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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 10:45 pm 
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I went away for a break and then straight back to work so I hadn't been doing much concentrated work on this helmet and was spending my time researching other things. What I have been doing on and off for the last three or four week is working around that dent and tidying up some of the other minor textural bits and pieces and tiny chips and nicks in the helmet.

My work around the dent has been extraordinarily tedious and time consuming. I reckon I've spent as much time here as I did on both ear platform. The PP2 has a kind of ring around the dent that I don't find present on the ESB so I've been adding miniscule amounts of materal in order to smooth that out. There's also a tiny lump inside inside the PP2 dent that I don't see in the ESB helmet either so that had to be removed (oh, so gently).

As we have already seen photography isn't my strong point and my choice of primer colour doesn't help the contrast issues but this is where i am with the dent:

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and here's where I am overall.

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I won't be doing much on the outside for a while. I need to get the inside sorted first by laying a layerof Fibreglass cloth on the inside to recreate the look of the ESB hero which was made using Fibreglass cloth rather than chopped strand mat.

Live the dream

Andy


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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 11:08 am 
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Minor update on my lid. Been working on the interior using Fibreglass cloth to mimic the ESB interior. Here are a couple of shots on that subject. The first is the interior of the back of the helmet where I have started laying the fabric. I'm not covering the inside of the keyslot area as there is no point seeing as it will be completely covered in a mixture of MQ1, acrylic piece and putty.

The second is the untouched cloth itself with the removed RF ear piece laid atop so you can see exactly what I am working with. No FG shops near me had what I was looking for so I ordered it specially from China. It's very light and very thin; quite difficult material to work with actually. No matter how much care is taken it is hard to get a clean cut without strands. It really is loathsome stuff.

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I'm doing my best to make sure there are no air bubbles (failing) but also mindful of my own 'give it a bash' attitude and the fact that I find it hard to believe the original maker cared too much knowing it was something never to be seen. The good thing is that no matter how bad a job I do it will still look better than the multitude of sins it will cover in the form of the inside ear reinforcement from where I cut the ears off. Laying it one piece at a time and letting it cure completely and then doing another piece the next day; I hate the fumes.

Also been working some other minor details around the helmet. Have increased the size of the upper RF ear platformto match the cut off ear piece (above) and proper dimensions. Also been working some of the tiny irregularities around the base of the lid that are specific to my helmet where it was cut out from the mold.

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Live the dream.


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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 4:12 pm 
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I've not been well so haven't been able to work on this lately and my progress has been related to side issues and further research. One thing I did make some in roads on was the visor clips. These were made for me by my friend Sidewinder at TDH and I think he's done a pretty nice job. They may need some minor tweaks to fit but following that SAS will probably be offering these for those that are interested so think of him if you're thinking of these types of clips.
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Also been looking at the FG cloth issue and realised the cloth I used was too fine. Over the last few weeks or so I have bought quite a few samples of variosu weights (some far too heavy) and narrowed my choices down to two weights Even though the first thin cloth wasn't right it has covered up those ear reinforcement sins and will still work out well as a base layer.

The pictures represent:

Left - Cloth used in first layer. As you can see it really is tissue thin and very smooth.
Upper right - Cloth choice 1 at 48GSM. Much coarser than the first layer and got some real texture to it.
Bottom right - Cloth choice 2 at 81GSM. Quite coarse and quite thick. This will be very noticeable in texture.

The two pence piece was chosen for the one inch diameter. Cloths maintain relative positions throughout.
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Live the dream.

Andy

Update:

So, a quick and dirty experiment this afternoon to test out those textures of the two cloths I'd narrowed my choices down to. These were pasted into the rear of my MR recast by the keyslot area. Even though that area is molded in on this cast we all know what sort of size we're talking about; I used the 1 inch 2p for scale as well. On the left is the 81 and on the right the 48. I've had to contend with the lumps and bumps of the resin cast but you get the idea.

Although it is much coarser than the first sample the 48 really is still very fine once the glass resin is in and the detail get lost quite quickly. The 81 may be too coarse by a margin but now I'm leaning toward that cloth as the texture shows through and may well go with that. Both these thicker fabrics were far easier to work with than that tissue thin first sample.

Live the dream.

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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 1:32 pm 
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Here's a little update. I've done the main visor cutting which is nice big alteration to see. I need to do quite a bit of tidy up to thin out the mandibles at the extremeties where the mandibles meet the visor so they're nice and thin (and uniformed). Despite appearance sin the photo any uneveness that appears is due to differences in material colour rather than lack of straighness.

I've also laid the heavier weight FG cloth inside the helmet. That was hard work getting up inside that dome without the cloth bunching up. It's not perfect but hopefully it will have a nice effect when finshed.

On the left is pride and joy number 1 and on the right is pride and joy number 2.

