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PostPosted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:52 pm 
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Damon,

Absolutely. Here are my photo records of the original state of this urethane kit.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

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Basically, the proportions are all wrong, the shaping is all wrong, and the kit's features are very soft and require a lot of detailing. If you're not ready to do some serious modifications with a heat gun and some AquaMend, then a better condition and more accurate cast may be more to your liking.


Last edited by CSMacLaren on Fri Jun 14, 2013 2:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:57 am 
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wow...the original dome sems so long and slender..

and I have zero skills to even mod something like that...

I woudl have to buy an already completed helmet....


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:42 am 
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Hey man don't sell yourself short. This is the first time I ever tried this myself. As I said I've gotten ( is that a word?) pretty lucky and have pulled most of my ideas out of my back side. :lol

CS has the same helmet and has began to mod his. I'm looking forward to seeing some of his ideas and mods. He has already helped me by letting me bounce ideas off him and giving me great feedback.

So jump in....theres plenty of great people here to ask for help. :thumbsup


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:02 am 
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Damon,

T-VIRUS and I are kind of "brothers in arms" in this war against the ugliness of this ArmorMask product (ArmorMask is the name of the eBay seller... and it is possible that despite his claim to me that he sells many of these that my strong dissatisfaction has resulted in my not seeing any more of these on eBay, similar to how GoldenArmor has now told me he will no longer cast wearable Vader helmets given my bad experience with his fiberglass not bonding to the resin). Count it a blessing if less than stellar products are taken off the market, and we hope that people will improve the quality and integrity of their wares.

In these cases, Damon, the poor quality of these kits are not the fault of us customers. We didn't know any better when we bought them, but we are now trying to make the best out of a bad situation. The *GOOD* thing is that the crappier the kit, the more work you have to put into it -- and despite the learning curve, the experience gained is invaluable. Heck, the skills from modifying the plastic and inaccurate Rubie's Supreme Vader helmet has helped me attack fiberglass -- something I have never done before in my life. Of course, I had to do some extra research into clothing, eye and breathing protection, but that was about it.

The tools you invest in one project help you towards the next. And I can recommend tools! (I should actually do a writeup on ideal tools and in what cases they can be used....)

Bear in mind, I'm a beginner. I've not done hand craft stuff since being a kid, except for some clay work in an art class in college years ago (I'm in my late 30's). There is part of us that is creative and if given the opportunity will find its potential. You'll gain confidence quickly, but you have to start somewhere.

I realize that some people feel very, very ginger about taking the first step. I don't recommend modifying a Rubie's helmet to be a start because the plastic is a pain to work with, but it *is* cheap compared with a FG kit. It may require that you get files, a dremel and possibly a hand-sander but if your ultimate goal is to work with fiberglass kits, these tools will come in awfully handy!

As a result of taking that first step with a Rubie's helmet, my understanding of tools and methods is far greater than when I first started. Plus, you have a very supportive community here -- thanks to NoHumorMan and the moderators. If you have modification questions, post away, and we'll do our best to help you. In one sense, we're like building a family of fellow modders. Any person we help not only in turn can help someone else, but we grow our community that way; we are not alone any more.

Also, T-VIRUS gives me too much credit. His work with the dome and the facemask is what triggered my own inspiration, so his impact upon me cannot be taken away from him. He broke the initial ground to show us that something as ugly, sad, misshapen and pathetic as the ArmorMask urethane kit (which we nicknamed "Darth Ugly') could go from swine to swan.

The fun is seeing the potential in things and working on them to bring that potential to light. That, of course, is a long and arduous process but rewarding nonetheless -- it is the Jedi way.

The Sith way is cheaper and quicker! :lol


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:21 am 
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Darth Ugly sighting on RPF:

http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=124522


We are not alone!!


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:40 am 
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you really make an inspirational plea there dontcya :lol Well I have a dremel and a nice workspace in the garage during the summer....

maybe this sounds like a plan....it would have to be ANH like you guys

well after the new baby and the MR bowcaster I will look you guys up and get a deep down dragout ugly helemt and work on it.... :hehe-err


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:57 am 
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damon5973 wrote:
you really make an inspirational plea there dontcya :lol Well I have a dremel and a nice workspace in the garage during the summer....

maybe this sounds like a plan....it would have to be ANH like you guys

well after the new baby and the MR bowcaster I will look you guys up and get a deep down dragout ugly helemt and work on it.... :hehe-err



Do you own a Darth Ugly yourself?

