feep
New Member
Hello and happy 10 year anniversary of the release of Edge of Tomorrow! Unless you’re reading this on a day that’s not today in which case happy Easter!
Here is a complete ‘build guide’ of how I made this replica of Major William Cage’s helmet, it’s not an exact replica and I’ll get into that a little bit later. But right off the bat this build was not cheap, because I used all real components, genuine Ops-Core hardware. I’m not going to go into the analysis of the film to find the exact parts they used because there is already a thread dedicated to that!
Here are all the parts that went into this build:
OPS-CORE FAST LE HIGH CUT HELMET
Ops-Core FAST Side Armor
Princeton tec switch mpls led task light
TronX S40 Vented-Cut Hockey Helmet Clear Visor (Anti-Scratch/Anti-Fog) CE Certified
FMA Helmet Replacement Pads Universal Foam Padding Kits Set Accessories for Fast/Mich/ACH/USMC/PASGT Helmet
With only 5 parts this build is very attainable from a difficulty perspective, HOWEVER, just these parts cost roughly 2,250 USD. That being said, I did some research into alternate parts that won’t break the bank, this is the approach I suggest for most people:
Matrix Basic High Cut Ballistic Type Tactical Airsoft Bump Helmet w/ Flip-down Visor (Color: Black)
APS "Wavecombat" Lower Face Mask Adapter (Color: Dragon Camo)
Princeton tec switch mpls led task light
FMA Helmet Replacement Pads Universal Foam Padding Kits Set Accessories for Fast/Mich/ACH/USMC/PASGT Helmet
Here’s an analysis of the expensive and cheaper options:
Helmet:
The upside to using a genuine ops core helmet is that this prop feels real, because well it is, it will actually stop a bullet, plus the quality of the helmet is hard to beat. The downside is obviously the cost. All that being said this helmet is not the same version as the one used in the movie, I couldn’t find the exact one that ops core was selling in 2014. But the LE is the current equivalent, the only difference I could find between the film one and mine is that the skeleton shroud is slightly different. Aside from that it appears to be identical.
The airsoft one ironically has a more accurate shroud, it won’t have the same feel as a real ops core helmet but if this prop will just be put on a shelf then please save the money lol. Just about any airsoft FAST helmet will work, I recommend this one because it looks really close and has the visor included.
There is a third option for the helmet, and thats the BALLISTIC HELMET - LEVEL IIIA - GEN 1 sold by Ballistic Armor Co, I also bought one of these and compared it to the Ops Core. Long story short, this helmet is 95% the same. If you’re looking for a genuine bulletproof helmet it’s hard to go wrong with this option, especially when it’s 25% the cost of the Ops Core.
If you’re a super fan that can justify the expense then I say go for the ops core, if you want something that looks the same and want to spend 32x less then go for the airsoft, If you want a prop that feels real then the Ballistic Armor Co is a great choice. Do your own research but that’s my recommendation.
Side Armor:
This gave me the most trouble by FAR
Tracking down genuine Ops core side armor was not easy, they stopped making this several years ago. I made the mistake of buying the wrong variant the first time so be careful, but the exact part number is 37-99-103 for black, 37-99-102 for green, and 37-99-101 for tan. If you luck out and find one for sale, any of these will work. Like the helmet I only recommend this if you can justify the cost. Unfortunately there are not any good alternatives currently.
The best replicas I could find was the APS "Wavecombat" Lower Face Mask Adapter (Color: Dragon Camo). This is a replica of another Ops Core product called a Gunsight Mandible. The face armor is screwed onto replica side armor pieces and can be easily removed. The reason I say this is the best is because they have the same latch system at the back and are made of hard plastic. These are however noticeably different and have two holes for the screws. But with a little bit of bondo and some creativity you can make a very convincing replica. They are also slightly too big, if that bothers you then you can trim the bottom edge down by 1cm. I haven’t done that myself so I can’t give much advice on how to make it look more genuine.
There is another option, all the 10-30 dollar ones you see for sale. Do not buy these. They are horrible. If you are trying to do this for as cheap as you possibly can then they are certainly better than nothing. But the reason I don’t recommend them is they are rubber. They bow away from the helmet instead of in, and they are missing the latch on the back side. They are also way thinner than the genuine parts.
If you can find the Ops Core ones for sale then your final product will look exactly like the props used on set. I recommend 99% of people get the Wavecombat and use 2 part bondo or something similar to fill in the inside of the armor, and maybe some glazing and spot putty on the outside to smooth it out.
Tac Light:
Not much to say about this one, I only purchased the Princeton one so I can’t speak to the quality of other brands. But these ones are what they used on set. Another option is to not include this piece at all as not all helmets in the film have one.
