New Scratch Helmet

Today was a Bondo day. I needed to catch up on adding the ear pieces to a solid surface as well as patching up some rough areas on the front as well as the back, and of course the ear pieces themselves. Now I can sand them to perfection! I basically added some bondo under an earpiece and then removed it. I later added more and leveled it out some so that when I am ready, I will attach the ear caps to a level area. My intent with the ear cap for the rangefinder was to try the same approach, but it would not come off and so, I am stuck with it being attached! Which is okay, I kind of like it. However, this may cause a major problem when I try to mold and then cast my helmet later. So, then next challenge is sanding and lots of it!

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Okay, ran into some trouble and had to take evasive action. THe ear pieces on the right side did not line up correctly after my "accident" by leaving the upper piece attached to the Bondo for too long. So, I have had to cut it off using a coping saw, and now I will have to add some expoxy putty to the sides to make a correct alignment in preperation for attachment. But, before I do, I will now have to remake one piece of the ear cap since I had to cut it off. Which is okay since I am going to make resin copies of the ear pieces before I attach them. This also works out well since I am planning to make a mold of the helmet before attaching them also. I did some research this wek at a local arts supply store and found the info I need to make a mother mold of my helmet. Once I get there, I will most definitely add that to the thread so people can se how I did it and any mistakes or pitfalls I created that can be avoided! More to come as the weeknd goes on.

E

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Well, sorry to those who follow this thread, I have been very busy these days instead of DEVOTING time to my Boba Lid. I have done some work on it when I can. This week so far, I have been able to sand down some spots where there was excess Bondo and it looks okay. I still want to do some more refinement on my ear pieces though before I mold and cast them. You'll see that on the left side, I added that thin layer of Bondo and sanded it flat so there was a more vertical look to the mounting of the ear piece. Then, I was able to cut off the other piece of the ear cap and sand that flat as well for more of a vertical look. I need to re-check the reference picks though for the lower ear piece to make sure I have that mount correct as well. But anywho, here is where I am at. Hopefully more to come this weekend!

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My appologies to all who have been watching my thread with interest. I have been occupied recently with many things going on around here and I have not really devoted the time to building my lid. This weekend I tried to get some work done, I have found, as one other scratch builder here once stated, the ear cap pieces are really tricky to get them to line up and look just right. I have spent a lot of time looking at the reference pics and then trying to make adjustments; at times it can be truly frustrating. Maybe my distractions were welcome ones. At any rate, I will be posting more once again as the process comes along, I was able to coat the ear pieces with primer over the weekend and found some spots that need touching up, once that is done I will reveal them and my progress to all.

Eric
 
Thanks to all for the fedback, it is really appreciated. Alan, if it weren't for your templates, I am not sure what my lid would look like at this point, so for the way it looks now, I have your hard work to thank! In regards to the size, I used the templates from Alan and when I printed them, I made sure that the scale was correct before cutting them out. I guess I could take a photo with the lid next to a ruler for scale and then determine if the size is correct or not. I will post the photos tomorrow!

Eric
 
Well, here goes...In these photos I show the reworked ear pieces and what they looked like after sparying them with a dark grey primer paint. I will sand them to smooth them out more (I purchased 1000 grit sandpaper for final painting) and then if I really like them and how they turned out, I will cast them with a casting kit I had bought about a month ago (yeah, I got a little behind on things!). I added more bondo to the cheeks and the spots where the ear pieces mount to the sides of the lid. This was needed to correct a minor alignment issue with the right side. Again, smoothing and sanding, sanding and smoothing to get it to my liking. I mentioned it before, the reason I want this to be as close to perfect as I can is so I can mold the helmet and cast it for a one piece - if that works, maybe I will share! Finally, as promised, I took a photo with a ruler from base to top, it appears to be a little under 10". Is that a correct size? did I make a monumental mistake??

Enjoy,
Eric

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you're makin' me drool... cant wait to see it 100% 1 day i will post when I start mine. I have Alan's templates and I'm gonna do the trash can armor first I think, then the bucket since I think it's the hardest (and most important) part.
 
Thanks, always appreciated!!

This weekend I was fairly busy getting some work done. I sanded quite a bit and was able to get a smooth finish for once. I had to remove the last bit of Bondo that I had added. I liked how it came out, so.....I decided to hit it with my first coat of primer. Now keep in mind that I still have quite a few steps before finalizing things (key holes, stalk and view finder stalk mount, as well as cutting out the visor - which will happen after I reinforce the inside of the helmet with some resin and fiberglass). So, yeah, still a lot to do. In any event, here you go!

Enoy,
Eric

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I have run into something though that I am hoping someone else may have also and has a solution. I noticed that the primer does not mix well with the Bondo? In spots, like the cheeks for instance, there is Bondo and then Sintra in the same area. The Bondo is not really thick here because it was sanded down. But, the primer I used really brings out the Bondo areas a little more than I wanted it to. Will this go away when I actually get to painting? Or did I not sand it enough? Was there some kind of sealer I should have used? Also, I have a lot of small streaks from the sandpaper I used, I thought I had eliminated them with finer grits of sandpaper, but again, the primer really brings it out. Is this something that I need to sand again until they are gone or is there some kind of sealer that can be used to smooth things out more??

Any help is greatly appreciated, especially since I am so close to the end!!

Thanks,
Eric
 
Excellent job mate. I love the work on this helm. I can honestly say that you helped me out. My first helm looked good, but it wasn't very durable...just seeing some of the technique used (via pictures) really helped me out.

Awesome thread.
 
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