My 2mm TM Hero helmet build 8/2014

[Dday[501st]]

So here's the big question. I may have to pop rivet the begeezers out if this to make it stay together. I've clamped and magneted it and it's awesome, but as long as it's covered up will it affect acceptance??

 

Listen to what Paul says, he knows what he is doing!

 

Those gaps, as said are covered by the ears, a hero helmet is harder then a stunt because there is much less plastic at the bottom.

 

One pop rivet goes in in the center of the round ear section and holds the faceplate to the cap. This will also allow you to rotate the face a little to get the right angle between the cap and the face. Make sure that the face is centered between the two traps on the front of the cap and you are good.

 

The final two rivets per side go on the small corner at the bottom where the face and cap touch. You don't want to place these until you know you have the right angle because once they are in, the cap and face will not rotate any more.

 

You're doing great though, slow and steady

[DarSec[TK]]

Thanks Mr. Paul and Mr. Derrek.  It's awesome to get feedback as a newb.  Hopefully this won't be my only helmet build.  My armor should be here October or so, so I'll be pleading for help then, too. 

[DarSec[TK]]

progress so far.  I temporarily fixed it with screws adn washers the same size as the rivets.  wanted feedback before permanence

 

 

[DarSec[TK]]

 

 

not too dissatisfied so far.  Thoughts?

[DarSec[TK]]

precious little material to rivet to.  I am sure the trim and ears will cover this up nicely.  It is kinda stressed.  Is there any chance of this splitting and popping?  I thought about taking a heat gun and standing 10 feet away and moving an inch an hour until I was close enough to heat it up enough to mold into this shape without the stress but maybe just leave it alone?

 

 

[Dday[501st]]

precious little material to rivet to.  I am sure the trim and ears will cover this up nicely.  It is kinda stressed.  Is there any chance of this splitting and popping?  I thought about taking a heat gun and standing 10 feet away and moving an inch an hour until I was close enough to heat it up enough to mold into this shape without the stress but maybe just leave it alone?

 

 

 

 

From my view, you got the placement just right.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the stress on the helmet at those corners, it's not under all that much stress and it it on the helmet, which is the least stressed piece in the entire suit, so once you got it riveted, you won't have any trouble. The only thing heating it up will do is thin out the plastic and give you a chance or messing it up. The stress will naturally work it's way out without breaking it.

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Seems fine to me.

If you really look for more overlap on the sides, the solution would be to tilt the Cap & Back downward, but it might raise the brow a bit at on point:

 

 

And on a side note, when you'll be ready to rivet the face with the back, the washers go on the inside of the helmet

[troopermaster]

Here are the photos I promised. As you can see, no gaps. I am not sure how you got those?

 

You might want to reposition the face better. Don't worry about drilling extra holes in the face, they won't be seen once the helmet is assembled.

[Bone[501st]]

Could it be that the forehead of the faceplate is not resting completely against the inside of the cap?

 

When i held together the two parts of Pauls helmet (1.5 mm), I also had the impression, that nothing would fit and especially that there was not enough material at the sides ...

But after I clamped them together and made sure that the faceplate is not curving upwards (like with your helmet) but but that the Profile of the faceplate was much more vertical, it suddenly all fit together.

(much more like a flatnosed Voldemort face ...)

 

Compare Pauls photos of the profile with yours. You will see that his helmet is really vertical in the back and only slightly at an angle in the faceplate, whereas your helmet has a much more pronounced angle in the faceplate.

 

Does anybody understand what I am talking about?

[troopermaster]

The most common mistake people make when building a hero helmet is to tilt the face upwards to get a low brow. That is not how to do it if you look at original helmets. Only one hero helmet had a really low brow and it had a gap between the brow and face on the forehead (as most hero helmets do). You can still build them tight with no gaps and overlap the sides. You just have to play around with the positioning of the face.

[DarSec[TK]]

Thank you all for your help.  This is why the FISD is so awesome and helpful.  BTW, Mr. Horseman, thanx for the rivet tip.  I placed washers in and out for more support while using the screws for temporary fixation. The publicity shot used with the hero helmet is the look I'm going for.  I tried to post a pic but it would not allow it. It is the one used for the cardboard standup they used to sell. I want as little as possible white showing, and the face is totally touching right up against the cap.

 

 

 

I removed the screws and played around with the face rotating it as you all suggested.  To get the sides to overlap it was almost "move along" gap above eyes.  I thought I'd move the face up farther into the cap instead of rotating it back but it is as far as it will go along the ridges in inside the back.

 

 

Here is the full profile. Face is butted up against the cap.

 

 

 

Full front view from slightly up angle.

 

 

 

So if it's rotated forward as much as it can, and the brow is even with the black trim, and most of the gap is closed, new rivet holes placed, is this acceptable?  I know that these tiny gaps will be covered by the ears. 

