Ironman Mask - casting questions.

robmarston

New Hunter
Iron Man Mask - casting questions.

I've just finished sculpting the Iron Man mask from the new movie and I'm wondering what the best way to cast it would be?

I've spent so much time sculpting, I don't want the mold to be lost if I make a mistake - leaving me with one bad pull and plenty of frustration.

I'd love to vacuum form because it'll enable me to make numerous copies fairly inexpensively, but as you'll notice from the photos (link below) there's a few vertical surfaces (as the gold piece meets the red at the forehead). I'm affraid the detail will be lost because of how the polystyrene will drape.

http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/Iron Man.gif

I've considered resin-casting, but I need a hollow cast, and I'm not sure rotational casting is worth it.

*Note: FYI I'm constructing the mask in two parts, the front and top half and the rear piece ending around the ear area.
 
I'd too like to see some pictures of the sculpt. And let me know when you have a working cast, I might be interested in one for my Iron Man costume!
 
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If you do a vac form itll have to be a multi piece. That means youll probably have to cut your sculpture up. or, make a solid cast of yoru sculpture and then cut that up.

Either fett pride, or boba maker just made a tutorial showing how they cast their boba helmet. Two piece front and back, with locking mechanism.

Im right where you are at the moment, I understand how some of this works, finally, but dont know where to start:)
 
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I'll try and take some pics this weekend - very busy, so I havn't had time. I guess I'll just have to make a plaster cast and use that as a plug for vacuum-forming. I'll probably grab a few sheets of polystyrene (for sale signs) from a hardware store and just do some tests so I don't have to waste much money.

I am brainstorming on how I'm going to get the two pieces to 'click' together. Since the helmet is very form-fitting and streamlined - I may have to use some internal mechanism like a set of buttons or something.

A friend of mine reccomeded I find a red lycra hood and attach the rear piece (neck, 1/3 head, and ear pieces) to it (glue, or something). Then just have the front (face, top, and lower chin) velcro to the back section - could work I s'pose.

I think I've decided on using either a three-layer airbrushed white lense system for the eyes or a mesh fabric similar to that used in spiderman masks. I really want them to 'glow' which wouldn't be too tough, except a light that bright that close to your eyes would make it near impossible to see.

Thanks for your help - keep the suggestions coming!

PS I'll post my results, if you guys like - and I can make enough successful pulls without breaking the mold - I'd gladly put a few up for sale.
 
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There was someone who did a run of these on the RPF. Can't remember if they were two or three part. You should take a look though because he had a pretty good progress thread as I remember. Might be something there about how he cast them.
 
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I took a look at it, their costume looks pretty nice - looks like for the helmet they built it as a single piece. The problem there is that in order to fit over the head, the helmet has to be much larger then the wearer's head. I didn't want a "booble head" look so mine is sculpted much more form-fitting - its going to be very tight to my head/face. Not to mention my mold has far more detail and is much more accurate - I also plan on finishing with a metal-flake gold and deep red paints and distressing/weathering it a bit.
 
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I was also considering making a helmet (and armor), and I was thinking two pieces. One would be the back and sides, covering everything but the face, and the other would be the face plate. This is how the comic version of the helmet is.
I was thinking those small rare earth magnets would hold the face place on pretty good. They're pretty strong. I use them to hold on my Boba Fett helmet's range finder (cover). They are about the diameter of a pencil eraser and very thin.
 
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Weasleflinger over on the RPF made a great Civil War style Iron-Man helmet and he was working on a sculpt of the new movie version which also looked incredible, the Civil War version was two piece, the main 'shell' of the helmet which left the face are exposed and a faceplate held on with magnets, it may have had a removable neck section as well to make getting it on and off easier, cant remember
 
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for the thing about the 2 pieces snapping together... i'd say use magnets on the inside. glue metal to one part and a magnet to the other. like the removable face clone trooper helmets.
 
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i molded mine from silicone then cast it from smooth-cast roto. for the glowing eyes effect i use el lite strip. it works great and i can still see pretty good. powered by 9 volt. i am currently working on a prototype of the helmet that will actually flp up and slide back on special hinges i designed.

2 heads 500.jpg
 
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also my helmet is pretty form fitting,(check out my avatar). if your head is wider than 6"1/4" inches it won't fit. doesn't have the bobble-head look. but i know some people have larger mellons, thats why i'm expiermenting with the sliding faceplate and possibly hinging the jaw. plus being able to flip the face up is cool, so you don't have to take off the helmet to take a drink.
 
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I saw that you used rotocasting for your Iron Man helmet...it looks awesome so I was wondering if you spun the mold with your hands or if you used a machine. Any input would be awesome because you obviously did it right!!
 
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