"modular" helmet face plate idea

[gutrot45]

hopefully this isn't against any of the rules and in the right place as this is more of a brainstorm, but I've seen a ton of these helmets from the people in my office that ride bikes in and was wondering if there would be a way to somehow incorporate this idea into a Halo bucket?

from what I've seen, it's nothing more than a button that you push on the "chin" of the helmet and the faceplate slides up almost like the Iron Man helmet.

my question is has anyone tried or thought of doing something like this? seems to me like it would make the whole rondo/mud glassing/fiber glassing the interior a hell of a lot easier as well as putting on/taking off and possible cooling a little easier without the need to wire in too many lights or fans. also adds that little bit of individuality to the part.

any ideas/suggestions/comments?

 

[CoolC]

hopefully this isn't against any of the rules and in the right place as this is more of a brainstorm, but I've seen a ton of these helmets from the people in my office that ride bikes in and was wondering if there would be a way to somehow incorporate this idea into a Halo bucket?
from what I've seen, it's nothing more than a button that you push on the "chin" of the helmet and the faceplate slides up almost like the Iron Man helmet.

my question is has anyone tried or thought of doing something like this? seems to me like it would make the whole rondo/mud glassing/fiber glassing the interior a hell of a lot easier as well as putting on/taking off and possible cooling a little easier without the need to wire in too many lights or fans. also adds that little bit of individuality to the part.

any ideas/suggestions/comments?

Of the time I spent at 405th, I haven't seen anyone with this concept. Probably for 2 reasons:

1) Everyone is trying to be as close or as accurate to the game. None (that I know of) of the spartans in Halo universe has open faceplate. Doing so is blasphemy.

2) All the helmets are flush on the sides as a whole unit. Making a mechanism to open an close will require cutting the face off and then reattach it using a mechanical linkage. This linkage is much more complex than anyone of us want to tackle. It is much more easier just to take off the helmet than trying to think of way to open the faceplate.

Iron Man is different. The helmet is very much sticking to the head with little clearance. Hence, using a open faceplate makes more sense.

 

[gutrot45]

fair enough. the thought of committing an act of blasphemy against the series is good enough a reason to scrap any thoughts i might have had.

thanks for the input though!

 

[Spitfire22V]

my question is has anyone tried or thought of doing something like this? seems to me like it would make the whole rondo/mud glassing/fiber glassing the interior a hell of a lot easier as well as putting on/taking off and possible cooling a little easier without the need to wire in too many lights or fans. also adds that little bit of individuality to the part.

any ideas/suggestions/comments?

To be honest, I don't think it would make the hardening process easier since if one were to do this, I would not separate the pieces before hardening. Fiberglassing or Rondo has a tendency to warp or change the shape of parts slightly due to the added weight, so it would be best to do the hardening process, and then[i/] cut the part.

Of course, I'm of the same mindset when it comes to separating the chest piece.

 

[gutrot45]

To be honest, I don't think it would make the hardening process easier since if one were to do this, I would not separate the pieces before hardening. Fiberglassing or Rondo has a tendency to warp or change the shape of parts slightly due to the added weight, so it would be best to do the hardening process, and then[i/] cut the part.

Of course, I'm of the same mindset when it comes to separating the chest piece.

that's what i had initially planned, hardening the helmet with a layer of resin and rondo then making the split to see if i could utilize the modular idea. i know that i've seen a few builds where the helmet has been split, and therer are a few helmets where certain lines could be followed to keep things looking flush (the Noble Six helmet comes to mind with the circular ear pieces).

as CoolC said though, it's blasphemy if something like this is done within the world of Halo and it's devoted followers, though like i said, i have seen a few builds where things were split and held together with rare earth magnets or snaps of some sort. maybe i'll see if i can hammer out a quick helmet pep when i get home and tinker with the idea tomorrow to see if something like this could even be done using various low cost items. i'll post any pics of ideas i come up with for the sake of the conversation.

 

[Spitfire22V]

I don't see it as very "blasphemous" considering that lots of people alter their suits to personalize them a bit. Especially since it doesn't really alter the look of the helmet at all when it's closed. I mean, I would almost consider people who have "finished" suits but no boots as more blasphemous than this, but that's just me.

If you're going to try it, try it for the correct reasons, namely for cooling and potentially ease of putting it on and taking it off. I was just trying to say I personally think that splitting the helmet for ease of hardening would be more detrimental than beneficial for reasons I mentioned earlier.

However, for the record, I have a little bit of difficulty reaching my helmet when I'm fully suited up due to interference of armor pieces, which would limit the idea of opening the face plate whenever you needed to cool off. This may be because of some improper scaling of arm pieces, so I don't know if this applies to everyone. Somethign to keep in mind though.

