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Boomer's Bucket Build (ATA)


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ok, well after getting the helmet kit in the mail a few months ago I mustered up the courage to start cutting it up.  I'm building two; one for me, one for my wife.  So the wife gets the one that is better (I'm guessing that will be the second one).  Since i don't want to screw up two, i'm building one first and then will follow up with the second one with mad skillz.

 

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I screwed the helmet halves together to test the fit and get the brow where i like it.  (I like the lower brow - I think it looks meaner).  I didn't fasten the lower part yet since I don't quite know where the ears will cover and the ear screw will need to go.

 

IMG_5466_zpshobdtaro.jpg

 

I'm really happy ATA provides an extra set of ears.  While i was watching the cutting end, I ignored where the rest of the dremel was.  This happened about 30 seconds into the VOYAGE OF THE EARS.  So.. on to the second right ear....

 

IMG_5468_zpspsoqicms.jpg

 

After trimming on the ear for quite a while- This is where I have some questions.

 

About how "thick" should the ear be off the temple?  I think what I have here might need some more trimming to basically pull the whole thing in maybe 1/16 to 1/8".  Any opinions?  Also, I welcome any feedback on the teeth and eye cutouts.

 

This is fun!

 

-Mark

 

 

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Oh, and a huge THANKS for all the contributors here!  I would be completely lost without all the helpful tutorials, tips, advice I've spent hours (and possibly the past two years :) ) reading here.  Hope my future contributions will eventually help others in the same way.

 

-Mark

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You seem to have a nice fit right now, but you're right the ear is a little thick. On the original helmets you can see that they were quite thin:

12149250774_b62e5084c0.jpg

 

The eyes look good. And the teeth seem in good way too. Perhaps they could be some more squared at the corners rather than rounded though, even if it's hard to tell on the picture.

 

Keep up the great work!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I trimmed down the ear thickness, and finished the other side too.  Second ear went much faster.

 

9BBB9CE0-E06E-4973-8027-981C01B4308D_zps

 

 

I also trimmed out the opening flash, test fit the lens, and gave the whole thing a good polish.  Of course once I got it all together, I couldn't help but put it on for a quick test drive!  Next I will begin the painting process, and in between coats work on my wife's helmet, which so far only has the face trimmed out.

 

question: vocoder- gloss, satin, or flat black?  

 

2980F12A-2CF3-4943-8B9F-AD382AD3B29F_zps

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Painting under way.  i went with gloss black on the vocorder, but can recoat in satin.  Next step is to cut in the second coat of 1138 gray on the traps, etc.  I'm still on the fence if my ears stick out too far in general.  

 

35CF82E3-1C2D-4F46-B355-F705FDDE38EE_zps

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outlined the ears and painted the ear stripe each side, traps and tears vent lines.  I don't have templates so I eyeballed it as best I could using resources here on the forum as references.

 

EEED079D-B498-4E29-9ECE-EEA955B3454D_zps

 

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tube stripes are next!

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I used a 5/0 size brush for the details.  For traps and tears interior lines, I used the technique gazmosis showed in his ATA helmet howto thread.  Basically use a fine point sharpie to lightly dot the lines in place.  When I brushed the paint on, it was just connecting the dots.  I used masking tape on the top and bottom for the clean cutoff.  I dragged the paint from the masking tape first, then onto the line to minimize bleed under the tape.

 

To get the fine outlines on the tears and traps, i first painted the black, with only really minding where i was toward the outside edge.  Once that was dry, I cut in the gray with a wide brush as well, again, just minding the outer edge.  really made it easy to get a fine outline, since you have a few chances to go over again (but with a slightly thinner outline each time) if you get an unsteady bump.

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Ah hah thanks for describing your technique. I had been painting the gray area first then the black outline. But I had some trouble keeping the outline thickness consistent. I now get it why painting the rough black outline first makes it easier. You only have to pay attention to the outside path of the paint stroke for both the gray and black. Thanks!

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Got started on the tube stripes. I used the templates from Pandatrooper (thanks mucho!) I used the "hand painted" template http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/14867-tube-stripe-masking-templates/  I printed them out, verified the scale, laid masking tape on a plastic cutting board and clear taped the paper to the top of the masking tape.

 

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you can't see the clear tape covering the whole thing here, but after I cut out the template holes, I was able to lift the tape off the top and peel the masking tape away from the cutting board to then attach to the side of the helmet.

 

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I don't have an air brush rig, and was concerned about bleed under the mask, so I opted for tracing with pencil to hand paint the stripes.  

 

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using the 'ol 5/0 size brush, I went to town with le French blue.  

 

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although i finished this side with one coat (I will need two), the paint did start to "gum" up as I worked.  I'm using the Testor's Model Master paint.  I have read that Humbrol takes considerably longer to set up which in this case is an advantage.  

 

Are there others who use the Testor's paint with this method, and if so, how have you dealt with the rapidity of the paint drying?  I ended up recapping the paint and shaking it again every three stripes or so, which got me through it, but I have some slight brush stroke texture on the stripes.

 

mark

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