ANH Buckets

[Adam1138]

I think so...it's just resting on the neck it's not plugged in so I don't get good angles, but just like the guys in the film some are drowning in the hear.

Damn Solo these pics look great! You've really brought the best out of the initial raw scan, well done! I do still think the bucket is ever so slightly undersized but it's negligible. As you say it's pretty much there. Makes you wonder if HT are looking at this and kicking themselves for not doing the same with their buckets.

When will you have the larger helmet?

 

[ZE_501]

Hey Solo; when you have time (and kudos to you for putting in so much already) would you be kind enough to outline the steps, materials, methods you used to paint the bucket? The finish looks great and I'm thinking I'll finally take a crack at mine at the end of the month when schedule allows...

 

[Solo_bones]

Damn Solo these pics look great! You've really brought the best out of the initial raw scan, well done! I do still think the bucket is ever so slightly undersized but it's negligible. As you say it's pretty much there. Makes you wonder if HT are looking at this and kicking themselves for not doing the same with their buckets.

When will you have the larger helmet?

Thanks mate, appreciate the kind words!

I've ordered two more helmets because I wasn't sure what you guys wanted. I did the larger sized 2mm increased which i think is going to be too large like the HT bucket, but might look good on a Sandtrooper or after it's been casted (I hear the mold shrinks a little) and a smaller increase by 1mm, which is the look i think you guys are after.

We still might need to buy a standard 100% helmet that hasn't been painted for casting, because I think the smaller helmet looks good too. I think having a variety will be awesome. The new helmets are coming out printed in a better material then even I purchased. So I can use less surfacer to smooth it out without losing any detail.

 

[Solo_bones]

Hey Solo; when you have time (and kudos to you for putting in so much already) would you be kind enough to outline the steps, materials, methods you used to paint the bucket? The finish looks great and I'm thinking I'll finally take a crack at mine at the end of the month when schedule allows...

Thanks man, I appreciate it! First thing you need to know is what type of material you had it printed on. Was it the polished version or the other? I used the flexible white plastic, polished.

I used Mr. Surfacer 1200 to smooth it out. You essentially just paint it on a little bit at a time until you start to see it smooth out, then sand it down. Be careful not to goop it on, just brush it on and it dries really fast, then you can go over it again where it still bumpy and rough. I did a few coats then sanded and went over the tough spots again and sanded down again before I painted. I think I put too many coats of paint on this one because I screwed up while painting and grabbed the wrong spray can and put the wrong white over it so I had to put 2 more coats than I normally would have. That's why I lost some detail.

If you need more details on how I painted the detail, let me know. I'm still planning to do stickers for the cheeks and temple dimples. That's the blue marks on check and grey and black paint in the dimples....as soon as I figure out my new printer.

 

[Solo_bones]

 

[Bmacattack]

Well, It finally happened. After looking at these pictures for so long, I can't stand to look at my HT troopers any more. Lol!

 

[Spudtrooper]

Freaking awesome recreation!

 

[Adam1138]

Solo.. that shot of your figures against the movie shot that's spot on. I always loved that shot as a kid. It was my favourite topps card!

 

[Solo_bones]

The larger buckets are probably going to ship tomorrow.

 

[ZE_501]

The larger buckets are probably going to ship tomorrow.

Excellent.

Looking forward to ending nearly a five-year quest for the DEFINITIVE stormtrooper action figure. It's close now.

 

[Solo_bones]

Excellent.

Looking forward to ending nearly a five-year quest for the DEFINITIVE stormtrooper action figure. It's close now.

God, isn't that the truth. It's been such an itch that i've been unable to scratch until now. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to look at this thing, even imperfectly painted. I just know that soon I'll be able to do poses and take photos that've been dying to do. To finally own and hold this little piece of iconic movie making magic in your hand is too satisfying for words. We're close, gentlemen.

 

[TaliBane]

Meant to post this here, got mixed up with the stormie thread:



I think that helmet's just a little too small. Interested to see the slightly larger ones you have on the way. The sculpt is great, love the look.

 

[Solo_bones]

I think it's mostly just angles, but still a tiny bit..maybe.

 

[Solo_bones]

 

[TaliBane]

I tried to match the width of the "armor ****ies," overall width of shoulders and size of the shoulder bell, but yeah, lens choice and angle does affect it. Will be interesting to see the "a" "b" and "c" options for size once you have them all in hand.

Once you've nailed this, this could become the standard that everyone will get. Very excited! The look is so spot-on.

 

[Adam1138]

Yeah, this is looking right on track! Just needs to be a tad bigger IMO but looking very good indeed. I'm wondering what the helmet looks like if you drop the chest armour down a little?
Is there any progress in finding a decent caster for these once you have the master helmet ready to go? I'll be ordering at least 6

 

[TaliBane]

Yeah, while I love the look, I hope we aren't going to have to do a ton of sanding and finishing to a slightly rough 3D print.

 

[Solo_bones]

If we can get someone to do casting it'll be a nice smooth helmet. I've ordered a new material that has more detail and fewer bumps. I'll then use surfacer to smooth it out and I'll sand it down.

Even if you ordered the style I used on the first its not hardly any sanding after you use surfacer...but should be a non-issue...ill do all the work pre-casting. If you guys want to chip in we can buy a pressure pot and do it ourselves. I have a dive tank but not sure if we need a compressor.

Looking good eh?

 

[Adam1138]

If we can get someone to do casting it'll be a nice smooth helmet. I've ordered a new material that has more detail and fewer bumps. I'll then use surfacer to smooth it out and I'll sand it down.

Even if you ordered the style I used on the first its not hardly any sanding after you use surfacer...but should be a non-issue...ill do all the work pre-casting. If you guys want to chip in we can buy a pressure pot and do it ourselves. I have a dive tank but not sure if we need a compressor.

Looking good eh?

I'm up for donating some money for the pressure pot for sure. Did you get delivery of the other size helmets?

 

[Solo_bones]

No they did not ship today...or if they did they did not notify me of it. Based on their notification of preproduction I assumed it would have shipped today. Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow. Should get here by Sat if they do.