New batting helmet bucket

This is my first post on the forum and I just want to say how talented the members are. I contacted wizardofflight for his helmet templates and have started my own scratchbuilt ESB Fett helmet. I'm just going to attach the most recent photos of the build. I'm using the batting helmet method which has been used so brilliantly by Kripps and Kibosh. The jpeg is large file and I do have more of the entire construction process. Right now I'm just trying my hand at posting and attaching a file. Any information on the best way to post a jpeg and at what resolutions would be appreciated. I have about 20 more photos of the construction and would like to post them for the forum members input. The photos show the cheeks after installation and first coat of bondo applied. Thanks for all the info and inspiration.

SD68,
Welcome! And that's quite a first post.
Looking great! You got some scratchbuilding skills!

Thanks, Superjedi, and I hope to post the rest of the construction photos soon. I need to decrease their file size but more are on the way. As you probably noticed I am using for sale signs for the construction, as well as, the batting helmet.

Very cool!
Cant wait to see more progress picts!

I LOVE it when I see people build their own buckets, it just makes you feel so much better saying, "I made this." Instead of, "I bought this..."

Here are some more progress photos. They show the batting helmet cut into quarters and then attached together with strips of for sale sign. Not sure if the for sale signs are sintra or not but they bond well with Pro Weld and are a dream to work with. They score and snap cleaner than ordinary styrene. Gaps were filled with epoxy putty on top of helmet for strength. Then bondo was applied to finalize shape. Minor imperfections were corrected with 3m spot putty. Achieved initial dent shape with a propane torch and a piece of 1" aluminum rod ground to approximate dent shape. Final step was to attach a 1/4" MDF ring with epoxy to bottom of helmet cut to template size. Used this for final putty applications and as a larger surface area to glue the sign helmet pieces to.

Really nice work! Really.....
You gotta be dying right now to finish the ears off and paint .
Keep us posted on the progress.....I love the scratchbuilt stuff.

Josh

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I do have a question for anyone on the forum. What is the proper angle of the upper cheek attachment to the mandibles-does it have the small radius or is it squared off?
I tried to look at the high resolution photos of the reference cd but it is hard to tell. The right side seems to be squared off and the left side seems to be somewhere in between. Any help would be appreciated because I am about to start final sanding of the cheeks and want to get the shape just right.

I can't be certain, but it seems to me that they are squared off and not round.

nice looking helmet great job!!

Keep up the good work!!

Originally Posted by SD68

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I do have a question for anyone on the forum. What is the proper angle of the upper cheek attachment to the mandibles-does it have the small radius or is it squared off?
I tried to look at the high resolution photos of the reference cd but it is hard to tell. The right side seems to be squared off and the left side seems to be somewhere in between. Any help would be appreciated because I am about to start final sanding of the cheeks and want to get the shape just right.

I looked very hard at the same pics, i'm pretty sure they're squared off. The problem is the paint job distorts their shape, you've also got a tight radius(the upper cheek) meeting a right angle(the mandibles) when i sanded these two surfaces to meet each other, they natrually want to form a curve, creating a tight radius at this junction is tricky. Once i achieved this , to me it looked accurate. The cheek/mandible area is where i spent most of my time on my scratchbuild and i think its the trickiest part to get right....Great helmet by the way,can't wait to see the paint starting to go on....

More photos of the construction. The dome is primered and ready for the dent to be refined and accurized. The next few show the large helmet pieces which were made by forming them to shape, screwing together in the back, and then submerging them in boiling water for 5 minutes to retain their shape. I was surprised how well this technique worked for such large pieces.
With Alan doing all of the hard work for us the pieces went on without a hitch with epoxy and Pro Weld. The flair matches perfectly with the templates. As said here before, Alan is the Man! From there I pieced in the cheeks with four pieces using the same boiling water to form them. Now it is on to the back of the helmet and the keyslots. I will keep you posted on my progress. Once again this forum is awesome and the members comments will allow me to make the most accurate helmet possible.

For Sale By Owner?

Just out of interest, how long have you spent on your build so far?

It has been over a three week period to reach the point I am at. I probably managed about 8 hours a week of work time on it. The dome was obviously the most time consuming part. I would say it took probably 2/3 of the total time just to get the curves accurate and the dent and arrows in the proper locations. Once the dome matched the templates the rest followed relatively quick. I'm sure things will slow as I add the detail pieces and get it ready for paint. I love the construction portion but I can't wait to start the finish process. Patience now is the key. Terminal, your thread is awesome and I can only hope mine can approach yours in quality of build and finish.

Yes, they are for sale by owner signs. I would say approximately 18"x24".

Originally Posted by SD68

It has been over a three week period to reach the point I am at. I probably managed about 8 hours a week of work time on it. The dome was obviously the most time consuming part. I would say it took probably 2/3 of the total time just to get the curves accurate and the dent and arrows in the proper locations. Once the dome matched the templates the rest followed relatively quick. I'm sure things will slow as I add the detail pieces and get it ready for paint. I love the construction portion but I can't wait to start the finish process. Patience now is the key. Terminal, your thread is awesome and I can only hope mine can approach yours in quality of build and finish.

Yes, they are for sale by owner signs. I would say approximately 18"x24".

3 weeks! I just feel like i've wasted 4 months!( and there are details i know i'm just going to end up putting right ) By the way, have you started on the 'ear' pieces yet?

I have got a long way to go and like I said I will probably slow to a snails pace to get the details right. I haven't started the ear pieces yet. Still trying to figure out how I want to create the angle. Either by forming the plastic or just body filler and sanding to match the templates.

That is a great looking bucket you've got going there. You've done a fantastic job. Thanks for posting the in progress shot, I always like seeing how folks put things together.

I actually went out this weekend and picked up a batting helmet and some "For Sale" signs. You've inspired me to finally build my own bucket.

Thank you for getting me moving again on this project.

Great job

Alan

Great looking bucket you have going there !!!
What are you going to use to make the "ear" parts out of ?

Wow, that is amazing!! Were the upper cheeks hard to get curved like that? And what kind of glue did you use to hold it together? I'm thinking of using three pieces for the upper cheeks, but I was wondering how using two pieces worked out for you?

Can't wait for more pics!

Alan, like I stated before you have made a "where do I even begin" scratchbuild into a pleasure to build from the start. If you follow the plans and other members advice on the forums the helmet goes together without a hitch. You have done all the hard work and research and we are the ones who are benefitting. I wish you luck with your own helmet and thanks again.

I will probably make the ears out of the for sale signs and sheet styrene like the rest of the helmet with possibly an aluminum mount for the stalk and rangefinder.

The upper cheeks were the hardest part of the forming process. It is actually four pieces per side. I tried one piece and there was no way. Too many conflicting curves. I cut the original piece into four pieces (back corner, upper corner, middle curve and finally the lower cheek. If you look carefully you should be able to just make out where the lower three pieces are connected. I use super glue for the initial tacks then used Pro Weld liquid cement to join the sections. I reinforced the joints with a bead of super glue and accelerator. Thanks to everyone for the great feedback and I will keep you posted with my progress.

Here are some updated photos of my progress over the last couple of weeks. Concentrating on the keyslots and the entire back of the helmet. I used heat formed styrene for the keyslot insert by strapping the plastic to a 1 1/2" piece of plumbing pipe and using the boiling water technique to keep its shape. Attached template to the styrene and then cut out the keyslots. The rest of the insert is strip styrene and sheet. The last photos show the back with the first coat of primer applied. Ready for sand, prime, sand, prime... you know the drill. A question for anyone out there. The MQ1 casting I have has the lower section of circuit board but I do not see this section shown in any of the reference photos. Should I cut this lower section off and fill in around the casting with sheet to better match the MQ1 such as bobamaker's? Any help with this area would be appreciated.

Here are the rest of the photos.

Coming along nicely.

Wow! Thats amazing, that has really given me the inspiration and motivation to make my own scratch build.

Keep up the great work!

NICE JOB!

My bucket goes off to those who scratch build.

Just checking to see if anyone knew the answer to my MQ1 casting question I posted earlier. Would like to start the mount for it but need to know if I need to cut down my casting or not.

Just use the top portion of the MQ1. I cover the lower three keyslots with a smooth piece of plastic that I cut from a plastic drink cup from Krystals. It's already curved so it doesn't need to be heated or shaped. Just paint it the appropriate color and glue it in place.

You are doing an excellent job with this helmet.

They actually used the whole board, but since the lower half has so few features you really can't tell except in extreme close up pictures.

Alan

Originally Posted by SD68

Just checking to see if anyone knew the answer to my MQ1 casting question I posted earlier. Would like to start the mount for it but need to know if I need to cut down my casting or not.

Originally Posted by wizardofflight

They actually used the whole board, but since the lower half has so few features you really can't tell except in extreme close up pictures.

Alan

Alan, are the ear pieces supposed to be mounted perpendicular and centered on the centerlines you have drawn in the top view of the helmet? I would like to get them mounted this weekend and any help would be appreciated. Thanks for the info on the circuit board.

