TK Mic tips Hovi Mix- Original found parts finally surface.

[Too Much Garlic]

At the moment it's come to a bit of a stand still sadly. All the quotes I've had so far are just too prohibitive cost to carry on with as a one man operation- it's the upfront outlay which has thrown the spanner in the works.

One possibility is to look to China but a couple of things are putting me off at present. The quality control is a big factor, the two UK factories I've so far been in touch with are within easy visiting distance so I can keep an eye on the product as it develops- also some Chinese factories do have a ..shall we say loose tolerance factor....

I'm still hoping to get something rolling but at present I'm in between house moving so this is currently taking up a lot of my time. I will keep people posted....

Maybe something like this could work?

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

I don't know how I missed this thread. I thought it was known for some time that they were of Scandanavian make -- the complete replicas out there (cast or 3D modeled/printed from original items) have threads for the tip to the hose barb that are pitched opposite what we in the US/UK consider "normal" (leftie-tighty, that is, instead of rightie). I got my replicas back in 2016 or '17 -- base, tip, and insert (but that last modeled and printed as one piece rather than the two of the original component). If yours is the one in the RS video on page one, it looks like the threading on yours goes the "standard" direction for us. I wonder if there are different versions for different markets.

It's absolutely glorious to see you've come on a pair of actual items, though. I had also never seen that ad from Popular Mechanics. One wonders if they had any other applications. Ainsworth did, after all, vacuum-form plastic koi pond inserts. Those tend to require plumbing. He likely had a case of the things on-hand and it was handier than going out and getting electronic or model-kit parts to finish that part of the helmets he was contracted to produce...

 

[Seneca]

Thanks for sharing, would love to hear more stories like this from the horse's mouth!

This is in his new documentary. Galaxy Built On Hope

 

[MastahBlastah]

Wow! I know he's been less than reliable at times, but this is bound to be interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Treadwell]

FWIW, Ainsworth didn't install the mic tips, he had something else in there that the SW art department replaced with them:

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

Thanks for pointing that out, Treadwell. I think I'd always subconsciously registered those as masked over to protect them from the spray paint, and not different objects altogether.

 

[SlyFox]

Yea I’m going to second that, Ainsworth may have pre-assembled the helmets but that’s all, he did not put the rest of the costume together; trimming, glueing, painting, ect. anyone here who has built a Stormtrooper Kit knows exactly what I’m talking about, if not check out FISD at whitearmor.net and you’ll see how much work it is to assemble just one single suit of armor. The Costume Department was definitely responsible for all of that. Andrew wouldn’t even have known where some of the parts he made went on the suit such as Knee Boxes, Belt Drop Boxes, Thermal Detonator, ect. They definitely removed those pool water jets Andrew put in there and replaced them with the HOVI-Mix Pa2 aerators we all know and love.

Plus we know for a fact the Prop Department also had access to these Aerator parts on set too.

As you can see the placeholder parts Andrew Ainsworth pre-assembled the helmets with are considerably different than what ended up being used onscreen.

As mentioned earlier Shepperton Design Studios worked with HDPE forming Fish Ponds, Hot Tubs, Canoes and such. Which explains the pool water jets.

 

[dano]

Coincidentally I was talking to my close friend Chris at Blaster Factory about this Aerator discovery, I helped him design his aluminum E-11 blaster kits which have a reproduction plastic grip good enough to replace the real thing. You’d honestly be hard pressed to tell the difference. He’s also recently reproduced the rare Margolin grips from Leia’s blaster perfectly accurate to the original. These are good enough to replace real the thing too!View attachment 1586455
View attachment 1586458
Some fresh injection molded grips and leftover runners.View attachment 1586459
I also just sourced this Webley Mark 1 Air Pistol for him to replicate Obi-Wan Kenobi’s new blaster, complete with the extra rare non-logo grip variant. He needed this to 3D laser scan which will be used to make an injection mold.View attachment 1586456

I would love to put you in contact with Chris, he has many resources and is very serious about producing Star Wars parts!
If you haven’t heard of Blaster Factory already then go check out his website and his Facebook.

Thanks for the offer, I'm certainly not discounting the idea. At present I'm probably going to be tied up with the house move for the next 4-6 weeks minimum. I do have one more company I'm going to get quotes from first so if that's a no go I'll drop you a line.

 

[ApostleofColor]

I second the FieldMarshall Suggestion. He’s definitely got the gear to do this right