Grendel_Blitz

As Obi-Wan said... "Patience!!" Seriously though, good luck with the second time around!!! \m/

Wow! The lid looks fresh out of the box (from MC). Impressive as to how well it cleaned up. Good luck on round 2 - painting can be a POS! \m/

So sorry to hear that the paint did not dry well. Did you let time in between coats to let the paint set/dry? I will be nearing the paint stage of two of my helmets soon so I would love to know what happened and avoid any issues as well. Anyone have suggestions? \m/

CONTACT BUZZZZZ....!!! Paint looks good, bro! \m/

I did the TK to TB thing back in 2002. Scouts are much more MOBILE!!! \m/

Strapping is looking good! \m/

Dude... nice job on the holster mod. I will be doing this soon as I am now painting up my pistol. Good to have something to think about to hold it in place. \m/

I am a bit late chiming in but.... Aahhh... I remember the day that my MC box arrived and I took out all the lovely pieces-parts in awe. Nice going on the build, Morten! \m/

VENTS::: The above looks to have 9. This guy below has 8 it appears. \m/ Alright, I gotta get back to work.... One more from the Prop Shop helmet - 8 vents but one is larger near the seem. \m/

The person that I picked up the Altmann's from last month lives about 15 minutes away from Steve (Altmann) and was trying to get me an original TB helmet box and a signature. He did not get a response and told me that Steve lays low these days... They had not communicated in a couple years either.... Neil; I would agree with your vent theory. Make total sense... (also agree with LW lid being true to form) Well, our best bet is to get in good with someone that has a key to the Lucas Archives and swindle out an actual Scout helmet and armor set. Then we would all be set. \m/

Well, I came back to this post because I picked up an MLCv1 fiberglass last week. I have been looking at different lids online for days now (off and on) along with the "four girls" lined up and my house. Then coming back the John's picture above I am realizing that with all the fan builds, the view ports are all much smaller and "top-curvey" than the one there at the Prop Shop. The MLCv3 seems to be most "top-curvey" which I think makes the helmet look more worried that tough. (IMO, of course) It was the toughness that made me fall in love with the Scout back in '83. Similar to Fett, his lid just looks mean - like you should not F* with him in any way. John's CB build looks to be the closest I can tell of any thus far.... Just some observations that I wanted to throw out there for conversation/debate. \m/

Atta girl, Jules!!! Troop away! \m/

Again, getting denied on my large "mellon". The Almann's is still my comfy bucket. Helmet looks promising Jeff. \m/

I took a picture of my MLCv3 from memory of this post last night (bored, I guess) so the angle is not right but they look like brothers. The only thing that I wondered about was the slight bowing out of the bottom snout on the AA lid versus my own. MLC could have slightly changed the design between the two molds though.... Again, photo angles are killer. \m/

Man, I am never gonna get a bigger Scout lid... Thanks DP!!! Seriously though, the builds coming along well Verne. 3mm ABS - WOW! That is probably a strong helmet. NICE! \m/

Not an Altmann's - too narrow. I would agree with the MLC comments - and he (MLC) used to put out the bumpy visor bolts before he reTooled his current set. I have an older set of the bumpy ones that I never used. What makes it difficult is the angle - the snout curve on the bottom edge is slightly bowed more towards the front/nose than my MLCv3 -again, angles can deceive. \m/

I like it! \m/

Hey Neil - yes. The mystery recast is officially found to be an MLCv1 - I bought it on eBay about three years ago and the maker known as "Fan Made" was recasting a bunch of stuff apparently. I say this because I wanted to get my brother a Vader mask and did so through this guy. Needless to say it was also resin and would not hold its shape. So I found a Vader Don Post Deluxe and bought it for my brother. I compared it with the recast and they were identical. So now I have a VADER DP Deluxe recast that will probably live in my shed forever as-is - UGLY and unwanted.

Whow! That modified CB looks awesome! Is it fiberglass? Nice job... (is that CB-"Christian" by chance?) So which is closer to the actual prop width? The modified CB or your build? Either way, nice "bucket list" there. \m/

Thanks for the positive comments on the thread everyone. John and Neil - I really appreciate the detailed comments about your knowledge of various helmets as well. The Mystery Recast I have, has been a personal investigation for over a year now and knowing that it came from the MLCv1 is great to know. I will post my progress on the recast build as well. Not much farther to go! \m/

Thanks for the input folks! I have often been given confusing info on the MC vs. MLC helmet debate. I never thought that there was a true MC but since seeing the shots of Scooters that he sent to me, thought that there actually was one now... I have never seen the MLCv1 until now and am wondering if the v2 has such noticeable differences that the v1 and v3 have. @Jim - I have often considered picking up a KS but just have not gotten around to it. The Altmann's reacquisition has been my top priority (scratch that one of my list). @John - taking good perspective pictures of any helmet is a chore - one that you have done nicely. I also agree with you about the finished MLCv3 - the quality is superb. John - how large it your build compared to what you would guess of the Altmann's? (I am asking in case a run ever happens as I could not wear anything comfortably that is smaller than the MLC lid) Well, I have the recast getting closer to what I hope is a finally primer - then the Glossy White. I will post with more soon! \m/

UPDATED SINCE POSTED BASED ON MEMBERS FEEDBACK (04/30/20101) - Originally posted as an MC helmet but now updated to the MLCv1. Thanks all! Hey gang, I am a week behind with this but better late than.... NOTE: For some time I have had a mystery recast in which a kindly scout helped me resolve just last week - the MLCv1 Helmet. (thanks "Scooter" for sending me pics of the bucket that you recently sold which proved mine to be the MLCv1) Also, I have completely reworked my MC as since it was roto-cast resin, the shape did not hold up very well - warping and sagging occurred. I completely revamped the visor, view port and the top of the lid as it was actually concave - doh! I have my three lids lined up with comments (IMO of course) so I hope this is a fun post for you all. \m/ Please correct me if I am wrong about any of this as this is an exploration of the different helmets, first and foremost. First off, all lids lined up. Attempted to be as "straight on" as possible. Altmann (ABS) is the largest both width and height. MLCv3 (Fiberglass) is second highest but also the most narrow. MLCv1 (Resin - but they are typically fiberglass) is the least high but is surprisingly as wide as the Altmann. Here I attempted to get a good perspective of the differences in snout shapes. I must say that I really like the curvature of the MLCv1 snout best out of the three. Arial pic - notice again the snout shapes and the difference in visor widths. Here is the bottom of the MLCv1 and which is the tell-tail sign that it is indeed the MC. There is a chin under the snout which other models do not have. Also, this model does not have an area where a chin strap could be used. Let me also note, that though resin, "my" MLCv1 is the heaviest of the three (prolly b/c of the chin). The Altmann still the lightest being ABS. Again, normally the MC is a nicer fiberglass model. Here is the underside of the MLCv3. No chin-snout and this one has a well done chin-strap addition. This is a very nice product but it is too small for my head. The Altmann undercarriage (my long-lost baby and #102 of 500 - and I gotta send lots of SW-LOVE out to Rick "e-i" for making my Altmann's dream come true again - I will never forget, brother!). Again, open chin-snout and possibly enough area to add a chin-strap feature (which I would never do to this lid) - notice the copy of the MC Armor How-To next to the bucket as well) Now the following has nothing to do with the above but I wanted to vent some... I finally go the MLCv1 reworked and painted and though many out there may like roto-casting, I DO NOT. I have been working off and on with this reshape for a year now. No matter how much work you put into a roto-cast, you truly never know where there are hidden bubbles in the resin until they decide to surface. Needless to say, after painting it, BEHOLD... two larger bubble recesses were found. So seeing that I needed to reglass this part, I chuncked out a couple top areas that I was not completely happy with and reglassed the front and top again. I plan to update this thread with the turnout of this bucket as well so stay tuned... Also, since this was my first reshape attempt, I learned a lot - what NOT TO DO next time are the most important. What NOT TO DO - use large quantities of wood filler and bondo. WHY? Because they eventually chip, crack and break with a helmet that flexes. WHAT TO DO (I thought that you would never ask... ) While fixing up an older surf board during my trials with this helmet I realized that I had the best stuff to reshape my lid the entire time. I began using SunCure (which I use to fix dings and holes in my surf boards). Awesome stuff. It take a bit of sanding but the final result is diamond hard and smooth! Dries in just a few hours of sun too. The thing to know is that this stuff NEEDS TO CURE IN THE SUN - otherwise is stays sticky. Here are the details for the stuff and this can usually be found at most surf shops as well (at least here in Florida). The down side... This is good for small projects since the tube is not that large. LINK I hope these images are useful to anyone out there. Thanks gang!!!!!! ~ Grendel_Blitz \m/

Hey their Bryan... Not silly questions... as I have had the same thoughts about image templates on certain people as we are all different shapes and sizes. I do not think that any template translates to all that use it. (my TK armor back in the day did not fit me in the legs as I am 6"4" as it was made for folks a bit shorter) With adding the suede, I guess my plan is to use the image to create my own stencil based upon my under-suit and leg/crotch/butt size (yes, I left lots of room for jokes there)... I plan to use as many photo references as I can find of Scouts with these add-ons as well as ILM Scout pictures. Then it is a matter of sketching a rough idea of the template translated to my body type. Once I am good with the sketch, I will draw a solid marker line and cut it out to use as my own personalized template. I will cut the suede to match and then hand sew the suede. Seems like a lot of work but with one template made - you just mirror it to you other leg - no need to make two. The butt flap seems fairly straight forward. My 2 cents and I hope it helps (fingers crossed for me too!) \m/

That it Jim. thanks... I have not seen that post in a long time. Good picture references too! \m/

Hey gang, Quick question.... Has anyone purchased a rubber pistol from the 501st member TK 2640 . His name is Lance and he sells "rubber" pistols on eBay. Here is his response to my inquiring about his compared to the hyperfirm... "Hello fellow 501st member Yes it is similar to if not identical to hyperfirm.I'm not sure if hyperfirm is a product name or not but this blaster is made of smooth on 60d which has the same strength and durability of rubber mallets.you can also find this on the for sale thread of the 501st forums. I'm tk2640 Regards Lance - maniacman7" His prices are great but I do not want to pay less for a pistol that is not of quality. I know that Marcel loves his pistol. Thanks! \m/