Quick Update

Previously my neck and helmet were too long. I had made them a bit longer. Which in the case of the neck was fine but in the helmet it really didnt need to be longer. It was more about mounting it at the proper angle. the back was too short because the helmet was up too high and tilted too far forward.

 I'd Like to thank D.S. from 501st Sith lords for invaluable assistance in reworking my helmet mounting and fix.

Since my last post i have actually removed the mount in the helmet and modified the mount in the mask heavily.

Here we see red lines indicating where i need to work on the shape of the 'nose'


Currently trying to determine the RIGHT TOOL for this job. dremel seems a bit heavy handed. i may have to do it by hand with files.. ugh.

 Here is where i need to do a bit more cutting to make the edges of the helmet closer to the movie...

 A Side shot of the needed cut.

The back. looking pretty good really.


SO thats the update. THis has become much more a document than a tutorial at this point. Doing this is rewarding but the effort is incredible.

Helmet Mounts (Both sides) Installed

 Here's the mount inside the top of the helmet. I may reinforce this with a bit more fiberglass just for durability.

 Helmet Mount at top of mas

Here's the mask being put into the helmet. There is still some wiggle room. its not a tight fit. I will be putting Neodymium rare earth magnets in to make it fit securely after painting. (Also the painting will add some thickness which may tighten it up a bit!)

The Eyes! Amber Lenses, With Black Metal Mesh behind them. You can't see my eyes when my head is in the mask. You CAN see the green masking tape holding them in temporarily though in this pic.

Front View. I'm pretty happy with it.
Rubies mohawk - Fixed.
Rubies Different Height Cheeks - Fixed
Rubies shallow Eye sockets - Fixed
Rubies crooked looking teeth - Fixed

Rubies warped inward face - Fixed
Rubies Weird Neck - Fixed
Rubies incorrectly placed 'tearducts' - Fixed
(I may do a bit more dremeling on my 'tearducts')
Rubies Super 'thin' plastic - Fixed

Rubies helmet angle - Fixed

Side 3/4 view..

Just another view

Seen similar view before but i love the lighting on the eyes here

You may be able to see i have begun working on the indentations on the front of the mohawk where the brow is supposed to go 'underneath' it.

Inside of the back of helmet. could Use a bit more smoothing but part of that is where i sanded and didnt prime.

A second new post in one night? Helmet PLACEMENT

Sneak Preview... Note the helmet and mask are just TAPED TOGETHER.  i *N*E*E*D* FEEDBACK on how they look before i set the final fiberglass. This is ESB Empire Strikes Back Style.  Does the Helmet Sit right on the Mask? Opinions PLEASE!

Helmet Mount Part 1

 Finally we get to attaching the helmet mount. I have had alot of trepidation about this step, but the time has come. We have two pieces of the mount. INNER and OUTER. INNER will go on the MASK and outer will go inside the HELMET. Remember both mounts were made by fiberglassing over parts of a kids Beach Pail.

So after some test fits I begin fiberglassing the inner mount to the top of the mask.

 Fiberglassing went very smoothly as I first drilled a pilot hole and attached the mount to the mask with a screw and nut.

Next you see our pieces of a wooden paint stirrer.. It happens to be 1/8 of an inch thick --- equal to two of the neodymium 'rare earth' N52 magnets i plan to use to attach the helmet to the mask to be removable later on. I have bought the magnets and they are STRONG. they are about the size of a Dime, and are literally so strong you have to SLIDE them apart. Trying to PULL them apart is a no go.

 Vader FEZ!!! Needs a Tassle.

As you can see more sanding and refining have gone into the cheeks, nose, and teeth.

 The INNER mount from the inside. I'll be reinforcing this with more fiberglass soon.. after I make sure things are where i want them to be.

 Sanded the whole thing to make it considerably smoother.. and dustier.

 Better inside view of INNER mount. That odd part in the top middle is where the screw and nut live. they will be most likely cut out once i get the fiberglass reinforcement in here.

You may not be able to tell, but i have dremelled out the black abs plastic of the mask so there's no overlap with the mount. This will make the inside fiberglassing work better. and reduce weight.

 Setting the OUTER mount on top of the INNER mount.

 Perfect fit.

 Oops! Sanded off some of the back of the helmet and i have to do a patch job.

 Re-Primered and looking nice.

Amber Lenses 'taped' inside the eyeholes.

 Same...

 Other side..

 Its just getting to the point of being photogenic now so i am putting up pix

 Eyeholes are done and smooth. I still have to cut the 'tear ducts' on the upper cheeks under the eyes.

 Check out the teeth! Puttied, filled in, and sanded smooth.

 After some test fitting with the helmet I decided to remove a bit of the front of the mount to enable the forehead to get closer to the mask... or something like that...

 Anyhow this modification was needed to get the fit right.. so there it is. God I love the dremel tool.

 Is that a scoop of rainbow sherbet? Nope! Its pastel (the cheapest i could find!) Play-Doh. Used in my quest to line up the helmet and mask properly. No Play-Doh will be used in the final product.

 I am not the originator of this technique, but its a great one. A Metal mesh pencil holder, cut apart, and used to go inside vader's Eyes. This will go underneath the amber lenses, the conbination will allow me to see out pretty well, but no one to see my eyes.

 Test Fitting the mesh.

Another test fitting View.

And thats what I have for this post. I have made a little more progress but that is for the next post!!

And remember. Don't do this. Buy one prebuilt! I am an insane person.