CCBacara

I would repost the photo here if I could but I am currently in Prague vacationing and all I have is my iPad. But yes, griffin-x hooked me up with some shade 5 welders mask material. I made a pattern from my bucket, traced is on the mask and cut it out with regular scissors. Then I heated it up, molded it to the mask, and hot glued it on.

Don't be nervous...trust me. I had never done anything like this before either. But with a little patience, time, and hard work it is actually not to difficult. I am on a month and a half so far with a month worth of research before that and I am so close to finishing I can taste it. Just a few more days...just a few more days...

With the exception of some fans and a wireless mic later on down the road...I think my bucket is all done. I attached the snout and bolt covers with E6000. The lens (which I bent with an embossing gun, thanks to an awesome BSN member) and mesh vent covers with hot glue. My decals are from trooperbay. The padded liner inside is from a baseball helmet and the chin strap is just a piece of elastic. And of course the helmet is MLC and the snout is MC. Feedback, positive or otherwise is welcome!!!

I asked my wife this morning how hot her hair dryer gets, and when I told her why I needed it she revealed that she has an embossing heat gun! Go Wife!!! LOL who knew?

I don't have a heat gun Any other suggestions? I was going to glue inside the helmet and then press the lens into the glue and hope it doesn't squeeze out. Super glue? Hot Glue? E6000?

Here is an update. I got my cummerbund and pouches from Debbie and finished my belt. I took photos last night of my 4th fit test. I got my boots today, but since I am so short the holster is not going to fit...so I am going to have to seriously cut it down. Anyway...let me know what you think. Corrections and criticism are very welcome!!!

Here is an update on what I got done last week and this past weekend. Decals and snout greeblie next. What do you guys use to glue the lens? Better yet what technique do you use? I thought about apply glue around the inside area, but I am afraid the glue will leak out when I press down and you will be able to see it. Plus that seems impossible to clamp down.

Where are all the painting experts???

...and I thought the pouches were attached to the cummerbund, which they aren't. So while this may be an obvious question that I am over looking, where do I attach the pouches? I plan to fill them with the hollow foam as suggested by Witness

So after some serious research, I think I have an understanding of wetsanding and its purpose. After the first coat of primer I gave it another wetsand and I immediately realized why this needs to be done! So since it came pre-primered, I think I will stick with just one extra primer coat from me. So here is the order in which I have done things so far: Step 1: Disassemble all parts and wet sand all surfaces with a 320 grit sanding sponge/block (Allow 6-12 hrs to dry) Step 2: Primed all surfaces with basic Krylon Grey Indoor/Outdoor Primer (this is all I have access to) (Allow overnight to dry) Step 3: Wet sanded all primed surfaces with 320 grit sanding sponge/block (Allow 6-12 hrs to dry) Pictures to follow later today. Next step is the white base coat. So I plan to put down about 3 coats of white, wet sanding after each coat. But should I wet sand after the last coat before the clear goes on? From what I read online I gather that I should leave the last base coat alone and put one coat of clear on...wet sand...and then one final coat of clear...so it looks something like this: Pre-Primed Wet Sand Primer Wet Sand White Coat Wet Sand White Coat Wet Sand White Coat Clear Wet Sand Clear Thoughts on if this looks or sounds correct?

So I gave it the first coat of primer and I got a couple quick questions. 1) How many coats of primer, paint, and clear coat should I go with? 2) Should I wet sand in between each coat of primer/paint? Please let me know your thoughts as soon as possible.

Look what I got today!!! --- My son Gabriel test driving the helmet!!! --- --- Took the helmet apart and wet sanded it to prep for primer and paint. Gonna let it dry overnight and hopefully I can start on the primer tomorrow!! ---

No...no padding? No tutorial on helmet prepping and painting? I am lost here people...

Is there a tutorial or something on how to do all that...as far as prepping and painting a fiber glass helmet? I had no idea you needed to wait a week to completely dry the last coat...the can says 10 mins or less! And what is a panel wipe, cutting compound and T cut? I must have missed that class in high school that explained all that, LOL. Seriously, you sand in between coats? Wont that defeat the purpose if I am stripping paint? I am so confused...I need so step by steps!!! I got the headband covered, but what about padding? I have heard of people padding the walls of the helmet.

Went to the store today to stock up on materials to build my helmet. I bought: 2 cans - Krylon Grey Primer (grey was the only option) 2 cans - Krylon Gloss White 2 cans - Krylon Gloss Clear AND a hard hat for the webbing I also have some lens stuff coming and hopefully I can find a black mesh or screen for the vents. Germans don't use screens on their windows so finding that here might be tough. Another issue I am having is padding. What do you guys use for padding? There was nothing at the local hardware stores from what I could tell, but I don't really know what I am looking for. Is there anything else I am missing? Did I get the right paint colors?

So I haven't actually started my helmet build yet, cause my helmet isn't here yet. Today marks week 4 since I placed my order and week 2 since the helmet actually shipped. I am told the helmet takes about two weeks to get stateside but the mail was not in my favor today. Better luck tomorrow I guess... I did a WIP for my blaster and I am still working on one for my armor, so it only seem fitting I do one for my helmet as well.

Small status update here. I got an awesome MC snout greeble from a fellow BSN member (thanks Grantd1) so photo number 1 shows the before and after since I painted it. Photo 2 and 3 show the before and after of my chest/back and thermal detonator. Below is what I did: Chest Square - Dark Grey decal Tank Topper - White Circle Decal Tank Topper - Painted Red Stripe with Acrylic Paint Tank Stripes/Rank - Decals from TrooperBay Thermal Det Greebles - Also got these from a fellow BSN member (thanks WickedFluxx) and I think they are cucblack. However the SC TD space was two small so I had to cut these down a little bit before E6000ning it As always please give feedback, especially if something seems incorrect for 501st/Lancer? PS - the TD is just upside down in the photo, I do have the greebles on the correct side!

Nevermind! I think I got it!

Since the gallery is down, does anyone have any reference photos or exact measurements regarding the tank decals? I am trying to get them on my tank and I can't figure out how far down from the top of the tank does the horizontal stripe go? Do the vertical stripes follow the "creases" in the tank or do the go over further?

I have never heard of P1000, LOL. I think the finest grain I have access to is 350, and that is a sanding sponge. I can also go 220, 180, 150, 100, and 60.

White primer is going to be impossible for me to get, bust the sanding I can do...expecially if it is just a light sand. I understand the concept of it...you wet the sand paper and dont sand too hard. What grain sandpaper should I use?

Thanks for all the great advice. Has anyone else needed to wet sand their lid? I had not heard of having to do that prior to now.

Don't say your impatient on these forums...they will cut your toes off. Trust me, I am down to 7 toes left

Good Morning guys! Since it has been SOOOOO long (j/k) since I asked a bunch of questions I figured now was a good time to lay out some more. I have my fingers crossed that my MLC helmet arrives at the end of this week, and so I am going to head to the store to get supplies I will need to build it. The store is not easily accessable sometimes and the supplies are limited so I need to take advantage of trying to get stuff ahead of time. Unfortunatly things like paint will not ship to my location so if they don't have it here then I am screwed. So here are the questions: 1) Does the MLC helmet come primed but not painted, or do you need to prime it also? The photos that MLC sent me look to be primed, but I never thought to ask the question. 2) I was lucky enough to snag an MC snout piece from a fellow BSN member, which of course means I will need to paint it. I am limited to only a few different kinds of Krylon paint. Is there a specific color/code paint that folks use for the grey to match the decals? 3) Same goes for the black around the snout...will an acrylic model paint work? Should I paint that whole part and then cover it with the snout peice? 4) I have figured I will need a lens, some screen to cover the vent holes, and some magnets/velcro to keep the lid closed. Is there anything else? Maybe some padding for the inside? 5) Finally, I am told the shade 5 lens is the one to get, and the "black" effect it gives comes painting the inside of the helmet black. Is that really the best or only option? Anyway I am sure that is enough for now. Thanks again for the help...the more I can get at the store and the more questions I can get answered now the faster I can get to work when my helmet arrives!!!

Great weathering man! What color/brand of paint are you using for your black and weathering...?