StephenMG
Active Member
Hi all,
Just thought I'd show you some work I'm doing on a cheap Rubie's 2-piece First Order stormtrooper helmet. The background to this is that I recently bought a Hasbro Black Series stormtrooper helmet which has scratched an itch I've had since my Dad took me to see Star Wars at the age of 11 back in 1977! I've never been able to afford (or justify) the high prices of the better helmet replicas so the Black Series lid was a dream come true. However, that triggered another itch for a First Order helmet to display with it! Same problem though - the better replicas are just too expensive for me.
So, even though I'd read the Rubie's 2-piece helmet was cheap, a bit nasty and slightly undersized, I bought one. For 30 quid I was pleasantly surprised with the general look, if not the finish! It's clear that some of the details have been 'tweaked' in order for it to be moulded in only 2 pieces and the net for lenses can be forgiven - these are the reasons it's so cheap after all.
Proportions didn't look too bad but it's definitely undersized. Disappointingly it looked 'wrong' sat next to the Black Series. The back half looked too shallow though making the 'temple' details too far back. I decided to do some surgery to try to make it look a bit 'bulkier' while keeping the proportions about right.
OK, purists look away now! This is never going to be any where near an accurate replica. It's purely intended as something nice to plonk on my shelf with my Black Series lid.
So, the aim is to bulk out the helmet generally. Firstly, I cut the faceplate off and have now started to reassemble the front and back halves but spaced apart - around 5mm at the very top of the helmet, expanding to around 15mm at the bottom. The faceplate is then reattached but dropped down about 4mm and 2mm forward so that it locates in the correct place to maintain the expanded proportions. The photos show progress so far - all the pieces spaced out with the crown joint fully 'plated' with styrene strips. The 'fore and aft' dimensions are now on a par with the Black Series Rogue One helmet. Once it's all reassembled I'll fill the spaces with styrene and filler. The temple area will have to be remodelled as it's now all over the place!
I know this is a horror show for the rivet-counters (sorry!) but if it gives me a reasonable representation of the helmet that I can display next to be Black Series, I'll be delighted!
More progress soon...
Just thought I'd show you some work I'm doing on a cheap Rubie's 2-piece First Order stormtrooper helmet. The background to this is that I recently bought a Hasbro Black Series stormtrooper helmet which has scratched an itch I've had since my Dad took me to see Star Wars at the age of 11 back in 1977! I've never been able to afford (or justify) the high prices of the better helmet replicas so the Black Series lid was a dream come true. However, that triggered another itch for a First Order helmet to display with it! Same problem though - the better replicas are just too expensive for me.
So, even though I'd read the Rubie's 2-piece helmet was cheap, a bit nasty and slightly undersized, I bought one. For 30 quid I was pleasantly surprised with the general look, if not the finish! It's clear that some of the details have been 'tweaked' in order for it to be moulded in only 2 pieces and the net for lenses can be forgiven - these are the reasons it's so cheap after all.
Proportions didn't look too bad but it's definitely undersized. Disappointingly it looked 'wrong' sat next to the Black Series. The back half looked too shallow though making the 'temple' details too far back. I decided to do some surgery to try to make it look a bit 'bulkier' while keeping the proportions about right.
OK, purists look away now! This is never going to be any where near an accurate replica. It's purely intended as something nice to plonk on my shelf with my Black Series lid.
So, the aim is to bulk out the helmet generally. Firstly, I cut the faceplate off and have now started to reassemble the front and back halves but spaced apart - around 5mm at the very top of the helmet, expanding to around 15mm at the bottom. The faceplate is then reattached but dropped down about 4mm and 2mm forward so that it locates in the correct place to maintain the expanded proportions. The photos show progress so far - all the pieces spaced out with the crown joint fully 'plated' with styrene strips. The 'fore and aft' dimensions are now on a par with the Black Series Rogue One helmet. Once it's all reassembled I'll fill the spaces with styrene and filler. The temple area will have to be remodelled as it's now all over the place!
I know this is a horror show for the rivet-counters (sorry!) but if it gives me a reasonable representation of the helmet that I can display next to be Black Series, I'll be delighted!
More progress soon...
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