a little extra asymmetrical than other WTF helmets I have seen. I followed the shape of the eyes and I feel like trying to correct the natural shape could lead to bigger problems. Any suggestions?

My holster came in on Saturday and boy is she thick!!!!!! I appreciate the tip for the thicker holster. It is a lot sturdier than my RS. But at the moment my RS blaster needs to be shoved in there. It is a super tight fit. I am going to leave it in there and see if that will help stretch out the leather. I also did rough cuts for my thighs.....I wanted to get a general fitting before I shorten the return edges. As I tried to measure 10mm on both sides I realized I could not find my metal ruler......or any long ruler. I guess I will have to buy a new ruler and also a 90-degree ruler during the week. So I am at a stopping point for now on the thighs or anything that requires long straight cuts. I don't have time to go to the store, Game of Thrones will be on soon and I have to help make dinner

I saw a youtube video of someone putting on ears on a WTF helmet. He said there was a mold line that should follow the helmet nicely. I saw the mold line and cut along it. It did not work for me. It looked like it semi followed then decided to look like a piece of pooh. I am happy that it seemed to halfway fit but I am filled with many sorrows that I ruined an ear. The hit came with two pairs so I can try again. This time I need to plan a better approach. I will be doing more research. I also need to do some research on how to connect the mesh. The tips also appear to need a lot of sanding.

Made progress on the helmet today. I sanded out the teeth and eyes more. I was a little thrown off on how the eyes were not symmetrical ( I am aware screen accurate TK's are all lumpy LOL ) but I never noticed WTF eyes were noticeably asymmetrical. I don't think it looks bad and I scoured through the WALT's facebook page and also on various WTF build threads here and self confirmed that the left eye has more of curvature at the bottom. I did my best to try and even the shapes but could only do so much. Most of the flashing is removed. I think it looks good. Obviously, I am open to criticisms I added a second screw on each side to secure the helmet better but during the process, the helmet shift down a bit and now I have a smaller gap. I still have a gap and I am hoping that is good enough. I personally like where it sits. The visor strip is not long enough to meet my screws. I think I am going to cut small triangles and mount them behind each eye opening.

Thank you, I will sand more of the teeth and eyes, I know a lot of screen TK's had some flashing left over in the eyes....but I do agree that I can open them up a bit more. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

You are correct. I don't know why I want too. I guess it's because that's how they were made and I want to copy it. But I have learned how they put the original TK's wasn't always the best or most efficient. For example, I removed the original strapping system from my RS and did snaps. Way better. So I guess I won't use the rivet gun. I do have to but another screw on each side to prevent the back side of the helmet from rotating forward and aft. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk