Rubies Helmet Review

Sounds cool Mirax.

I'm 6'2" and I think that my 96 Don Post looks fine. Its a bit small but not really that bad. As far as the Rubies Jango goes, I think its actually a pretty decent helmet for the price. I've seen them up close and with a bit of mods, it comes out fine. Just my 2 cents...

I know, I know,
Why am I wasteing my time w/ a rubies, but I don't have the cash for a new one. If anyone has put a visor in one, what glue did you use?

Ok,
I know it is embarassing to admit you have a rubies helmet,but I am secure enough...sort of.
Anyway, some one has the answer.

Shawnpayne did one for mine but I have no idea what he used. Perhaps he'll post here. And don't be ashamed. I will proudly be displaying at some point the most kick *** Rubies helmet you have seen. (Granted that might not be saying much but who cares! )

I did.

I used regular craftsman hot glue (the one that is for hobbies/crafts).
It's held up very well. I even hot glued in a piece of black felt on top
of the inside lower part of the visor. It helps keep the "blacked out"
look & also absorbs a lot of the my hot breath, reducing the fogging
pretty effectively! I also added two LEDs (one blue, one green) to the
rangefinder to dress it up a little.

Here's a shot of it:



With a little work, the Rubies isn't half bad.

Do not be ashamed. Thrifty is good!

I have a Rubies Jango and I have no choice but to like it. I wish Rubies would consider making them a wee bit longer around the bottom end so it would make them fuller looking and also won't expose my neck and chin whenever I move my head up or down. I've also considered doing another T visor but so far I just added window tint inside of it because my visor was just barely tinted in the first place. I like that idea of adding the felt. Great idea!

Malcfett, how did you do the LED's? They look good!

Thanks for the input gang...
Diggin the LED's Malcfett

I have LEDs in my Boba rangefinder and all you have to do is supply a powers source but not to strong because to much power will burn them up in seconds. The LEDs I used were about 2.0 volts a piece. I used 4 so that equaled 8 volts and a 9 volt battery wasnt to strong. Then I bored out my DP range finder (a hollow one will work best), poped the top off of the R/F then ran the wires all the way through stalk. Then simply hook up a switch button (not a momentary) and a battery. There you go. If anyone needs more info feel free to PM me.


P.S. these leds DON'T blink.

TK-Fett - Yeah, that's pretty much how I did mine too.

Mirax- I popped off the Rubies rangefinder top after scoring the glued seams
with an exacto knife. I then cut out the two plastic anchor posts inside to make
room for the LED components. I then used the exacto knife to drill out the two
raised bumps found on the top of the rangefinder by digging the tip of the knife
into their center and just spinning the knife (this drills the plastic out nice & clean).
I also cut out a notch in the bottom of the rangefinder close to the stalk for a switch.
I then got two 3 volt LEDs (the blue one doesn't blink, the green one blinks), one
3 volt Lithium watch battery, and a .99 cent digital watch, and a sub-mini slide
switch (Cat. # 275-406A), and some thin gauge electrical wire, all from Radio Shack.
I took out the battery housing from the watch, put in the battery, then saudered the
wire connections to the slide switch. I then screwed the slide switch into the slot by
using the provided screws and drilling in small screw holes into the plastic using the
exacto drilling method mentioned above. I then saudered wires from the switch
to the LEDs, bent them to fit inside the rangefinder, then closed the rangefinder up
(gluing at just certain spots on the inside lid so it would be relatively easy to open
up again when the battery needs to be replaced). The juice from one 3V lithium
battery is enough to run both LEDs for a long time.

Hope this helps.

Great job MalcFett. Lots simplier than what I did. Where did you get a blinking green led. Did you rig it yourself or did it come like that.

You know,
I had nothing good to say about rubbies helmets until I almost completed mirax's.I really think this helmet has started to look pretty **** good.Even for A rubbies.I used A
2 part epoxy to hold the tlens.I only applied it at key holding points.After it was secure I went around that with A bondo.Granted you will have to gut the helmet to get it out.
But It is very strong and I forsee no problems.Once yu add A
liner to the inside it looks very nice.I only hope this helps out.

Radio Shack sells blinking LEDs, and in different colors.

Thanks Shawnpane,
I never thought of epoxy. What is A bondo?

Thanks Malcfett. Very cool. I don't know if I will be able to do this with the rangefinder Shawnpayne has installed (don't know if it pops apart) But if it does, I may try it.

What's the difference between a Deluxe Jango Fett helmet & a 2-piece Jango Fett helmet? Which is better?
Thanks!

The deluxe is better, it is one piece that is like an actual helmet. The 2 piece is just that- 2 pieces a front and a back that go together. Not what you want.

Ditto...

No difference,both are ****, Don Post all the way, unless u are mirax, and look good in anything.

LittleOleBountyHunter wrote:
No difference,both are ****, Don Post all the way, unless u are mirax, and look good in anything.

Awww, aren't you sweet!

it is not a bad economic helmet, but if you can afford the DP, go for it. Some people have made the Rubies look pretty good.

From what i've seen, the Rubies Jango helmet looks pretty good, with a bit of help. It does look a bit small for the average adult, though. As for the Rubies Boba helmet It looks worse than some of the DP 97's that show up on ebay from time to time.

In my opinion, the Rubies delux (one piece) helmets are not TOTAL ****. I mean with a bit of work they look pretty good and you can't beat the price. Some of those Don Post helmest go for over a hundred bucks- is that worth it? I dont think so.

It's actually not that bad. I'm not what you would call "impressed" by it, but it's not nearly as bad some of the things I've heard about it. There's only a slight degree of warping that five minutes with a heat gun would fix. And amazingly enough, the proportions look almost right for my 5' 10" frame.

And while it's neat to claim that I finally own a Fett helmet, I'm pretty sure I'm going to put it up for auction soon. I'd like to hold out for a fiberglass helmet (wink wink, oh white Mandalore )

So the overall impression is good, and with some work it could be a good helmet.

I have been saying the same thing for a while now. Its not bad for a starter and if you know what your doin, you can make it look pretty decent...
Shawnpane is doin one right now, Iam curious to see how it comes out

I'm actually very happy with how my rubies turned out. I was going to
sell it on ebay shortly after Halloween...and convert my DP 96 into a
better Jango...but I've decided to go ahead and tweak the rubies a
while longer. I already replaced the visor & repainted most of it. I
also added LEDs to the rangefinder. I plan on working on the neck
gasket next. It's a very customize-friendly helmet...and the proportions,
like you say, are really not too bad...just a little short in the cheeks &
back of the head.

I give it a 6 1/2 out of a scale of 1 to 10.

Kr0nk wrote:
And amazingly enough, the proportions look almost right for my 5' 10" frame.

When you say "almost right," what do you mean? I've been thinking about getting one for Barbie Fett use, since I just can't bring myself to paint my 96 DP yellow and lavender. (Besides, it's absolutely huge on me.)

We should be thankful that someone at least manufactures a decent helmet. Sure the Rubies isn't movie spec, but it sure isnt bad and if I saw it on the street, I would say "Cool, check out Jango Fett".

On another note, the term "Barbie Fett" is REALLY disturbing. I mean, I'm sure you are cool and everything, but you are really sending a quake in the force with those two words. How about at least Fem Fett or something??? Please?

You've got Blastech to thank for the name. Give me a little time to think about it and I'll come up with something. Just hasn't been on my priority list so far. (It makes my brother cringe, so it's fun at least in that respect.)

Speaking of Femm Fett...




For the proportions I mean it is only slightly small on me. Barely noticable, except to our well trained eyes. To a bystander of a non-Fettnatic, it could pass for correct.

Now thats sweet.

Whoa...was that done by hand in photoshop?

Don't know really. It was done by an artist named James Gibson for the Star Wars Artists Guild. Here's another Mandalorian by the same artist.

Kr0nk wrote:
Speaking of Femm Fett...

HOT

My girl friend wanted a girl Fett costume, now I am exited on starting that project thanx to that picture.

I need a bit of advise with my next project, a Jango suit. What is the best option a Rubies Jango helmet or convert a DP 97? money is a slight issue especially this close to the festive season and all that, but no biggie.

any thoughts!!

Fett-uk

The DP will be bigger. I have both helmets and can tell you that the DP97 is larger than the rubies. The rubies is a softer material also. So I would go with the 97.

