UT Trooper Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 KS Bucket Checkout how they applied the sticker: The ABS is not smooth at all on the visor: NI Bucket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Side By Side: KS (left), NI (right) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 I am really unhappy with how the KS helmet turned out, especially for what I paid to have it built. People say the KS is one of the larger helmets, but on me when I open my mouth you can see it below the helmet. Here are a few things I immediately found wrong with it: They did a terrible job applying the greeblie sticker. C'mon, for how much I spent you couldn't have spent just a little more time on that detail? The visor has horrible molding. It looks a lot worse than the photos show. Looking through the visor is terribly distorted. I get the same feeling when I try on a pair of glasses that aren't my prescription. Overall I am just not impressed with the KS helmet. In the words of my fiance, "[Compared to the NI, the KS] feels like a halloween costume." Maybe ABS helmets aren't for me, IDK. I like the fact that the KS is light and could take a drop, but the fiberglass NI feels like an actual real helmet. The NI helmet is simply a work of art. Off to eBay with the KS. It would be great to get a side by side between the NI and Cucblack helmets as they are both fiberglass. Maybe that will be my next helmet to add to my collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiling Fox Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 All KS helmets look like that. The first thing you have to do is replace all the decals with the more accurate ones. The nose should be painted, not a decal, and the greeblie on a raised base, which means it must be replaced as well. No one is going to include great padding, that is just something you have to personalize yourself. KS is notorious for bad pulls. It looks like yours is pretty good considering. I had to send mine back because it was so bad and the helmet was two obviously different colors. All in all, it can be made into a good helmet but requires some work to make it your own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Voorhees Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I agree with Matt . KS is a decent helmet, you are likely better off putting it togther yourself though( as im sure you see)...or doing the mods Matt mentioned above. Honestly i think the NI helmet is way off in accuracy. It may be well made, but it just looks funny to me. I wouldnt dismiss all ABS helmets because this particular helmet isnt so great. LW and Chef make excellent ABS helmets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyjellyfish77 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Thanks for posting these photos up. Biggest thing I'm noticing is the color of the whites. I wonder how the NI would look against most of the armor that we use. MLCv3 is also a great fiberglass bucket that I've had bump into a SWAT truck roof with it on and it was like having a real helmet on. Before you put it on ebay you might want to try to see if a member wants to take a stab at the KS like these guys said, it's still salvageable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01Hawk Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Honestly if I paid someone to put the KS one together ( which it sounds like they did), I would be really pissed off. What is the fee for that $200? There are flaws in every aspect of it and they are the experts in their product. Would it even come close to passing 501st level one? And the buyer shouldn't have to put time into if they already paid the people who make the product to put it together correctly. Stinks for the original poster and thank you for posting it so others that are new to the hobby have some more information for when they are trying to decide on what to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Great post and comparison. I'd like to see an MLC comparison too. As stated above, KS has some issues (with armor and lids), but can be dealt with accordingly. I picked up a KS helmet (built) like you and then modified it (heavily) to make it better. In the end, I sold it and got an MLC - which I love. KS makes decent stuff, just need to update/fix their molds a bit. This was my KS: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Yeah I'm definitely going to fix the KS before I offload it. I'll look around for the best greeblie to use, but any recommendations on greeblie, bolt covers, and type of black paint for the snout would be appreciated. For the comment on the color, here are some pics of the NI with my SC armor. Keep in mind I'm not 501st approved and I am fixing a lot of the issues seen in these pics. I'll try to get some pics of it right next to the armor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Honestly if I paid someone to put the KS one together ( which it sounds like they did), I would be really pissed off. What is the fee for that $200? There are flaws in every aspect of it and they are the experts in their product. Would it even come close to passing 501st level one? And the buyer shouldn't have to put time into if they already paid the people who make the product to put it together correctly. Stinks for the original poster and thank you for posting it so others that are new to the hobby have some more information for when they are trying to decide on what to get. Exactly. Live and learn. Not sure if I can post the fees on here, but lets just say I can get all of my money back if I sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chex Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 The NI is just a little too big for my taste. And you can def tell the color difference between the helmet and your armor. i'd repaint it if I bought one. KS out the box is still approvable for level 1 clearance, though we would want you to upgrade at least the snout before you try to get it cleared. For the fan made helmets, I'd still go with a LW/Chef, MLC, CB, SC, before I'd buy an NI or KS (which is what I currently use). I do have a LW which I need to finish building. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikerScout007 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I think once you change out the decals, snout and bolt covers, the KS lid is perfectly fine. And being ABS it is very light. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Yeah I think that's right. It's still not going to solve the problem for my head being so large! I hate that when I talk you can see my entire mouth out of the bottom. Maybe if I remove the top padding altogether it will help. Off to find some new bolt covers, snout piece, and paint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookymufu Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I used satan black on my MLC, and I use a DVH snout and 3M speedcover bolts from a member here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 If you'd read a little more before ordering, you would have seen lots of people saying that KS is fine as a kit (mine was also 2 different whites, but I painted it), but you don't want to pay double for them to put it together because you're just gonna have to take it apart. It is one of the bigger helmets out there, but I know what you mean about the chin showing. That's why we do the balaclava. I can't do a chin-cup because it would bang against the snout (and I trimmed the underside a lot more than my friend who had his assembled by KS). For bolts, elevator bolts from Lowes (1 inch diameter) painted with whatever paint you use on the snout greeblie will work if you don't want to order the 3M bolts. You gotta rip off that decal under the snout greeblie. Paint it black and get a DVH (or whoever he gave that mold to) to replace it. The decals can pass, but I'd eventually replace the traps on the back. You can get a sign shop to cut those out for you and just paint black underneath. Don't feel too bad about making a rookie mistake. It's not as bad as my first purchase, a StarFortress from Ebay. The SF is about as tall as that NI, but it has an awful pointy snout. The NI is definitely too big and the visor is a little more square than it should be, I think. I'd definitely work on the KS if I were you. Use the NI as a display piece at home or on the 501st table at troops. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikerScout007 Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Yeah I think that's right. It's still not going to solve the problem for my head being so large! I hate that when I talk you can see my entire mouth out of the bottom. Maybe if I remove the top padding altogether it will help. Off to find some new bolt covers, snout piece, and paint. Yeah that top piece might be too thick. I'm thinking about doing the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 Yeah that top piece might be too thick. I'm thinking about doing the same. I took it out last night. It's not uncomfortable by any means and it allows for more space to push the helmet downward. The helmet feels better now, as if it's part of my head. The only issue is my nose hitting the ABS or lens. KS puts padding there, but it was too large so I removed it. I will cut it down and reapply. I see several ways to get a new lens, but I need a method that will not distort it. As I mentioned the KS lens is like looking through a pair of glasses that aren't your prescription. It instantly gives me a headache. Has anyone experienced this and found a solution? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I did not have any issues with my KS lens. Perhaps the heat gun caused an abnormality in the bend. For my MLC - I picked one up from Smitty here on the forum, used a heat gun for the bend, and ended up with a decent lens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Send me a PM with your address. I have 3 of the fighter pilot helmet lenses I got from the army surplus store. 2 are gonna be used for lenses in my darth Vader, but i can send you the 3rd. It's what I used in my KS. It's half the thickness of the one that came with it. Not quite as dark though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I took it out last night. It's not uncomfortable by any means and it allows for more space to push the helmet downward. The helmet feels better now, as if it's part of my head. The only issue is my nose hitting the ABS or lens. KS puts padding there, but it was too large so I removed it. I will cut it down and reapply. I see several ways to get a new lens, but I need a method that will not distort it. As I mentioned the KS lens is like looking through a pair of glasses that aren't your prescription. It instantly gives me a headache. Has anyone experienced this and found a solution? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Sent it this afternoon with some spare decals. Darth Voorhees hooked me up when I bought 2 helmets and wasted a lot of money getting started. Time to return that favor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 Thanks again, I found a lot of people on this forum and my garrison forum to be very generous. You guys are the best. I went ahead and ordered a DVH snout piece and I bought two 1" elevator bolts. I've already cut the bolt part off one of the bolts with a dremel. Just need to finish the other one and find some spray paint to match. Where can I find the small pin-stripe tape? I couldn't find any at Home Depot or Lowes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Why did you cut off the bolt? Get some matching nuts and get rid of the little bolts that came with the KS helmet. Then use the elevator bolt to hold visor to helmet. They'll sit flatter against the visor. Autozone has pinstripe. Did you not get that with your SC armor? He included it with mine. I sent you the black barcode for the helmet. Already cut and correctly spaced with transfer tape to put it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01Hawk Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Some of the elevator bolts , like the ones you get at Lowes, are really long. I think the pinstripe he was asking about was to outline the snout? In that case maybe a role of cheap pinstripe from the auto parts store would work. If you know someone at a body shop they will have the fine line tape to use as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UT Trooper Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 What size diameter for the elevator bolts? I have 1 inch but they seem too large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.