giric thren Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 i am building my 1st suit and i hit a snag on the ears, and i cant tell where to cut the ears please help!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigturc Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Well, you've already seen that, but I thought I'd share with everyone. The first thing you must do is cut until you reach a point where your ears are just the U shape of it. I mean, to remove just enough plastic to not see the flat part of mold. Just the curvy part (see pic below). It's really a rough first cut, but it will gave the basic shape. From there, try it, trim plastic that touches the helmet, try, trim, etc... You'll see on the pics I took of my bucket that the ear fitting is really nicely done. It's just because I took my time doing it. Again, the screen accurate weren't trim so nicely .. they were pretty bad actually so don't worry too much. This is the most time consuming part to trim & fit, but it's not hard to do, just trim, fit until you get proper results. End results should look like the second photo. Note that this is the picture's owner is AP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Yeah, its realy a trial and error thing, just keep trying it until it looks correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTKenobi[TK] Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 I too am trimming my ears and I actually screwed the ear pcs into place last night. Looks like crap! Because there is not a snug fit.....from the front you can see the rear helmet pc and when viewing from the back there is a HUGE gap between the ear and the helmet on the curved part..especially on the right side (when viewing from the back). Don't know how that large of a gap will be made to fit. BTW, what did you guys to do do test fits? I can't imagine you kept screwing the ear pcs off and on every time to check progress of sanding for a snug/hugging fit. Or did you just attach the faceplate to the rear helmet pc with nuts and bolts to hold in place and test fit against that as you sanded the ears to fit? Anyone know what i am talking about??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 I too am trimming my ears and I actually screwed the ear pcs into place last night. Looks like crap! Because there is not a snug fit.....from the front you can see the rear helmet pc and when viewing from the back there is a HUGE gap between the ear and the helmet on the curved part..especially on the right side (when viewing from the back). Don't know how that large of a gap will be made to fit. BTW, what did you guys to do do test fits? I can't imagine you kept screwing the ear pcs off and on every time to check progress of sanding for a snug/hugging fit. Or did you just attach the faceplate to the rear helmet pc with nuts and bolts to hold in place and test fit against that as you sanded the ears to fit? Anyone know what i am talking about??? Do you have pic's??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 You can also use painter's tape to keep the faceplate on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giric thren Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 see heres the problem my directions doent say where to cut lin A or B. the rest im pretty much sure i can handle Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 I would say, just cut under line "A" heres how mine look on my AP one of my ear caps got partially ripped off over the weekend those darn females they love the TK's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giric thren Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 TK8280 said: I would say, just cut under line "A" heres how mine look on my AP one of my ear caps got partially ripped off over the weekend those darn females they love the TK's THANK YOU!!!!! THATS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 No problem Thomas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigturc Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Yes ... Definitely under line A for a starter. Let me know if you want even more pics of this .. I could post mines too to complement Bernard's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giric thren Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Yes ... Definitely under line A for a starter. Let me know if you want even more pics of this .. I could post mines too to complement Bernard's. please do i could use all the help i can get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigturc Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 There you go. I quickly put my helmet together for the pix .. don't know what's wrong with the right ear gap .. normally, there shouldn't be that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giric thren Posted October 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 There you go.I quickly put my helmet together for the pix .. don't know what's wrong with the right ear gap .. normally, there shouldn't be that much. what did you cut it with?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 what did you cut it with?? A chain saw Na, I'd use a pair of tin snips, but thats just my weapon of choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigturc Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 what did you cut it with?? Dremel all the way .. Trim, fit, trim fit ... patience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Dremel all the way .. Trim, fit, trim fit ... patience Dremels can be dangerous in the wrong hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigturc Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Dremels can be dangerous in the wrong hands A straw can be dangerous in the wrong hands too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK8280 Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 I usually only use a dremel on my resen clone parts, I think its to powerful for abs as thin as an AP suit, and have seen some BIG mess up's in the past be very careful when using a dremel as you cannot put back what you take away <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-4510[TK] Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Take a pencil and draw a line around the ear following the "A" line you mentioned. using an exacto knife, lightly score the line over and over again 4 or 5 times. Then score a line from the line around the ear to the edge of the ABS part ( kind of like ant legs...) Put the ear on the edge of a table and line the score mark up and give it a snap. Do that all around the ear until all the cut areas are off the ear.... Does this make any sense at all??? Then once the ear is in its basic shape take an exacto knife along the edges and just clean it up a bit. As far as fitting the ears to the helmet. Assemble the cap n back to the face plate using pop rivets. Once the two are assembled, get the correct ear for the correct side and firmly hold it in place on the side of the helmet. Look and see where it needs to be trimmed. Refer to screen shots of actual helmets for trimming. Most peope tend to leave too much meat on the upper part uf the ear. Go to starwarshelmets.com and look at the helmets there. The real helmets, not the fan made stuff. Once you have the ear shaped correctly, put the ear on a table that you can drill through and make your holes. Hold the ear up to the helmet firmly where you want it placed. Again use reference photos for placement. While holding the ear in place drill ONE hole through the helmet using the upper hole in the ear. Secure the ear with a screw and washer and bolt. Now again holding the ear firmly against the helmet drill the lower hole into the helmet. Secure that screw. Lastly drill the hole in the middle of the ear and secure. Once all the screws are in hand tight, move on to the other side of the helmet and repeat. After the ears are in place tighten the screws just enough. Too much and the helmet will start to distort. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giric thren Posted October 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 cool thanks for the advice, i actually put the helmet together with screws first (my instructions said to drill holes then put together). when i put the helmet together there a gaps on the sides where they overlap will the ears cover/ close this gap i am trying to put pics but it wont let me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigturc Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 cool thanks for the advice, i actually put the helmet together with screws first (my instructions said to drill holes then put together). when i put the helmet together there a gaps on the sides where they overlap will the ears cover/ close this gap i am trying to put pics but it wont let me There shouldn't be any gap on the AP helmet. When I put my faceplate under my dome, they actually overlap about an inch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.