I would have to say, wait for a nice helmet to appear on ebay, I saw a nice fully converted jango helmet the other day in ebay that I think is from a TDH member. If it gets too expensive there will be others. If you are in a hurry go for the Don Post but buildind a nice costume takes time so don't buy the first thing you see, when you can wait a bit more and surely get something nicer and maybe cheaper.

I say reshape the dp 97 ( give it little flair and fix the indent fill in the Hole) i have had both and for all the 97 dp's problems it still looks more accurate

i second delfier and slave1117a
wait for another, or convert your DP, and later you can buy ohter Boba style

Yeah...there seems to be a converted '95 up on ebay now! hmmm...

Theres nothing like a blatant plug
looking good sith, I think i'll opt for the conversion if it comes out nearly as nice as that i'll be happy.
I could however just bid on yours and tell everybody I did it myself!

Fett-UK

I;ve seen Sith-Camaro's in person and it is niiice...obviously by an artist who truly cares about his work.

Hey all,

It took me FOREVER because I am such a slacker but here are some pics of my converted rubies Jango Helmet.

Check it out at:
http://imageevent.com/rekopacz/jangofetthelmet

I obviously need to still add the pinstripping and permanetly glue to rangefinger on the stalk but otherwise IM all done.

My only concern now is that the rubies helmet is WAY to small.
I may have to upgrade to a fiberglass one now that I have the practice helmet complete.

TK-1174
Empire City Garrison
www.geocities.com/rekopacz

Great job on the tutorial, and the helmet as well. I think your ready for the fibergalss[img]images/smiles//icon6.gif[/img]

People are doing some really nice work w/ their rubies buckets. Its too bad that they are not a little larger.

Looks great man

Looking good man!

Great job and love the tutorial!

What is that you used to cover those parts during painting? Plain Masking tape? and how did you go about getting it like you did?

Thanks everyone for there kind words.

I am very anxious to finish up the rest of
the costume now.

If any one has a good contact for a fiberglass helmet please email me privately.

As for the question about the tape...
I used two kinds of painters tape.
Both thick and thin.

I just used multiple layers to cover every inch of the
helmet I didnt want to get painted.

Dont forget to use automotive pinstripping
underneath to keep the paint lines nice a crisp!

Hope it helps!

TK-1174
Empire City Garrison

WOW!!! Looks like you got a winner.

Looking good Rich!!!!
You'll serve the ECG proud.
Lynn

Just goes to show what a talented Mandalore can do to a Rubies Jango. Now a Rubies Boba, thats a challenge.b

I think even TK 1174 `s immense talent may struggle on that one

I just got my helmet back from Shawnpayne yesterday and here are the before and after pics. It is a heavily mocified Rubies helmet. He first tried to use some bondo on the inside to give it some weight and strength but it wouldn't stick so he lined it with fiberglass first. Still didn't feel rigth so added bondo on top of the fiberglass. He relpaced the visor (which was a royal pain), and replaced the rangefinder and antenna. Helmet was repainted and pinstripes added. Weathering was done by misting black flat spray paint from about 3 feet away then wet sanding with 400 grit sandpaper. As for the inside, 2 cooling fans were placed inside each cheek. A microphone with a female RCA line was added so the speaker system will plug into the helmet so you can take the helmet off and on and not have to worry about wires. A hard hat liner was added for it to fit better and not move around. And last but not least, a bright and colorful lining to match my personality Weel, here's the pics:

Before- Ughh!


After- Much better, and a lot heavier feel to it too!











Here's what the inside looks like:

Looks great Mirax! A very definite improvement on the Rubies helmet, congrats to you and shawnpane.

When the costume is ready we hope you'll pay us all a visit up here Nothing quite like trooping the strip

Take care,
Great helmet!
Phil

Very nice Mirax.

He does a great job of weathering.

Oh yeah! WAAAAAY Better Bucket!!

Looks like something you can be very proud of!

Darn nice job!

Mirax, how about a little more info on your speaker/mic setup?

Puhl-eeze?!

Thanks gang. And I definitely am looking forward to trying to get up there for some troopin on the strip JMP. As for the mic questions, you'll have to ask Shawn. I am clueless when it comes to electronics, hence my reason for having him do it for me

Okay! Thanks Mirax!

very nice!
it mazing what can be done with a rubies and a lot of hard work.
like the interior, maybe you could do a custome with that colour scheme on the outside grooovy fett

looks good.... can't wait to see it on you

hehe

Lets see uhmm needs more weathering?:p

Just kidding

That looks great!
Its nice to see what can be done w/ a Rubies bucket...

And for only costing me $35 (plus a slave leia costume) it ain't too bad and will certainly do until I decide to upgrade.

WOW!!! Be proud to sport that RUBIES!!!

Looks like you got one heck of a Rubies there Mirax. Now lets see a pic with you in that with your armor on.

Hey!Hey!
Ha-ha yeah!!!!!!

looks great.cant even tell its a rubies.

how did you get the flare?

Huge,Huge,Pain in the ***.
This may sound kind A funny(like the sweater bckplate and blowtorch)I taped A couple of pencils togather.I used themto hold the shape of the helmet while I lined with fiberglass.
Once the fiber was dried.Moved the pencils to do the other parts of the helmet.The flair was the hardest thing to do.
Make sure the flair is were you want it then,Duct tape the pencils to hold them in place.It worked for me.The next hardest pain in the *** is the visor.Oh dear god.All I could think is what did I get myself into.I don't know who first
tried to hot glue the visor in the helmet.But thank you.I used
hot glue to first hold the visor in place.Then can you say two part epoxy? (I knew you could)To make it secure.I must admit that the inside did not turn out as cleen as I had hoped
But hell it's A rubbies.To me space insid the bucket was A little tight.I just hope mirax is thrilled.I know I am with my
slave costume.I would post some pics of he slave costume.But I am A little hairy,and buldge in some spots.Besides,There are
children you visit here.With all the injustice in the world.I don't want to scar them for life.lol

I found out the hard way,Bondo does not stick to rubbies.Use
fiberglass.Then use bondo.I hot glued the visor in place.Then ued the two part epoxy.

Actually, I didn't feel cramped at all inside of it at all, just can't see worth a darn. But I have to say, it actually feels heavy on my head now, much much heavier and sturdier than how it started. I think it is a great example of what can be done with a Rubies, they aren't complete junk and I'm very happy with it I will definitely post pics of me in it once my armor is done and attached- very soon

I didn't mean snug to wear.Snug to get big hands inside.It was A real pain in the *** doing the liner.But hell I didn't want to take all the fun out of it for ya mirax,ha ha.Just enjoy.

Ahhh, got ya!

I just cut the visor to fit real snug, and hot glued it from the inside. Worked great!

Mirax,
No your rangefinder does not break into two peices.It is solid.

Very nice indeed.

I am in the process of allocating my finds for a Fett helmet and I was wondering how bad a Rubies Jango helmet is?
I realize that, from what I have read, a DP'95 is the standard. But right now I am just trying to feel out waht all of my options and possible funds need to be.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Darren

You can make a rubies look great if you put some time into it. For most people it's just to small of a helmet, but if it fits you and it looks proportionately correct, go for it. Start with a new paint job, black pinstriping around the crown of the helmet, new visor, maybe a few additions to the inside of the helmet, fans, mics, etc. Take a look at Mirax's helmet to see the possibilities, hers looks great.

Ok, thanks for the input...now as far as making it into an accurate Boba Fett ROTJ helmet? How close is it, dent aside.

Darren

some people have made rubies jango's look really good... for the rest of us with less talent they are only good for coasters :p seriously though it wouldn't work very well for a Boba... to hard to do the dent and everything. Although I think Rubies has some boba helmets but I'm not sure.

The costume store here has 2 different jango helmets one is vinyl like my Don Post...the other is 2 pieces hard plastic, i believe both are Rubies :puke

In my honest opinion the Rubies Jango helmet is ,bad,bad,bad.
If your lookig to customize it then I guess you an have a little fun with it.

In my humble opinion, the Rubies Jango is good for a starter helmet. Someday, I want to get my hands on a DP '95 to modify it, but for now and for the price, I love my Rubies. It's a little harder to put a visor into, because the visors on eBay are about an 1" too long, but with a dremel, you can make it work. Also, I have made some mods to mine, adding LED's and a fan to provide some better venthilation. make sure to use Plasti-Weld, instead of superglue to hold your visor, i've had bad luck with superglue on Roto-cast vinyl.

