Fiberglass or Resin Helmet?

[GeekPastor]

I'm going to be working my on first Boba Fett Helmet, and I have the opportunity to buy either a Resin or Fiberglass Mystery Helmet, and I was wondering which one is easier to work with and also which one feels better to wear.

Does anyone have any advice? I appreciate you all helping a newbie!

 

[SEEKER]

If you have that choice, go with fiberglass. Resin will go out of shape if left somewhere in the sun.

 

[evan4218]

Not to mention shatter or crack if jared or bumped in a serious way. This all depends on the type of Resin used. All in all good fiberglassing will always hold up better. though both have the ability to change shape with heat, infact I think depending on the thickness of the fiberglassing one is not really better then the other.

 

[NikNak aka]

I went with resin as sgtfang was is having a major sale on his buckets. Also his is the original mystery helmet. If your interested I would suggest checking out the cago hold or go over to the rpf.

 

[pennywise]

I went with resin as sgtfang was is having a major sale on his buckets. Also his is the original mystery helmet. If your interested I would suggest checking out the cago hold or go over to the rpf.

I would check you sources before making a bold statement like that. Sgt. Fang is not "the original mystery helmet".

 

[GeekPastor]

what's the cago hold and rpf?

 

[SaxeCoburg]

The "cargo hold" is a section of this forum where members sell and trade random SW related items. Go to the main index and you’ll see it

The “RPF” is the “Replica Prop Forum”, just another discussion forum for those interested in movie props etc.

 

[superjedi]

I'd agree with Evan about certain types of resin being fragile.
But I've mainly experienced this with older resin casts. I just recently did a build/paint job on a SgtFang resin helmet, and I didn't have any problems at all. The resin he uses had a decent amount of flex in it, and it sanded and cleaned up really easily.

 

[Boba Fett]

I'd agree with Evan about certain types of resin being fragile.
But I've mainly experienced this with older resin casts. I just recently did a build/paint job on a SgtFang resin helmet, and I didn't have any problems at all. The resin he uses had a decent amount of flex in it, and it sanded and cleaned up really easily.

Yes not to mention that the bucket got one heck of a paint job.

 

[NikNak aka]

I would check you sources before making a bold statement like that. Sgt. Fang is not "the original mystery helmet".

I did not mean to appear misinformed but Ive read that multiple places on this forum so I guess I assumed that it was true... I also remeber hearing about the SgtFang helm almost 4 years ago before most of the makers of helms today got started.

Forgive my ignorance but, who offered recasts of the original mystery helm if not Sgt Fang?

 

[pennywise]

I did not mean to appear misinformed but Ive read that multiple places on this forum so I guess I assumed that it was true... I also remeber hearing about the SgtFang helm almost 4 years ago before most of the makers of helms today got started.

Forgive my ignorance but, who offered recasts of the original mystery helm if not Sgt Fang?

To my knowledge S.F. and M.S. are the only recast here on this board (so to speak)because they were grandfathered in, everyone one else has sculpted theirs. S.F. and M.S. however had from my understanding acquired mystery style helmets a looooong time ago and modified them slightly. From previous debates there is no "proven" lineage to the real mystery helmets that everyone relates to "movie used" , however no one really know were they came from that's why it's a mystery. That's what was told to me anyway from a couple of TDH vets. So in a since it is a "mystery helmet", but not to be confused with a helmet cast directly from a actual movie used helmet. This is a topic that has been debated many times over and over, if you want to know more just do a "search" on the topic. I was not trying to give you a bad time, I just don't want anyone to be mis-informed thinking they were getting a movie used casting, nobody here has a mold of that and if they do their keeping it a secret from the rest of us.

 

[never ending fett]

nobody here has a mold of that and if they do their keeping it a secret from the rest of us.

oh, i do, i'm just seeing if i can make one out of cardboard instead just for the "hey" of it

 

[NikNak aka]

I was not trying to give you a bad time, I just don't want anyone to be misinformed thinking they were getting a movie used casting, nobody here has a mold of that and if they do their keeping it a secret from the rest of us.

Yeah that's how i understood it too be as well I didn't mean that its was cast from the screen used helmet but that it was one of the first helmets to be referred to as the "mystery helmet". I didn't mean to cause any confusion.

Regardless I ordered a Sgt Fang "Mystery Helm" and I am super psyched to get it.

 

[pennywise]

oh, i do, i'm just seeing if i can make one out of cardboard instead just for the "hey" of it

*Snicker, snicker*. Yeah

 

[pennywise]

Yeah that's how i understood it too be as well I didn't mean that its was cast from the screen used helmet but that it was one of the first helmets to be referred to as the "mystery helmet". I didn't mean to cause any confusion.

Regardless I ordered a Sgt Fang "Mystery Helm" and I am super psyched to get it.

Yes, by all means I AM NOT trying to discourage anyone from buying a S.F. As a matter of fact his helmet IS a part of this hobbies history and would encourage anyone that is possibly sitting on the fence about getting one of these to "go for it"! It's a sweet bucket and especially for the price you can't go wrong.

 

[CombatBaby]

i always assumed resin would be harder to fix if broken because it shatters where fiberglass would just chip and crack (meaning easier to patch holes)

i guess it would depend the thickness of the fiberglass though, whether they used cloth, or weave, and how much the gelcoat was

i've never seen in progress pictures of the process of helmet making as far as fett helmets go. when i made a master chief helmet from scratch i just made a positive, used smooth-on for the mold and layered fiberglass in it with a gelcoat. i don't really know how the resin helmets are made yet still hollow. are they rotocast?


-=QuinN!

 

[drokkul]

I think the big thing to know is what are the two different buckets that you are actually looking at?

Is the Resin the Sgt. Fang?

And the big, big thing...Is the Fiberglass one from eBay for like 85-100 bucks plus shipping?

If that's the case I would go with the SF, because I've heard some real horror stories about some of the FG buckets bought from eBay. Misshappen, rough, sometimes with open holes in the FG. Not good. Requires a lot of modeling skill and time to get them looking right!

 

[kibosh]

Just out of curiosity, how often do people ACTUALLY drop their helmets? I know it happened to TK409, but there had to be an outside force at work there. I mean how many people actually drop them while carrying them around?

I'd actually prefer working a resin bucket. The thought of grinding/sanding FG and getting glass fibers under my skin or into my lungs kinda freaks me out. (yes, I use a respirator, but still, things happen!)

 

[pennywise]

I like fiberglass better but they cost TWICE as much as resin buckets.

 

[SgtFang]

I would check you sources before making a bold statement like that. Sgt. Fang is not "the original mystery helmet".

Guys, I'm getting a little tired of having to address this- Mine IS the original Mystery helmet, because that's what I called it on the RPF when trying to identify the blasted thing. It was based on this raggedy thing Tyler Durden calls the "Lava Helmet" that I got off eBay from a "KBoyette" and extensively resculpted into the MH you all know today.

This helmet (or at least a copy of it) is the father of the MH- the seams match exactly with the one I got and you can see how much clean-up was needed. I also sculpted all new ear pieces after measuring the warped originals, and grinding them off to simplify molding.

The current MH is (consevatively) at least 75% my sculpt after all the sanding, puttying and outright reconstruction that I had to do to make it as nice as it is now.

Now that we've got that out of the way, does anyone know conclusively what the history is with this "Lava Helmet"? If we find that, the "Mystery" will finally be solved...

-Sarge