Great work so far. I've seen a lot of impressive scratch-built helmets lately.

Yes, that is what I found from my research, they should be perpendicular to the band at the base of the dome and centered. Only in the front view do they flare out at the base.

Looking forward to more updates. I haven't found the time to start work on my own yet. Still working on the gauntlet templates.

Alan

Originally Posted by SD68

Alan, are the ear pieces supposed to be mounted perpendicular and centered on the centerlines you have drawn in the top view of the helmet? I would like to get them mounted this weekend and any help would be appreciated. Thanks for the info on the circuit board.

Its been a couple of weeks and here is my latest progress. I have been working on the ear pieces. I knew things would slow down considerably when I reached these detail parts. Constantly checking and rechecking the reference photos has proved invaluable as well as TDH members help and advice. The photos show the construction of the left earpiece out of styrene which I heat formed to obtain the shape. Later I will post a template for the U-shaped piece in order to form the part correctly.

Thanks Alan for the positioning info on the ear pieces! The last photos show the mounting of the left earpiece and initial coat of primer. Plenty to fill and sand yet. Finally, their is the lower section of the right earpiece which I completed today and applied the first coat of primer.

Dude, sweeeeet earcaps! Please do post the template!
The cheeks look wicked good too! Awesome progress on this!

Impressive work, go on bro !

Thanks for the kind words. I wanted to thank Alan and TF for the info also on the depth of the vertical slot on the left earpiece.. TF your helmet is a masterpiece. I would like to do final shaping and filing on the visor opening. My question is this. Do I include the wavy brow or should I keep it straight? I am probably opening a can of worms on this one. Any help with the decision would be great.

Those ear pieces look great! Very sharp and clean. I would be tempted to leave out the wavy brow, you've gone for a symetrical scratchbuild i take it, not the warped approach, so i would say it's more in keeping with the helmets overall feel to keep the brow straight. It would be nice to see how those ears came together...

Guys, I don't have any more in process pics of what I have completed but I will try to do a better job of taking more pics on the upper portion of the right ear piece. I decided to go with the straight brow and do the more idealized version of the Fett bucket. Was able to get the visor area sanded and filed and sanded the cheek areas. Also went with a squared off cheek corner like you suggested TF. I also have the lower ear piece mounted on the right side. Will post progress pics in the next couple of days. It is all coming together nicely and I'm getting more and more excited with the way it looks with each piece I add. Alan I will send you a dwg file of the left ear piece template shortly. I made it about 1/32" oversized to allow for final sanding to make sure the mounting surface is perfectly flat. TDH rules and thanks again for the help and inspiration. TF were you able to start your weathering yet?

SD, i've just got a selection of flints from the garden and started scratching through paint layers, does'nt show up on photos so no pics just yet, i shelved the coffee in favour of Teak furniture stain, watered down this stuff looks great! So have you started painting yet?

That would be great!! once I have them I'll add them to the PDF file. I will also tried to lay out any addtional pieces and maybe a 3D assembly drawing.

Great Job!

Alan

Originally Posted by SD68

Alan I will send you a dwg file of the left ear piece template shortly. I made it about 1/32" oversized to allow for final sanding to make sure the mounting surface is perfectly flat. TDH rules and thanks again for the help and inspiration. TF were you able to start your weathering yet?

TF, I have not started painting yet. I started work on the rangefinder stalk and mount so I can finish the earcap. Would like to motorize the RF and install lighting so I'm trying to devise a mount that I can get in place so it doesn't slow down finish work on the main helmet. Would like to get the earcaps mounted and have the entire helmet in primer this weekend. Will post pics tomorrow. Are you using a water based stain(brand) and what are you using for thinner? Can't wait to see progress pics on the weathering.

Thought I would post some progress pics on the bucket before I left on vacation. Visor opening filed and sanded and cheeks almost finished. The right ear has taken a lot more time to get together than I thought. Will be making it out of styrene with a copper tubing core for the wiring. Alan, since I have templates for both the ears I will probably send them to you at the same time when I get back. Any feedback or comments would be appreciated. Will pick up a servo on vacation and tackle that when I get back.

i'm just so amazed of what you've done.Your a talented person no doubt there.
Have a safe and fun vacation!

Man this helmet is coming along great!!!!

Man, I love all these scratchbuilt buckets. Makes me want to give it a try. This bucket looks great, can't wait to see it finished.

Wow! Amazing work man. You should be proud!