It was decent for my first helmet but after having a DP95, it sucks. Depends on what you can afford and what you have to compare it to.

Yes!!!!
The Number one answer is???????
How much money can you part with at the time!!!!

Can you substantiate why you think the Rubies helmets are "bad,bad,bad"? I mean, that's not a horribly helpful description

It's way too small and it's very short height wise, leaving the chin exposed on many people.

More opinions can be found here:

http://tdh.prop-planet.com/viewtopic...c=7812&forum=2

You can modify a Rubies in a lot of ways but if you strip down a DP helmet and a Rubies down to the bone....you'll see a few positives leaning toward the DP. Size and length are sure to stand out. (That sounded kind of porno didn't it?)
In my case, I bought the Rubies Deluxe thinking I'm getting all the bells and whistles. I was happy when I got it but after the spell wore off....I started to feel like I was getting screwed because this isn't the same Helmet that was advertised. But it was. That's when I accidently found this site because I was trying to find any reference pics for Jango so I can fix up the helmet the right way. I would jump all over a DP 95 but when you have the money, there are none to be found and vise versa. Also, DP as far as I was told didn't make anymore Boba helmets. So...I took a shot in the dark thinking the Rubies was just as good as a DP. If the only choice is a Rubies...then be prepared to roll up your sleeves and put some elbow grease into it. If you want to install computer fans in a Rubies......good luck.

After having owned one and then owned some that are much nicer, I can now say it is bad. It is just too small, and I'm 5'2" and is just poorly shaped. Granted, it was super cheap and when $ is tight, you have to suck it up but I've come to realize that some things are worth waiting for a doing them right and the bucket is definitely one of them.

What about a DP '96? I've seen that the 1997's aren't very good, but the '95 helmets are hard to come by. I think they're more expensive, too, so I'm looking at a '96.

I've got a Rubies on its way, but I've got a big head, so I'm already looking to upgrade before I even try it on

(Email me if you're in the market for a Rubies, heh.)

Also, how close do Boba's and Jango's helmets actually match, in size and shape (not colour or damage)? Boba's looks flatter on top, I think...

I take back everything I said about the Rubies. I finally saw some pics with the helmet on and it's too short and too small for a person with a larger head. I have gotten my hands on a '95 DP and a fiberglass helmet from JD. I love my JD helmet and would never think about ever going back to a Rubies. Save your money and get a fiberglass helm from JD.

Hey everyone, I'm new here.

Are the Rubies Jango helmets kind of dull? I was looking at some pictures of them on ebay and they looked like they dont have that metallic shine that other jango helmets have.

Thanks
-Anthony

They are not shiny.

I'm 6'3", with a fairly long, thin head. (I think my hat size is around 7 1/2.) The only problem I have with my Rubies helmet are the cheek indentations from the inside. They make it a bit difficult to put on the helmet, and extremely hard while wearing my glasses. On the other hand, unless I'm trying to swallow a watermelon, my chin doesn't fall lower than the base of the helmet.

I don't understand that people find this mask too short. Too narrow, maybe, but this helmet should fit nicely on a smaller head. Slicing out the area where the visor doesn't cover (in front of the mouth) and adding a full, proper visor should fix the shape somewhat.

(There's a lot of excess plastic around the visor hole, which should probably be cut away as well, to expand the view while wearing it.)

I suppose a true, smaller-headed artisan could do well with a Rubies, despite their inferiority. (Even a DP '95 needs a lot of work, right?)

I just tried my Rubies on again:

Okay, I was wrong - it is too short. However, that's only really if I open my mouth as wide as I can...

I haven't worn this one too often because the cheeks push in on my face, but I still don't think it'll be a huge problem for smaller Jangos.

On the other hand, I did pay about $20 less for a DP '96 on eBay than I did for this one, and I saw about three of them while cruising the auctions last night ('95s and/or '96s I think), so for that reason alone, I'd recommend a DP. Well, not just that reason, but if a Rubies fits, no sense going broke shelling out for a new helmet. Either way, there's a lot of work to do.

The helmet can make or break a costume. A tiny Rubies on an average sized or larger man significantly degrades the costume IMO.