Making White PrePro from old DP 97 - Looking for Ref Images

[welsh hunter]

Making White PrePro from old DP97

HI guys, I've had an old DP97 for about 8 years but I was so dissappointed with it I never put it on display.

Well I've finally decided to try and make something of it as I await the arrival of my bobamaker helmet (cant wait ) I've been inspired to convert it into a white prepro helmet after seeing Gino's superb white DP deluxe 8) and a love for the white Fett concept art.

The first thing I needed to do was correct some of the warping as it was in a pretty bad shape. 10 minutes in the oven at 80 degrees celcius (Do so at your own risk) and an hour cooling time in a wooden box packed with towels really made a difference. It has quite a nice flair now though there is some wobblyness still apparent along the bottom perimiter of the helmet.

Next I thought Id try to improve the dome. I happen to have a GI (ww2 I think) helmet which has a plastic liner helmet that sits inside the metal shell. I trimmed the top off the plastic liner and cut a hole in the top of the boba helmet. The liner top then sat into the hole I cut quite nicely and I glued it in place. It was sealed and gaps filled with milliput putty. I intend to smooth out the contour of the dome with bondo so the join is seemless.

Im not entirely happy with the shape of the dome because he looks abit like an egg head but its an improvement on the standard table top dome at least.

Unfortunatley I got so caught up in working on this that I didnt take any pics leading up to where Im at. Heres how its looking at the moment. As soon as Im finished with the dome I'l move on to cutting the t-visor and keyslots and smoothing out the text on the back.

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Even though the DP97 is quite small I was suprised how well it holds up against my SDS Stomrtrooper helmets (which are pretty big, significantly bigger than other ST helmets). I suppose the extra flair and dome height makes a diffrence.

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Now Im trying to find images of the white prepro suit so I can start thinking about paint schemes. Can anyone help me source refference photos of the white prepro suit?

Im particularly looking for the photo(s) of the white prepro suit with Lucas in shot adjusting the suit.

Ive trawled through the board and the internet looking for photos but to no avail.

Thanks guys

 

[RBF]

hey that;s a very cool idea on the dome there!!

don't worry, maybe you can even sand some of it down to make it less "egg" like. And the paint will probably cover some of it up 2.

keep going!

couldn't find aynthing but this...

the gun pic is from the board here, if that person wants me to take it down I will...

 

[welsh hunter]

Thanks for the pics R_boba. Those are the pics I was thinking of.

Does anyone happen to have other images of the white Fett costume and higher res version of these they'd be willing to post?

Does anyone know whats happening with the whitecommando website? Its a really nice looking site but hasnt been updated with much content and the site owner has been banned from TDH.

 

[welsh hunter]

Hi guys, over the last couple of days I've doing more work on reshaping the dome of my DP97.

I've applied my first layer of bondo over the dome shape I attached to the top of the helmet and sanded it down. I have attached a pic of where Im at and was hoping you guys could give me some feedback on the shape. Note on the rear view (bottom right) if highlighted the outline of the helmet Im looking to achieve though it seem difficult with bondo at the moment

Im not trying to make it 100% perfect since the helmet itself isnt accurately shaped anyway but Im trying to get it looking "right" if you know what I mean

Im finding it difficult to leave a smooth even surface with this stuff at the moment but I think it may have something to do with how I applied it to the helmet.

If I appply a thiner smooth layer on top of it will this help smooth out the surface?

Your input would be much appreciated.

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[welsh hunter]

I hate to ressurrect a dead thread but I need your advice on how to proceed with the modifications Im doing to my DP 97.

As the picture below shows I have cut out most of the visor area but Ive left a piece in the middle just to hold the buckets shape whilst I work on it.

In order to maintain the shape and rigidness of the helmet Ive made an aluminium bracket which will sit behind the visor lens.

My problem though is figuring out how to secure the metal brace to the bucket which will allow the visor lens to be fitted after painting.

Ive experimented with bolts on a spare piece of the buckets vinyl but its just too thin and flimsy to be secure in my opinion. If I glue it in place though Im worried I wont be able to fit the visor lens. I just dont want to cut out the remaining vinyl in the visor area and have nothing else to hold the manibles in place because it will just loose its shape.

Im not sure Ive explained it well but any advice would be appreciated.

By the way, the visor and ear pieces are only temporarily held in plcae with masking tape in this picture.

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[RBF]

I'd still go with hot glue it in so it's stuck... if your not happy with the way it looks then, just peal it off, easy to use material... (I do recommend asking soemone to help you hold the helmet up close to the gun, so you smack the visor in... hold it in place.... put hot glue on the edges of the visor and tada..)

then if it does suit your needs, smack overdosis of glue or kit in place (not 2 part epoxy, that will "drip" and may fall over the visor... and you won;t be able to see a thing.

take somethign that needs to cure for 24-48 hours, will be nice and steady I think...

 

[TBone]

I'd still go with hot glue it in so it's stuck... if your not happy with the way it looks then, just peal it off, easy to use material... (I do recommend asking soemone to help you hold the helmet up close to the gun, so you smack the visor in... hold it in place.... put hot glue on the edges of the visor and tada..)

then if it does suit your needs, smack overdosis of glue or kit in place (not 2 part epoxy, that will "drip" and may fall over the visor... and you won;t be able to see a thing.

take somethign that needs to cure for 24-48 hours, will be nice and steady I think...

If you are just wanting to put the bracket in while you are working on it, then go ahead and use the hot glue. Then after you fit your visor in, glue it with something more substantial, like a 2 part epoxy - or my favorite "Plastic Welder".

I tried hot glue on my visor and it was constantly coming loose. After I put plastic welder in, no more problems.

Another idea, on some of the rougher looking buckets I used in the past, I put thin aluminum strips at the bottom of the cheeks to help hold them straight. You could do something like that, and JB Weld a couple of bolts on either side to the cheek bracers. Then when you wanted to put the brace across the bottom of the visor you could simply bolt it on and off.

For what its worth, there's my 2 cents...