Yeah there are butt loads of better fiberglass filler on the market. I cheaped when I should have known better.

Not to worry, this isn't fiberglass in the first place. But Aquamend seems to get along great with it.

Okay, came home from work, and while I still had light, I sanded the neck down nicely, but I'm not posting shots of that because I immediately proceeded to a second phase of Aquamend.

So it won't look like I did anything, but at least you'll see the neck is longer. I've added a flare all around to increase the surface area because this is where the mask will come into contact with the armor.

I've added some extra length, and once it's cured I can sand it down to shape and see how well it lays on armor.

So I also added some Aquamend to the inner eyelids. I'm going to have to build a platform on the inside around the eye openings so that lenses can lay up against them properly -- something Armormask failed to do.

This is a first pass. I will deepen the eyelids as needed so that they can take my lenses. My lenses are on the small side and won't work with a Don Post Deluxe but worked great with a Sithplanet ANH.

Hey, have you notice the three rectangles in bridge of the nose are gone? I've filled them with Aquamend. I have a Nicholson file of the PERFECT thickness that I'll use to grind them back again. I love the particle granularity of Aquamend because after using a Nicholson file, I actually don't have to sand out long scratches. I love this technique. It's less pain and more gain.

I was wondering why there was bondo on the lower tusk tube, but then recalled T-VIRUS saying that the lower tusk tube on this side of the face was skinnier than the other side!

I looked at my "Darth Ugly" and mine didn't have this problem.

Sheesh, this sucks!!!

A lot of people didn't know that these tusk tubes are actually for drinking. There is a cybernetically controlled switch that when Vader wills it, a straw will slide out into his soda and he can drink. He has two, you see: one for hot beverages, and the other for cold ones!

So here I tapped on the tusk with my Nicholson file, and the already-cracked bondo just started breaking off. I'll thicken this with Aquamend instead.

Now I have qualms about using bondo for my polyurethane projects. I've also had similar experiences of so-so bond strength with bondo on a resin helmet made by Golden Armor.

And so people who build flange extensions on their domes -- I hope it doesn't break off if they accidentally drop it.

So... introducing Darth Ugly (mine, left) and Darth Uglier (T-VIRUS', right).

Uglier is getting less ugly, and Ugly is still ugly but coming along.

Both have great promise! Cinderella's two ugly sisters are going to be at the ball!

Here I did some light filing to the mouth vents and the chin triangle. The skull Aquamend patches have been sanded down so now there are no super-thin spots here and there.

Tomorrow, I will be working on the neck. Also, the mounting system has way too much polyurethane, and as a result it's top heavy, and you can't prop the mask up without it falling backwards. So some of that gunk has got to go.

Mac I have to say....its pretty damn amazing what you're doing here. I would have had target practice long ago.

I cant wait to see these bad boys in paint!

What rifle would you have been using?

Sorry for the OT.

Looking good there. Interesting to see how different these two helmets look together... and you are really improving the over-all look of both faces.

So here is the experimental work on the nose. Remember, I had puttied it up and I'm basically taking a Nicholsol file and am filing in their approximate areas.

I couldn't find my sandpaper as the Landlord has had me move my shop out of the garage, but he pledges to build a new shop in the back yard. So while most of my stuff is in boxes, I at least had my power tools and files. Sandpaper is somewhere.

What you're about to see is simply filework only.



It's raining outside, but I may still try to go and sand the neck down.

YESTERDAY



TODAY



So I've basically begun filing on the Aquamend extension to the inner eyelids as well as the bridge of the nose. It's turning out nicely. Now if I can find my freakin' sandpaper....

Sanpaper will refine the bridge of the nose, and in the process of removing the extra Aquamend, the sides of the rectangles will as a byproduct be shaped even more nicely.

The beauty of this method is that if I don't see long scratch lines from the file, it's pretty much good to prime. In other words, no sanding necssary, or no need for a tiny detail file to go in to remove scratch lines while risking laying down lines of its own!

Okay, I managed to get my glove box (don't know what I'm talking about? Visit this link: http://www.aokforums.com/thepropden/the ... .html#6450 ) and managed to find a sheltered area where I wouldn't get rained on and get electrocuted.

So here are the sanding results. Still have some refinement to do, but the basic foundation is finally there.

I was worried at first, but I'm glad it turned out nicely.



And it's finally able to stand up on its own without tilting back!

9mm


Mac, the slots look good, nice work.

It's starting to slowly look like the prop helmet.

The last bit of Aquamend was used to form a little bit of a flange to the neck. The Don Post Deluxe has this. For some reason, ArmorMask had gotten rid of this and shortened the neck, so I'm basically having to restore this.

From here on, it's cosmetic patchwork with some contouring (hourglassing of the neck) and refinement. I'm not going to proceed with heat from this point on; it's all about sanding.