Acrylikhan Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 ! Thanks, Madphisto. I do have some of these screen captures, but there are a few newer ones. Thanks for dropping them in on the board! -fk OH! I'm sorry, I forgot to mention the first referrence photoes I was going from were from the Star Wars Chronicles. Not the best photos to work fronm, but they were a start. -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazik Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 It looks to me like one of the reasons the shoulder bell is so hard to pin down to the right shape is because it looks so thin that it's flexible and bending in the different shots... Just my two cents but I think Madphisto's screenshots show distinct bending in the shoulder bells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB-7076 Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Yes Mazik I wondered about the depth in the shoulders as well. I think generally they're more flat than bent as seen with the troopers. It makes sense considering the shoulder of a tk is only covered by a body glove hence you can make use of a thinner shoulder but in the same time it bends more inward to cover it while the scout has more stuff on his shoulder changing the shape and proportions in a way you need more width but less depth to cover the shoulder. Just compare snowboots and common boots - the more stuff you have to cover the more chunky the shapes become covering the layers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB-7076 Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Now that I know what you were talking of.... As we know already from TK armors on screen they varied a lot. Not only because of the vacuum technique (depending on machines) not always delivers 100% identical pulls but also because of the material was likely to warp depending on the wearer physics and his actions during the scenes. The danger of warping during the shots probably was increased by the spots they used for lighting. Everyone who once stood near a spot knows how hot it can get sometimes. So that and the difference between pictures taken pre/post and during filming causes the differences within the sources. In cases of doubt and depending on severity the screen caps can't be wrong. So Frank in your case the physics of your body don't really allow a slim shoulder bell. Your fleece pullover simulates the additional layers the overall and vest might have quite well. Also you seem to have quite strong arms. Now imagine how the torso armor would change the look of the bells. The depth however I'd keep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Alright, that sounds good. I still I need to make the thing a bit longer. Maybe another two-inches (5-centimeters) longer down the arm? I think I might have had the bicep armor too low when I took the reference shot. From the ROTJ stills you posted, compared to what I have so far, I think I will go into some heavier reworking. BUT... I will keep the depth. I am going to put some more serious time trying to get a CAD file going, and see about machining the part out of some old Resin we have in the shop, or if I can super-glue enough scrap pieces of RenWood into a sizable form to machine the pattern out of. -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB-7076 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I wish I had the infrastructure you have at your disposal. Imagine a helmet master made in a rapid prototyping process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 I wish I had more time to exploit it!!! Seriously! As for a helmet: That has been my objective all along. I just need to get on the workstations and get started. Rubies for now.... "Acrylikhan" for the future! (with a MC Snout of course!! ) -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB-7076 Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 just that your helmet will be for the bigger melons out there - I need standard size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 That's a good idea... my melon's about 23.5 inches. The Rubies is a tight fit as it is. A little more room would make for better air circulation too. What size would you be looking for?? This would be a very interesting project for me to start in Solidworks as well. The bucket part would probably would be be machined in three sections then glued. The faceplate and the cowl would be two separate pieces. The master pattern would be completely out of RenWood For molding: The bucket would be completely assembled, pattern finished, and shot as one part. If I knew someone with a roto-caster, and I could do it no problem. If not, I's just shoot the part in the system we have at work. It would save a ton of silicone in the mold making process if I could find a roto caster. The faceplate and cowl could be assembled together and the molded as one part. It would be a tricky to pull without tearing silicone with the undercuts. I could use a tin silicone which is more flexible, but I like the platinum better. Gah... did I just start another project??? -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghst915 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Okay... some snape shots with the boots. The cardboard is a bit more flexible than plastic. But, what do you guys think? On the money? Close? Comments are well come! LadyChost: Probably we'd take the cuff down to about mid-calf, if I'm reading the movie stills right. -fk Hey Bro things are looking great so far, your doing a hell of a job with your armor. Your boots are a little to