MaskedVengeance

Christine (Cricket) also shared this tip with me several months ago, after she accidentally discovered the occurrence with one of her props. I am considering using the technique myself to remove my TD control panel.

Congrats, Matt! Looking forward to seeing your photos, and you, Justin, and the rest of the gang in action!

OP (MV) Post #42: Helmet Work Continues Happy New Year, Troopers! I've never been one to place much significance on the transition from December 31st to January 1st, but in light of what we've all experienced these past 10 months, I'm actually excited and hopefully for 2021! I'm not sure what this new year has in store for my build, and despite my absence on the boards for the past couple weeks, I have continued to make slow progress on my helmet. Side note related to the forum. When my Tapatalk forum feed seemingly went dark on December 21st I initially thought that site traffic was simply significantly reduced due to the Christmas holiday. But then I logged in on my computer and saw Andrew's server upgrade post, and realized I was actually simply missing new posts. When I have the time hopefully I can catch up, but I do think that the two week "break" without Tapatalk has enabled me to dedicate more time for other important things during this holiday season. It almost feels like a sabbatical of sorts, but I'm also eager to see the Tapatalk functions restored, since that is typically my primary means of following the boards. Hopefully the wait won't be too much longer. It also appears that I'll need to update the image formatting on many of my previous post photos, since my side-by-side photos are now too wide for the bounds of a single line. I was eventually going to recompile them into collages anyway, to reduce my image count, and I'll work on that when things are slow with my build. Also the tiny skewed FISD browser icon is driving me crazy! And now back to my build. The "Contents" section below outlines the topics contained in this update. Tools and techniques used Teeth final sanding Eye final sanding Hovi Tips: Part 1 Lens installation Interior painting Vocoder redraft Questions review Here are some photos of the tools and techniques I used for the progress documented in this post. For sanding, I took a page out of AJ's book (thread), and used a portion of an unrepairable dowel from a dining chair. I cut off one end at an angle to give me a thinner (yet still rounded) surface to use in tight spaces such as the eyes, but I suspect I will also use the fully-rounded end for ear sanding as AJ did. I also stapled some sandpaper to the end of scrap wood to give me better access for smoothing the backs of the teeth openings. Note, too, that I used blue tape to help protect the ABS exterior surface while sanding the teeth at extreme angles. I implemented this after discovering some micro-abrasions around the eye sockets from their shaping and sanding process. The photo below shows plastic sanding needles available at Hobby Lobby that I did not discover until after I had completed all my eye and teeth sanding, but I thought I would document them as a possible tool for future builders. Since they're round they might not be completely effective for achieving straight lines and sharp corners in the teeth, but they would still be helpful for removing residual ABS burrs left by semi-high-grit metal sanding files, and also in the rounded corners of the eyes. Teeth Sanding In my previous post I asked for advice on whether or not should sand down, at a sharp angle, any of the thickness/depth of the ABS edges between the teeth. I decided proceed with additional sanding, and the two photos below show the difference between partial progress, and the final results. The very first photo in the "Tools" section above, with the sanding needle in front of blue tape, shows the angle at which I sanded the tops of bottoms of the teeth gaps. Though these top and bottom depth edges were never really visible except at extreme vertical angles (perhaps a child looking up at a sanding TK), I wanted to eliminate them completely. I kept the left and right edges untouched, since they will be painted gray and blend in with each tooth. Eye Sanding To continue with sanding, I decided that my left eye could use just a little bit more opening near the nose so I want to work with needle files and my homemade dowel sanding tool. The triple photo below shows the progression from start to finish. I possibly could have also taken just a smidge off the right (wearer's) eye, but I am very content with these final results. With my eyes formed to my liking, I thought I'd document the end result which should be common with all ATA buckets. In order to maintain a relatively consistent eye socket depth throughout each eye and between eye-to-eye (see ruler photo below for example), the overall angle of each eye is a little different. The pink and yellow arrows shown below highlight these differences. Just another perfect imperfection of these glorious OT TK buckets! Here is another take on the differences between the shapes of both eyes. The curve of the bottom edge of the left eye doesn't match the top of the eye so there will need to be a slight twist (bend on multiple planes) in order to achieve minimal gaps around the lenses. If anything, I suspect there may be a slightly larger gap on the outside edge (nearest the ear) of the left eye. The photos below show where my final trim lines are relative to the ATA suggested cut groves, denoted by the blue arrows. You can see that I didn't cut all the way to the suggested lines, which I've also seen other ATA builders do, and in my initial eye trimming post I received positive feedback on this as well. Hovi Tips: Part 1 While painting the black outline on my side traps a while back I decided to hit my hovi tips with the same Testors semi-gloss black. An easy two layers, followed by a couple twists on some 320-grit sandpaper to retain the white rims required for L3 approval. In an earlier post I touched on my concern regarding the super thin plastic in the hovi tip wells, and included the first photo shown below. I decided to proceed with milliput reinforcement in the same fashion that Ales implemented in his ATA build. Halfway through, the first photo below shows the size difference between the raw and reinforced wells. Honestly I probably went a bit thick on the milliput, but I had never before used any type of epoxy, so I was learning as I went along. They key, as I learned, was to keep my gloved fingers moist with water in order to maintain the malleability of the milliput. I wiped off excess epoxy water drips with