Rollerball Helmet - Finished

[dproc]

Bucket list time making a Rollerball helmet. I've sourced an original Stadium Project Helmet and am looking for the face mask guard for the front. I've looked at as many other threads on here from previous great builds but i've not found much info about it. It looks to me to be a common Rawlings Air-Flo football helmet mask and I have found plenty on ebay, but living on the geographical opposite side of the planet means the postage puts it out of my budget for a piece of plastic. So....
would anyone actually have one of these they could put some calipers on and I can 3d print the sides and use tube for the rails perhaps? See attached image for the dimensions required. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated!!

 

[dproc]

Sooo I payed way too much for a piece of plastic and got a face mask. Now I am looking for the studs. Might anyone happen to know the diameter of the studs? I can best guess but if someone has an answer it would help out heaps! Think of the opportunity at the next pub quiz.. "James Caan starred in the 1975 cult classic film Rollerball in which corporations have replaced countries and a violent game is recreational sport... what is the diameter of the studs on the players helmets?" BUZZZZZ... "XXmm!" "How the hell do you know that?" *much applause

 

[dproc]

Sooo Stadium Helmet chin strap cups are really hard to find! Who knew!? I had a go at making one with no dimensions and a couple of sketchy photos.... will print it out and see how it goes and if it is passable ill post the stl so everyone can have one! yay! (photos are reference)

 

[dproc]

Printed and for a MK I am pretty happy. It could be a little more curved but otherwise fits great and when painted black for a static display on the finished helmet, I dont think anyone will notice. If im feeling keen enough ill refine it now that I know how to do it. I printed it flat 100% fill and the support pulled out easily with little rough spot inside. Its quite flexible in PLA. File attached for that one person looking for a temp fix till they find a real one!

 

[ed-209]

Gear

The helmets used were Stadium project 6 motorcycle helmet made in England which had holes drilled for ear holes and American football facemasks added to make then look like American football...

www.rollerballjersey.com

 

[dproc]

It's a simple project... helmet, face mask, some studs and paint and it's still a rabbit hole. haha Enjoying it though. Thanks for extra info ED! Re-did chin cup to refine and add more curve... because IDK... OCD probably. Will print soon. May not be last version yet. lol

 

[dproc]

All finished! What I thought would be an easy project turned out to be a not so easy and eventually ended up as two helmets!
I found a Stadium Project 6 helmet but when it arrived it turned out to be very small. I found a Rawlings Air-Flo helmet face mask for a large helmet so the two didnt go together. What to do? Having spent my budget on the Stadium I had to have a compromise. I looked for something in a large size that was close enough. As it happens, the British 80s Centurion helmet is almost identical and I found one for $20 not that far from me. The only real difference is the strap buckle and the rubber trim.
I now had a large helmet and large face mask and a spare small helmet. I decided to make two so I 3d modeled a smaller face mask to complete the pair.
I replaced the trim on the Centurion helmet with car door trim. Its almost identical. Im sure its even what Stadium used on their helmets its so close and cheap (see below).

I swapped the chin straps and as mentioned above I modeled the chin cups and 3d print those.

I then painted the helmets with the large red triangle as per Jonathan E's helmet. His triangle is bigger which is probably an actor ego thing. "My triangle needs to be bigger so im more noticeable!" I heavily weathered them to look not only very game used but also because they are now 50 years old!! ... I wanted them to look like they have been in a dirty game bag for 50 years and are now museum pieces! I scratched them up and made them dirty. The orange in the photos is lighter than how they actually look. IRL the orange is much more like the movie.

NOTE TO ANYONE THINKING OF MAKING ONE>>>

Stadium helmets are really really crappy helmets! They are like K-Mart kids scooter level plastic with a foam insert. I was surprised. They look good in the end but dont expect a fiberglass composite thing of beauty. They are terrible. I imagine thats why production used them being so cheap! The Centurion is similar but a bit thicker. They have about the same protection value as an ice cream container on your head. If you crashed you must have had to grit your teeth and think of England!

I also 3d printed the spike studs since I havnt found any the right type till now. Ive ordered some but they will be a while. The printed ones will do for now.

All done and ready for dust collecting! Why did I make two? Apart from it being there, I'm giving one to my brother. When we were kids we roller skated up and down our driveway chasing a ball painted silver. Its good memories. Will be a christmas present surprise!

Thanks for checking them out!


Queue Toccata and Fugue....