OK, time to finish this helmet!

[RZill]

It's been too long since I got back to work on this helmet.  The rest of my armor and suit is ready for approval, but I need to get this helmet done.

Pictures are in my next post for what I have done so far.  I am looking for a good tutorial that is not the Kropserkel video (it doesn't really match my helmet - I have a Studio Creations model, and the video is confusing me since my helmet is shaped so differently than the one he uses in the video.  I can't do the same steps he does, so maybe there is a SC tutorial out there?)

If not another tutorial, maybe just some guidance to help me complete the helmet.  All that is left is to attach the visor/facepiece and the helmet.  Plus, tips on what to line it with.

My next post will have pictures and some specific questions.  Thanks!

[RZill]

My main question is how the visor and facepiece should line up.  Does the tip of the visor line up with a straight vertical line up from the snout?  And if so, should I grind down the edges marked in orange?

[Chopper]

FYI, no photos are displaying in the thread.

[RZill]

18 minutes ago, Chopper said:

FYI, no photos are displaying in the thread.

Oops, forgot to hit the reply button.  Photo is above...

[Chopper]

There is a slight downward angle on the front of the visor, which is also evident on the screen helmets, below.

I would not touch the sides of the visor shroud/upper part. It looks trimmed about right.

The face plate/lower part needs to be trimmed more. You want to have a more direct line on the side from the visor shroud to the bottom of the side of the face plate.

[DukeOfNachos]

I had this same issue when I made my SC helmet. Almost there!

Before:

After:

[RZill]

Awesome possum, thanks guys!  I kinda figured it needed trimming, but I always confirm before doing something like that.  Hopefully another step closer to completion.  We have a troop at a hockey game next month, and being outside for part of it is too cold with the TK.  Hopefully it's done by then.

What's a good helmet liner?  Maybe some kind of construction lining?

[Aradun]

Most use tactical padding or a hard hat helmet band. It’s just a matter of preference, but comfort should be your primary focus, as you’ll be donning the bucket for at least 2 hours or more for a troop.

[Retrofire]

Aradun has given you some good advice. I use a hard hat liner but will probably be changing that up in the coming year as I'm prone to migraines and the liner starts to "squeeze" a bit during long troops. Always go for comfort trooper!

[RZill]

17 hours ago, Retrofire said:

Aradun has given you some good advice. I use a hard hat liner but will probably be changing that up in the coming year as I'm prone to migraines and the liner starts to "squeeze" a bit during long troops. Always go for comfort trooper!

I have worn a TK bucket over 120 times, and I've had the tactical type padding in it.  That starts to press into your head a bit on long troops too - so, you may want to reconsider if you're going that route.  At least the hard hat lining can be adjustable.

[DukeOfNachos]

I had a lot of wobble with my padding installed, switched to the hard hat liner and no wobble. I just don’t keep it super tight


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RZill]

I am just here to say that the Studio Creations helmet absolutely friggin sucks.  The different parts are so asymmetrical, it's been darn near impossible to get this right.  I think I am going to have to heat treat it to mold it to not look extremely cockeyed.  The visor and faceplate simply will not stick together without it looking horrible.

 

I hate Studio Creations, hate it, hate it.

[Chopper]

How asymmetrical are we talking here? The original Scout helmets, being hand sculpted, were also somewhat asymmetrical as well.

[RZill]

Just now, Chopper said:

How asymmetrical are we talking here? The original Scout helmets, being hand sculpted, were also somewhat asymmetrical as well.

I'll tape it together and try to get a photo that represents how I am seeing it.  I'm trying to get it straight enough so that I can double-side tape the two pieces (visor and faceplate) together before attaching them to the helmet.

[Chopper]

Sounds good

[DukeOfNachos]

I didn't secure my visor/faceplate till after my first troop  You have to mark the visor holes, line up the faceplate as much as you can and then go from there. I blew a hole in my Back/CAP part of the helmet when I was like 90% done at the end of a successful day of building thought I destroyed it. 

[RZill]

There is no way I am going to work on this any more tonight.  This is going to require trimming a few millimeters off the right side of the bottom of the faceplate because it's not even close to lining up.  and I am absolutely, positively the single worst, most incompetent builder who has ever lived.

Another issue is that this helmet gives really no room for double sided tape to hold these parts together without it showing.  Should I glue them together once I have everything trimmed up correctly?  The arrow indicates where I need to put some sort of adhesive to attach the visor and faceplate.  If I don't, the visor edges stick way out.  But, there is hardly any contact between the two - no flat edges laying together like the helmet in Kropserkel's tutorial, which is one reason I was hoping to find another tutorial.  Picture on the way...

[DukeOfNachos]

So I secured the two halves of the faceplate with the visor bolts when i was working on it.  You do have a flat to work with for gluing, it's at the top of the faceplate and where it hits the blinders. Hope this helps, let me know if you need me to link any photos of my bucket (invest in velcro dots for keeping her closed).

[RZill]

13 hours ago, DukeOfNachos said:

So I secured the two halves of the faceplate with the visor bolts when i was working on it.  You do have a flat to work with for gluing, it's at the top of the faceplate and where it hits the blinders. Hope this helps, let me know if you need me to link any photos of my bucket (invest in velcro dots for keeping her closed).

Yes, if you don't mind sending me that photo bucket link.  Did you have a Studio Creations helmet?  I have to say that I am absolutely disgusted with them.  It's a terrible mold.  I'm going to have to heat treat the helmet back because the faceplate won't fit over it, and lay down.

 

Frankly, I am considering selling it.  I think it's an absolute piece of crap.  But, I am already so invested, I might try to make it work.  Or else just commission someone to finish it for me - you know, someone who works for NASA or something, who is capable of technological miracles.  I really really hate this thing.

