TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 4, 2013 Report Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) Howdy! Another newbie here.. Quick intro: Watched a movie in 77' and have been a nut about it ever since. Really enjoyed it when my folks took me to see a guy in a Darth Vader suit a year later. Have been looking into getting / building stormtrooper armor for some time and kinda wish I would have stumbled onto this website before I purchased an E-bay recast kit. Didn't turn out too bad and it was a good learning tool for the ATA helmet kit that just arrived yesterday. Very impressed with the thickness of ATA's material and vacuum forming skills to get the tube bottoms good and uniform. Thread may be slow as my wife and I are in the middle of building a house... Would also like to give thanks to Trooperbay and Panda trooper for all their work that went into the tutorials they have posted. Kudos Guys! Edited June 4, 2013 by bluetick450r Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 4, 2013 Report Posted June 4, 2013 Hello and welcome aboard, lots of helpful people here and tutorials, good luck with the ATA lid Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 4, 2013 Author Report Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) As far as helmet construction goes... are the number of rivets used to attach the lid and mask sections together relevant?? And does the mesh size of the screen in the hovi-tips matter?? Noticed there is a variation between a few mic-tip producers. As usual with forums, any comments, suggestions, questions are welcome. Edited June 4, 2013 by bluetick450r Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 5, 2013 Report Posted June 5, 2013 You can use as many rivets as you like as long as they are not visible from the outside. There are a couple of mesh which aren't acceptable, just pm Locitus for exactly which ones to use and the correct hovi's. mainly for the higher levels, EIB and Centurion, have you thought of building to those standards ? It's much easier to do from the start and really not s lot of extra work. Good luck with the build be waiting to see your progress Ask away as that is what the forums are for Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 6, 2013 Author Report Posted June 6, 2013 PM sent. Thanks for the info gmrhodes13! Quote
Sonnenschein Posted June 6, 2013 Report Posted June 6, 2013 As far as helmet construction goes... are the number of rivets used to attach the lid and mask sections together relevant?? The originals used 3 per side (2 on the ears above and below, 1 at the bottom) Quote
troopermaster Posted June 6, 2013 Report Posted June 6, 2013 The originals used 3 per side (2 on the ears above and below, 1 at the bottom) Correction! Helmets have 2 rivets per side - 4 in total. It's the ear caps that have 3 machine screws per side Quote
Sonnenschein Posted June 6, 2013 Report Posted June 6, 2013 Correction! Helmets have 2 rivets per side - 4 in total. It's the ear caps that have 3 machine screws per side Right! I knew it got it mixed up To Troopermaster you must listen ...he is the master of troopers, after all! Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 7, 2013 Author Report Posted June 7, 2013 4 total, 2 per side. Thanks a bunch, Sonnenchein and Troopermaster! Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 10, 2013 Author Report Posted June 10, 2013 Had some time over the w/e to mark, score and snap... Would like to thank everyone that put up tutorials as they are a big help to us newbies. Started w/ the faceplate marking it up... Left a bit of an edge on the eye sockets, moved tools this w/e and my small files are in a box somewhere... All in all pretty happy w/ the progress so far. Must contain myself at times due to the boy in me coming out and wanting to run through the house shouting "peew peew"! Extremely happy w/ ATA's workmanship on the bottom vacuum forming, has nice smooth tubes. The Ebay recast had a crease in the plastic that was a bit difficult to work around and cut the ear pieces. Underside turned out OK, left and right wasn't real symetrical. S-trim will probably hide this slip-up. Inside ATA cap shot.... Painter ninja temporary head band.... Ok it was just a guide to draw a line... Like trooperpanda's guide a bit better, but this one worked ok. After a score and snap. Right side needs a little attention to even it up. Quote
TMacken[TK] Posted June 10, 2013 Report Posted June 10, 2013 Looking good,. The cap doesn't have to be totally even since that part gets covered by black rubber. Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 10, 2013 Author Report Posted June 10, 2013 Kinda new to forums also. If any admin reads this.... Should posts limit the # of pics posted for data storage space purposes??? This thread may end of being a bit pic heavy at times.. Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 24, 2013 Author Report Posted June 24, 2013 Got some time to work on the bucket over the w/e and a question has come up that I'm not too sure about.... When looking down on the helmet it seems to be a bit twisted, but not too bad. What is a common mistake that wouls cause this? Quote
Canadianflier Posted June 25, 2013 Report Posted June 25, 2013 I'm just starting to paint my first lid (ATA as well) and it looks lopsided when looking down onto the top too. I'm guessing it is suppose to be that way. Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 25, 2013 Author Report Posted June 25, 2013 Went back to Trooperbay's tutorial and it seem that you can crank the ears down too tight and it can put uneven tension on the sides and cause the lid to go lopsided. Have some pics to post but my 'puter is having trouble getting going this morning.... Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 25, 2013 Author Report Posted June 25, 2013 Will post some more pics of the build later when photobucket or IE gets its bugs worked out. Synopsis: Build going good. Trimmed a bit too much off the face plate and the bottom inner part was a bit on the slim side, but worked OK. Teeth trimming looked pretty good and relatively even. Paint went on good. Decals no problem, Vicoder paint went OK. I'm no Van Gough... Thinking I need to drag out those left over ebay MOT ears and practice painting before a brush goes near the ATA ears... Ear trimming came out pretty decent and decided to notch the top of the ear that fits under the rubber piece to help out with consistant placement, pleased with the result of that one. Started up ye ole' DVD of ANH and took a few screen shots of the ears and looks like the artists are human just like us with good and bad ear trimming days. I don't feel so critical of my work now... Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted June 25, 2013 Author Report Posted June 25, 2013 Inside trim goof http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a628/TKheehaw/Facetrimgoof_zps0025d40f.jpg Teeth Trimming http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a628/TKheehaw/TeethCuts_zpsf3c4dd92.jpg Paint http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a628/TKheehaw/Vicoderpaint_zps2b71d22e.jpg Ear notch http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a628/TKheehaw/Earnotch_zps2ac37b25.jpg Ear trimming http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a628/TKheehaw/Fronteartrim_zps9403eb7d.jpg http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a628/TKheehaw/Reareartrim_zps08354606.jpg And the helmet twist pic, down view. http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a628/TKheehaw/Helmettwist_zps56d4235d.jpg Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted December 15, 2013 Author Report Posted December 15, 2013 The end of the wait is near! Big box coming soon!!!!!!! Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted January 7, 2014 Author Report Posted January 7, 2014 Box arrived! Will post pics soon. Thanks ATA works!!!!! Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted January 7, 2014 Author Report Posted January 7, 2014 Box arrived! Will post pics soon. Thanks ATA works!!!!! Quote
kengie13[TK] Posted January 8, 2014 Report Posted January 8, 2014 Thanks for all the pics and info. It will help a bunch when I finally order my helmet from ata. Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Posted February 24, 2014 OK... Got back to finishing up on the bucket. Some big brown box got me distracted.... Been mulling over the way to put the lens in. MTK's tutorial has a single piece over both eyes, but most others had 2 pieces with a bend in each. I have the one piece in my MOT helmet and it works great and is easy to install, but wanted to spiffy things up with the first ATA helmet. Below is the supports for the 2 lenses. Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Posted February 24, 2014 All the supports were glued in and then drilled. Below are pics of how that happened. As to insure that the drill didn't come through, a mark to gauge the depth. Quote
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Posted February 24, 2014 A new toy arrived in the meantime and it proved handy to even out the edges of each lenes. And the install... Not the most symmetrical but it does just fine. Quote
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