WIP: First helmet build, using sheet metal

Got a little bit more done today. Box to add onto the keyhole section to allow it to recess into the helmet a tad, more tacking and adjusting the dome to the bucket, range finder lower ear piece tacked up.

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I have a bunch of pictures, but have to get them all organized. So here are a few of the most significant ones. Still need to do more of the detail, but that will be done a little later. First picture is after I used a torch to burn off all of the remaining stickers.
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Now in the plans are some goodies. The suit is next. After much thinking and balancing on the fence about this, I've fallen off to the side of using sheet metal for the armor as well. Again, all of my work has been made much easier thanks to all of the hard work of all those that have put in the time and effort into creating templates. Thank you guys.
 
Thats what i plan to do next. My armor is already metal but my plaster\bondo\beerbox lid suffered catostrophic dent enlargment. i,ll post some pics of my plates. what did you ddo the welding with. what guage and what mat.?
 
Man what an awesome job! I hate to see all that work and have one simple mistake. The keyhole needs to be concave, it just needs to be flipped so that it curves into the helmet. Beautiful craftsmanship!
 
Sorry about not responding. Have been pretty busy with other stuff lately.
The helmet has a good amount of weight to it, probably a bit more than a streetbike helmet. I've yet to make something to hold it in place on my head. I didn't notice the keyhole needing to be concave into the helmet. All good though, I knew it wasn't going to turn out exactly the same. Plus if I did it the other way, it would hit the back of my head and I don't have too much room to play with. Enlarged cranium, lol. Thanks for the comments and critiques, all are much appreciated and motivation for me to work on it again.
 
The material I used was from these metal shelves that I had as scrap. Metal gauge is 18, so it's not terribly heavy, but pretty solid. I have a Hobart 125 rd flux core welder, perfect for the projects I do at home. Other misc tools used were, peanut grinder, 3" disc cutter, dremel (for cutting the keyhole and range finder small cuts), few different body hammers and iron body shaping blocks (don't remember real name) and wire brush wheels to remove stickers and surface rust.
Working on it was super fun, very time consuming, but worth the experience in fabrication and machismo points for a metal Boba Fett helmet. So far it has impressed one lady, Hoping that it will soon impress the ladies. Haha
Build on my friends.
 
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Ok, it's been far too long since I worked on this. Was really not satisfied with the paint and the "body work" on it, so I used a wire wheel and brushed off the paint on the dome and re-applied bondo. Ordered some helmet padding, welded a support for the chin.
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The surface wasn't really smooth at all. I did a super rush job on it last year. Bondo, paint and visor were all done in 2 days. Looked decent in pictures, but I wasn't satisfied with it. I'll be taking more time on it this time around.
 
I've always wondered why so few people attempt a sheet metal build! I am planning my first helmet build in sheet metal also. Just in its infancy right now, calculating costs of materials to convince the wife this won't be as costly as my ANH Graflex build. For most of the helmet I am planning on using 3 layers of aluminum sheet metal (one for the lining, one as a spacer so that on the cheek bones i can leave tabs which i plan to fold over and sandwich between the liner and the final layer of aluminum). I will score the areas where metal contacts metal and bond the segments with 3M weld. I havn't figured out how i'm going to pull off the dome yet. I will probably end up going the welding route.
 
I am planning on making a metal helmet to match my suit, (yours looks just amazing, by the way. Great job!) Just a question on your flux-core welder; does it produce much slag when it welds? I hear that flux-core welding can do that.
 
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