First Time Build - Boba Fett Helmet - Cardboard - FINISHED

Magnavis · Aug 21, 2016

Done a little test of the 'bondo' on a piece if cardboard I had from making the helmet; one of the cheek cutouts I believe. Polyfilla mixed with Evo Stik wood glue as suggested to me earlier in this post. went on really easily. Nice and smooth, easy to work with. Dried rock hard. It's like concrete! P60 sandpaper didn't do much. Although wasn't putting much effort in. Seems very solid!

Magnavis · Aug 22, 2016

ooh boy! It's begun!

Didn't put quite as much PVA in this batch. First stage is just to get some on, and get a much clearer idea of where the highs and lows are in the dome. I've given this a good sand already, and you can see where the low spots are.
I'll slowly add more PVA into each batch as we go up for added strength, but it's pretty rigid, but sands nicely atm. The more coats we put on, the less rough sanding their will be. At what point do people normally start putting coats of primer on it?

But yeah, stage 1 of filling sanding complete. off and running

LostDreams · Aug 22, 2016

That looks pretty wild! It even crossed my mind that it would make a great desert mandalorian camo helmet as well

Very nice progress!

Magnavis · Aug 23, 2016

2nd coat on the dome. This is before sanding. Will post some more pics once sanding is done

any idea why the pics aren't loading and are rotated wrong way?

Magnavis · Aug 23, 2016

Some sanding done. Can really see the low point's now, and the goal height is starting to become clear too. Some parts are really dipped in and the sections cast a shadow, so you can see where more is needed. Dent is looking ok atm too which I'm pleased with, because it was so darn fiddly to get in and cut out. Overall pleased with how it's going..

Artakha · Aug 23, 2016

Nice coming! You're on the right track, basically the rest of the build is filling and sanding and tweaking until you're happy. That tends to be the longest part of the build especially if you're a perfectionist like me, but looking good so far!

Magnavis · Aug 23, 2016

I've done a little more filling sanding since last post. A few areas just starting to resemble something smooth. But less and less of the cardboard structure underneath is now visible once sanded, which is good! It's a good job the dome ended up being so dark when I put the resin on, because it contrasts nicely with white of the filler. Getting there slowly. Want to take my time in this stage to get a good finish on it. I don't mind sanding though. This stuff is pretty easy to sand, so doing it by hand, comes off easily with rough paper.

Magnavis · Aug 25, 2016

Some more filling/sanding done. The general shape is looking good now. Now just trying to remove bulges, particularly where support sections are.

Magnavis · Aug 26, 2016

More sanding/filling was done yesterday. The bulges are starting to disappear now, which is good. Also reformed some parts of the overall shape. You can see in the pics at the end that there are still some noticeable bumps which need smoothing out, but I think I'm not too far off with the overall shape now, and can soon move onto smoothing area out. But enjoying this process. Not as frustrating as I expected it to be. Just have to take your time.

Puddles · Aug 26, 2016

Looking good! Are you planning on cutting out the turn signals or stamping them in?

Magnavis · Aug 26, 2016

^^ Honestly I'd forgotten about them. Will have to cut them out, although not entirely sure how easy that will be now. Could mark them out and then use a small drill bit and make a series of small holes to cut it out. Seems least destructive way I can think of.

But more progress on the dome. I know most of these images look the same, but with each fill/sand, it becomes smoother and the shape becomes more refined. Pretty happy with how its turned out thus far...

steoconnor · Aug 26, 2016

This looks great so far. Enjoying the pics. On that last shot of your dome, you might need to use heavier duty sand paper to cut through the bumps perhaps? Or maybe a flat wood or metal file would help (try it on a non-helmet piece first).
I'll be doing the same at some point (working on armour pieces first).
Keep up the fine work mate

Magnavis · Aug 26, 2016

steoconnor said:
This looks great so far. Enjoying the pics. On that last shot of your dome, you might need to use heavier duty sand paper to cut through the bumps perhaps? Or maybe a flat wood or metal file would help (try it on a non-helmet piece first).
I'll be doing the same at some point (working on armour pieces first).
Keep up the fine work mate

Yeah I think I will attack it with a flat file. I've been using a small one for smaller bits of smoothing out, and it's been pretty handy so far. If I take too much off, can always put a bit more filler on

Magnavis · Aug 26, 2016

Attacked it with a large flat file. much smoother now. last bit of progress for today. more of the same tomorrow..

Traklund · Aug 29, 2016

Looking very nice. Best of luck adding the turn signals, i think drill bits and small files will be your best tools.

Magnavis · Aug 29, 2016

Some more progress today. I think we are very close in terms of shape. It feels pretty smooth now. 1 or two little bumps perhaps, but generally, it's now much more smooth and uniform. Might be time to invest in a can of primer soon and wack it on. It seems good for highlighting flaws.

Artakha · Aug 29, 2016

Nice!!

Magnavis · Aug 30, 2016

Bought a can of primer, which will be here tomorrow. So after some more filling/sanding today (maybe), I'll be able to put a coat of primer on tomorrow and get a better idea of where it's at.

Magnavis · Sep 1, 2016

haha...I done goofed! Never used spray paint before (primer). I knew you had to shake it, but didn't know how much. I shook it a little. Sprayed it a bit on the cardboard, and a bit came out, so I thought great! Started spraying away, not really much coming out tho. But then it started to come out. But It didn't really look very wet. Didn't bother checking, just carried on spraying until dome was all covered and nice. Just went back into the room to see if it was dry, and to my surprise, the grey brushed off in a powdered form! So I got my little paint brush, and started brushing the dome, and 60-70% of the primer just brushed off. it was the same story on the cardboard it was sitting on. Little blow, and off it all went. I then saw on the can (which I did read before hand...) Shake well for 2 minutes -_-

So yeah....I shook it a bit, and then lightly sanded dome to dislodge anything loose (also did my coin slot - same thing...) and then sprayed again. this time it was shiny and wet.

Always ready instructions kids...