3D Airwolf Helmet

[Jamesfett]

Anyone thought of 3d modelling one or making one and 3d scanning and just making it avaiable for everyone?

Especially if you have critical dimesions, making a helmet isnt dificult.

Heck! You can vacuform of cast the visor in clear resin....viola!

It would put this entire issue to rest.

No, dont look at me to do it. But really, helmets may seem scary, but they are really easy to make.

That is what I was thinking. I would need to check with Admin, but maybe someone can scan it and make it available to all?????

 

[mcase]

Any update to this? I would love to see this get done

 

[mcase]

I wanted to bump this topic for a few reasons. Since there is a bigger call for a replica of this helmet, has anyone considered putting together as many high resolution shots of the helmet, and asked ChatGPT to render the STL?

 

[TazMan2000]

I wanted to bump this topic for a few reasons. Since there is a bigger call for a replica of this helmet, has anyone considered putting together as many high resolution shots of the helmet, and asked ChatGPT to render the STL?

I don't think that the exterior is going to be that difficult to do, if someone were to design it. However, I think a lot of people want the ability to have a movable visor along with an inner shell to house the visor, plus lights and electronics. Not just a outer shell.

Chat GPT may be able to design the exterior but as far as I know, the internal shell and visor may be out of its capabilities...for now.

TazMan2000

 

[laellee]

I wanted to bump this topic for a few reasons. Since there is a bigger call for a replica of this helmet, has anyone considered putting together as many high resolution shots of the helmet, and asked ChatGPT to render the STL?

Helmets have been prototyped and printed, Taz worked with me on some stuff and I have done a bit more. It's not so much an issue of an accurate 3d model, it's the cost to set up a manufacture process to make 5 or 10. I'll come back to it, but it's a large expense to tackle. I have one more helmet to prototype here before I can run the newest version of this, then hopefully get a run going if the mechanicals are all working properly.

 

[mcase]

Helmets have been prototyped and printed, Taz worked with me on some stuff and I have done a bit more. It's not so much an issue of an accurate 3d model, it's the cost to set up a manufacture process to make 5 or 10. I'll come back to it, but it's a large expense to tackle. I have one more helmet to prototype here before I can run the newest version of this, then hopefully get a run going if the mechanicals are all working properly.

At any point, would you potentially be willing to sell the STL (I have my own printer). Willing to pay a premium once you've firmed up what you're doing lol

 

[TazMan2000]

At any point, would you potentially be willing to sell the STL (I have my own printer). Willing to pay a premium once you've firmed up what you're doing lol

I'm all for having laellee making it a 3D printable model, but it's his design and decision to make. I think it would be a good seller, but I think there would have to be testing involved with a vacuform buck to make the flip up visor and possibly a 3D printed armature to support it. An instruction set would also have to be made to ensure it can be assembled properly.

Perhaps two versions can be made, one without the electronics and lights and one that is fully functional with all the hardware. Maybe a custom PCB board would need to be made with the rocker switches already positioned. As you can see the cost would go up with upgrades, but maybe the cost would be offset if a printable model could be sold, then if anyone wanted to upgrade to the electronics a set could be sold. I'm musing. I have no skin this.

This is a huge project, if a mold would have to be made to make resin copies, but there would be more control of the castings. Again, this is laelee's baby.

TazMan2000

 

[RobWolf]

I have a helmet shell from Steve Stull. I got it off Ebay a number of years before I bought my full deluxe working helmet from him that he never delivered. Before that I talked with him a lot about getting parts so I could build my shell. He confirmed it was his, I think from his Hero season 2 helmet.

Anyway since he totally screwed me over, took my money, and never delivered my helmet, I have no problem letting someone cast this shell if they wanted to do a run.

Steve cut his acrylic visors, but one problem was they were not curved enough. Studying the show I noticed one of the little pull up and down tabs on the bottom of the visor. This is not only something the show would not be able to make, the shape, curve, and general size of the Timerider helmet match perfectly.

View attachment 1856201

The Airwolf visors never had a pull-down tab.
They also changed from early Season 1 to late season onwards to Season 2+. They are not as curved in Season 2+ and the bottom edge has been contoured (as on Steve's). In early Season 1, they have a straight bottom edge and they are so curved they're almost bubble visors.

The helmets were changed mid-season 1 (new smaller/slimmer moulds, visor and padding) and then again for Season 2 (new moulds with wider mohawk and raised side panel for the switches). The mohawk wasnt straight on the Season 1 helmets, it starts off centred at the back but then skews to the right where it meets the targeting array. Early season 1 helmets have a single round button which was glued on and did nothing (and sometimes fell off - in the "Raise your visor" shot in the Pilot, Hawke lifts his hand and presses a button that clearly isn't there!), then a single rectangular button in late season 1 and then three switches for Season 2+.

One thing that struck me about Steve's helmet when I got mine (I got an unfinished one on eBay) was that the visor movement is more of a pivot than a smooth curving motion. (I removed Steve's visor.) The visors in Season 1 at least have a curving movement that matches the curve of the visor, if that makes any sense. It's like they're on a track. They aren't, but they are not fixed directly by the visor itself. There's a piece of white plastic fixed either side of the inside of the visor, with a protusion that is attached to the top edge of the visor. The servo and arm are connected to one of those bits of plastic.

I think Steve is correct on the collar on the Season 2+ helmets, in fact the later Season 1 helmets have that. The early Season 1 interiors consist of a plastic harness taken from a hardhat (or similar), a padded inner shell between the visor and the wearer's head, and then the internal padding which appears custom made with black fabric glued over it (you can see a seam line in the back of Dom's in the Pilot as he gets into Airwolf). The front of the neck padding is fitted behind the mouthpiece so that when viewed side-on, the curves of the padding match the curve of the helmet (as in Probert's original sketch). Again, going back to the Pilot, when you see Hawke's POV as he shoots the Libyan guard off the roof, there is a very noticeable gap between the front curve of the padding and the outer edge of the helmet. There should be a jack plug connector in the rear left of the padding where the wire runs out of the helmet. The mic wire and oxy cable run BEHIND the helmet shell in early Season 1 and not along the bottom edge.

The correct paint colour for the helmets, like the helicopter, is NOT Phantom Grey Metallic. This colour information originates from the fandom and has never been officially verified by anyone who worked on the show or in production materials. Andrew Probert is the only one to ever say anything definitive about the colour and he has always maintained that Airwolf's colour was a Dupont Fleet colour, it was an AUTOMOTIVE paint and it was a shade of GREEN. I painted my helmet Phantom Grey Metallic and it never seemed right. I've since painted it Toyota 6U9 'Greyish Green Metallic' and I'm happier with that though I don't think that's the right one either (it was first used in the late 2000s I think so unless it had an '80s equivalent...). Airwolf would have to have been painted in 1983, but it would likely have been painted with the previous year's paint as a cost saving measure. Sure enough, in the Dupont book for 1982 there's Toyota 6G9 Light Green Metallic which is a likely contender, or possibly the darker, solid colour 6G8 Dark Green with a Metallic lacquer finish, or possibly even 6G1 Dark Green. Anyway, the helmets are supposed to be the same colour as the helicopter, this is largely true for Season 1 but I think over the remaining seasons there was a lot of touch-up/respray work going on as you can often see that helmets are different shades from each other. Colour matching from the original helicopter's body panels can't be trusted 100% because of the paint fading over time, likewise colour matching the helmets can't be trusted 100% not only because of fading but because of respraying with the wrong shade.

Photos: My helmet in Phantom Grey Metallic, prior to being repainted; original PGM; new Greyish Dark Green; half and half with the PGM on the left.

(I've never gotten around to doing a visor or padding!)

EDIT: I should mention I modified my helmet shell to have a season 1 style slimmer mohawk and no raised switch panel, it's not a true S1 though because it's a totally different mould.