My Christmas Present arrived early...

Look what arrived on my doorstep this afternoon after a marathon 4 day trip across the Atlantic:



What could it be? Here's a hint:


Yep it is:


My very own TF Cold Cast Aluminum Bucket courtesy of Terminal Fettler himself, and my girlfriend who paid ffor it as my Christmas gift... And not only is it an awesome TF helmet...



It is the first bucket he cast from his awesome mold! I feel very lucky to have this, in fact I'm a little nervous about painting it.

My first impressions-
1. Wow is this thing huge. I've never personally seen a Fett Bucket and I guess I was just not fully understanding, but its a nice sized helmet. I'll be able to padd this thing up nicely.


2. The Magnetic attachment for the right earcap is great- Its firm and its not going anywhere; if I should ever have to remove or fix the RF Stalk I'll be able to do so easily. BTW the RF assembly , Stalk, and two borden connectors (one bronze one silver) came along with it... I just still had them wrapped up.

3. Its solid. I dunno about the other helmets out there, but this one is thick. It feels nice and solid. I just weighed it and it comes in at a hefty 1.8 lbs. It feels like a helmet.

Well, now that I'm all giddy about it, I get to put it right back in the box.. Because it's my Christmas present and I don't get it until then. =) But thats ok. With any luck I should be getting another helmet within the next two weeks.. a modified 96' DP bucket with which to compare and contrast as well as test paint.


I'll keep you all updated... I'm on my way!

Phil

good looking helmet. keep up posted on your progress

awesome dude

cool deal.. congrats.. i have #5 on my shelve still waiting to be painted (when there is time) LOL

The TF buckets are awesome. I got #4 assembled and ready for paint as soon as I get some spare time.

Wow !! those are metal ?!! thats a neat idea !! cool helmet and a very cool girlfriend you got there

I have started painting mine and its not as hard as it would seem. Basicly just take your time in masking your gear and dont rush.

Originally Posted by Sheriff Roscoe

Wow !! those are metal ?!! thats a neat idea !! cool helmet and a very cool girlfriend you got there

Yeah Its cool, and the girlfriend is awesome. She doesn't mind me being a ridiculous dork at times.

Phil

Originally Posted by evan4218

I have started painting mine and its not as hard as it would seem. Basicly just take your time in masking your gear and dont rush.

Yeah, I've painted many things before, just never a helmet. =) BTW- do you know what # TF Helmet you have? I'm just wondering. We know where #1 ,4 and 5 reside...

Chime in if you have one of TF's buckets!

Phil

Sorry to sound like a Newb, but how did you order that? What is a median priced B grade helmet? Where can I get one?

Congrats on the awesome bucket! ?

I have #3.

Originally Posted by Southern hunter

Sorry to sound like a Newb, but how did you order that? What is a median priced B grade helmet? Where can I get one?

Congrats on the awesome bucket! ?

Hey Southern Hunter- nice to meeet you. Don't worry about sounding like a newb. I'm still one. But everyone here seems to be pretty nice and helpful. I got this helemt from the maker- He sculpted it and made the molds and casted it himself. I'll PM you the price I paid if you're interested.

As for median priced helmets, well I don't know if I could say... I could, but I'm new too so I don't know all there is to know. I know there are about 3-5 people or more on this board who make resin and fiberglass helmets from time to time.. Which vary in price from a little less then $100 to $200+ I think this mainly has to do with what the helmet's made of, and how "clean" it is when you get it (some need filling it of airbubbles and cleaning up of flash along the seams, etc to get it ready to paint). But all are really nice quality (from what I've read).

There is a guy on ebay named "amiadfilter" that you need to stay away from- he's stuff is cheap, but the quality is terrible from what I've read.

There are Don Post helmets and rubies helmets on ebay as well for cheap, but they are lower quality plastic helmets, not really accurate in size and shape. But someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think with some work, Don Post Helmets can be made presentable with some work and upgades.

