mark

I'm looking all over for rubber trim. I wonder if I am looking in the right places.... Window trim and molding, vehicle molding, rubber trim, etc...nothing seems to yeild the right thing.

Looks excellent! Very nice job.

Nice job, but I wonder what that ABS cement will do to that paint... My opinion, you should have assembled the helmet before painting... Has anyone painted the inside before assembly?

Hey Darcy....Frame? I actually did a poor-man's Vacuum pull. I heated up the styrene, placed the piece over the the actual fan, the pressed it with a lid...the trimming is the hard part, and you get alot of wrinkles if you're not careful.

Hey Darcy, I have a MRCE Stunt and the cooling unit I made fits nicely under the frown...the only issue I had was I had to shave my goatee...the hair on my chin was getting caught in the fan! OUCH! Now that I shaved it off, it's PERFECT. The cooling fan is positioned in such a way that the air goes around the bottom of my jaw, cooling my cheeks and neck. I added another one to the back tube area and now it's very comfortable. Here's a link to the unit: -----

That's not a problem...as a matter of fact, I would spray it for you, and include the mini-zip ties and fan with the unit... I'm SO relieved that some of you like this, and I figure it's been an on-going issue with trooping...heat. The fan is a 12CFM fan, which blows really good, and the noise level is at a MINIMUM due to the Cooler Mount. PM me if anyone would like one or two...I'd probably let them go for $13.00 each plus shipping... They include the fan, which is pretty expensive on it's own. Also, I will be cutting some Empire logos for the fans, which I agree, would look kick-an impolite person!

Thanks...it was a long hard winding road to completion. I tried SO many different things to get this off the drawing board. Originally I tried to use resin, and poured it into a mold that I made. It was a very expensive effort...but the resin was too brittle and cracked when I drilled into it. (probably old resin?) I then moved to a 2-part putty method, and pushed the 2 part putty into the same mold, and it didn't work really well, and it broke my mold. Then, I made about 10 prototypes with Styrene/ABS and after a couple weeks, I finally got it. If anyone wants one, let me know. Thanks! toonman@msn.com

Ok, here's the final version. The TK-COOLER is finally born. Hope you guys like this one.... 40mm fan. Minimize vibration, better airflow over face and neck and can be mounted virtually anywhere in helmets. ----------

Thanks!.... EDITED: New post below.

I finished the first workable prototype tonight. The prototype that I finished tonight will only fit in the FX lids, but I will modify this design to fit inside smaller buckets too. Photos are coming, I just can't find my memory card reader...damn. Look for photos tomorrow, hopefully I will find it by then! Description: It's made of 1 piece styrene, semi-vac formed, with a small amount of lift so air can be drawn from under the fan, and exhaled onto your face. A 40mm fan will need to be attached using small zip ties, not screws, limiting vibrations. Attached to two ends of the unit is strips of velcro; no part of the TK-Cooler will touch the helmet, also limiting vibrations. I will have the first prototype on Ebay soon, so if anyone is interested, I'll post a link to it. This whole project has left me a broke man, and considering how simple the final product appears to be, it's unfortunately a pain to make. I'll most likely ask $10 for the unit without a fan, plus 3.00 shipping. Hope you all like what you see. Again, a whole new design will need to be tested for the smaller buckets. Photos soon!!! (Where's that damn card reader?)

UPDATE: First prototype failed miserably. I am already working on modifying the design, and will use styrene instead of resin. The resin was too brittle... More updates soon! (and photos)

That's not a bad idea... I'd like it to fit in a wide range of lids, so having it mountable between the aerators seems to be the most logical place for it. I am going to TAP Plastics after work to get the resin and supplies... I may tweak it a bit to include some form of Loki's idea.

Thanks for comments fellas...I'm going to sculp an example over the weekend, and perhaps make a prototype to see if my brain-fart works...lol. I'll keep everyone up to date.

Hey everyone... Here's a concept drawing that I made to get feedback from you guys. I noticed that most people who put fans in their lids usually have them installed faily sloppy, and they look out of place. Here's my "brainstorm" solution. Let me know what you think. The idea is to give the fan a base, that conforms to the shape of a particular area inside the helmet. The fan itself would have to be around 40mm. ---------- I would sculpt/mold/manufacture these using resin or heavy latex to prevent vibrations. Thanks for you opinions!

No problem... I'm going to the post office today, so it will be on it's way this afternoon.

I'm looking forward to my first armor kit....I am ordering it when I get my tax refund supplement. Congrats on the order tho!

Hey Mark, I have an extra Empire logo decal too, so I'm sending that to you as well.

I have an extra set of Arlon 05 Blue Tube Stripes left, if anyone wants them....for free. Just send me your address and I'll get those to you! Email me toonman@msn.com

Seems like a risky operation, but it does look better!

Has anyone re-painted their CE helmets completely?...just wondering... I'm tempted, so it matches my FX armor better....