Well it has been awhile since my last post. The servo mount along with getting the clearances and spacing right took more time than I imagined it would. With that solved I could finally move onto final prep work before painting. I still have some pinholes to fill and refine the upper and lower cheek transition. I am so indebted to this forum for all the inspiration and help on this project. WOF templates are dead on and a dream to work with as you probably know by now. Thanks to Kripps and Kibosh for the batting helmet idea as well as their own superb helmets and TF who took scratchbuilding to a whole new level. The kind words from all the members helped keep me focused. I still have a long way to go but the exciting part is just around the corner- The ESB paintjob. I hope to utilize the painting templates when evan gets them posted. Here is four views of the bucket with a dark grey primer suggested by TF for the base of the metallic undercoat. Duplicolor hot rod primer. Will post pictures of the servo mount a little later this week. I have a question has anyone used spray on bedliner to do the inside of their helmets? I am leaning toward this route to finish out the interior.

That thing is amazing! Very cool! Now I want to try scratchbuilding. Can't wait to see it painted.

Brian

Holy smokes, that is AMAZING! How much would you say that cost you?

I would say up to this point I have about $90 invested. By the time you add in the $40 for the appropriate paints and thinners for finishing it will be around $130 total and a whole lot of time.

Thats freakin Sick..way to go!! I love it!

Truly amazing! Top work!

So how do you fill in Pin holes, that has been driving me nuts!

Jono!

that looks amazing man. I still trying to get my dome to look half way decent. Ill be buying a 2 more batting helmets today. to try new ways of getting the shape perfect. my first one didnt turn out so hot. looking at this thread and all the other scratchbuilt helmet threads is helping me along the way. again looks amazing. great work!!

Originally Posted by SD68

I would say up to this point I have about $90 invested. By the time you add in the $40 for the appropriate paints and thinners for finishing it will be around $130 total and a whole lot of time.

$130.00 bucks and a little elbow grease for a fantastic helmet !!!!!!
Very nice build, I can't help but appreciate builds like yours SD68. The helmet is turning out fantastic.

Nice job! Very slick looking helmet ...

Beautiful work!!! That Helmet looks great!! With the quality of your build I can't wait to see what you can do with the paint job.



Please keep us posted. Thank you for sharing.

Alan

any new updates?

Haven't been able to work on it for a couple of weeks. Had my honey do list to take of before the kids got back in school. I have to keep the wife happy. I hope things will slow down so I can get the metallic undercoat applied and then get started on the back of the helmet. I was hoping all the paint templates from evan and count dookie would be complete but I'm sure they are just as busy as I am. I will keep you posted. I thought about casting the helmet and TF said it was possible even after I painted it so I might hold off on the casting. It sure would be nice to be able to have a ROTJ to go with the ESB.

It's been way too long since my last post. I finally got around to starting the ESB paintjob. I looked at the date of the original post of June of last year and said I need to finish this thing. I started back by reinforcing the inside with a layer of fiberglass cloth. I really seemed to stiffen up the mandible portion. Went with spray in bedliner to finish off the inside. This stuff is awesome. Fast drying and little overspray. After final painting I will coat it with flat black to cover the overspray from the finish colors. Went with RS list for paints and using Floquil enamels and Testors Model Master. Went with lighter primer/filler coat by duplicolor. Added signature scratch damage to mandibles and added custom borden connector made of 3/8" brass rod.

The POG I lightened with 10% flat gull gray. This toned it down to allow weathering washes later. Lightly sprayed full POG at edges to create a slight multitoned effect and also a lighter spray with more gull gray added in a mottled effect to replicate the reference photos. Using the high def ESB reference images posted here. Used brunswick green for upper cheek area and will add lighter oversprays later to tone it down. Used Floquil Aged Concrete for the back panels mixed 70/30 with gull gray. It was just what I was hoping for: not too gray, not too yellow. Used old fashioned killstripe thread for the killstripes. Took a while to get spacing correct but it was worth it. Used Windsor and Newton masking fluid for the first time. This must be the divine gift to painting. It works incredible!

After gaining confidence with the masking fluid I decided to tackle the back. I want to get the green on to make masking for the boxcar red easier. I used Count Dookie's templates for the back left and am creating my own for the back right side. Hope to have initial green on so I can paint the boxcar red this weekend. I went with Euro dark green straight from the bottle for the main color. After this I lightened it 10% with Aged concrete and overspray the center of the green damage to give the mottled effect again. Finally I emptied Wal Mart Color Place royal blue into a container thinned 50% with thinner and oversprayed the green areas lightly with heavier concentration towards the outer edges to replicate the reference photos. This has been a long time coming and the master painters here at TDH are my inspiration as well as instructors. I hope to just come close to their creations with this helmet.

