E2 Clonetrooper Pilot Tutorial

[DW Design Studios]

Hello everyone,
I currently working on a E2 Clone Pilot tutorial. I am going to post this on several different forums.
Please feel free to post comments and suggestions I will try to answer all questions in a timely manner.

Attached is the info from day one!
Basic Clone Pilot Kit.

I like to start by removing the visor first. I use a hacksaw blade to cut most of it out. If you are planning
on doing this, don't forget to wear your gloves!

For the area near the bottom, I like to use a dremil.

The mouth are can be punched out with a dremil, then cleaned up with a small file.

After that area is done, move onto the flashing along the main body. You can clean this up with sandpaper or a mouse sander.

Now lets move onto the Chest Box and other accessories. Clean these up with the same tools as the helmet. Clean up all the flashing and rough areas.

Use a dremil to clean out the holes for the light’s. Try to get them so lamp with be centered when glued in place.

Now is a good time to check the placement of the film for the light up display. Clean with a dremil from the inside if needed.

Clean up any other areas that may need a touch up.

Drill four holes in the front for the placement of the wire. The wire will not be attached until the final stage of the build.

Day one complete! Visor and mouth areas cut and cleaned up. All resin pieces cleaned up and ready for day two!

Here is a photo of all tools used for day one.
Mouse Sander, Dremil, Drill, Large and small Files, Exacto knife, Hacksaw Blades and Sand Paper.

 

[Psammead]

Great timing - I've just got round to doing mine. Is there a maximum head size before you need to cut both the back and the front of the neckring off? I have a massive head so I had to do both on mine but thought it might help others.

 

[tcsmit29]

Nice tutorial!! Looking forward to seeing more progress!

 

[DW Design Studios]

Great timing - I've just got round to doing mine. Is there a maximum head size before you need to cut both the back and the front of the neckring off? I have a massive head so I had to do both on mine but thought it might help others.

I am not sure about what size head will fit. Mine fits and it's 23" around. I have friend with larger heads that just removed the neck seal altogether so it will fit.
I know the Pilot does have more headroom than the E2 Grunt version.
Darren

 

[DW Design Studios]

Onto day #2!!!
Now that you have the helmet, box and accessories cleaned up by sanding we are moving onto adding the Magic Sculpt, Bondo, and Glazing/Spot Putty.

Mark on your helmet where you want the cut to be.
I measures my head with sewing tape and it was 23” around.
I suggest making your vertical cut 1” back from the back side of the ear.
Mark on the outside in pencil where your vertical cut will go.
Your horizontal cut will go along the lip near the bottom of the helmet.

* On my first two helmets I cut too close and I can barley get my head inside the helmet.

Mark on the inside with a black marker where the Magic Sculpt will go.
Use sand paper and scuff up the inside, you will want it to be roughed up where the Magic Sculpt needs to stick.
Measure out two equal amounts of the Magic Sculpt and mix.

You should end up with one long piece that will go along the cut seam. I mixed 3 different batches. The first batch went along the right side and the second went on the left. The third was broken down into two pieces and added to the back of the vertical cuts. Use water to smooth it out.
I would let it dry for a couple of days before moving onto the cutting. This will be covered on day 3.
This is a photo of another helmet, it is just for reference to give you an idea on where the Magic Sculpt
should go.

*If you have the “B” version of the helmet you will now move onto adding the Bondo inside the helmet behind
the ear area’s.

*The ”B” version cleanup of the ears is simple. Use your dremil with a cutting wheel to cut away the resin.
Then use it to dig down a make the area deeper. You should be cutting into the Bondo area now.

Now switch the tool out on the dremil to sand and clean up the area.

Once you get it close to the correct depth, use sand paper to smooth it out.

OK, lets move onto the chest box and accessories. I like to use Glazing/Spot Putty.
This stuff works great for filling in holes and air bubble in the resin. Once dried, use sand paper for clean up.

Now that the chest box and accessories are cleaned up, lets attach the two bottom pieces to the chest box.
I like to add a little extra support to some accessories to help keep them from coming off if bumped or dropped.
This step is may not be necessary, it just something I like to do. This can be done by adding support dowels to your pieces.

Once the dowels are added, glue the accessories to the box. Use two part Epoxy or Super Glue.

Your chest box should now look like this.

Alright, the outside of your helmet has been cleaned up and your chest box is ready for some primer.
I like to primer at this stage just to check out my handy work. Any areas that need more cleanup will become
clearer once your primer is applied. I like to use a drink carrier to set my pieces on while painting. This allows
for a stable base for your items while spraying. You also might want to run to your local $1.00 store and pick up
some disposable gloves. You can get a pack of 100 for a buck. This will save you a ton of cleanup on
you fingers and hands while painting.

I sprayed just the mouth and ear areas for now. I can see from my primer job I need to adjust the angle
a bit on the right side of the helmet in the ear area. Once everything looks good, you are done with day two!