a moist paper towel, knowing too that any extra residue would be covered by my interior paint job. With the hovi recesses adequately reinforced, and holes drilled out using the default ATA marks, it was time for a dry fitting. How does it look below? I wanted to avoid pointing the tips too far down, as I've seen on occasion here on FISD, and I think I succeeded. Right? Finally, a question regarding installation of the screen mesh in the tips themselves. The mesh I have from ATA and Ukswrath are identical, but neither of them drop right into the tips, which isn't surprising, as I know tension (and glue) will be needed to keep the mesh in place. Should I just use tiny wire cutters to shave the slightest amount of mesh off parts of my round cutouts? I've seen the highlighter cap technique and also the strategies noted in this thread, but I don't think any of the ideas work for pre-cut round mesh. Should I just press the mesh down into the tips and let some of the edges get bent back? I'd likely then pull them back out, flip them over to change the direction of the curvature, then drop back in with a dab of E6000. Thoughts? Lens Installation Taking inspiration from AJ Hamler, Kalani, and Lou (all links to their threads), I opted to create mounting points for individual eye lenses. I had initially planned on implementing Joseph's sugru lens-mounting technique, but I realized that I wanted the lenses to be replaceable in case they ever get scratched, or to switch out lighter or darker lens shades for indoor and outdoor use. Derrick's acorn nut application on fixed screw posts also caught my eye (ha), but I didn't want to deal with individually leveling each screw post to ensure the nuts would fit tightly, or even having the raised nut on the eye side of my lenses. Thus I proceeded with purchasing #6 t-nuts at my local Ace Hardware store, along with an assortment of #6 screws of varying heights to accommodate my t-nuts being situated at different heights relative to the eventual lens position. I used some plyers to easily snap off the prongs by bending them back and forth a couple times, and trimmed the base of the nuts. Each nut eventually looked like the last one in the first photo below, like a rectangle with a curved side and small notch. I then used milliput to anchor the t-nuts in place around each eye. Unlike my use of the epoxy for my hovi tips, this time I went bare-handed (no gloves), which enabled me to have more precise control when shaping the milliput into mounds. I found that the key was to keep my fingers moist with water, and I wiped off residual milliput moisture from the helmet interior even though I know it would eventually be painted over. I also made sure to have screws installed in the nuts while applying the milliput in order to keep it from squeezing up into the open bottom of the nuts, or seeping into the top. About an hour into the curing time I removed each screw to ensure they didn't get stuck, but even if I hadn't, I'm sure I would have been able to unscrew them. Simply an abundance of caution. I figured I would likely only anchor the lenses at the five points spread throughout the middle of each eye side, but I decided to add extra nuts at the inner points of each eye, above the nose area. I would have hated to need to add them after-the-fact. Many other builders have used only two or three screws per lens, but I wanted to ensure a close fit with the lenses, hence so many t-nuts. And other than the contingency points at the nose, I situated the nuts at the low points of the eye sockets, where the lenses would need to be pulled in to, rather than the corners. Though I tried to be careful about not surrounding the heads of the screws with the milliput, it occurred nonetheless, which meant some sanding would be in order. I graduated from a low grit up to 320, to shape the mounds so that the tops were flush with the top of the t-nut. The collage below shows the general process that I will continue to describe. In order to cut the lenses to the appropriate shape I first created a template on simple printer paper. I pressed a sheet flush to the inside of the eye cavity and traced the opening with a pencil, one eye at a time. Below is a scan of my second template which I copied my original tracings onto. I believe lens excess surrounding the eye openings is roughly 2cm in width. Note: the eyes are not spaced apart from each other to-scale, so this template should not be used to create a single dual-eye lens sheet. I added imperial and metric scale measurements on the image, should any other Troopers wish to use the template, and this google folder contains both this same jpg image and a pdf scan. Be aware that the files are sized for US letter 8.5"x11" printing, hence my inclusion of the measurements line, should anybody need to sale it on their printer. And though these are from my specific ATA helmet build, they should fit any OT TK armor. With my paper template complete, I then traced the outer border onto the ATA-supplied lens material. Since my lens shapes were so big, I would only have enough material for three lens cutouts (of this same size), so I knew I'd want to proceed with caution once I began drilling holes for mounting. After cutting out two lenses with my lexan scissors I traced a new template using clear binding covers (leftover from a stalled COVID face-shield project) which I would then use for marking drill holes. I then marked the holes with a sharpie, as shown in the fourth image below, and then copied them onto my green lens material. The reason I needed this middle step was because the clear sheets were far more flexible than the actual lenses, and I wanted precise hole locations. I then drilled out the five holes on each lens starting first with a small bit, and ending with a 9/64, which enabled the #6 screws to be cleanly inserted. I did not want to create excessively large screw holes so I could maintain maximum tension and keep the lenses as close to the eye openings as possible. I was mostly successful with this strategy, but needed to barely slot two holes with a round needle file to get the screws to seat properly. I suspect it will be pretty difficult to replace the lenses without first disassembling the eventual finished helmet. When installing the lenses I also became aware that one of my mounting t-nuts was situated too high and was keeping the lens from sitting flush with the eye opening, as shown in the first photo below. Ironic that this hitch was due to a mounting hole that I decided not to use anyway. So for the third time ever I got out my rotary tool and installed the metal cutting disc. Not gonna