Modifying the Nico Helmet

[TKModder421[TK]]

On 5/19/2026 at 2:51 PM, Root2812 said:

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.

 

Thank you so much for sharing! this is valuable info! That back part is definitely one of those pieces that is hard to conceive how best to cut and then attempt to print