To be brief, I’m looking for a way to bolt M1940 Stahlhelms onto human skulls, in such a way and place that a) the bolts wouldn’t damage the brain, eyes, or major nerves (and preferably not the jaw), and b) the helmet would still be removable for replacement or maintenance. The helmet has to stay on securely under combat conditions, but pain management, blood loss, or infection are not considered an issue.
So, where on the skull would be the optimal place to put the bolts, and how much would I have to modify the helmets to accommodate them?
I don’t need an answer super fast, but it sure would help me out [del]in my fiendish plans[/del].
Err… why? Sure you can bolt things to the skull (it’s done for various research and medical purposes occasionally) but I think it’s a bad idea for a helmet. The helmet is there to absorb impacts and transmit them gradually evenly over the whole skull. If you bolt it to the skull, it’ll now very efficiently transmit any shock directly to one small part of the skull. The part of the skull which is now weakened because you drilled a large hole for the bolt.
With a helmet like this every little shock will be like a pickaxe to the brain.
Well, after some googling it looks like the occipital bone is the thickest part of the skull. It seems logical that you’d want at least one mounting point there.
I’d have to agree with lazybratsche - what you need is not to bolt the helmet to the skull, but to fasten it on with something shock absorbing - springs? Foam blocks? something like that.
Rather than bolt anything to the skull, cement it to the head with an adhesive. Something along the lines of rubber cement that has a little give and elasticity would probably give better results than a brittle superglue type product. If the helmet needs removed, injecting an appropriate solven through vent holes should release it.
I’d suggest affixing 4 mounting points on the skull (perhaps one above each eye , and another pair high in the rear), each using many small fasteners instead of one large one, so that they can grip the bone without fully penetrating it. Onto these mount points, affix rubber or spring steel shock absorbers, which in turn latch onto the interior of the helmet via quick-release clips. Easy on, easy off, and the head is kept relatively isolated from impacts.
And that’s just what I love about these boards: no suspicious counter-questions, just pertinent answers.
More seriously, though, StrangerThanFiction had the right general idea. More specifically, used on a zombie minion, to protect the head/brain (and exposed burr holes in the skull), to keep the helmet on when the zombie might be too stupid to keep secure itself, and it would be too inconvenient or dangerous for a human to do it for them, and most importantly, as a horrifyingly dehumanizing aesthetic element to make the work creepier to the reader. Some of the problems with bolting I actually plan to justify in-story…as a design flaw!
Some of the problems with bolting I actually plan to justify in-story…as a design flaw!