Modifying the Nico Helmet

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 hours ago, Vassau said:

Awesome helmet! Did you fill in the seams between the dome and the back plate? I'm not sure if it is more accurate or not to fill it in.

I doubt it as it was painted separate

 

 

Screen used helmet

[Vassau]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I doubt it as it was painted separate

 

 

Screen used helmet

Welp, I filled in mine... I should've done more research.

[TK-30925-Logan[TK]]

I have the receipts for the Nico helmet! Is anyone able to send me the files? I tried contacting TKModder421, but I’m not sure how active they are. (Even tried emailing).

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

44 minutes ago, TK-30925-Logan said:

I have the receipts for the Nico helmet! Is anyone able to send me the files? I tried contacting TKModder421, but I’m not sure how active they are. (Even tried emailing).

Unfortunately he has not been on the forum since January. You could try him on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gregmbower.

 

 

 

[TKModder421[TK]]

Hey all, I apologize for leaving this thread hanging for so long. Life has really been knocking me around for the past year and a half. I've hopefully caught up with everyone who has inquired and reached out about getting the modded files. If not, please reach out again.

 

Alright, so I wanted to post up a few more pics of my build that I never got around to posting. I'm actually still not fully done. I haven't made lenses yet. Currently I'm using placeholders printed from PLA in most of these pics, and the mic tips are printed OT tips, but I'm currently working on some to go with the modded files, so I'll probably end up using those.

 

Anyway, coming back to the rubber brow trim. Ultimately, I liked the way it looked a little better than the printed version. In all honesty, I think the printed one actually looks pretty good.

I like the way it turned out. But I've seen different references, some look like my printed trim and others look like rubber trim to me, somewhat similar to OT TKs. So I decided I was gonna make this build with rubber trim. I have a previous post entry where I show the rubber trim that I was experimenting with. I chose to experiment with the US161 rubber trim from sealsdirect.co.uk. It has the same height as the OT rubber brow trim, but it has a wider U-channel, which is necessary to ensure there isn't a gap between the trim and the forehead. 

 

Now as we've seen from reference, the positioning of the brow trim can vary from trooper to trooper even with the new Gen TKs. I happen to like the look of the trim hanging right above the top of the eyes, so to ensure that it would stay in place I designed a shim to adhere to the inside of the rubber trim that could then be adhered to the ledge of the brow/front of the dome. This will also work for the printed brow trim if you want the same positioning.

 

I ended up using E6000 to first adhere the shim to the inside bottom edge of the rubber trim and used small spring clamps to hold it in place while it cured. And then later (and I'll make another post about assembly) I again used E6000 to adhere it to the brow.

 

Here's a few pics of the shim in reference to the helmet and US161 rubber trim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TKModder421[TK]]

After painting, I found I had a good amount of orange peel type texture and I really debated on what I wanted to do.

 

You can really see it in this image.

 

Eventually I decided to wet sand down the texture. Starting at 600 and moving to 800, 1000, then 2000. Unfortunately I found, I should've added a couple more coats when painting. As I got into it, I found there were some thinner areas that I started to burn through. After some debate as to whether to lay down more layers or not, I decided that I didn't have the patience to start the process over. Besides, I've been planning to weather this one relatively dirty, like a Wobani transport trooper from R1. So a few darker areas and burned through edges should match the weathering.

 

 

Anyway, after wet sanding up to 2000 grit, I then applied Carfidant Scratch and Swirl Remover and buffed that in. It fills all the little 2000 grit micro scratches and swirls and brings back the nice reflective surface you expect to see on a TK.

 

 

The combination of the Behr gloss white and the white scratch/swirl remover, it ended up with a decent semi-reflective satin type finish. Not too glossy, but still get the reflection in the light.

 

Next post: I'll talk about painting the tear and trap recesses and assembly

[jsilvius[Staff]]

I'm curious with the growth of 256 cubed printers (Centuri Carbon, Bambu Labs P1S, etc) have you thought about slicing the files to fit smaller printers? Maybe adding some cut with keys or dove tails for the bigger parts?

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[TKModder421[TK]]

I'm curious with the growth of 256 cubed printers (Centuri Carbon, Bambu Labs P1S, etc) have you thought about slicing the files to fit smaller printers? Maybe adding some cut with keys or dove tails for the bigger parts?

Sent from my SM-S938U using Tapatalk

No, hadn’t crossed my mind.
It’s a good idea though, I like it. I’ll look into it


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[LEECABRE]

En 30/10/2025 a las 13:53, TKModder421 dijo:

Hola a todos, disculpen por haber dejado este hilo sin responder durante tanto tiempo. La vida me ha tenido muy ocupado durante el último año y medio. Espero haber podido responder a todos los que preguntaron y se pusieron en contacto conmigo para obtener los archivos modificados. Si no es así, por favor, vuelvan a escribirme.

 

Bueno, quería subir algunas fotos más de mi proyecto que nunca llegué a publicar. De hecho, todavía no está del todo terminado. Aún no he hecho las lentes. Actualmente estoy usando lentes provisionales impresas en PLA en la mayoría de estas fotos, y las puntas del micrófono son puntas OT impresas, pero estoy trabajando en algunas para usar con los archivos modificados, así que probablemente termine usando esas.

 

En fin, volviendo al tema de la goma para las cejas. Al final, me gustó un poco más cómo se veía que la versión impresa. Siendo sincera, creo que la impresa se ve bastante bien.

Me gusta cómo quedó. Pero he visto diferentes referencias; algunas se parecen a mi moldura impresa y otras a molduras de goma, algo similares a las de OT TK. Así que decidí hacer esta maqueta con molduras de goma. En una publicación anterior mostré las molduras de goma con las que estuve experimentando. Elegí experimentar con la moldura de goma US161 de  sealsdirect.co.uk . Tiene la misma altura que la moldura de goma de la parte superior de OT, pero tiene un canal en U más ancho, lo cual es necesario para asegurar que no haya espacio entre la moldura y la parte superior. 

 

Como hemos visto en las referencias, la posición del borde de las cejas puede variar entre soldados, incluso con los nuevos TK de nueva generación. Personalmente, me gusta cómo queda el borde justo encima de los ojos, así que, para asegurarme de que se mantenga en su sitio, diseñé una arandela que se adhiere al interior del borde de goma y que luego se pega al borde de las cejas/parte frontal de la cúpula. Esto también funciona con el borde impreso si se desea la misma posición.

 

Terminé usando E6000 para adherir primero la arandela al borde inferior interior de la moldura de goma y usé pequeñas pinzas de resorte para mantenerla en su lugar mientras se secaba. Luego (y haré otra publicación sobre el ensamblaje) volví a usar E6000 para adherirla a la visera.

 

Aquí tenéis algunas fotos de la arandela en relación con el casco y el ribete de goma US161.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey bro, how are you!

I've sent you a private message.

Thank you very much for your time!!!

[TKNick8350]

I bought the Nico helmet. Are these mods printable?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

33 minutes ago, TKNick8350 said:

I bought the Nico helmet. Are these mods printable?

A lot of the mods are, you can reach out to Greg on the forum or FB https://www.facebook.com/gregmbower only stipulation is he needs to sight your proof of purchase of the Nico files. 

[TKModder421[TK]]

I bought the Nico helmet. Are these mods printable?

Yes they are, but the mods are a whole brand new set of files and are not interchangeable with the originals.
As Glen mentioned, message me with screenshots of your original purchase and I can get you a link to download the new files


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[TKModder421[TK]]

Alright, I apologize, I've been meaning to post a few things and I keep procrastinating. 

 

I wanted to show how I went about adding the dark backing in the recesses of the tears and traps.

I essentially hand-painted the bottom of the recesses a matte black, but just around the edges where it's seen. I wanted to leave the majority unpainted to avoid adding adhesive on top of paint.

(Note: this print is an older version of my mods that did not yet have the added mortise and tenons (alignment hole and tabs))

 

 

 

[TKModder421[TK]]

Alright, I've been working on a few additional mods for the past while and in light of a few makers and others taking on the task of giving us more options (possibly more accurate) for helmets and armor, I thought I'd better put these out in the universe before they become completely irrelevant.

But I'm sure there will always be those who still want to 3D print their own helmets and this can still provide a fairly close option, certainly approvable, if constructed and finished properly.

 

The first change was to create mic tips that appeared closer to the production used mic tips. After years of collecting reference and studying some up close images of production helmets, it became obvious that they weren't the same "found-part" mic tips that were used in the OT. So I modeled these as closely as I could to the reference I had, at the same time taking into account the proportion to this helmet and the current shape of the area on the chin where they attach. They do tend to look different in real life than they do in Blender. So I made at least 20 test prints before I was happy with the version I arrived at. I also added screw on base and a hole in both the base of the mic tip and the chin for easy installation with a washer and fastener and also to make it a bit easier to install the wire mesh. (I highly recommend printing these on a resin printer if possible)

 

Here is the comparison between the original mic tip files and my new version:

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

The next change is to the dome piece. I always felt the dome was a bit too squared off, so I finally took the time to modify the shape of the dome and made it more round above the temples on each side, and changed the sloping from the front to the back. You can see the difference in this comparison here:

 

front view:

 

side view

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

The next change I made was to the right eye (your left). I added a curve to the top inner corner, so it didn't have the 90º angle as before. I also slightly exaggerated the eye bump, just to make it more apparent, as it was a bit too subtle before:

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

Next I made a couple changes to the chin. I pulled down the pointy edges to either side of the vocoder and I also decreased the size of the outer edges of the mic tip inset area. In addition I added an angle to the area where mic tips lay, eliminating the need for the angling shims I had in the previous mod iteration.

I also adjusted the ears slightly. On the previous mods to the ears, they made the helmet appear a bit too narrow, so I adjusted the angle of the caps slightly and went back to the original ear shapes, while preserving the full circle of the cap.

 

Here you can see all the new mods in comparison to the previous mods:

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

For reference, here is a comparison of the original helmet files with the newest mod iteration:

 

 

 

And lastly a comparison of all 3, the original files, the previous modifications and the newest iteration:

Edited May 3 by TKModder421

[Sayless]

25 minutes ago, TKModder421 said:

--snip--

 

Alright... I'm ready to print helmet #4. These are AWESOME!

[jsilvius[Staff]]

16 hours ago, TKModder421 said:

Alright, I've been working on a few additional mods for the past while and in light of a few makers and others taking on the task of giving us more options (possibly more accurate) for helmets and armor, I thought I'd better put these out in the universe before they become completely irrelevant.

But I'm sure there will always be those who still want to 3D print their own helmets and this can still provide a fairly close option, certainly approvable, if constructed and finished properly.

 

The first change was to create mic tips that appeared closer to the production used mic tips. After years of collecting reference and studying some up close images of production helmets, it became obvious that they weren't the same "found-part" mic tips that were used in the OT. So I modeled these as closely as I could to the reference I had, at the same time taking into account the proportion to this helmet and the current shape of the area on the chin where they attach. They do tend to look different in real life than they do in Blender. So I made at least 20 test prints before I was happy with the version I arrived at. I also added screw on base and a hole in both the base of the mic tip and the chin for easy installation with a washer and fastener and also to make it a bit easier to install the wire mesh. (I highly recommend printing these on a resin printer if possible)

 

Here is the comparison between the original mic tip files and my new version:

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

The next change is to the dome piece. I always felt the dome was a bit too squared off, so I finally took the time to modify the shape of the dome and made it more round above the temples on each side, and changed the sloping from the front to the back. You can see the difference in this comparison here:

 

front view:

 

side view

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

The next change I made was to the right eye (your left). I added a curve to the top inner corner, so it didn't have the 90º angle as before. I also slightly exaggerated the eye bump, just to make it more apparent, as it was a bit too subtle before:

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

Next I made a couple changes to the chin. I pulled down the pointy edges to either side of the vocoder and I also decreased the size of the outer edges of the mic tip inset area. In addition I added an angle to the area where mic tips lay, eliminating the need for the angling shims I had in the previous mod iteration.

I also adjusted the ears slightly. On the previous mods to the ears, they made the helmet appear a bit too narrow, so I adjusted the angle of the caps slightly and went back to the original ear shapes, while preserving the full circle of the cap.

 

Here you can see all the new mods in comparison to the previous mods:

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

For reference, here is a comparison of the original helmet files with the newest mod iteration:

 

 

 

And lastly a comparison of all 3, the original files, the previous modifications and the newest iteration:

Amazing!

2 questions. 

1. How do I get the updates?

2. Any further thoughts on slicing them to fit the 256x256 bed plates of the newer printers like the Bambu P1S and Elegoo Centauri?

[TKModder421[TK]]

One side note. I realized that after an additional tweak to the dome I forgot to make changes to the Mimban shield, so I will be working on that after the craziness of the week is over... Star Wars week stuff, and my birthday celebration this week. 

So I apologize for the delay but I'll get it all together here soon

[TKModder421[TK]]

7 hours ago, jsilvius said:

Amazing!

2 questions. 

1. How do I get the updates?

2. Any further thoughts on slicing them to fit the 256x256 bed plates of the newer printers like the Bambu P1S and Elegoo Centauri?

 

1. DM me and I'll get you a new download link. But, I just realized that I didn't make the proper changes to the Mimban shield, so if you're wanting that as well, it'll probably be another week before I can get to it

 

2. I apologize, I completely forgot about that. But considering I'm calling a permanent moratorium on further mods, I should have some time to give it a go. 

[jsilvius[Staff]]

18 hours ago, TKModder421 said:

 

1. DM me and I'll get you a new download link. But, I just realized that I didn't make the proper changes to the Mimban shield, so if you're wanting that as well, it'll probably be another week before I can get to it

 

2. I apologize, I completely forgot about that. But considering I'm calling a permanent moratorium on further mods, I should have some time to give it a go. 

Thanks Greg, I'll wait it out until you get the everything sorted.

I appreciate the hard work!

[TKModder421[TK]]

Alright, I got around to adjusting the Mimban shield, it looks exactly the same from the front and sides, I just needed to adjust the contact points to ensure there wasn't a big gap.

 

 

 

 

[TKModder421[TK]]

I’ve been asked by a few people if I’d be able to create a set of cut up files for the larger pieces that could accommodate printers with print beds too small to accommodate those larger pieces.
I just kind of wanted to open the discussion up to people who have had to do so manually to try and find what were the best options for cutting as well as print bed orientation to assist me in creating those cut. I was also thinking of adding additional construction assistance such as mortise and tenons and/or other methods to help with assembling the pieces back together with proper alignment and durability.
I don’t necessarily have the bandwidth to tackle it right away, but wanted to start gathering info about in the meantime


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[Sayless]

2 hours ago, TKModder421 said:

I’ve been asked by a few people if I’d be able to create a set of cut up files for the larger pieces that could accommodate printers with print beds too small to accommodate those larger pieces.
I just kind of wanted to open the discussion up to people who have had to do so manually to try and find what were the best options for cutting as well as print bed orientation to assist me in creating those cut. I was also thinking of adding additional construction assistance such as mortise and tenons and/or other methods to help with assembling the pieces back together with proper alignment and durability.
I don’t necessarily have the bandwidth to tackle it right away, but wanted to start gathering info about in the meantime


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I've printed the helmet now 3 times on a 256mm cubed printer without issues... a lot of it comes down to orientation and patience, but it's doable!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 hours ago, TKModder421 said:

I’ve been asked by a few people if I’d be able to create a set of cut up files for the larger pieces that could accommodate printers with print beds too small to accommodate those larger pieces.
I just kind of wanted to open the discussion up to people who have had to do so manually to try and find what were the best options for cutting as well as print bed orientation to assist me in creating those cut. I was also thinking of adding additional construction assistance such as mortise and tenons and/or other methods to help with assembling the pieces back together with proper alignment and durability.
I don’t necessarily have the bandwidth to tackle it right away, but wanted to start gathering info about in the meantime

I've got a large printer so I don't need to cut any files. 

[TKModder421[TK]]

9 hours ago, Sayless said:

 

I've printed the helmet now 3 times on a 256mm cubed printer without issues... a lot of it comes down to orientation and patience, but it's doable!

you should document your print process on the next one!

[Root2812]

On 5/14/2026 at 1:40 PM, TKModder421 said:

I’ve been asked by a few people if I’d be able to create a set of cut up files for the larger pieces that could accommodate printers with print beds too small to accommodate those larger pieces.
I just kind of wanted to open the discussion up to people who have had to do so manually to try and find what were the best options for cutting as well as print bed orientation to assist me in creating those cut. I was also thinking of adding additional construction assistance such as mortise and tenons and/or other methods to help with assembling the pieces back together with proper alignment and durability.
I don’t necessarily have the bandwidth to tackle it right away, but wanted to start gathering info about in the meantime


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First of all, thank you for the files! I recently got my very first 3D printer which is a P2S. That is a 256mm x 256mm printer. I have a large head so I did some prints with cuts of the helmet and ended up printing the whole thing at 102%. I should have gone larger because my glasses still rub on the lenses if I can even get the helmet on with them on. I thought the few extra mms would be enough without making it look like a comically big head. I was wrong.  But I digress…

 

Even at 102 percent there were only two pieces that I couldn't fit on my print bed with creative orientation. The first was the Dome which I had to cut in half. I chose to cut it just above each ear across. The Dome has enough strength that it lined up really well afterwards but if I knew how to do it I would have put a small lip on the joint. I chose to use ABS so I am bonding with acetone and a lip would have allowed me to do a nice lapped joint. Being that I just got this printer I have absolutely 0 experience in making and modifying files so I couldn't figure out how to do that but if I knew how it would have made putting the Dome back together very easy. The second piece I needed to cut down was the back of the helmet. The first time I cut it was right in the middle on the back but the plastic is so thin and doesn't have a lot of ridges so it kept warping on me and I could never get it to line up again. It could just be the ABS but I'm not sure. A lap joint or some other way to align it and give it strength to hold shape would have been amazing. I gave up and reprinted the piece cutting about ¾ inch off the end behind the left ear piece. The upside to that was there's a little more structure there so I got less warping but I still got some in the big piece that I had to fight. I used a piece of scrap ABS from one of my failed prints to create the backing plate that I wanted and wished I knew how to model in. I bonded that behind the joint for strength and alignment. The upside to cutting it there was that most of the seam will be covered by the earpiece.

 

The next problem I'm going to tackle doesn't have to do with the size of my printer but my inability to modify files is holding me back. Because my head is so large I can't put my helmet on with my glasses on. I am going to try and find a way to put the chin piece on with magnets. The place you put the alignment pins for the chin to face parts will work for that but it leaves the bottom of the teeth floating. Some sort of tabs for the bottom edge of the teeth to hold small magnets would be cool. I will end up glueing scrap ABS there to make a lip for my magnets. But that’s not printer related… It’s a big head and glasses problem.

 

Fun build so far.