Ideas for making a Vader helmet fit better?

[jcoffman99]

Last Halloween by the end of the night the foam in my Vader helmet had compacted just enought that the helmet was sinking which in turn cause me a great deal of pain in the neck. Anybody have any suggestions to help prevent this? Is there a better way to wear the helemt than with foam on the inside? I really don't like the whole mash your face into the front of the mask. Thanks,

John

 

[darthgordon]

Rows of pipe insulation across the top, I believe. It allows for better airflow and will compress much less than foam.

 

[jcoffman99]

Thanks. Anybody else? Anybody have pics of the inside of their helmets?

John

 

[Darth Stone]

The pipe insulation was going to be my posting, but my neighbor in Denver took it first.:lol

What I have used also is just one of those cheepie foam knee pads from the hardware store. (The ones without the hard plastic knee cup.)

 

[KevVader]

Thanks. Anybody else? Anybody have pics of the inside of their helmets?

John

Yup....I did this to one of my first helmets years ago....works very well.

 

[jcoffman99]

Thanks for the pic. Is there a special type of glue I should use?

 

[KevVader]

I had used a spray adhesive specifically for fabrics...worked well. Be careful that you don't use crazy glue or anything like that as it will dissolve the pipe insulation foam.

 

[Darth Stone]

I think that whatever glue that you use, don't go crazy with it. I mean that residue out side of the foam can grab at hair. This only applies for spirit types of glues. A hot glue would never be a problem untill you wanted to remove the foam.

 

[KevVader]

I wouldn't recommend hot glue either....it will melt the foam.

 

[Darth Stone]

You could be right Kev, I have never really tried it on this type of foam before.

 

[KevVader]

You could be right Kev, I have never really tried it on this type of foam before.

Yup....I found out the hard way...:$

 

[jcoffman99]

I found a pretty good 3m spray adhesive that is for foam. So far it looks like it's holding pretty good. Now I think I'm going to replace the velco straps on the back with something that I can adjust. I guess I'll get some kind of buckles. I think being able to adjust them will also help cut down on the sinking. Thanks for all the help.

John

 

[Darth Detroit]

PM'd

 

[tictoc]

The foam tubing is a great tip.

Not to highjack the thread, but any suggestions for the cape? It's so heavy, it pulls the shoulder armor back. I tried to add velcro to the front of the undersuit and that is just works so so...

 

[jcoffman99]

I actually ended up putting the foam back over the pipe insulation. It fits really well now.

As for the cape, I don't know. Usually once I get the whole thing on my wife pulls the cape over the shoulders and it usually stays. Maybe adding foam to the back of the armor would help it stay in place.

 

[JoeRichmondVA]

I wouldn't recommend hot glue either....it will melt the foam.

You can use hot glue with the foam, just need to put it on the helmet first and give it a second to cool but still be tacky. Or you can try to get those first drops of glue when you just get it plugged in that aren't too hot.

 

[bubba fett]

CustomProps on eBay also has a nice cloth liner with a soft foam top. I got one of the a while back and it is great. A bit more pricey than the foam tube idea, but very comfortable. I think the only one they show is the ROTS, but I asked them for a DP sized one and the one they sent fits great.

 

[BuildaVader]

Anyone else use one of the helmet liners available from South America via ebay? I thought about picking one up to line my ESB build helmet. I wondered if all the padding make it more comfortable or will it just make you sweat more?

 

[bodanger]

I highly recommend the plastic straps from the inside of a construction hard hat work very very well when used with 1 piece if foam usually around the nose area.

This adds stability without making your helmet a sauna

The only problem can be attaching it in such a way that it is stable and not damaging to you helmet. This can sometimes be hard since you usually have only 1 point on each side to attach so make sure you use something that is up to the task.

 

[Darth Stone]

I have sold over 30 of these helmets set up like this, and have had no complaints so far.