Scratch-made Helmet - Pics and Updates

-Edit -
OK, I was just going to post these pics, but I thought I would keep them all in my old thread. And the thread is quit long, so I adding them to the top of the thread.

This is my pleasure to present to you the final product - painted by a very awesome artist from the TDH, Rogue Studios. See the attached area for some pics of this bad boy.

I am really happy how well it turned it. Lee did one awesome paint job on it. The attention to detail is superb for such a small bucket. The colors (which may seem a little odd in the pics because of the flash) look dead on. I cannot say how glad I am to have this for my son.

One thing makes me mad though...While I was working on this bucket and getting it ready for priming, I left it in my shop for 2 days. Well, the heat got to it, and you can see in the front shot that visor area is a little warped. I tried to fix this before I sent it to Lee, but it seems that it is still very warped. I hope that I can get this fixed without it damaging Lee's awesome paint job.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can complete the rest of Will's suit before Halloween.

- End edit mode -

OK, I have been wanting to start on my son's bucket for awhile now, and I actually had some time off during Thanksgiving to start it. No offense to JD, I would've loved to have one of his buckets, but I just hate to spend money on something my son may or may not wear.

On to the nitty-gritty... The base I am using is an old army dress-up helmet my son had rarely ever worn. I am using styrene and sintra to mod it. I didn't get a pic of it before hand, but all I did was cut the flare off of the front of the helmet.

Next, I took cardstock and created/fit patterns to get the size of the pieces needed. Then I cut them out of some thin styrene I had. I also heated a spot up on the dome to create the dent. This is what it looked like:
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/11.jpg

The edging around the the visor and the ears will be sintra. I took my original template and used it to create a template for the edging. I then cut, heated, and shaped the pieces out of the sintra it to fit around the styrene:
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/12.jpg

I am now in the process of gluing the sintra to the styrene. It should look something like this when it is done:
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/13.jpg

Looks great so far. Wish I could help out with the cheeks, but I am still trying to unwarp my DP97, lol.

Looks like you're off to a fine start. Don't go showin me up, now. ;)

After the overlying piece is fitted on, you could cut that section out entirely and rework it with more material. Just a thought...

Quote:

---

judz dwedd wrote:
Looks like you're off to a fine start. Don't go showin me up, now. ;)

---

Stop it, dude...your stuff is rocks! :thumbsup

What I'm thinking is I may cut the area where the flat green areas should be, then make smaller cuts into the area that will be black "swoops" under the red mandibles, so I can curve it slightly.

I wish I had a heat gun, maybe I could shape it without cutting, but unfortunately I'm limited to hot water for shaping :(

Try a hair dryer, maybe that might give you enough heat. :)

T-bone, you could make a few more layers of the face plate, with the cheeks getting smaller, then bondo the cheek edges to get that curved look?
-Bamatrooper

Bamatrooper - I think it would probably make it too heavy in the front, but thinks for the idea.

I remolded the cheeks last night. I took some photos but...I don't have a way of posting them here with the TDH photo pages down. I'll try imagedump or something tonight. They turned out better than I expected.

My next big item to do is the key slots in the back. I drew out a template and I will have to cut it out of sintra, cut a hole in the back, and attach it. May get it done tonight

I'm not going to cut out the visor slot until I get that part done. I ordered a shade #4 visor yesterday that I hope to have in by Friday.

Updated pics below:

Here is the cheek.
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/1.jpg

Compared with my DP '96. The visor on Will's helmet is taller in comparison with mine. I think when I get ready to cut it out, I'll try it smaller, but I want him to be able to see out better than mine.
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/0.jpg

Here is a shot next to his chest armor. I still have to do the green layer and add the decals from Vash.
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/2.jpg

Mann that's starting to look real good t-bone.

Thanks, Glenn. I haven't really put alot of hours into it yet...just wait until I start the bondo work.

Here a few with Will wearing it, both cheeks are shaped now.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/3.jpg

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/4.jpg

Thanks for looking!

Exellent work. Your one cool dad.

Keep the pictures coming

Alan

Thanks Wiz...I try to be ;)

Not much of an update today. I smoothed some bondo on the helmet in the cheeks and filled in the dip inbetween the army helmet and the styrene.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/5.jpg

nice work! this is really cool.

