New to TK Armor

[WilliamsSkeletor]

Heya fellas,
Like the title says, I'm a complete noob to the world of trooper armor, but I just finally happened upon a fantastic-looking set. Anyhow, test-fitting the GF helmet pieces is drivin' me nuts. I realize that most of the helmets in ANH had gaps between the helmet and the ear pieces, but are they supposed to be this considerable? Will more trimming/sanding remedy the gap? Will the gaps disappear once I rivet the bottom lip of the earpiece down (although I'm afraid to "force" the abs)? I wanna go for a hero helmet, and I'm pretty sure the pieces should be much more flush against the helmet (from the reference material I've gathered over the last couple of days). Here are the pics. And, by the way, I realize this might sound kinda stupid to those of you that've worked on stormy lids before, but until I laid eyes on this kit I'd NEVER seen a TK lid in person... so I'm feelin' kinda lost (although I'm positive there isn't anything I can't get around/fix).

Gaps on the right side of the helmet...

Gaps on the left side...

Quick shot from the front...

So many pieces to trim... I should be busy for the better part of a month on this guy...

Any and all help is appreciated. And thanks to WC for hosting images.

CHEERS.
-Roger

By the way, fellas, I already read through both Clutch's and KevVader's awesome build-up threads and I couldn't find the info I was looking for. Already tried scouring the web, and no tutorials touch exactly upon the info I'm looking for... Lemme know what you guys think.

-Roger

 

[KevVader]

Yeah, the gaps in the helmet ear pieces are inherent in these types of kits. That said, yours seem to be more pronounced.....you could try trimming/sanding but you may end up taking off more material than is necessary. I'd try heating slightly and reshaping to see if you can get a better fit around the tube....

P.S. Been to Hooter's lately?....

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

Thanks KevVader,
Think I'm gonna go to Home Depot today and pick up a heat gun. Even with the screws (and later, at the bottom of the ear piece, rivets), I'm having to force the material too much. Heating it up slightly and reshaping is gonna be the only way, I think. Shouldn't be too hard, I hope...

Btw, yeah... We had some "representatives" come by the tv station where I work to shoot a commercial. Supposedly the most attractive "Hooters" girls in South Texas. Couldn't let 'em leave without a pic or two...

Thanks again for your help, Kev.

CHEERS.
-Roger

 

[voice in the crowd]

<div class='quotetop'>(WilliamsSkeletor @ Jun 15 2006, 05:41 PM) [snapback]1262161[/snapback]</div>

Btw, yeah... We had some "representatives" come by the tv station where I work to shoot a commercial. Supposedly the most attractive "Hooters" girls in South Texas. Couldn't let 'em leave without a pic or two...

CHEERS.
-Roger
[/b]

Hey Roger I bet those Hooters girls have the same photograph up in their houses and boast to their girlfriends they met you

Great pic :thumbsup

Good luck with the helmet and please post pics when you get it completed it looks a nice set of armour.

Cheers Chris .

 

[SethB6025]

The bottom screw will remedy some of that. It's not too bad. Be careful with that heat gun.

 

[dirtydave]

Like Seth said it looks like you didn't put the bottom screw in.other than that it looks ok,the originals are not perfect,just look at the move along troopers ears.My advice for building the rest of your armor is do one piece at a time and look at screen caps and dvd to see how the originals were built(VERY SLOPPY).Braks Buddy has a great ref cd(worth every penny).well good luck with the armor.

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

Hey fellas,

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. Actually, I figued that the bottom screw would indeed remedy some of the gap, but the thing that's convinced me to heat it up just a touch and bend is that I REALLY have to force the plastic down to make the bottom of the earpiece even come in contact with the helmet. I'm gonna force it till I feel comfortable with it and THEN slightly heat it up so that it makes contact without requiring so much pressure. And yeah, just watched the parts of ANH with troopers and man, some of those lids have HUGE gaps in 'em. Especially when viewing some of the helmets from behind. But I failed to notice too much of a gap on the two lids that Han and Luke snag while on the Death Star, which is kinda what I'd like for this lid...

I'm gonna give this is a try tonight and see how it turns out. I'll post pics when I'm done. Wish me luck. :thumbsup

CHEERS.
-Roger

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

Quick question, fellas... The black chin area (vocoder, I think it's referred to). Flat, semi, or gloss black? Satin black? What's the established/recommended, most authentic choice? Any suggestions? It's the last part of the helmet I need to paint.