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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 9:41 pm 
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Managed to get some more done today which was a pleasant surprise; I'm so slow at doing things but sometimes I get motivated to get stuck in properly and spent hours working on this today and yesterday. I spent a lot more time tidying up around the visor and mandibles but most of it was on the inside. As I have a general aversion to power tools all of this is pretty slow work as everything is done by hand.

I took a lot of measurements and made a cardboard template first for the visor before using that template as a guide. I'm using 3mm transparent, dark grey, acrylic sheets, which is, so far as I know, what was used on the screen used helmets. In the UK this is sold under the brandname Perspex; Plexiglas, Acrylite, and Lucite are other brand names for it. When I ordered this I had to by quite a few as the minimum order amount which I thought might have been wasted money but actually it was good I had a few sheets because I needed several attempts to get it right. Perspex is brittle and inflexible stuff and my first few attempts cracked and shattered. This final one still needs some tidy up to fit and smooth out the edges but the overall shape is good. once the basic shape was cut out I needed to use a heat gun to slowly heat it up and bend it to shape, also a frustrating process because after you heat and bend one part to your liking it it has a tendency to return to a flat sheet state from residual heat when you move onto another bit. The blue in there is uniformed throughout despite the apparent colour differences; this isn't the final colour but just a base layer of light blue grey. The light colur you see on the mandibles is most representative of the actual colour of that light blue grey.

In this first picture the visor is just lying on the inside of the helmet. It's set in a rigid curved state and not under any pressure at all. It'll still require some further reshaping for the final fit.

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In this second picture the visor is very (very) crudely taped in place.

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Obviously i need to tidy it up a lot more and it still needs some trim and sand to shape but it's nice to have something in there to give him more of a Fett look. None of these methods are particularly suited to purpose. It would be easier and far more effective to use other methods but that isn't the point here. The intention is to create something that replicates the actual prop fully both inside and out.

Live the dream

Andy


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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 9:28 am 
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Love these threads...... looking forward to seeing more......:D

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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:57 pm 
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sskunky wrote:
Love these threads...... looking forward to seeing more......:D



Here you go then brother, the results of my colour experiments for the interior...

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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 5:27 pm 
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Done a bit more work on the interior colour. Here's how it looks from six or seven feet away using a flash.

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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 2:34 pm 
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Done a bit more work on this bad boy; I've cut out the keyslots which is a very time consuming process to get it tidy. I've also furthered the visor fitting and installed a set of visor clips that are as close to movie accurate as I could get them.

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After the visor was fitted I trimmed the bottom section to the correct length with the mandibles. Here's a front pic with tsome resin ears crudely taped on.

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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 11:18 am 
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That's looking real good. That's a lot of thought and research being poured into this one. :cheers

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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 1:11 am 
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No Humor Man wrote:
That's looking real good. That's a lot of thought and research being poured into this one. :cheers


Thanks man, in terms of Fett casts it's the best out there so it deserves no less, I simply hope I'll do it justice in the end.


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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2016 12:49 am 
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SteveHillage? Sounds like someone ripped off Intwenothor's thread from TDH lol.

Still hoping we get some news on some aluminum ears for these casts....


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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:03 pm 
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syllander wrote:
SteveHillage? Sounds like someone ripped off Intwenothor's thread from TDH lol.

Still hoping we get some news on some aluminum ears for these casts....


I tried to set up an account called intwenothor but my email kept blocking stuff so I settled on my favourite glissando guitarist from the 1970s. Check out the MPPC or Mykindascum.com for more of the same.

Live the dream.

Andy.


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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 3:07 am 
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stevehillage wrote:
syllander wrote:
SteveHillage? Sounds like someone ripped off Intwenothor's thread from TDH lol.

Still hoping we get some news on some aluminum ears for these casts....


I tried to set up an account called intwenothor but my email kept blocking stuff so I settled on my favourite glissando guitarist from the 1970s. Check out the MPPC or Mykindascum.com for more of the same.

Live the dream.

Andy.



Was following this on the MPPC - love that (Fett?) message board. :D


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 Post subject: Re: PP2 cast to ESB conversion
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 4:26 pm 
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craigjohn wrote:
stevehillage wrote:
syllander wrote:
SteveHillage? Sounds like someone ripped off Intwenothor's thread from TDH lol.

Still hoping we get some news on some aluminum ears for these casts....


I tried to set up an account called intwenothor but my email kept blocking stuff so I settled on my favourite glissando guitarist from the 1970s. Check out the MPPC or Mykindascum.com for more of the same.

Live the dream.

Andy.



Was following this on the MPPC - love that (Fett?) message board. :D

Yeah it's a great site. It has a heavy Fett focus and is a forum set up by Lee Malone/Rogue Studios. Forum wise it probably is to Fett what this is to Vader.


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