lie, I made me really nervous using it in such close proximity to my finished eyes, but everything turned out ok in the end. With the lenses installed you can see how they are offset due to the shape of my eye openings. It's a bit bothersome to my OCD self, but nobody else will ever know, and it actually help me with my foam outline, which I will document below. Reusing my clear eye templates, I traced the eye openings onto my $1.49 craft foam (6mil) and cut them out at an angle with an xacto knife. I had seem something similar to this on one of the many "What's inside your bucket?" posts here on FISD or fb, and thought it looked cool and that it might provide some cushion against my head, depending on final wearing placement. If it ends up being too tight a fit, I can always remove them since they're fitted using adhesive velcro. Behold the end-result of my lens installation! This is one of my favorite photos so far, and I think it captures the demeanor of a TK. Reminds me of the Dark Troopers. Watch out rebel scum. Interior Painting The previous section in this post showed a little preview of the interior painting which I'll now cover. Rather than use the most tradition options of regular black spray or Plasti Dip with cheese cloth, I opted for Justin's favored Rust-Oleum Truck Bed Coating spray (his ESB and ROTK thread links). With virtually no craft spray paint experience under my belt, I decided to tackle the cap of the helmet first by itself, so I could potentially learn from any mistakes prior to doing the face plate. I masked off the ATA decal and double bagged the outside of the helmet with commercial trash bags (no holes), then proceeded with spraying in my front yard on what I'm assuming was one of our last winter days in the 60s (f). After consulting with him (thanks for always being responsive!!), @TheRascalKing's recommendation was to apply seven or eight coats 10 minutes apart. For the cap I was able to do about seven coats, but my impatient self, coupled with warming sunlight, only waited between four and eight minutes between coats. I believe the spray can actually states only a couple minutes are needed, of course in optimal temperature and humidity conditions. The first two photos below show my preparation and physical setting, as well as what the bucket looked like after only a single coating. I went light, per Justin's suggestion, to maintain an even application and minimize runs. After an hour or two of partial-curing I removed the masking with an xacto blade. No actual cutting was necessary; I simply stuck the blade tip under the corner of my trapezoidal logo masking to acquire a corner to grab on to. I then left the helmet piece in my garage for about a week to finish drying (probably only took a day) and gas off, since there was quite an odor. Photos don't do it justice, but the texture of this spray looks AMAZING! Happy with my cap results, and by now fully caught up with my final eye and teeth sanding, it was time to spray the face plate. I used my double-bagging method again, and spent a lot of time closely masking around the eyes and teeth. What a pain. Then during one of my lunch breaks at work I used our College's spray room in our Art Department, which had pretty cool ventilation. My results weren't quite as good as those from my cap since the can began to run low on paint, and we eventually depleted. This resulted in some slightly uneven coats in certain areas, and just a couple spots of running, but surprisingly they all still dried with the textured surface. Oh, and I should mention that I did not scuff/sand the interior of the helmet pieces prior to spraying, since Justin said he'd never done so himself and has never had any issues. So far so good on my end. The set of photos below show first my raw spray job with masking removed, and then the final look after hand painting closely around the eyes and teeth. For this touch-up job I used Testors 1154 Black Metallic enamel since I thought the metallic look might match the texture of the sprayed surface, but I had never used it before, so I wasn't sure. I didn't realize until afterwards that it has a glossy finish, and I was hoping for more of a flat or satin, but it's no problem at all since it will be obscured by the lenses and frown mesh anyway. Vocoder Height Adjustment In a previous build update I posted my draft outline of the vocoder, and though I didn't receive any negative feedback, I wasn't completely happy with how high the top three ridges extended. The first set of triple photos below show that original height, and you can see that the ridges are so tall that they curve back out with the form of the helmet. Therefore, I decided to lower all three ridges just a small amount, as seen in this next set of images. The last photo shows that my particular ATA ABS pull actually has one of the outer ridges taller than the others. My new pencil lines nearly reach the top of that higher ridge, and I'm sure it will all look ship-shape once painted. Thanks to feedback from Tony and Justin on my most recent thread update prior to this one, I will be keeping my 2nd and 6th ridges at their current height to match the molded ridges on my ATA kit, despite stunt suits typically having them a little bit higher. I also adjusted the edges of the three center ridges which extend down to the neck opening to better match the curve of the vocoder, as shown by the yellow marks below. Finally, Christmas was a little over a week ago, and I can't help but share my most recent stormtrooper-related acquisition! My biggest gift this year was the LEGO stormtrooper helmet, which was promptly assembled Christmas afternoon! Below is a time-lapse video of the construction. Also, who says you can't have Star Wars cookies without proper cutting templates. The bell looked kinda Deathwatchy to me. Next year I have plans to turn a dangly ornament shape sideways to create The Child's head. Are my hovi tips pointed at an appropriate angle? I want to ensure they're not pointing too far down. What strategy should I use to install my pre-cut round hovi tip mesh so that they fit inside the tips? They are just barely too large to fit into the tips without trimming or bending some of the edges. Hovi Tip mesh installation Teeth painting Frown Mesh installation Vocoder painting Tony & Justin - Thanks for your continued support with my build, and answering my many questions! You guys rock! Printable/downloadable PDF of my entire build thread to this point contained in [THIS SHARED FOLDER]. The PDF will be updated within a few days of my own new posts and will note sequential version numbers and revision dates.