Visor:
I used a hockey visor because it has a nice compound curve that looks just like what was used in the original props. It’s not too bad on cost and I think it elevates the final product to a higher level. You could use a Hobart face shield, cut out the right shape, and bend it to fit the helmet but it will look more flat. Again this step is optional as there are some shots in the movie of helmets with no visors. But this visor really makes it look so much better. The hockey visor will also need to be cut down to the correct shape, Dremel and sandpaper is how I did it.
Helmet Pads:
Not much to say here, they go on the inside of the side armor, there’s a million options but I chose the ones I did because they are gray.
Hud Detail:
This goes on the brim and I’m almost certain this was made for the film and does not exist as a product in the real world. I 3D modeled my own that’s ‘good enough’ I’m not a good 3D modeler so if you can make something better please do. I resin printed it because I have the printer, here’s the STL
The Build:
1. Remove the velcro on the helmet
2. Unscrew the side rails, this removes the harness too
3. Depending on the version you have; cut or simply remove the bungee cords
4. Smoothing the helmet
-a. Ops Core: there’s this weird texture on the helmet like a 2 grit sand paper, I used 120 grit to remove all these bumps
-b. Ballistic armor co: this texture is even more odd, it’s uneven and bumpy. I used bondo glazing and spot putty + 120 grit to smooth it out
-c. Airsoft: nothing, skip this step
5. Mask the inside of the helmet
6. Priming the helmet, I used rustoleum filler primer
7. If you’re lucky enough to have ops core side armor, prime these as well. If not then smooth the airsoft ones using some method of your choice, then prime
8. Prime the rails, the ops core are glass filled nylon, ballistic armor co looks like plain nylon, the same primer works on these plastics
9. Prime and glue on the HUD detail, I used 24 hr Epoxy + clamps
10. Paint matte black (any kind will do)
11. Paint tan (any kind will do)
12. Paint green, the type I used was Testors Flat Olive
13. Reassemble the helmet
14. Weather, I used a simple acrylic wash of black and brown with tan highlights
15. Trim the visor, the angles should match the angle of the side armor and have roughly a 5/8” gap between the visor and side armor
16. Glue in the visor, I used e6000
17. Attach two helmet pads, one to each side armor piece, I used the velcro that came in the package
18. Make/ print a helmet stand
19. Rewatch the movie!
After Sanding
After priming
After Painting
Here is a complete ‘build guide’ of how I made this replica of Major William Cage’s helmet, it’s not an exact replica and I’ll get into that a little bit later. But right off the bat this build was not cheap, because I used all real components, genuine Ops-Core hardware. I’m not going to go into the analysis of the film to find the exact parts they used because there is already a thread dedicated to that!
Here are all the parts that went into this build:
OPS-CORE FAST LE HIGH CUT HELMET
Ops-Core FAST Side Armor
Princeton tec switch mpls led task light
TronX S40 Vented-Cut Hockey Helmet Clear Visor (Anti-Scratch/Anti-Fog) CE Certified
FMA Helmet Replacement Pads Universal Foam Padding Kits Set Accessories for Fast/Mich/ACH/USMC/PASGT Helmet
With only 5 parts this build is very attainable from a difficulty perspective, HOWEVER, just these parts cost roughly 2,250 USD. That being said, I did some research into alternate parts that won’t break the bank, this is the approach I suggest for most people:
Matrix Basic High Cut Ballistic Type Tactical Airsoft Bump Helmet w/ Flip-down Visor (Color: Black)
APS "Wavecombat" Lower Face Mask Adapter (Color: Dragon Camo)
Princeton tec switch mpls led task light
FMA Helmet Replacement Pads Universal Foam Padding Kits Set Accessories for Fast/Mich/ACH/USMC/PASGT Helmet
Here’s an analysis of the expensive and cheaper options:
Helmet:
The upside to using a genuine ops core helmet is that this prop feels real, because well it is, it will actually stop a bullet, plus the quality of the helmet is hard to beat. The downside is obviously the cost. All that being said this helmet is not the same version as the one used in the movie, I couldn’t find the exact one that ops core was selling in 2014. But the LE is the current equivalent, the only difference I could find between the film one and mine is that the skeleton shroud is slightly different. Aside from that it appears to be identical.
The airsoft one ironically has a more accurate shroud, it won’t have the same feel as a real ops core helmet but if this prop will just be put on a shelf then please save the money lol. Just about any airsoft FAST helmet will work, I recommend this one because it looks really close and has the visor included.