That's really coming along nice. Your process is not that different from my own. I eagerly await seeing it's completion.

If your son doesn't think you ROCK yet, rest assured that everyone else does!

Thanks for the compliments guys.

I didn't get anywhere with it last night, but I plan on sanding it down tonight. I'll get some pics posted after I'm done.

Got some of the ear pieces made. Cut out the visor to see if Will could see through a smaller hole. I think he can, so I'll be able to get the visor closer to the right look. Sanded the second coat of Bondo down.

Front and back view

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/9.jpg


Nice perspective view...

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/10.jpg

The black at the top of the cheeks will get some pieces of sintra added and <sigh> more bondo...

All that's really left to fab now is the RF, stalk, and ear cap...and there's only 9 days left till Christmas!

Looking good!! Will you have a tutorial?

I'm not so good on making tutorials...I may try though. I documented it pretty good with pics.

Finished making the RF, antenna, and ear cap. Cheated a little on the RF. It is actually from a Rubies '97 bucket, but the scale looked ok to me. I made the antenna from 1/8" thick aluminum bar.

I had to put a coat of primer on it. I'm nowhere near being ready to paint, but the primer will help find those bad spots that need to be filled...and it made me feel a little better by covering up the all the different pieces that went into it and made it look more whole.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/14.jpg
I got one side of the eye slot fixed. Still working on there other. Also started filling in the pinholes in the bondo.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/15.jpg
The ear cap is just taped on here. I won't stick it on till later.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/16.jpg
This is the eye slot I still have to finish.

Your going to have one happy little Boba soon. Your helmet coming along very nice.

Whoa:suprise that is too cool! Awesome work man

That is looking great!! The proportions look really good. Heck, it's better than any of the licensed buckets out there. Keep on posting. Can't wait to see it finished.

Maybe you should turn this into a tutorial. No reason someone can't use the same techniques to make a adult size version as well.

Alan

Absolutly stunning. After you get it primed, you should mold it. You could offer copies, or just keep the mold in storage for "insurance" if something happens to the origional. After all your hard work, I'm sure you'd be just sick if it was damaged.

You have a great lid....for yer kid. :D

Sweet lil bucket there dude. You should have one very happy mini fett.
ST

Guys...I'm embarrassed :o

Thanks for all the nice compliments. I think it is turning out rather well...for my first helmet. Really WAY better than I had imagined.

JD - nice quote! And I have been thinking about making a mold of it, but I have no experience in that area at all - NONE. But you are right, I would be sick if something happened to it. The styrene scares me...its just to fragile. I'm going to try and coat the inside with plasti-dip or that spray on bed-liner stuff to give it a little more sturdiness. If someone wanted to help me make some molds, PM me and we can talk.

Update tonight - got the other cheek finished, made the eyeslots match, put a little more glazing putty on, and that's about it. Didn't take any new pics because I'm just too tired, and it doesn't look too much different than it did last night. I want get the bondo sanded out, and put some more primer on it before I post new pics.

Again, thanks for the kind words of praise.

Pm sent. :)

Great work keep it up!

The Helmet is looking amazing !!!:).. I think I might have to have to have a go myself and hope it turns out as good as the rest of you fett's efforts :)

:fettesb

JD - PM returned :)

Ran into a problem last night. Apparently, I didn't get enough plastic welder behind the styrene in this area:
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421588083/0.jpg

As I was smoothing the bondo down last night, the area began to act like a bubble. I guess I am going to have to remove the styrene and fill the area back in with Bondo - minor set-back. Other than that, I was ready to put another coat of primer on.

Oh, well. I guess I won't get it finished by Christmas now for sure :(

Wow! I underestimated you at first! When i started reading this thread, I saw the first pictures, and I thought the helmet would look somewhat odd, but now that I see how far you have come... HOLY ****! Dude you are really good at this! I'm Sure your kid is going to just LOVE this bucket! seems like he's got a pretty cool dad! Keep up the good work, and I just can't WAIT to see it whne you are all done!
Goodluck meating the xmas deadline, and goodluck with your minor setback you just recently ran into!

from what you started out with to this... it's amazing!!