I would suggest just reading up on this mesage board, ask quesions and watch the cargo hold. I also think I would expect to spend at least $100 on a helmet. But you might find a deal...

I gotta head back to work, so PM me if you want some more info.

thanks

Phil

These helmets aren't actually metal. But they are cold cast aluminum, and the only ones I know of that are.

those TF buckets make me drool... i keep meaning to ask about the $$ involved, but then i'm afraid that the time from asking to paypal would be too short. i'm trying to control the "must get more STUFF" impulses!!!

Originally Posted by TeamFett

These helmets aren't actually metal. But they are cold cast aluminum, and the only ones I know of that are.

You're right TF, although by weight and volume, the outer layer ( gel coat ) is more aluminium than resin, the resin is just there to retain the aluminium particles. Once cured, the surface behaves in a similar way to the real thing; it can be polished and in time will oxidise to a certain degree. I will be making my cold cast brass helmet shortly, that'll be interesting (and heavy)...

Originally Posted by terminal fettler

You're right TF, although by weight and volume, the outer layer ( gel coat ) is more aluminium than resin, the resin is just there to retain the aluminium particles. Once cured, the surface behaves in a similar way to the real thing; it can be polished and in time will oxidise to a certain degree. I will be making my cold cast brass helmet shortly, that'll be interesting (and heavy)...

Cant wait to see it in brass!!!

Here's what i have so far...these pieces are heavy!

Originally Posted by tk7602

those TF buckets make me drool... i keep meaning to ask about the $$ involved, but then i'm afraid that the time from asking to paypal would be too short. i'm trying to control the "must get more STUFF" impulses!!!

Hey 7602- if you see one of these up for sale, I suggest you go for it. Its very very nice. Another thing I especially like about it is that is was very clean, there was no finishing involved... Although the bucket I got has the T-Slot cut out already there were no airbubbles or seams or anything of the sort that needed fixing.

I can't say enough good things about this thing.

Phil

Originally Posted by terminal fettler

You're right TF, although by weight and volume, the outer layer ( gel coat ) is more aluminium than resin, the resin is just there to retain the aluminium particles. Once cured, the surface behaves in a similar way to the real thing; it can be polished and in time will oxidise to a certain degree. I will be making my cold cast brass helmet shortly, that'll be interesting (and heavy)...

Brass helmet... nice. Be sure to post lots of pics TF!


Phil

Nice lookin' bucket! Cant wait to see your progress.

I love my TF bucket and I don't even have it yet! isn't fettlers helmet the closest ranking to the msh1? I remember when TF posted pictures some thought it was a recasted one but it was proven that it was made from scratch

Is this the one that was for sale in the cargo hold not to long ago?

Originally Posted by Buckeye_01

Is this the one that was for sale in the cargo hold not to long ago?

Mine isn't. I missed out on that one, but then TF made my holiday when he offered me helmet #1... It was like a christmas miracle! =) Maybe because Boba Fett is christmas colors, I dunno.

phil

Hey, I have a question for Terminal Fettler and anyone else with a TF bucket- Do the T-visors that the ebay seller rembrant studios make fit these helmets? I gotta get a visor and the t-visors seem like they have too much curve in them... do they bend at all to fit the curve of the front of the helmet? I'd rather get one of those than cut a piece of acryllic just because I want this to look nice inside and out- no rough edges, you know?

thanks

Phil

They seem like they would. I stuck my extra rembrandt in my TF bucket and the curve seemed right. However I could be wrong, because my t-visor has the left "eye" broken off, so it's kinda hard to judge.

Originally Posted by hellopike

Hey, I have a question for Terminal Fettler and anyone else with a TF bucket- Do the T-visors that the ebay seller rembrant studios make fit these helmets? I gotta get a visor and the t-visors seem like they have too much curve in them... do they bend at all to fit the curve of the front of the helmet? I'd rather get one of those than cut a piece of acryllic just because I want this to look nice inside and out- no rough edges, you know?

thanks

Phil

I would give these a try, if the curve is marginally too tight/shallow, there is a slight amount of flex in 3mm acrylic which should allow it to fit. As the T-visor should be over sized to the T-slot, you should be able to adjust for any discrepencies...