There is a third option for the helmet, and thats the BALLISTIC HELMET - LEVEL IIIA - GEN 1 sold by Ballistic Armor Co, I also bought one of these and compared it to the Ops Core. Long story short, this helmet is 95% the same. If you’re looking for a genuine bulletproof helmet it’s hard to go wrong with this option, especially when it’s 25% the cost of the Ops Core.
If you’re a super fan that can justify the expense then I say go for the ops core, if you want something that looks the same and want to spend 32x less then go for the airsoft, If you want a prop that feels real then the Ballistic Armor Co is a great choice. Do your own research but that’s my recommendation.
Side Armor:
This gave me the most trouble by FAR
Tracking down genuine Ops core side armor was not easy, they stopped making this several years ago. I made the mistake of buying the wrong variant the first time so be careful, but the exact part number is 37-99-103 for black, 37-99-102 for green, and 37-99-101 for tan. If you luck out and find one for sale, any of these will work. Like the helmet I only recommend this if you can justify the cost. Unfortunately there are not any good alternatives currently.
The best replicas I could find was the APS "Wavecombat" Lower Face Mask Adapter (Color: Dragon Camo). This is a replica of another Ops Core product called a Gunsight Mandible. The face armor is screwed onto replica side armor pieces and can be easily removed. The reason I say this is the best is because they have the same latch system at the back and are made of hard plastic. These are however noticeably different and have two holes for the screws. But with a little bit of bondo and some creativity you can make a very convincing replica. They are also slightly too big, if that bothers you then you can trim the bottom edge down by 1cm. I haven’t done that myself so I can’t give much advice on how to make it look more genuine.
There is another option, all the 10-30 dollar ones you see for sale. Do not buy these. They are horrible. If you are trying to do this for as cheap as you possibly can then they are certainly better than nothing. But the reason I don’t recommend them is they are rubber. They bow away from the helmet instead of in, and they are missing the latch on the back side. They are also way thinner than the genuine parts.
If you can find the Ops Core ones for sale then your final product will look exactly like the props used on set. I recommend 99% of people get the Wavecombat and use 2 part bondo or something similar to fill in the inside of the armor, and maybe some glazing and spot putty on the outside to smooth it out.
Tac Light:
Not much to say about this one, I only purchased the Princeton one so I can’t speak to the quality of other brands. But these ones are what they used on set. Another option is to not include this piece at all as not all helmets in the film have one.
Visor:
I used a hockey visor because it has a nice compound curve that looks just like what was used in the original props. It’s not too bad on cost and I think it elevates the final product to a higher level. You could use a Hobart face shield, cut out the right shape, and bend it to fit the helmet but it will look more flat. Again this step is optional as there are some shots in the movie of helmets with no visors. But this visor really makes it look so much better. The hockey visor will also need to be cut down to the correct shape, Dremel and sandpaper is how I did it.
Helmet Pads:
Not much to say here, they go on the inside of the side armor, there’s a million options but I chose the ones I did because they are gray.
Hud Detail:
This goes on the brim and I’m almost certain this was made for the film and does not exist as a product in the real world. I 3D modeled my own that’s ‘good enough’ I’m not a good 3D modeler so if you can make something better please do. I resin printed it because I have the printer, here’s the STL
The Build:
1. Remove the velcro on the helmet
2. Unscrew the side rails, this removes the harness too
3. Depending on the version you have; cut or simply remove the bungee cords
4. Smoothing the helmet
-a. Ops Core: there’s this weird texture on the helmet like a 2 grit sand paper, I used 120 grit to remove all these bumps
-b. Ballistic armor co: this texture is even more odd, it’s uneven and bumpy. I used bondo glazing and spot putty + 120 grit to smooth it out
-c. Airsoft: nothing, skip this step
5. Mask the inside of the helmet
6. Priming the helmet, I used rustoleum filler primer
7. If you’re lucky enough to have ops core side armor, prime these as well. If not then smooth the airsoft ones using some method of your choice, then prime
8. Prime the rails, the ops core are glass filled nylon, ballistic armor co looks like plain nylon, the same primer works on these plastics
9. Prime and glue on the HUD detail, I used 24 hr Epoxy + clamps
10. Paint matte black (any kind will do)
11. Paint tan (any kind will do)
12. Paint green, the type I used was Testors Flat Olive
13. Reassemble the helmet
14. Weather, I used a simple acrylic wash of black and brown with tan highlights
15. Trim the visor, the angles should match the angle of the side armor and have roughly a 5/8” gap between the visor and side armor
16. Glue in the visor, I used e6000
17. Attach two helmet pads, one to each side armor piece, I used the velcro that came in the package
18. Make/ print a helmet stand
19. Rewatch the movie!
After Sanding
After priming
After Painting
