SR V3 Helmet Interiors for FP and other MR based helmets. Progress

It appears Gymbeau has received his pre-pro kit. So we should be able to get some feedback soon.

Lets all hope its not 'these suxxors'.

Got the kit as mentioned and can I just say, "WOW!" I have been taking lots of pictures of my own, trial fits in various helmets and paint tests. I should have a nice thoughrouh post on Friday. I live in Washington state, so it's not "painting season", so I am taking my time doing stuff indoors.

I can say that this material is very light and soft, with the appearance of being firm. So far looks very sturdy. Excess material on the edges from molding is very thin and basically peels off for the most part. The padding spots (raised rectangles) are very soft and look like they will be good for actual wear for trooping. After I submit my report on Friday, I am going to troop it on Saturday in my Fett and give a usefulness report that night.

The only improvement I would ask so far is perhaps a thicker dome part. It's thin, but not to the point of being flimsy. Maybe I am just use to my MICH pad in the top of my bucket. This is just a first impression of it though, so I will hold off full judgment until Saturday's troop.

OK I hate to throw anything too extreme into the mix here that may hold up production on either the GMH helmet (which I don't think this would) or the Stormrider liner (which this idea might possibly)....but today I had this wild idea concerning the MQ-1 circuit board. It seems to me that with the GMH helmet having a cutout for the microswitch, that more people will choose to go that route instead of the mercury switch. So here is my idea...
What is the possibility of someone creating a circuit board that looked a dead ringer for the MQ-1, but on the inside (meaning the side facing the interior of the helmet here) it was a functional circuit board that would control the RF LEDs. Then, once the Stormrider interior was installed, it had a spot for a battery in it, and channels behind it for the wires to run to the microswitch. In doing this, you would only have to run the wires from the switch up to the RF LEDs. The functional side of the circuit board would be concealed by the liner, as would the wires. The non-functional side of the board would be able to be painted without affecting the functionality. The pressure switch would be used, which is more accurate. The battery would be easily replaceable (possibly run near one of the head pads in the liner, and using two 1.5V watch batteries in order to keep it small. The Rubie's helmet LEDs run off of this). Then, we get the best of all sides - the GMH being the closest thing to an ILM helmet, the Stormrider interior looking absolutely amazing, and the pressure switch being used.
So here is the one problem that I know everyone will probably ask me - why don't I create it? The answer is I know enough about circuitry to know that this could work, but not how to make it work or build the parts. Anyone willing to give it a go is more than welcome to take this idea and run with it. I'm just throwing it out there as a brainstorm.

Don't wanna derail too much here, but Stormrider, are you still doin rubber ESB Webleys?

Gilmore: I have done a rubber one or two, and im thinking about doing a full ROTJ and ESB rubber webley, if I can find people interested. The problem with rubber is it has to come out perfect because theres no filling it.

Steven: I have done rubber Mq1's but ill not likely be doing a real board, or changing the interiors much. They are ahowever foam, so they can be 'cored' or 'carved out' to have things inside them.

Gym: The idea with the helmet is that the biggest variation on peoples heads is the height from eyes, to top of skull. Including but not limited to amount of hair. What I personally do is put a small piece of foam that is a certain thickness that sits basically on top my head. Thats what i use for padding on the very top.

I dont personally glue the top in. it can be just put in for display. When I get the gasket for front in, the seam should be fully hidden.

More later! And thanks for all the interest.

M2

well, if you happen to do a rubber ESB, minus the MPP Flash barrel, I'd be down for one. Cuz I have the MPP flash read and waiting.

Just found this and... wow! Very interested in a set. Great job vod'!

Sorry it's late, but here is part 1 of the report. So I got home and found this box only a few days after being told it was shipped. I opened it up really not knowing why it was since it was bout shoebox size, if that.



The first thing I noticed was the extra "flash" on all the pieces. Since it was rubber, I knew I could not Dremel it and was worried about how to trim it. Luckily, all you really have to do is peel it off, since the flash is very thin.





The rubber is very spongy for lack of a better word on the raised pad areas. Everywhere else, it feels solid. On the back panel detailing, you can see the intracate details and if you followed past versions, you can see the old side pieces he use to make. This piece is large and should have no problem fitting any 1:1 scale bucket. In the next part of the report, you will see how it fits in a couple of different helmets.



The cheek interiors have soft edges, which allow you to fit perfectly to your bucket. They are combined, but cut even with scissors.



The dome likewise has less defined edges, which helps you better fit it to your bucket the way you want. I was concerned with the thickness of this and it not being thick enough, but had it been alot more thick, it would not fit right. Despite being crammed in the box, this thing had no wear on it. I was worried it would be ripped or creased in shipping, but this stuff is very durable.



The outside of the dome is very lumpy. I guess it really depends on how you plan to adhere it to the inside of you bucket as to if this will interfere with your mounting method. It's not overly lumpy, but it may force you to investigate alternate methods.



This is a good side view of the thickness of the back panel. As you can see from the ribbed edge of the circles, the detail is very fine.



The raised "pads" of the interiors are all the same uniform height. Here is a standard 9V battery for a size comparison. Like I said, they squish in some. In the next part of the report, you'll see how much.



Part two to follow tomorrow.

Also, these are slightly resized pictures. If you need super high rez, I have them on flickr as well.

Flickr

Good start Thanks.

Couple quick hitters.

The dome doesnt get glued down per-se. It sort of floats, adn should be tacked at most at the edges. Perhaps even thin velcro. Its not so much functional as it covers up the 'fiberglass' texture.

This is a pre-pro kit. The forehead piece isnt the final finish. Its too shiny, but when I get the last piece finished, that will have the same matte finish as the rest of the pieces.

I would like to start a committment thread. In the past, I have done committment threads, but its difficult to know who is actually committed.

Its possible ill take a $20 interest payment if I start get get a lot of committments that fall through; this is one of those projects that the extra material is of no use to me.

Gymb... what size head to you have?

This fits perfectly for me, and I have a standard head. But im thinking about making a thinner piece with less rear padding for bigger heads.

Thanks again.
m2

Have you figured out a final price yet, or are you still floating around the $150 price range? Either way let me know your PP again so I can put myself on the list .
Have a good one,
Hagen

Im goin gto keep it at or below 150. I can guarantee it wont go over that shipped in the US.

I would like to get it down, but at this point i have 2 - 3 more molds to make, and am ordering raws.

Im going to order some raws today actually. I want to get this show on the road.

Oh while I'm at it, I got one more question M. The brow/ridgeline boxes here:

Are they going to be as thick as the boxes in this pic:

I found that with your version 2's that browline insert was a little thick and the helmet didn't sit well when worn with the back and front inserts in. So is the new browline thats connected to the T-visor insert going to be the same size as the old inserts (guess I could of asked that to start out with huh)

Have a good one,
Hagen

Yes they are the same thickness. However I made the rear box, that covers the mq1 much thinner. It no longer touches your head at all. Only the 3 points should touch the head now. Rear left right and front.

I think the front needs to be this thick. to give you room for your nose. It would be the backs that would need to be thinner. Thats why i may make anotehr version for larger nogins, but it wont be soon. I also created this to be able to be easily removed. Ill explain soon.

I cant really wait any longer for proper pics and or paintups/writeups, so im going to just do my own.

I have foam and rubber being shipped as I type. I will work on a helmet interior this weekend and they should be able tos tart going out. Im sure half the people that are interested will bail, so I cant know the price for sure, but ill keep it under 150. But if I dont get many orders, and it ends up costing me more time/hassle than its worth, this will be the only run.

I will rub and buff a set tonight, and post some pics.

m2

So Sorry for the delays! Life happens sometimes. I will be posting up a new review thread of M2's work tomorrow. Sorry again mate!

NO EXCUSES!

I'm in for a set!

Brad

Sentry02 said:

I'm in for a set!

Brad

Click to expand...

Same. I'm still on!

Stormrider said:

Yes they are the same thickness. However I made the rear box, that covers the mq1 much thinner. It no longer touches your head at all. Only the 3 points should touch the head now. Rear left right and front.

I think the front needs to be this thick. to give you room for your nose. It would be the backs that would need to be thinner. Thats why i may make anotehr version for larger nogins, but it wont be soon. I also created this to be able to be easily removed. Ill explain soon.

Click to expand...

Glade to hear the back pieces will be thinner this time. As nice as the older back pieces looked, I always had a problem fitting the back pieces for comfort. So I ended up just cutting them up so the helmet would sit correctly.

When do you expect to start taking deposits or payment for the sets (aka when will I have to cut out unnecessaries like eating for a pay period)?
Oh and when are we going to get a look at the T-visor seal piece?
Have a good one,
Hagen

Just let me know when the run starts and I'll send in a deposit. It's not everyday a fett helmet interior comes up.

The Rest of the Story...

So I properly trimmed up the interiors according to the seam lines using just sewing scissors. I placed them inside my SgtFang bucket (which is suppose to be 1:1). I stripped out my fans and other goodies so this is a nice naked bucket. The front cheeks fit on nicely with a little give to allow alignment. Luckily, the padded parts are a nerf-like rubbery material which allows it flex to conform to the shape of your helmet.



The same goes for the back panel. I have noticed that you must be careful with storing this as your working on it. I folded it in half loosely back in the box as I was working on it. It developed a small tear of separation where one of the raised detail boxes meets the main panel body. It only did this, though, because I folded it inside out. Once I placed it in the helmet, you could not see the tear any more. The back panel is made of the nerf-like material too, so it is nice and soft. The fitting of this panel was a tad bit wide for the SgtFang and was not forming to the shape of the bucket due to the keyslots. Had the slots been more flush (which you could only do by removing the slot panel all together and replacing it), then the edges of the panel would not extend over the tips of the T-Visor.com visor. It is a very minor issue though and could likely be fixed with minor trimming. I chose not to mod these interior so you can get the full out of the box experience.



The dome fits perfectly into the SgtFang with only a small amout of overlap on the back panel, which is a good thing in providing total coverage. The only shame in this is two of the outlying greebes on the dome are hidden slightly. The front pad does not fit as smoothly, but this was mostly due to me not permanently mounting this interior.



To do a temporary mounting, I tried to use Gorilla Tape to just let me see how it worked. That tape which works on basically anything would not even hold it's own weight. This is due to the releasing grease on the interiors. I HIGHLY suggest those of you who purchase this wash it good. I used warm water and dish soap. Once it air dried, I had not problems with the interiors. Just make sure you let it air dry (do not rush it with heat), since the material is spongy.

I then did a test fit and that is where my experience with this interior leaves me personally very sad. I had the dome & back panel on only and tried to put the helmet on. I could only get it halfway on. The greeb box in the middle covering the keyslots inside area prevented me from wearing this bad boy. I imagine it would be very comfortable, as the dome was thin, but despite my initial worries over lack of padding, it's pretty comfortable. The front padding is likewise very comfortable and giving.
I do not want to discourage people from buying this. I do have a larger head. I wear a 7 5/8 hat size (which is pretty big) and admittedly, my SgtFang is almost too snug. I imagine that it you can comfortably wear a Jango two piece or have room in your 1:1 that you would be good.

I also own a M-DSB Assassin (a custom style helmet maker from Merc land). My version is XL, so it has plenty of room. However, the dome does not line up properly at all due to the helmet's unique shape. The backpanel and front padding do fit, though. So those of you with other helmets not trying for a 1:1 Fett could still use this fine interior.



The last step for me in this process was to try out rub and buff on the panel. It obviously worked extremely well. I did not try painting as weather has not been permitting me to do so. I did test out trimming with primer, Paint and airbrushing with good results. I would highly suggest rub and buff, along with fine airbrushing. You can easily do a fast, simple rub and buff coat, not worrying about the cracks and gaps. this adds to the illusion of depth and works like drybrushing.





In the end, even though I cannot wear this with my Boba (which was the point), I would still use this to turn a spare 1:1 into a full sized "model kit" similar to the mini Riddell helmet. I know not everyone troops, so if you are looking for a fantastic display prop, I would make this your second purchase - right after your 1:1 bucket!