AntMan's Second Cardboard Scratch Build

Well done AntMan! I will see your progress on this cardboard helmet

I wish I didn't have so many projects on the go. Seeing you start another bucket makes me really want to do another Mando lid from scratch. Oh, well. I guess I'll just be happy to mod a casting. Looking forward to seeing progress here.

Let's cut right to the chase and continue where I left off:

Next, I cut out most of the "Dome Base" from the bucket, leaving an inner supportive ring of about 10 mm wide.



This ring will keep the bucket in shape and will support the "Dome Form" rings ( pages 5+6 ) which I transfer to cardboard and cut out next:



Also for these I cut out most, leaving a structure of about 10 mm wide and connect them to the bucket rim like this:



I cut out a piece of the center top half to interlock into the other piece (with a drop of white glue)






This is the glue I used:



Hmpff! Now I have to go and prepare dinner since it is already a quarter to six. Darn DST!

Oh well.... back soon! 8)

__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

This just in:

The first big shape which I cut out, I have bent into shape. All the excess material has also been cut resulting in this "Mask":



What we have thus far, the Bucket and the Mask:



Now for the ears to properly attach to the sides of the bucket, I need to flatten the surface on those sides. So what I did was I moistened the sides of both the Bucket and the Mask and squeezed them together between two flat pieces of wood, like this:



I did NOT glue them together just yet, since the cardboard is too wet for that.
This I left to set in for at least 12 hours for each side. The picture only shows one side but I did both sides simultaneously, ofcourse.

In the mean time I prepared the dome pieces by transfering the templates onto cardboard and cutting them out with a fresh hobby knife.





Once cut out (including the lower support section which is to be cut off later on) I bend these into shape the same way as mentioned before.



All three parts bent into shape:



After shaping they need to dry for a few hours. Which gives me the opportunity to catch some z's.

I hope I am sort of making sense with this instructorial. If not, LMK.

Stay tuned for more.

Peter8)
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Great tutorial Antman! I love the step by step instructions. It will make it easy for anyone to interpret the WOF templates and apply it to their own scratchbuilds. I'll be watching this one anxiously. Great craftsmanship.

This will be a great help!! Thank you for creating the tutorial. Your work is simply incredible, just the way I envisioned the assembly when I created the templates.

Keep up the great work! I'll be saving this thread.

Alan

Hi David!

Thanks for pointing that out. Things here across the pond are sometimes (called) different(ly). Although I think a glue gun has the same functionality here as it does in the U.S.
Tips like these are VERY welcome! Please, anyone reply with any comparative info you might have on the various differences between materials or tools. This way we can share info and knowledge for all of TDH's members to enjoy.

Greetz from Delft,
Peter8)
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Now let's continue with the bucket.
While the dome triangles are left to dry, I'll put the mask on the bucket shape. Be sure to spread white glue all over the inside surface of the mask piece equally and let it settle for about 2 minutes:



Then carefully apply it to the bucket shape and press to make sure that all of the surface makes contact. Then I again use the pieces of wood and the glue clamps (see items 11 and 12) to secure the sides and the rest of the bucket until it dries.



Once dried (leave it overnight), I remove the clamps and start to cut away the cheek area's, as obvious from this pic:



The cutting of these parts is pretty easy since it's guided by the mask part. Notice how flat the ear area is. That will help a lot in connecting the still to be constructed ear pieces almost seamlessly. Cutting the cheek on the other side as well results in this:



Time to prepare the cheekbones. I cut out the printed paper templates as precise as I can:



I transfer them onto a piece of cardboard by drawing the outlines, in an efficient way.



Next step is to cut out the transferred shapes. Be sure to use a sharp knife and don't cut through the cardboard in one cut. Take your time and follow the drawn lines carefully with the knife. Don't apply too much pressure to the blade, but go over each line/cut about 3 or 4 times to cut through the material and get a perfect shape. The better the shape, the easier it will be to assemble the helmet pieces together.



Now it may seem impossible to fit the upper cheekbones into the cheek area of the bucket, but that is only perception. Even from the look of the template printout it looks strange, but it will fit!:





In order to fit the cheekbones properly into the cheeck area I make a diagonal and very superficial cut on the inside of the cheekbone and spray it with water (misting bottle):



If the cardboard is moist enough (not completely soaked!) I start bending it into the required shape and make a test-fitting on the bucket:



Don't worry about the undersides of the cheekbone sticking out from the bucket. That can be corrected later on. Just make sure that the outside of the cheekbone curves and connects with the inner line of the bucket's cheek area.

Bending the cheekbone into shape is almost like modelling a piece of clay. Use the tips of you fingers and do it slowly to keep the cardboard from cracking or tearing.

Once the optimal shape had been acquired, I left the cheekbone to dry and did the same procedure for the other one.
After thourough drying, I cut a 45 degree (metric) angle to the inside of the cheekbones. Like this:





This leaves a better and bigger surface to adhere to when glueing it to the bucket. Maybe this crude drawing helps explain it a bit:



Obviously, the surfaces in the left part of above pic make better contact than the surfaces in the right part of the pic.

Then it's time to glue it together. I start with the straight part of the cheekbone and glue it to the bucket:



At this point I don't glue the curved part to the bucket just yet, but leave this connection to dry. The same goes for the opposite cheekbone:



The view on the inside of the bucket is is now this:



When the straight connection has fully dried I start to glue the curved section to the bucket inch by inch (actually centimeter by centimeter, but that's just a figure of speech).



Inside view:



The next step is to glue in the cheekplates. Before I do so, I am making a slight correction/adjustment to the already cut out piece by placing it behind the glued-in cheekbone. Because of the bent shape, the curve of the cheekbone is slightly different from the plate. Therefore I draw the cheekbone curve onto the cheekplate:



At this point you might have noticed from above pic that I have cut off the excess material from the bottom of the cheekbone to equal to the length of the bucket. Also take the angles into account when doing this.

This is what needs to be cut away in order to have a perfect fit, without having to squeeze in the plate which will create tension in the structure.





After cutting the excess:



The plate now fits nice and snug!:



Here is where the cheekbone BACKplate comes in:



I cut out the template, transfer it and cut a cardboard piece which is to be glued to the cheekplate:



This is the result (left and right). Not only does it create a stronger and sturdier cheekplate as a whole, but is also gives the plate an area to adhere to the cheekbone:



I put glue on that little ridge and snap it to the cheekbone from the inside. I use some Scotch tape to secure the plate while drying. This will be removed afterwards:



And this is what it looks like front view.




Starting to look like something already! Phew! Now go and take a break, cuz eye no eye need 1!

Later

Peter8)
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Amazing that you still have time to take your Cat-Cat out. You make it all look sooo simple.
C

You make it look sooooo easy! Nice job.

After seeing your threads, I've been inspired. I had the idea of building my helmet the same way (cardboard), but brushing fiberglass resin over the entire mask/dome. I figure the resin will soak into the cardboard and give it some extra strength.

Has anyone tried this?

Hey guys,

I'm new to the site and just want to thank antman!!! This helps me out tremendously!!!! I am going to start my own cardboard soon!!! Thanks so much!!!!

AF

Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated!

As for covering cardboard with fiberglass resin, I have no experience in doing that. I guess it could work. But I would do it on the inside of the bucket to gain more structural rigidness. Just my 2 cents.

Now let's get on with the show. 8)


All glued parts should have now dried sufficiently. Let's do a little inspection of what we have already. Remember that I cut an angle to the cheekbones before glueing them in? This pic shows why:



It definitely paid off. You can also see the mask layer on top of the bucket. This makes quite a rigid composition.

And as you also might remember (if not, just scroll up) I used the "Inner Surface" template for the bucket which is a bit smaller in height compared to the mask template. And that is apparent from this picture:



When glued on correctly, it creates sort of a rim or ledge (red circle). Now this is makes it easy for the base of the dome triangles to adhere to, as will be apparent later on.

For practical reasons I took off the dome frame arches previously. Now it's time to glue them back on:



So now it is time to get busy on the dome triangles! They had plenty of time to dry up so let's use those babies.

I start off with the cardboard piece I made from this template:



This one forms the back of the dome, and I split it up half (three sections each) and glued them on the inner ledge of the mask:



Inside view:



As can be seen from above photograph, I left just a little more length on the bottom part of the triangles. This exactly compensates for the aforementioned rim/ledge. So the actual length (arched area in the WOF template) which I leave on the triangle bottom, is the same distance from the dome base ring to the top of the mask edge.
To illustrate, this is where I cut the bottom (red line):



This excess material is covered by and glued to the inner mask edge. That same extra length I also incorporated for the dome form rings:



I hope I made that clear . Most of the time, trying to explain what I did is the hardest part of posting. But if anything is not obvious, please LMK as usual.

Okay, let's proceed to glue the triangles to one another; start by glueing both triangles marked number 10 (see WOF template) to the dome frame ring. Then the adjacent triangle number 9 gets glued to number 10, and number 8 to number 9. But take the time to let each part dry thouroughly before you glue it to the next. Use your fingers to mold and shape the triangle in the required curve when glueing. Again, patience is the key here.



Next up are these two parts which connect to the glued-in back section and form the side and front of the dome:




Here's a close-up of them pointy bits stuck together:



I just continue in the same fashion for the rest of the triangles; start to glue from the dome frame rings and then connect to adjacent triangle parts.

The pre-shaping with the misting bottle paid off nicely . It makes it easier to glue the parts together:












By this time I always seem to remember the template part which I forgot to incorporate earlier!:o
Here it is:



Taped together as depicted, WOF template pages 11 and 12 form the "Helmet Base". This particular template helps in determining the bottom shape of the bucket, as does the "Dome Base" (pages 9 and 10) for the top shape. During the shaping of the wet cardboard Inner Surface, the main form of the bucket is somehow automagically created. So now let's test to see if it makes the correct fit:



It duz, it duz!!



If it wouldn't have, just use the misting bottle and spray the bucket a tiny bit moist and shape it accordingly.

Only a few more triangles to go:



Almost there....



And shazam! The dome is complete!



The basic shape looks okay to me:



Here you can see that (even) I messed up a bit . Some triangles where not glued symmetrically, so I had to compensate but cutting excess material away. But this should not be a big showstopper since the dome will receive a thick coat of filler anyway.



The areas marked red are to be corrected by either cutting away or by filling up. Keep confidence. It will work out okay.



Inside view:



Looks nice!
And here's the last one for today:




That's it for the cardboard part of the dome. To make it nice and smooth I'll have do some cutting and basic sanding and to apply filler. But first I think I will focus on creating the "ears". But that is for next time.


Thanks for looking!
Peter
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

This really helps me ! Thanks Antman.

Looks great Ant !! This is so helpful, I just started my first scratch build. Right now I'm just doing a thin cardboard mock-up to learn the process and how the parts go together. I was going to use the "For Sale" sign type but after seeing this I may change my direction. LOL or I may just do both. Keep it up man. Awesome !!!!



O.A.

WOW! That looke awesome, Great stuff Antman!

Yes Mojo! It should be stickied! AntMan, you're making an awesome cardboard helmet!!!

Sticky!

AntMan, your scratchbuilding prowess is unreal! You present the process in such a clear-cut manner, that any idiot like me can follow the step by step instructions and come out with a decent looking bucket.

I am excited to see what else you do with the current build!

-Paul

Originally Posted by Jaiden

Great job! .... I really don't know what kind of cardboard I have either.

Thanks David! To me it looks like you are using the corrugated type. But I might be way off

Originally Posted by samlynn79

I for one am going to follow this step by step when I'm able to start my second bucket. Amazing work!

Thanks Sam! I'm lookin' forward to your next scratch build, 'cause I like the first one you did

Originally Posted by t_bone9600

Very nice! The tutorial is coming along great as well.

Glad you like it!

Originally Posted by Boba Luke

This really helps me ! Thanks Antman.

No problemo Luke!

Originally Posted by Outlaw Assassin

Looks great Ant !! This is so helpful, I just started my first scratch build.

Yes! Be sure to post lots of pics of your scratch build dude! Thanks

Originally Posted by MandalorianWarrior87

WOW! That looke awesome, Great stuff Antman!

Thanks man!

Originally Posted by Mojo-Fett

Hey Peter... you not finished yet bruv?? whats the hold up! (JK)

I don't think you could fathom how helpful this thread is to the masses of scratch builders out there!
I vote for this to be Stickied...

Hey Gav! This ol' thread too slow for ya? Haha! Glad you like it bro. And thanks for the sticky vote, but I guess it can only get sticky if I complete the tutorial. So I HAVE to make it perfect. Oh the pressure! Eye cannae take anymurrrrrrrrr! Thanks bro!

Originally Posted by KaanE

Yes Mojo! It should be stickied! AntMan, you're making an awesome cardboard helmet!!!

Okay, okay, you convinced me! I'll do my best to make it sticky-worthy Thanks!

Originally Posted by t_bone9600

I'll throw in sticky vote as well.

Originally Posted by Pudii Solu

...any idiot like me can follow the step by step instructions and come out with a decent looking bucket.

I know there's a compliment in there somewhere...
Just kidding dude! Thanks!
Let's see you progress!


Now it's been a while since I've posted any updates. Here in Holland we've been enjoying my son's two week school holiday. I took leave from work and spent some QT with the family! And good it has been, as the climate temp rose to a very comfy 28 degrees Celsius! Thus I did not have a lot of time for crafting and posting. Too much sand on the beach for that anyway!
So apologies for the delay, but I promise to be back soon with some work done on the ears.

Stay tuned
Peter
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Hi!

Found a wormhole and travelled through it to create a moment in time to report on my progress. I figured it has been tooo long since I posted any progress, eventhough I decided to post only when I would be finished with a particular part. But since I am almost done with this part of the bucket I couldn't hold back the pictures from all of you faithful viewers!

Well, as promised here's what I did on the "ears". I chose for the ears to be a solid construction instead of a hollow one. This means I will have to
build up the ears out of different layers of cardboard glued to one another and then cut, chissled and sanded into shape. It sounds more difficult
than it is, but it does require some skill. But if I can do it, you can too! Now let's get started.

First I start off with this WOF template (page 6):



I cut out the template for the left ear, and also the gutter in it, and make a test fit on the bucket:





Next I transfer the template six times on a piece of cardboard as such:



From two pieces, I cut out the gutter part as depicted here:



Then I start cutting as precise as possible on the outlines:



Because the ear will have a surface angle I precut the material which needs to be sanded off anyway:



Stacked, the layers form this shape:



To be cut and sanded until it looks like this:



I glue two layers at a time together and press 'em including the supporting material:





Then those two are glued to eachother the same way:





While this is drying I prepare for the R/H ear sections by cutting out the templates (page 7) and transferring them to cardboard. I drew plenty of shapes (because secretly I'm doing a second bucket simultaneously)8):



I start cutting out the easiest part which consists of 4 layers (three shapes as depicted in next pic, plus the back-plate) and glue them together in the same way as described above. :



The edges of this piece are sanded (grade 120-150) until smooth and straight.

Next I tackle the most intricate and complex part (to me at least) which consists out of 7 layers. The design looks quite simple but has so many
angles and sharp edges to it, it needs full attention when constructing it:



The basic idea is the same as with the left ear piece; cut away material which you are going to cut away anyway as if you were sculpting the shape from a solid piece of stone or something.

Building up the layers:





And all of the prep'ed layers stacked look like this:



So then it's just glueing them together and shaping 'til the desired shape appears:





Here's the lot so far:



Also cut the bottom angle of the left ear:



Sanded smooth:



Finally it is time to create the "ear cap", built up out of 4 layers:



White glue all over the place:



Two layers at a time:



Good old glue clamps&blocks:



The cap goes on top of the firstly created right ear piece:



Shaping the angle is the same story; use a fresh sharp knife to roughly cut away excess material being careful not to cut away too much:



All it needs now is some sanding until smooth and I'm set to put on the first layer of sealing agent. But that is for next time.

Greetings from Delft,
Peter
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

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

Originally Posted by obi sean kenobi

Dude you are amazing.

Thanks OSK! Takes one to know one

Originally Posted by tk7602

wow! that's really great!

Thanks Brian! Takes one to know one

Originally Posted by Ghostsoldier

AntMan...this is simply awesome!

Thanks Rob! Takes one to know one

Originally Posted by MandalorFett

Two words.............you..................ROCK!

Thanks MF! Takes one to know one ?

Originally Posted by Gypsyboy

...looks like a Mayan temple. LOL

Haha 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

Originally Posted by NovallTalon

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.:thumbup

Thanks for your replies guys!

Back for more soon....
Peter
__________________



"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.

Originally Posted by madmanmoe64

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!It probably has a lot more advantages over posterboard and is easier to process.
But I'm just a sucker for cardboard LOL. 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!

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

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:



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



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



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





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





I never expected to get such sharp edges with cardboard:



The lower ear piece after sealing:





And the left ear piece:




That's it for now.
Stay tuned for more!
Peter
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Wonderfull work! Your progress pics make it look so easy, but i think there may be some skill involved in what you've achieved...

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.

Originally Posted by madmanmoe64

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
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Originally Posted by AntMan

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!!!



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

i hope you do update this, its been really helpful and we'd all like to see it keep going ;]

Hi everyone,

I know, I know....it has been toooo long since the last update for sure :o. 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
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Originally Posted by Ghostsoldier

No sweat, brother...I have the same problem to deal with: Life.
Rob

Thanks for hitting that nail on its head, Rob!

Peter
__________________



"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:









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).



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



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



Some finer detail:



One keyhole fully cut:



And presto, the entire vent:





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



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



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:



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



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



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



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



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



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
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

That is the best cardboard build of anything. Amazing work.

When you stopped posting I had a go at the dome myself, and ballsed it up. Now i can empty the crisp packets out of it and start building again .

I've posted a couple of questions here before and just wanted to officially say Thanks. This thread has made it easy(er) to get on with my build and atm it's not looking too bad.

You can see my attempt here: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/budget-scratch-build-27382/

AntMan, I gotta tell ya....your step-by-step is great! I am building two scratch-builds at the same time using your tutorial and WOF templates. One for my 7 year old and one for my 3 year old. I had to scale the templates down a bit and I think I got the wrong thickness of matte board (here in the US). But I think it's "thin-ness" will be good for weight reasons and simply having to cut smaller pieces and shaping them.

Great work!!!!!

Ok First i have to say you are a god among men i love the4 templates im printing them out as i type and as soon as i possibly can ima try my own scratch built and if you dont mind im going to see what i can do about putting this all together into a how to packet for you to give out again only if you dont mind me doing it.

Brad
To be Grunt/Mando

Originally Posted by xbrotherx

AntMan, I gotta tell ya.... Great work!!!!!

Thanks xbrotherx! Can we see some pics of your progress? You've got two lucky kids!

Originally Posted by null13

....try my own scratch built .... putting this all together into a how to packet ... if you dont mind me doing it.

Brad
To be Grunt/Mando

Hey Brad! No problemo dude. In my view that's what this forum is all about. Sharing information, inspiring and helping each other whenever possible. Any suggestions or tips are very welcome! Can't wait to see your progress.

And @Gypsyboy: I am still puzzled myself how I did the pic with the camera in it.....

Thanks for all you positive comments so far. Right now I am working on the RF stalk and topper and will be posting the progress soon (I hope).

Be cool 8)
Peter
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Awesome i will make sure to check this out constantly and forge an epic how to manual with everything i can, can't wait to see more and more of your work and i hope to start building this weekend
being in college doesn't allow much time or money to acquire these things

Hey, first off I thought I'd add to the endless flow of well deserved complements and say "WOW AntMan you are the greatest cardboard craftsman on earth" lol. Ok on to the point... I've looked around this site for a month or two, never joined an online forum, so I figured this would be the best place to ask my question... being a 14 year old and rather small fett i have had to scratch build EVERYTHING I currently have almost everything done but my DP 97 which i got years ago is now a pile of deformed vinyl, and I plan on starting my first scratch build helmet (using your tuetorial of course) but my DP is the perfect size and I don't particulary care to look like a boble-head, anyone know about/close enough how to size down the WOF templates? thx

Hey Ant,

i am soo curious what the progress of the last 2 weeks is?
Keep us updated PLS!

Is it pretty sturdy with the bondo over it? What would happen to the helmet if you applied pressure to both sides of the bucket? Would the bondo just crack away? I need to see this thing.

Great job Ant... I've been inspired and have started making one with cardstock. Working on getting some 2mm Sintra to make one really sturdy.

Originally Posted by null13

...being in college doesn't allow much time or money...

Been there, but it pays off in the end!

Originally Posted by ARC3582

... how to size down the WOF templates? thx

Just print them out at a smaller percentage of the original size. Please ask around or try asking Jango72. He made some awesome kids-size Jango Fett buckets.

Originally Posted by RBF

...You definitly take your time to create a master piece of art.

Sure do! Thanks man!

Originally Posted by Nomit

Hey Ant,
i am soo curious what the progress of the last 2 weeks is? Keep us updated PLS!

Has it been two weeks already?! Time flies!

Originally Posted by Brent Nelson

Is it pretty sturdy with the bondo over it? What would happen to the helmet if you applied pressure to both sides of the bucket?

The inner base ring glued to the inside of the bucket supports the structure pretty well. If you would double layer this ring, it probably would give even more support for structural integrity. Ofcourse I don't need to tell you that you shouldn't go football practice with this bucket , but otherwise it is sturdy enough to go Trick or Treating.


UPDATE:
Sorry to keep you waiting for so long , but you know the works. Plus I've been breaking my head over this RF stalk and how to create a way of
wiring that wouldn't involve plugging in and out each time the stalk is removed for e.g. transportation. As is the case with my first bucket.
After some idea's and tryouts, most of them unsuccessful brainstorm sessions, this is the best I came up with:

I start off with transferring the template on page 10 of the WOF templates:



Placing it on a adequate sized piece of cardboard:



I decided to add an extended piece to the top of the stalk for easier and sturdier connection to the topper later on.



Here you can see the transfer in the cardboard. I did it by just cutting the template into the carboard lightly:



More detail:



Cutting the outline:



Detail shot. The way to get a smooth curve is by cutting several times through the board. Don't try to cut through it using to much force.



Drawing out the other two layers using the firstly created piece:



And presto. The center piece is already prepped for wiring as you can see here. A small gutter has been cut out.



In this pic I glued the center piece and the bottom piece together:



And I cut out the hinge hole on the top part:



And the other parts as well:



I also prepped the ear piece to which the stalk will be hinged:



And here comes the tricky part. I cut two small pieces from a paper clip which will function as connectors. With a needle, I punched two small holes in both stalk parts in which the paperclip sticks will fit.



I soldered the two electricity wires to each of the paperclip sticks. The sticks are pushed through the holes as such:



This picture shows what I was aiming for (and trying to explain, but pictures say more than words):



The merely glueing the top layer to the rest and pressing it firmly....



....gave this result:



Better visibility in sunlight:



Notice only the center layer carries the extended support piece (it will all be clear once I connect it to the topper):



Side shot:



And also notice the supportive "dot"of cardboard glued in between the two extruding paperclip sticks:



Holy macaroni! That was quite some detailed trickery. If you don't want it fussy like this, I guess you could also make a stalk without the wiring and electronics haha .

But you know me: if it ain't hard to make, it hardly is worth making.

That's it for now and many, many thanks for all the comps and patience guys (and gals?)!
Until next time!8)
Peter
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Just to emphasize:

When the stalk will be in place (right ear) the two sticks will serve as power on/off switch.



Inside the bucket I will construct points of contact which will be conducting the current when the stalk is lowered:







Perhaps this all will be a lot more clear once final construction has been done.

Just that.

Peter
__________________



"With great power comes great responsibility"

Amazing stuff, I think I'm gonna have to rebuild my stalk. I made a hollowed out one following your first progress thread but this is so cool I'm gonna have to try it. Plus I want to have my stalk powered.

Ever considered how you would put a motor into the assembly, I experimented with gearing systems but in the small space it seems it would be easiest to just stick the motor directly into the base of the stalk???


ty
-Tom

This is to kool, you got skills bro!!!!

Originally Posted by AntMan

Thanks xbrotherx! Can we see some pics of your progress? You've got two lucky kids!

They are lucky....if I get the sizing right So I found out a bit late (right before putting the dome strips on) that BOTH helmets are too small for them. Ugh! I told my youngest son (3 years old) it was a trashcan and I wanted to put it on his head. Since, to him, it didn't look like a helmet yet he thought it would be funny to wear a "trash can". So I tried putting it on...and behold...it didn't fit. NOOOO!!


Here are the "trash cans" my son tested.

And here is one of the mini-helmets I will be using for build tests. Dome is a bit off but for two little boys, I am not picky about screen accuracy.




So what I finally realized is I downloaded the wrong templates for US...I think. I downloaded the A4 templates and resized to 95%. Too small. Printed out as 100%. Still too small. I then downloaded the other set of templates for 8.5"x11" paper (which I thought was A4..oh well), cut them out and fashioned a quick paper version (like WOF did when he was making the templates) to test sizing and they fit great. I guess I should have made a quick paper version for sizing on the first two. Yikes.

So now I have two partially done helmets. I guess I can hang them from my truck's rear view mirror like dice. I will be starting on two correctly-sized helmets soon. I am going to finish the current mini-helmets both out eventually. One is being finished out now for testing the building process, what materials to use, etc.

Oh well, I am still absolutely loving this project and my wife still has patience with me for doing it

I will post some pics soon of the completed "bigger" helmets later on.

Sorry to hijack this post. Feel free to delete or move to a seperate post

Originally Posted by Bubba Fett

Holy crud this is amazing! How did I miss this thread?

Don't know, but I add my vote in that it should be stickied! It's absolutely friggin amazing! Was going to use for sale signs, but now it's that cardboard all the way.

Originally Posted by Bubba Fett

Holy crud this is amazing! How did I miss this thread?

I didn't know I was missing it until I saw it.

This is superb, AntMan! I had a pretty good idea of how the templates were meant to go together, but seeing them actually assembled has taken away any doubt. I'm going to do a bit of prototyping with some thinner material, but if it goes well I may just 'glass that up and skip the thicker cardboard.

Thanks a million for the fantastic tutorial!

Mad skills! Keep up the good work

Dan

Wow, just simply amazing. Keep up the good work!

So as I understand it, you using the two protruding wires to complete the circuit when the RF is in the down position? That sounds freaking awesome! This build is incredible, and I applaud your ability to not only construct the helmet, but to make it so easy to understand. Thanks much, it's helping me alot with my first bucket!!

I'm here soaking up wisdom for my very first armor build... I'd already decided it's going to be custom trash can armor all the way, but then hit a snag on what to do about the bucket. This thread has restored my hope! Looks absolutely great, and seems like something I could handle myself. Way to go!