Items used on day two.
Pencil, Marker, Magic Sculpt, Bondo, Glazing/Spot Putty, Dremil, Sand Paper, Wood Dowels, Drill, Epoxy and Primer.

 

[NAZGÛL]

Looking good! Nice tut. :cheers

 

[J63]

what brand of primer do you use? I've tried a couple different ones but they sometimes tend to leave too much of a grainy texture for my liking

 

[DW Design Studios]

what brand of primer do you use? I've tried a couple different ones but they sometimes tend to leave too much of a grainy texture for my liking

Believe it or not I use the cheap stuff from Wal Mart. Its only a $1.00 per can and it works great. When I paint I always use the Krylon Fusion. Don't get the Krylon Fusion for Plastic, just the regular Krylon Fusion.
Darren

 

[NAZGÛL]

Funny, I have also stoped using expensive primer, as the cheap stuff works just as good for me.

 

[DW Design Studios]

OK, let move onto day three. We are going to cut the helmet into two pieces and add the magnets.
If you live someplace cold, I suggest letting you helmet sit inside for a couple of days to allow the Magic-Scult time to dry.
If your working out in the garage during the summer, just one full day is needed.

Start near the front close to the chin. Work along the seam until you break through to the inside of the helmet.

Once you can get the blade all the way thought, cutting will become much easier. Just take your time and work your way to the back where the vertical cut will go.

Once both sides are cut, do your vertical cuts. Ignore the line you have marked with a pencil and try to cut down the center of the Magic-Scult.

Once done, you should have two separate pieces.

Now pick two spots near the front and two on the back. This is where the magnets will go.
Use your drill to make the holes. I like to start with a smaller bit then work up to my final size which is 1/4”.

It is important that the magnet fit into the hole properly. It needs to be level with the Magic-Sculpt.
It it is to high or low, it will cause major problems with the pieces fitting together properly.

It is also important that the magnets are all going in the same direction. I like to use tape to help get the
my first four glued in properly. The tape just helps with keeping the magnets all faceing the same direction while glueing.
Use Insta-Cure and Insta-Set to glue these into place.

Once the 4 magnets are glued into the bottom part of the chin, now you will need to mark and glue the other
4 into the main base of the helmet. Its always tough getting the placement holes correct to match up with the
chin. I like to color the magnets with a marker, then place the chin into place. Hopefully the mark with transfer
to the other piece to help you with placement. Once you are happy with your reference marks, drill the holes the
same way you did for the chin.
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO GLUE THE SECOND SET OF MAGNETS IN THE PROPER DIRECTION.
Remove the tape from the remaining 4 magnets and glue them into the base.
If the magnets are glued in incorrectly they are almost impossible to remove and/or fix.

Now that the magnet are all in place, check to see if they hold properly. Put the padding in the helmet and try it
on for size. Move around and turn your head a bit. If the chin slips of feels like it may come off you may need
to add more magnets. I have built helmet using only 8 magnets but sometimes you may need more.
If you need to order more the can be purchased here. I use the D42-N52. The size is 1/4" dia. x 1/8" thick.
http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=D42-N52
I wasn't happy with this helemt just having the 8 so I added another 4.
You can see the placement here.

Your helmet should now be ready for Primer.
I like to use the cheap Primer from Wal Mart. It works great and only costs around $1.12 per can.
It also time to add the magnets to your chest box. Glue all 3 in using the Insta-Cure and Insta-Set.

Also finish adding the prime to the other piece’s of the kit.

 

[DW Design Studios]

Now we are going to move onto painting the helmet.
I based my helmet on the few photo and screen snapshots I could find.
While doing my research I noticed that the back of the helmet has a stripe down it.
This is something Gentle Giant left out when creating their mini bust.
I have adjusted the brightness on the last photo to help with seeing the stripe.

I like to use the inexpensive paint and primer found at Wal Mart for the Grey, Black and Gold.
The colors are Eqmt. Primer Grey, Flat Black and Gold. The Gold will be used later on the hose attachments.
The White and Yellow used are Krylon Fusion for Plastic.
The colors are Gloss White and Sunbeam/Safety Yellow.

 

[DW Design Studios]

When painting Clone helmets I like to use the primer as the grey on the helmet.
So anything that is grey, I tape off with painting tape before painting the helmet white.
The only grey pieces I repaint later are the mouth and vent holes.

Once taped off spray the helmet white. Go slowly while painting. Spray a light coat and
let dry. Come back later and add another coat. Repeat step’s until you are happy with it white finish.
Check undercut areas closely for any parts that are not fully covered. Just be careful not to apply too
much paint. You dont want it to puddle up and seap under the taped off grey areas.
The can says 15 minute dry time but I like to wait a full day before moving onto the adding
the other colors to the helmet.

