Custom Helmet from Sintra?

[Lodril]

I'm making a custom Mandalore costume, and have been pondering trying to put together my own helmet from scratch. Being an apartment dweller, my options are more limited, and I was wondering if anyone has experience with making such a thing from Sintra and Bondo.

Any pointers, experience, horror stories or ideas are welcome.

(Also... am I the only one who feels funny saying/typing custom costume? Custom costume custom costume custom costume; just feels wierd)

 

[Megalomaniac Mando]

I don't know if the doming of the crown could be accomplished with sintra. I don't see why the rest of the helmet would present any problems, though. Just don't leave it in the car in August.

Just think if we were making janitor suits instead of Fetts. Then you'd be typing custom custodian costume custom custodian costume custom custodian costume...

 

[Ego]

What if it was a yellow janitor costume?

Custom Custard Custodian Costume

Sorry, much like at work, I have no real substance to add to any debate, just a stupid one liner then I leave!

Jer

 

[Lodril]

When I first thought of this project, I was wondering about the dome too, but then I saw someone's post showing their sheet metal helmet in progress.

They had created the dome by using two intersecting arcs and curved triangular pieces in between. I know Sintra is at least that pliable, so I think it could probably be done. With Bondo to fill in the cracks and crevices, I think it might work out.

 

[Star Wars Chick]

Hmm, my first answer was no- but now that you bring up the sheet metal helmet, it might be possible with lots of bondo.

 

[malcfett]

Trying to get sintra to do what you
want it to can be tricky, but not
impossible.

Good luck.

 

[BoJangleFett]

Maybe it can be done. I was trying to think how to form the sheet into a dome....but if you triangulate sections of sintra like how you would cut a pizza , the idea does look rather promising. This reminds me when I was in school when we used octagon patterns to make a circular shape much like a soccor ball.

 

[Megalomaniac Mando]

Remember too, that fewer seams increase strength.

Never having worked with sintra, I'll ask how feasible pushing a metal helmet of some sort into a heated sheet would create the proper doming effect? The crown itself is not too deep. Or, I think my idea would work using styrene for the dome/crown.

 

[Darth Squeet]

Wouldn't that be kinda like vac-forming a hlemet?
I think you might be onto something though cause it would give the proper crest of the dome.
Wouldn't it?

 

[Lodril]

I had thought of that 'push down' idea myself, but after chatting with a few people who have done some work in Sintra, I was told that it probably wouldn't come out very well... which is why I gave up on a Sintra helmet project until I saw that metal one in-progress.

My understanding is that, while pretty easily bendable at lower heat levels, Sintra didn't stretch quite as easily at low temperatures. Without a vacuum forming process, once the plastic was melted to that level of stretchiness, it probably wouldn't settle smoothly into shape, leaving me with a lumpy and uneven dome.

It would be nice to come up with a method that required fewer joints on the top, but I'm not sure how. Another thought I had, other than the 'pizza slice' dome, was to make a series of four football shaped arcs that could be fit together with simple bending, and cover front to back. I haven't modelled it to see if it would work though. Actually, I haven't even bought the Sintra yet...I'm still working pretty much a priori here.

 

[malcfett]

While working with sintra to make my cod
piece, I did get a fairly smooth concave
curve to it by using the "missing pizza slice"
method...I guess you could call it. Take a
circle and cut out one pizza slice and you
will be able to shape it into a dome by
heating and shaping while at the same time
closing the gap between the two sides of the
missing slice. Make sense anyone?


Oh...almost forgot...so that it doesn't just
form a cone, cut out a small circle in the
center of it.

 

[Star Wars Chick]

Yes, that does make sense and if I ever decide to start a female mandalorian, that might come in handy!

 

[mykull]

I to am getting the urge to see what I can do with making a helmet out of scratch... I to remember a guy here making one out of metal.. and he had some old army helmet for the dome...if the guy the was making his lid with a helmet like that.. let us know what you used.. I would love to try and concor doing up one of these helmets by hand.. and out of scrap.

 

[BountyHunter185]

mykull wrote:
I to remember a guy here making one out of metal.. and he had some old army helmet for the dome...if the guy the was making his lid with a helmet like that.. let us know what you used..

I believe it was MMM that made the dome of his helmet with the army helmet. Not positive though, so someone correct me if i'm wrong.
As for making the helmet out of sintra, it sounds feasable. Maybe if you make everything but the dome out of sintra, you can use something like an army helmet for the dome.

Just our 2 cents

 

[BoJangleFett]

Yeah it was MMM that created a bucket using the metal dome from a G.I. helmet. It looks good too!

 

[METALBOY]

Lodril wrote:
When I first thought of this project, I was wondering about the dome too, but then I saw someone's post showing their sheet metal helmet in progress.

They had created the dome by using two intersecting arcs and curved triangular pieces in between. I know Sintra is at least that pliable, so I think it could probably be done. With Bondo to fill in the cracks and crevices, I think it might work out.

YEAH you are probabbly refering to me ,that is the technique I used for my metal helmet. If you are wondering about a helmet being made from scratch by using syntra ''YES'' it will
definitely work. I already made one a while ago on my first attempt but I destroyed it and threw it away. You can make the dome using the same technique with the intersecting arcs and triangular pieces. For BONDO their is a putty out their wich turns to a white color after you mix it and it works perfect for everything with syntra.

 

[Star Wars Chick]

Well, I just may have to try this out! Just what I need, another project!!!

 

[Darth Squeet]

Yeah tell me about it!!
I just started to really hit my stride with Fibreglass, now (sigh) I have something else to take up a corner of receding space in my small work area!!
I'm telling you guys, I don't think I'm gonna have a fiancee much longer if this keeps up. Oh well
I'll always have TDH!!

 

[Megalomaniac Mando]

Yup, "that guy" was me. I used a GI steelpot helmet for the crown of my scratchbuilt. It's about dead-on to the profile of the real-deal imho. No other than Mr. Jeremy Bulloch saw my helmet recently, and said it was extremely close to what he remembers in weight, and almost in size. He did say that the real one was a bit wider. Thought I'd done an excellent job. WooHoo!