feezle Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 The great helmet adventure. Let me preface this by saying that I have never put a stormtrooper helmet together, and until today I have never taken one apart. So I took my bucket apart today. The main reason was to get it prepared to paint the inside black. I am doing this in order to make the lenses appear darker....and frankly because I think it looks cooler. I also wanted to make it a bit easier to install my new lenses when I get the material in. Anyway, after some nerve wracking drilling out of rivets and a bit of cutting at some stubborn glue, it came apart. I've noticed a couple of things. First were cracks. I was aware of several cracks under the chin, but I hadn't noticed that there is some cracking under where the brow trim was. This concerns me and I wanted to repair it. I think I read somewhere that the best way to do this is a bit of fabric and crazy glue. Is this correct? If so, I will probably run a strip the length of the brow for reinforcement. I also noticed that the bottom right hand side(looking at it) of the mask is pushed in. I'm not sure I can do anything about that but not too concerned about it. Parts of the helmet are really thin. Because of this, I think I am going to change my game plan as far as the inside goes. I think I'm going to use plasti-dip instead of paint. I'm hoping that this will add a bit of reinforcement. I am going to put down a coat of white primer underneath in order prevent a possible gray outside appearance. Does all of this sound about right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper1 Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Well the trick I use, will never break or fail, but it will also not ever come apart. What I mean, is that this stuff is good. I use it on about everything, attaching parts and stopping cracks. Devco Plastic Welder. You can order it from Amazon in singles or three, or more packs. It is a two part epoxy designed for plastic. It is a yellow cream color. I use it to attach the knee parts, snap parts, parts of my helmet, and any cracks that may occur to keep them from going any farther. Even on my Gino helmet that was very thin to start with I reinforced with this stuff when putting together so I dont have to worry about it down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ground pounder Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 For cracks I use small strips of canvas (left over from the belt) and soak it in E6000. I have used that to stop cracks and reinforce thin areas - works great with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIVE Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 For cracks I use small strips of canvas (left over from the belt) and soak it in E6000. I have used that to stop cracks and reinforce thin areas - works great with no problems.Yep, this is what I do for cracks. Flexible and tough as [flexible] nails! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feezle Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 So yesterday I made a small error. I was taking my bucket with me to Dani's mom's house to work on installing the lenses. I loaded the bucket in the car and loaded the kids. I had my lenses, the lense frames, my tube of e-6000, and my $9 bottle of slow zap in a ziplock bag. I made a stop at the hardware store to grab something and when I got out, there was no bag. Yeah, left it on top of the car as I was getting the kids in their seats. It was on the road, lenses shattered, glue everywhere, everything ruined. As I was contemplating cutting new lenses, I decided to make it a one piece setup so I could just use the screws holding the ears on to hold the lenses in and not have to worry about building a way to mount them. You can't really even tell they are in there but they are. I might put some green acetate in front of the lenses to make them more green. Now all I need is my neck trim to arrive and to add some foam to get it to fit me a little better, and I should be good to go. Edit: Do the tops of the eye holes need trimmed a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith_241 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 So yesterday I made a small error. I was taking my bucket with me to Dani's mom's house to work on installing the lenses. I loaded the bucket in the car and loaded the kids. I had my lenses, the lense frames, my tube of e-6000, and my $9 bottle of slow zap in a ziplock bag. I made a stop at the hardware store to grab something and when I got out, there was no bag. Yeah, left it on top of the car as I was getting the kids in their seats. It was on the road, lenses shattered, glue everywhere, everything ruined. As I was contemplating cutting new lenses, I decided to make it a one piece setup so I could just use the screws holding the ears on to hold the lenses in and not have to worry about building a way to mount them. You can't really even tell they are in there but they are. I might put some green acetate in front of the lenses to make them more green. Now all I need is my neck trim to arrive and to add some foam to get it to fit me a little better, and I should be good to go. Edit: Do the tops of the eye holes need trimmed a bit? Yeah, i would trim more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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