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Assembling the helmet isn't really that hard,
but it WILL be time consuming if you're careful.
To start, you really MUST test-fit the helmet. The pieces will
most likely NOT fit together very well right out of the box.
It's ok to have SOME gaps in between the front & back, because the
"ear" covers will cover this nicely.
I did trim both sides a bit to get a closer fit. |
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To trim them, I marked the INSIDE of the
helmet with a pen & used a combination of blade & dremel to make
the cut.
For straight pieces you can very easily score the ABS a few times &
simply snap the piece off. For curved areas I used the dremel.
I didn't get the cuts perfectly straight, but it WILL be covered! |
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Once you're happy with the fit, place the ear
covers on the helmet(there WILL be a gap between this piece and the
helmet, but it can all be taken care of later. |
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Drill the holes on the COVER first, &
then mark the spots to drill on the helmet itself. The provided
dimples will most likely NOT be correct. |
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Slip the bots through to make sure they fit. |
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Now temporarily attach the helmet together
with the ear covers, bolts, & some tape for the dome.
Finally starting to look like something, huh? |
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Next I went ahead & painted the ear/mouth
pieces. Some spray paint will do fine. |
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Once you're sure of the fit, go ahead and
bolt the side pieces on.
My trimming was not as straight as I'd hoped, so I built a little
support piece. It's made from a strip of ABS. You can use an
extra piece that comes with the armor or buy a large plastic sign like I
did.(no parking)
Other sites warned against using clamps with ABS cement, so I just held
the piece in place for a few minutes. After 24 hours we'll see if I
held it long enough and if I used enough cement. |
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The included instructions basically tell you
to measure the fitting of the hard-hat liner.
NO!!!
While you could do it that way, I'd suggest using some of the
included velcro. I placed 4 strips of the hook side where the straps
line up on the helmet. I then stuck one piece of loop tape on each
of the liner tabs.
Play around with it, because my first attempt not only left me looking
like a bobble-head, but it made looking around difficult. If
possible, have a friend take pictures of you from all angles. Even
better, wait until the rest of the armor is complete so that you can
really see what it looks like on top of a complete suit of armor!
|
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In the movies, the "Hero" versions
of the helmets had bubble lenses. They look great, but are VERY hard
to see out of(despite what others may say).
Most of the troopers had flat, green lenses.
|
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Here are the the flat, green lenses that I
got off of Ebay. Might not be as green as the originals, but you're
also not going to see through these either. |
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They are attached in pretty much the same
manner as the bubble lenses. i.e. a good amount of hot glue.
Make sure that you hold a damp cloth behind the spot your gluing, and
hold the lens in place until the glue is very firm. I let go too
soon & the lens popped out a bit at the top!
And don't be afraid to bend these a little bit to get the best
look. I left the top unglued to help vent the helmet, and you can't
even tell from the outside.
|
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This is a good example of how clear things
can look through flat lenses. |
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It's easy to see OUT of the helmet, but it
would be very hard to see in. |
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The next step is to actually ABS cement the
dome in place. Make sure that you test fit the dome first &
become familiar with exactly how you want it orientated, because the ABS
cement sticks RIGHT AWAY!!!
I simply applied a light coating(wiped all excess off of the
applicator) to the inside of the helmet & slid the dome in
place. You have pretty much zero time to move it around, so
be careful! And don't worry about slight gaps along the front
half of the helmet, as these will be covered by the brow trim. |
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After you let the dome cure, you can go ahead
& attach the lower trim to the helmet. The included instructions
are correct, so just work it around, opening it up with a screwdriver
where needed.
You might want to attach the bottom of the side pieces to the bottom of
the helmet before doing this, which I didn't & will have to fix later.
Put the small, black, mouth decal in place before doing this! |
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Now it's time to hot glue the mouth &
ears in place. I simply filled the mouth with hot glue & held it
in place until the glue cooled completely...and the piece pretty much fell
right off.
Even though other people have had no trouble, I tried again by first
lightly sanding the helmet where the piece would attach. That didn't
work either.
Finally I drilled a small hole behind it & placed a small bolt in
place. It only stick out the front enough to allow the hot glue to
stick to it. See the picture on the left.
The ears(those tiny grey blocks) work pretty much the same way.
Completely fill them with glue, then hold them in place over the
screws(already there!) until the glue completely cools. I tried
rushing the first one & it had fallen off by the next morning. TAKE
YOUR TIME! |
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Next comes the decals. Just as before,
spray the area with windex & carefully position the decals. I
used a small cloth to dry/smooth them out as I went. I got a few
small bubbles, but was very happy with how well they turned out!
Once that is done you can attach the brow trim. I first cut off
the excess & used it to test with. I used this piece to test how
they would fit around the side pieces. It was actually pretty easy
to do with a small pair of scissors. This is also your chance to
cover up any gaps in the helmet, so use the trim wisely!
And finally are the "tube decals." These were tricky
for me because for some reason the sides were uneven on mine. I
don't know if something was trimmed a bit wrong, or if the face is just inherently
asymmetrical. Anyway, carefully follow the included instructions
& use any reference pics you can find. Mine didn't turn out completely
even, but I think each side looks right for themselves & it gives the
helmet "character." ;) |
| <coming soon> |
As far as the helmet-liner goes, I took a
slightly different track.
Instead of ABS-glueing the clips in place, I instead used a combination
of IS Velcro & black duct tape. Invisible & adjustable.
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