Attempted BF bucket using WOF plans

samlynn79

Hunter
I stumbled across this forum last weekend somehow while browsing the http://www.instructables.com website. I've been reading thread after thread, looking at all these amazing helmets, and I really wanted to try one of my own. I downloaded the WOF templates, went to the local hardware store, and picked up some supplies.
This morning, I cut out all the WOF templates, but I realized that in the course of reading all the threads, I never actually found specific directions on how to assemble the actual bucket. Taking a chance, I just glued the paper templates to the 18"x24" "For Sale" signs that I bought at the hardware store, and cut them all out carefully with scissors. I realized way too late - actually, when I was looking at all the individual pieces that I'd spent 2 hours cutting out, that I should have laid all the bucket templates in a row on one solid piece of plastic, rather than trying to glue them all together.
Also, using "Amazing Goop" as an adhesive to glue the templates to the plastic was a bad idea. When I heated it up in the oven, the paper wrinkled awfully, and the goop went runny.
Here are some pictures of the whole mess.

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Do you guys have some tips on this part? Also, I haven't been able to find the WOF template for the dome. Anyone have that? Help is appreciated!
Once I've got it all put together, I've got bondo and sandpaper for the smoothing process.

Some quick background on me:
I'm 28, and I'm a US Marine stationed in 29 Palms, Ca. I'm married, no kids. Home is in Albany, NY, where I'll be returning to go to school for Radiologic Technology when my enlistment contract is over next summer.

Thanks!

~Sam
 
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Looks like a good start, but it looks like you might have a problem with the seam above the cheekbone... maybe, too early to tell for sure. Do you have clamps? They will go a long way toward helping you keep things togther and pressing lamination into place.

For plastic, try using cyanoacrylate (super glue).
 
Welcome to the boards!

The dome templates should be in the same thread where you got the others.

My best advice is to take your time. Don't get to ahead of yourself and it will all work out fine in the end. There are a lot of great SB bucket threads, each with their own tips and tricks.

Good luck!

David.
 
Man, I am having the hardest time trying to get the cheekbone pieces to fit right. I understand that there's going to be some messing with it, but I'm just not seeing how they're supposed to be adhered to the helmet. Some kind of bracing from behind? I tried making some tabs of the same material, with a small measure of success, but I'm just not satisfied with the result. Too many gaps between the curves.
Tomorrow I'm going to find a longer piece of material, print some more templates, and cut the whole thing out of one piece. I've no doubt that will be much easier to work with. Perhaps find an easier way to get the template off the plastic once I'm done with it too, that was a nasty mess. :p
 
You've got a decent start there, and it looks workable still, so don't fret too much. :)

For working the cheeks, here's the method that I used in my builds...

1. Attach the curved piece of the cheekbone to the edge closest to the ear first, and line up the assembled flat portion of the cheekbone and glue it along the bottom edge only. Then slowly work the upper cheek into place as you move your way towards the front edge of the mandibles. I found that hot glue works best for attaching the cheeks. ;)

2. Once you've got the curved parts of the cheeks installed, now carefully glue the flat portion of the cheekbone to the curved portion.

It takes a bit of fiddling during this entire process, so take your time and ensure that you're relaxed and calm as can be. (y)

Jango72s helmet builds.
 
Man, that's exactly the kind of direction I needed. Hot glue, huh? I'll try that. After work today I'll pick up some more material and a hot glue gun and give it a shot. If that doesn't work as well as I'd like, I'll try the option of separating the curved cheekbone into a few pieces. And gluestick! That's perfect! I should be able to just peel the paper straight off the plastic after I cut it out. That was my biggest problem on the last one... the paper wouldn't come off. I've also got to stop by Home Depot, or maybe the local hardware store, and pick up some of those clamps. Those things would definitely be handy right now!

Oh, also, another question. The templates labeled "Inner Surface". How exactly do those fit into the picture? When I cut them out on this one, I just noticed that they fit on the inside of the main templates, leaving just a little room around the top, bottom, and edges. I haven't seen any instructions mentioning these, but I'm assuming this is to leave a lip around the inside, similar to the cheekbone, to make it easier to adhere the main body form, or a forming ring around the top and bottom. The problem that I ran into with this, in "installing" the inner surface pieces before the "cooking" step, was that when it was bent into its shape after I let the adhesive cure for a bit, when I managed to peel some of the paper off after I cooked it, the whole outer surface had a dimpled, rippled effect (visible on the paper surounding the bucket) due to what I'm assuming was a slight shrinking of the plastic in the heat. Would it be better to form the inner and outer surfaces first, then fit the one inside the other?

