Interest list has started. We currently have full 3 ANH sets ready and more to come. Working on getting ESB done as well, and will make RotJ kits pr order.

interest-16-laser-scanned-darth-vader-armor-kits-run-vt5379.html

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(click the picture to go to the larger version. Will post more pictures in the WIP thread.)

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Compared to Kaiyodo. I only have early v2 helmets, as the new stuff was sent to Paul, which may be a fraction larger. Please note that this is an old ANH dome, so it is taller, but slimmer at the crown section, while flaring out too much at the bottom skirt sides. The new domes are correctly shaped.

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This is to show how the face mask casts are done. They are done as a solid shell, but you can cut it open with a dremel and slowly clean away the material at the lenses and mouth area if you want to insert lenses and grills. There may be small support structures inside, but they should be easily removed.

The pictures below illustrate it done quickly on a test print.

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Excellent photos! I was wondering how it was going to work replacing the chin screen. Now I'm mulling over how to connect the helmet to the neck joint.

Cannot wait to see these in hand!

Dave

Well, you can just leave the filler bit at the neck and only trim out the back. However, I would probably recommend trimming out the whole thing, so you can actually get access to the mouth and chin vent area. I remember how it was when I did that to the v1 master and it takes an awful lot of time to grind down the area slowly, but it is doable with jewelers files. Then you can use something like Aves Apoxie Sculpt to rebuild the neck. If it requires a harder material for the actual peg insertion, you can use something else just for that and fill around it with apoxie sculpt.

Working on Prowse. Trying to finish the hair, so I can have it fused to the face model. First time I've tried to sculpt hair digitally, so I'm open to suggestions regarding improvement.

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Wow I missed this, they really look like quality pieces! Good job!

A bit more work on Prowse. I made the top of the skull a bit bigger, which meant I had to reshape the hair model to fit the new shape, so it is a little different than the ones posted earlier. I also realized the sharpness between the two models made it difficult to blend properly, so I trimmed off the sideburns from the hair model, then fused it to the head sculpt and spent yesterday sculpting new sideburns and blending things in on one side and making it look good. I'm pretty pleased with the result. Now I just have to work and finish the other side and I'll be able to get them printed.

The 3D model isn't angled exactly to the reference. I just kept it in there to show the reference I'm using.

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I am really thankful that Cantina_Dude stepped up and offered to help me out. He's currently busy with his own runs, so while I wait for him to open up time for this project, I have made some improvements to a few of the models.

The face masks now sport already cut out teeth and chin vent, where you can just slot in and glue the separate grill model - also makes it easier to paint the grills and though it will be fragile when unassembled, it will be pretty solid and strong once the grill model is glued in. DO NOT glue in the grill model before you have painted it. I would recommend painting it black and then use a chrome pen or paint and lightly brush it on the top edges of the grills, sorta like dry-brushing. You then dull it down with a few washes of heavily thinned dark brown or black. We will still offer the solid version for those who want that.

Updated the tusk models to include 4 tusks instead of the previous 2 - in case the tusk on the face mask snaps off, as it is a fragile little piece and is prone to damage easily.

The 6 studs on the ANH belt boxes were altered so that the spikes pointed out instead of inwards - I know it will probably not show on the prints, but the inaccuracy was bothering me.

I also did a test where I closed the ANH boxes, so the back is no longer a separate piece - we'll do a test print to see if it can actually be printed like that and if that is a success I'll do it to the other movie versions. The hole should be big enough for any kind of belt to be slit through the opening. Hopefully. We will still offer the two-part version for those who want that.

Added a text on the back of the shins to make it easier to figure out which was right and which was left, and text inside the shoulder bell so it would be easy to know which curved side should be positioned up.

And Cantina_Dude fixed the ESB lightsaber, as there was a part included on the model that shouldn't be there.

Hopefully things will go well and within the next coming weeks Cantina_Dude will do some test prints to see how things work.

Working on C-3PO.

Couldn't get the C-3PO lens to look right, but then I realized the shapes weren't equal sided pyramid shapes, but rather rhombus pyramid shape in the ratio 100 long / 70 wide. When altering the equal side pyramid shape model to these rhombus shapes, it suddenly looked right, compared to the lens seen in the Anthony Daniels owned C-3PO head - which seems to be RotJ. I did both eyes and thought I'd show the progress.

The ANH eye lenses are different and seems to be a found object, as it has borders in the lens around the outer perimeter as well as the eye hole perimeter, so was created like that - a circular shape with the hole in the middle.
The angles aren't perfectly matched in the reference and the 3D model, but pretty close. The grill and backing model is the Gordon Tarpley upload from Thingiverse.

Right eye:
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Left Eye
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Okay, have created the three movie versions to the best of my ability. I couldn't determine whether the ESB lenses were different from RotJ - they seem to be the same size shapes: rhombus pyramid shapes. The ANH is different. The placement of the three lights in the eyes are all over the place in the movies, so I went with a particular reference for each movie - like the positioning best on ANH, where they are mirrored, instead of in the same rotation on both sides.

For ANH I used the Tantive IV scenes. For ESB I used an ESB helmet from a PropStore auction - couldn't find good enough reference for the lens rotation. For RotJ I used Anthony Daniels' own C-3PO head for the lens rotation.

Turned out pretty well. But the work to trim the models left an awful lot of artifacts, so I am in the process of fixing all that, down at the polygon level, which takes an awful lot of time. I'll upload them when I'm done.


Mike was able to do the first tests of the Vader parts. I have been working slowly on fixing some of the things he found and others have mentioned, such as the domes being too thin in places. Again, since I'm not a skilled 3D modeler I'm working really slowly and probably using methods people who know more would roll their eyes at, but they work for me. ANH dome thickness has been fixes, but I need to hear whether Mike gets waves on the surface of the dome, as I did when I printed my single resin print several months ago - Paul didn't get them, so I'm hoping Mike won't either.


That's it for the updates at this time.