My Contribution to TDH

Right!

Some people may know a little of me in these forums as I am very much an ideas guy when it comes to modelling, I have for a while now caught the bug when it comes to prop modelling, but for me it's really a case of a hobby that hopefully I can make a little money on.

I am a graphic designer but I also did a lot of modelling when I did a product design course.

So I started making my own Boba Fett Helmet, but, as I began researching it I began to realise that there was a market for Jango too. Anyhoo, I began making my own helmet based around a cycle helmet.

It was only recently that I discovered TDH and it was then I realised that people can be really pedantic about detail here, which was kind of demoralising for an amateur modeller trying to give to the community, so I had to make the decision that I would build my helmets for people who either aren't that bothered about replicating the wrong angles and brow furrows or just want a standard helmet that they can easily customise.

Problem is I am a little bit of a perfectionist and I am still working out the kinks for close up detail (I have to have the cheeks without any dinks in them so they are perfect for casting).

Anyhoo, this is my master which I am showing to you as the community of Mando variants type people as you guys seem really friendly and share more of my attitude when it comes to costuming. I intend to do them in fiberglass which will make them light and easy to work with, I can probably stick some aluminium in the gelcoat if needed. The ear pieces were bolted on a long time before I made the decision to make a generic helmet instead of the Boba one, but a dremel would soon sort that out should anyone wish to convert them.

Once I have the basic cast done, I will be making limited runs of "art" pieces, which will be my own customisations that turn the helmet into a decorative art form and I have a few ideas I want to run with, I'll pop my designs down here once I have the basics done, don't want to run before I walk

Any comments would be gratefully accepted and I'll keep you updated.









Saz.

nice work man
I also recognise that Halfords grey primer can anywhere - so a UK maker too!? always a good thing.

some little things ... but hey u did say it wasnt for screen accuracy. much nicer than anything I could have done from scratch! drop in on the UK chapter of MMCC, I am sure they'd like to know of a UK generic mando lid maker!

Nate

how the heck did u get the dome so smooth???

Yup, I'm from the UK and I recognise that I am not good enough (yet) to make screen accurate helmets, but I think I could really do some stuff for people who want their own helmets and custom jobs.

It's a kid's Bike helmet and I filled the holes in the top with miliput, sanded it down then covered with car dent filler (bondo) so it would get smooth. Then it was a lot of sandpapering and wet and dry paper.

wow...that is an awesome lid...great work!!! The dome is perfect

That's some nice work there. What are the basic dimensions of the helmet? Height, diameter at bottom and crown, etc?

BTW, tell me you're not a United fan? City 'till I die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice dome! It's sooooo smooth....

Actually the dome is not as smooth as I'd like, I spent today working on the front brow as there were dinks where the dome connected to the faceplate, so I filled those in and did a sanding jobbie on them



The last front image made it look a little narrow, so hopefully you will see it flares out nicely.

Moving onto the rear which I have done some work on, this is pre work, as you can see you can spot a few things wrong, namely one of the helmet holes is still visible and the keyslot hole is skewed and will need straightening, I've also levelled the wobbly brow part at the back where it cracked and I had to glue it back down again.



Finally, on the side there is a crack where I slipped with the dremel on the cycle helmet, it left a permanent scratch dink on the one side and I filled it in and tried to straighten everything up. Also a good excuse for a side shot too



If you see anything wrong let me know, comments are always welcome

Right,

Got in the RTV silicone to make the mold with and bought some clear gelcoat for the fiberglass, some clear class balls to help support the easy to snap bits and as an impulse some brass powder as well, as I noticed that there are a lot of people who like that Copper/brass/gold look and would be a nice base for a cold cast.

Thing I hate the most is the darn measuring, I like my cooking to be experimental, but with dangerous chemicals you can't be so cavalier!

All I need to do is make sure that it's the best it can be and I'll be molding and jacketing that bad boy.

Nice work Saz, that's a great looking helmet!

Thanks very much and I appreciate all your kind comments

Having a barn over the last hole in the helmet, it doesn't want to go smooth! Grrr, I've spent some time straightening where the T meets the visor.

What I'll probably end up doing is making a cast, correcting for perfection then remold, I can then use the mold for cold casting testers as I have no clue how much metal I am supposed to add to the clear gelcoat :S

Originally Posted by Saz.

And I'm a West Bromwich Albion supporter for my sins!

Ouch, it must hurt with all those Premiership teams piled on top of you!

Hey we have a strong side!

Because we're propping up the rest of the table

Bought 1000 coffee cup stirrers for mixing RTV silicone and resin, then suddenly realised that I could use the straight edge of one of the stirrers to get a cleaner finish to the things like the keyslots and the brow rims.

Will go over it all tomorrow to get the best lines I can, I am a gnat's nut away from being ready to Silicone the bad boy.

Oh by the way, i made some true type fonts of mandalorian letters and numbers, let me know if you're interested, you can use it to write your name and make templates and stuff like that!

bought coffee cup stirrers??

I just raid KFC and burger king to 'liberate' the wooden stirrers

good luck molding and casting dude

Nate

Just been dumped by my girlfriend...

And on that note, I'm fighting with a couple of dinks in the tusk area but to be quite honest my heart's not in it right now, will probably need something to do tomorrow, so I want to make a start on the molding process.

Once those darn dinks come out!

aw man.. sorry to hear that. hope all is well. i'm new here btw. been following your posts

Sorry, these things happen bro. Remember.....but dont dwell on it. Life keeps moving forward. Use it. With great pain and suffering, comes great knowledge and power. Some of my best work came to me when I was going through a painful time.

Sorry bout that vod. That's never fun. But, hey, you got us! We've got your back vod. Good luck with the dents, too!

soz man

good luck with the rest of the project man

Nate

So I was just about to start putting the silicone on the master, I had put it in a plastic sandwich serving tray I'd half inched from one of my Mother's parties, cleaned off the model so there were no dust particles and noticed that part of the rear cardboard sections had a part of the top layer come off.

Use your imagination and insert your own expletive driven rant!

So I'm doing a quick repair and will come back with shots of the goop all over the helmet!

Gah!

Still got the lines where things are weak at the corners!

I do have some other RTV but it's a different type to the other stuff I used! Not sure whether mixing the two will cause any problems, but I don't think I have a choice, will really need to allow the mixture to thicken as well.

Right, well believe it or not but the cheaper stuff is like glue!

It's gone on much thicker and I hope that the two different types of silicone will mix ok.

If they do then I'll probably use the expensive stuff for the first detail layer and the cheap stuff as the thick part!

1 more coat I think and then it will be time to build a key.

PM sent.

Seems the cure time is a little longer on the cheaper stuff, it has a potlife of 20 mins, but it's still tacky, I'll leave it till tomorrow and hope it's cured from then.

Might need another coat as well, but I've been advised not to rush it

Ok, I've made a key using saturated tissue for it working from ear to ear as the front and back have distinct ridges that will help the fiberglass sink in.

Depending on how well this comes out in the end will depend on whether I will be able to produce a final piece, I may have to cast a one off and then work from that, now I know what I know now

It will need one last final coat to seal the key and then we can go on to the jacket!

Anyhoo, got to head off to lunch with a client, I'll take pics later

Well, came home to find my mando helmet looking like he's got a wig on...

I'll let it dry some more and put in the cardboard separator for the jacket, the pot has gone, so I reckon that I can put on the final layer about 8pm.

Hope my ranting hasn't put anyone off too much

ALAS THE IRONY!!!! i cannot see your pics of what is surley a splendid build ill have to wait till i get home, but kandosii ner'vod it sounds like this is going to be an amazing piece of work

Well, here's one more that you can't see

I've got the key and the cardboard in, ready to settle down and cure. Now, fingers crossed nothing moves while the RTV is slopping towards gravity!

Anyhoo, here it is:

yes i can see!!!!!!! awsome this bucket looks amazing!!!!! do you have a price in mind yet?

dude sweet im def gona be interested in one of these, and i like the sound of cold cast this is a great bucket you got here,perfect for my custom mandos

No probs, I'll let you know when all my experiments are done

sweet!!!! thats awsome, cannot wait

Nice work buddy!! And a fellow Brit too?! Well done!

Ta,

The RTV is still a little tacky in places this morning, so I may have to leave the jacket till tomorrow, if it dries ok later, I'll pop some mold release spray on it to prepare for the process.

Good news is that I got to it whilst it was thickening and filled in the gaps between the cardboard using a coffee stirrer and some of the off dribble, I even managed to fill the earpiece in too!

Even better news is that my dad's given me a fiberglass repair kit that he never used since he quit windsurfing, there's just enough to make a jacket and i don't have to fluff about with measuring the resin I bought!

That will make the process quicker for me.

I will have to trim the rubber back once it has completed as I looked underneath and there has been some underseep, I expected that. A Stanley knife is all that's needed to correct that

Working on the ear piece today now my business work is completed

Well, the mold is a lot less tacky than it was and I have given it a mold release spray, tomorrow is the day for the fiberglass jacket and hopefully the mold will be completed.

