Hello from the UK

Hi guys, I used to lurk here a few years ago but never got round to starting a project. I've always wanted to paint my own boba bucket, but life got in the way... Now things are a bit more chilled, I'm looking to start a ESB bucket project.

My main issue is sourcing a helmet within the UK. A few years back, the FP helmets seemed to be the way to go, I tried to get one then but it seemed impossible due to limited numbers... I've noticed the GMH cold cast helmet popping up on 'the bay', know it would take a little work to get it to ESB, but its eBay... Full of scum and villainy! I was under the impression that the guy who obtained that particular mold had passed away? (besides, the dome looks poor on that particular listing and its in Canada).

So really, I'm just here for a refresh, see what's what, what's changed, new discoveries etc. Half the battle is sourcing the correct helmet, so a point in the right direction there would be massively appreciated... I would prefer 4 piece ears as I'd like to mod a auto rangefinder stalk, and having seperate parts makes sense in my head. Also need to look into purchasing a airbrush compressor and decent rotary tool.

I don't have a budget or timeframe, just always fancied giving it a try... If it goes well, I'll look at stepping up to a full ESB or SE build, but that's a long way off!

I'll have a little read-up over the next few days and see what I can find out for myself, but as I said before, any help, suggestions and recommendations with regards to sourcing a helmet would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the essay! Kind regards,

Parker

Welcome aboard and Happy New Year! You are definitely in the right place, lots of good Boba info here on TDH. Have fun with your research.

Hi Parker,

I'm in the UK too. I ended up building my own using the Antman guide. Came out nice but did take some time especially the sanding.

If I had the money I would have probably gone with bobamaker: Helmet All his stuff looks really good.

Cheers,
Paul

Greetings from sunny Romford; land of kings.

Thanks for the welcome guys... Literally just been looking at bobamakers site, helmet seems great (fibreglass!) & comes with T-Visor, his 'deluxe' range finder and alu stalk, reckon I could get him to chuck in the hollow stalk instead. £210 all in seemed pricey at first, but factoring in the visor & postage, its actually pretty reasonable.

Are there any other helmet suppliers in the UK... I've got nothing against US, but postage prices, customs and risk of damage in transit are not worth it.

That's pretty much it. Actually he relocated to Portugal so there's no more reason to fear damage from the US or Canada than from there. That said I've had no damaged items from BM or numerous makers in the states. The big difference I suppose with BM is you won't then get a 20% VAT bill when it arrives. VAT will be calculated on the total costs including the price of the shipping. In my experience you need to add around £50 in customs, VAT, and forward handling costs with a US purchase of a quality helmet (depending on the price of the helmet) and £250 is a good rule of thumb by the time it hits your doorstep but I'm not up to speed on all of the prices of current makers so I may be a bit high; including the US obviously increases your options quite a bit. I can think of two quality helmet makers right off the bat you'd be excluding by not including North America and they're certainly worth considering. The V3 BM helmet does look nice but having never held one in person I can't really guide you.

Thanks for the detailed reply mate

My only qualms with ordering overseas is the aforementioned risks, plus I don't know of any reputable, I'm really out of the loop.

If somebody palmed me off with a dodgy re-cast or seconds in the UK, I feel I could sort it out with minimal fuss/cost. Returning a helmet to abroad would be a total hassle!

Who would you recommend in North America or other parts of the world? The more options the better, then I can start weighing up pro's and cons and hopefully make a good purchase.

I definitely want something of good quality from a tried and tested source, I'm not made of money, but if I'm going to shell out £200+, I may as well spend another £50 for the peace of mind of having a decent item. I've got to get airbrush, dremmel, paints, hobby equipment etc aswell... This ain't gonna be cheap haha!

Welcome! I can't comment on who and where to get stuff because I make most of my own stuff. Good luck!

Welcome back. You can also check out RS prop masters in the UK.

RS are mainly trooper props by the looks of it. All I could find on their site were knee darts, jet pack beacon and toe spikes.

I'd like to try making my own scratch built helmet & armour one day, but I don't really have the skills for that.

Thanks for the help guys

I forgot RS. They do a complete range of fett props and are contained entirely within the UK.