Help! Helmet cheekplate cracking!

My friend and I are building him a Jango suit but have had to put it on hold since we both returned to school. All the stuff is being stored at my place, and I just discovered the helmet has a sizable crack along the top of the cheekplate, right below the left edge of the visor opening (the visor hasn't been installed yet). Is there any way to reinforce this spot? Should I try sealing the crack with Bondo? The helmet is coldcast and we paid a lot for it. I don't want all our work sanding and painting to go to waste.

pics of it

Here's what it looks like at present. The cracks are just on the outside, and the whole thing seems to be holding together okay, but I'd like to get it stabilized before I try attaching the visor.

well its cracking since theres no visor to help add to the rigidity...and someone probably was holding it by the cheeks not the back of the helmet...try what cruzer said then get a visor mounted in there to add to the strength of the helmet

Thanks, guys! You're the best. I'll look for that glue. It's really aggravating because we've been super careful when handling the helmet, it was well-padded in the box, and no one's touched it since I packed it away. Argh.

By the way, I also found some weird marks on the dome and back that I swear weren't there before. They almost look like gouges but I'm not sure what could have caused them. It's only on the unpainted areas, which I can barely even scratch with my fingernail, and no one's been knocking the helmet around. It was stored in a cardboard box with a triple thickness of bubble wrap underneath and some crumpled paper around the sides.

the cracks aren't uncommon, that spot is terribly unsound structurally. the most likely reason for the cracks was that you cut out the visor area before sanding the helmet, since sanding the cheeks and mandibles puts a lot of stress on that area. as for the damage in the coldcast, did you guys happen to have the helmet sitting on any hard surface while you were sanding other areas?

i'm going to agree with jinto, i think you guys should probably strip it and start over; because i feel the surface needs a lot more work. it's still very lumpy, with warts and pock marks. a jango helmet should be smooth as smooth-smooth-smooth. if you guys took pictures of your work in progress, could you post them along with descriptions of what you were doing and where you were at with the build. the more information you can provide, the better. that includes tools used, sandpaper grits, paints, etc. i've done a few jango helmets in my time, i'd be happy to give you all sorts of advice, tips, and pointers to help you make the best jango helmet you can.

Now that you've posted pics, it looks like the helmet is roto-cast resin. If that's the case then I would back it with a few good layers of Devcon Plastic Welder, not the fiberglass cloth and resin I suggested when I assumed it was fiberglass.

I'm afraid to sand it down too much because I'll take off the metal finish and have to Rub-'N'-Buff the whole thing.

The original sanding and painting was done nearly a year ago, so I don't remember exactly what we did. My friend did the sanding - not sure what grit of paper, but I don't think he used any steel wool. I used a dremel to cut the visor down the middle, and then an X-acto knife to trim away what was left. The paint is just the standard Rustoleum Royal Blue and Krylon Ocean Blue. I remember it was quite cool out when I sprayed, which probably affected the way the paint went on. I was just too darn impatient to wait for warmer weather. Oddly enough, the wrinkling only occurred on the earpieces.

you can treat cold cast like a red-headed stepchild; it's thicker than you think. get after it with a good wetsanding with probably 220 grit on a mouse sander. after that go with 400, then 800, then 1000. once you have that done you can shine it really nicely with metal polish.

i'm about 90% sure that's an asok helmet that you're working with there, i know asok helmets. i've done five of them, and i'm working on three more. there's a lot more work that could be put into that guy to make it awesome. check out some of my build threads: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f28/s...s-thead-38163/
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f28/s...23-10-a-32845/
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f28/l...-5-10-a-37635/

and i've got another thread going that has me working on four helmets at once, check that one out, i'll be updating that one very soon. i'm pretty sure it's still on the front page of the jango section.

I think its a boba maker there from the same mold originaly coz they come pre finishd and thats y he doesnt know how thik the CC is plus he staded that he and his friend spent alot of money on it and thats y there scared thel ruin it , The thing is its worse to leave it