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A little short for a StormTrooper! FemTrooper Build in TX


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Jen

 

1 - In my opinion, the gaps you have are ok. 

2 - Those are the same boots Kathi has but we decided to covered them because the side stitching was questionable.

3 - Great idea for doing the lenses! Remember to leave extra material and test fit it before cutting to your lines. You can always remove material but you can't add it back.

4 - I took the sharp corner route and taped the trapezoids. Follow the CRL when in doubt and look at other build threads.

 

It's coming along nicely!

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Jen

 

1 - In my opinion, the gaps you have are ok. 

2 - Those are the same boots Kathi has but we decided to covered them because the side stitching was questionable.

3 - Great idea for doing the lenses! Remember to leave extra material and test fit it before cutting to your lines. You can always remove material but you can't add it back.

4 - I took the sharp corner route and taped the trapezoids. Follow the CRL when in doubt and look at other build threads.

 

It's coming along nicely!

Thanks Greg, I will leave off messing with them for the time being. I intended to make the same mods to the boots that you did, what sort of glue did you use for the leather? Lenses apparently cut fine with the Lexan scissors, I was just out of elbow grease that day. =) I trimmed the bottom here is the cut I made

IMAG0824_zpst9vazmpp.jpg

IMAG0825_zps8gxyiyvp.jpg

It still doesn't want to bend enough in the center to meet the nose area, but I am still working on a way to bend it. I tried boiling for a minute and it made no difference =\ back to the drawing board. I may just trim the top in the same way to get it narrowed enough to bend more. 

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In other news, Yesterday was shopping day! Big haul!

 

Went to Tandy for the snaps, leather for shoes, mallet, snap setters, etc. 

IMAG0806_zpsl7q9livj.jpg

 

Joann's Crafts for the elastic, nylon strapping, velcro 

IMAG0810_zpsfz8bik5k.jpg

 

Hobby Lobby for mineral spirits, enamel, brushes and a clock (wait, what?)

IMAG0807_zpse6ftkypf.jpg

 

AND Amazon showed up with my heat sealing iron and moto helmet liner. yay!

IMAG0811_zpsybrt5jqs.jpg

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Started the painting. No pressure. Got through the traps and the frown. Will finish up the chin and get the two black things on (forget what they are called) and get the paint trips cleaned up. 

IMAG0823_zps5qwt15wu.jpg

 

Do I have to much black on the frown? Do I need to clean it out from between the teeth?

IMAG0822_zpsaxx4inwj.jpg

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Here's the glue I used: http://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/home/2532-01.aspx

 

Great job on the trap! I carefully used a heatgun on the visor to help bend it. If you've never used one before, I'd be VERY careful. They can do a lot of damage. Try drilling the two holes for one side and mount it. Then pressed down in the middle and mark where the other two holes should be. Drill them and mount the lense. It should be good. Remember, you don' t want it to be totally flush. Gaps are ok.

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More painting and cleaning up painting done the last couple days...

fixed the frown, so more like frown and less like pirate teeth... and chin done

IMAG0828_zps6tgssldu.jpg

 

Cleaned up my traps with some mineral spirits

IMAG0827_zpsxd0kaqu0.jpg

 

Drilled the hole for my mics

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had an incident with the drill and my "nurse" came to my rescue. She chided me for drilling while holding the thing and not wearing my safety glasses while expertly applying my

band-aide. She will make a good nurse. 

IMAG0826_zps21u2zcup.jpg

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working on the mic tips. Realized that I didn't have the aluminum screen so decided to try and "make it work" with the black screen I had. I just sprayed it chrome and hoped for the best. 

IMAG0833_zpsza4mlquc.jpg

IMAG0834_zpsx6xlmted.jpg

 

So that went pretty well. I decided to proceed and see. I started by tracing the openings of the mics on a paper to use as a template, cause you can't really see the lines when I write on the screen...

IMAG0835_zpszjb94fhv.jpg

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Added some glue to the inside of the mics and pushed them in a bit with the top of a marker

IMAG0839_zpsku4ullwy.jpg

 

here they are before they where trimmed. 

IMAG0840_zpsne9biu5l.jpg

 

we'll see how it worked when they are dry...

ALSO I had drilled a hole in the bottom and put a screw down in there under the screen to then attach to the helmet...

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Looking great!  Fantastic build thread, btw :)

 

I think the mic tips look good.  Did you back them inside the helmet?  The ABS is really, really thin where the mic tips are screwed in.  Once in a while an overeager child may grab at your bucket, and the mic tip post could rip through the thin ABS right there.

 

Simply glue a small circle of ABS scrap inside the helmet and that solves that issue right away!

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Looking great!  Fantastic build thread, btw :)

 

I think the mic tips look good.  Did you back them inside the helmet?  The ABS is really, really thin where the mic tips are screwed in.  Once in a while an overeager child may grab at your bucket, and the mic tip post could rip through the thin ABS right there.

 

Simply glue a small circle of ABS scrap inside the helmet and that solves that issue right away!

Thanks for the tip Bobby! I'll add that tomorrow! =)

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  • 2 weeks later...

