HOWTO: Helmet Building Tips

[Crimson[501st]]

Since I'm working on building my RT right now, I thought I'd post some things I've learned, some things I've stolen from other people (information, not items!), and some things I'm really glad I stopped to consider before diving in with whirling Dremels.

 

Cutting Out the Eyes

 

Use a pencil to repeatedly trace the dimensions of the eye. By keeping the pencil inside the curve of the "orbital bone", a line will slowly form that can be used as a guide for your Dremel to cut out the rest of the excess material. Use a drill to make a pilot hole in the middle of the eye, then use a thin cutter bit to work away excess material. Sand edges smooth.

 

Cutting Out the Frown

 

I don't remember who originally posted this, but I read it and thought "great idea!" Use the barrel sanding wheel and sand down the frown cut-outs from the inside of the face plate. Excess material will literally pop out when you've sanded down far enough. It'll create a rounded hole in the face, so file those down into rectangles with jewelers' files.

 

Environmentally Sealed Armor?

 

In fiction, the TK armor is allegedly environmentally sealed, but what the heck are those giant gaps in the earpieces doing there?! I used silicone caulking (small tubes that don't require a caulking gun) to fill in those gaps to give it a more sealed look.

 

Paint It Black

 

When I began masking off parts to paint the interior, I thought I'd be lazy and just mask off the edges of the face. While I did avoid slipping and painting the outside, I did get some overspray because of the aerosoled paint floating around in the air. Goof Off is my friend, as some light rubbing with Goof Off on paper towel slowly dissolved the fine mist of black paint that ended up on the face. Needless to say, I completely masked off the dome and back with tape on the edges, then newspaper attached with tape on top of the tape.

 

I should have learned from the first helmet I ruined two years ago....

 

 

 

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A lot of these tips may seem very, very basic, but I'm sure that there are plenty of novice armor builders out there who are about as lost as I was two years ago, but didn't want to say anything about it. Maybe we were embarrassed to act like newbies, or maybe we were embarrassed about a tragic mistake. Or maybe we didn't even know HOW to ask a particular question.

 

So here have been my tips and even my mistakes. Call it a virtual on-line armor party!

[Butah Fett]

I've found that you can use alcohol to remove overspray on ABS, even if it's been dry for several hours. Past that time span, I'm not sure. I found this out accidentally when I was cleaning a cut I got while working on my bucket.

[Stormtrooper1697[501st]]

I tend to get hot under my helmet, so I cut out the slits on the top back of the helmet with a dremmel and a file. It Gives the hot air somewhere to go, especially if you add a fan to it. A lot of my garrison are kind of suprised when they notice it.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Great ideas guys.

 

so I cut out the slits on the top back of the helmet with a dremmel and a file.

 

Any pix? I'm curious how noticeable a difference this is visually, e.g. can you notice it at 1', 2', or not at all?

[Trooperdad]

I've seen the slits in the back of this trooper's helmet, but only when I was up close looking through my own bucket while at a trooping event. I didn't even notice until I was standing right behind him! I thought it was really cool and would not have even picked it up if we weren't standing close together for a photo op. I actually did a double take before I noticed they were actually slits and not the decal that comes with the kit.

 

Don G.

TK-5372

[Trooperdad]

Pin striping for outlining gray colored communicator ear covers works great. I picked up a black pin stripe kit from a hobby shop. They sell it for RC car decorating. It has various widths and is self-adhesive. I think I liked the 1/8" wide stripe the best. Just hand apply it AFTER the gray cover is attached to your bucket. When applying it, if it doesn't look right or straight, but pull it off and re-position. It's very easy to work with. Only need 3-4 inches to go completely around each ear piece. The black outline makes it look more finished. Will provide pics on later post.

 

Don G.

TK-5372

[Boozel]

for the ears, where th face plate and back come together, there is an overlap. where the cap covers this, trim a little off the top where the overlap sits. it makes for less gaps.

[beerman667[501st]]

Stormtrooper1697 said:

I tend to get hot under my helmet, so I cut out the slits on the top back of the helmet with a dremmel and a file. It Gives the hot air somewhere to go, especially if you add a fan to it. A lot of my garrison are kind of suprised when they notice it.

I liked this idea, so I gave it a shot. In a ddition to the traps in the back, I also did the teardrops. I have done 2 troops, both inside and outside with minimal fogging and no fans installed. What do y'all think?

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I know the masking tape adds a lot to the internal look!

 

 

 

[Hook[TK]]

This is very fundamental, but for the new trooper it may help. Go to the drug store and ask for an irrigation syrenge or a childs medicine syrenge. You can suck up ABS glue into this thing and control you glue bead. The plastic is surgical grade so the glue will simply peel out once dried and you can use it over and over.

 

Another good tip is to always sand before you glue two pieces of ABS or Styrene. Don't bother knocking off the dust from sanding either since the smaller particles add the the chemical bond.

 

I have some pics of some small mods I did to prevent the chin and ear pieces from coming off, but i will have to load thoe later.

[john danter]

When adding the face plate and back plate together, you fiddle about trying to get the attitude right. Hero or stunt.

 

I use paper clips to do mine. These are great as they are flexiable but strong enough to hold whern bent back.

 

Plus....I think this is what was used in the films

 

 

 

Here's a protoype

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Edited December 13, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[Darth Dogg]

Hi guys!

 

Do you have any tips about helmet/dome assembly? (fx armor) Thanks!

[JTKenobi[TK]]

This is very fundamental, but for the new trooper it may help. Go to the drug store and ask for an irrigation syrenge or a childs medicine syrenge. You can suck up ABS glue into this thing and control you glue bead. The plastic is surgical grade so the glue will simply peel out once dried and you can use it over and over.

 

Wow! Does this work for Devcon plastic welder??

[VaderDave[501st]]

Do you have any tips about helmet/dome assembly? (fx armor) Thanks!

 

I use clear package shipping tape to hold the pieces of the FX bucket together while I work on it. I tried the handymans secret weapon (duct tape) but it tended not to hold that great.

 

Clear package tape however grabs onto the ABS bigtime and keeps things where you want them, and then it peels off clean with little to no residue. Peel slowly.

[Imperial Knight Jajj]

I believe I am ready to start working on my helmet... i really dont want to mess this up... so i will try some of the ideas on this thread and others i have read... i like the idea of cutting the slots in the dome... and i actually thought of the same idea of using a barrel sanding wheel to cut the frown out from the inside... now its just confirmed...

 

 

just curious... how many of you have painted the inside of the helmet black... i have been pondering the idea... but i see a lot of pics on this site and the inside of most, if not all, are still white... i know what the purpose of painting it black but is it really worth painting the entire inside?....

[Tiepilot1138[TK]]

Why would you paint the inside black?

[TK3373[TK]]

I painted the inside of my helmet because it looks cool and kind of spacey. There is also a refernce picture in the Star Wars Visual Guide of a Stormtrooper Helmet with a black lined interior.

[TK6540UKG]

Why would you paint the inside black?

 

It also helps in stopping people from seeing you through the lenses..

[SkullFace616]

As I haven't started putting my lid together yet, do you think it would be best to spray the inside black first? That way there would be no gaps for it to blead through and then I can just cut the eyes etc out? I can't see why this wouldn't work but thought I'd ask incase others have done it in the past and it hasn't worked out right for one reason or another...

 

Cheers