Expert eye needed on scratchbuild

goodus10

Hunter
Greetings from the UK. I'm pretty new to all of this. I joined a few weeks back and have been amazed by the workmanship from all of you guys. I always thought I was a Star Wars nut, but the dedication you all show makes me realise i'm lagging behind a bit. Being inspired by Antman's amazing scratchbuilds and Alan's brilliant templates I embarked on a project for my daughter who is a big Jango fan and now I'm working on my own Boba. I needs some help from you guys and an expert eye. I've been spending some time trying to get as accurate a shape for the dome as I can so I can cast it to save myself remaking the dome for each subsequent bucket that I make( my daughter wants a Jaster and a full size Jango, she won't stay 7 for ever!) I attach some pics of the project so far and I need some opinions. Hope to do some more filling and sanding this weekend. starting to get used to the smell of P38.

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good start,
you'll find load of references of the dome here your not to far from the right shape, a little reshape hear and there and you'll be good to go.
 
Thanks for the encouragement Aero. I've been looking at a few more ref pics and have done some reshaping. Not finished yet but I'm a bit happier with the new shape. I have marked on the dent position and the arrows to the positions I think look correct. Opinions really welcome guys. Once I get this dome sorted I can move on and prime it, then I can get the ears done. Looking at that rearview I need to tweak the keyslot. I'll hopefully get on with it this weekend.(IF THIS RAIN EVER STOPS!!!!:angry)

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Thanks Superman. Keep sanding, it will be worth it in the end!!

Right then, next update. I decided to get the arrows and the dent done then prime the dome so any little dents/scratches etc will become a bit more obvious(and I'm also very impatient!!!!:D) I used Alan's templates to do the arrows. They still need a bit more work but I'm happy with the position of them.

I used Boba Swede's dent template to get the dent shape and traced a bit more of the surrounding detail to orientate myself a bit better. I know some of a us newbies struggle with the dent position, but I figured that getting as much detail to refer to is the way forward to getting it right. Everyone's dome is going to be slightly different when doing a scratchbuild so there is no point in using exact measurements to the milimetre. What I did to estimate the position of my dent was to take line across the top of the left arrow(facing out), the black line on the attached pic, and draw two reference points from this to orientate the position of the dent. Take a look at the attached pic to see how I did it. It's easier to demonstrate it than explain it in words. BTW, A line taken directly upwards from the left hand vertical edge of the visor bisects the point between two easily discernible scuffs on the Boba Swede template. This immediately makes life easier. The other point to determine is up to you. Just record the angles on the ref picture and transfer them to your helmet.

Looking at my dome, I'm quite happy with it but, I think the dent may be a bit small:confused, although it is the 2.5cmx2.5cm as quoted elsewhere! Hopefully, when painted it will look ok.

Well, too late now, I will crack on and get the next few bits done. If any of you guys see anything glaringly obvious then please tell me before I get too far into this project

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Looks really great!! Awesome handywork.

Yeah the dent is a bit small, if noting else, paintning the damage around it bigger might work to make it look bigger too.
 
Thanks for the kind feedback guys. I'll tinker with the dent at the weekend. I don't think it needs to be too much bigger, but I think it will bug me if I leave it as it is!
 
it's shaping up.
how big did you print the plans out at?
i would suggest you make the dent about 10% bigger.
i made my helmet out of large plastic paint tubs and the key slot at the back was a major pain it kept on breaking as i put the curve into it. must have done it at least five times.
 
Hello again,

Thanks to Aero for his help and the hints he sent me. I tinkered away on my bucket and I am now much happier with my dent. I didn't measure it exactly but I would say it's about 10% bigger. It needs a bit more sanding but It'll do for now. I am now going to leave the dome alone and start on the ears.

Need to go back to key slot at some point. It is a very fiddly part I agree. I managed to do it in cardboard eventually without too many creases. Hoping to smooth out those few creases a bit later. I take my hat off to the guys like Antman who have done it so well in the past. It really does take some skill.

Aero, have you any pics of your build on the forum anywhere? Love to see a bucket made from paint tubs.

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See your thread for the comments on your bucket. Good work my friend. Funnily enough I reshaped my dome over the last couple of days and primed it today. I'm in the middle of sorting out the earpieces as well so I will post some pics hopefully this weekend.
 
latest update. I decided to go back to the dome and reshape the rear section. A lot of sanding and priming later, I'm much happier. Also started on the earpieces and nearly done with them. I've also pinched in the nose and secured that, hence the cracks in the cheeks. I need to hollow out the cheeks a bit more but it's getting there. I've had a couple of friends ask me about making helmets for them so I think I might try my hand and casting this one. Anyone know where the best suppliers of silicone and casting resins are in the UK. I've had a look at Smooth-on in the US but I can't order directly from them. Some help would be cool! Any comments welcome in general on the bucket. Cheers everyone.:cheers

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G, looking good,
have you attached the dome to the rest of the helmet.
you had any problems with the key slots at the back?
Any thought's what to use for your visor. i used coloured perspex.

check out 4d models. www.modelshop.co.uk they deal with all types of model making equipment. their based in london, not to far from tower bridge.
 
Hi Aero, thanks for your kind words.
I've not attached the dome yet, I just find things much easier to work on when they're in separate pieces. Once I'm 100% happy I'll attach it. I'm a bit indecisive sometimes so who knows if I'll go back and change something else.

The only main problem so far with the keyslot is the fact I got some creases in the card when I shaped it. If I can't get rid of them tidily then hopefully when I cast it I should just be able to sand those out. Needs a bit of tidying up around the margins but I'm actually quite pleased with it now.

I decided to Gesso prime the helmet and acrylic prime the dome, just so it was easier to see any imperfections easily. It's opened up a whole world of those, so I've a bit of a way to go yet.

As for the visor, I'm open to suggestions. I thought I may try to get one from one of the guys on TDH . When I did my daughter's Jango bucket, I had a problem with the front of the helmet 'pinching in' so I'd like to make/buy a good quality one to add some support. I did use some dark blue perspex sheet on my daughter's Jango in the end, and doubled up on it, but it was only cardboard in the cheeks, I'm not sure if it would stand up to resin cheeks! What thickness perspex did you use? The pic shows my daughter's Jango and a rough pic of my keyslot pre-sanding/primer. See what you think. Yes I know the rangefinder is too big but it was her favourite bit of the helmet so it had to be a big one.

Cheers:cheers

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Your an old hand to this helmet making thing then.
Nice job on the jango(y)

I used 3mm bottle green perspex. it was an off cut so i got it dirt cheap. i payed £5 and it was big enough for two visor's plus enough to make lenses for my trooper lid.

one last thing have you made moulds before

Jason
 
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