Yay! It's fairly warm outside, so i don't have to pickle myself in chemicals indoors

I'll be putting the fiberglass jacket on sometime today, will take pictures!

Well, the jacket is finally done, the British weather held off for me, though I put up an umbrella just in case.

So I started using this kit my dad gave me and was merrily wetting the fiberglass matting when I started to notice that my brush was getting stiffer and the stuff was coming out like jelly. One mad scramble later and I realised I was not going to finish up with this.

So I had to get some more matting and some of my casting resin and finish off... let's see if you can guess where the free stuff stops and my stuff starts...



Anyhoo, I realised I had to be quick with this stuff and stopped wetting the stuff on a piece of card, but wetting it in on top of the model, still had to pour another pot though when the first started to gel up. Used bigger pieces of fiberglass mat for the dome area to speed up the process.



I've found some bolts, but the resin hasn't cured on the rear enough to put the drill through. Once that has done I will be trimming the mold and bolting the bad boy up!

I'll have a wander through TDH and see what's been going on.

That looks like alot of work; you are a brave soul

You seem to making some nice progress though!

Hey guys,

The gelcoat has been placed in the mold and I am waiting for it to dry before I attack it with a second layer.

Will then mix up some resin "mud", which is basically resin and glass balls to strengthen the areas that might tear the fiber when pulled (the indents and the ear pieces mostly!)

Just checked the thickness of my Stormtrooper and it really isn't that thick, so I will ensure that the whole thing is coated in fiber.

It will make a great experiment for doing the real ones, to make sure that I do this correctly and with quality!

Will be off teaching wrestling today, so I may not get to show you till later tonight.

Hi guys,

Well, the first attempt was made, but it wasn't as successful as I'd liked. I don't think I fitted the rubber mold into the jacket correctly and the dome near the ear pieces warped.

I was also late for wrestling and I began to rush the job, the result? Airholes!

I didn't have any pigment to put in the gelcoat, but here are the shots, the red circle is a massive hole on the cheek plate, I think I did this trying to get a hair out.

If I have time I will make a second attempt tomorrow, but this time I will ensure that the mold is fitted correctly and I take my time with the process.

I'm having issues, the second one came out with a bump as well, so I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board with this and see if I can come up with a solution.

Problem is that the mold seems to sag into recesses in the jacket it appears.

Grr.

gotta say, looks good. i myself have wanted to cast stuff and seeing a brave soul as your self really encourages me to try it out.... i am also curious as to what you are gunna do with the resined screw ups?

yeah, me too. you gonna let em go for a great low price?

I'll see, I know my nieces want a gold and turquois helmet after seeing me make it, so one will go to them, the other will probably be used in an attempt to get a good master sorted.

It was raining today, so I will try tomorrow to get a smooth dome sorted.

how much did you spend on the goop? I wanna copy my custom when I'm done. Hop on over to my thread to see my progress and concept (remember the luke were gonna have company, that's me )

wow, kind of expensive, but the rtv is what i need to copy my bucket, then make a glass and resin support correct?
After you put on the rtv, you made thick areas along the center so you could cut it apart after the glassing right? I've seen some moulding on youtube, but just wanna be sure.

Did you cut your mould apart or only your glass support?

I would have to get the stuff a little at a time, then make the mould, but with your info, I am sure I can do it.

I'll summarise what I have done later when I have it right, but you are basically correct, you need to ensure you have the right tools for the job though.

As for mine, I've realised that "somehow" the RTV has stretched and there is a sag, which explains the wobbly head part. I think I will repair the original and start again

I might sell off the other helmet off for cost, but it's a bit of a nightmare.

if you wanna sell it, lemme know

Let me make 100% sure that it would be wise to send it away and I'll post some pics of it for you. The left earpiece is bent and everything!

I'm going to take a quick break from it for a couple of days, get my money making work sorted and then get back on it.

absolutely vod, I gotta start work again next week anyway, been unemployeed for a month now

How about looking at it as though it's 1 months unpaid vacation?

Originally Posted by Saz.

How about looking at it as though it's 1 months unpaid vacation?

I like the sound of vacation
dont like the sound of unpaid
but I hope to get my 401k cashed out this week or next to pay the bills one more time then start getting a paycheck commin in soon

Right, well I've started to rebuild the master, remeasured the keyslots and have begun to replace them, they actually look straighter, so hopefully this whole backfire thing will be for the best.

I'm a lot more confident with resin now, so that's a plus point.

Anyhoo, a lot of this is using body filler and sanding it down again. Had a problem with a cheek area again, but it shouldn't take too long to fix, overall pretty positive about the experimentation and, as my friend said over a beer on Friday, each mistake is a way for you not to do it wrong next time.

Ok, small update as I have had a lot of real life work in and I need to make the money to waste on this

What I have done is straightened out one of the tusks ok and smoothed out the rear left quadrant of the helmet, they are now nice and smooth. I've ripped off the layer of cardboard on the other rear quadrant and have put a layer of filler over that, not so happy with the smoothing, so will fill the dinks and go over it again.

Keyslots have been measured in and look good, I will install them individually and fill any gaps so the silicone won't have chance to get into the cracks and rip them out again when it is pulled from the base.

I'm not to bothered about the visor as it's a cut away part, but I will smooth where it is close to the helmet.

Anyhoo, that's it, sorry it's not much more than that!

sounds like its coming along well friend keep it up!

Thanks mate,

Suffering from flu today, yay!

Anyhoo, I spotted a cheap flight suit for £40 the other day, it came in the post and fits (just) hopefully will look good with a little weight loss

So looks like i'll be making a suit...

The other good news is that, because I live near Birmingham, England, I may have access to a webley flare gun to cast.

ow hope you feel better,cograts on the flightsuit and you lucky sob lmao

Dude, I finally have a real job, so I will be getting some $$ so, when you cast the Webley, you gotta let me know.

That'd be totally sweet

Sending guns through UK post is a bit of a trouble, so it would have to be insured, just incase customs decides to keep it. Or I'd send it you in separate bits

First things first, I have to persuade the owner of the gun to let me cover it with gunk and cast from it first

Hopefully the owner wouldnt mind, I know the silicone will come off clean, maybe you could cast it in sections then piece it together and recast.

I dunno mate,

It's potentially through a friend of a friend, so i'm communicating to the guy through someone, so I have to be patient about it. It's only a slim chance I'll be able to cast it if even see it.

But fingers crossed!

any updates on the helmet mate?

sounds awsome vod, cant wait to see it, the screwup helm looked awsome to begin with i can only imagine what the final will look like

Hopefully perfect, that's what I am aiming for

I'm definately in for the screw up, I just gotta get some $$ first, but I am good for it, ask Boomer

Quick update now I have my new phone, apologies about the blurriness, it still has the protective film over the camera lens, that's because it's a Nokia 5800 (The Nokia equivalent of an I-phone) so I'm waiting for a scratch resistant cover for it, so, in the meantime, the film stays on. I don't want a scratched touchscreen!

Also, I haven't really done that much, as you know I have been suffering from flu, I have been bedridden for a few days in and out and haven't been up to any rigorous sanding.

But here's how far I've got.



As you can see the front is basically repaired, if you see where the T-visor is, you can see the troubles I had with the top layer of cardboard coming off.

The only part that needs doing is where a layer has come away on the left cheek near the ear.



As you can see I have been pretty busy with the car body filler and sand paper.

I have also test fitted the keyslots, this will be my next task when I am up to it of installing them and shaping them with filler.



I will also need to repair this earpiece as it got damaged too.



But on another note, I've started the RF.

looks good saz you definatly got a fine helmet there

Cool, well hopefully it will mean that people will own fine casts of the helmet too

im sure they will saz, i can tell your dedicated to this project, you dont seem to want to settle for anything under the par of perfection which i know your customers will love ya for.

Got paid today so I will be getting some more RTV and hopefully finishing the model next week.

I'm spending this time sorting out my end of an agreement.

Right, well I think I've finished the end of my agreement and can get back to doing this project.

Pictures soon.

good!!! pictures!!!

As demanded, some pictures.

Put some repairs on the ears, cheek and I've started on the key slot.



But I've still a little to go, I'm a touch wonky on one ear.



Repaired the cheek and smoothed that out, there's just a little fine work to do but I'm concentrating on getting the keyslots fitted and shaped.



And finally made a start on the keyslot, used body filler to fill in the cracks, will shape them and go onto the next one, as you can see some of the outer casing for the key slots needs replacing.



Still working...

Your work is AMAZING SAZ, I really love the 'buggered up' bucket you let me buy. When you get your 'finished' bucket, I will definately get one.

This bucket is nice and thin, but very sturdy. My first bucket is THICK and HEAVY, the second one I am working on is thinner, but I need to reinforce it at key points.

I am quite happy with your's. Thank you for the XLNT quality on your first bucket.

Now I know what I'm in for when I go to cast mine. Really sweet and can't wait to see what the finished one(s) will look like.

The lights in the garage had somehow been fused and I've not been able to work on it, things are ok now and I will endeavour to finish this bad boy off next week, once the wrestling show is out of the way.