[RZill]

I think I've ruined the helmet, and that's just fine with me.  Studio Creations helmet is absolute garbage.  The helmet cap/back is more than an inch too wide for the faceplate to fit over.  I can't hot water bathe the whole thing to re-size it because I've already applied the stickers - as per directions on the video tutorial, which is a mistake unless you have a helmet made by a decent company.  My only recourse was to try tying the helmet tighter, and running a heat gun on it - which I know probably won't work, and has already caused the thinner area to melt (the part of the helmet back that runs down each side where the faceplate lays.

If SC doesn't send a replacement helmet back and stickers, I may just abandon this entire friggin project.  I am not spending one more dime on them.

[Chopper]

Ron, if you want to post some photos, please do so and we can take a look.

[RZill]

Just now, Chopper said:

Ron, if you want to post some photos, please do so and we can take a look.

No, it is ruined.  If SC doesn't send free or at least very discounted replacement parts, I am selling the rest of it - suit, boots, blaster, everything.  I've just about had it.

[RZill]

On 12/26/2023 at 10:52 AM, Chopper said:

Ron, if you want to post some photos, please do so and we can take a look.

I will post photos of the significant difference between the helmet back and the width of the faceplate.  The helmetback circumference needs to be reduced by a full inch - or, at least it would have before my attempts to heat it and shrink it ruined the ear so badly.

SC has agreed to send a new helmetback and decals at no charge.  But, now I am worried that the faceplate may also be an issue.  I know you said the helmet was not made to be symmetrical.  But, do you think that just a new helmet back would solve the problem?  Does my faceplate seem warped?  To me, it looks as if the left side of the faceplate (which would be the left side as its worn over the face) is really out of whack?  Is this how it is supposed to look, and a new helmet back with a smaller circumference do the trick?  

The first photo in my next reply shows how far off the left side of the faceplate is, with the right side taped down to the helmet back.  I was able to close the gap slightly before my heating of the plastic completely ruined the ear.  There was a little more than a one inch difference - no way the faceplate was ever going to lay down over the helmet without being permanently attached.

 

The second photo shows the faceplate from the bottom - I wonder if the left side is warped, which was causing the issue, and maybe it wasn't the helmet back?

[irongladiator]

@RZill
Seriously, hats off to you guys who do the trimming and assemble everything! To date, I've put together a ROTJ Boba Fett and ROTJ Boushh cosplay - but have always preferred vendors to do the trimming. I just don't trust myself in that aspect. And so if it is extra money to have that done, I'll usually pay it. Studio Creations has been good from what I've seen and heard. So this is the first negative experience I'm hearing of them - I'm sure they're are others though. But I'm also new to the Scout Trooper build myself. So your experience, is that to say the description in their advertisement is not entirely accurate?

I recall looking at Studio Creations when looking to gather parts, and recalled that they offered the parts trimmed which is what the above pic represents. Is this the same version you purchased? If so, I'm kinda shocked to hear that your undergoing what seems to be a lot of trimming, when its advertised as being already trimmed. I was just on their site and seen they didn't offer an "Untrimmed" version, but they perhaps just didn't have any available at this time. I am sorry to hear of your difficulties with this though. It does suck when stuff like this happens.

All I can say is don't give up! I never thought I'd be that guy who went to "Con's" or "Event's" dressed up as a character from Star Wars.

I took my daughter to a Con, and while she likes Star Wars too (Not as much as me), is also heavily into Japanese Anime. And after seeing how much attention I got from people dressed as Fett, she decided she wanted her own Star Wars cosplay. I asked her which character, and she said Princess Leia when she is in disguise at Jabba's Palace! And here was the result of that...
 

And so it continues, I always wanted a Scout Trooper costume and so started my journey into that! But stick with it, the results of what you get back when you go out trooping is amazing!

Best,

-Iron

[RZill]

8 hours ago, irongladiator said:

@RZill
Seriously, hats off to you guys who do the trimming and assemble everything! To date, I've put together a ROTJ Boba Fett and ROTJ Boushh cosplay - but have always preferred vendors to do the trimming. I just don't trust myself in that aspect. And so if it is extra money to have that done, I'll usually pay it. Studio Creations has been good from what I've seen and heard. So this is the first negative experience I'm hearing of them - I'm sure they're are others though. But I'm also new to the Scout Trooper build myself. So your experience, is that to say the description in their advertisement is not entirely accurate?

I recall looking at Studio Creations when looking to gather parts, and recalled that they offered the parts trimmed which is what the above pic represents. Is this the same version you purchased? If so, I'm kinda shocked to hear that your undergoing what seems to be a lot of trimming, when its advertised as being already trimmed. I was just on their site and seen they didn't offer an "Untrimmed" version, but they perhaps just didn't have any available at this time. I am sorry to hear of your difficulties with this though. It does suck when stuff like this happens.

All I can say is don't give up! I never thought I'd be that guy who went to "Con's" or "Event's" dressed up as a character from Star Wars.

I took my daughter to a Con, and while she likes Star Wars too (Not as much as me), is also heavily into Japanese Anime. And after seeing how much attention I got from people dressed as Fett, she decided she wanted her own Star Wars cosplay. I asked her which character, and she said Princess Leia when she is in disguise at Jabba's Palace! And here was the result of that...
 

And so it continues, I always wanted a Scout Trooper costume and so started my journey into that! But stick with it, the results of what you get back when you go out trooping is amazing!

Best,

-Iron

I bought the entire kit with helmet, and it also says trimmed and ready for assembly.  But, it still needs additional trimming in places.  Another fella on here has the same thing, and he mentioned his helmet was also a little off.  The representative of SC wrote to me and he admitted their helmet - he wrote, "Yes, our design is in need of revamping."  So, even they admit the parts are a bit off.