NE helmet build

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Hey troopers, i know its been a while since ive been VERY active here, but i wanted to share this with you all because i know some people are hesitant to build the NE helmet because of its unsual construction. This is what i came up with, which seems to work well.

 

OK, so the first thing i did was fit the cap to the back, and trim the helmet back, similar to our more common helmets with linage, like ATA, AP, CAP etc.

 

First line up the cap with the back, and center it best you can. It has notches to guide you, but they arent a perfect fit, and it gives you a little left to right play. So center it best you can and tape it on the inside and the out side like this:

 

Then i marked it off with chinamarker/grese pencil right behind the side traps on both sides and marked the familiar curve, and cut it like so, on both sides of course:

 

 

 

I then glued the cap to the back...which was a little tricky. I did the center back first, between the traps. I remoeved the tape from the center section and left the tape on the sides on. i put the glue on the cap on the inside and let it run just a little to where it needed to be to make contact with the back..i then quickly sprayed zip kicker in there and quickly pressed the parts together. Once that cured up, i diod the sides which were easier as the back was now holding everything from shifting. you can pretty much pull the back down towards the inside of the helmet, put glue on there, spray in a little zip kicker and pres the parts togther. Obviously do this on both sides.

 

I then drilled 2 holes on each  side, so we now have this:

 

Then we fit the faceplate in a position to you liking. You can tape it on the inside to hold it in place while you then mark the faceplate through the top hole on each side (not the ones near the tubes)

 

...then take the faceplate out and drill the holes you just marked.

 

You can then assemble the face to the now one piece cap/back. [ in hindsight, now is a good time to install the brow trim] Again, angle to your liking and THEN tape it into place again and drill through that lower hole into the faceplate, and put a screw in it. Repeat for the other side, and you should be at this point:

 

Then i installed the brow trim...but as mentioned above, it will be easier to put the brow trim on before you screw the face to thew cap/back.

 

We now have this..

 

Then is the tricky part with any TK helmet. the ears....

 

Stay tuned for that shortly

Edited February 2, 2014 by Darth Voorhees

[captsafe66[Admin]]

Looks like a great start!

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Ok...so here we go with the ears...

They are very gernerous with the amount of plastic on them, so first basically i size them up..


Make usre you position the ear to cover the seam on the lower screw


Then make basic marking to start trimming.This is where i will add a notch to help keep the ear straight due to the different levels of plastic from the faceplate to the back. It also helps hold the top of the ear from shifting around as i mark the cuts on the tube curve.


And here will be my basic first cuts


The first cuts are rough and done with the cutting wheel on my dremel




Then the fine tuning begins. These next few photos are just the steps it took to get the ear to fit properly. These adjustments are done with the sanding drum on the dremel

Edited February 3, 2014 by Darth Voorhees

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

 

 

 

 

 

Once we are happy with the fit, drill the holes in the ears, and mark with a pencil where to drill the holes on the helmet.

 

I used a .09 mechanical pencil with the lead over extended..you have to be careful, but its a good way to get the pencil to reach the helmet.

 

 

Proceed to screw the ears to the helmet

 

Now you may have a gap towards the bottom...

 

Just push the ear flush with the helmet:

 

Now while holding this in this position, CAREFULLY drill a hole through the bottom of the ear..WATCH TO NOT DRILL YOUR FINGER!!

 

Put the screw in..and your done!

 

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Both ears on, teeth trimmed

 

 

 

[Griffon King[TK]]

As often as people have posted asking for help with their NE helmet builds, this topic should be pinned for easy access. I love my NE helmet, but it was a brute to build without instruction, and there are lots of folks that will benefit from this tutorial. Thanks for taking the time to show the process for everyone!

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Thanks! Yea i know this helmet is scary in comparison to some others. The ears especially. Also the ear part of the tutorial basically holds true for most makes of helmets now adays

[gazmosis[501st]]

It is awesome that you showed just how many times you chipped away at both sides of the ears until you got the fit you wanted. Sometimes people just don't realize that it takes a lot. Great thread!

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Thanks!

 

Yea i wanted to really show how much time that part takes. rather than just say "keep trimming till it fits". It really takes quite a few steps, but taking the extra steps really helps get a near perfect fit every time.

[Clonecollector[TK]]

Where was this two weeks ago!

 

Great job Lou!

[Darth Ferrara[TK]]

Awesome! Simply Awesome! The helmet looks incredible!

[Tolo[TK]]

Nice job Lou!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Where was this two weeks ago!

 

Great job Lou!

 

 

LOL sorry Paul! ..i just built this last night and this morning

 

Thanks John...all for you bud!

 

Thanks Tolo!

Edited February 2, 2014 by Darth Voorhees

[Redforce[TK]]

Great job Lou!!

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Thanks Red! Yours is next!

[Redforce[TK]]

Thanks Red! Yours is next!

Awesome Thanks!

[seantrooper[TK]]

Nice! I take it these are the new ears, not the old ones that didn't fit properly?

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

yes indeed Sean, these are the newer corrected ears.

[Cantina Security[501st]]

Nice Work... A little bit at a time makes all the difference in the world...

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Thanks! Yep! I also probably could have made the ears even thinner but since it wasn't my personal helmet, i didnt wanna risk it.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Darth Voorhees

[PGHtoolman]

I have the AM armor ordered with this helmet.  Thanks for taking the time to slow it down and show step by step for us rookies

[MightyTank[501st]]

Lou, beautiful write-up and documentation.  I hope you don't mind if share the link with the new AM kit purchasers  Also, this will only be more simple with the next pulls as there has been basic trim lines added for the helmet pieces and ears!