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[Noot Braska]

This is my first helmet.  This is the Ironside model from GedycArmouries printed in PETG on a Creality S10.  Some of the parts have some pretty rough spots but I'm hoping I can smooth those out with spot putty and fiberglass resin.  I need to finish printing the right-side dome and then I can start some assembly (Currently held together by duct tape).

If I plan to do electronics in the helmet, is it easier to work on the inside in halves?  Or best to assemble the full bucket?

[Druj Jes]

I'd recommend fully assembling the helmet before adding electronics.  I have put a lot of stuff into my helmets and never had any issues.  If you need help or ideas with the electronics feel free to reach out.  I typically do audio amps (so I can hear), fans, voice Amp microphone, comms for other mercs, and sometimes lights too. It can definitely be fun, but it is doable.

[Noot Braska]

Thats the exact setup I was thinking, I'll reach out when I get to that step.

[Noot Braska]

Got two halves of the dome assembled and one side fiber glassed.  This is the first time I've worked with fiberglass, so it's probably not great. 



I think I'm going to leave them in halves while I work on the interior stuff.  I'm going to do the fiberglass on the other side today.  I'm looking at using a Raspberry Pi Zero to be the base of all the electronics.  Going to do helmet padding with some EVA foam.  I'm planning to use a mic inside the helmet as well as two external mics for ambient audio.

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

Looks great so far!

One thing that most of us do is run a mic to a voice amp in a pouch on our belts. I currently use a bluetooth headset mic with mine that way the mic can be taken out easily if i need to charge it.

You can look into the Velleman Super Stereo when you're ready to get started on it.

[Noot Braska]

Working more on the face plate and getting it ready to be primed and painted.  First thing I learned, PETG is sandable and will take a Dremel really well.  Second thing I learned, if you cover your 3d print in fiberglass resin and you're not careful you will lose intricate details.  I'm going up to Home Depot tonight to see if I can find a Dremel bit that I can use on the details I lost.

I can't decide if I want to add another layer of fiberglass resin to the front before priming.  Any opinions?

After applying Bondo Fiberglass Resin


Fully cured


Resin got into the arrow details and the little vents on the front



I thought I could sand down these defects and make it smooth



Sanded everything with 60 grit sand paper


I used Bondo Spot/Glazing putty to fill in the remaining gaps


I'm pretty satisfied on the front dome

[Matchstick1021]

Putting a layer of primer down normally does a good job at showing any imperfections you still need to sand, I think you could definitely go that route. However I don’t generally primer anything until it’s fully assembled.

[Noot Braska]

I'm probably doing this wrong but I have a desire to make the inside very asthetic with both the padding and electronics which i think will be easier if i keep the main part of the helmet in 2 peices.  The plan is to semi finish this face plate to see if the paint colors I have chosen will work while I work on finishing the inside.  Then I will put the 2 parts together, finish the seam on the inisde, and then tape the neck hole closed and start working on the outside of the dome.  I realize there is a likelyhood that i will need to touch up or repaint some or all of the face plate once the helmet is fully assembled.

I've never really done armor weathering and figured the faceplate is small enough and replaceable, if I wreck something with the face plate I can always reprint it.

[Noot Braska]

Got the face plate painted with three coats of primer.  I rushed it and more likely than not, I will need to sand most or all of it off and take more time when I repaint.  The colors came out as I expected, and I do like them, but this is by far what I would consider a "good" paint job.  I got two face shields made and test fit.  I like the gold, the dark grey just turned black. 





Now that I've confirmed to myself the colors are good, I need to Dremel down the inside of the helmet and start getting it ready for electronics.

[Noot Braska]

I haven't posted here in a while.  Still working on this helmet.  I completely sanded down the face plate and assembled the whole thing.  I coated the outside with fiberglass resin, used glazing putty to fill any big dents, and have it primed and ready for the first coat of paint.

[Jenga]

Looks like a great start!

[Noot Braska]

Started painting the outside and it didn't come out as good as I was hoping.



A small update, Most of my armor is going to be "un-painted" so I started messing with some weathering on my botched paint job on my helmet,

[Druj Jes]

I'm not seeing anything botched about that paint work.  Excellent job dude.  Are you going for a heavy weathering?

[Noot Braska]

Are you going for a heavy weathering?

I think moderate weathering.  Most of my armor is going to be the gunmetal color and I absolutely don't want clean armor so I wanted to add some kind of weathering effect on a bare metal look.

[Noot Braska]

It's been a while!  Originally, I was hoping to be at a point where I would be submitting pre app pics but after nearly ruining my helmet I thought it would be best to take a step back and take my time a bit.

Black first layer went on fine




Yellow seemed to be ok.  Used the toothpaste method which the yellow doesn't really like to dry on the toothpaste.  Then I sprayed a clearcoat which worked fine on my one shoulder... but that was a fluke.






I sanded down wrinkles the best I could and did some touchups with the closest approximation as I could make with some acrylic craft paint.  I'm not sure if it's ok or not.  I would really like some feedback.  If you get close, you can see they are indeed distinct colors of yellow, but I was mixing the paint as I was going, trying to give it an intentional worn/repaired/repainted look.




I feel, short of repainting the entire helmet, this is about the best i can do.  So, I installed the visor and have called it a day.

[Zam Rendeix]

That is some of the coolest and best looking rust I've ever seen!