My Christmas Present arrived early...

[hellopike]

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

 

[jmelles2]

good looking helmet. keep up posted on your progress

 

[The Clayster]

awesome dude

 

[SlaveR5]

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

 

[TeamFett]

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

 

[Sheriff Roscoe]

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

 

[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.

 

[hellopike]

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

 

[hellopike]

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

 

[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! :cheers?

 

[evan4218]

I have #3.

 

[hellopike]

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! :cheers?

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

 

[TeamFett]

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

 

[stormtrooperguy]

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!!!

 

[terminal fettler]

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)...

 

[evan4218]

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!!!

 

[terminal fettler]

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

 

[hellopike]

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

 

[hellopike]

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

 

[SarlaccBits]

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