CEREAL'S - Mk VI Comprehensive WIP **(With Videos)**

[Brandon McClain]

Okay, this deserves to be in the elite section. Like right now. When and if you make casts available put me at the top of the list. Seriously awesome.

[diaryboy]

I'm going to be honest...

...this is one of the GREATEST builds I've seen here on the 405th!

I would die for that helmet!

You are doing an AMAZING job, Cereal! Keep up the AWESOME work!!!

[NayrDeathExperience]

I hope you know you're doing a WONDERFUL job on this. I like the way you mounted the visor and I think I'm going to do that with my Reach MK VI's visor. Keep up the great work!

-Ryan

[L05T V1K1N6]

Oh man! does that visor look good or what! Excellent, Amazing, Fantastic, Terrific, Incredible, Outstanding, Superb, Awesome job!

So, uh... if you're not planning on using that helmet for anything, can I have it???

[Katsu]

Hey, I was looking at the cool pics but I had a question... In the first picture of the visor, where it's cut into pieces, it looks really rough and there's a scar on the middle left of the main part, but in the assembled picture it seems gone. Did you do something to fix it?

[Mstruvmgc]

as soon as i saw the frontal picture, the halo theme started playing in my head. lol This looks great! :-)

[UngluedRecon]

hello cereal.
i have been following this thread since you started your build. it's been one hell of a journey for you, hasn't it?
i can't wait to see it finished!

[Cereal Killl3r]

Very, very cool. I hope my helmet looks this good!

Time and patience... and you'll get there!

Very beatifully work man. Looking at this reminds me of doing my visor and the fear when cutting too. Seeing yours makes me wish I had gone for a thinner plastic though now as it has a better look than mine.

Yeah, it was quite nerve wracking! But, at the end of it all it worked out well. Being that I used helmet shields they only come in one thickness, however I personally wish that they were 1mm thicker!

Another fantastic update, darn I am considering tossing my vacuum buck now... This way looks fantastic and you don't need to worry about tinting like I do..

Yeah, having something pre-mirrored cuts down the work. But being that the coating is on the outside means that you have to be extra carful! I will be going the route of making a buck from this visor assembly down the road.

That is so awesome. I just might have to try that visor later.

Thanks thorn!
Go for it! I'm sure you'll have no issues.

Wow, fantastic job so far, man! You've really developed some awesome craftsmanship skills, I just hope I can do half as well when it comes to my own helmet and armor!

Thanks for the complements!
As I said above, just take your time, plan and you'll get where you wanna be!

Okay, this deserves to be in the elite section. Like right now. When and if you make casts available put me at the top of the list. Seriously awesome.

lol, thanks Brandon!
Yes, I will be mold/casting this (just for piece of mind not to damage the original) If I do decide to sell some pulls, you can claim the 1st one!

I'm going to be honest...

...this is one of the GREATEST builds I've seen here on the 405th!

I would die for that helmet!

You are doing an AMAZING job, Cereal! Keep up the AWESOME work!!!

Thanks for your praise!
Happy that you like the build. It's been a lot of hard work so far, but it was worth it!

I hope you know you're doing a WONDERFUL job on this. I like the way you mounted the visor and I think I'm going to do that with my Reach MK VI's visor. Keep up the great work!

-Ryan

Thanks Ryan
I really didn't have too much say in how the visor was to be mounted as there are not too many possible mount points on the inside due to the overall shape of the H3 Mk VI! Many of the other helmets are much more forgiving with regards to mount positions.

Oh man! does that visor look good or what! Excellent, Amazing, Fantastic, Terrific, Incredible, Outstanding, Superb, Awesome job!

So, uh... if you're not planning on using that helmet for anything, can I have it???

LMAO!
Thanks V1K1N6!! When Da Vinci says "Hey, You done good!!" It's very well taken!
Hope you got the picture issues worked out on your thread, been waiting to see that bad boy again!!

Hey, I was looking at the cool pics but I had a question... In the first picture of the visor, where it's cut into pieces, it looks really rough and there's a scar on the middle left of the main part, but in the assembled picture it seems gone. Did you do something to fix it?