The cost of this kit is roughly the same as that of a good fiberglass casting. The advantage of urethane is that people who are allergic to fiberglass and/or are concerned about fiberglass particle inhalation and damage to the lungs might find urethane slightly more friendly. The downside of this kit is that it requires significant work in reshaping than a FG kit that was cast correctly in the first place.

Not my best recommendation.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:11 pm 
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If you don't already own it, don't buy it... no, I stress...

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING IT!!!

It will only encourage the guy to make more shit of crappy quality, because people will buy.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:31 pm 
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Okay, NoHumorMan basically effectively said what I failed to communicate diplomatically.

In an ideal world, an accurate casting made of urethane is a good idea. But don't forget that unless you have developed an eye for Vader and have studied screen shots meticulously for at least a few months, your mileage will vary -- especially if you do not already own a screen-accurate helmet to comare it against. Please don't think that just because someone is able to take a completely substandard kit and modify it to something that looks passable and respectable that it will mean that everyone will get consistent results.

Image

There is a reason why we call it Darth UGLY.

I realize that we do encourage everyone to not feel afraid to make modifications, but if in seeing how positive T-VIRUS' results are that you fail to grasp that the kit suffers an utter lack of quality in the first place, then I would encourage you to do some research first.

Again, if this is your first kit, you are better off with a screen-accurate fiberglass casting rather than something that is entirely disproportionate to the screen-used helmets.

Image

The above shows Darth Ugly in the center. The right is a screen-accurate SithPlanet ANH styled helmet. The left is a Rubie's helmet I was modifying a few months back. The Rubie's is $55-75. Conversely, Ugly cost $225. And look how inaccurate it looks compared to the ones next to it!

T-VIRUS has done a wonderful job with an inferior kit.

Do you really want to spend $225 on an inferior kit? It would be better to start on a Rubie's. Save some money. Or spend that $225 on a fiberglass cast of a screen-accurate helmet.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:34 am 
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WOW..so whay do you call it darth ugly????? :lol really it is horrible. you guys did a great job with it and the price is not worth it now that I know.

seriously..I will eventually get an ANH helmet..either the sith way or jedi way.... if I do decide I will be around to have you give me suggestions and pointers


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 5:10 pm 
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Quote:
Something I've been wondering about this vader is its origins. Even though the cast is bad does anyone recognize where it may have come from?


It looks like a bad recast of a Portomac to me.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:07 pm 
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Location: San Jose, CA
damon5973 wrote:
WOW..so whay do you call it darth ugly????? :lol really it is horrible. you guys did a great job with it and the price is not worth it now that I know.

seriously..I will eventually get an ANH helmet..either the sith way or jedi way.... if I do decide I will be around to have you give me suggestions and pointers


I will do that at some point with one of my kits. It's basically a matter of finding something of at least the accuracy of a Don Post, then modifying the dome and reducing the chin triangle opening in size.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:08 pm 
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Boba_Frett wrote:
Quote:
Something I've been wondering about this vader is its origins. Even though the cast is bad does anyone recognize where it may have come from?


It looks like a bad recast of a Portomac to me.


It's not.

I know the origins now. I'll be posting a full writeup soon, explaining my modifications and my analysis and explanation of its origins.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:23 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2007 6:05 pm
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Location: Pennsylvania
Hello everyone sorry to be away so long but was unable to post for more than a week.

I made some more progress on my ugly, still needs more. I also started another project so my time is a little split up. Call it a short attention span. :toothy

Also its nice to see that CS has began work on his. :thumbsup

Anyway...here are a few pics. Enjoy.

Image

Image

Image

Image





I also painted the dome but I'll save it untill I get a little more done with the mask.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:42 pm 
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Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:46 pm
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Location: San Jose, CA
Excellent progress, bro. May I suggest widening the skull area? I think Vader looks best when the skull looks wider. But do be careful, because if you are pulling the skull sides wider, you can end up cracking it like I did -- but that can be mitigated by heat treating that entire area.

This is looking sweeter and sweeter. Please post a pic with the dome on!

Also, you may want to observe the blending on the left side beneath the breathing trianglular opening.


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