Replica Iron Man Helmet Review
For decades the Stormtrooper armor has been one of the most geektastic pieces of collectable items, that was until replica Iron Man armor made by fans came along and replaced the iconic Imperial Sith soldiers with motorised suits of the Marvel movie god father Iron Man at conventions.
After seeing the Iron Man movie everyone wanted an Iron Man suit, he was the most realistic out of all the comic book characters at the time and even though you wont be able to fly or shoot repulsors from the palms of your hands you will be the focus of any comic convention.
A full Iron Man suit replica will cost $2000/£1000 and upwards so I’ve just gone for the helmet. After six months of searching and comparing numerous versions I’ve finally found one.
The helmet I found was chosen on a few factors, quality, style, functionality and price. Ebay is full of replicas but many are unwearable, un-finished or just scraps This one comes from a very trust worthy and experience replica costume builder. Each helmet is made to order which lets you add extra features to customise it but each will add to the production time. At the moment John is building them with about four weeks turn around and working on the full servo controlled system.
This one is the basic model which is made out of fiberglass which is the ideal material for a replica helmet like this. It’s lite weight, thin and come out very smooth from casting process. It’s also extremely durable compared to the cheaper resin alternative.
The helmet is also the biggest I could find on ebay, most are bootleg versions of the official Marvel display helmet which is unwearable and usually made out of resin. This one being made out of thin fiberglass lets you add extra padding or mechanical parts to the helmet if you want to add more features.
This one also comes in two pieces, the mains helmet and a hinged faceplate. Surprisingly this is a feature which isn’t included in many of the replica helmets I’ve seen. Many sell it as one solid piece and advise that you can cut the faceplate off yourself but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The last feature it comes with is the movie accurate light up eyes, no Iron Man helmet would be complete without the light up eyes the only problem is you can’t see through too well when they are switched on.
Overall the artist has done an amazing job of putting these helmets together, by far the best you will find on ebay for the price and he also makes the full armor which looks amazing but for now is a little out of my price range and for me the replica helmet is more than enough.
Things to look for while shopping for a replica helmet
- Make sure it’s actually wearable. I think 50% if you read the small print will say they are unsuitable for one reason or another.
- Choose the right materials. Fiberglass is ideal as its lite weight, durable, thin and fairly cheap. Try to avoid anything that’s solid resin as it will probably be rough in finish, heavy and fragile
- A recommend seller, like anything else check feedback. Not just on trust but on quality helmets as many are selling off junk or miss cast items.
- Don’t expect a built in Jarvis. It is just a replica for fun and won’t be just like the movie in terms of finish and functionality.
- Buy a finished product, most reasonably priced ones on eBay require finishing and you have to ask why they didn’t finish off the helmet themselves. Either they require so much time to finish you might as well make your own or it will cost a fortune in materials.
Overall I’ve been very happy with one and would highly recommend the seller as for the price it’s a very high quality piece of movie memorabilia. As for the rest of the armor I’m going to try and make my own thanks to this awesome start to the project.
Take a look at a similar Iron Man cosplay helmet on Amazon
Gmasking Iron Man Cosplay Helmet Scale 1:1 Replica+Gmask Helmet Keychain
Posted by Adi Mursec on June 26, 2012
