Hi! Ok today I decided to take a big step and hack away and un-rivet some parts from my TE Hicks helmet.
I was always confused why the earcup portion sat so low on my head on any helmet I wore, that was until Vito pointed out the flap plate was meant to sit about 1" into the actual helmet. I was a little apprehensive about having to un-do some of Terry's work and cut into the helmet, but after seeing that the flap plate gap actually was pre-cut to the the height i needed i was more confident to go for it.
So first thing was to cut off the existing rivets and remove the top plate..
I had to cut some metal from the sides of the gap to allow the flap to fit.
Then it was a simple case of redrilling the holes in the helmet, riveting it in place and then painting the rivets to match the camo pattern.
As you can see the helmet band now keeps the flap from swinging outwards and will keep the cup against the wearers face, just like in the movie!
Ok next on the to-do list was rework the ear-cup itself. I began by removing the mic replica. I decided to swap the cylinder that holds the mic arm with one of marsattacks's replicas. This is a little more accurate and I can add an accurate dial to the base.
Then I patched up the itex earcup holes so I can remould it and cast a resin copy into which I can drill holes for accurate mic placing. Note it still needs sanding in the photo.
Ok next up was to create a hard resin copy of the padded earcup "doughnut". I didnt want to use the real one for 2 reasons. 1) it had a small chunk missing and 2) foam will perish over time.
So i (l to r) took the real one, fixed the hole with plasticene then moulded and cast a copy.
Next step will be to cast the earcup and install the mic.
My TE helmet will have the same placement.
