BAZINGA

If it is any consequence I'm going to ultimately be using an over the shoulder harness for the thighs too instead of a belt. Bart

I've arranged with a local TK for a photo shoot this coming Saturday. Hoping for the best for the fit. Should be easier to get aligned with an extra set of knowing eyes on me. Bart

OK, so I looked at your links and all good for the belt. I am curious about that knee strap you have that you made mention of getting rid of. I'm actually surprised that the originals didn't use any form of strapping between thighs and shins. I think it would have made aligning things way easier. I have been messing about today with velcro on the boot and bottom of shin plus some padding in the shin to space things out, make them feel firmer and reduce the feeling of clanking around. I can't help but feel I'm "crooked" half the time. Trying to line up cover strips with front of legs and then standing different so everything moves around in relation to each other. I have to assume that if there is one area that tends to be harder to maintain alignment it has to be the legs because no one ever stands statue still, there is always going to be movement there that will shift stuff around. The sniper knee is the perfect example. Depending on how I'm standing it is either straight forward or off to the side a bit or what seems too low or too high. Someone tell me to stop over-thinking the damn legs PLEASE! In any event I'm not swimming in the shins or thighs. Mark did a nice job of sizing them up for my skinny legs. It will help with another set of eyes to straighten me out for photos and to determine where some padding might be good in the thighs as well as height and all those little details. I do intend to post in the pre-approval section first. I also will aim for all the level 2 stuff before then. I'd like to make the GML's job easy and reduce my stress at the same time. By my figuring I have to paint the tips with a bit of white yet and finish the second drop box repositioning to tick everything on the level 2 list. I just have to make one more bi-cep hook and glue it in then I'm pretty much done all the strapping adjustments. I'm also going to speak with my eye Doctor and see if wearing disposable contacts for a few hours every month will further harm my eyes. If it is okay and I can't tolerate them I would much prefer using those over my glasses, but I will plan for glasses either way. Bart

Oh. Well I had read on there that is says "rear" so assumed it has to come off. I won't rule out a higher level then. I read over the CRL and thought I might be at 50% for level 2. Thanks. Bart

Once I get serious about fitting mine I'll let you know what I did! I think it is going to be some padding just to provide some resistance to spinning movement but other than that I don't think there is a lot I need to do. Bart

Thanks. My current method of madness is to do higher level changes if I can easily do them. The logic is if it is level 3 good then basic has to be good. That helps to offset the OCD! I'm gluing the second drop box now which is a bit harder than the other one was so hopefully it moved enough. But, I don't think it can get higher than basic. I can't remove the belt unless I want to begin drilling out the rivet and redoing the belt and I know I don't have the skills or tools for that one and I see all the EIB photos have pictures of the backside of the belt which I cannot supply. I also would need to buy a "S" seal for the helmet and this one appears to be the basic "U" seal (but I haven't actually pulled it off the rim to be certain it just looks like the basic one). That is not a deal breaker though to get that seal. I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm hitting all the high points for the basic approval once I have a second set of eyes on me to align me! Bart

And it may still end up this way if the liner turns out to not be the best solution! Bart

Results from some of yesterday's work. Tried on the right arm for a change of pace. I still managed to get the helmet screwed on. There is about 1/16 of an inch padding for the top of my head so hopefully this looks low enough to match originals. I had an idea for wedges to give the liner more area to grip the velcro in the helmet so been designing and printing some samples for testing later on (after approval when I can start doing additional tweaks). I think it looks good. If I had a neck seal you wouldn't even see it in the front. Also have been looking at the shoulder gaps again and while I will still get the modified shoulder elastics made at least the front and back are fairly consistent for gap. I am wondering if this drop box fix passes the test? It was my glue idea and it can be undone. Further non-invasive probing suggests the elastic isn't glued onto the belt it just can't slide far enough over before it gets to the rivet. This still seems like the easiest solution. I am also going to see if there are any other eye glasses I can buy that have the bare minimum of frames in the way. Anything like that adds up to more comfort. I don't need them to be reading glasses or progressives just some average mid-range deals and I can probably get around just fine. I really don't want to go without glasses and contacts aren't an option for my eyes. The rest of the long weekend is going to get the boots and shins set up with velcro and padding and possibly thigh padding. I actually think I am within striking distance of getting photos done. Happy New Year! Bart

Yes, the bobble head is gone. Just need to tweak for the best possible comfort now and ensure the liner stays attached and doesn't unexpectedly come off on one of the tabs. Bart

Tomorrow's project is the shins so this is perfect. That's an idea on the lenses. I'd have to do some thinking on how it could be done. For now I'm figuring out how to work around it. I have taken the helmet on and off a few times to see how it goes. Once I trimmed for the bridge of my nose it improved again. The thicker lens material might work better as it won't try to flex as much. I am not going to do anything about the lenses just yet. I'm going to work with the lens film a bit. What I am finding is that the front hardhat liner tabs aren't holding on by much. I will have to thicken up the velcro area to get more surface area or glue in ABS spacers first then put in the velcro. That is a bit more than I want to experiment with at this time. I had to let the OCD go on the velcro in the helmet as I had to put in bigger patches to allow for adjustments so the liner is not perfectly centres on each tab. Ugh. I can handle it. All the foam is now out and the ongoing fitting process. Helmet dropped about an inch. I guess you can't really tell but when I turn my head the helmet is not lagging behind or moving after I stop turning. It's clamped on pretty well and comfort is not horrible. It could be a bit better yet. Overall a successful day of fitting adjustments. Bart

I put some velcro in the helmet today and started to see about fitting the headgear. Many four letter words later, regarding why my head would no longer go into the helmet properly, I realized I was wearing my reading glasses and not the normally smaller glasses I'd be using with it... So once that was sorted I think the headgear will work. I will never be able to just easily slide the helmet on and off with the glasses but that shouldn't be much of a problem. The hard part is still getting the helmet turned into position around my glasses. The glasses catch the edges of the lens material. Once I gently nudge things around it sits nice. Too bad there just wasn't another half inch in there to take care of the glasses. I will need to trim a bit of lens material that digs into the bridge of my nose which I think is common for a lot of people. The headgear has stopped most of the helmet wobble and dropped the helmet a good inch so I think it will look closer to original low riders. If it is too low a piece of padding on the top can even out the difference. I also added some padding to my forearms as planned. I'm liking that. The forearms lost all their wobbly look when I move my arms. I'm going to take another crack at adding the bicep hooks just to ensure as much stray movement as possible is out of the equation. If the arm padding is any indication I'll be adding some to the shins and possibly thighs as well and tighten myself up nicely. Bart

This is the weekend for velcro and padding. I have the 3M velcro that was in the list for what to have in the emergency kit. This should be the heavy duty stuff. When I'm doing the velcro on the front of the boots and inside the front shin should I be adding additional glue to help hold the velcro or just use the peel and stick? My gut is saying don't add extra glue. Also, how big of a patch is about right for the boot? Bart

I wouldn't say I'm worried about the bare plastic. I'll have a small amount of padding. It is disappointing that I won't have room for a party though... This weekend I'm going to remove the padding on the sides and see about adding the headgear. I expect it will take a few tweaks to really get it feeling right on my head. I'm used to a hardhat not an enclosed helmet. I have lots of good ideas here to find what works for me. I wear a hardhat for work for a good portion of the day so I think I already have the grooves in my head for that fit! I am trying really hard to not overthink this part, but even not trying to overthink it is like over thinking it so sort of damned either way! Bart

Here is the hardhat suspension just set in. The top pad would sit just at the top of the helmet so my head wouldn't be on bare plastic, it would get a bit of padding. It looks like the gear would give me the front spacing that the padding would do for those that had the padding above the eyes. The trick will be if I can get my head into the suspension then turn it while still having it tight enough to be effective. Only installing it in the helmet will answer that question. The padding on each side probably needs to be replaced or removed too. With my glasses it's just in the way screwing the lid down onto my head with the quarter turn. Again, nothing really difficult here to achieve to drop it down and maximize the comfort. Bart

I took the top foam out of the helmet tonight. It was about .75 to 1 inch thick so that is going to drop the helmet quite a bit. Obviously that will be the limit to how much I can drop it. I found after removing the foam I was looking out of the top of the lenses so that is still good for vision. If I moved the helmet forward to approximate where some foam would hold it it was much more comfortable on my neck and nose. So right now these ideas are promising for sure. I am going to see how the hardhat suspension might fit in there. I am just going to use velcro so I have vertical tweaking available and can easily tear it out if need be to try again. Bart

Hello and welcome! I certainly don't mind if you post in here however it is less confusion, as mentioned, to do your own thread to keep the information correct to you. And, I tend to get a bit anxious about things so you don't want to be part of that melt down! The fitting part has not been as difficult as my head was making it so if I can get through it anyone can. I found that some of it is trial and error though and if you have someone to help hold things and take pictures it is way better and easier to tell if something is really not right or just not right because you are twisting around trying to get photos. Bart

By thicker I just mean not the plastic film type. It's not that thick, but no chance of wrinkles and less distortion. I also am trying to have the same overall look as the local TKs that I'll spend the most time with. Keep the group appearance the same. But as with everything, nothing is written in stone just yet. I'm going to remove the padding in the top in the next day or two and start working with the fit first. Bart

Yes after I really looked close I could see the white foam. Almost invisible! I have some white foam about an inch thick so if I need to go the same route I should be covered. I'm currently thinking if I should swap the current lens material for the thicker variety. I bought some from Trooperbay in the event I do this. I don't know if it should be done first or after everything else is installed in the helmet. I also think that maybe that is advanced work and I should just leave it alone for a bit! Bart

I don't think I'd care for it to be that full! I'd have to look into the goggles however the last time I had something similar they were for swimming and they couldn't actually make them to my prescription requirements. They were okay for a bit of swimming, but to wear them for anything else I wouldn't want to. I have not great eye problems and just to have glasses that aren't Coke bottle bottoms thick is a challenge. I'd prefer just having my normal glasses. Not ruling anything out yet. Bart

Is it a spray booth or are you playing Dexter today? Bart

I will look at every helmet interior no matter how dated! That is a big bit of foam, more than I would have guessed. Interesting. I may need that as I do find the front of the helmet bottom edge seems tight against my throat so moving it forward is probably a good thing. Bart

There is foam in this photo? No judgement if you head fits the shape of this interior. Good for you! haha. I laugh when I wear the helmet as is because it looks exactly like a bobble head on me. I don't know if I am going to put the icomm in the helmet yet. I see pros and cons to extra devices in there. but that isn't decided yet either. Bart

I go to the hard hat suspension for a couple reasons. One, I wear one at work and am used to how they feel and can keep the hardhat stable and two, what some of the local TKs are doing so I see their stuff and get their take on it. The final fit is still up to debate. I'm going to experiment for sure as this is one area that everyone will have a different comfort level with. For basic approval I don't have to have the interior finalized and I fully expect some additional tweaking for comfort will happen over time. Would be very hard to hit the ground running and expect no further adjustments. As I'm adding fans too there is a bit of fiddling yet for the helmet. I'm looking forward more and more every day to getting pre-approval photos up. I feel it is within reach now. Two weeks ago I didn't think it was ever going to get there. Bart

I do not have a chin strap. Did you add one yourself? I would add that if after doing everything else I am still getting too much bobble. Bart

Hey I can get one arm on by myself now in under a minute. Two is going to be asking a lot! I'm still celebrating arms today. It's arm day and Star Wars has been playing just about non-stop on Showcase so listening to that for inspiration as I putter around. It's my darn glasses that will be the biggest hold back on where the helmet can finally sit. I can't not wear them or I'd have a headache and be walking into everything. I like the idea of looking through the tops of the lenses instead of the middle and I think that is achievable. Getting close to the lenses with my glasses maybe not so much. I'll see. No pun intended. I wish I could wear contacts, but that's not an option for me either. Stupid eye problems. I have the helmet padding now from Amazon so can play with that a bit too. There is padding over each ear as well which I probably need to reduce too as it interferes with getting my head in the thing. I've been told I can have an ego, but I didn't think it was enough to actually physically swell my head. Slowly but surely. Bart