IN<censored>CREDIBLE!

Thanks guys! I appreciate the kind words...they keep me going on this project :) Now, let's see...since the last time I posted any pics I've done lots of sanding, reworked the dent, added the borden connector, added the details on the sides below the ears, repainted it with primer, and coated the inside with that rubberized undercoating stuff. So without further ado, here is the latest and greatest:

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421588083/1.jpg
The Borden Connector was made from a small button that I sanded to make it smaller and drilled a bigger hole into.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421588083/2.jpg

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421588083/3.jpg

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421588083/4.jpg

Jeeez... Freaking awesome..

GREAT!

Excellent job my friend. Awesome:D:thumbsup

Holy cow FT, this is fantastic!! Really, really nice. So much inspiration here.

All i can say is WOW!!......

Thanks for the praise, but...Look at the photo of the front of the helmet again. Can anyone tell me what is missing??? I forgot the arrow details :doh Duh! OK, so I had to go back and cut those out. I also noticed the top of the cheek on the right side was wider than the left. I went back and sanded that out and re-primered it. I'll post pics after the helmet has dried.

JD, you back from Holiday yet? Gimme a ring.

Great job!! can't wait to see ot finished.

Alan

OK...is this the last detail I have to add? I hope so! :)

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/17.jpg

And one more of the front with the T-visor. Its not mounted yet, its ready to be.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/18.jpg

Now, its time to paint...

sweet. I am gona have to make a scratch built now. You got me in the mood. I have even started to make templates.:lol Inspirational.:fettrotj:thumbsup

Thanks again guys! I haven't made any progress on anything after I finished the modling process. JD talked me into trying to making a mold for this thing. So, I ordered some mold making stuff, and a gallon kit of urethane resin.

I won't be able to start on the mold until next week, so I will keep everyone apprised when I start.

Wow! :suprise That is a beauty. Very very nice job!

Dude youve put a lot of work into that thing and its look great

Amazing!

OK...now the fun begins. Thanks again to JD for helping me with this portion ( :cheering ). I have begun applying silicon in an effort to make a mold of my baby. It's a slow go seeing as how I can only get one coat on it each day. On the visual side, not much to show accept the bucket covered in the second coat of silicon slime.

I'll post some more when I get a few more coats on it.

All I gotta say is... Do these kids know or understand how lucky they are to have or wear a Boba Fett helmet made by someone artistic and not to mention to make the helmet look movie accurate.

Outstanding job.:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Forced Trekker

OK...now the fun begins. Thanks again to JD for helping me with this portion ( :cheering ). I have begun applying silicon in an effort to make a mold of my baby. It's a slow go seeing as how I can only get one coat on it each day. On the visual side, not much to show accept the bucket covered in the second coat of silicon slime.

I'll post some more when I get a few more coats on it.

---

Won't the silicone adheve ( Stick to..?) to the plastic? Do you have to use some sort of grease inbetween?

No release is needed between the silicone and the model, in this case. If the model were porous, however, it would need to be SEALED first. Silicone only bonds to silica based materials, such as glass, other silicone, and even silicone lube/release agents. Here's a big no no, that really gets people. Silicone mold release, acts like glue for silicone rubber. People spray it on a part, thinking the mold will release better, but it doesn't. It BONDS the mold to the part mercilessly.

JD's my hero :cheering . If it weren't for him...Well, I would have probably made that mistake for sure. I'm on coat three right now, it looks as though it is around 1/8" thick on the bucket. Well, at least this stuff doesn't stink :doh .

I got to see (and try on!) this helmet last weekend... all I can say is WOW! I wish more people made full size helmets that looked as good as this one!

~jon.
TC-sweetpea

NICE! i like!

FT, that rocks man.

Been awhile since I updated here...Still applying silicone. I'm at coat number 5...I did set down and scan the template I used for the front of the helmet. It should be at the same scale I used, but I don't see why it can't be scaled up.

:skull

there is an additive you can use that will give silicone the consistancy of thick peanut better. it wont sag or run on a vertical side. i even have a partial bottle of it but you are probably done by this time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Forced Trekker

Been awhile since I updated here...Still applying silicone. I'm at coat number 5...I did set down and scan the template I used for the front of the helmet. It should be at the same scale I used, but I don't see why it can't be scaled up.

:skull

---

EXCELLENT WORK!! There are 2 types of silicone, POUR IN and BUTTER ON, you're using pour in which is fine for the initial layer because it helps prevent you getting air bubbles on the surface. You could really do with the butter on stuff now, you could do the whole thing with one nice thick coat.

But hey, if you're in no rush this will work fine... can't wait to see the finished copies.

DAZ

you doing some **** fine work man !!

Isn't loren the best ? The guy literally held my hand every step of the way when I was molding my elven armor. His knowledge of molding is not only unmatched but ingenuitive ! Even the professionals down here at the local prop shop want to go up there to learn from him !

Well...it's been a long time coming, but finally at last I have finished the mold. I'm no expert but it looks as though the surface came out almost flawless. I probably should have gotten the silicon a little thicker, but I just haven't had a lot of time to devote to this.

I'm going to try sloshing some resin in it this weekend, and I promised my son to make the first one into a Jango bucket so he can have one of each.

I'll post some pics after my first pull (IF its worth showing:? ).

Looking forward to the first pull pics...I hope it comes out perfect.

FT-This is an awsome job! Makes me feel like I'm cheating by getting a fiberglass bucket. Thumbs up!

This really is incredible. I feel inspired to make my own now!

Keep going.....Show us the finished pics!!!

I'll tell ya.......I can't wait to see it finished. Beautiful work!

OK...Well, I decided to finally lay some resin in this bad boy...And boy did I have a lot to learn about resin! The outside of these babies look great, few air bubbles, but the first 2 are way too thick. Will couldn't get them on his head. By the time I made the 3rd one, I think I had it worked out. It went much better.

Very nice indeed!. I'm glad I found this thread. I especially like the step-by-step process showing how to work with sintra and bondo and making the mold.

They look great. You did one heck of a nice job.:thumbsup :cheers

OK, worked on the RF mold the last few nights. Didn't turn out quite liked I wanted it to, but it is usable.

http://img1.yoxio.com/img/156772.jpg

I am trying some old clear resin I have had for awhile now...Don't know if its still good or not. I'll post some pics tomorrow night after I pull it out.

Dude...I am so jealous!!! All I can say is, why didn't I think of it first? :thumbsup

Three 'huzah's' for the junior bucket man! :cheers

Have you made the patterns for your son's armor yet?

Thanks!

I have his chest pieces completed.


http://img1.yoxio.com/img/122927.jpg

I also pulled the clear RF out of the mold. It is still sticky though :? . I think the resin maybe too old. It came out really clear and crisp. All of the bubbles are inside.

http://img1.yoxio.com/img/157022.jpg

That looks like a Rangefinder Ice-Cube! :)

Ok, so I get it that the body of the large pieces are reinforced with glass sheets like those used in auto body repair. But the ice cube you made, was that from the basic two-part resin like Bondo that you can get at Wal-Mart? :fettpre

This clear stuff has a brand name of Pour-a-kast. I do not know who makes it. I used to work for a company that made air bag inflators. We used to make cross-sections of inert ones, and poured this stuff in it so you could see the components. It has very good optical properties. Bondo would not translucent, but either reddish or blue tinted.

That is amazing work FT! Keep us posted, awesome project you there!

Looking good! That clear resin will stay sticky for a few days, at least that's been my experience with it. If you're able to let the piece cure in some nice direct sunlight, it'll help take care of the stickyness.

Wow:suprise You have one lucky son. Great job. That clear resin looks great. Nice and clear.:thumbsup :fettrotj

Wow neighbor!!! That is f-in cool. I have a nephew I'll be having to do that for eventually. You did an awesome job.

The por-a-kast is made by syntek. They are another of our many plastic resin providers, and used to be the most cost efficient. In recent years tho, Smooth-on has moved up. They are now less expensive and have, in my opinion, the better products. Especially when it comes to their mold rubbers.

I just cast my new helm out of resin. I started off by painting the first couple of layers in with a brush. Just to make it even and bubble free. I then slip cast it with the resin. I only put it in about a mouthwash cup sized portion at a time. and kept it moving till it set up. The resin is much nicer than the Fiberglass. Stronger too.

