Hey guys and gals .... how about an update?
Lots going on, as usual
My personal life drama, is at it's best
finally secured and closed on a house in Indy !! I'll be headed there on Wednesday to get it moved in. While all of this was going on, we found out that our moving company was MIA ... they have ALL of our stuff in storage in SoCal. Neither they, or our stuff can be found ! So we've filed a report and insurance claim, it's being investigated. We'll see .... gotta laugh
Now for the good news !!!
Got the FPH molded. First casting appeared at DC. Consensus feels real good so far
Also finished all of the ear piece molds. She's pretty much ready to go !
A few details have been added and subtracted ..... as of right now, the prospect of machined ears had hit the way side. They were going to be offfered as some of you may remember, and the preliminary cost was going to be $200 USD. But the machinist and I are not compatible, so they are no longer an option at this point. HOWEVER ... Some of you may remember finish on the cold cast Jango Gauntlets that I have yet to release, well, I will offer the ears as a cold cast option with the same finish, Best I can do for now.
Included will be , an MQ-1 calc board casting, and standard urethane ears, what's been added is accurate chin cup (black abs vac formed copy), and an accurate polaroid RF assembly piece (casting) that will be included with the RF. And of course, the real dental borden connector that is cast into the helmet. This should be the most complete (of accumulated found parts) kit yet. I will be diving into this FULL TIME staring on Saturday the 15th. I am taking a mini vacation from work to devote my time to this project\ for you guys. So get ready NOW ... as I will be accepting pre-paid slots from now until Saturday the 15th. If I sold a couple of these to recoup my costs, I say I would let one go for $225 + S/H (standard version). With the Cold cast ears, prolly $250, same terms
For more information, PM me for details. USE FPH as your subject line please.
I've taken a load of pics during the molding process. From start to finish. I plan on posting them ALL, but time is at a minimum for me today. So here are a few. Interesting stuff.
A couple of notes on why I chose to mold the helmet the way I did. it's a mouth full, but if you bare with me, it's necessary to soak it in. Its intended to show you that no expense, or time was spared here.
Most folk, myself included, have taken to the glove molding process, as it is most cost effective, and less time consuming. In this case however, I chose to go with a two part mold, for a couple of reasons. A glove mold will not produce entirely accurate castings from the original intended model. This is becasue the silicone doesn't always fit back into the jacket the way it originally did when it was freshly molded. This can skew the shape of future castings, and they wil never be "Exact" representations of the original model.
Two piece molds, can reproduce exact cstings of the original intended model. Especially if the silicone is "married" to the glass jacket. No movement, no shift in shape. The seem line on the other hand, can be
a bear. The two halves can shift without proper registration (locking together). So they have to be made with great care to prevent this. The way the FPH was molded, will show you that not only will it be a true representation of the original model, but the seam, and cleanup work will be -0. I don't usually mold thing this way (unless they're really important), but I chose to go the route of building a molding aid (box) to help create a razor blade sharp seem line. Hence, yielding the cleanest casting possible, with the most accurate representation possible. What this translates to ...
PAIN IN THE BUTTUCKS for me, but beauty for you
As I post more pics of the process, you understand what this was all about. You may even appreciate it
I plan on doing a tutorial, hence so many pics to be posted
So onto a few pics !!