My next thread update will have you covered on this. Haha. I took multiple photos. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Chin up Rodney! These are difficult times for everybody, and garrisons around the world have been limited to virtual interactions and assistance for many months now. We will get through this, and you'll achieve your approval, I'm certain of it! Armor building is a marathon, and you've only been at it for less than three weeks! Besides, if you finished this month, your long winter project would abruptly end months too soon. As far as the paint is concerned, you may consider Glen's advice and try thinners, or even try a heavy application to allow the paint to pool together a bit to hide the brush strikes. I recently tried that I some flat test vocoders on my build thread, and the results were quite smooth. I, however, was using Testors enamel paint. The only problem with a thick application will be that you'll be limited to painting a single trap at a time, then let it dry and cure while set flat. After a day or two you can then move to the next trap. See, a marathon, lol. Keep up the good work, and don't worry about taking things too fast. There will continue to be many hurdles, that we all experience, but we all overcome eventually!

It really comes down to personal preference and comfort. Elastic will provide the most flexibility, but the cost of that can also be misaligned pieces. (Although this can also be combatted by using really thick/firm elastic). For example, the back plate, kidney, and posterior pieces may separate too much. Some people use a hybrid on the torso, sometimes with nylon on one side of the ab/kidney seam, and elastic on the other. I believe elastic between the chest and ab is another good application. Elastic in the arm pieces is quite normal. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

OP (MV) Post #41: Testors Enamel Paint Finish Test, Vocoder Practice, & Teeth Sanding Question While painting the black trap outlines mentioned in my previous post, I couldn't help but notice the stark difference in the finish of the semi-gloss enamel paint and the gloss I used in my gray test pieces when attempting to color match my thermal detonator. A while back I expressed interest in painting my vocoder and mix tips with a matte black to add some contrast to the helmet, like Dan (CableGuy) has done on occasion. However, since I've been seeking L3 approval, I decided against it. As mentioned in Joseph's OTTK Quick Reference Guide and per screen-references, the vocoder should have a gloss or satin (semi-gloss) finish. Perhaps my discovery of the stark difference between the gloss and semi-gloss Testors 1139 paint will enable me to maintain a not-so-shiny vocoder after all, by using the semi. For your consideration and my own experience (practice) in painting curves, I painted three test vocoders onto some spare ABS from ATA. (Don't worry, I cut out all my exterior cover strips and still had about 70% of my spare sheets left; although I did consider painting onto the hidden insides of my rear drop boxes). First I took measurements of my actual vocoder on my helmet then drew scale (within 2mm) outlines on ABS scrap that was perfectly sized when scored and snapped into thirds. I then used a medium filbert (rounded edges for rounded paint lines) brush and stepped up through the paint finishes, starting with flat and ending in gloss. From left to right (or top to bottom) below they are shown in the order of flat, semi-gloss (satin), and then gloss. Do you vocoder veterans (haha) think the semi-gloss will pass L3 muster? I mean, it should, since it's the recommended paint and finish, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Additionally, almost immediately after starting to paint I noticed that the more paint I applied, the smoother the surface would be, since the enamel would essentially "pool" together. So for the purpose of testing the paint finish, I took advantage of this and went heavy with my application, knowing that such a strategy would likely be impossible on the actual three-dimensional vocoder on my helmet. I figured, too, that I would still gain at least some experience in painting the tight, smooth, consistent curves of the vocoder, even if only testing on a 2D plane sheet. It does appear that I lost some of the crisp corners between the ridges on the full gloss iteration. I'm not sure if that's due to haste/sloppiness on my part, or any extra "pooling" qualities of the glossy enamel. The semi-gloss vocoder has some oily-looking textures on the surface, which I'm going to attribute to the mineral spirits that I cleaned my brush with and quickly reused after the flat paint. The 2nd and 6th ridges of my vocoder match the form of the actual ridges on my ATA helmet, and their heights are perhaps more similar to Hero lids than Stunt lids. I'm sure it would be mentioned, but would maintaining this height hold me back from L3 approval? With a successful paint test on a flat plane, I thought it'd be prudent to also practice on a sloped surface. For these next tests I used only the Testors 1139 semi-gloss black, and I implemented two techniques. First, I used the same thick paint method as before, and then I tried a thinner application, with the goal of seeing if any running would occur. Buried in my scrap ABS collection I found the two quarter spheres that were trimmed from my thermal detonator and I drew vocoder-like ridges in two different directions in order to test the pull of gravity on multiple axes. Nerd alert. As you can see, my thick paint application was very susceptible to running, and though not as discernable in the photos, even my thinner application had some "pooling," though it all remained within the overall bounds of the paint lines. I love the nearly perfect smooth surface that I was able to achieve with the thick gloss in my first flat test, but I've come to the conclusion that those same results will be unobtainable on my actual vocoder. I've even contemplated going heavy and only painting parts of the vocoder at a time, but the sacrifice would be seams between the paint stages, and that will be equally bothersome to me. Do any of you have any tips for getting a smooth, consistent surface finish on your vocoder? I also have another question regarding the very bottom of the vocoder that extends to the head opening. The first image of each set below shows my tentative paint outline pencil marks, and I'm wondering if I should keep the ridge curve as-is, or narrow it a bit (see second photos) to match the profile of the overall vocoder curve. I know, a tiny detail that I'm certain wouldn't make a difference for approval at any level, but I'm curious to hear your opinions. Lastly, I have a teeth sanding question which I'd like some input on. When using needle files on my teeth I tried to sand in a somewhat inward direction on the tops and bottoms to help hide the thickness of the cut/trimmed ABS, but on the left and right sides I mostly sanded straight back. My thought was that I'd paint those little 1mm edges and they'd appear to be a continuous tooth surface, but would that give each tooth too much depth? Do I instead need to keep sanding inwards at a tight angle (to match the colored lines below) to effectively remove those tiny tips from visibility? As my original tooth-trimming post images show, none of these tiny edges are visible from straight on. They can only be seen when looking down onto or from below the helmet, or from the left or right. Will the Testors 1139 semi-gloss black on the vocoder pass L3 muster? Would maintaining the shown height on my 2nd and 6th vocoder ridges hold me back from L3 approval for this STUNT build? Any tips for getting a smooth, consistent surface finish on your vocoder? I'm wondering if I should keep the vocoder ridge curve as-is, or narrow it a bit (see second photos above) to match the profile of the overall vocoder curve. How should I handle sanding and painting (on the teeth) the edges between each tooth (from the ABS depth/thickness)? Lens Installation Hovi Tip Recess Reinforcement Final Eye Trimming & Sanding Helmet Interior Painting Paul and Justin - Thanks for your thoughts! Your input is always valued and welcome!