tall, but we can fix them no problem. I would not go mid calf that will make them to short then. There should be about a 2" gap between the top of the boot and the knee armor. When i made them for you, I took off 2" from the height you gave me, so maybe you measured to close to your knee. But we can fix that for you as soon as your ready dude. Just send that back to us and we'll fix them up for. Mark them where you want them for us, we'll fix them and send them back out to you. Looking great so far, looking forward to seeing the finished armor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB-7076 Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Project suspended doesn't sound cool in my ears I need a standard size helmet such as the altman's/dp - I 'm within the range of the extras playing the scouts....well the smaller ones . What people can do to their helmets to a) expand the helmet (rear) and to get more exposed ears is splitting the dome in halves and re-attach them leaving some space in the back so that you get a chevron shaped gap expanding to the rear. simply bridge the gap with bondo or similar material and you're set. This is a modification I'm going to do mainly because I want to achieve more exposure of the ears seen from the front. I hope my lines make sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 We'll be getting back to the project soon, Hopefully, before Mid-April. My weekends have been surrendered (involuntarily of course!) to the grind stone. I miss my weekends. It is not wise to use any power tools when sleep deprived. Okay... what's on that agenda once my life is given back to me? First and foremost... the knee armor. Then get on the computer and design that shoulder armor piece for machining. I'll try to post stuff as soon as I am able. -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted April 8, 2007 Author Share Posted April 8, 2007 Cut the "jigs" I will be using to keep the angles perfect while I start bonding everything together. Using the cardboard mock up I made a few months back, I started cutting the plastic for all the sides. The top front of the knee armor will need to be heated and bent to the ends stretch back at the proper angle. The lower front and sides will be first to be glued together. Then gently heated and curved back slightly to hug the leg better. I may glue the top sides as well, just to keep the curve consistent on both sides. The top front of the armor is the tricky, as the bottom that connects to the bottom front needs to be straight, but the back side ends up angled to 35-degrees to both sides. I may make a special jig to heat and form the plastic on both sides to the correct angle, and then allow it to cool. more to come. -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted April 17, 2007 Author Share Posted April 17, 2007 Worked some more on the knee armor. It's kind of funny that I'm trying to imitate a vacuformed pieces by building very tight models for urethane casting. Strange, no? Okay, so I started with getting the "shelf" feature on the lower front and sides of the knee armor. I used a styrene glue to bond them together. Afterwards, I ran a bead of superglue down the back of the trough to make it a little more stable. Bondo will be used for final shaping and make it look nicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted April 17, 2007 Author Share Posted April 17, 2007 Worked some more on the knee armor. It's kind of funny that I'm trying to imitate a vacuformed piece by building a very tight model for urethane casting. Strange, no? Okay, so I started with getting the "shelf" feature on the lower front and sides of the knee armor. I used a styrene cement to bond them together. Afterwards, I ran a bead of super glue down the back of the trough to make it a little more stable. Bondo will be used for final shaping and make it look nicer. Getting jiggy with it, I set up the front and one of the sides to glue the proper angle. I used a .25" strip of styrene to fill the gap. Again with the styrene cement, and then a bead of heavy super glue for strength. Not bad. I'll need some repair work where the super glue seeped through. Easy to fix. I repeated the process for the other side. The gap spacer was a little off this time, but that should add a little character. I can fix it, if it looks too "off." Top view of the bottom front and sides. Looks pretty consistent. I will have to curve the sides back and inward toward the calf. A little heat and use an acrylic cylinder for the task. And a front view too. Not bad. I set the jig for the angle for the top front half of the armor. Again, using a .25" spacer, I linked the bottom to the top. First with styrene cement, and then a bead of super glue to add reinforcement. And look at that. It's starting to look... like... something... A front view, again. The top sides are a bit tricky, so I'm letting the whole piece rest for a couple of days to finish curing. I'll cut new sides for the top. Those pieces are like right angle triangles. I will have to attach those first to the bottom half. Heat and form the sides so they curve back. After that part is settled, I can heat and angle the sides of the top front and attach them to the sides of the top front piece. I have to bend them at about a 35-degree angle. Lastly, it will be putting backside of the indent for that top front section. The shoulder armor is progressing too. very slowly! I am fixing some facets that appeared while I was sanding the alteration. I need to add some styrene to the bottom of the bell to straighten it, and lengthen