GB's bucket progress - WOF plans ROCK

Gypsyboy

Active Hunter
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Once I get my rangefinder arm I will build my earpiece around it... just to be sure it fits before I go ahead and make the thing. I kinda like this helmet all black. I'm considering a Fett/Vader cross-over.
 
Thanks Mojo-fett. I don't think my dent is a dead-ringer for the real deal, but I'm happy with it. I made it out of watercolor paper. I soaked the paper and then pressed a dent into it with the blunt end of a large knitting needle - the paper was resing on a soft cloth pad, which in turn was laying over the open end of a large candle holder. I let it dry in that shape and then cut the contour of the dent out of the paper and glued it into the hole in my lid. Worked out quite well I think.

Oh, and it's hard to see in this pic, but I have also put the little arrow heads on the brow. I can't wait to get my rangefinder arm so I can add the guide on the ear then it'll be ready to mold and cast in resin. (well, after a little more surface work)
 
This rangefinder arm was machined by Darkraptor (Sith Training Temple name), and I think it looks awesome.

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I am really looking forward to building the pivot housing for it and finally being able to attach it to my bucket when I get it cast in resin. I suppose I could temporarily fix it onto my sculpture, but that would just be because I'm too impatient to see what it looks like on the bucket. Mind you, there is something to be said for finding exactly the right place to mount it before I cast it... then I can just bang out the hole after casting and it'll be ready to mount. Hmmm. Sounds like a plan.
 
I installed my rangefinder stalk temporarily to see if the angles and such were right with my pivot housing. Looks about dead on to me, but I'll take any suggestions if you got 'em.

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is that bondo? it looks like the crack filler type that comes in the tube. if so be careful with it man because it tends to crack really easily.


Only when it is put on too thick. It thin layes it works great, but thats really what it meant for anyway.

I doubt that it is, though. To get it that smooth GB would really have to sand it and it turns more pinkish after sanding.
 
Yes, what you are looking at is a thin layer over the entire surface of the sculpture, which has not been sanded yet at the time of the photo. I have since fine sanded it several times and you can no longer see the wood grain on the rangefinder pivot housing. This is how I get a uniform surface when I get to the final stages. I would never use glazing and spot putty as a major constructive material, because, as you say, it would be far too brittle. I would also not use this method if I was planning to use the sculpture as the finished product. Since it only has to survive long enough to be molded, I don't care if it eventually flakes or cracks. I've had good luck in the past with this method.
 
Did you use WOFs dome template? How'd you get it so darn smooth???!!

What material did you use for the build? Just starting mine, and as you can see I have many questions.

Thanks...

Rytil.
 
Did you use WOFs dome template? How'd you get it so darn smooth???!!

What material did you use for the build? Just starting mine, and as you can see I have many questions.

Thanks...

Rytil.

How did I get it so smooth?... hmmm... lots and lots of sanding :D

I used a technique similar to the baseball helmet mod, but I used a plastic bicycle helmet I had laying around in the shed. I had to do some work to shape it, but the plastic was quite flexible, so I was able to force it into the contour I wanted by using hot glue and some card stock... kinda hard to explain, so I post a pic or two... let's see...

The green one is the original shape, the pink is the one I modified - cut in half, front to back, glued in the card shaper -
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Here's one of me pressing the plastic into the contour -
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And then I took the two halves and glued them onto a card in the shape of the top of the helmet, after trimming the bottom of the pink stuff -
dome-glue-reshape.jpg


In this case the two halves are not parallel, but they sort of narrow toward the front, because that gave me a better dome shape for the Fett. Then I just used drywall tape and covered the gap and used putty to fill it. Then I took 40 grit sandpaper and just sanded it all down into the shape I wanted to match the rest of the curves. From there I just added more putty and refined it further and further until I had a smooth dome.
 
Why, thank you, WOF. Although I would have come up with my own plans to build it, it would have taken me forever, and I doubt they would have been so accurate and perfectly-fitted as yours. I had darkraptor from the STT make my stalk, and since he used exactly the same plans printed out at the same scale it worked perfectly. The only modification I made to your plans was very minor - I changed the angles of the stop edges on the stalk pivot housing... if that makes sense. I found the tapered edge of the stalk required slightly angled edges on the upper and lower "walls" the stalk rests against when up or down. Otherwise I didn't modify a single thing about your plans. No need to.

I'm just waiting on my silicon order to arrive (by next Monday IhopeIhopeIhope!!) and I'll start slopping the stuff on. Between now and then I'll have just a little more surface work to refine and it'll be good to go.

I'm really looking forward to having a finished Fett lid. I've been wanting one of these for ages, but I had to get my Vader project out of the way first. Well, my Vader project isn't *really* "out of the way", but it's far enough along that I can relax a bit on it now.
 
Well, it's been a while, but I managed to get some time to put some silicone on the bucket.

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Looks like a gooey pink blob. I just need to make a mother mold now. I plan to do that tomorrow - if I get the time. More to come.
 
Thanks Mojo-Fett. I still hope to get some work done on my mother mold today, but I'm wondering about the weather. Looks kinda iffy right now.
 
Although the weather is getting colder, I still have weather good enough to occasionally lay in some f'glass. The stuff I'm using is just auto resin - not my first choice. But I consider this a test casting, and with any luck it will be good enough to actually finish up for my own display piece.

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Looking good, the silicone choice was a good one... as far as the fiberglassing that looks good as well, though I recommend using the more erratic style of fiber tissue sheets, not the stuff that looks like woven fabric. Also, using a wax free gel coat (2 coats) first will help you when it comes to sanding and seeing your final product for what it is.
 
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