Battlestar Galactica Cylon Helmet Build

[Corellianexports]

This is another one of those projects that I had to put a hold on due to all of the events surrounding the SW prequel films, not to mention a host of other prop projects which included a Viper Pilot helmet.

I picked up this Cylon helmet around 2001 right here on the rpf. The member selling these had an original stunt helmet which he had molded and then did fiberglass pulls from. If memory serves, it was a short run that was only done once, so I jumped on it not really knowing what I was getting into. After about 20 years inside a box, sitting in the garage, the fiberglass smell finally went away.
When I finally had a chance to setup an office in my current residence, I was able to take the helmet out and display it with some other BSG goodies:



The first thing I did a few years ago was get it cleaned up. I started with a Dremel and some fiberglass wheel attachments, then moved on to a lot of sanding. Here's how it looked afterward:



Because a two part mold was used, there was a good size molding line right across both sides of the helmet, so this required a good deal of clean up:



One the inside, the visor area needed some clean up:



At some point I washed the helmet in soapy water and let it dry.
Later I did a little putty and sanding in specific areas:

 

[Corellianexports]

After cleaning up the surface with some denatured alcohol, I sprayed the helmet with some grey primer:



There was a good amount of pitting and some gaps along the seam line, so I used some modeling putty to fill in those problem areas:

 

[Corellianexports]

After sanding down the puttied areas with 220 and 600 grit, I sprayed the helmet again, then repeated the process. Here's a shot after sanding off the putty for the second time:



And a third time:

 

[Corellianexports]

So at this point (that was back in 2020), my helmet was ready to be chromed, or so I had thought. I spent about a year off and on searching for a place locally that did plastic chroming, otherwise known as electroplating. Most of the places I called either didn't pick up the phone or told me that they only plated metal. I also tried sending out several emails, but as with the phone experience, I either got no response or a reply that basically said the same thing. I even contacted a large, well known plastics company and the salesman advised me to just spray the helmet with basic chrome paint. I think I chuckled at that response, because we both knew that the end result would be a dull or greyish chrome color.

So I contacted an old friend of mine who not only has a vast amount of experience working with plastics, but he also has a degree in plastics. He referred me to an artist in Burbank who could only be reached by phone. I told him what I had and he quoted me at about $1K to chrome the helmet. After speaking with him and giving it some more thought, I realized that this was a lot of money for something that was basically just for display. On top of that, all of the work that I had done to the helmet would have to reversed because a special primer was needed for the electroplating. I had started to become tired of starring at a grey, unfinished helmet, so I kept an eye out for an alternate solution. Then one day, I received an email from a local hobby store that was putting all of it's Revell "Chrom" paint on clearance at about $30 a can. It was a new spray paint that Revell had only recently exported to the US and it could do wonders with plastic model parts. I did some research and realized that this might be the answer, so I bought a can and tested it on an Adama amulet that I had also been sitting on for a very long time.

Here's a before and after photo:




And with the Chrom paint can:



Technically, this paint was originally meant for painting wheels for model kits, small game pieces, etc. so I wasn't sure if this would work on larger items like a helmet. It was a real gamble. As for the amulet, I had some luck with it. One problem I ran into was dust or lint, so the best advice I can give when using this product is to only use this it in an enclosed area, like a garage and of course, use a respirator. The fumes from this stuff aren't good.

One other problem with this paint is that it doesn't come with directions, so I used the directions off a can of Rust-oleum Chrome paint. The only kicker is that instead of letting the paint dry for a week, it must be 2 weeks. I ran into a big problem after letting it dry for one week while painting a Cylon sword part. When I picked up the piece, the surface displayed my fingerprints and it couldn't be buffed or cleaned. The markings were permanent.

 

[Corellianexports]

Before moving forward with the newly discovered Chrom paint, I realized that it was time to go through some reference photos to figure out exactly how the helmet was painted, because there's more to it than just chrome paint. As I went through lots of references, I realized that different helmets were painted differently, so I picked one that I liked the most. Here it is:



There's actually three different colors to the helmet: Chrome, satin black and metallic grey.

 

[Corellianexports]

Here's a before shot from last summer (2024) of the helmet with a final coat of primer:



The only parts of the helmet that needed to be painted satin black were the mandible and the eye sections. I hit these areas with flat black first and then with the satin black:



To help prevent the metalic paint from getting into the eye section, I taped it off. I thought a photo of just eye covered was amusing since we never actually got a chance to see a Cylon blind folded in the series:



The next step was to figure out what shade of metallic grey was used for the side panels of the helmet. I tried a couple of color tests using plastic spoons. The spoon on the left is Rust-Oleum Stainless Steel used on appliances (Appliance Epoxy). The other spoon is Rust-Oleum Aluminum, which has a nice flat tone to it:



Oddly enough, the example helmet above actually has two different kinds of metallic grey paint on it; as if they had run out of paint and used something that was close enough to finish the helmet. After going through all of the reference photos, I decided to go with the stainless steel spray paint:



I followed the painting instructions and let the helmet sit for a week before taping it off in prep for the Chrom paint.

 

[Corellianexports]

Taping off the sides, eye and mandible areas was a time consuming process. In fact, I had so much trouble getting the tape to stick to the sides, that I finally used some silicone glue to help keep them in place, particularly in the corners. I also used some standard packing tape and newspaper:



Because the bottom of the helmet will probably get the most wear, I sprayed the bottom with Rust-Oleum Chrome paint and let it dry for a week.