it by a little. My arms are a bit long so I am compensating for that genetic disorder, so that the bicep armor piece will lay in the right area. More to come... as always! -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verne Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Wow, look very nice! I'm admiring of your work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcturus1020 Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Lookin' good there, Frank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted April 19, 2007 Author Share Posted April 19, 2007 Went back to the shoulder armor. Added material, took some away, and then took some pictures. Still it's a bit twisted, but I think it'll do. I was using this screen capture to get my bearings again. I have long arms, so I needed to make the shoulder piece a little longer. I keep seeing the edges curve back inward, so I trimmed the bottom a little more. The back side looks a little distorted. Now for the some views of the piece And then modeling it with the bicep piece. Sorry if it's hard to see... the bicep armor's approximated on the same part of the body as the screen cap I posted above. I was going to try to machine this piece, but I'm getting closer to something I like making this pattern by hand. What do you guys think? Good, Excellence, Close,.... @#$%? Feedback is always welcome! -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted April 19, 2007 Author Share Posted April 19, 2007 Wow, look very nice! I'm admiring of your work Thanks! Glad your enjoying the project! -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghfett Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 What do you guys think? Good, Excellence, Close,.... @#$%? Feedback is always welcome! I think it looks excellent myself. Very accurate I'm also really getting a kick out of following your progress. Excellent work. ~Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB-7076 Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Hey Frank - good to see you're back on track. The progress of the knee protector looks promising. However the shoulder part looks still too thin. Of course you need a longer shoulder part to match your length but you need to scale it proportional. The assumption this shape was possible using the screen cap you mention in your introduction is misleading I think. Maybe you missed out that this shot is from an angle and due to the curve a certain part of the shoulder bell is covered. As most screencaps show the shoulder bell of the scout seen form the side is rather squared than rectangular. Once you are going to add the chest you will notice this. It is one of the major flaws a lot of biker scout armors do suffer from. Well that's my view on it - it needn't have to be shared. But remember the screen cap series I've posted earlier. Keep up the good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghfett Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Hey Frank - good to see you're back on track. The progress of the knee protector looks promising. However the shoulder part looks still too thin. Of course you need a longer shoulder part to match your length but you need to scale it proportional. The assumption this shape was possible using the screen cap you mention in your introduction is misleading I think. Maybe you missed out that this shot is from an angle and due to the curve a certain part of the shoulder bell is covered. As most screencaps show the shoulder bell of the scout seen form the side is rather squared than rectangular. Once you are going to add the chest you will notice this. It is one of the major flaws a lot of biker scout armors do suffer from. Well that's my view on it - it needn't have to be shared. But remember the screen cap series I've posted earlier. Keep up the good work I see what your saying about the length Phil by the pic above. Scaled for a taller fellow like Acrylikhan's proportions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Thanks guys! As I always say, it's better to have a second pair of eyes looking over my shoulder. Phil, I have all the photos you posted a while back. They have been very very very helpful. It's just I want to get this right the first time. I some times fall back to old habits, so I like having a double check. I remember you said the depth of the part was good, so I am sticking to the depth I've got. That width is escaping my grasp! Army Scout had posted a picture of his shoulder armor with the bicep in a thread here about how to use snaps to attach your armor together. His should bell definitely has that square look. I've got that picture too in my reference file. The measurements I've got for the part so far is roughly 8 inches high by about 5 to 5.5 inches wide. I could slice it again down the middle, and add that two more inches and then re-pattern finish. I think I could probably get a way with 8 inches by 7 inches. Would be more squarish... I'll get to work again and see what I can do. The knee armor will be interesting. I hope the plastic will curve the way I want it to! I might mess with it that this weekend too. -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylikhan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 I see what your saying about the length Phil by the pic above. Scaled for a taller fellow like Acrylikhan's proportions. And it seems that I'm missing the mark just by a few inches! I'll get it very soon! Thanks for the comments! -fk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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