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PostPosted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:20 pm 
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Location: Bath, Maine
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I took the hacksaw to this plate and trimmed about half an inch off the top. Once the corners were filed down I'd say it was a huge improvement.

Attachment:
trimmedearplate.jpg
trimmedearplate.jpg [ 131.83 KiB | Viewed 8580 times ]


It's funny, I went to bed thinking I was going to do a huge overhaul of this plate using an Altoid's tin, a lot of putty and more than a few precision cuts to the existing plate. When I woke up this morning it was clear that only one cut was needed. It really is a good idea to sleep on it!

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 10:52 pm 

Service Number: a02/tq2.0.12143e1
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looking good so far.


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:48 am 
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Thanks Trigger Happy, as I said earlier in this thread your build was a huge inspiration for me to try a helmet without a cover.

It rained all day so I didn't get the painting done I'd hoped to do, but maybe tomorrow.

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 7:11 am 

Service Number: a02/tq2.0.12143e1
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The key i found is nice shape edge lines that flow in and out of thickness. Also lots of days to dry before weathering. Mars attack was the biggest help with his awesome parts. looks great so far. fun build


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:25 pm 
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While the paint dried on the pot I turned my attention to a problem with the ear defender. DBoz had taken everything apart before selling me the helmet, but as far as I can tell (based on the gobs of glue) Spat had the chin strap sandwiched between the resin cup and the foam ear pad.

Another clue of course is that the gap where the strap should feed out is filled in:

Attachment:
eardefenderfilled.jpg
eardefenderfilled.jpg [ 68.42 KiB | Viewed 8520 times ]


So I drilled it out to make room for the strap:

Attachment:
eardefenderdrilled.jpg
eardefenderdrilled.jpg [ 84.04 KiB | Viewed 8520 times ]


I then had to cut about a half inch off the end of the strap as it was completely crusted in glue and I didn't want that to show. The remainer I fed in through the gap I'd made and glued in place.

Attachment:
eardefenderfitted.jpg
eardefenderfitted.jpg [ 174.8 KiB | Viewed 8520 times ]


It still is long enough to reach the other strap if the actor chooses to wear the helmet "Apone style", or it can dangle. Either way it looks much more accurate now.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 2:08 pm 
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Location: Bath, Maine
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Painting progress!

First off, I'm not one for matching the exact Humbroll colors (that light green just hurts), so I'm trying to match the colors as I remember them in the film. Here's two coats of the light tan, one of the brown and one of the extremely dark green (which some folks mistake for black). I still have light grey to go, plus weathering.

Attachment:
helmetcamside.jpg
helmetcamside.jpg [ 143.22 KiB | Viewed 8478 times ]


And the other side.

Attachment:
helmetmicside.jpg
helmetmicside.jpg [ 172.48 KiB | Viewed 8478 times ]


Interesting how light affects the colors. Here's the helmet in the sun, and then (turning 180 degrees) in a bit of shade.

Attachment:
helmetfrontside.jpg
helmetfrontside.jpg [ 220.06 KiB | Viewed 8478 times ]


Same with the back. I'm leaving the right side on the back blank at the moment as I think a bit of personalization will be going there. The name stencil will of course go above the slots for the lobster plate webbing. In the miniseries this helmet belongs to Sargent Lee (a nod to R. Lee Ermey), so at just three letters I'll freehand the stencil. I intentionally went with only lighter colors for the camo pattern in that area to make the name easier to read.

Attachment:
helmetbackside.jpg
helmetbackside.jpg [ 224.65 KiB | Viewed 8478 times ]


Once the paint is all on I'll be hitting this with a lot of charcoal dust and then some silver for light wear and tear (and to highlight the bullet hole). Then I'll add the lobster plates and padding on the ear defender and plates.

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 Post subject: Re: Putting together a new Marine helmet
PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 3:38 pm 
THAT guy
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Location: Virginia
Service Number: A03/TQ2.0.02146E1
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Looking great! Came together real nice.


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 Post subject: Re: Putting together a new Marine helmet
PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:37 pm 
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Service Number: A03/TQ3.0.12136E1
Country: Germany
Looking great.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:16 pm 
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[*]Thanks guys! I got a little more done today so I'll have an update tomorrow!

I'm also playing around with a net cover for the helmet for a flashback scene. It isn't SA, but all the Marines in Dark Horse's Aliens Book Two had them and I dig the look. The trick is getting it to work with the camera, ear defender and lobster plates. We'll see if I can pull it off.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:54 pm 
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Location: Lancashire (Wirral born)
Service Number: A04/TQ1.0.32156E1
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If you can find them over there, the older British helmet nets have a slightly bigger gaps in compared to US ones. That should help with the cam/plates/etc :)

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 12:44 am 
MODEL 120-A2
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Looking good Retro. Great work with the colours. Could you put up a few closeups of the damage?

Charlie

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 2:08 pm 
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Here's a picture of the helmets in Aliens Book Two. For anyone who hasn't read it, Book Two is truly the highpoint of Dark Horse's Aliens work. Denis Beauvais had an amazing ability to capture the look of Aliens (the film) on paper, and Mark's writing was a lot less cluttered than in Book One (although Book One sets the groundwork for it and really is a different beast).

Attachment:
DenisBeauvaisCropped.jpg
DenisBeauvaisCropped.jpg [ 112.67 KiB | Viewed 8411 times ]


Aliens Book Two is bittersweet though, as it holds out the promise of an amazing story to follow, and yet Dark Horse fumbled big time with Earth Hive (great covers, awful art and sub-par writing), and then Alien3 came along and destroyed the whole continuity they'd built anyhow.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent. I'll get some more shots of the helmet up soon!