Great job getting the photos working via imgur! You’re off to the races now! Just a little feedback regarding your paint job, at least for higher levels of approval: You may want to remove some of the gray paint which extends onto the gum areas (it should only be on the teeth), and the top vocoder ridge ends could use some rounding off. You could also check with your GML to see if they would currently pass it for basic. Keep up to good work, Greg! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Another benefit of using an image host such as imgur or Flickr is that you will no longer have to compress/downsize your images and sacrifice viewing quality. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

What I would give to have the eye bump in my ATA OT kit ;-) Love your use of the magnets. You and Christine (Cricket) have the same mindset, and I’ve often wondered about employing them in my build, in areas other than the calves. Shoulder bells come to mind. Really looking forward to seeing your finished suit, and then you painting it as both an incinerator and mortar Trooper. Haha. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Congrats Mark! EXCELLENT finished suit to be EXTREMELY proud of! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Very cool mods to Eric’s parts! I might be interested in using them myself, if you’d be willing to share your final files. Keep up the good work! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Hello Dylan, and welcome to FISD! @TheRascalKing is almost finished with his ROTK Anthology suit, and he can also personally speak to seeing LFL's suits up close since he was a TK in Mando season 1. Below is a link to his build, as well as that of another prominent RO Trooper.

Nearly a week ago a special Command Staff member hit a noteworthy milestone of 10,000 posts here on FISD. On a daily basis he can be found expertly guiding new recruits on their journeys to the 501st or assisting veterans seeking the ranks of EI and Centurion. No doubt this Trooper's diligent contributions at the Detachment and Garrison levels have had a significant impact on a great many of us. Hitting 10,000 posts is no simple accomplishment, especially when they are as detailed and constructive as those by this member, and such a remarkable number is indicative of a consistent presence and immeasurable value to the community. Though he would never seek acclaim for his tireless commitment to the motto "Troopers Helping Troopers," his dedication to that cause is worthy of acknowledgement and thanks from us all. So, a big heartfelt THANK YOU to Joseph "@justjoseph63" Pedigo, TK-10963. You are a true asset to FISD and the 501st, and your abundant generosity and passion will continue to be inspiring to all of us! Here's to many more helpful tutorials, flexible hand guards, and removed return edges!

