Hey everyone! It seems like it's a long time between posts and that my project is going slow but it is still going and it's going well. I'd rather it go slowly and turn out perfect like the first on than go quickly and be fraught with problems!
So did step back a little from Project Viper for a little while but recently got back to it and finally got my helmet to a stage where I really felt ready for it to move into the graphics application phase.
After wet sanding it again, and making sure the surface was the way i really wanted it, I set to work and began plotting out where i wanted to start. After looking very closly at the screen used helmet pics, I decided that the first and best place to begin would be with the side face. This brought it's own complications though because i really really wanted it to be centered and symmetrical so it was a pain staking process for my new skills in this area.
I really felt like the smart thing to do was to start by masking out 2 lines to start making my measurements from - one from front to back, and another from side-to-side. This enabled me to measure out my gap distance from the visor line to place the Viper face as well as help to determine the line alignment with the top of the visor line as well.
Once i was happy with the placement of my lines, i softly marked with a pencil where i wanted to start placing each face.
Once I had each face in place, I began working on each wing. This was REALLY hard. If you've ever applied 2 part vinyl graphics to a curved surface you know what I'm talking about!! The most important part however was the placement so that when you look at the rear of the helmet that it looks as symmetrical as possible. I HATE it when i see work that's done sloppy and looks obviously not done well. So this part drove me nuts.
I started by doing 1 wing and then making the helmet horizontally across the back so that I could mark where I needed to place the second wing in order for them to look as symmetrical as possible.
Knowing that the tape isn't exactly 100% strait or cut to a precise length I marked and placed the second wing and am very pleased with how it looks overall.
I still have A LOT more to do, but these pieces were definitely the starting point. All the curved lines and additional graphics will build off these initial pieces. But from mock-up to application, it's looking better than I had expected.
Once I get the graphics application completed, I'll clear coat the entire helmet so that it'll have a nice uniform shine to it!
I'd like to have this project done within 30 days, but we'll see!!