Helmet parts

[spyhunter2k]

I'd like to get some of your opinions on the helmet parts.

They seem black in some shots, and I think it has been established that one reason for this us that they are actually painted solid black on some stunt riders' helmets...fair enough.

But in other shots with Jesse wearing the helmet they seem very dark as well...if not black then possibly tinted, while in most shots with Jesse (wearing the "hero" helmet) they seem to be a frosted/translucent white color. I haven't seen any shots yet where the lit parts are completely clear. Complicating things further, in some shots the upper right piece has a clear/white front cap while the lower pieces are black/tinted.

As of right now, I think I will be making the lit parts translucent/frosted white by casting them in clear resin and then sanding the pieces a bit with fine grade sandpaper. This will allow any lights within the parts to be diffused a bit, which is how they appear on the show (if the helmet parts were completely clear you'd see dots where the leds were).

As an option, I may be able to tint the transulcent pieces (either with spray-tint or by pigment additives to the casting resin) so that they appear black when unlit but still allow light to pass through.

Three lights will be placed in the upper right piece: one red, one green, and one much brighter high intensity white light.

The lower left piece will have three lit buttons per the actual prop (these can still be obtained).

The lower right piece was lit in two different ways that I can tell. In some shots (I seem to recall the opening of fire on the wing), it appears as a bright yellow/amber light, while in others, low-level red leds come through (as in the opening credits). The low-level red led effect is seen in almost all shots that I can remember of the front portion of the lower left piece.

In some shots of the mouthpiece, small slits can be seen on either side which appear to have been cut into the shell of the Ghibli, while in other shots the slits do not appear.

I will try to amend this post with pics when I can.

In the meantime, any opinions you have regarding the correct color/lighting used on these parts and especially supporting pics are appreciated.

[Pentastar]

Here's a really good shot that shows the glowing translucent portions of the helmet:

[Street Hawk]

Heres a great hugh quality pic:

[spyhunter2k]

And in that pic the translucent parts look gloss black, which means he's either wearing a stunt helmet with non lighted parts or the translucent parts are very heavily tinted...

Wonder which it is...

[Street Hawk]

Going off memory, I believe the stunt helmets had a simplified mouth piece. My vote is for early "hero" helmet.

[spyhunter2k]

It will be as close to the hero helmet as I can make it. Looking at the photo you posted, it looks like the parts are all painted a solid gloss black.

Making solid parts from opaque urethane or epoxy and then just painting them black will be easy. What will be harder, and I'm still debating this, is trying to make hollow parts using inner and outer molds so that you have an inner cavity to fit the lights and wiring.

You could still light solid parts cast from clear resin, but this would require more cutting of the helmet shell to put lights under the solid translucent parts.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First step is to complete the blanks/bucks for each part...

[Street Hawk]

I am getting the non-lightable parts done in vac-u-form plastic.

I always believed that for the show only one helmet existed with lights and wiring but a couple of other hero helmets that didnt have anything bar the addons were used for closeups in daylight. Case in point, the promotional slide from "Forever Collectibles". Could explain the discrepancy between the different ones.

[spyhunter2k]

The shaping of the new master buck for the left lower comm piece is finished. This urethane buck will soon be molded. I'll try to post pics by the weekend. I have sanded for hours and hours and have greatly minimized the gap between the piece and the helmet, but I can't make the gap go away completely. It is pretty small though.

[spyhunter2k]

The shape of the lower right piece has been finalized. I will be cutting out the master tonight and should have it attached and molded by the weekend.

Next will be the upper right piece. I said in error that it contains a red, green, and white light, but in the show a yellow light appears at the bottom--not white. It is only lit in one scene throughout the entire season--a hyperthrust sequence.

Want to post pics but it's too much fun to keep working on these. Pics take much time to upload, host, and post. I will try to post some soon though.

[spyhunter2k]

Here's one shot of the upper right piece where you can make out the middle green LED and the almost-never-lit yellow one on the bottom.



And the one shot I've found where it is lit (hyperthrust sequence):

[spyhunter2k]

And a shot where the red one is lit:

[spyhunter2k]

Here is a pic of a com piece that was molded from Chris Bromham's stunt helmet:



The edges were rough and the front area was especially in need of repair. I made a preliminary mold and filled in the gaps between the piece and the helmet with clay. I also used the clay to build the front portion up a bit:



Here is the initial mold:



Here is the new buck, after hours and hours of detailed sanding to better match the look of the original. The rear portion of the stunt piece was great, but the front portion needed the front squared off portion formed and I also narrowed the front stem:



Here's a pic of the new buck mounted to the helmet awaiting final molding:

[Scott]

Freakin awesome work! Great attention to detail pal!

[Street Hawk]

Top stuff, looks great!

[Josh]

Very Nice!! Can't wait to see it finished!

Just curious, what is the wanted poster underneath the helmet??