Great work! Looks like I’m just barely ahead of you with my build thread! It’s really fun to be putting the bucket together. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Congrats on your BBB day! Very VERY exciting! I saw that your have some mentors in the SoCal garrison, so I’m sure they have you covered. Justin is particularly awesome! You have probably already seen it, but A.J. Hamler’s AM build is an excellent one to follow, and I even created a PDF of his thread, linked towards the end and also in my All-In-One resource compilation thread. Looking forward to following along with your progress, especially since I’m mid-build myself! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Congrats on your approval, Craig! I would have commented on your Reporting for Duty post, but I don’t yet have the appropriate account permissions. I’m one of those builders who is taking their sweet time, and hopefully I can find the financial resources to actually proceed and finish to join the 501st. Looking great in your armor! Now to submit for L2 and L3! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

OP (MV) Post #40: Additional Helmet Resources + Intro to the Ears & Brow + First Hand Painting I've had these ears in-hand for over half a year now, but never until now did I fully realize just how differently shaped the left and right are from each other. I knew everything was asymmetrical, and Alexey's photo captures it [im]perfectly, but wow this lid is wonky. The ear photos below really highlight the profile differences. Here is a supplemental list of resources for all things helmet-related which will guide my work in the next several posts. I will likely reference and link to individual techniques in my next several updates, but this is the entire collection. HELMET BUILDS pandatrooper's ATA Brow & Ear Section (Print entire thread PDF) Ales ATA Ear Section by Ales (Print entire thread PDF) ANH TE2 Helmet Build by TK-4510 A.J.'s Helmet Work kman's Lens Mounting Posts LTM Lens Mounting, and Helmet Work Cricket's Sponge Template Painting and Lid Work (several posts) zv288bot's Helmet Assembly, Scimitar's Excellent Helmet (Pages 1-3) wook1138 Helmet Progress Ensi's Helmet Work dereferenced's Photo-Heavy Posts plus Flickr album TheLorelei's Helmet Posts (across many pages) HELMET TUTORIALS Quick Reference Guide OT TKs by justjoseph63 (see particular posts) (Print PDF) Helmet Ear Tutorial by gazmosis (Print PDF) Draw No Gap Ear Line by bpoodoo (Print PDF) Choose Your Brow Height by CableGuy (Print PDF) Helmet Alignment by CableGuy (Print PDF) Template Painting 101 by justjoseph63 (Print PDF) HELMET VIDEOS Video of panda's finished ATA helmet Video tutorials by TK-4510: Helmet Assembly series, Hand-Painting TE2 series, How To Apply Decals CableGuy's TM Series & supplemental Stormtrooper Series RS Prop Masters RWA's Lid Build (2-part series), General Assembly Overview, and Hovi Tip Fitting Pandatrooper's series Armor Building with TK1636 Before proceeding with additional cap side trimming in preparation for ear fitting, I decided to try a few things which aren't completely conventional―the first being to paint the front traps before locking in the brow height and ear placement. My goal with this was to enable me to fine-tune the precise location and cut angle at the ends of the brow trim, which I wanted to line up perfectly (to the extent possible) with the rear edge of the traps paint. Here are some example of what I was aiming for. With that goal in mind, I began by first finishing the trimming of the helmet cap around the ear area. As suggested by Terry (Panda) and many other Troopers, I drilled holes in the corners where the cut lines would meet to avoid any possible tearing. I believe I used a smaller drill bit than most but I wanted to create a tighter gap in those corners to help keep the brow trim wedged in and less susceptible to drooping. With the holes in place I proceeded to trim the remaining ABS with curved lexan scissors. I also decided not to sand any of the brow bottom edge in order to maintain just that little bit of extra "bite" from the roughness, which might potentially hold the brow trim in place better. I then set out to tackle my first hand-painting of my build, and used an uncommon (to my knowledge) technique to accomplish it. Because I have absolutely no experience in miniature or hobby painting, I wanted to us a stencil, and the decal sheet I originally purchased from Trooperbay seemed to fit the bill. Using an xacto blade, I sliced off the excess adhesive layer and test fit it to my ATA helmet LEFT trap. Seeing that this makeshift stencil was slightly too wide for my trap recess, I sliced the sticker so I could overlap the two pieces and thus shorten the total width. I then marked the helmet with a pencil where I wanted the outside edge of the black paint to be (the photo below shows draft marks which I eventually widened) and set the stencil. In an attempt to combat paint bleed under the stencil I pressed it down repeatedly with my fingernails (@justjoseph63 recommends a pencil eraser), and then further expanded the masking area with blue tape. Having already wiped down the ABS surface with isopropyl alcohol prior to laying down the stencil, I then proceeded with a thin laler of Testors 1145 Gloss White (purchased at Michaels or Hobby Lobby) along the edge, to try to seal any gabs under the stencil and prevent the forthcoming black paint from bleeding. I then followed it up with the appropriate Testors 1139 Semi-Gloss Black, also from Hobby Lobby. I applied first a thin coat followed quickly by a thicker coat without any wait time, so essentially only one coat, and below are my results. Note that the white paint photo was from my second (right) trap inserted in this process photo to show my actually sequencing. On the first (left) trap I left a little curved portion at the bottom covered by the stencil, but didn't use any white paint in that area as a test to see if "sealing" with the white actually does anything. The answer―it didn't really provide any benefit in this particular instances, but it can't hurt, so I will continue to use the strategy in the future. I will fill in the black in that remaining white area at a later time, even though it will eventually be covered by the brown trim, because you know, OCD. A couple other notes regarding painting. First, I absent-mindedly hand-shook the small paint bottles, rather than stirring them, but I don't seem to have introduced air bubbles into my paint job. Or maybe I did, and my inexperienced eyes simply can't discern them. To be on the safe side, next time I will stir them, perhaps with a folded up paperclip to create a whisk of sorts. I also failed to remember that enamel paints dry far slower than latex home wall paint, and that I therefore should have let both the white paint and masking stencil sit longer prior to proceeding/removing. I only waiting maybe five minutes between the white and black paint, and pulled off the masking perhaps only five minutes painting. Luckily I don't think this impacted my results, and the end photo above is without any cleanup. I wonder if I should take my chances and replicate my exact same process again, or pivot to the apparently more tried and true methods. Perhaps some qualities of the TB decal cutout I used (adhesive on the bottom and smooth on bottom?) were beneficial? Apparently I pretty much ignored Joseph's painting guide―not intentionally of course, but from lack of memory and not having it right in front of me to reference. That's what I get for using my ancient iPad to review RS suit and reference JoeR images for trap sizing, my printed binders stuck in another room, and working in my baby daughter's nursery closet at 5:00am. Instead of using two thin layers I applied a single thick one. Luckily only a thin outline of the black will remain visible once I go over most of it with gray. But don't be like me. Be like Joseph (and other veterans), and use his Paint 101 thread, which I've now linked to five times in this post for emphasis. Haha. So with lessons learned, the following day I proceeded with the right-side trap. Even though I was successful with my technique from the first trap, I decided to employ at least some of the advice mentioned above. I stirred the paint with a toothpick and waited half an hour after applying the thin white edging before moving to the black. But of course I then fell back to my success from the previous day and only applied a single thick layer of black, and also removed the stencil after only 5-10 minutes of "drying" time. Basically the enamel paint was still very wet when I removed all the masking, but thankfully once again I was blessed with very good results, at least to my eyes. At this point I realized I had a little warp on the right-side of the brow near the trap and wished I had tried to smoothen it out a bit before applying the black paint. I read that enamel paint isn't as flexible as acrylic, and since I didn't want to risk cracking my fresh paint job, and had no prior armor and paint experience to inform me of whether or not it might actually occur, I proceeded with conservative caution. The arrows below show all the areas that I would have liked to apply some pressure to fix the curvature, but I decided to work on only the green areas in order to avoid bending the painted area. Not wanting to risk over-heating with a heat gun, I decided that boiling water was my only option, but I also didn't want to just dip my lid into a pot, or even pour boiling water on that entire area due to the paint in close proximity. Instead, I dipped a white cloth into the water, pressed it against both side of the plastic, and simultaneously applied pressure in the proper areas. I did this repeatedly with fresh rounds of boiling water (while wearing thick protective gloves), but in the end I'm not sure it made any difference. I suspect I simply wasn't raising the temperature of the ABS enough. But it was worth a shot, and I'll now simply rely on the brow trim to cover this odd curve. I'm sure this imperfection is more screen-accurate anyway. With the traps painted (black only; gray to follow later) and cured it was time to fit and slice the brow trim. I tackled one side first, using needle files to shift the trim back as far as needed to align with the traps (first set of photos below). Once I had that side flush and the trim cut at the appropriate angle I turned my attention to the other end, which I knew would be a bit more difficult to align properly due to my method. With the trim installed on the brow I eyeballed where I thought I'd need to cut and made a series of three conservative cuts to finally attain the proper length. Due to perspective challenges with the trim bent away from its final resting location, I actually got lucky with my final cut, thinking I'd have one more to make. Fortunately, I didn't overcut, and here were my results: I was extremely luckily with my third slice on the trim, which was still a cut of about 1cm, since I thought I had more material to work with. I had expected to need at least one or two more cuts getting down to 1-2mm, but the rounded ear section of the cap through off my estimates. In hindsight, perhaps a better way to cut the trim CLOSE to the final length would have been to remove the trim completely, tape it onto the front of the brow, and mark and cut accordingly. It could then be test-fitted and retrimmed as needed. The photo below shows both methods. Now on to a preview of my potential brow line and the current status of my cap and face plate alignment. I've always like a low brow, but I do also want to stay somewhat true to the common Stunt alignment, since that's what I'm building. Hopefully this isn't too Hero-like, though I know it's nowhere near Luke's level. Now that I think about it, I'm tempted to lower it further... And of course the seams/alignment under where the ears will be placed are all crazy. I trimmed back a little more plastic to get the pieces to fit well together. It looks like I could attain a better pairing of the two pieces by trimming more of the cap on the wearer's RIGHT side. Would you all agree? Should I also raise the rear of the face plate a bit more (but keep the front at its current height) to further reduce the gap along the tube bulge? This would result in the brow trim not being perfectly parallel with the tops of the eyes all the way around, but even screen references I see show the brow-eye gap narrowing on the sides near the ears. As I've often done, here is a review of the questions already asked throughout this post: It looks like I could attain a better pairing of the two [helmet] pieces by trimming more of the cap on the wearer's RIGHT side. Would you all agree? Should I also raise the rear of the face plate a bit more (but keep the front at its current height) to further reduce the gap along the tube bulge? This would result in the brow trim not being perfectly parallel with the tops of the eyes all the way around, but even screen references I see show the brow-eye gap narrowing on the sides near the ears. Finally, as you've likely noticed, I've updated my method of displaying photos in my posts. With less than 300 uploads left on my limited Flickr account, I am attempting to conserve capacity by combining images in collages. However, since many mobile collage apps downscale images, I'm using my 10-year-old Photoshop (and desktop computer for that matter) to manually compose the collages with each individual image segment retaining its original resolution (4,032 x 3,024). This means that my collages are quite dimensionally large (some over 12,000px wide) so they can still be zoomed in on for closer inspection. As is always the case, I try to display images in my posts at 800px (or 400px) in width so they don't visually weigh down the post and so viewers will lower-resolution monitors can hopefully see them entirely without lateral scrolling. Note: I want to continue to use Flickr, rather than imgur, in order to keep my image collection on a single platform, and since I like the organizational features of Flickr. I'm also starting to add some additional graphics to my posts, mainly for format and aesthetic purposes. Hopefully they are a positive addition to my documentation and don't detract in any way. That's all for this update. The time for ear trimming is soon approaching... Printable/downloadable PDF of my entire build thread to this point contained in [THIS SHARED FOLDER]. The PDF will be updated within a few hours of my own new posts and will note sequential version numbers and revision dates.

