Hello,
Im in the process of creating a set of biker scout armor for my wife. Im starting with the helmet.
I have received a Rubies helmet and it appears to need some conversion to bring it up to the quality necessary.
I checked the biker scout detachment forum, and the conversion tutorial there is now missing. Does anyone have a copy of that conversion process, by chance?
Has anyone done a conversion and would be willing to share their experience?
Regards,
Biker Scout Helmet - Rubies Conversion
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cblackthorne
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:17 pm
- First Name: Chris
- Last Name: Adams
- TK Number: 8100
- Location: Jefferson City, MO
Biker Scout Helmet - Rubies Conversion
Chris A.
BH/SL/TK-8100
70th Explorer's Garrison
Duc, sequere, aut de via decede.
BH/SL/TK-8100
70th Explorer's Garrison
Duc, sequere, aut de via decede.-
TB-3289
- 501st Legion Member
- Posts: 252
- Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2006 12:44 pm
- First Name: Tony
- Last Name: Perry
- TK Number: 3289
- Location: Rowlett, TX
Yeah, its a known issue in the community that we lost that tutorial.
I did not take during pictures of the mods I have made so far, but I can list out what needs to be done.
The major mods are as follows:
Reshape helmet (slim it down)
Cut out ear holes
Replace aerator
Replace lens
Sand off the back 'tag'
Attach the front visor and faceplate together.
Replace the bolts holding faceplate to helmet.
The first thing you will want to do is to reshape the helmet. I seperated mine and reshaped each part on its own. I had cut out the ear holes first, which made this part a little easier. I put an old belt through the ear holes and buckled it it front. Then, using a hair dryer, headed the helmet to get it soft and mallable. After it was warm and would flex easy, I would tighten the belt to hold its shape. Putting it through the ear holes allowed me to tighten it in an oval shape, instead of a full circle which would have kept the original shape (and thus not slimming it down.) You then want to cool it down. Some people have put it in the freezer, outside during winter, etc. I would recommened keeping it like this at least for a couple of days.
I then took an old white wire hanger, cut it and bent it to shape of the helmet. I then attached this on the inside of the helmet to hold its shape. If you do not do this step, it will slowly start to widen again and lose its shape. I attached the hanger with a glue then held it in place with clamps. After the glue dried, I caulked the entire hanger. (White caulk)
After I got the main bucket portion shapped, I then shapped the faceplate. I attached the visor and faceplate portion before doing this, thus only having to shape it as one piece instead of each individual. I still need to add the hanger to the bottom of the faceplate. It starts to flex out still. (Hopefully I'll get this done tonight.)
Attaching the faceplate to the visor. If you look at your helmet as is, you will notice a gap around the face underneith the visor. I filled this entire gap in with white caulk, then smoothed it out with my finger to get a smooth appearance.
Use a dremel to cut out the ear holes. This will allow you to hear better, as well as to help with ventilation. You will want to either paint the inside of your helmet black, or do what I did and attached black velcro inside the ear holes (soft side). This way it is black when you look in from the outside. Leaving it open is the way it was in the movies. However, some people will use several layers of black mesh (screen door material) to cover the inside of the ears so you do not see through. Also, if you cut out the ears you will want to use a balaclava (if she is not planning on using one already.) This will keep hair from hanging out and being visible. It also helps hide the neck and chin.
Replace bolts holding faceplate to helmet. For now, i just turned mine inside out and plan on painting them. You don't want the bolt sticking out the side.
Aerator: i used an X-acto knife to trim this off. Since I am not ready to trim off the portion above the aerator, I tried to be very careful not to ruin it. I then painted the exposed plastic gray. I was able to get an aerator for a sink, and using a size converter, attach it over the plastic with the aerator on the outside, and the converter on the inside. (I know, hard to explain without pictures.)
Replace the lens. There are several links on bikerscout.net site about this. Most people use welding lenses as they are already curved. You want something a little darker then comes with it. Also, when you tear out the existing lens, you want to widen the hole for the lens.
If you will be at VisionCon, I can show you my helmet and we can talk about it there.
