Master Replica Pinch Fix "How I did it!"

w34payton

New Hunter
Hey guys. I thought I'd write up a little instructions of how I fixed the pinch on my master replica helmet.

I’ve never done anything like this so please bare with the less than professional ways
I used to do it. ;)

Things I used.
Hairdryer
Toothpicks
x-acto knife
super glue
JB Weld the kind that you cut and kneed together as needed
#5 welding shield
painters 3m tape
duct tape
Phillips screwdriver
Hand held Plexi glass cutter

I started by peeling back the lining about a half inch to an inch all the way around the existing visor.
I used an x-acto knife to cut any stingy glue holding the lining on. I made slits near the eye ends to peel it back easier. the arrows in the pic point that out.
I used duct tape to hold the lining back and out of the way.
I used a small Phillips screw driver to remove the screws all around the visor. There are a lot of screw so take your time with them.
I would have re-used the screws but I thought it would be near impossible to re line up new holes in a new visor with the existing holes for the screws and I didn’t want to drill
New holes into the helmet.

fett%20instructions%204.jpg





I cut three toothpicks to the size I wanted the mandibles to be spread and I taped them together using 3m painters tape to not effect the paint on the helmet.
I heated the helmet inside and out with a blow dryer and added the “spacers” toothpicks to the openings so the helmet wasn’t stressed and started taking that shape. It’s actually pretty bendable and easy to shape once you get the initial visor out and add heat to it.

I used spacers like in this picture.
This pic shows the spacers I made and where I had them and the arrows are pointing to the gap I'll talk about when I'm putting the visor in below.
fett%20directions%202.jpg



When I removed the visor I split it apart and used mostly the eye part to trace the size
Exactly. I modified the bottom part making it as wide as needed to keep the mandibles open to the correct size. After I traced the size I wanted I cut the new shield with a hand held plexi glass cutter and a straight edge. This takes some elbow grease and patience to do it right. I was able to hold the new visor down flat to make the cut. I broke my first visor cause I didn’t cut deep enough before I tried to crack the excess off. You really have to score it almost all the way through to avoid this.

In this pic when I say I cut it too short I meant too narrow.
fett%20directions%201.jpg



I got the size I wanted and put it in to fit but it wasn’t wide enough so I super glued toothpicks on either side to make up the distance. Now the shield rests nicely on the
Toothpicks and is holding the mandibles open.

Once a I got a nice fit all around with the new shield I starter at the bottom with the JB weld and small pieces and started bonding the helmet and shield covering up the toothpicks at the bottom and heading upwards with small pieces of needed bond.
kinda blury pic of the weldbond
fett%20instructions%203.jpg



I got to a tricky part where the mandible was sticking slightly out further then the other
So I needed to exert extra force to push it back in slightly to bond to the shield. Otherwise there would have been a gap. Besides the cutting of the new visor this was the second most challenging step cause I had to hold it together in place with force for a half hour or more for it to bond to the shield.
this pic shows where I applied the extra pressure
fett%20directions%206.jpg


I used less bond around the eye parts because it was pretty snug in there already with no gaps.

I took the duct tape off the lining and laid it back down and it covered the weld bond from the inside nicely.
fett%20instructions%207.jpg



And there you have it. I was worried about the paint coming off because I was handling it so much put where ever I could I used causing and a soft t-shirt to exert pressure to cover my finger tips. I also taped the visor with the 3m painters tape to protect it while I was jb welding it on.
fett before after.jpg


Thanks to everyone on here who helped me out with the questions I had along the way.:cheers:cheers:cheers:cheers:cheers

boba%20fett%205.jpg



boba%20fett%204.jpg
 
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Awesome! Thanks for the tutorial, it really came out great!
I've used that 2-part putty before for prop projects. Really good stuff. :)
 
Excellent! I was hoping someone would figure a way to do this in a less "invasive" method. Great job!
 
Question...

Is the original visor wide enough to cover the area needed to "correct" the pinch?

I like the idea of using toothpicks to fill in the make up space...could this solution be used to simply fill in the gap on both sides of the original visor? Thus saving the need to purchase a new shield.
 
thanks guys for the compliments! :cheers

Unfortunatley the shield that came with it is VERY thin and incapable of holding the fiberglass open with this method. It is also too narrow to use to correct the pinch. It has screw holes all the way around it so you'd see them exposed if you widened the opening more that just a little.

The key is the heavy shield making the front keep it's corrected shape and stay in place. the most important part is the cut of the shield to the size you want the opening to be. because I cut mine a little too narrow I was able to use toothpics on either side to make up the distance lost by the cut.
 
Awesome bro!!! I was just going to post asking for pointers on how to do it. I just got my MR bucket on Friday and really want to tackle this. Can you send me a link where you got your welding shield from? If you don't mind I'd like to pick your brain some to make sure I don't screw this up.

Also, is there a template out there for the T-Visor so I don't have to guess how wide it should be at the bottom? Or is it safe enough to just make the bottom the exact same width as the top?

Thanks!!!
 
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Escho,
That visor you linked to should work. It looks very similar to the RJ Safety visor that several members have used. It didn't specify the tint grade, but it looks pretty dark.

As far as cutting it goes, w34payton should probably answer that one.
 
I've actually come across the RJ visors too so I'll just stick with that. Thanks buddy!!!

EDIT: I just went to their site and grabbed on for 15 bucks with shipping...Shipping cost almost 3 times more than the product

-Esh
 
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it looks like that one will be okay.

If not this is the one I got. I actually ordered two worried that I would mess one up when I cut it.

I actually did mess up the first one because I didn't score it well enough with a plexi glass cutter. You really have to make sure you cut just about all the way through before you try to crack it. It also helps to tape the visor inside the cutting area to give it a little more strength to avoid cracking.

here's a pic of the first one.
fett%20visor%2021.jpg


Even though the visor was thick I was able to push down and lay it almost
flat as I scored it.


i took a pic of the aprox spacing I used to measure the front / bottom part of the T. I used the existing t visor to cut out the eyes. Remember I cut it a little too narrow in the front so here is aprox the width you'll need to cut yours. This width is taking into account the toothpicks I had to add. This is aprox width you'll need to cut it.
fett%20visor%2020.jpg



hope that helps! congrats on the awesome helmet score!! and remember to be patient, have good lighting when your removing the screws and working on it and set it upside down on something soft and non abrassive and handle it gently or with something soft covering your finger tips.

Good luck man!
 
Awesome!!! Thanks for the tips. You guys are all awesome here and everyone has been super cool and helpful. I really appreciate it.

I'll post pics as I go through the process. I just hope mine comes out as good man! Thanks again!

-Esh
 
:cheersWell poo...I jacked it up, not too bad but I have to try again. Mine needs to be a bit wider than the meausrements. Plus I'm going to use a different technique to keep the visor in, I tried two different ways and neither seemed like they are going to work right...I'll keep you all up to date if you care enough...:lol:
 
Used this tutorial to fix my MR bucket.. Worked like a charm!!!

I´ve been putting it off for several weeks now, because I couldn´t get myself to do it, but I went ahead today and got it done in 3 hours total..

YAY!!!!

Thanks for the great tutorial, dude!!!;)
 
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