To help keep lint or other airborne objects sticking to the paint, I did all of the Chrom painting inside of my garage. I used a respirator with gloves while doing the painting to minimize exposure. There's plenty of fumes coming from this paint, so the last thing anyone wants to do is breath this stuff in. Here's some photos of the first coat. I took these the following day:



The biggest difference between the Revell Chrom paint and the Rust-Oleum Chrome paint is that there's a mirror finish. Viola! We've got a "chrome" Cylon helmet, otherwise known amongst Viper pilots as a "Tin Head".

Up next, more coats of paint and some final photos of the chrome finish.

 

[TazMan2000]

Wow. That chrome came out nice. I have a Cylon helmet all primered and prepped for paint, but I haven't had the guts to try out a chrome spray. I've bought some spaz stix stuff, but my first airbrush test spray came out worse than the crappiest chrome spray out there.

TazMan2000

 

[Corellianexports]

If I remember correctly, the first coat had some lint and some spots that weren't smooth, so I used some 600 grit and a little 220 grit to smooth out those areas before hitting it with a second coat. The second coat wasn't smooth in certain areas, so I gave it a third coat. Because of the size of the helmet and the fact that I was not able to spray just a section of the helmet (surrounding areas were rough) a full can had to be used per coat. The entire surface of the helmet had to be sprayed. Unfortunately, the more coats used, the more chance there is that the final surface will become unstable. Also, a large "step" can be start to be created between the chrome finish and the stainless steel areas. Although there are a couple of spots near the top of the helmet where the paint started to run, I decided not to continue with the coats. Overall the helmet really looks good, particularly the front of the helmet where it counts. Here's some photos of the helmet with the final coat of "Chrom" paint:

 

[TazMan2000]

Well, it the paint job still looks good from the photos. I'm curious, why didn't you fill in the depression on the front of the mohawk?

TazMan2000

 

[Corellianexports]

Here's a shot of the front with the painter's tape removed:



This is a shot of the right side. It's the curvature that makes it difficult to get the tape to adhere. I started with painter's tape around the edges and then finished it off with newspaper and packing tape with a little clear silicon to help keep the tape in place:



Here's a shot with one, last piece of tape left. This type of painter's tape is spendy, but in the end it's worth it. I was able to remove the tape without cracking the edges of the paint:




A final shot of the right side with all of the tape removed. I used a can of air of remove all of the "glitter" that came off the tape:



And here's a shot of the left side with the tape removed:



Up next, touch ups and final assembly which includes lights/sound!

 

[Corellianexports]

Before doing the touch up painting, I used a small X-Acto knife to scrape away the excess "Chrom" paint. Here's an after shot:



Most of the excess paint ended up in this corner. I will probably sand this area slightly before applying the satin black with a small brush:

 

[Corellianexports]

I used the original satin spray paint by spraying into a plastic cup and then using a small brush, painted the different areas that needed it. I'm actually still in the process of applying multiple coats to get the desired darkness, but here's some progress photos:



While the paint dries, I moved on to the electronics. Here's what I'm starting out with:



Over the last couple of years, I've collected some misc. electronics. My original thought in regards to the eye, was to set up a string of red LEDs, just like the original. The bezel or LED holder can be partially seen in this reference photo:




After working on this, I realized that was easier and less time consuming to simply purchase an eye from an eBay seller. To get this installed, I'm going to attach a combination 9 volt battery holder and switch; which I've got on order.

The Cylon sounds proved to be difficult to find, so I settled on a Hallmark ornament released a few years back.

Here's what the actual electronics look like:



I did some testing and realized that the sound is better and louder if the speaker is kept within the housing, so before putting it back together, I used a punch to help remove the figure.
Originally, I had intended to bolt the sound box to the bottom of the chin area so that the sound would come directly from the bottom of the helmet, but there just wasn't enough room. After doing some sound checks, I realized that there was still some great sound coming from the box if it were attached directly behind the mouth area. In order to make replacing the two, small batteries easier, I decided to attach some male Velcro to the bottom of the sound box:



And some female Velcro just behind the mouth area:



I used contact cement with a little super glue on each corner to help keep the Velcro in place.

Up next, finishing off the touch up paint and assembling the eye electronics.

 

[Corellianexports]

The 9v battery switch box arrived and it looks good:



The length of both wires is just enough to install the box and the eye inside of the helmet, so I just cut off the original battery holder where it meets the wires. The ends of the LED wires get stripped with my handy stripper tool.

I used a wire clip holder to help keep the wire ends in place in order to add a little solder to each. With that done, I slip a couple of short pieces of wire wrap as far away from the ends as possible to avoid shrinking them prematurely:



Before using a heat gun to shrink the wrap, I always like to check the circuit first:




It's working nicely, so I move the shrink wrap into place and then hit them with the heat gun, all the way around:



It's ready to be installed, so I flip over the battery box holder and use some contact cement to add a small piece of male Velcro.
I used a small tool box to help keep the Velcro flat and let the cement dry over night:



Up next, installing the LED "eye".

 

[Corellianexports]

Before installing the "eye", I noticed that the red, clear acrylic piece or "visor" isn't attached to the LEDs, so I've added a little clear silicone to one side to help keep the LEDs in place:

 

[Corellianexports]

To get the electronics installed, I hung the helmet by a plastic hook at the back of the helmet to keep the eye slot facing downward.
Inside of the helmet, I attached the 9v battery holder to the right side, then wedged the entire LED piece into the eye slot and then added a little clear silicone to each end:




Here's a shot of the eye turned on:



I let the silicone glue dry over night before turning the helmet back over.

 

[Corellianexports]

Once the silicone was dry, I tested the electronics and thought they looked great, so there was no need to add more silicone or make any adjustments.

Here's some final photos:





Lights and sound: