AntMan's Second Cardboard Scratch Build

I didn't think you would be able to top your last construction, but it appears you did. Fantastic. Oh, I just wanted to say that the lower right earpiece, before being trimmed, looks like a Mayan temple. LOL
 
Dude you are amazing.
Thanks OSK! Takes one to know one
wow! that's really great!
Thanks Brian! Takes one to know one
AntMan...this is simply awesome!
Thanks Rob! Takes one to know one
Two words.............you..................ROCK!
Thanks MF! Takes one to know one ?
...looks like a Mayan temple. LOL
Haha:lol: I see it too now! Indeed. I guess those Mayans never got around to cutting and sanding their temple as smooth as I am doing here JK:lol:
AntMan, you mind if we reference this post in the Mando Mercs Tutorial Library?
I don't mind at all. Please do! I would be honoured.(y)

Thanks for your replies guys!

Back for more soon....
Peter
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"With great power comes great responsibility"
 
I've been following this thread for a while and have finally started my own helmet.

It makes me appreciate your work all the more, because it has taken me hours and all I have done is the left ear and the top of the right ear. (although the first hour was just "now where did i leave my metal ruler?")

Also for anyone doing this on a budget as I am. I've found that the hard bit on the back of A3 sketch books is the 2mm board that you need. So I've got my ears done without spending any money.

What do u think about using foam board: lighter, thicker(less layers), easier to cut and file down. Obviously you can't use it for curved parts.
 
Plus I noticed for the last piece (ear cap) you didn't bother to pre cut each layer (the Mayan temple effect) and you just cut the angle all afterward with a knife.
Is this easier? Because I've been following the other method.
 
What do u think about using foam board...

Plus I noticed for the last piece (ear cap) you didn't bother to pre cut each layer (the Mayan temple effect) and you just cut the angle all afterward with a knife.
Is this easier?

About using foam board: Sure thing!(y)It probably has a lot more advantages over posterboard and is easier to process.
But I'm just a sucker for cardboard LOL:D. I totally freak out on the thought that when looking at the final product - the finished Boba Fett Helmet- you will hardly be able to tell that it is actually made out of cardboard. That is the challenge for me.
To each his own I guess!:cheers

<:lol:It seems that Gypsyboy invented a new technical term with his "Mayan Temple Effect", MTE for short:lol:>

Yeah, I sort of left out the MTE for the ear cap, since it is easier to handle when sanding this piece. The angle is cut at the last stage of the process.
Well, look for yourself in this short update:


After sanding the surface to a smooth (enough) finish, I cut three layers of board to size and glued them to each other like this:

Boba2-123.jpg


These layers form the angled bottom part of the cap, so I glue them to the cap like this:

Boba2-124.jpg


Then I draw out the angle where the material needs to be cut and start cutting with a sharp knife.

Boba2-125.jpg


It doesn't take too long before sanding can commence and results in this:

Boba2-126.jpg


Boba2-127.jpg


I put on a first thin layer of sealing agent and make a test fit on the lower ear piece. Perfect match!

Boba2-129.jpg


Boba2-128.jpg


I never expected to get such sharp edges with cardboard:

Boba2-130.jpg


The lower ear piece after sealing:

Boba2-131.jpg


Boba2-132.jpg


And the left ear piece:

Boba2-133.jpg



That's it for now.
Stay tuned for more!
Peter
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"With great power comes great responsibility"
 
Very clean looking pieces.

Can you give a bit more detail about the sealing? Did you dilute the primer?, how many layers?, did you sand it down in between or anything?

Thanks for the help.
 
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Can you give a bit more detail about the sealing? Did you dilute the primer?, how many layers?, did you sand it down in between or anything?


Concerning the sealing, I diluted the Gesso with about 20% tap water in order to get a smooth finish. Undiluted Gesso causes a grainy finish, which you probably don't want.
Putting on about 4 to 5 thin layers with fine sanding (Grade 400) in between each layer will suffice.

Where needed I also used light weight filler to smoothen/straighten the surface; before sealing that is.

Good luck
Peter
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"With great power comes great responsibility"
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh. My. Kingdom Hearts. (damn that old fandom. forget I said that)

When sanded, the pieces almost looks a lot like wood to me. If I had more colored ink, I'd totally print this thread ASAP! I'm using cardboard for my bucket, too. But it was a disaster.

PS: I'm a little slow, so what's the thickness of the cardboard you used, AntMan?

PPS: Is the right ear possible to be raised and lowered, before it's glued to the bucket?
 
Boba2-022.jpg


1. Quick drying white glue (glue for wood type of materials)
2. A couple of clothes pins
3. Sanding paper, rough to fine grade (180 to about 400 grade)
4. Hot glue gun, as an alternative for 1
5. Hot glue sticks
6. Gesso primer for sealing/primering the finished bucket; US: Minwax Polycrylic Sealer
7. A fine tip ink pen, for drawing templates onto the cardboard
8. A hobby knife with plenty of re-fills
9. Sculpting knifes, for applying filler
10. Filler! This particular type is for filling holes in walls; US: Bondo Car Body Filler
11. Two pieces of flat-surface wooden planks, for flattening the ear areas (see described in post #9 above)
12. An old-fashioned glue clamp, preferably a couple of these
13. A misting bottle, for spraying the cardboard moist
14. Blue painter's masking tape; the tape is blue, not the painter
15. A ruler of some sort
16. A good camera as your best witness, share the progress!
17. An acrylics paintroller
18. A big piece of linoleum to protect your wife's (or mother's) kitchen table from cutting pieces of cardboard ;)

Hang on... if # 16 is your camera.... what did you take the picture with????? Aaaaaaa! I'm so confused!!!

:lol:

This tuturial is awesome. Very detailed account of what you did, and very skillfully done.
 
Hi everyone,

I know, I know....it has been toooo long since the last update for sure :eek:. And I have to apologise to all of you. I'm sooo sorry I haven't been able to update this thread, because of the simple fact I haven't had the time to do any work on my scratch build.
Ever since the last update I went on mission for the office I work for (back and forth between Germany, Austria and Holland), got a promotion, took care of some things around the house, help my mom with her house being refurbished, etc. Also the family life has been taking up most of my spare time. Some weeks were also quite tropical down here, so we had to enjoy that too.

But I promise, when the time is right (certainly before the end of 2008!!!) I will dedicate more time to continuing finishing my helmet building method. I didn't plan on deserting this thread or you guys. I just was busy the last couple of months. So please keep faith, for AntMan will return!

Greetz,
Peter
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"With great power comes great responsibility"
 
Well, here it is. A very small update for the building of this cardboard helmet. It's not much but at least gives you something to fiddle with as it involves quite some intricate detail and skill (mostly patience and a sharp knife actually).

First I started applying filler to the cheeks and helmet dome. Keeping the filler sculpting knife moist helps smoothing the filler surface a lot:

Boba2-137.jpg


Boba2-136.jpg


Boba2-135.jpg


Boba2-134.jpg


I tried to get the filler as smooth onto the dome and cheeks as possible, so the sanding part will be a lot easier.
But before sanding, this should be left to dry completely for at least 24 hours. So that gave me some time to focus on preparing the keyhole area.

I drew out the pattern from the keyhole frame template onto some cardboard and left some extra trim around the edges (for support when glueing inside the bucket).

Boba2-150.jpg


Also, I glued the keyhole template itself to a piece of cardboard:

Boba2-151.jpg


Then it was simply cutting the cardboard layer by layer. I did this very carefully because the resulting keyhole piece is very delicate:

Boba2-152.jpg


Some finer detail:

Boba2-141.jpg


One keyhole fully cut:

Boba2-142.jpg


And presto, the entire vent:

Boba2-153.jpg


Boba2-144.jpg


It doesn't fit into the frame yet as you can see. That's because it needs to be bent into a curved shape.

Boba2-155.jpg


So after a light spray with tap water, the bending resulted in this shape:

Boba2-145.jpg


It is worth stressing that you should not moisten the cardboard too much as this will result in the cardboard losing its composure. Especially the very thin edges will break easily if you use too much spray water.

I kept the paper side (still glued to the cardboard) on the inside of the keyhole:

Boba2-146.jpg


Then I just applied some white glue to the inside at these places:

Boba2-147.jpg


In this picture you can see that the top of the keyhole frame also has a slight curve outward:

Boba2-156.jpg


The last two bits are also cut from the glued-on template:

Boba2-148.jpg


Also glued in place this is the result (notice that for this one I forgot the extra trim):

Boba2-149.jpg


But some spare cardboard glued to the long edges also does the trick:

Boba2-157.jpg


The edges of the keyhole connecting to the frame still need to be filled up to get a seamless piece.

That's it for now. And since I will be enjoying 8 days of holiday in the Spanish sun I won't be checking TDH until I get back.

So don't hold your breath, but stay tuned for more!
Peter
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"With great power comes great responsibility"
 
At last. Worth the long waiting. Your work is amazing Antman! It almost,just almost makes me regret that I won Ronin's lid just a while ago... Still, I have a metal pot under way... If I can make something out of it before it rusts away..
And, yes, Stickied this should be! Definately!
-Ville
 
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