Setting a Visor into a Helmet

[Ginsu85]

I have this idea for making Airsoft and Paintball safe Halo Helmet, my only problem is I don't know how to set the Visors into Helmets that makes them safe enough to accomplish this.

I am going to be using Pepakura and Fiber Glass for the Helmet and Plexiglass formed from a Vacuum Form Table,

Does anyone have a Tutorial on how to Set, Seal, and make sure the Visor won't pop out under impacts?

 

[Sword Breaker]

I think your best bet is putty and small screws actually. There are plenty of tutorials but i cant find any right now.
By the way, if you're planning to make it safe for airsoft, prepare for a really heavy armor since its actually quite hard to withstand a BB, especially in close quarters so dents and holes should be expected unless you do a lot of layers, when you will have to worry about dents (which are fixable with putty)
About paintball though. . . im not sure its a good idea. For starters, paintballs being larger carry more force upon impact and are more likely to cause damage to your hard worked-on armor.
Also, the paint would also be VERY annoying.
Best of luck mate!
cheers

 

[Ginsu85]

Thanks for the info, and I figured with fiber glass there would be dents, nicks, and dings with either Modern Combat Sport, but battle damage would only make it better... As for paint from paintball, it's be the same as battle damage so not really annoying to me as long as I can clean off the visor... I'm going to be doing tests and probably spending a pretty penny on making these safe for either, I may be a beginner, but I'm not stupid enough to put a helmet together and take it on the field without testing to make sure it's safe first...

 

[peterthethinker]

One small idea. If you Do end up with a safe enough helmet . secondary ANSI glasses are also cheap insurance to add as a backup .

 

[Chernobyl]

Let me be the first to officially dissuade you from creating armour with the aim of using it as protection in combat-oriented sports. The 405th does not support the creation of costumes with the intention of using them for protective purposes.

Aside from the fact that running around in twenty or thirty pounds of enclosed armour getting hot and uncomfortable really damned fast (ask any summer convention costumer and they'll tell you exactly what it's like just to stand in that stuff, let alone run in it), cosplay armour isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to move in without some extremely innovative fitting. Again, just ask any member here with a decent costume - no matter how good you strap things up, and fix it with NASA-grade future-adhesive made from STICKS and EVERYTHINGTOGETHER, things will slip, slide, crack and chafe. I can guarantee you that within half an hour of gearing up, you're going to wish you'd never bothered.

Regardless of that - no sane paintball marshal is going to let you walk onto his field in homemade gear, looking like a lawsuit waiting to happen. His neck's on the line if he lets you even so much as load up in that gear, and trust me - it only takes one misfire to ruin somebody's day (as learned by myself after accidentally unloading into the marshal's leg at point blank, and being deprived of further weapon privileges for the next round). It can always be worse, and like I said - nobody wants to have their friend dragged off the playing field with a paintball embedded somewhere at the back of their retina.

I will grant that a motorcycle visor is capable of withstanding a paintball or BB pellet impact - however, the rest of your armour will not protect you from incoming fire. The materials commonly used are generally very brittle, and will not stand up to repeated high-speed impacts. Neither vacuum-formed plastic nor fibreglass offer reasonable protection, and will very easily fracture or shatter after a few hits. The absolute last thing anybody wants is for somebody to be walking off of the playing field with a shard of plastic or fibreglass embedded in their body - or, worse, their eyes. Much less do we want angry parents marching up and demanding to know why their kid's lost his eye to a paintball slug through the faceplate. This discussion has arisen time and again on the 405th with much the same outcome each time: do not sacrifice your own personal safety in the name of 'looking cool'. It's just not worth it.

The correct safety gear rated for your favoured sport exists for a reason, so do yourself and all the other players on the field by wearing it. There's no substitute for safe play - please don't be 'that guy' and put your safety on the line.

 

[Ginsu85]

Let me be the first to officially dissuade you from creating armour with the aim of using it as protection in combat-oriented sports. The 405th does not support the creation of costumes with the intention of using them for protective purposes.

Aside from the fact that running around in twenty or thirty pounds of enclosed armour getting hot and uncomfortable really damned fast (ask any summer convention costumer and they'll tell you exactly what it's like just to stand in that stuff, let alone run in it), cosplay armour isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to move in without some extremely innovative fitting. Again, just ask any member here with a decent costume - no matter how good you strap things up, and fix it with NASA-grade future-adhesive made from STICKS and EVERYTHINGTOGETHER, things will slip, slide, crack and chafe. I can guarantee you that within half an hour of gearing up, you're going to wish you'd never bothered.

Regardless of that - no sane paintball marshal is going to let you walk onto his field in homemade gear, looking like a lawsuit waiting to happen. His neck's on the line if he lets you even so much as load up in that gear, and trust me - it only takes one misfire to ruin somebody's day (as learned by myself after accidentally unloading into the marshal's leg at point blank, and being deprived of further weapon privileges for the next round). It can always be worse, and like I said - nobody wants to have their friend dragged off the playing field with a paintball embedded somewhere at the back of their retina.

