Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods - FINISHED!

Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

StephenMG said:
That's a lovely job KyloRenz. Just goes to show that the basic Rubie's helmet can be made into something very nice looking with some proper mesh, lenses and a re-paint. Great work Sir!

I'm going to be using a cut-down motorcycle visor too. Mine's not quite as bulbous as yours but has enough curvature to give a good convex impression while fitting tightly against the edges of my eye holes. I just hope I don't knacker it when when I'm cutting it out! I've embedded threaded brass inserts in Milliput around the edge of my visor area so I can fit the visor with screws.



I don't think the Rubie's mic tip looks too bad actually. I plan to use mine with a bit of a mod.
Click to expand...
I'd love to see the threaded brass inserts you are going to install. If you look close at the inside pic you can see I have a similar idea holding in the mesh.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Kylo, these are the inserts I've used. They are M3 threaded - the same as the little screws used in a PC to hold drives in place. I plan on using those type of screws to hold the lenses in place because I have plenty of them, they're the perfect length and they have a flange (like a bulit-in washer) which will help to alleviate pressure around the hole in the visor and allow it to be slightly oversized for adjustment.
Brass-inserts-1.jpg

I've embedded 5 of them around the lens area - one in the middle of the brow, one in each 'temple' and one in each 'cheek'. If I get the curvature of the visor right then I reckon that will hold it tight against the aperture all the way around. The inside of my helmet looks pretty messy at the moment but here's a couple of pics to show what I've done anyway! :D
Brass-inserts-2.jpgBrass-inserts-3.jpg

Hope that helps. Keep up the good work!
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Nice! I also used PC mounting screws in mine. I wasn’t sure how close those would work on holding the lens closely so there isn’t a gap but I’ll keep giving it a shot.
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Took advantage of a lull in the Christmas preparations to make a greeblie for the top of the helmet.
Greeblie.jpg

Hopefully I'll be able to mould it later...:)
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

0E942DB4-6B0E-4F98-B658-3EA8622F9009.jpeg


Opened up the side vents fully. Thanks for the inspiration, I was just going to partially open those up.
 
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Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

KyloRenz said:
Nice! So it needs two of these on the top correct? What kit are you using to make the mold?
Click to expand...

There are four in total - one above each 'temple' and two on the top. I shaved all four of the original Rubie's ones off so I can't really remember what they were like. They would have been in the wrong place for me once I'd finished 'stretching' the helmet anyway so I had to make new ones.

The rubber I use for moulds is this stuff - https://www.dwrplastics.com/product-information/5389d54d708f3/RTV-Silicone-Moulding-Rubber-515g-kit, then I cast with this - https://www.dwrplastics.com/product...1b8d/Low-Odour-Beige-Fast-Cast-Resin-250g-Kit. Easy to use and odourless so doesn't stink the house out!:D
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Ok I’m getting ready to paint. Should I just paint it all white first then tape off and paint the black parts?
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

That's exactly how I plan to paint mine. White plastic primer, then gloss white, mask it, then black. I'm going to use gloss black for the 'mouth' area but satin for the brow and temple areas and the black strip around the back and sides.
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Work in progress on the air filter. Still need to drill a hole in the middle. Also I might need to recess this more into the helmet.

- - - Updated - - -

View attachment 784082
 

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Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Great to see you making progress on this KyloRenz. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

As for my own progress, I've cast the resin copies I need of my greeblies. I'll just fitted them so will post a pic of the helmet once it's all dried.
Greeblie-casts.jpg
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

StephenMG said:
Thanks everyone!



Aww, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me! :lol

But, I've been looking at that head-on photo and I reckon I need to raise the lower 'lip' a bit so that it's a bit more pointy. Here's a bit of Photoshop fakery to show what I mean.

Before...
View attachment 780669
(Simulated) After...
View attachment 780667

What do you think?
Click to expand...