[troopermaster]

You say 'acceptable' as though there are some kind of rules. It's your helmet and you build it how you like. Stop worrying about minor details and enjoy the build. This place has got everyone panicking about details and taking the fun out of builds.

 

Get the ears on, get painting, get trooping and have fun!

[DarSec[TK]]

Mr. Paul that was music to my ears.   

[Dday[501st]]

You say 'acceptable' as though there are some kind of rules. It's your helmet and you build it how you like. Stop worrying about minor details and enjoy the build. This place has got everyone panicking about details and taking the fun out of builds.

 

Get the ears on, get painting, get trooping and have fun!

 

Well said!

[Bone[501st]]

Right you are, Paul!

[SW1]

The Master has spoken, well said Mr Paul

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[DarSec[TK]]

So I thought I'd try something "new" (or at least to me) to get proper cuts for the dreaded ears. I must preface this by saying, yes, I am totally aware that those are some big honkin' screws and washers holding this together.  I got some that are the same size as the pop rivets so If anything went wrong its not permanently fixated.

 

  I got some super thin aluminum pieces that would retain their shape and cut them to size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then molded it to the helmet where the ear would touch.

 

 

 

I placed this on a small piece of cardboard and drew the outline.

 

 

 

I cut it out, held it up to the helmet, drew the outline onto the ear, repeat for back half of ear.

 

 

Then I cut.  Love my Curved Mayo scissors!!  Benefits to working in the operating room. These were on the way to the recycle bin.  Not if I can help it!! Makes curved cuts a breeze!

 

 

 

After a little snap n score action (notice I am not right on my line.  Gave myself a little error room)  I'm ready to fit. It really paid off after a little trim with the ol' exacto.

 

 

 

 

 

So here is where the fun ended.  Clipping right along with the right ear and had huge success with the front but TOTALLY blew the back.  Yes, Mr. TM, I PM'd you for another ear.  Oh well, got the left on, riveted it permanently, and installed hovis.  Waiting for the follow up "little brown box". 

 

[troopermaster]

The ear 'could' be saved. Try trimming the front more to bring the back side of the ear into place. They usually need a bit of gentle persuasion on the lower end anyway so don't be put off if it sticks out a bit. Give it a try and see how you go

[Dday[501st]]

I like this idea!

 

When you do it, you have to take into account that one side is higher then the other, and the shape is different, and as TM says, they might take a little persuasion to get into place.

[DarSec[TK]]

This is true. That's why I had to make both wires seperate and cut individually. Didn't do to bad right up until "the incident". I'll try to salvage it (again) but in all my original futile attempts I just kept getting the ear thinner and thinner. I think it's a lost cause. I won't give up until I'm down to the nubbin. Thanx for order info Mr. TM.

[Bone[501st]]

Honestly, it looks like you still have plenty of material left ...

[DarSec[TK]]

I truly tried to get it whittled down to size, but by the time it did almost fit the round part was way too thin and there was not enough on the posterior edge to cover the gap. No big. Now I've got a practice ear for rank stripe painting!

[bpoodoo]

I've got a box full of "practice ears" myself!

 

Have a look at http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/27375-howto-draw-an-approximate-ear-trim-line-with-no-gaps/ for a discussion on a technique that uses a compass to draw the ear trim line. 

 

You are on the right track towards developing an innovative way to obtain a trim line.  Trimming the ear is definitely a 3-dimensional problem.   If you modify your method to remain in the 3 dimensional space entirely I think you'll have something that will work.

 

So skip the 2-D curve paper trace and instead fit the thin aluminum rod all the way around front and back at the same time along the contour of the helmet where the ear will meet it.  Then you can use the formed rod directly on the ear held steadily in place to create a trace all the way around the ear at whatever thickness you want.

 

Definitely start with a very thick ear trace to make sure it settles on the helmet correctly before trimming more aggressively.  Baby steps - incremental trimming - using a drawn trim line (resist the urge to "eye it"), and you will get you the right fit.

 

Something like this.  (I found the only remaining old wire hanger in my house, and it was a bit too thick for me to shape it well.  This was about as good as I could get it without risking tetanus).

 

To avoid gaps at the top, you will likely want to have a notch (or "stairstep").  This should be part of the trace of the helmet contour, but the aluminum rod may not be sufficiently workable to pick it up.  But you will see how at that location there is a drop-off where the cap&back ends and the faceplate begins.  There the front of the ear will thicker than the back of the ear by about 2mm (the ABS thickness).

 

[DarSec[TK]]

Wow!  thanx for this.   i love the whole ear outline concept.  Still waiting for my new ear, and ill definitely be using this!

[millenium1]

You say 'acceptable' as though there are some kind of rules. It's your helmet and you build it how you like. Stop worrying about minor details and enjoy the build. This place has got everyone panicking about details and taking the fun out of builds.

 

Get the ears on, get painting, get trooping and have fun!

That advise has so worked for me