-Chris

Oh, Ok. now I get it. I saw something like that at Wal-Mart the other day. It is in the craft section near the sculpting clay. I don't remember the brand name, but it's supposed to be for casting a child's hand. Too expensive for my tastes :suprise

Thanks guys.

I got the stalks back from the Machine shop today. I didn't really like them at first, but when I got home from work, I put a little sandpaper to them. I sanded with a heavy grit a little, then a finer grit, and finally polished it off with some steel wool. Looks a lot better.

Wow !!!.. the helmet really is coming along nicely :thumbsup .. brilliant

awesome work
its amazing this thing was scratch built :fettesb

Holy smokes! You have come a long way on this helmet. I love it! Gives me some ideas for my DP mask. :D

MAAAAAAAAAAAN!! your kid is going to have a better suit than me!!!

But it's all good, I'm happy with my cheapy jodo kast look.

Excellent work!!

bumpo for the new pics at the top of the thread.

awesome job dude!

So glad you liked it. Hit it with a heat gun it'll be just like new.

Man, you rock! This inspired me to make my own helmet!

wow! I have to say that is incredible! :cheering Great work all round, i'd love to make my own bucket but alas i am not skilled anough :doh Again really good work :thumbsup


:fettrotj

****!!!!!!!!!! LOOKS GREAT

Have you decided if you are going to sell one of these bad boys yet. I am finishing my daughters Boba Fett and am running into a possible dilema with the helmet. Either i use a rotocast vinal helmet that is smashed(looks like boba after a bad accident) or a 2 piece jango that is way to large for her. She is 6. If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appriciate it. I have neither the time or SKILL to fabricate one from scratch but I also don't want to send her out with a scale body and a big head. Unless i convince her some how that she is Bobble Head Boba Fett. She's pretty quick I don't think that will work.
thank for any help you can offer

Zerovisibilite

Scratchbuild shows incerdible heart, not only are you relying on your own artistic ability but gaining many peoples respect for such a job well done.
Incredible work and thanks for the renewed inspiration.
pghfett

Thats way awesome man! Love what your doing there. Im actually planning on doing a scratch built trooper helm in the coming months here so its nice to see stuff like this CAN be accomplished w/ a little drive. Well done

Why did you use Styrene? Did you try using the Sintra instead?

Guys - thanks for all the nice comments. I really appreciate it. It was a nice project to make, and I'm eventually going to finish my Little Jango helmet too. I've got a little more tweeking and sanding to do on it. I have the mold material at home now just waiting on me to finish it.

:) I still cannot thank Lee enough for the awesome paint job he did on it. It looks so cool.

I do have some bad news though. When I was cleaning this bucket up I left it in my shop and the heat warped it pretty badly. Well, not to be stopped, I put a metal hoop in the back to make it round again and glued a wire in the front to hold it into place and keep from warping again.

Well, after I got it back from Lee, Will tried it on. Apperantly I must've widened it, which in turn shortened the distance from the front to back. Needless to say, Will can barely wear it :(. He can get it on his head, but he has to keep the chin pushed up so it doesn't smash his nose flat.

As a consolation, my wife bought him one of those Ep III clone trooper costumes to wear this Halloween. There's no way I would have the time to finish his Fett up now that I have to add making a new bucket to list. But one day soon...and hopefully before he gets too big for it:lol .

ZeroVisibilite - sent you a PM.

GlennP - I did use sintra for the trim around the visor. The ear caps are made from it as well. Why did I use styrene...Well, for one I didn't have to heat it to shape it around the helmet I was using as a base. Cutting and sanding it was easy too. You can see in this pic the sintra parts on the left.

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421584030/12.jpg

I would also like to add my congratulations on a great job.


I have one questions though. I was reading and trying to understand your process. I think you started with a helmet and carved a styrene base. then covered it in card stock. You used sintra for the raised areas and the edges. I think I follow you to that point.

Did you cut out the cheeks from the styrene and then recover with card stock? And in your picture you seemed to use a mesh or fiberglass on the cheek area to finish the cheek and the curve up to the syntra. Can you provide more details on how you did that area?

thanks