"Mean As Hell" Dog Helmet

This is perfect for Halloween That looks **"Mean As Hell!"** is what people will be saying when they see this. The helmet is easily printed and easily put together. **It is fitted to a dogs head, which makes it easy to move around in and comfortable.** Make sure you size it with the sizing tool (see below). Sand it, paint it, glue on the accessories, and more. *Sizing* may be difficult if your dog is a very long or very short snout. Bulldogs may have the helmet stick out past their nose. The helmet was designed to form to a dogs head, the ears aren't pushed/impeded, and the dog's nose is in front of the helmet snout.

Scaling

This helmet is designed for **Medium** sized breeds of dogs. Print the scaling tester files and see if it fits your dog's head. If your dog's head is bigger or smaller then estimate the scale in your slicer and reprint. **Write down** the scaling number you printed at so that you can just scale the helmet and accessories to the same scale when you have the right size.

Printing

Make sure you have scaled the helmet to the right size with the Scale Tester. I used PETG, but you can use whatever you want for materials. If you use ABS you may get some warping if your printer isn't enclosed. The helmet comes in two parts which both have flat faces. If your printer can print at a 45 degree angle without much issue then you will do just fine. If your printer has a problem with 45 degree angles (drooping filament) then just add a small fan and/or slow down the print.

Assembly

**Glueing** Glue both halves of the helmet together with epoxy but superglue would work as well. Epoxy is the best and will keep your dog from breaking the helmet at the split. **Sanding** 150 grit and then 300 grit to clean up the layer lines. **Painting** I used "Filler Primer" which is made by Rusoleum add a thick base coat. You can sand this primer with a 400 grit sand paper if you want a glass smooth finish. Then I used Rustoleum Textured Paint "Stone" to give it a rough skin look. Then I used a Gloss Black spray paint. Finally I used Krylon "UV Resistant Clear" spray paint to give it a strong coating that stops my dog from chipping the paint off. I use this clear coating on everything but metallic paints. It's a wonderful protection coat for paint that adds a really nice luster to colours. **Horns/Mohawk** *You don't have to use the horns or mohawk* There is a printable insert that is first epoxied (glued) to the helmet. The horns and mohawk are then glued onto the insert. This ensures there is a strong bond and that the epoxy/glue doesn't bulge out between the horns and the helmet.

Dog Vision

You may want to cut your dogs fur around their eyes. At least shorten it since it may get pushed down in front of their eyes. I did this to my dog and even though there's still a little fur sticking out, she can see fine. She runs around with the helmet on as if it's part of her.

Sharing

Post pictures and even video of this on your dog. I am really excited to see this on other dogs! Make sure you tag me: Twitter - @protean_Man Instagram - @the_protean_man Youtube - Protean Man (@proteanman1) Enjoy!