I will grant that a motorcycle visor is capable of withstanding a paintball or BB pellet impact - however, the rest of your armour will not protect you from incoming fire. The materials commonly used are generally very brittle, and will not stand up to repeated high-speed impacts. Neither vacuum-formed plastic nor fibreglass offer reasonable protection, and will very easily fracture or shatter after a few hits. The absolute last thing anybody wants is for somebody to be walking off of the playing field with a shard of plastic or fibreglass embedded in their body - or, worse, their eyes. Much less do we want angry parents marching up and demanding to know why their kid's lost his eye to a paintball slug through the faceplate. This discussion has arisen time and again on the 405th with much the same outcome each time: do not sacrifice your own personal safety in the name of 'looking cool'. It's just not worth it.

The correct safety gear rated for your favoured sport exists for a reason, so do yourself and all the other players on the field by wearing it. There's no substitute for safe play - please don't be 'that guy' and put your safety on the line.

I will not be making an entire set of armor, just the Helmet and most likely just an ODST Helmet or 5, or 10, depending on how the tests I conduct go...

 

[Chernobyl]

I will not be making an entire set of armor, just the Helmet and most likely just an ODST Helmet or 5, or 10, depending on how the tests I conduct go...

Whether you're considering simply a helmet, or a full set, I strongly urge you to not go through with this concept. There is literally no substitute for the correctly-rated safety gear - homemade armour will not protect you, and the 405th does not support or affiliate itself with the use of materials here in the production of sports armour. Safety gear exists for a reason - we recommend you use it.

Absolutely no house-grade materials are up to the job of protecting your face and eyes from incoming paintball/BB fire. Please don't put yourself at risk simply to look cool on the field.

 

[Ginsu85]

Whether you're considering simply a helmet, or a full set, I strongly urge you to not go through with this concept. There is literally no substitute for the correctly-rated safety gear - homemade armour will not protect you, and the 405th does not support or affiliate itself with the use of materials here in the production of sports armour. Safety gear exists for a reason - we recommend you use it.

Absolutely no house-grade materials are up to the job of protecting your face and eyes from incoming paintball/BB fire. Please don't put yourself at risk simply to look cool on the field.

I know 405th does not condone or support Home Made Helmets in Modern Combat Sports... I am doing this of my own free will and hold no one else but myself responsible for anything that happens to myself there in... If I have to sign a waver to relinquish all responsibility from the field I will gladly do so... as well I will not be using house-grade materials for any of this, if I have to use a different material for the rest of the helmet as well impact grade plastic that is used in most airsoft masks and all paintball masks I will... This is an idea derived by myself to open up my field of vision on the field that would otherwise be limited by goggles... I will be testing, re-testing, testing again, every helmet I make to be sure it stands up to regulations on any Airsoft and Paintball Field...

 

[Jacgren]

I would strongly suggest to use some sort of injection molded plastic for the helmet. Anything with fiberglass or cast plastics like most people use will break from getting hit by BBs. You'd need to make the helmet full seal/ANSI rated if you plan on using it at any official fields. I have similar plans of making airsoft capable armor based around the Halo 3 marine design. But the most important thing is making sure your helmet/visor/goggles are ANSI rated and won't shatter when hit multiple times. Like someone else said if you do end up doing this I'd recommend wearing shooting glasses or goggles under the helmet

 

[Chernobyl]

I... hold no one else but myself responsible for anything that happens to myself there in...

Aside from the poor sap who happens to land a shot that takes out your eye. Regardless: no. Short of actively ordering you not to go ahead with this build, there's not much the 405th can do but cross our fingers and dearly hope that you won't be as foolhardy as to actually go through with this project.

With any luck, however, the decision will be out of your hands - any marshal worth to brain cells wouldn't even dream of letting you onto the field in homemade gear.

as well I will not be using house-grade materials for any of this

Fibreglass is considered a house-grade material. Most home-made vacuum formers only use house-grade plastics (you'd be hard-pressed to home-build a vacuum former capable of pulling more than perhaps 3-4mm of acrylic sheet). Believe me - nothing you can get your hands on will stand up to the stresses you're going to be putting it through. As I mentioned - fibreglass will easily shatter under sharp impacts, most vacuum-formed plastics aren't up to the task of taking a hit, and you're going to be very hard-pressed to get your hands on visor materials that are compliant. The glue holding your visor in place is also likely to end up flubbing it, and nobody wants to risk their visor falling out during a match.

if I have to use a different material for the rest of the helmet as well impact grade plastic that is used in most airsoft masks and all paintball masks I will

A step in the right direction, but that still doesn't make your plan any more feasible. See below.

... This is an idea derived by myself to open up my field of vision on the field that would otherwise be limited by goggles

I do believe that a mask with a larger field of view would be quite easy to find, and would be a lot safer than building your own gear. Regardless of that - with the exception of perhaps one or two helmets within Halo's armoury, no helmet is going to offer you much of an increase in your field of vision.

I will be testing, re-testing, testing again, every helmet I make to be sure it stands up to regulations on any Airsoft and Paintball Field...

