Honest opinions or suggestions?

[Darth Mobius]

Since I know you will scroll to the bottom to find pics Ill post them here first, then you can read. (Please don't mind my messy desk)

If you'll notice primarily in photo 2 it is apparent that the dome is very misaligned and as I use magnets that have been epoxied to both parts adjustment isn't really an option without possible serious injury to the piece.

What I'm wondering is if its bad enough to warrant tearing it apart or if I should just leave well enough alone. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and cant decide if it bugs me enough to fix.

what would your honest opinions be please?

 

[Nuclearsphinx]

Well if it is for wearing as a costume piece? I wouldnt bother with tearing it apart unless your a DIE HARD SA kinda person. But if you intend to display it then I would fix it to make it as SA as possible.

 

[SaberFreak]

If the magnets are epoxied on a flat surface (i.e., not inside a recessed hole), they should be quite easy to remove. A really sharp, thin blade like a heavy duty snap-off blade can cut through epoxy easily, if its not too thick.

Alternatively a sharp, sideway-knock on the magnet (right angle to the surface where the epoxy is applied) would most probably dislodge it.

 

[Darth Mobius]

Ill post a couple pics after work tonight of the mount... I may well be able to knock the epoxy putty loose.

And this is my trooping bucket so it doesn't have to be absolutely SA but you know how it is... you want it to be "just so"

thanks for the replies

 

[Darth Mobius]

Okay so here are the pics of my mounting system... its not all that pretty but it holds true.

I used different types of epoxy throughout the project, thats why it looks so odd. note that there is a magnet under each spot of the white epoxy putty.

 

[obiwan2]

Personally, I would fix it...otherwise it'd drive me insane...but that's me

 

[steveo]

I'm not a Vader expert, but I think it looks great. I can't see where it's misaligned.

 

[sithlordharley]

i personally would fix it

 

[Tom1971]

What Vader helmet is that???????

 

[Darth Mobius]

What Vader helmet is that???????

If youre asking what film its modeled after its an ESB. If you're asking who the manufacturer is, I got it from a fellow that goes by Darth Voorhees over at the 501st sith lord detachment. To my knowledge it is casted off a heavily reworked DPCA.

 

[Tom1971]

If youre asking what film its modeled after its an ESB. If you're asking who the manufacturer is, I got it from a fellow that goes by Darth Voorhees over at the 501st sith lord detachment. To my knowledge it is casted off a heavily reworked DPCA.

I thought it had a Classic Action look about it.

I would say fix it if you can without doing damage and causing too much trouble. It's a pretty nice helmet and it deserves a straight look.

 

[Darth Mobius]

thats kinda how I was feeling about it. well see how things turn out... Ill have to figure out how to get the magnets out of the epoxy

 

[Tom1971]

thats kinda how I was feeling about it. well see how things turn out... Ill have to figure out how to get the magnets out of the epoxy

Maybe you can put a small thin wedge on the side of the magnet that will force the dome to sit just a hair to the right and that would center it.

 

[Darth Mobius]

I tried shimming it originally but it separates and misaligns the magnets screwing up their hold and making the dome really wobbly.

 

[Tom1971]

Post under the modeling section a question. State what kind of glue you used and ask if anyone has a good method of removing it.

That helmet is too nice and it's not worth damaging it for a barely noticable allignment problem

 

[SithLord]

I just see horizontal rotation which makes the center strip of the dome a bit off to the right of the nosebridge. The height is alright and the tilt is alright, although harder to tell for sure with close photos. Keep in mind that the flaring of the dome on the right looks a bit shorter on this particular casting than on the left. But the eyebrows on the dome seem horizontally aligned. You could always get some velcro underneath just to offset that front a bit to the left so the center lines up with the nosebridge. Or you could dremel to the left of the front magnet to shift it to the left a bit.

 

[Darth Mobius]

Well I took it apart a couple hours ago and here are the results... again please don't mind the mess on my desk.

I removed the epoxy by tapping a razor blade between it and the mask... It was actually fairly simple.

once I had them out I chipped most of the old epoxy away and re mounted them, this time on the underside of the mask and then laid epoxy over them to keep them in place.

It holds pretty steady and Im happy overall with the way it turned out. Feedback is always welcome.

 

[Tom1971]

Well hell, you didn't need any advice. You did an awesome job. Looks perfect now. Congrats

 

[Darth Mobius]

Thanks, I appreciate all the suggestions and assistance

 

[obiwan2]

That looks a THOUSAND times better!!! Sorry but things like the alignment of the main part of the helmet are very important to the overall look IMO. Would've driven me nuts but the bottom line is, as long as you're happy with it, who cares? GREAT looking helmet!! :cool