Making the first Rafal Works Helmet

Finally, I was able to put my hands on some pieces of cardboard to start the RWH scratchbuild with the templates I made. You can find the templates here RWH Templates and you can read about the RWH project thread here The Boba Fett Helmet Project.
After I printed all the pages, I glued the inner and outer parts of the helmet form and the dome and helmet form parts. Also glued the cheek bones on the cardboard.



I cut out the dome base template and the helmet inner parts then glued the inner parts on the bottom of the dome base template.



Next, I cut out the inner helmet face, then glued on to the dome base template.



Finally, I glued on and cut out the rear panel, then glued the two pieces together. You can see that I left a thin strip around three-quarters of the rear panel that will help me to glue this on the inside of the inner helmet part.



Stay close, there's more to come.

Respect!

Today I removed the inner parts of the helmet and made a circular cut in the dome base. Then cut out the main dome parts and glued on the dome base ring.



I moved on to the rear keyhole panel. I bended the cardboard strip around the rear panel and added a small piece of cardboard that follow the curvature of the back helmet.



Then I glued the panel into the back of the helmet.



I plan to do the dome first, then I will glue on the outer face template to the inner one. This way I will cover the dome base much better.

Respect!

Originally Posted by Ogait-Nas

Looks good shaped and sturdy so far!

Thanks!

Today I did the first steps for a complete helmet. I have redone the rear keyhole and the back panel paint and scratches templates and glued on to the helmet.



And here is the helmet with the MQ-1 circuit board instaled. I made the circuit board with minimal effort. I did just 4 pieces and covered with colored paper.



I have to do each part with care, because before I glue on the templates I must glue on each paint and scratches template too, this way I will cover every surface of the helmet. The next step will be the hardest of all: THE DOME. This has to be as perfect as possible and not to mention the paint templates for the dome...

Respect!

Originally Posted by goodus10

Looking really great. Instant paintjob, I like it. Hoped to have started on myself but real life is getting in the way again. Look forward to seeing the progress.

Thanks! Real life is on the first place and should ever be.

Originally Posted by boba68

amazing work bro

Many thanks, boba68!

Yesterday and today I made the dome which is 95% done. Still need to do the dent and the front arrows, not to mention the paint and scratches templates to fit the dome's curvature.

I cut out the dome templates then glued the slices with duct tape from inside.



Then I glued some thin cardboard strips on the dome frame this way the dome slices will have some extra support for the glueing process.



Then I cut the dome in pieces containing 3 slices each, this thing gives me more accuracy with the assembly and glueing.



I left the front right slice empty where I will do the dent. I printed a new set of the dome templates then I glued on the dome inverted, this way the printed outline is not visible and all dome cuts are now covered.



I'm oscilating on how to do the dome paint scheme. I could do it directly on the dome template or I can do the small paints and scratches on the dome template then do the big ones separately then glue on to the finished dome. The second choice will be more accurate, but each separate scratch glued will have a visible contour...

Respect!

Today I managed to do the dent and glue in the remaining slice to finish the dome.



Then I printed again the dent template and glued in inverted on the dent. The difference is significant.



I got to finish the dome paint scheme and start to do the dome.

Respect!

I printed today the templates for the dome base color and glued on to the dome. Also made the front arrows then covered with colored paper.



The result is very good in my opinion.

Respect!

Today I glued on the outer face template, then glued on the half back red paint scheme. Also cut out the cheek area.



This is it for today.

Respect!

Originally Posted by yorkshiredad

Great Job RF! great idea for the multiple struts to keep the dome's shape true. I wish I'd have though of that myself instead of fighting with the standard quadrants.

Thanks, yorkshiredad! We all learn from our or others mistake. It's never too late to start one more scratch build helmet.

Today I glued on some of the paint and scratches scheme for the dome. Although in the images you can see the white contour, on the real helmet is less visible. Maybe if I will cover the finished helmet with lacquer or something will reduce the white lines and the layered paper.

This is the latest stage of the helmet:



Respect!

Originally Posted by KaanE

Nice work Rafal. Have you built the cheeks?

Thanks! Yes, just finished gluing the cheeks.



Respect!

Thanks a lot, boys! This thing is getting better and better as I advance with each step. Two things to comment so far: the dome top scratch is bigger than it should be, and the front arrows are farther from the red rim... But so far I'm happy with the result. Today I will glue on the front red paint scheme and add the physical damage to the helmet.

Respect!

As I promised, I'm back with some new build steps. I glued the killstripes to the dome and added the front red paint scheme.



Next on the menu: the cheeks.

Respect!

Originally Posted by KaanE

Congratulations. You have not won one million dollars, but you're making the best cardboard scratchbuild bucket I've ever seen. Using this one as a base, and with a few drops of bondo and tweaks you could get a really accurate bucket bud. I applaud your effort.

Thank you for the kind words, KaanE! Just wait to see with the cheeks done. It's amazing! I let the images talk...



