saltyr1

Thanks! I do plan on weathering it. I did the bolt and the spring since they were easier while it was in pieces.

Resizing the whole stand to 113% fits the Sterling SMG kit perfectly.

Yes that is it. I had to resize the vertical mounts as the blaster was too big to fit in the top cutouts.

Hello again! It's been a few weeks since my last post. I did have to make the wife happy and get some interior painting done, so that is all behind me now. During that time I actually finished up my 3d printed blaster which I didn't really document. It came out really good, but lots of priming, sanding, painting. I think part of this is my reluctance to start on that other ear LOL. I also started on the TD. Now the clips. I got a set of Ukswraths clips. Now I have the common problem of a 2inch pipe being an ATA kit. I was reading MV's part 2 of his TD build on how to handle the gap (I was hoping part 3 was ready). So what I did was mounted one to a test piece. Then I bent it at the blue arrow using a 1 1/2 piece of pipe. I was much happier with the results. Now it does bring the clip a little too high up in the front. So my thoughts are to trim down the clip as shown below. I think this would be acceptable comparing it to the real example above. And allow for more of a proper placement of the panel. Though I would like to get others thoughts before I proceed.

Thanks for the feedback! I have made more progress over the past couple weeks: Hovi mics I think look good. I added milliput and made a rubber washer from some gasket material I had laying around. Then I started on the 'easy' ear. As Cali_Nole mentioned, very time consuming. I honestly spent probably 6 hours on this one. Now the next one should go quicker. But... I initially struggled trying to keep the ear high up near the brow. But ended up moving it a little lower, similarly to the Dave M helmet. I don't care for the small gap at the top, but to get the ear so it doesn't look like dumbo, I felt one of two things had to happen: 1) it would stick out more than I wanted it to. 2) or I had to cut down the bottom which wouldn't be right. You can see what I mean below with this pic of the ear moved up by the brow line. So this is how it ended up. With a comparison to the Dave M helmet. Now I have not drilled the holes for it. I wanted to get any feedback on if this would be a problem with Centurion level. I assume not as this is seen on the real ones. But please let me know. I do have a second ear I could do differently (but not something I want to do again if possible). Thoughts? Next step is to drill the holes and mount it. I might try something else next before I try the other ear, like the thermal detonator. But that could change.

Two things on the hovi mics. First, the ATA markings for the holes I want to double check as they seem a little high up to me. The one on the left was pretty easy to identify. The one on the right was not, so I based it off the left side. Does this location look right? Secondly, the posts definitely aren't in the middle, nor are they straight. I know the actual helmets aren't straight, but I would like them to be. Any suggestions on this? Thanks as always! Chris

Thanks again for the feedback. Progress on the helmet. I spent a lot of time on the vcoder. Overall I'm happy with the results. As usually, any feedback on them is appreciated. Next I moved onto the lens. I liked how others have used some type of post to mount them too. I created a bunch of different sized hex setoffs with an angle on them and 3D printed them out. I used Sugru to secure the mounts. I did go with only 2 per side, but was strategic in placement to ensure minimum to no gaps. I might go back and Sugru the lenses to the helmet for extra reinforcement. Again, I'm happy with the results. Helmet is together below with just the initial bolts. I still have to figure out the bottom. Again, any feedback is appreciated. Next steps are the hovi mics and the dreaded ears. I have the hovi mics painted and screens installed (failed taking pictures of them, so to come..).

A little more progress. I did drill the initial holes for the rivets (I'm not sure if I want to rivet it, I assume screwing it together would be ok). I should have taken a picture first, but I took it back a part since it's easier to paint. I have painted the frown using Humbrol #5. I'm pretty happy with the results of my paint job. One thing that bothers me a little bit is the Humbrol is slightly darker than the Dave M stickers. I'm hoping to paint the vcoder Humbrol Satin black in the next day or two. Let me know if the frown needs any attention. Any feedback is appreciated!

Thank you both! Somehow I missed that part.

I feel like I'm finally making progress! I'm using the Dave M helmet stickers and applied the brow and cheek vent using the soapy water technique. I was very pleased how the stickers conformed to the unevenness of the plastic with no wrinkles or bubbles. I also tried to line up the helmet as best I could. The right side is pretty wonky, but I guess expected. The red dots are where I plan on putting the rivet (screw first). I still need to clean up the ends of the brow trim. So a couple questions, Does this look correct, especially the right side? Also, I'm concerned as I can't fit my head in without turning it to the side. I'm hoping I can still trim some off the back bottom lip. But do others have this problem? (I do have a big head). Thanks in advance! Chris

I also put milliput (super fine white) on the inside of the Hovi Mic wells. I forgot to take a picture of that.

Made some progress. I trimmed out a little more of the bottom as suggested by Sky11 Teeth took a while. I started with a Dremel on the 4 most middle teeth. Only to doubt my skills in grinding down the ones on the ends of the frown. So I drilled those out instead. Overall I'm pretty happy. But would love some feedback on where the teeth stand now. In the meantime, I'm hoping to mock the pieces together and see how it initially looks. Photos to come!

So I've been working on it a little here and there. Here you can see I trimmed out the face and bucket leaving extra at the bottom. Then I spent a lot of time on the eyes, using the reference pics. Here are some pics of the end result. Any concerns here? Do I need to trim more? Next step will be the frown. Chris

Thanks to you both for your feedback! Makes a lot of sense to leave extra and trim as necessary. Cali_Nole- I'm following your build thread, really great! More to come soon!

So today I marked off the helmet for trimming. It looks good to me, but any opinions before I trim it? I'm excited and nervous about this step for some reason. The front pre-trimming seemed pretty close to were I marked it. So it was more of straightening it out. Sides Face

So finally kicking off the build of my ATA ANH stunt kit. My plan is to build this to Centurion level specs. I'm planning to build this over the winter, so it's not a rush project. And I like to take my time and get it right the first time. So here is the kit unboxed. Everything looks great. Helmet kit. I'm going to start the with the helmet. Here are some close ups. The front is gorgeous! The back is a little bumpy towards the sides, but from what I have read, that is expected. Some more

I ended up ordering the stickers and the paint set from TrooperBay. I figured I could try the stickers and see how they work out. If I don't like them, now or down the road, I can peel them off and paint them. I have had great success with soapy water and stickers.

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcomes. I'm hoping to start my build thread this weekend. Most likely starting with the helmet. I do have a question on the 'Dave M' stickers. These look easier to use than trying to paint the detail (which I'm not very good at without masking or a stencil). But I'm not sure if there is a down side like with the stickers wrinkling where the helmet curves. Does anyone have any suggestions one way or the other?

Thanks everyone! I'm really getting excited. Look for my build thread soon!

Hello everyone, I am Chris from Cleveland, Ohio. I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was a young kid when the first movie was released. Ever since then, I’ve always wanted to have a Stormtrooper outfit (I’ve looked for kits over the years). During these Covid times, I have a little more time on my hands to actually make it happen. Over the summer I 3D printed an ANH helmet and was pretty happy with the end result. That wasn’t enough. But it was enough to make me pull the trigger on an ATA TK kit which has been sitting for about a month in my basement. I’ve been reading a lot on this amazing forum, and honestly it’s a lot to take in. Every time I think about starting it, I feel like I haven’t researched enough. With that said, my goal is for Centurion level, else there will always be regret. I do hope to get started on it this week!