NathanB41
New Hunter
If you ever saw goldpointprops video on youtube showing how he made his steel helmet, you might have also wanted to make your own but thought, "I don't know how or don't have the tools". Well I thought that too and after a couple of years getting frustrated on just making the dome for the helmet, I finally got it right after spending around £500 on ebay for a cheap English wheel, a bead roller, metal roller, and a bossing mallet. The tools may seem expensive at first but once you have them you can make just about anything (with some practice 
) and it's very satisfying to make something out of a flat piece of sheet metal.
After experimenting with different ways of making the bowl, I settled on using a single piece of steel rather than shaping and welding two halves as I couldnt get the seam in the middle just right. Shaping the single piece into a bowl took a lot of practice and a few attempts. I finally did this using a log that I dished out using a grinder and a wood grinding disc. After a couple hours of alternating between beating the steel into the dished log and and smoothing it out with the cheap English wheel, I then had to weld a band around the edge of the bowl to give it more depth. I bought a nylon bossing mallet for shaping the dome which really helped as its much lighter to swing than a metal/leather mallet or hammer and much easier on your hands.
For the faceplate and backplate I used thewizardoflight's templates but had to add about half an inch to the length and height to match my Hasbro black series Boba helmet which I am also using as a template, as it helps me get an idea of the size, shape and scale of the pieces I am making. The swage lines on the back half of the helmet were done using a cheap bead roller from ebay. I still have the ear pieces, range finder and visor to make but will update the post when they are done.
The torso armour was also made using thewizardoflight's templates, although I shaped the back armour incorrectly so I'll reshape that before paint. I also have yet to make the gauntlets and jetpack but I have templates for those. For the chest display I bought a cheap programmable LED display with scrolling message on ebay, although I left the default message on there as it already looks like an alien language when its divided by the top and bottom window (it reads "Welcome" in Chinese). I gave the torso and shoulder armour some curvature using a metal roller and the English wheel, no hammering required.
Anyway hope this is of some help to someone looking to make their own armour. I wouldn't have done it without the inspiration from goldpointprops' video on youtube so thanks to him. If you haven't already seen it I recommend you go and watch it, as it might inspire you too.
I'm happy to answer questions and give help where I can if anyone wants to ask anything.
I'll update when I finish the helmet and have made the jetpack and gauntlets.
) and it's very satisfying to make something out of a flat piece of sheet metal.After experimenting with different ways of making the bowl, I settled on using a single piece of steel rather than shaping and welding two halves as I couldnt get the seam in the middle just right. Shaping the single piece into a bowl took a lot of practice and a few attempts. I finally did this using a log that I dished out using a grinder and a wood grinding disc. After a couple hours of alternating between beating the steel into the dished log and and smoothing it out with the cheap English wheel, I then had to weld a band around the edge of the bowl to give it more depth. I bought a nylon bossing mallet for shaping the dome which really helped as its much lighter to swing than a metal/leather mallet or hammer and much easier on your hands.
For the faceplate and backplate I used thewizardoflight's templates but had to add about half an inch to the length and height to match my Hasbro black series Boba helmet which I am also using as a template, as it helps me get an idea of the size, shape and scale of the pieces I am making. The swage lines on the back half of the helmet were done using a cheap bead roller from ebay. I still have the ear pieces, range finder and visor to make but will update the post when they are done.
The torso armour was also made using thewizardoflight's templates, although I shaped the back armour incorrectly so I'll reshape that before paint. I also have yet to make the gauntlets and jetpack but I have templates for those. For the chest display I bought a cheap programmable LED display with scrolling message on ebay, although I left the default message on there as it already looks like an alien language when its divided by the top and bottom window (it reads "Welcome" in Chinese). I gave the torso and shoulder armour some curvature using a metal roller and the English wheel, no hammering required.
Anyway hope this is of some help to someone looking to make their own armour. I wouldn't have done it without the inspiration from goldpointprops' video on youtube so thanks to him. If you haven't already seen it I recommend you go and watch it, as it might inspire you too.
I'm happy to answer questions and give help where I can if anyone wants to ask anything.
I'll update when I finish the helmet and have made the jetpack and gauntlets.
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