Not so much a Fett helmet...

Hey all, I wanted to post here and get opinions... I'm beginning a helmet, but it's definitely not Fett, and not even Star Wars in general... But rather, Daft Punk! I am beginning work on my Thomas Bangalter (the silver one) helmet. I am basing it off of a batting helmet... pictures to come soon!

Inspiration provided from:
http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2636&hl=daft punk&st=0

Also going to attempt the Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo (gold) helmet too, but that requires a motorcycle helmet, which I do not have at the moment... x_X

Perhaps if the final helmet(s) are strong enough, I might cast them, if that process isn't too difficult. 8)

***EDIT*** PICTURES POSTED, SEE MOST RECENT POST AT BOTTOM. MODS, PLEASE RENAME THREAD, "Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk Helmet Scratchbuild", THANKS

Rockin! If you do decide to cast them (particulary if you do the silver one) I'd be interested.

ooo, thats gonna be tough. he guys on that site is a little big. i think to really do it you'd have to sculpt it and vac form it like stormtrooper stuff

Thinking about it, and for a first time deal for me, it's being difficult, especially with found materials... Trying to make room for the LED Scroller as well -- going the cheap route like that guy and using an LED Belt buckle...

Still working on it, but life has been hectic, between work, school, filming projects for competitions (zombie flick! If you all want a link, it's on youtube...), and donating plasma (!)... But I have time today, so it's being spent working on the helmet.

how are you going to see out of it with a big belt buckle over your eyes?

saint_nasty said:

how are you going to see out of it with a big belt buckle over your eyes?

Click to expand...

Well, one of two ways:

1) Make enough room -above- the buckle to see out of.

or

2) Rewire all the LEDs from the buckle to new LEDs in a flexible clear sheet of plastic, so that all that is in front of me is the LEDs, with enough space between them to create a grid for me to see out of.

Mind you, this is all in speculation, of course, as I'm not that far yet, and the Buckle will be removable -- I wouldn't permanently affix something like that. Perhaps I'll just go the easy route and make it smoked like:

Think it would look better / alright with just tinting?

xero said:

Perhaps I'll just go the easy route and make it smoked like:

Think it would look better / alright with just tinting?

Click to expand...

Question still posed to everyone! Tint, or LED buckle? You decide!!! ...because, frankly, I can't.

In any case -- updating with PICTURES. Working on it a lot today as it is a nothing-do Saturday.

First, take a trace of the brow of the batting helmet with a verticle piece of cardboard -- not corrogated as it won't bend, perhaps cardstock. I used Captain Crunch. This step wasn't documented, but it gives you a close finish to match the brow with:


Me trying it on:


Tape the cardboard or cardstock on the top part of the brim with duct tape, or similar tape, to hold it in place while you tack it:


Here, the "visor" is tacked with hot glue:



Once that is dry, you will want to trim any excess cardboard from the brim with a razor blade, as it will provide a smoother surface transition later for the bondo/spackle/whatever you use as reinforcement. I intend to use fiberglas and resin:


Next, find the dimensions for your belt buckle, and then decide how much surrounding space you need to be able to see out of it. I made this template in photoshop, and the inside box is the area the buckle will take up. You can see I've added an inch of viewing space around the top and bottom of the buckle, and I will have most of my peripheral, if the measurements were right from the website:


This step, too, was not documented -- unfortunately -- but the next picture will show you what I mean. Tape the entire bill of the batting helmet, trim off the excess, and then peel away. You will be left with a crescent-moon of tape. This will be a template:



As you can see from the previous picture, I already cut out part of the bill template, and this is how it will fit into the visor area:


For now, that's all I have for everyone! I'm going back to work! By the end of the night, I plan on having the visor support template tacked in, and to dremel some spray cans (paint) for the earcaps! Wish me luck!

id say go with the smoked visor, electroma style

I love Daft Punk!
Any more progress, xero?

And that belt, I know I've seen some ppl back in highschool wearing them. Are those the kind that you can program a short message for it to display side scrolling?

Heres the message you should have scrolling all the time:
"Work it harder, make it better
Do it faster, makes us stronger
More than ever, hour after
Hour work is, never over!"

Seriously, I'm very interested in this, I'd like to know about the end result!

No new updates?

Actually, yes, I do have some updates. I wasn't aware anybody was still interested in my progress on this; I kinda let it slide by the wayside for a multitude of reasons, one being lack of interest in progress, another being the fact that during winter I really couldn't fiberglas inside my apartment. It's summer now, and I should be working on it, yes?

Well, since the time I was going to scratch build it, people have made some pepakura files. I'll find the links again when I post a new thread... but that is partly the route I am going now. I am making the front section (visor and mouth / jaw) out of papercraft, and then supporting the structure with fiberglas, affixing it to the baseball helmet I had before, and then bondoing the entire thing over.

I'll be sure to get some pics as I'm working on it. This project isn't dead, by far; my roomate would probably hurt me if I didn't complete our halloween costumes, lol.

xero said:

I'll be sure to get some pics as I'm working on it. This project isn't dead, by far; my roomate would probably hurt me if I didn't complete our halloween costumes, lol.

Click to expand...

Haha, awesome. Glad to hear you didn't completely drop the project. I look forward to seeing some updates!

There was another guy on here who had a Daft Punk helmet. I forget who's he made tho. Think it was Bangalter's as well.