Once again EXCELLENT work !!!!
Looking very sharp -

I like the use of the bedliner material as well - very interesting !!!

Great job!!

I wish I had that kind of tallent

Incredible skills dude!! Awesome work!

Dude, you should mold that bad boy and sell them. I would be in for one. The paintjob is looking as excellent as the helmet itself. Great job

I am speechless...
If I hadn't seen the progress pics above, I'd had a hard time believing what I see!

This really blows me away. Thats fantastic work there! I don't know what to say! I agree with mrgr8ness, you should cast the helmet!

Thanks for all the kind words. I couldn't have done it without WOF's templates. According to TF I should be able to cast the helmet post painting but I haven't decided yet if I want to risk destroying it during the casting process. I should have more updates later this weekend or early next week.

SD68, thats an amazing job! It looks so 'crisp'...

Man that is out of the park! I wish I had the time to do that kind of work. Amazing!

This is going to be a great one, I can tell already!
It's just amazing how 3 or 4 years ago hardly anyone was scratchbuilding their own helmets, with most people using DPs as the least expensive option. This is yet another example of the ingenuity of TDHers (and WOF's templates )

Awesome Helmet!

AMAZING! can't wait to see more, i build sci-fi models too and im in aw to see such scratch build talent!!

Amazing! This is one of the best scratch built helmets i've seen up to date. Not many people can say that they built theirs from A to Z. You should be very proud. Can't wait to see the end result.

I think this just may be the best scratchbuilt Helmet I've ever seen


Good job, it's turning out great!

You have mad skills my friend...phenomenal work

-rocky b

Dude, that is one seriously sweet looking bucket! Keep up the awesome progress!

SICK!!!!!

I'm reading this thread since it was started and now I can post:


WOOOOOOOOW

Good work,

I completed the lower left cheek this week. Any feedback from the master painters would be appreciated-you know who you are. I used Dookie's template again for the lower cheek and left off the non film version scratches. Used lark dark grey and humbrol silver metalcote for the damage. Used a grimy black for the scorched areas. May try and come back with some subtle pastel weathering by some of the main scratches to help blend them in a little more. I also used some light oversprays in areas with Medium green for variations in color. Let me know if I'm on the right track. You guys are my best critics.

Originally Posted by KaanE

I'm reading this thread since it was started and now I can post:


WOOOOOOOOW

Good work,

yeah you've got mad skills son :thumbup

Wow amazing job, you're an inspiration to us all =)

Feedback from the masters? Dude, that paint job on the mandibles / cheek plates is outstanding!

That is UNREAL!!!! Outstanding work!!!

DANG!!!!! thats good. can u sell it to me plz thats looks real.

Excellent Work!! What else can I say?

Alan

very nice bro.

Dont be shy to add some brown tones in there. Here is a pic showing them. There subtle but there.

Also keep in mind when looking at these picks that these are with flash. I always use my camera to show me how it looks in comparison to the real deal. Usually weathering is darker then it appears in these pics because of the flash effect. Keep up the good work, this could turn out to be one of the better if not the best scratch built and painted up fan made buckets I have ever seen.

Thanks guys for the encouragement and kind words. The templates you have made available sure make this paint up a lot easier. Evan, thanks for pointing out the brown weathering. Like you said, trying to match colors and details and adjusting for the flash photography makes it even more difficult. I need you guys for that second set of eyes in order not to miss anything. ESB images are tough to come by so any cross reference of accurate movie damage to the reference disc exhibit photos is greatly appreciated. Working on other lower cheek and upper cheeks. Should have progress photos this weekend. Thanks again.

WOW!
very impressive work!
I've been lazy recently and havent been able to work on mine.
I congratulate you on your ability to stick with it.

Working on the mandibles; wow what a lot of work. Question for you guys. Are the paint splatters and specks original or did they happen at a later (post-movie) date? Can't really tell from the ESB high-res if they are there or not. Pictures coming soon.

Finally had good enough weather to take some natural lighting photos. Finished the mandibles and left upper cheek and have started on right lower cheek. The mandibles took a lot out of me. Mrgr8ness is right, my hats off to the guys who are commissioned and do multiple helmets. Whatever they charge is definitely worth it. Hopefully I will get the right lower and upper cheek done and move on to the top. Let me know if I am missing anything for the ESB on screen version.

Well done you have some serious talent there. I hope mine turns out as nice as yours. Keep posting man. Beautiful indeed.

Awesome build and a cracking paintjob to match. Kudos mate.

SICK NICE, JUST SICK NICE BRO!!!

*That called for all caps!*