ANNNNNNNND We're Back! Sorry of the disappearing act. I suddenly occurred to me last week that I had done exactly 0% of the studying I needed to do for my state boards last Friday. SO had to take the week and study (and finish sewing the giant bean-bag for my 8 yr old's birthday) As I have accomplished both tasks I am back at it with my shiny new Registered Nurse License on the way (Passed that sucker first try, minimum amount of required questions!)

 

So today we got these in the mail...

IMAG0879_zpsfuus8mx0.jpg

 

But before putting them on, had a couple chores to finish up. Had to cut and apply the little circles of ABS behind the mics as suggested by Bobby

IMAG0858_zpsnqxwt5ne.jpg

 

And needed to get serious about making the lens fit. I just happen to have a heat gun used for embossing, please no comments about the color or generally X-rated appearance of my heat gun, its a heat gun and that is all I promise.

IMAG0862_zpsvcfvgqp6.jpg

 

This heated the lens a bit slower than a hardware one would, but that was probably best. After trimming the top down a bit to better fit inside the helmet, I first screwed one side in to the helmet so I could keep it in place. then I  held the heat about 2-3" away and passed the gun back and forth at the nose to soften it. When it started to sorta bend on its own, droop just a tad I quickly positioned it where I wanted and screwed in the other side. Don't touch it in the middle where you heated it, this causes a sharp angle and a burnt finger, FYI. 

IMAG0861_zpscijhdj7j.jpg

 

This gave me a nice, closer, curve at the nose. Still have a bit of a gap on the sides and underneath but you guys said this is OK and will help with the fogging. 

Tada!

IMAG0859_zpssaokfge6.jpg

 

I did not take pics, but after it cooled I took it back out to clean it and get rid of all my sketching lines...

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On to the tube stripes. I ordered from Troopersbay.com. Was a bit concerned that they came with a sticker but no instructions... :blink: So hopped over to their website where I found a VIDEO! yay! so first I measured out the suggested "one pencils width away from the cheek..."

IMAG0880_zpsb33p7yzw.jpg

 

Marked it on both sides...

IMAG0881_zpscoi4cxp4.jpg

 

Peeled the backing off the decals and lined them up with the pencil marks...

IMAG0882_zpsbxiwdnzw.jpg

 

You can see the pencil line through the backing once it sticks, but only once it sticks so be careful to line it up first...

IMAG0886_zps9pndc5bd.jpg

 

rubbing pressure will adhere the vinyl to the ABS 

IMAG0884_zpssmwgywou.jpg

 

Then peel back the backing. This come off nice and clean if you peel it back instead of pulling it up. Peel backwards thusly...

IMAG0887_zpso2fjs9ae.jpg

 

Tadaaaa!

IMAG0888_zpsnekdgion.jpg

 

In the event of a misalignment, be aware that the vinyl will stick when you are lining things up and may not stay on the backing if you try to pull up and realign. If that happens (as it did to me) I just removed the misaligned stripes and lined up the rest of them in the right spot. Leaving the misplaced ones out until the rest are on right

IMAG0890_zpslrijs90h.jpg

 

Then, since you only used 11 on each side and you where sent 16, you can just cut out two more from the extra

IMAG0891_zpsnjdjzziu.jpg

 

And line them up with the others, in the right spot. Fixed! Can hardly tell they where out of place

IMAG0892_zps4znorxot.jpg

 

IMAG0893_zpso4qpfhhb.jpg

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Realised I had forgot to paint the ridges on the ears. OOPS  :blush: Those came back off to be finished. 

 

So penciled the outline around the ridges and then, with a tiny #2 round brush, painted the grey outline. This just allowed me to have a larger margin of error when painting the the ridges.  

IMAG0874_zpsgqggqjlf.jpg

 

Then filled in the box I made with grey enamal, Tester's 1138

IMAG0877_zpsuyutqb1j.jpg

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And with that, and many many micro adjustments to try and get everything as even as I could, I think I might be done with this helmet. Please take a peak and tell me if I have overlooked anything or if anything needs more fixing...

IMAG0894_zpsk2khewyr.jpg

IMAG0895_zpsitgvdgge.jpg

IMAG0899_zpsee4nwk5t.jpg

IMAG0898_zpssm7ctmm3.jpg

IMAG0897_zpsvjpuhy5b.jpg

IMAG0896_zpsqxbntjlb.jpg

IMAG0894_zps5wckfxgv.jpg

 

Eh?

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Great job, looking good! If you want to nitpick, I would trim down the ears more. There is still a flashing/return edge where the ear meets the helmet that should be removed. However, if you're happy as it is, leave it, We're probably the only people who will notice.

 

And with that, and many many micro adjustments to try and get everything as even as I could, I think I might be done with this helmet. Please take a peak and tell me if I have overlooked anything or if anything needs more fixing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eh?

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Great job, looking good! If you want to nitpick, I would trim down the ears more. There is still a flashing/return edge where the ear meets the helmet that should be removed. However, if you're happy as it is, leave it, We're probably the only people who will notice.

Thank you Derrek and Yes I want to nitpick. =) I would like to leave as little as possible that I will fret over later. I think I see what you are talking about, particularly on the Left side when looking  at the face, that ear? I will try and trim more down. Just afraid to trim to much and not be able to put it back. 

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Since you have a good line already, following the contour, I would just cut it down all around, following this same contour. I think you could easily cut off 2mm all around and you'd be perfect

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ANNNNNNNND We're Back! Sorry of the disappearing act. I suddenly occurred to me last week that I had done exactly 0% of the studying I needed to do for my state boards last Friday. SO had to take the week and study (and finish sewing the giant bean-bag for my 8 yr old's birthday) As I have accomplished both tasks I am back at it with my shiny new Registered Nurse License on the way (Passed that sucker first try, minimum amount of required questions!)

 

So today we got these in the mail...

IMAG0879_zpsfuus8mx0.jpg

 

But before putting them on, had a couple chores to finish up. Had to cut and apply the little circles of ABS behind the mics as suggested by Bobby

IMAG0858_zpsnqxwt5ne.jpg

 

And needed to get serious about making the lens fit. I just happen to have a heat gun used for embossing, please no comments about the color or generally X-rated appearance of my heat gun, its a heat gun and that is all I promise.

IMAG0862_zpsvcfvgqp6.jpg

 

This heated the lens a bit slower than a hardware one would, but that was probably best. After trimming the top down a bit to better fit inside the helmet, I first screwed one side in to the helmet so I could keep it in place. then I  held the heat about 2-3" away and passed the gun back and forth at the nose to soften it. When it started to sorta bend on its own, droop just a tad I quickly positioned it where I wanted and screwed in the other side. Don't touch it in the middle where you heated it, this causes a sharp angle and a burnt finger, FYI. 

IMAG0861_zpscijhdj7j.jpg

 

This gave me a nice, closer, curve at the nose. Still have a bit of a gap on the sides and underneath but you guys said this is OK and will help with the fogging. 

Tada!

IMAG0859_zpssaokfge6.jpg

 

I did not take pics, but after it cooled I took it back out to clean it and get rid of all my sketching lines...

 

 

Your helmet looks great so far. Only two things I'd recommend besides what Derrek already hinted on...... (1) Trim more in the nose area of the lens. On the bottom where the bridge of your nose would touch. (2) Take your bucket back apart and paint the inside of the face plate and back plate flat black. Brush or spray paint. You can use a paper bag (without holes) and a lot of painters tape to make sure you don't paint the outside area. that does two things....... (A) Your bucket believe it or not will be cooler inside. and (B) It will 100% conceal your eyes from being viewed from the outside. People will NOT see what your looking at.  Keep up the awesome work!  :dancing-trooper:  :dancing-trooper:  :dancing-trooper:

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Your helmet looks great so far. Only two things I'd recommend besides what Derrek already hinted on...... (1) Trim more in the nose area of the lens. On the bottom where the bridge of your nose would touch. (2) Take your bucket back apart and paint the inside of the face plate and back plate flat black. Brush or spray paint. You can use a paper bag (without holes) and a lot of painters tape to make sure you don't paint the outside area. that does two things....... (A) Your bucket believe it or not will be cooler inside. and ( B) It will 100% conceal your eyes from being viewed from the outside. People will NOT see what your looking at.  Keep up the awesome work!  :dancing-trooper:  :dancing-trooper:  :dancing-trooper:

Awesome Ben, I will do those two things as well while I have it all apart fixing the ears. Thank you so much guys! Back in a couple days when I have finished my homework and also I have to make a stupid dress for graduation. =( Which is in two days =( ugggg

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Changed my mind. Want to make a Stormtrooper, not a dress. Ordered a dress and Amazon and got back to the helmet.  B)

SO, started by taking the right ear off and spending the next hour adjusting tiny parts to make it lay down better and get rid of enough, but not to much of that flash. =\ I sketched out an initial trimming and cut that down to just before the line I drew

IMAG0900_zpslhbtt5af.jpg

 

Then just put it back on and marked where it stuck out to far and prevented the ear from sitting on straight, took it off and sanded, put it back and mark... etc. Then did the other side and hopefully when I put it all back together they will both be a little more flush

 

Then I took it all the way apart, removed the lens, and started the process of masking off the face and back of the helmet with painters tape to prep for spray painting. 

Started with the eyes and did all the edges

IMAG0901_zps7fyokud2.jpg

did both eyes, all the way around the edges, the teeth. Then covered the holes, and the eye holes completely. 

IMAG0902_zps9jzgkmap.jpg

Covered the rest with a plastic bag and taped it down to the taped edges, making sure everything on the outside was covered completely from over spray

IMAG0904_zps1yjudcxy.jpg

IMAG0905_zpsukowma9c.jpg

 

Sprayed it inside both face and back with matte black spray paint

IMAG0910_zps8s69j1la.jpg

IMAG0908_zpsycmfti8r.jpg

 

While that is drying I went back and deepened the notch between the eyes on the lens with the dremel on low speed, which did better not melting it. =)

IMAG0907_zps8hvg2xvs.jpg

 

Now just waiting for paint to dry

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