can this bucket be saved? scrachbuild with WOF

hey guys started out my bucket a couple weeks ago using wizard of flights templates and it started out nice and clean but it fell through during the dome stage due to lack of directions in that area, none the less i still continued to work on it and haven't sanded it much but there currently spackeling and bondo on the bucket.

MY concerns :
Im worried i don't have the right proportions on the dome due to unevenness

the cheeks are a little fragile but i believe they can be saved

sanding the crescent board? its cardboard and is like layers of paper so it tears leaving a nasty surface especially for the visor as you can see below

and how about applying filler to the mat-board, its awfully difficult to get it on there as it dosent take to good .


MY Questions:
how do you apply the filler and were?

do you think it can be saved?

do you think its currently hideous? because i do


So guys im not a perfectionist but i know when something is bad and i need to know trash it or not?
ive put allot of time and effort into it but i have not lost as i have learned allot from it and i am grateful for the help of multiple members from this amazing site

so after that little speech or whatever i know my next bucket will be better i waited a long time to start and i felt good about then and now i feel even better about my chances
so should i scrap it and start again... just got a new can of bondo dont wanto waste it on this if there is no point so here ya go the helmet:

- - - Updated - - -

will also post more photos soon if requested but for now this is pretty much that is all important plus the batteries is dead soo... yah

Guys I could use some help? Haha

Try it a second time. Putting it together the first time teaches you a lot about the helmet, how the lines and curves should meet, etc. take that knowledge, and your new bucket of Bondo, and start again. It will be better.

Necronaut said:

Try it a second time. Putting it together the first time teaches you a lot about the helmet, how the lines and curves should meet, etc. take that knowledge, and your new bucket of Bondo, and start again. It will be better.

Click to expand...

Those are my thoughts too, thankyou

grenater said:

hey guys started out my bucket a couple weeks ago using wizard of flights templates and it started out nice and clean but it fell through during the dome stage due to lack of directions in that area, none the less i still continued to work on it and haven't sanded it much but there currently spackeling and bondo on the bucket.

MY concerns :
Im worried i don't have the right proportions on the dome due to unevenness

the cheeks are a little fragile but i believe they can be saved

sanding the crescent board? its cardboard and is like layers of paper so it tears leaving a nasty surface especially for the visor as you can see below

and how about applying filler to the mat-board, its awfully difficult to get it on there as it dosent take to good .


MY Questions:
how do you apply the filler and were?

do you think it can be saved?

Click to expand...

There is no reason to use spackling, it is too brittle and chalky for what you're using it for, just use auto body filler. You want your cardboard build to be a perfect as you can muster so there is minimal filling to be done. If you have large gaps or unevenness in the scratchbuild then no amount of filler is going to save it. It's all about having a clean original build.

Are you following AntMan's tutorial? Because that will solve most of your building problems, look it up. As for sanding, before I got to that stage I brushed a very light coat of fiberglass resin (without the glass mat or cloth) on the inside and outside to give the helmet some rigidity. It will not soak through all the way so you still have to be careful with it but it gives a very thin topcoat to work with.

The actual dome shape is really funny. My first helmet looked wrong cause I didn't understand the shape I should be working toward. If you have someone close to you in your Garrison that you could see a real cast prop that helps enormously.

BobaFiend said:

There is no reason to use spackling, it is too brittle and chalky for what you're using it for, just use auto body filler. You want your cardboard build to be a perfect as you can muster so there is minimal filling to be done. If you have large gaps or unevenness in the scratchbuild then no amount of filler is going to save it. It's all about having a clean original build.

Are you following AntMan's tutorial? Because that will solve most of your building problems, look it up. As for sanding, before I got to that stage I brushed a very light coat of fiberglass resin (without the glass mat or cloth) on the inside and outside to give the helmet some rigidity. It will not soak through all the way so you still have to be careful with it but it gives a very thin topcoat to work with.

The actual dome shape is really funny. My first helmet looked wrong cause I didn't understand the shape I should be working toward. If you have someone close to you in your Garrison that you could see a real cast prop that helps enormously.

Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply, I'll think you'll be happy to know I got a untouched can of bondo and mat board. Im looking at other threads too that could potentially help me, like yours haha.

I agree with everything BobaFiend said. Make sure the card board build is as nice as you can possibly get. Adding dome supports helps get the best shape too. I used fiberglass cloth just on the interior part of the dome for support, but if I was doing it again I would skip the cloth. Then a thin layer of fiberglass resin on the interior and exterior. Bondo is definitely the best even though it can take a long time to sand it to perfection. I also used the RafalFett templates and had a great experience with them. I highly recommend them.

Using Bondo properly is also very important. You want to mix tiny batches and do small sections, like 1/4 of the dome at a time. It's not like frosting a cake. You want to try to use a little as possible to achieve the results you're looking for. Also don't put filler all over it and then sand it all down, it's done in steps. Fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand. I think I did 4 rounds of this on my Jodo dome using increasingly finer sandpaper from 100 grit to 320 grit.

BobaFiend said:

Using Bondo properly is also very important. You want to mix tiny batches and do small sections, like 1/4 of the dome at a time. It's not like frosting a cake. You want to try to use a little as possible to achieve the results you're looking for. Also don't put filler all over it and then sand it all down, it's done in steps. Fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand. I think I did 4 rounds of this on my Jodo dome using increasingly finer sandpaper from 100 grit to 320 grit.

Click to expand...

Haha I'm subscribed to to that guy. Thanks for the tips you'll be happy to know I started my build with rafalfetts templates, and I can't describe my thanks to you bobafeind specifically for all of your help and support.