That there is a beautiful piece of equipment you got there! how heavy is it? Also what paint job are you going for? ?

I've gotta hand it to you - I wouldn't have the heart to paint that helmet.

I think it's awesome just the way it is.

NICE! I just remembered how much I want one.

Originally Posted by hellopike

Hey, I have a question for Terminal Fettler and anyone else with a TF bucket- Do the T-visors that the ebay seller rembrant studios make fit these helmets? I gotta get a visor and the t-visors seem like they have too much curve in them... do they bend at all to fit the curve of the front of the helmet? I'd rather get one of those than cut a piece of acryllic just because I want this to look nice inside and out- no rough edges, you know?

thanks

Phil

I would go with bobamaker t's or t-visor.com.

Well, I ordered a T-visor- the extended should do the trick I hope. i'll let everyone know after christmas how it comes out. The helmet weighs in at nearly 2 lbs., 1.8 to be exact... I'll be doing a preproduction version 2 paint scheme on it, and while I do agree that its awesome looking now I think it'll be even nicer painted up. I have a DP '96 coming in the mail too that'll functino as my test helmet initially so I get get alittle experience painting and weathering a helmet.

phil

Well, I got the t-visor in today and I sized it up- the curve is alittle too tight for the curve in the helmet and the asymmetry in the mandibles makes the bottom alittle off... But I can bend the visor to make it fit, and I might need to cut about a quarter inch off of the sides of the top of the "T" and if a manipulate the mandibles when I glue it on it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Also, when I attach the visor, should I go with Hot gluegun glue? I temporarily mounted it with hot glue and it was in there good and solid, but will it hold up in the long run? Any insights?

Phil

If it is going to be sitting on a shelf as a display, hot glue is fine...it's what I used on my DP95. If you are going to troop in it, especially outside on a hot day, guess what happens to the hot glue? Yep...a nasty melty mess. I've heard plumbers Goop recommended by several members of this board and other forums, and I recently tried it out modding my Scout bucket and I can vouch for it....strong stuff and won't melt when it gets hot. the only downside is it takes longer to set (24 hours recommended) whereas hot glue takes only as long as the glue needs to cool. So I think on my next Fett bucket I will tack the visor in place with hot glue (I use the high temp stuff btw) and use the Goop to actually secure it.

-rocky b

Originally Posted by hellopike

Well, I got the t-visor in today and I sized it up- the curve is alittle too tight for the curve in the helmet and the asymmetry in the mandibles makes the bottom alittle off... But I can bend the visor to make it fit, and I might need to cut about a quarter inch off of the sides of the top of the "T" and if a manipulate the mandibles when I glue it on it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Also, when I attach the visor, should I go with Hot gluegun glue? I temporarily mounted it with hot glue and it was in there good and solid, but will it hold up in the long run? Any insights?

Phil

I would glue the L/H side of the visor in first (as you're looking at the helmet), you can then adjust the R/H side mandible the couple of mm needed to match the left side, this worked perfectly with my helmet...

Originally Posted by terminal fettler

I would glue the L/H side of the visor in first (as you're looking at the helmet), you can then adjust the R/H side mandible the couple of mm needed to match the left side, this worked perfectly with my helmet...

I'll bear that in mind TF, what did you secure your helmet with? I was thinking hot glue just in case something went wrong and I needed to replace the visor- but I guess once the helmet is done if anything where to scratch or damage the visor majorly it's also going to do that to the helmet.. =)

Phil

I hot glue gun in my visors, it means you can remove if required, i've never had one fall out due to excessive heat conditions, but then again i do live in the U.K.!

I'm in Philadelphia and while it does get awful hot in the summer, mabye I'll risk it and use hotglue and see how far it takes me.

Phil