Empire Strikes Back Dak Ralter Helmet Build

[Corellianexports]

The kit with misc. parts:



This another project that I've been sitting on for a very long time, but during that period, I was able to collect several types of stickers and other parts that may or may not be more accurate. Here's some reference photos of the original:

Here's a licensed version that has been sold out for a while:

 

[Corellianexports]

I've started out by cleaning up the two shells:




The resin piece seems to be missing the center line, so I've marked where it should go and measured it. I checked a classic photo of the Luke helmet from ANH and oddly enough, that helmet looks like it only has two lines, so maybe that's what the original idea was:



A reference from the white/blue helmet from ANH does show three lines:



I found a mill that was the correct size, so I just milled in the center line and then cleaned up the piece a bit with an X-acto knife:



There's still some cleaning up that needs to be done. I might just completely mill through the piece like the ANH version, but we'll see.

 

[Corellianexports]

Taking a closer look at the resin piece, I noticed that it's a little longer than the Dak version:



It actually resembles the Luke version more, so I'm going to hack saw off most of this area and then mill it clean:



While milling it, I decided to go ahead and cut straight through the grooves. Also, it looks like this part may have originally been vacuum formed, so I've removed all of the sharp edges with some 220 and 600 grit:



Some modelers puddy needs to be applied to even out the sides, but I'm going to wash this part along with the rest of the parts and let them dry for now.

 

[Corellianexports]

Up next, the chin cup.
So I've looked over the reference photos and it does look like there is a slight bump on the top and probably the bottom of the cup, so I'm going with this version:



I use our "weapon" of choice (the Dremel) to cut out the piece:




I use a large X-acto knife to clean it up and score the lines for where the strapping material will eventually go through:



I use the smallest drill bit I have to make several holes along the score lines:


I use a couple of different sized X-acto knifes to clean up the lines along with some 220/600 grit:



The lines are just under 3/4" long. Up next, assembly.

 

[PHArchivist]

Prescott?

"HERE we Gooooo!"

(sorry - couldn't resist)

 

[Corellianexports]

I used a large clamp and a heat gun to create a right angle on the styrene strip:



I also marked a circular area on the strip where the edge will meet the helmet halves, cutting it out with a large X-acto knife.
Carpet tape maybe a better assembly technique, but I'd like to get some use out of my styrene glue, so I used some heavy duty clamps to keep the strip in place on one helmet half:



The glue takes 24 hours to solidify completely, so I glued one section at a time over the course of several days.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

 

[Treadwell]

The RS is not licensed. But their work is invariably awesome.
Note that the front cap of the mohawk on Dak's is missing the little tabs that stick below the rim that all the other helmets have.

Great start!

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Wasn’t the actor who played Dak the same guy that played the doomed astronaut / pilot in the lunar lander in Superman II?

 

[Corellianexports]

With the right side done, it's on to the left side. There's no room to place clamps accept the top and bottom, so I started on one end with a clamp and several pieces of painter's tape, then finished off the rest of the helmet with a clamp near the top:




I started with super glue in an attempt to speed up the process, but between the clamps and the tape, it wasn't necessary, so I just used styrene glue. I finished it off with a bead of the glue along the inside seam to add some extra durability.
Today I was able to remove the remaining tape and the last clamp:



Up next, fitting the "mohawk" front piece, helmet cleanup and adjustments.

 

[Corellianexports]

Time to fit the front "mohawk" piece. Here's what the front of the mohawk looks like:



And with the resin part attached:



I used a large X-Acto knife to remove some of the styrene:



There aren't any really good reference photos from this angle, so I think we're good.
Here's a side view:



Up next, painting. The good news is that the weather is looking a lot better toward the end of this week, so I'll give it a shot then.

 

[CatfoodRob]

The “ resin piece” at the front of the Mohawk isn’t resin , it’s just vac formed plastic on the original helmet .

 

[Corellianexports]

We've been getting hit with off and on showers, so getting the helmet painted has been taking longer than expected.
I used some white modelers putty to help remove some of the indentations along the side of the mohawk area and then finished off the entire helmet with flat white enamel paint:



The finished product is a little too flat for my taste and comparing it to a piece of the original styrene (see right side on the table) I realized that the original plastic had a sheen to it, so I'm going to finish the helmet with some satin white paint. More to come.

 

[Corellianexports]

One last part I'm working on now for the helmet is the mic tip. Looking at the replica, they appear to have added an aluminum part to the end. Looking at the reference photos, it looks more like they simply painted the end with some black paint. Does anyone know what was used on the original?

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

One last part I'm working on now for the helmet is the mic tip. Looking at the replica, they appear to have added an aluminum part to the end. Looking at the reference photos, it looks more like they simply painted the end with some black paint. Does anyone know what was used on the original?
View attachment 1831510

View attachment 1831514

I am no expert on these Racal Amplivox Minilites headsets but I believe it is simply the actual mic component when not coved by the black mic tip.

 

[blewis17]

Wasn’t the actor who played Dak the same guy that played the doomed astronaut / pilot in the lunar lander in Superman II?

Dak Ralter, aka Cloud City hallway Boba Fett

 

[Corellianexports]

Here's what I came up with: I used some remnant aluminum and machined the part using some electrical cord as a reference along with the reference photos. The electrical cord came out of my old X-Wing helmet. It's basically some grey shrink wrap with some electrical wire inside of it. I removed the wire and inserted some bendable, jewelry wire.
After machining the part, I drilled a 1/16" hole just off center:



On the other end of the part, I drilled a centered, 1/16" hole for the wire to fit inside of, then machined a "step" just small enough so that it fits inside of the shrink wrap:

 

[Corellianexports]

The ear cups that came with the kit were red plastic with black vinyl. To make them more accurate, I found some Tamiya "Light Sand" flat paint that looks close to the originals:




Technically, only flat paint should be used on vinyl, but despite that, the surface is sticky. I'm hoping in time it will dry out.
In the mean time, I'm using wax paper to help keep the parts from sticking to my workbench:



To attach these to the inside of the helmet, I'm going to use white velcro. I use some contact cement and super glue around the edges to attach the male or "hook" part of the velcro to the backs of the ear cups:



Here's how it looks inside of my original X-Wing "Red 5" helmet:



And inside of this helmet:

 

[Corellianexports]

The glue has set and everything is dry, so I've placed the ear cups:



After double checking the reference photos, I mark a sport on the right ear cup to drill a hole for the mic. I used some contact cement to attach it to the ear cup:



I used some painter's tape to help keep it in place while it dries:



Finished:

 

[Corellianexports]

The next step is to place the visor, but on closer examination, I noticed that it needs more trimming, so I used a couple of different sized X-Acto knives to trim it down. Here's a before photo:



After trimming it a bit, I used 220/600/1500 grit with some water to smooth down the edges. Once complete, I used some Novus #2 plastic polish with a clean rag:



There were a good amount of scratches, but I was able to clean up most of them. I finished it off with the Novus #1 plastic polish.

Front:



Rear: