Inkedfritos686 ANH AM 2.0 build and journey

[Inkedfritos686]

So after a mishap with the decals I decided to hand paint. From the sources, knowledge, and outstanding people on this site, this was how the originals in ANH were done. I know there are a lot of people who can find painting a bit nerve wracking. I also know there are templates and tutorials on how to hand paint them, but this is how I went about it:

 

So I first taped off the area of traps that I was going to paint. It's the same as the frown. Just tape the shape you want and the areas you don't want paint to touch. I went ahead and did the first coat. I then waited a few hours and applied the second coat.

Not looking to bad I think.

I then did the exact same steps for the back left trap.

 

I'm going to let both dry out overnight since its 9:54 at night in California haha.

 

Now for the front tears I decided to free hand this area without any masking tape. I did this because the tape can get in the way of a nice shape and line. Plus I wanted more experience in free hand. What a time to want to get better at free hand right? Haha.

 

So for those who want to attempt this, you can follow these steps if you want.

 

Step 1:

You will need these two brushes.

This brush will be used for the finer details such as the outer lining of the tears.

This brush will be used to fill in the majority of the tear.

 

Step 2:

Start by using the small fine brush with just a tiny bit of paint on it. Not to much otherwise it will leak into places you don't want. From here I went ahead and did a dabbing motion around the edge of the tear. Don't have to put a lot of pressure just enough to paint a light layer.

This is what it will look like after the first round using the dabbing method I just mentioned. Don't worry if it's super light or slightly transparent. Your just trying to make the outline.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Inkedfritos686]

Now we switch to the bigger brush I mentioned. This is where we will begin to fill in the rest of the tear just like I did here.

 

I used testors #1747. After you get a nice layer down within the outline you can get ready to darken the outline that we started.

 

Darkening the outline:

Using the small brush used to create the outline, we will go over the line with a few layers. Hopefully that makes sense.

To do this I went ahead and used the same dabbing method I first used. This helps to add another layer of paint without leaking paint or painting unwanted areas. After going along the outline using this method, I went painted one more layer on top. Following the edges that your outline made is easy and this last layer will give it a nice darker color. If you make a mistake don't worry. You can either fix it with a little more paint around the edge or use a toothpick with some paint thinner.

 

Well there you go. Hopefully this helps everyone on free painting. It can be time consuming but it will be worth it in the end.

 

Tomorrow I'm going to work on adding the gray layer on top.

 

 

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[Inkedfritos686]

Went and painted the grey layer today over the black.

 

Front traps

Left:

Right:

 

Back traps:

Waiting for paint to dry to paint lines on them.

 

I was able to finish the tears under eyes fully today.

 

Front tears:

 

What it looks like from front

 

I went back and free handed the vocoder a bit more. Looks way better now.

 

Goals for tomorrow:

1) Finish rear traps

2) Put helmet together w/lens.

-lens screwed in by ears

3) paint ears with appropriate paint guidelines

 

 

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[lucnak[TK]]

I would recommend redoing the edges of your areas and not dabbing. Use a single smooth motion to paint those edges - should look better that way. Right now your edges are quite uneven. I was catching up on your thread and wasn't sure why your frown looked like that, but the technique explains it!

[Inkedfritos686]

I would recommend redoing the edges of your areas and not dabbing. Use a single smooth motion to paint those edges - should look better that way. Right now your edges are quite uneven. I was catching up on your thread and wasn't sure why your frown looked like that, but the technique explains it!

Thanks for the advice. Yea they looked a little uneven. I'll go ahead and do the one smooth motion over the edges today. I just do the dabbing to set the outline but it makes it uneven.

 

The frown wasn't done using the dabbing method. I used small strokes

 

 

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[lucnak[TK]]

One solid motion is best to keep things nice and even. Hopefully it turns out a bit better on your second pass!

 

 

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[Inkedfritos686]

I went ahead and took lucnak's suggestion. I went over my edges with one solid motion and I think they look much better.

 

 

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[Inkedfritos686]

So I was following Navajo Bro's thread on the helmet build as well as advice from SheaJeff. I followed the instructions and starting putting the helmet together. I can see where there black brow is uneven. I'm going to try Navajo Bro's way he did it to fix the uneven black brow trim.

The ear has a big gap between the curve. Any advice on how to fix it? Heat gun?

 

Need to install lens into the ear screws still.

 

Hoping I'm on the right track. Thanks to those who have been helping and giving advice.

 

 

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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

It does look as it needs to be brought up on one side, it's a definite slant. I would say adjust the mount on the side and see how it looks.

 

Nice tutorial on fitting ears here http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29238-my-helmet-ear-tutorial/

[SheaJeff[TK]]

This is the same problem I had. I considered the heat gun but with a lot of drilling new holes and work, I was able to re-align it then add those new screws to pull the cheeks together. Keep trying. I bet this is expensive piece to replace if you mess it up!

[lucnak[TK]]

Not the heat gun! If there's a big gap between the face and the back before putting the ear on, a screw could pull them closer together and close some of the gap, but if that won't work, I would recommend you get a new set of ears! Much cheaper solution than something that could seriously damage your helmet!

[Inkedfritos686]

Holy moly...thanks everyone for saving my helmet. That would have been an expensive mistake. I'm glad I checked the forum today. I'll try the techniques that everyone so far has mention.

I'll post photos soon. Will be absent for a day or two for vacation.

 

Any advice or tips while I'm away will be greatly appreciated. Especially with helmet or armor since I'm getting ready to start the rest of the TK build.

 

 

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[KaiserW]

Not the heat gun! If there's a big gap between the face and the back before putting the ear on, a screw could pull them closer together and close some of the gap, but if that won't work, I would recommend you get a new set of ears! Much cheaper solution than something that could seriously damage your helmet!

Just out of curiosity, why no heat gun?

Is it just that they get too hot?

My AM 2.0 armor will be here in about a week.

I have one of those variable selection ones that can get pretty low.

 

 

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[lucnak[TK]]

Just out of curiosity, why no heat gun?

Is it just that they get too hot?

My AM 2.0 armor will be here in about a week.

I have one of those variable selection ones that can get pretty low.

 

 

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The heat gun tends to just make everything melt uncontrollably and getting something that warps back into shape is next to impossible. I think the ears here look a little high...lowering them should help a little. Hard to say without seeing photos from all angles.

 

I only used the heat gun to make my bicep clips. Some folks use it to reshape shins or the left bicep since those seem to be more oval than round.

[SheaJeff[TK]]

I used a heat gun to make bicep clips as well. What I noticed is that you can't tell how hot the plastic is and it quickly goes from "barely movable" to "soft goo" pretty quickly. The sweet spot where you can form it is pretty small. And I was only bending a narrow straggly piece; trying to bend somethings like the cheeks would be a nightmare to get it to keep a consistent shape along the whole length.

I didn't need a heat gun for anything but the bicep clips and I used scraps to make those. The armor kit is a really nice kit except for the face alignment problem in the face.

[Inkedfritos686]

I think I have figured out the right position for the helmet. I just want some other people's opinions before I screw any new holes in the left side. Is the position of the black brow and eyes in specifications? Any help will be great. This helmet is a hard one.

 

 

 

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[SheaJeff[TK]]

I started with the brow low like that too, but be warned: when you pull the cheeks in with the additional screws the brow lowers a bit. I'd go higher on it.

[Inkedfritos686]

I started with the brow low like that too, but be warned: when you pull the cheeks in with the additional screws the brow lowers a bit. I'd go higher on it.

Ok I'll do that. This helmet has been a pain but in loving building this.

 

 

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[Inkedfritos686]

So I redone the holes and this is where I'm at so far.

 

There's this little gap here though.

 

The ear doesn't seem to fit or hid the crossover section. :/

 

What should I do?

 

 

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[Inkedfritos686]

Plus bottom of helmet on the right side.

There seems to be a gap between the front and back on the right side.

It's not noticeable though from the outside from what I see. What about you guys?

 

This is the inside of helmet so far.

 

Do I need to start from the beginning and close the gap between the right side? Would that fix the left side on the bottom?

 

 

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[Inkedfritos686]

I'm actually wondering if I put ears backward. Going to go back and check to make sure. If anyone can tell by the pictures let me know

 

 

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[SheaJeff[TK]]

I had the same gap above the ear. It should be covered if you trim the ear right.

I had the trim the top section of the ear as well as the bottom curve. You can see the difference in "thickness" of the top section, particularly compared to the other side.

 

 

 

[Inkedfritos686]

Well everybody I'm pretty sure I either messed up the ears or I messed up my helmet. I think I may have trimmed to much off the left ear. The AM helmet is probably the most frustrating thing I've worked on in my life haha. I've been looking at Navajo Bro's thread and it still isn't helping. I'm at the point I wish I had a build party so I could see hands on.

This is the left ear which was having problems.

As you can see I might have trimmed to much because it now doesn't cover the crossing of the helmet sections.

This is what the right ear looks like.

The right ear has no trimming done to it and fit perfectly.

 

These next pictures are the underside of the helmet.

This is the right ear side.

 

This is the left ear side

For some reason the ear as well as helmet aren't matching up.

 

The cap at least on left ear has closed but doesn't help if the rest of ear doesn't look good at all.

 

Can anyone help me or give me some advice???? I'm afraid I made a costly mistake which I can't afford at the moment. It's stressing me out pretty bad which doesn't help with my anxiety. Any help will be appreciated!

 

 

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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

There's a nice AM helmet build with some great photos for comparison here http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29910-seantx-am-20-stunt/page-3#entry430646

[Inkedfritos686]

There's a nice AM helmet build with some great photos for comparison here http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29910-seantx-am-20-stunt/page-3#entry430646

Thanks for the direction to look at. I'm just wondering if the left ear was trimmed to far at the top? Would I be able to fix it or will I need to buy a new set of ears?

 

 

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