I'm not sure you have any real idea of how rigorous the certification process for sports safety gear is, nor do I think you've considered the fact that self-certification isn't going to cut it. These masks are tested to destruction before going into production - you can't simply throw some stronger materials at your project and hope that things are going to work out. You can't just say 'well, I'll throw some ABS plastic at it, it'll be fine, right?'. Likewise, any official paintball/airsoft marshal is going to take one look at your kit, see that it's not officially rated to the required industry standards, and refuse you entry onto the field - put simply, homemade gear is a liability nobody wants to deal with. There's a very good reason for industry standards on combat sports safety gear, and nothing you produce at home is even going to come close to offering the protection you're going to need on the field.

Most of us have been paintballing at some point. Yes, it's annoying to have your mask fog up, and yes, it's annoying to get taken out by something outside of your peripheral vision. It also hurts like hell when you get shot in the arse, or your 'nads - let's not try to find out how much getting a paintball embedded in your eye socket is, yes? Please don't be stubborn, please don't put your own personal safety on the line. Stick to the official gear.

 

[Ginsu85]

I would strongly suggest to use some sort of injection molded plastic for the helmet. Anything with fiberglass or cast plastics like most people use will break from getting hit by BBs. You'd need to make the helmet full seal/ANSI rated if you plan on using it at any official fields. I have similar plans of making airsoft capable armor based around the Halo 3 marine design. But the most important thing is making sure your helmet/visor/goggles are ANSI rated and won't shatter when hit multiple times. Like someone else said if you do end up doing this I'd recommend wearing shooting glasses or goggles under the helmet

Well I will be looking into the ANSI Regulations then, and yeah wearing shooting glasses under helmet is a good plan, I wear them every day so it really wouldn't be any different... I'd just be wearing them with a helmet... Lol...

 

[Barroth]

I'm going to stand on Chernobyl's side of the argument here. I made my helmet out of resin and bondo and some of the thinner parts are breaking off just from me putting the helmet on and taking it off a few times. anything going remotely fast is gonna break those thinner parts and with how I did it, that is parts around the ear, lower jaw and throat. I'm afraid that some of those thinner parts are gonna crack if someone as much as punches me. I use this armor for cons and Humans versus Zombies. it is a giant game of tag where the humans have nerf guns and socks. Seeing some of the NERF stuff to be used in the game, those can crack the thinner parts of my helmet if they hit it right. That and the lovely flying hands trying to grab me can also do damage to my helmet. Also just the design of these helmets are cause for concern. the ones that deflect more than catch limit your vision too much and all of the other helmets will have at least one place where anything can catch. The lights and visor on the MK VI are a great example of what I am talking about. If your fit is off in the slightest, and a paintball hits it, you are going to have your helmet turned to obstruct so much of your vision that the only thing you can do is kneel, and all of that will happen before you even realize you were hit. Also from a materials perspective, the things that are gonna protect you better on the field are things that have some degree of flexibility. Fiberglass will shatter rather than flex causing those sharp pointy bits to fly straight into whatever they hit next. There is a reason why most paintball masks are flexible. Coming from a game which has a significantly slower velocity seen in it, I am pleading that you understand that with Nerf stuff I am concerned about the safety of my helmet.

Seriously, don't do this. The last thing we want to see here is people getting injured.

 

[firehaven]

HI,I'm new to the forum but not to pepakura. I've spent almost three years trying to find the perfect way to make an halo helmet worthy of airsoft. Don't use fiberglass or bondo to harden the helmet.The best thing to use is smooth on 300 liquid plastic(or task12 but thats super expensive). Basically you want to seal your pepakura model with fiberglass resin on the outside, you should only need one layer.Then take smooth on 300 and pour it straight into your helmet and slush it around, make sure to coat the inside evenly.Do as many coats as you fell is right, then you can sand of the paper to make it smooth. As for the visor I haven't gotten that far do o lack of funds, but what i plan to use is a work shop visor and epoxy and epoxy putty to secure it in the helmet. Hope this helps. by the way every test i have done has been with a 450+ fps weapon, As long as you be smart and safe and test everything a lot you'll be fine. I suggest looking up how to make an airsoft mask.

 

[FlyinPhil]

Ugh... reading these posts has a strong tendency to make my brain hurt. I shall apologize in advance, but my following words are going to be very blunt.

First off, my background: I have played paintball for the past 15 years, as well as dabbled into airsoft on occasion. I also happen to really enjoy seeing technology and innovation being brought into these sports.

Secondly: trying to make your own helmet is just a plain and simple silly idea. No homemade mask is going to give you a better "field of vision" than commercially available masks. Go grab a set of empire events, newer dye invisions, etc, and your view is hardly obstructed.... like at all... that's not even an issue in the slightest.

The only applicable reason for what you are trying to do is look cool... by wearing a heavier, bulkier helmet. It will be a pain to wear, and increase your head's profile and size, and increase your chances of being "hit" on the field. Not to mention it's going to fog like crazy due to a lack of thermal (dual paned lens) and lack of airflow because it's a helmet, not a mask.

Also, plexiglass has a strong tendency to shatter when exposed to high impacts....not a good thing to have stuck to your face.

Set the craft supplies aside, and go spend less money on a more comfortable, less view-obstructing, and safe commercial mask.