Try a minimum camera distance of 6 feet (zoomed in without cropping). I know, I know, I drone on and on about it, but it really helps.
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Yours is going to be amazing man, mine is just a minor attempt at improving the helmet.
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

Well, I've fitted the helmet greeblies. On the real thing these are recessed into the helmet. I contemplated cutting into my helmet to do the same but the extra plastic and stuff I've used to modify it made it difficult to do. Instead I've cheated...again! To give the impression of the whole thing being recessed I used a Forstner bit (held at an angle) to cut a semi-circular recess at the back of the greeblie. With the greeblie glued on over the recess it doesn't look too bad at normal viewing distances. You can see the 'fake' recess in this photo,
Greeblie-insitu.jpg

And here's a general pic of the helmet with greeblies in place,
Rubies-mod27.jpg
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

********... It looks fantastic. Wish I was that talented.

It's gonna look so strange when it's white...
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

The whole helmet nearly went out of the window on the weekend! I thought it was about time I cut the motorcycle visor I've had squirreled away for over a year to fit. I made a template from clear acetate and was pleased to see it fitted nice and tight all around the eye apertures. I transferred that to the visor and cut it down. The visor curvature wasn't great enough however so I heated it and managed to curve it to a better fit. In the process I managed to craze a patch of the surface with the heat gun (grrr!). Cue 2 hours of sanding and polishing to restore the clarity of it. It was a constant struggle to get it to sit right (I found the visor material very difficult to work with) and the final straw came when I mistakenly used a screw that was a touch too long and broke out one of my embedded brass inserts. That was enough for me, so I epoxied it back in place and went to bed before I turned green and smashed the place up! :angry

So I've given up with the motorcycle visor and will make the eye lenses from much thinner, less rigid clear PETG sheet with window tint film applied. It'll lose the (albeit only very slight) bulge I had with the visor but I don't care! It will be massively easier to work with and will sit properly in the helmet. Sometimes life too short to worry about such things!

Gibslayer said:
********... It looks fantastic. Wish I was that talented.

It's gonna look so strange when it's white...
Click to expand...

Thanks Gibslayer. Not sure about talent - it just feels like model-making to me, which I've been doing on and off since I was a kid. There are some real, properly talented folk on this board and I'm certainly not one of those!

Yes, it will be strange to see this back white again. With the outside now about finished I plan to give it a coat of white primer shortly, so we'll see how it looks then! :unsure
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

I'd suggest some thin smoked acrylic sheet. A slightly overlarge rectangle of it, for where it'll end up. Boil it for a few minutes until it's soft but not floppy. Press it into the curve and then, with soft cotton gloves on (inspection gloves are good for this, and cheap, too) lightly press out the lenses to the right amount of bubble.

5a47fba1596be_FOTKBubbleLenses01.jpg.4d13abc8ad0adf8a3f9ce958c07b6606.jpg

5a47fba5c9b62_FOTKBubbleLenses02.jpg.925210d6a764906b25b79afd6d711711.jpg


It can take a couple tries to learn how much pressure to apply, how to ensure smooth gradation of the curvature, no warpage or distortion... But it's a short learning curve, and if you don't expect to nail it the first try, you'll be fine, and it'll be a nice new skill to add to your tool box.
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

I did give this a, tentative, try a while back with some clear sheet. The problem was the lens is a single 10-11" strip and I had difficulty heating it, getting it in place and shaping it all before it cooled without needing five hands! I will give it another try though.

However, I'm also struggling to find suitable pre-tinted sheet - hence my plan to use tinting film. I think I'll revisit this later though. :thumbsup
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

StephenMG said:
I did give this a, tentative, try a while back with some clear sheet. The problem was the lens is a single 10-11" strip and I had difficulty heating it, getting it in place and shaping it all before it cooled without needing five hands! I will give it another try though.

However, I'm also struggling to find suitable pre-tinted sheet - hence my plan to use tinting film. I think I'll revisit this later though. :thumbsup
Click to expand...
The motorcycle lenses are a bitch to work with. The curvature just isn't right. I might end up using this which some use for Boba/Mando lenses.

Hobart 770580 Face Shield Replacement Lens, Shaded https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VECKRO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cnYvAbNKZ5ZC7
4cd6fe59ea396043561da760d58bb2b8.jpg


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Re: Cheapie Rubie's First Order Stormtrooper mods

You're right, motorcycle lenses are hard work!!! That face shield is food for thought, although they're quite expensive in the UK so I may try my cheap and cheerful PETG and tinting film option first.

Having said that (now that I've had a couple of days to calm down!) I re-visited my motocycle visor last night while waiting for the PETG to arrive. With a bit of trimming and fiddling I've now got it sitting much better so I might keep this lens after all. It doesn't look quite as bulbous as I thought it would but there is some curvature so it looks better than a flat sheet would I think. I'll post a pic later. :thumbsup

Edit: I've taken a picture...but it doesn't show much! Ah well, here it is anyway...
Rubies-Mod28.jpg
 
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