Feel free to ask or send me a note if you have specific questions I can help answer. Mine is not finished by a long shot, but it is coming along.
I did not take during pictures of the mods I have made so far, but I can list out what needs to be done.
The major mods are as follows:
Reshape helmet (slim it down)
Cut out ear holes
Replace aerator
Replace lens
Sand off the back 'tag'
Attach the front visor and faceplate together.
Replace the bolts holding faceplate to helmet.
The first thing you will want to do is to reshape the helmet. I seperated mine and reshaped each part on its own. I had cut out the ear holes first, which made this part a little easier. I put an old belt through the ear holes and buckled it it front. Then, using a hair dryer, headed the helmet to get it soft and mallable. After it was warm and would flex easy, I would tighten the belt to hold its shape. Putting it through the ear holes allowed me to tighten it in an oval shape, instead of a full circle which would have kept the original shape (and thus not slimming it down.) You then want to cool it down. Some people have put it in the freezer, outside during winter, etc. I would recommened keeping it like this at least for a couple of days.
I then took an old white wire hanger, cut it and bent it to shape of the helmet. I then attached this on the inside of the helmet to hold its shape. If you do not do this step, it will slowly start to widen again and lose its shape. I attached the hanger with a glue then held it in place with clamps. After the glue dried, I caulked the entire hanger. (White caulk)
After I got the main bucket portion shapped, I then shapped the faceplate. I attached the visor and faceplate portion before doing this, thus only having to shape it as one piece instead of each individual. I still need to add the hanger to the bottom of the faceplate. It starts to flex out still. (Hopefully I'll get this done tonight.)
Attaching the faceplate to the visor. If you look at your helmet as is, you will notice a gap around the face underneith the visor. I filled this entire gap in with white caulk, then smoothed it out with my finger to get a smooth appearance.
Use a dremel to cut out the ear holes. This will allow you to hear better, as well as to help with ventilation. You will want to either paint the inside of your helmet black, or do what I did and attached black velcro inside the ear holes (soft side). This way it is black when you look in from the outside. Leaving it open is the way it was in the movies. However, some people will use several layers of black mesh (screen door material) to cover the inside of the ears so you do not see through. Also, if you cut out the ears you will want to use a balaclava (if she is not planning on using one already.) This will keep hair from hanging out and being visible. It also helps hide the neck and chin.
Replace bolts holding faceplate to helmet. For now, i just turned mine inside out and plan on painting them. You don't want the bolt sticking out the side.
Aerator: i used an X-acto knife to trim this off. Since I am not ready to trim off the portion above the aerator, I tried to be very careful not to ruin it. I then painted the exposed plastic gray. I was able to get an aerator for a sink, and using a size converter, attach it over the plastic with the aerator on the outside, and the converter on the inside. (I know, hard to explain without pictures.)
Replace the lens. There are several links on bikerscout.net site about this. Most people use welding lenses as they are already curved. You want something a little darker then comes with it. Also, when you tear out the existing lens, you want to widen the hole for the lens.
If you will be at VisionCon, I can show you my helmet and we can talk about it there.
Feel free to ask or send me a note if you have specific questions I can help answer. Mine is not finished by a long shot, but it is coming along.
Tony
TB-3289
501st Pathfinder Detachment
North Texas Squad
Star Garrison
"Some days you feel like a nut, the rest you just get cracked like one...."
TB-3289501st Pathfinder Detachment
North Texas Squad
Star Garrison
"Some days you feel like a nut, the rest you just get cracked like one...."
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cblackthorne
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:17 pm
- First Name: Chris
- Last Name: Adams
- TK Number: 8100
- Location: Jefferson City, MO
As far as the overall width of the rubies I got, it wasn't too bad. I used a real high tech way to pull the sides in...rope. I used a lenght of rope to hold the sides where I wanted them then tied it off and let it sit for a week or so. To hold the flip up visor in place and to help the helmet keep it's shape I used "dual-lock", a kind of velcro that has plastic on both sides. I have another rubies scout that I'm turning into a sea trooper and it's sitting with the rope on it so I'll take some pics to show you what I did.
WILL WORK FOR ARMOR