The first picture of the "visor pieces" are indeed in rough shape and do have over-cuts. However, this picture below is of the "throw away" pieces. They are the Positive cutouts for the Negetive detail. So, they are not part of the visor assembly.

as soon as i saw the frontal picture, the halo theme started playing in my head. lol This looks great! :-)

Thanks man!
Thats nothing special, I have the Halo soundtrack playing in my mind every time I work on the armor! lol.

hello cereal.
i have been following this thread since you started your build. it's been one hell of a journey for you, hasn't it?
i can't wait to see it finished!

Thank you for tagging along, hope you have enjoyed the ride so far
Yes, it has been quite the journey, and quite the learning experience. Being that this is the first item I have ever done, I could not be happier! There have been some bumps in the road but that is where the fun is! (at least for me it is)



Thank you everyone for you comments and praise! You all motivate me so much!!
The least I can do is return the favour!!!

Dave.

[Mstruvmgc]

Thanks man!
Thats nothing special, I have the Halo soundtrack playing in my mind every time I work on the armor! lol.

Ah no wonder! lol thats some motivational music for sure

[Cereal Killl3r]

ANOTHER UPDATE!

Ok, a lot of little things have transpired that don't end up looking like a whole lot has happened.
But... much has happened!


First thing first;
Visor seal... Done!
I used plastic epoxy to add the necessary fill for the gaps between the opening and the visor. Wrapped the visor in two layers of plastic wrap and started filling.




One thing that I reluctantly had to do was cut off the visor's side details as they were interfering with the installation of the visor itself.

I will have to re-add these later on, but this can also be viewed as a positive as now the pieces will flow perfectly as I will use the visor for a backing when I rebuild them.




Here's how the visor fits now:




Onward!
Time to make the breathers for the sides of the helmet

Now... Personally... I hate how the breathers always come out. I am not a big fan of using the traditional Wiring Loom that many people use, I find it doesn't look right. There are always too many ridges and... well... it looks like Wiring Loom!

So, I decided to make life difficult for myself again and fabricate a part from scratch! Here's a step by step of what I did:

Items used are:

1. Rubber automotive vacuum hose.




2. Some ridged plastic for the backer plate.




3. A metal coat hanger which will be cut to the length of the pieces of hose and inserted to act like a spine as to hold the hose in the position of my choosing.




Other items user were:
- Hot glue
- Popsicle Sticks / Tongue Depressors
- Petroleum Jelly
- Fine paint brush
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Cutters (for the coat hanger)

Basically what I did was make a template of the backing for the breather area, then I transferred that shape to the plastic and cut it out with my rotary tool. Then sections of hose were cut to length with a corresponding piece of coat hanger inserted inside the hose pieces.

With pliers I then bent the pieces of hose/wire into the half moon shape that was needed for the breathers. They were then one by one hot glued to the plastic backer plate.






Once all the pieces were glued into position, I took a Popsicle stick and cut it into little pieces to be used as spacers. These spacers were then wedged between each piece of hose to provide a proportional gap.




Once this was done, I brushed Petroleum Jelly on the sides of adjacent pieces of hose going about half way down. This would ensure that the hot glue would not stick to the covered areas and only the areas below. The point of this is to create the look of a corrugated hose.




Once done with the hot glue, I wiped everything down to get the P.J. off of the piece. All of the hot glue slid down and stuck only where there was no Jelly.




Time for a test fit!




Lather, rinse, repeat...




Done!
All I did was throw a little shot of hot glue onto the backs of the breathers just so they don't fall off for now.

NOTE:
These breathers will not actually be used on the helmet. I built these pieces for the sole purpose of molding/casting them into single solid pieces. I feel that there is just too much "stuff" in them, too many parts to be dependable and considered a permanent fixture.


Anyways... Here is how things are looking now:






I can't believe that this helmet is almost done! It has taken some time to get to this point. I would safely assume about 100 Hrs and there is still some more to go

All that is left to do is rebuild the visor side details, find and install the LED's flashlights and install the padding and internal wiring.

I will be doing something special with regards to the wiring, but that is a surprise for a later date.


Well, that's it for today. Hope everyone likes how things are progressing! As usual... questions/comments... always welcome!

Dave.