Cheers.
-Roger

 

[gizmo]

The originals were gloss black.

Cheers
Ben

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

Is that the general concensus? Gloss black? Thanks gizmo. I'm off to paint me some trooper chin.

THANKS. :thumbsup
-Roger

 

[stormtrooperguy]

so how did reheating the earcaps go?

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

Heya TK7602,
I actually chickened out that night and didn't get it done, and I'm glad I didn't... the next morning I had an e-mail from GF himself telling me what an absolutely risky idea that would be. Apparently at a certain temp the abs just completely collapses (obviously irreversible). The thing to do is just force (takes a bit of force to get the earcaps to flex down) the pieces flush with each other and superglue 'em together... and THEN drill the hole for the lower earcap screw. I've test fitted the pieces with this technique in mind and the gap virtually disappears altogether. Now that I'm done painting the helmet I'll be getting on this tonight or tomorrow morning. Depending on whether or not I build up the nerve. Just cause the test-fit went well doesn't mean I can't screw this up anyway... wish me luck.

-Roger

<div class='quotetop'>(tk7602 @ Jun 26 2006, 04:36 PM) [snapback]1268763[/snapback]</div>

so how did reheating the earcaps go?
[/b]

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

I'd just like to re-pose this question to everyone on the board with experience painting these guys up... All I have left to paint on the helmet is the black grill on the "chin." Gizmo's already chimed in with an answer... gloss black. But after watching and re-watching ANH, the hero helmets' chins don't shine/glimmer as much as the regular Testors Gloss Black I've been using (which seems ultra-glossy compared to what I see on screen). Could it be that I need to switch to a semi-gloss enamel? This is the only thing nagging at me right now... All advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
-Roger

 

[trooper70]

Semi-gloss enamel is exactly what I use

 

[KevVader]

I used Testors 1147....looks great....

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

<div class='quotetop'>(KevVader @ Jun 27 2006, 05:46 PM) [snapback]1269548[/snapback]</div>

I used Testors 1147....looks great....

[/b]

That DOES look great, Kev. Gonna pick up some 1147 right now... Thanks for the advice, guys. I love the RPF.

Cheers.
-Roger

 

[shabad]

<div class='quotetop'>(WilliamsSkeletor @ Jun 26 2006, 06:27 PM) [snapback]1268801[/snapback]</div>

Heya TK7602,
I actually chickened out that night and didn't get it done, and I'm glad I didn't... the next morning I had an e-mail from GF himself telling me what an absolutely risky idea that would be. Apparently at a certain temp the abs just completely collapses (obviously irreversible). The thing to do is just force (takes a bit of force to get the earcaps to flex down) the pieces flush with each other and superglue 'em together... and THEN drill the hole for the lower earcap screw. I've test fitted the pieces with this technique in mind and the gap virtually disappears altogether. Now that I'm done painting the helmet I'll be getting on this tonight or tomorrow morning. Depending on whether or not I build up the nerve. Just cause the test-fit went well doesn't mean I can't screw this up anyway... wish me luck.

-Roger

<div class='quotetop'>(tk7602 @ Jun 26 2006, 04:36 PM) [snapback]1268763[/snapback]

so how did reheating the earcaps go?
[/b]

[/b][/quote]

Thanks for posting this I was going to try the same procedure with the heat gun but I will try to be much more careful. I just left the gaps on my first one but I was hoping to get a tighter fit on this second one. Great advice about the semi gloss too, gloss looks too shiny to me and so I went with matt, I'll remedy that now.

 

[WilliamsSkeletor]

Does anyone know of a better alternative to Devcon Plastic Welder. It just ain't cuttin' it. The epoxy supposedly sets in 3-4 min, but it just ain't workin'. Getting kind of frustrated with this stuff.

Thanks in advance,
-Roger

 

[Darksaber212]

Roger, you can use ABS glue, which I used on my GF, or hit wallymart for the Plumbers GOOP. I have used both and they work great but do not overapply.

<div class='quotetop'>(WilliamsSkeletor @ Jul 2 2006, 08:11 PM) [snapback]1272755[/snapback]</div>

Does anyone know of a better alternative to Devcon Plastic Welder. It just ain't cuttin' it. The epoxy supposedly sets in 3-4 min, but it just ain't workin'. Getting kind of frustrated with this stuff.

Thanks in advance,
-Roger
[/b]

 

[Clutch]

Interesting. I had a problem with it setting up too quickly.