First scratch build

V

Volktar

New Hunter
So, lurked for a long time, but now with both of my boys (13 and 6) wanting to be mandelorians for Halloween, I've decided to get off my rear and get cracking on costumes. (Tried to get my daughter to go was Sabine, but she's not biting)

I've dabbled in auto repairs in my spare time on classic cars I've had over the decades, so fiberglass felt like a natural solution. Especially considering I've got a garage full of the stuff already.

Having to make 2 full suits by OCT, I gotta get to work. Not to mention I have to make one for me to, for... uh... testing puposes?

I started with WoF templates. Those things are amazing. I cut them out and used a gluestuck to marry them to cardboard. I went the cheapskate route for this first build and used the cardboard from the back of giant desk calendars I had lying around work. Wasn't as sturdy as If prefer. I'll definitely use 2mm grey board next go round. Also, cutting, then glueing, then cutting again was overkill. Not to mention it causes problems later and had to be (mostly) removed.

Overall, the assembly wasn't too bad. I just used hot glue to hold things together. I'll be reinforcing the entire helmet with fiberglass matting before bondo, so glue bits won't be an issue.
Additionally, I've just hot glued this sucker down to a wood plan from an old project. Thus should offer stability while I layer the glass. Once I get to the bottom and have some rigid glass on, I'll pull that off to glass in the bottom ridge.

Anyhow, here's where were at now. Assembled cardboard helmet. Second photo is the gear I'm using for phase 2. Matting, resin, a few bondo variations, and some spot putty. I'll probably tackle that over the weekend and post some updates.

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Lookin good. Making just some easy Halloween buckets sounds pretty liberating, I wont lie that fretting over tons of little millimeter sized measurements wasn't the funnest part of my own build.

You may want to just resin coat the outside without the matting, as matting on the outside can add a ton of lumps and spikes that make the sanding process even longer. Most people just like to glaze the outside to solidify the cardboard, then add the matting on the inside for the real strength. Residual resin degassing can be a worry with internal resin, but a layer of paint before it's worn seals it all up pretty well.
 
I would look for a fume-free resin since it is for children.. I used the same fiberglass resin for my scratchbuilt helmet a few months back and it still gives me headaches from wearing it for long periods of time.

sent from the cockpit of SLAVE I
 
Yeah I personally don't like having polyester resin in anything making skin or respiratory contact, but as long as you give it a solid few weeks to fully cure and then paint over it to seal any latent gases in, it should be perfectly safe and not a worry.

@alexmiller1 I'd highly recommend paint sealing yours asap or just not wearing it anymore, polyester fumes can have all sorts of damaging effects on your nervous system and create sensitization effects where you become so allergic to it you can't even be near it. If you're getting headaches from it, then that sounds like a pretty high exposure.
 
Exciting to see scratch builds, we've got so many talented folks here. I also advocate sealing the inside. My TR bucket smelled faintly when I got it but never gave me issues and smells sterile with paint. Also helps glue the glass or resin down and keep it from scratching you. I thought it'd transfer some but even pressed against my sweaty cheeks for hours it's held strong.
 
So, haven't had time to work on the bucket in the last week or so. Also, I felt like the more I looked at it, the more I saw fitment issues that will be a bigger to fix with filler.

So...

I've scrapped that one. Been searching for supplies locally without much luck before today. Wife turned me on to a local art supply store with everything I needed. Got a good deal on some matboard. Grabbed 3 32"x40" sheets. Should be more than enough for the first 2 buckets. (Plan on only using it for the helmet form. Will use regular cardboard for the frame).

Also got some new exacto knives and some 44 spray adhesive.

Gonna get started tonight and a bit over the weekend. Bucket #1 was a good trial run to work out the kinks. #### just got real!

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Managed to get a bit done tonight. Used standard (3mm maybe) Amazon cardboard for the support bits to save on the matboard. Was able to fit the rest of the main pieces with room to spare. Should be plenty left for the ears, keyslots, and rf when I'm ready.

Side note, the spray 45 is amazing.
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Still have to do the ears, stalk, and keyhole, but I'm liking this build much better. Not sure if it's rafels patterns, the better materials, or both, but I'm much happier with the overall shape
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Nice second effort. I'm sure it's a little bit of both, but mostly the materials. The cardboard on the first one is just too thin and ends up looking wonky.
 
Ya, absolutely. It was literally stuff I had laying around I used as a test run.

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Work looks great so far. A caution on the spray glue - I used Super 77 and had delaminating issues after I put on my resin. I've had better luck with white pva glue over the mat board - have to wait a bit, but it's not long and worth it in the end. I'm not familiar with the 45 though - you may be just fine.


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I'll keep an eye in it when it comes to resin time. I did notice I didn't let some of the 45 set enough before sticking it on. Had a few pieces not adhere well.

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Have all of the ear parts built. Still doing some minor work on them. Also threw some epoxy on the outside of the bucket. Tacked the visor part back in just for stability. Once this coat cures, I'll resin the bottom, visor area, and fully fiberglass reinforce the inside.

My kid decided he didn't want the keyslots, so that will save me some time and some carpal tunnel.
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Finished resining the outside and glassed the inside. Have some drips to clean up, but nothing major. Giving it some extra cure time before the Bondo stage. I got impatient at some point and mixed one of the resin batches with the brush instead of the stir. Clearly caused mixing problems as I have a few spots still tacky. Nothing a good brushing of hardener won't fix, but irritating.

Meanwhile, I've started on a pepakura attempt of a Sabine helm for my daughter. Pepakura seems a bigger PITA than cardboard building, but we'll see.
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Minor update. Threw some bondo on the dome today. If you are not well versed in bondo, here's a tip. If you are, just ignore me. I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence ...

When you slap bondo on there, don't wait for it to fully cure. Wait till it's just beyond tacky, but holds shape, and knock down all of your ridges with some aggressive sand paper on a block. I used 80g. You'll see in the photos that it shreds the ridges. Really saves time and labor as it begins to fully cure.

Photos 1-3 here show the slap on, and mowing down them ridges

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A quick 120g orbital sand later and were in business.

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Still have to shape it a bit and clean up the ridge line, but it's a good start.

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Been short on time this week, but I managed to fill in all the lows on the dome. After this photo I glazed it to fill minor imperfections.

Also started on the right cheek, but out of fear of it cracking from me squeezing on the thing, I'm gonna leave the cheeks for last.

Also bondod the rear of the helmet and starting to make that pretty.

Starting to come together .
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Progress looks good! Following this thread with interest. Maybe hot gluing a temporary mat board visor in to support the cheeks for shaping would help? I waited till I liked the cheeks to cut my visor out for this same reason.


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Might help a bit, but I have a tendency to bear hug the damn thing when I'm sanding. I fear even with the visor it may crack. Safest just leaving it for the end.

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