airwolf helmet - the build

[who45]

after doing some digging around on here i seemed to find one option originally - a fibreglass pull of a helmet someone had made, but decided against it in the end, google revealed an ebay auction, which led me back on the rpf with a second option.

a 1000usd helmet is simply not an option - i wish it was but figure in the meantime ill give it a bash

so my plan is a helmet with led on a switch - the visor will remain static, but will be fitted so im able to undo 2 screws so i can wear it without a visor. the inside will be foamed out also.

last thursday it arrived in the post, i was like oh crap this is gonna be a pain, but so far its proved to have been the opposite.......despite it taking nearly 2 hours to trim the 2 halfs to get to a point where they met and i could hold the 2 halfs with tape to a degree i was happy with - all lined up ok except for 5mm at the rear - but i can fudge that with filler.

so i guess ill share some build pics - i am further ahead than what i am currently posting - need to wet the wolf fans appetites.

so the project started with:
vacummed pull in 2 halfs

 

[yt]

Looks good and like a lot of work!

 

[importdemon]

looking great so far

 

[CJ 617]

Keep up the good work!! I also bought one of these kits a long while ago...I still need to do quite a bit to it, more filling and painting but you can get an idea of how it will turn out. So far I haven't tackled the visor and I've just simply put an led in place for the targeting sensor for the time being. I've yet to foam out the inside too.

Anyway, good luck with the build...looking forward to seeing your progress

-Chris

 

[who45]

cool, many thanks - i was unable to find an led bar 30mmx5mm which im guessing from variousimages is the size - so ive opted for 3x 10mm x 5mm bar led - each segment has 2 leds - the downside is i will have a split between the led casings of 1.5mm - ill have to see if i can diffuse it by setting the leds further back in the helmet. im itching to get the colour on now.......paint shop guy said he loved the colour when he mixed it - if ever i own a new car i will specify phantom as a special colour - i love it.

did you just fibreglass the join inside the mowhak?, im presuming to recreate the neck lining thats the plastic just trimmed - im going to lose this and make a foam based neck brace with material on it, ill worry about how ill glue it later lol. will probably locate my battery in the front mouth section as i had a novel but fun idea last night to get some haedphones set inside with a 3.5mm jack underneath - if i ever used this at a con ill be able to have music in the helmet - ive tried it on and theres a wierd hard to explain echo you get in there from outside noise which i find very unpleasent

anyway next update:

the 3 x 10mm x 5mm bar segment led glued as one:

 

[CJ 617]

Looking good! With mine, I didn't put any fibreglass on the inside of the join. I can't remember what product I used to give the extra bonding strength. Great work so far on the led sensor...can't wait to see it lit! As for the lining at the bottom, I used a strip of foam, to see what it would look like...I may still change this for something more padded.

 

[who45]

the motorbike visor in its unabused virgin state:

 

[Monster Dave]

Awesome! Looks like it's coming along nicely! I've always thought it would be neat to have an Airwolf helmet as a motorcycle helmet. However, getting one to have any sort of safety standard for practical use is next to impossible.

Nice work!

 

[who45]

thanks, id love to get the targeting square on the visor - a couple of thoughts on how to recreate it with a bit of perspex, black vinyl with the target cut out in a small thin surround with leds. - or if its even possible to find something doable to replicate it off the shelf, when i bought the visor the guy in the shop wouldnt initially sell it to me until i told him what i wanted it for - he ended up selling it to me tho as it wasnt going near a real helmet.

 

[STEALTH]

loved the show, loved the chopper and love this helmet!

 

[Monster Dave]

Not to thread jack, but you made me think of this replica (just sitting somewhere) on display...albeit unfinished:

From what I've read though, the air-frame is solid - I'm sure it could be made to fly.

With sufficient $$ you could have an awesome helmet and the Lady!

 

[who45]

more awesome - going to work in or the shops in it

 

[Monster Dave]

^Yep! I'd be all over that!!

You know, threads and sites like the RPF make me realize that the older I get the more I try to hang on the nostalgic things from my past that I've loved so much!

This is fantastically nerdgasmic on so many levels. LOL!

 

[CJ 617]

I like your idea for installation of the visor!! I think I need to borrow your ears sometime for advice, so I can finish my lid. I love the red led...great work!

-Chris

 

[ralphee]

Cool helmet, always liked this as a kid. Just to let you know, cant say id EVER looked at the mouthpiece greeblies, the kit parts used are from the Tamiya SDkfz 223, and Hasegawa Morser Karl.
Just in case you wanted to replace them for a cleaner build up is all.

lee

 

[who45]

decided that the led i have made is spot on to an on screen helmet - by pure fluke.

here is a screen grab - oh look that looks like 3x 10mm leds glued togeather like i have - so the gap between the lights will stay - maybe the led illuminates so far away from the camera shooting the tv show that the gap doesnt show and it appears a whole bar of red

i have noticed alot of helmet inconsistancy on the show - for people with larger wide heads the foams removed, sometimes hawks neck foam isnt there and you can see his neck - i should be in the tv business as a consistancy expert

thanks for the greeblies ralphee - seems there still all over ebay, but at approx 20 quid a piece - unless im lucky on a bid thats too much for such minimal bits from the model, - the centre oval piece is from an ertl at at model (it comes from the rear of the at ats body)

 

[who45]

I like your idea for installation of the visor!! I think I need to borrow your ears sometime for advice, so I can finish my lid. I love the red led...great work!

im actually alot further ahead than this thread at the moment - i held back on build pics in case i fluffed it, its currently at a filler primer stage, some minimal filling and re priming before its final grey coat of primer, altho one thing im still unsure about what to do is how to get the domes either side of the helmet perfectly smooth and domed - there seems to be a bit of uneven ness in it still, so im thinking a layer of p38 and some sanding back to get a better dome shape thats perfectly rounded

the visor is trimmed out to a better shape, it sits perfectly and is removable very easily. theres no light leak inside the helmet after i created the new curve in the pics above

 

[groone]

Glassing the insides is really the key to these kits. It makes them so much more sturdy to work on and mold to your specifications and get rid of that horrid center line.

Your build is looking great!

 

[CJ 617]

decided that the led i have made is spot on to an on screen helmet - by pure fluke.

here is a screen grab - oh look that looks like 3x 10mm leds glued togeather like i have - so the gap between the lights will stay - maybe the led illuminates so far away from the camera shooting the tv show that the gap doesnt show and it appears a whole bar of red

i have noticed alot of helmet inconsistancy on the show - for people with larger wide heads the foams removed, sometimes hawks neck foam isnt there and you can see his neck - i should be in the tv business as a consistancy expert

Yeah, I've got a few screen grabs of the inconsistency of the flight helmet over the series...and as for the led, spot on mate!

Can't wait to see more pics of your lid

-Chris

 

[who45]

productive day today....... time to dremel out the switch holes
switches and visor fitted to check:




so next update will be: sorting the front out to fit the mouth section, p38 filler the dome part, rub it down, re prime, and trim the bottom off the helmet, and again p38 filler will be needed to blennd it in neatly, then it will go into hi build again and after a 1200 rub back it will go into grey primer to hopefully show all the minor flwas are aree sorted, so then its ready for paint.