Well, nearly done, not as much as I'd hoped, but the silicone really did a number on those rear plates!!!

Anyhoo, one more keyslot to fit and then it will be detailing it and I have, I think, the rear backplates sorted out now.







Slowly but surely getting there!

have you got an ear cap, stalk and RF? I'd love to get a set from ya so I can put 'em on the killer bucket you sent me

so i had a similar experience to you about the silicone not staying in shape even in the jacket. the reason was that the rubber was too thin by a lot.

on all of my various molds, you can't see any details of the helmet anymore, the silicone is so thick. probably about 1/4" all over, with some spots thicker still.

i wasted a lot of silicone learning that lesson

the thickener helps a ton too. i do 2 coats of liquid, then from there on i put enough thickener in that it's like peanut butter. i usually do 2 coats of peanut butter, paying special attention to edges. then 1 more coat of liquid to smooth it out... this prevents the jacket from binding up in it.

Originally Posted by adonian

have you got an ear cap, stalk and RF? I'd love to get a set from ya so I can put 'em on the killer bucket you sent me

Ear cap master is done as is one end of the RF, the stalk I am currently working on, I do intend to sell the final version with everything needed and not just the bucket on its own, though if people want to do their own RF I can leave it off for a bit less probably

Conventrating on the bucket at the moment.

Originally Posted by stormtrooperguy

so i had a similar experience to you about the silicone not staying in shape even in the jacket. the reason was that the rubber was too thin by a lot.

on all of my various molds, you can't see any details of the helmet anymore, the silicone is so thick. probably about 1/4" all over, with some spots thicker still.

i wasted a lot of silicone learning that lesson

the thickener helps a ton too. i do 2 coats of liquid, then from there on i put enough thickener in that it's like peanut butter. i usually do 2 coats of peanut butter, paying special attention to edges. then 1 more coat of liquid to smooth it out... this prevents the jacket from binding up in it.

Thanks for your comments, you've affirmed what I suspected was wrong and hopefully will mean I can get this bucket finally sorted. All these repairs have made it drag on a bit and I'm keen to get onto my next project!

Originally Posted by Saz.

Ear cap master is done as is one end of the RF, the stalk I am currently working on, I do intend to sell the final version with everything needed and not just the bucket on its own, though if people want to do their own RF I can leave it off for a bit less probably

Conventrating on the bucket at the moment.

cool, i'm still watchin your thread, and lovin the progress on the master bucket, I cant wait to get one of your 'perfect' buckets, since the one you sent me is like 1000% better than mine
Keep up the good work, and take your time, I aint goin anywhere

interested as well. this maybe the piece i want for my first bucket =)

Well progress is this:

I've shaped the keyslots and there is one more remaining to install and then it is just basic smoothing and priming.

I need one more tin of RTV so I have more than enough to cover the helmet with about 6 coats using the STG (Stormtrooperguy) method

I'll be finishing off the stalk and antennae, I was going to try make it movie accurate, but seeing as this is designed to be able to be modded easily by the purchasers I won't go overboard now.

I think one thing I have learnt is, don't project time slots for completion, and I understand why so many people appear to be waiting for stuff here. Things just get in the way

As for the RF and stalk, here's progress so far:

Very nice work look foreward to see it completed.

I am so close to finishing the master I can smell it, I have ordered some more Silicone to ensure I have more than enough to cover it and I've also ordered some pin files as well to get the final keyslot detail sorted.

RF and stalk is nearly done as well.

Hi guys!

Back again for another update and I can say that I have now fitted the final keyslot in and will be shaping it shortly.



As you can see I have got the rough body filler in and it will take a bit of work to get that area smooth but this is the last major piece of work except a couple of dinks that have appeared here and there due to degraded cardboard.

Even better news is that I have been able to spray the right rear quadrant today as well to check for inconsistencies and putting a coat of primer on it has really felt like an accompishment, the right side was a disaster zone after the silicone got between the layers of the cardboard and it felt like forever finding degraded areas and repairing them.



It's really funny, but painting this made me really feel I am in the final straight of getting this repaired.

Unfortunately, the visor part has degraded a little further and I have had to look into repairing that, which isn't too much of a hassle. I have put a coat of primer over the front again to cover the repairs, what I have noticed is that left cheek needs more smoothing.



I put some body filler into the holes on the cut out part of the visor (as I suspect it will stick to the silicone and ruin the thing!) and here's the last shot I have of the master model



Getting there!

Looking good saz!!! it's amazing to see how far this has progressed!!!

Could you PM me with the cost of one of these once it's finished?

Thanks!!!

A'den

No probs mate, best thing to do is remind me closer to the time.