I'm excited about building this helmet. :p I've got a buddy back home in New York that's an even bigger Star Wars fan than me, he'll blow a fuse when I show it to him.

I'll take more pictures this afternoon of what progress I've made.

Thanks guys,
~Sam
 
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In regards to the inner surface question, there are a few of us that simply didn't use the inner surface templates. Instead, we used two of the outer surface templates ( the one used for the inner with the seam in the front, and the one for the outer with the seam in the back ) to create the main shell.</p>

I myself didn't actually cook my helmet either. I kept it clamped until the glue dried and it held its shape. ( that's for the plastic one I made as cooking isn't needed for the cardboard versions. )
 
That's a really good idea. I'll definitely do that tomorrow when I attempt the bucket again. In the meantime, I got the dome assembled today. Turned out pretty good, altho not exactly as I thought it would. I tried to wrap the dome templates around the cardboard dome I made from those templates, but the dome shell pieces came almost 2 full inches short of reaching around. I had to assemble them off the shaping template, which actually still turned out really well. Here's some pictures I took during the process.


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After assembling everything with tape on the outside, superglueing some tabs to hold the edges together on the inside, I ran a bead of latex goop down all the seams. I did the front left half after I got home from work, and I finished gooping it before my wife and I went out to the base theater to watch Good Luck Chuck - hilarious movie, by the way - and did the rest of it when I got home. It will cure completely by tomorrow morning.
My wife's going to pick up a hot glue gun and some glue sticks tomorrow while I'm at work, so I can start work on the bucket afterwards. I'll keep your ideas in mind! I'm sure this one will turn out much better.
 
I did the same thing with cutting all the parts our, the first time. I used it as a pratice piece, then I made a one piece like you mentioned much easier to work with, also Little clamps make much easier. Good luck..

 
Well, I didn't get started on the bucket yet, but I did continue my work on the dome by applying the first of at least five layers of vinyl spackling. Great stuff, vinyl spackling. Doesn't flake, crack, or peel, and it's completely sandable, and extremely durable. Takes a few hours to set, at least 5 if you want to sand it. I'm going to let it set over night. The edges can be trimmed off with a knife, as there will be some settling of the vinyl to the bottom overnight.

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I'll probably sand it and add another coat when I get home from work tomorrow, and while that's curing, I hope to start on the bucket. Depends on how clingy my wife is feeling. :p

If you guys have any tips to add, please send any and all, as this is my first project from scratch that I've ever attempted.
 
"Vinyl spackling"? I didn't know they sold such a thing. I will have to look for the stuff. Is it comparable in price to the regular type of spackling?
 
Ok, so the spackling isn't turning out to be as durable as I would have hoped in this application. The dome itself is certainly more rigid, but the spackling keeps cracking off the bottom edge when I try to sand there. Does Bondo do the same thing, or is there a trick to stiffening up the bottom edge to keep it from flexing?
 
I covered my bucket with a layer of fiberglass first. This gave me the rigidity I needed to get good results from the bondo. The only place I'm having a problem with is on the back right below the keyhole section, but this is only because I didn't make sure the fiberglass was secure to the plastic before leaving it to dry. It didn't hold properly, chipped of, and now the Bondo doesn't like to stay stuck to the plastic.

I'd say try the fiberglass mat or cloth and see how it works out for you.

David.
 
I've never worked with fiberglass before, but I've seen it used to make custom formed speaker enclosures on TV. I'll give it a shot.
I just ruined my second attempt on the bucket. God hates me. I didn't glue the paper to the plastic this time, and I sealed the seams together with a sandwich of two strips of plastic and super glue, which turned out awesome. I decided to heat this single-layer bucket for a minute or two in the oven on 200 so it would hold its form nicely, and when I pulled it out, the entire top edge - including the half-circle right ear - was curling over like a dead leaf. Fortunately, I still have a few hours left to the evening, and enough plastic to make another attempt. Onward!
 
Ok. After several hours, most of it spent monkeying around with the right cheekbone - my God, how do you guys do it - I'm satisfied with my progress. A non-melted bucket, one cheekbone installed. The hot-glue was a challenge... was almost too hot, the plastic was getting real soft. I can cover those areas later tho. Thanks for the ideas, guys.

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