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:16 pm 
MODEL 120-A2
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By Aliens book 2, are you referring the Aliens Omnibus 2 that they put out?

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:48 pm 
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I just checked on Amazon and no, this would be in Omnibus #1. It looks like they've retitled the three series to match the Perry novelizations: Outbreak, Nightmare Asylum and Female War (I hate that last name). Nightmare Asylum is the story I'm referring to.
DH didn't create sub names for their miniseries at first, they just put out six issues and then started over with a new issue one. Pretty quickly this became unmanageable and they started giving them names like Aliens: Labyrinth, Aliens: Genocide etc. (but even this didn't give any indication of what followed what which is irksome).

One other note about the Omnibus: it has been retconned (like the Perry novels) to feature "Wilks" and "Billy" instead of Hicks and Newt. I'd look on eBay and see if you can find an older graphic novel that still has the original names.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 5:43 pm 
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retrogarde wrote:
Here's a picture of the helmets in Aliens Book Two. For anyone who hasn't read it, Book Two is truly the highpoint of Dark Horse's Aliens work. Denis Beauvais had an amazing ability to capture the look of Aliens (the film) on paper, and Mark's writing was a lot less cluttered than in Book One (although Book One sets the groundwork for it and really is a different beast).

Attachment:
The attachment DenisBeauvaisCropped.jpg is no longer available


Aliens Book Two is bittersweet though, as it holds out the promise of an amazing story to follow, and yet Dark Horse fumbled big time with Earth Hive (great covers, awful art and sub-par writing), and then Alien3 came along and destroyed the whole continuity they'd built anyhow.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent. I'll get some more shots of the helmet up soon!


While it inst super obvious, you gotta figure this guy must have had the net (pack wearing marine from the Tech Manual) to rig up his foliage cover. The net is a nifty idea that seems to have a lot of precedent.

Attachment:
Tech Manual Marine wPack.jpg
Tech Manual Marine wPack.jpg [ 261.1 KiB | Viewed 8397 times ]


I actually really like it used in a "flashback" scene because the nature of it feels "old school" to me.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:50 pm 
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Nice! I'd forgotten about that guy!

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 10:13 pm 
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Test fitting the net:

My camera attaches with two screws and some washers (thanks Spat!), so putting it on over the net isn't a problem at all.

Attachment:
helmetnet1.jpg
helmetnet1.jpg [ 386.85 KiB | Viewed 8377 times ]


But I should have checked the other side first for holes (like the one near the lobe plate here). I haven't permanently attached the ear defender either, so I was able to pull the extra netting through and then thread the defender on with a bit of wire.

Attachment:
helmetnet2.jpg
helmetnet2.jpg [ 398.68 KiB | Viewed 8377 times ]


The only aspect I'm not thrilled with is how much the lobe plate gets lost under the net. That's not really anything I can fix though.

Attachment:
helmetnet3.jpg
helmetnet3.jpg [ 353.24 KiB | Viewed 8377 times ]


The lobster plates will be the real issue as they should (ideally) be permanently attached. In the future (i.e. when the helmet is all done) I may have to cut the net in the back and pull the lobster plates through first, and then attach the camera and ear defender last.

So, in these photos you might notice the light grey has been added, and there's some silver paint around the bullet hole and a few edges. I've gone very sparingly with it. I still need to weather the helmet, so the net will be coming off again for that to happen.

Thoughts?

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 11:37 pm 
MODEL 120-A2
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Being honest with you: I don't like the net. It just doesn't....seem right. No direct criticism I can give you. It could very well just be me. But if you like it, go with it! And thanks for the info; I've got the Omnibus #1 on my Kindle, so I will go check it out for those specific panels.

Charlie

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 11:54 pm 
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Are you gonna put the OD helmet band back on? That'll help pull the net in a bit tighter (you can thread some string around the inside to get fitting more closely, and maybe trim off the excess). I'd definitely not cover the lobster plates or the ear cup with the net, it'll keep things looking cleaner. :)

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 Post subject: Re: Putting together a new Marine helmet
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 3:22 am 

Service Number: A06/TQ1.0.72129E1
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I agree with Charlie. With all of that work that you did to make the helmet look screen used, it would be a shame to hide it under that netting. The helmet looks fantastic! Perfect.


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 11:47 am 
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Thanks for the comments guys! Never fear, the net is just for the flashback sequence. I want to show off the helmet to full effect in the series, and anyway: the pack of smokes would clash with the netting! 8)

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 4:35 pm 
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So here's the next challenge: besides needing a second coat of paint, the lobster plates need some help matching the shape of the screen used ones. If you compare this:

Attachment:
lobsterplate.jpg
lobsterplate.jpg [ 173.26 KiB | Viewed 8291 times ]


To the ones Harry has ( http://www.harryharris.com/helmet2.htm ) you'll see they are too rounded. I'm hoping I can file them down a bit to get a little closer to the correct angular look. I'll post progress pics as I go.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 3:38 pm 
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I just want to point out that this is an issue only because these helmet parts are *old*. My newer Spat-made lobster plates are far more screen accurate:

Attachment:
lobstercomp.jpg
lobstercomp.jpg [ 112 KiB | Viewed 8271 times ]

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 4:23 pm 
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Maybe one helmet could be Mk1 and the other Mk2?

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 8:53 pm 
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That's a good way to look at it Simon. Even if I can correct the outer profile to be more angular, the ridges will still be too smooth. I'll do some work on it, but I will need to accept some aspects of it aren't going to change.

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