Helmet modding advice

[JunesBanunes]

I've come across a TK helmet from ebay, it's some sort of scratch build that was fairly cheap. But according to the seller it was vacuum formed over an original mold or helmet and judging from the authentic wonky shapes that appears to be true. It's made out of an unidentified transparent plastic, about a millimiter thick, which is quite sturdy except for at the back rim where it bends and wobbles if you apply pressure.

 

It's then, rather poorly painted with white gloss spray paint with several areas of running. The paint has also start to flake here and there, revealing the transparency. The details are a mix of decals and more sloppy paint job.

 

The lenses are of some flimsy film with crap visibility and again rather poorly glued to the helmet with something like UHU por. The mic tips are, quite brilliantly, faucet tap ends wrapped in black electrical tape. I actually couldn't tell from the pictures as it looks pretty good, so there's a nice tip for those low on budget! It has no lining or padding.

 

Despite all this I don't feel cheated as like I said, it was significantly cheaper than the professional models out there. I'm also quite thrilled about the total renovation ahead and until then, it looks pretty good (from afar) on my shelf.

 

Enough background and onto the matter at hand; advice on said renovation. I am as quite many seem to be here, torn between the real and the "real" look, i.e. off the set or off the screen. As I don't expect any trooping (I'm just a collector) I was leaning heavily towards prop forgery. But then my girlfriend said something that completely stopped me in my tracks; "But you´ll know it's not a real prop so what's the point?".

 

Hence I've now (almost) decided to pursue the off the screen look, although not idealised. I've also decided to go for ESB as that's my favourite of the movies. I want my bucket to look as good on the inside as on the outside and my questions are as follows;

 

• Reinforcement, as the plastic is a bit wobbly around the rim I would like to strenghten it a bit. I saw someone here who applied cheesecloth and plasti dip which made a cool look but would it work as reinforcement? Another thought I had was coating the insides with glass fiber strips, any thought on that or other suggestions?
• Lenses, I've seen trooperbay's darker version of acetat film and heard of people using welder's shields, also I've heard about coloured acrylic. What would offer the best visibility while still hiding ones eyes from the outside.
• Electronics, In the long run I'm interested in equiping the helmet with both voice amplification and environmental. I have however no experience of circuitry or electrical work, how difficult is it to get into? I've seen the various ready made systems offered but I'm a bit of a do-it-yourselfer and drawn to the possibilities of making it exactly to my own liking. The biggest obstacle to me seems to be how to find matching parts and know they'll work together?

[HansDC[TK]]

Hi Jonas!

 

If you post some pics then maybe we could give you some better advice.

 

[gazmosis[501st]]

No greater story is told than one told with pictures!

[JunesBanunes]

Request and thou shall recieve.

 

*edit; attachment deleted and album posted below.

Edited February 27, 2015 by JunesBanunes

[HansDC[TK]]

Would you mind taking some more shots? Side, back, details etc.....looks good from the front but I've never come across a bucket made with 'clear' plastic. 

Maybe some pics of the chips with the plastic revealed? Once you have more pics Im sure everyone else will chime in.

[JunesBanunes]

 

Alrighty then... here's an imgur album.

Edited January 8, 2021 by gmrhodes13
photo updated gmrhodes13 2021

[charlesnarles]

Has that SDS look to it, IMO. I know they offer DIY kits, if that helps or is interesting 😅 thats the first transparent helmet I've seen too; I kinda want to see it "naked" if you're planning to strip and repaint it all. Might be cool to paint it on the inside, if it's not too thick of plastic. Electronics don't have to be more complicated than pc hardware, and I taught myself to solder for my blaster build without any foul-ups if you wanna get fancy and customize wired stuff yourself

Edited February 28, 2015 by charlesnarles

[JunesBanunes]

I'm planning on posting a build thread when push comes to shove, so be on the lookout and see your desires of nudity fullfilled!

 

But how about the advice, anyone got any good ideas about the reinforcing? And what about the lenses, what gives the best visibility (while maintaining no visibility for the outsider)?

[Guest]

I'm sure the faucet tap end mic tips used to come with the old FX helmet kit. Certain thats what I had with mine.

[charlesnarles]

"Green stuff" is good for small areas, and cheesecloth + some kinda sealant (black or painted black after) is popular for giving rigidity and a nice-looking inside finishing

Edited March 7, 2015 by charlesnarles

[JunesBanunes]

Sorry to wake up an old thread, I just wanted to post a link to my build thread with photos of the "naked" helmet as requested.