Sadly, the printer shop where I printed the templates was closed and I printed the cheek templates at another shop where they had other printer settings and the colors are slightly different in comparison with the dome. And you can see a distorted blue color near the borden connector. But it's OK. This still rocks!

Respect!

Originally Posted by goodus10

Indeed it does rock. This build is getting better and better. Fantastic work Rafal. Looking forward to tomorrow's update.

Originally Posted by apolifka

Paper weathering is a really interesting idea. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the kind words! Today I will try to do the ear base platform and to assemble the ears and the rangefinder.

Respect!

Originally Posted by KaanE

You should do a Cardboard visor to keep the mandibles right. Anyway, I can't wait to see the ears attached!

I finished the ear base platform and I had a pair of ears and the rangefinder from the last prototype and use it to see how this fits on the helmet. I made from cardboard some kind of legs that I glued on the ears, then made some holes in the helmet to fit the ears properly. The rest of the parts are holded with duct tape.



I have to do the ear and rangefinder paint and scratches scheme then glue on the finished parts. Then install the visor and I'm almost done.

Respect!

Just mounted the visor in and still working on the ear and rangefinder paint scheme. I will finish the helmet untill the next weekend.



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Originally Posted by yorkshiredad

Looking very good Raf; You've done a fantastic job so far. :-)

Thanks again, yorkshiredad!

Finally! My helmet is finished. I'm very pleased on how this turned out. So I let the pictures to talk...



I only used 2mm cardboard and colored templates printed on plain paper. For the ear and the rangefinder I used thin cardboard (0.5mm) then padded with 1mm cardboard. 'Foreign' materials used are the T-visor and two magnets for the upper ear. I will do a cardboard stand for the helmet in the near future.

And here are some comparison images with the ESB hero helmet.



So, what you say?

Respect!

I finally made the stand for the helmet. This is also made from 2mm cardboard which is covered with black sticker-like sheet. The base was made with 3 decreasing circles, where each circle is made with two pieces of 2mm cardboard glued together. The top part was made the same way, but it has just two circles. The center piece was made with thinner and softer cardboard and was rolled to form a tube. The info plate (copied from the MR replica plate) was made with one piece of 2mm cardboard, then I glued the printed image to the cardboard and I covered the plate with duct tape for a shiny look.



And here is the helmet on his stand.



Respect!

Originally Posted by xxDreamWalker

I'm stuck already! Man, I suck.... No, but my question: during those first steps you glued the parts on pages 26-29 to get that cross-section-thingy, right? You said you glued them to the bottom of the dome base? What about the "Helmet base" then (page 30-31)? Should I just ignore that? Because the parts I want to glue to that dome base tells me they should be glued to the helmet base... Could you tell me what I'm missing? (I feel so useless XD)

While I didn't used the base template in this thread (because I was so eager to finish the helmet and I simply forgot to use this part) but in the Rafal Works Helmet Project thread you can see how it looks all glued together (this was just a prototype and for the moment just ignore the dome part, you will do that later).



The helmet base part is made to give your helmet its distinctive shape while you will attach and glue the inner part and the face template, after that you will have to remove all inner parts, except the dome base ring



Remember that I also used those paint stencils and the usual method wouldn't let me to do it right so I did my helmet in a different way. These are the correct steps (more or less): assemble the dome base with the inner helmet parts and the helmet base --> try on the inner helmet face (if this doesn't go around and don't close the open ends then trim a little bit from the edges of the helmet inner parts)



--> glue the inner face around the dome base, then glue the face template to the inner face and remove all inner helmet parts --> cut out the dome base to form a ring around the helmet face --> cut out all the 8 parts of the dome part templates to form each of them a half ring --> glue the half ring dome parts to the dome base ring using the corresponding numbers (optionally you can glue some thin paper strips on the half ring edges to help you in the dome) which will look like this:



--> then cut out the dome templates and glue them from the inside with duct tape or glued paper strips --> (optionally) you can cut the dome templates in parts containing 3 slices each, this way you will achieve better results with your dome --> glue on the dome slices (but if you want the dent too, then don't glue the front left slice yet)



--> cut out the cheek parts and the cheek area from the face template, then assemble the cheeks (it's a bit tricky, but not impossible)



Note: the lower cheek needs to be glued on a bigger cardboard to help a better assembly with the upper cheek



--> using the dome position template mark the dome form on the last dome slice and cut it out, then use the dent assembly template to do the actual dent (the red slices are from the prototype helmet)



--> glue in the dome slice and then cut out the front arrows using the corresponding template --> cut out the back of the helmet then assemble the rear keyhole template like this:



--> assemble the ears and the rangefinder parts using the method from the Rafal Works Helmet Project thread --> cut out the visor area then attach the visor in place (there are multiple methods: with screws, with hot glue, bolts and even partially duct taped) --> strengthen your helmet from the inside with fiberglass (or other methods ?) --> cover the helmet with bondo then sand it until your fingers bleed --> paint it with the color scheme you like --> droll and admire your own helmet.

If there is anything else you don't understand, just ask and I'll help you out.