 

[gutrot45]

that is true. the shoulder and arm pieces combined with whatever chest permutation i decide to toss on might make for a challenging time. i just wonder about the choice between wiring in fans and any form of lighting within the helmet instead of just having a way to get fresh air or even a sip or drink without having to completely remove the helmet you know?


any way, to the drawing board!

 

[Spitfire22V]

No, you're absolutely right. The lights obviously would remain because they're just awesome, but you probably wouldn't need fans. And the ability to eat/drink without removing the helmet is a HUGE plus!

 

[CoolC]

as CoolC said though, it's blasphemy if something like this is done within the world of Halo and it's devoted followers...

For the record, I said that in good humor. It's your build you can do as you please. Like spitfire said it is not any easier. My second point still holds, it is way easier than trying to figure out a mechanism to open and close the face plate. If you can figure it out without causing frustration you shield go for it. Who knows? Some of us may try your idea.

 

[gutrot45]

right? even gas masks have the straw attachment so you can drink from your canteen. though i suppose something like that could also be rigged up as well.

For the record, I said that in good humor. It's your build you can do as you please. Like spitfire said it is not any easier. My second point still holds, it is way easier than trying to figure out a mechanism to open and close the face plate. If you can figure it out without causing frustration you shield go for it. Who knows? Some of us may try your idea.

haha no i know you meant it in good humor, hopefully i didn't come across as a douche or anything when i mentioned it again. to be honest, the way your response sounded was straight and to the point which is what i was looking for so it's all good

i'll keep the thread updated with pics if i can figure something out.

 

[gutrot45]

sorry for the double post, but i wanted to put up the pics that i just snapped so i can reference them when i get out of work here instead of dealing with my phone. anyway, from the looks of the mechanism, it's a simple clasp that is held shut with a peg that sits between the clasp that is opened with said button. all it looks like i'd need is a spring or 2, something to put the button in and a rivet/peg or 2 for the clasps to grab onto. after looking at the reference images of the Noble Six render that's floating around the forum, i might have found lines in which to put the split. i'll update this post with a mock up that i'm currently constructing in illustrator with the images. nothing pretty, but better than scribbling on a printed out pic seeing as my drawing tablet isn't with me at the moment.

button to open the faceplate

clasp closed

clasp opened

pegs/rivets

and a quick note on potential idea on specifically the Noble Six helmet

ideas welcome!

 

[thorn696]

Were I don't know much about helmet as of yet I have seen a MC helm that was fitted to the outside of a helmet on the forms here. It looked good. Maybe you can search that out and see if you can convert it over to you're helmet style.

If you make this post ALLOT of pic's

 

[dung0beetle]

You may have more luck using the earcap as a button since the shape is there and the location is more ideal being dead center of the head. I would use the whole lower jaw too because it would be a pain in the "chinstrap" to make the mask clear the rest of the helmet. You almost don't have the clearance to flip it up where you have your cut lines. You will need to cut back more about an inch (on top) to give it freedom of movement (if your pivot is at the center of the ears).
I say go for it! A flip-up helmet would rock! You could still use a voice changer and be in character as you eat/drink. Just because you don't see it in-game doesn't mean it doesn't work that way.

 

[hellome]

I hope someone actually does that noble 6 idea. I would be amazed....

 

[gutrot45]

I hope someone actually does that noble 6 idea. I would be amazed....

that's my plan. thus far i have the pep printed and waiting to build it, but i whipped up a few variations, any input on to which would look better or anything like that? i looked a ton of different modular bike helmets as a reference and noticed that most of them are nothing more than a glorified visor with certain ones including the chin area that lifts over the face. after looking at the lines on Noble Six, i found a line that looks like it would work perfectly for this, the question being of course if there is the proper clearance, then the issue of the locking mechanism and where it should go. Dung, i thought about the ear cap as being almost the perfect place for it as the circle that it's in the center of the cap is what i've been using as a pivot point but i wonder if putting something like a simple button/lock system in it would press too much into my head or if it would be strong enough.

anyway, i have plans to construct something that uses this, and with the varied responses i've received in this thread, there's plenty of motivation to carry on with it.

the 2 plans that i thought up for a general mock up are the following:
this is the entire faceplate that would move following the jaw line. the split goes far enough up the forehead of the helmet to uncover the entire face area. to illustrate this i've made the outline of the helmet a blue line with the white line being the moveable area.

this plan would be just the visor and forehead piece, more like a normal motorcycle/paintball visor. not to keen on this one.

i have to make a mock up for the front of the helmet as well and a coworker of mine is actually going to give me his old modular helmet so i might be able to just harvest the locking mechanisms out of that and incorporate it into the bucket as his old helmet has been dropped enough times to consider it unsafe. free swag.. i'm all about it as it fits my budget haha.

progress and more pics to come

 

[Toacrabman]

My GUNGNIR helmet im going to make was actually going to have a similar system. I was also thinking of cooling, but i was more thinking of taking off the lens/screen things for maintanance. Probably alot of adjusting the screen.