 

[DW Design Studios]

Moving onto day 5 you should have a clean dry white helmet to start from.
Now tape off all the areas that will remain white leaving only the areas that
will be yellow, black and the grey mouth. We will paint the grey vent holes
later by hand.

The first area I paint is the grey mouth. I like to paint this here because its much
easier to get a good crisp line. If we had taped it off in the beginning with the other grey
it would have be much more difficult to get a perfect, crisp frown.
When painting these areas I always use a tool and run over the tape right before I spray
to insure the tape is secure and to avoid any paint seaping under to the base white helmet.

Let the grey fully dry and then tape off the mouth. I also add some tape over the yellow areas
in the front to insure they don't get any black overspray. Paint the three areas on each side black.

Let the black fully dry and then tape off. Apply the yellow paint.

Once dry remove all the tape. You should have a fully painted helmet with the exception of the grey vent holes and red cogs.

 

[DW Design Studios]

Moving right along we are going to paint the vent holes, cleanup any overspray and add the cogs.
Using a knife, scrape and cleanup any areas you are not happy with.
If you are careful you should be able to do this without removing any of the white.
If you don't want to scrape you can use a paint brush. Use a spare piece of cardboard or something
similar and spray a corner with paint. Hand paint the cleanup as needed.
Do the same with the primer grey and hand paint the vent holes on each side.

Now we are going to add the cogs to the helmet. I have created a template to help with placement.
If you need a copy please PM me your email address. I will send you a version in PDF.
You will need a way to transfer the placement to the helmet. I use the following method.
Color the back of the paper template with a pencil. Then place the paper template into the desired position.
Use the pencil and mark a few areas around the cog for placement. Remove the paper template.
If done correctly you should have some very light placement marks for the cog.

You may have a red sticker or a reversed out sticker of the cogs.
The cog is round and the helmet is curved so near the bottom it is going to overlap.
You will need to cut a slit near the bottom of the cog. This is where the sticker is going to overlap itself.

Using your placement marks attach the sticker and work you way down. I like to have mine overlap
near the bottom. If you are using the red cog stickers you are now done. If you are using the reversed
out cog templates we will continue along.

Tape out the rest of the helmet. Use the painters tape in all areas where you are coming in contact with the
helmet. I use the masking tape in the areas that overlap since is less expensive than the painters tape.

When painting with an airbrush I like to use acrylic paint since it is water based. It’s just more easy for me to
work with and I find its also much easier to cleanup. The color I have choose is Roof Red Polly Scale by Testors.

Paint the same as you did before. Do a couple of light coats. Try not to get it too wet which will cause puddles
and a chance of seaping under your template. Once finished remove tape. The Roof Red may appear too dark
right now but don't worry, we will use a sanding block later to knock the color down a bit.

 

[Goffcorp]

Awesome tutorial, Darren!!

Goff

 

[DW Design Studios]

FYI - Wal Mart has discontinued the Eqmt. Gray Primer!

 

[DW Design Studios]

Now the helmet is almost finished lets move onto the box and accessories.
They all should be primer grey right now.

For the hose connectors that attach to the helmet you will need to add a wood dowel
to help it stay in place. We will also use one screw for each piece to help hold them onto the helmet.

Paint the box white, the hose connector that attach to the box black and the hose connectors
that attach to the helmet gold. Also mist the gold connectors black to knock the gold color down a bit.

Paint most of the items on the box black. Paint one button gray and one red.
I just use a brush and my airbrush paint for these items. I use two coats of each here.

Here are the remaining items for the box.

Glue the connectors with Epoxy for better stability. On small items I usually use Super Glue and the larger
stuff I use the two part Epoxy found at Home Depot.

Now add the wires to the box. Pre bend and get close to how they should look when finished before gluing.
After glue is dry use a pair of needle nose pliers to straighten them out.

Photo of finished front of box.

 

[DW Design Studios]

Now we will attach the gold connectors to the back of the helmet.
Since they take a little bit of stress from the hoses, I suggest attaching them with screws.
I also sand the top of them at a angle slightly where the dowel slides into the helmet.

Once they fit good at the top, mark and drill the holes for the screws.

Attach screws from the inside of the helmet to the connectors.

 

[Tube]

Very cool!

 

[DW Design Studios]

Now lets move onto finishing the chest box.

Take the black print and color print and glue them together. Make sure they register correctly.
Then glue them into the light box from the back with them black print facing out.
*I FORGOT TO PHOTOGRAPH THIS*
Now place the silver tape along the top and side walls of the inside of the light box.
Also add the silver tape to the white piece of plastic. This will serve as the back cover for the
light box.
*I FORGOT TO PHOTOGRAPH THIS*
Hot glue the lights with the on/off switches facing toward the back.
Tape the plastic piece to the box. The tape along the top will act as a hinge covering the light box.
Your box should now be done!