orbit_77 Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Hi everyone. This will be my build thread for an ATA helmet I ordered. I'll start a separate thread for my armour when it arrives (AM2). I've made some progress on this bucket and wanted to post some photos and get some feedback hopefully before I proceed any further. Big thank-you to all who come before me. FISD has been invaluable. I hope this will be my little contribution (probably most from the 'don't do what I just did' side as this is my first project of this sort!) Anyhow, I attended an armour party hosted by the Capital City Garrison, which gave me the confidence to start cutting/sanding. One member even let me practice scoring and snapping on a fairly mistake-proof piece of ABS from his kit, what was a big help. Between then and now, I've gotten the eyes and teeth done, and the back trimmed and brow fitted. Personal experience/comments so far: For larger areas and straight lines, I find a mouse sander is easier and more forgiving than the Dremel - this may change as I gain more experience with a Dremel (I used the Dremel on the edges of the faceplate for practice, but ended up using the mouse sander for taking the eyes down from the inside). Learn to score and snap as soon as you can! I practiced on in a safe area, then ended up scoring and snapping the brow line . I finished up with the mouse sander to bring it up to where I wanted it. (always score slightly back from where you want the final edge) Find your local hobby store! While Amazon is great, nothing beats walking into a store and discussing with someone what would work best for your needs. I found a great model-sized needle file set that let me do the teeth with nice sharp angles (X-ACTO needle file set (X73610) I saw just in the last couple of days someone who posted a how-to on making little cloth pouches for their rare-earth magnets with the polarity marked (*edit - check it out here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?/topic/31701-HOW-TO%3A-Assemble-Magnet-Sachets. I loved the idea, but as it was 8pm on a Sunday and I didn't want to risk scratching the ABS, I just used wide painters tape, and instead of wrapping it tight around the magnets, like I've seen in some photos, I left the tape wide and somewhat long so each magnet has a good 'tab' I can use to pull/slide them off of each other. I also marked their polarity with a Sharpie so it's easy to get them in place. In terms of questions I have before going further, I'd love any and all feedback, criticism and feedback .Specifically: 1 - should I take the eyes down further? I can still see my original pencil line, which means I'm not quite and the seam in the mold. 2 - how are the teeth? The centre-right one ended up slighter taller than the centre-left one - should I raise it up to match? Here are some photos and comments/questions: Straight on view - see the slighter higher middle-right tooth? Is this a problem? For the teeth, I used the Dremel w/Sanding Drum from behind until they were open. After looking as some of the screen-used photos, I decided to go for more angular corners, so I put my new hobby file set to use and filed all the teeth to get the right line and corners. I used the three-sided triangle file the most for this and don't really see how I could have done it without that one, so if you only buy one file, buy the triangle one. Right Side: Left side: Q - do I need to take the sides of the face in more, or does it matter since it'll all be covered by the top piece? Q - do I need to trip the 'forehead'? As you can see in this photo, it bend out right at top. Should this be trimmed? Close-up of teeth (with flash): Q - Are my pencil lines about right in terms of where I should end up painting? Inside view - you can still see my pencil line on the both eyes. Should I take it down further? And now it's starting to look like a stormtrooper! Here are the painter's tape tabs I mentioned earlier. How is the top/brow/ear curve trim looking? Everything okay? Other side: And now its time for a glass of (Canadian) Whiskey with R2-D2 ice cubes to savour the progress made so far! Next steps, once I get feedback on the above, is to reshape the right side of the top piece to get it to fit better before connecting the two halves. After that I'll be tackling the ears! Edited June 9, 2015 by orbit_77 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills[TK] Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Looking good so far. Regarding your teeth, the helmet isn't symmetrical, so the teeth won't be, either. Where you made your pencil marks looks good to me. Also, make sure you use pencil to outline where you'll paint the tears, traps, and vocoder. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khazid[TK] Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) The HowTo on the magnet sachets was mine, it involves no sewing. Just cutting some fabric and using a zip tie to close it up. Bucket looks great ao far! Edited June 8, 2015 by Khazid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orbit_77 Posted June 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 @Khazid - my mistake. I've updated my post and provided a link to your walk through. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khazid[TK] Posted June 10, 2015 Report Share Posted June 10, 2015 @Khazid - my mistake. I've updated my post and provided a link to your walk through. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk No worries. when you read the word Sachet it sure sounds involved, doesn't it? Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orbit_77 Posted June 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2015 I had a bit of time tonight, so I reviewed a few of the key builds and how-to's (this one and this one especially) and I went ahead with positioning the two halves and drilling the holes. I also removed the strip off the front of the brow, and now that the two pieces were one, how could a resist trimming the neck just enough for me to squeeze my head into it and try it on for size (verdict: I am not going to need a lot of foam!) Here are a few pics: Marking the brow (score and snap), as well as marking the centerline Oh yeah, I also washed it inside and out in the sink with warm water and soap to get it nice and clean before painting. Here I am drilling the first pilot hole (I did it all by hand just to be safe) I then opened it up to the final size with progressively larger bits until the screw just barely slide through. Repeat on the other side. I then followed the steps here to mark the first side, attached one screw, then apply tension to the brow before marking and drilling the second side. Other side: The result: I wanted a very low brow and I positioned it like this at every step of centering, marking then drilling the holes. I'll probably push it down even a tiny bit more when I attach the bottom screw/rivets (any thoughts as to using screws vs rivets for the helmets?). I like the look of the low brow, plus I realized as I was doing the marking, the lower the brow, the larger the natural opening at the neck becomes. I have a very large head (size, not ego!), so this will be advantageous for me later. From the side: Now that I knew more or less where the two halves were going to sit, I marked the front neck opening. I really wanted to try it on, so I did a rough cut, leaving extra room at the end until the final alignment is set. And it worked! I could just barely squeeze it on (the side screws are going to have to be shortened), but I did: Next steps: painting the interior with Plasti-dip, deciding on rivets vs. screws to attach it together properly, and then attempting the ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcromb Posted June 10, 2015 Report Share Posted June 10, 2015 Looking good! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Here comes the fun part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orbit_77 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Just as a belated update after putting everything away for the summer, after a bit more test fitting I had to admit that I will never fit my head into the ATA (as in my eyelashes touch the return edge on the eye sockets, so once the lens are installed it would be even smaller), not to mention that that there would be no rooms for fans or other helmets electronics. I've started on my AM2 helmet which is bigger and gives me a bit more room inside, so I'll start a new build thread for that project. Some great AM2 builds have been completed over the last few months. Lots of great material to follow here and to be inspired by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukswrath[Staff] Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 Two build threads, sweet! 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.