Your bucket job looks great! Great perseverance with your paint challenges as well! In case it ever becomes necessary again, Cricket uses a sponge application method with tube strips stencils, and her results have been pretty good. As for the white screw-head paint, you may also consider trying Testors gloss white enamel paint, either in the tiny bottles or spray form. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

I’m still wondering this same thing. Let’s see, since then you’ve started, completed, and taken to L3 this ESB and also ANH-H conversion. And somewhere along the way you got your HWT to L3 as well. ROTK completion on the horizon and then FO after that. Beast. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

If you’re into the bubble lenses you’ll definitely need to get a Hero helmet, as they are not proper with the Stunt version. I do personally love the low brow of Luke’s lid. As for the circumference of your biceps, and other parts for that matter, you’ll definitely want them to fit well, but also look proportional to the whole suit. So some trimming down may be necessary, but so might foam paddling inside as well. There are some common outside circumference measurements floating around here and YouTube; I think RS states roughly 170mm around the bottom and 190mm at the top of the biceps. But always remember that your suit needs to be tailored to your body build. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Great job, Colin! Congrats on L3!! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Welcome, Tom! First of all, you're already halfway to a great start by coming here to FISD! This is where you'll find all the help you could want to help you on your Stormtrooper journey. To add another link to those that Dan mentioned above, here is the Getting Started section: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/38-getting-started-read-this-first/ Within that area I also have an All-In-One resource thread, which isn't truly an all-in-one compilation (there is too much on the forum to include), but it's a collection of threads that I saved for my first build (currently in progress). We look forward to following along with you on here. If you're up for it, consider doing a WIP thread on both the UKG forum and on here, to broaden your audience and hopefully recruit more feedback/help. Caleb

OP (MV) Post #39: Imperial Dentistry To continue with my helmet I began the teeth-trimming process using the screen-used references from the Frown Part Gallery as well as the aforementioned resources linked again below. ATA ABS Helmet Assembly by pandatrooper (Print PDF) ATA Stunt Helmet Assembly by Ales (Print PDF) My process first began with drawing a minimal outline within each tooth gap, which would serve as an initial guide for my drill bit. Having only used a sanding drum on my dremel once before (on my TD), I opted for the drilling method. First I created several holes in the caps, and then connected them by cutting with an xacto hobby blade. I then continued with the xacto blade and expanded the teeth holes further, as shown in the process compilation below. I then proceeded to expand them further with sanding needle files, and below is where I currently am. I think I've done a relatively good job, but I'm not totally sure about the tops and the bottoms, as well as the two end holes. Might some more experienced eyes be able to provide some additional insight? Here is what the inside behind the teeth currently look like. Obviously once I'm done I'll sand or cut off the excess hanging pieces. At this point I will wait for feedback and continue with other portions of the helmet before proceeding with final sanding and painting of the teeth. Thanks in advance for all your continued guidance, FISD! MV EDIT: Below is a photo of the tools I used for the past two posts. The rotary tool at the top was for initial eye cutting, and the xacto knife and needle files were for the teeth. I did not photograph my drill.

Great work on your build, and EXCELLENT photos! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms