A Tale of Two Helmets
Been a while since I've been on here, I have been working on something when I have the time which has been rare lately, lots of stuff going on right now for me. Anyway, I have gotten to a point where I would like to replace my bucket, my toy one has been great and working on it has helped me hone my skill, however it isn't very accurate. I also have been wanting to apply to the 501st and am very doubtful my current helmet could be used. When I got to this point, I always figured I would buy a Bobamaker helmet, instead I have decided to scratch build one. Couple things about that:
1. Due to my stature, I think a Bobamaker helmet would
look big on me. I think my current helmet looks a little big on me and even though the proportions are wrong, I think it's roughly the size of a normal helmet. Scratch building one will also give me a clue as to if that is true or not.
2. It's the only piece of armor I haven't tried to scratch build yet, and I already had most of the sintra so I really haven't spent a ton of money doing it so far. Always a plus, right?
I decided to use Rafalfett's templates, which I had to slightly modify here and there. I wanted to use 3mm for the inside layer and 1mm for the outside. I had a few reasons for doing it this way, but essentially it all came down to my belief that it would lend to a better overall look in the end, it also still gave me a 4mm total with the layers together which is an absolute MUST for the templates to work.

I knew the upper cheeks were going to be difficult (which they were) but the best way I found was to curve it around the lower cheek first, then attach the upper to the helmet. I also used 1mm, the 3mm was too difficult to get that curve. I also scored a diagonal line from the corner on the inside of the upper to help that part fold better.

I wish I hadn't cut the T for the visor out already, it probably would have been helpful while I was gluing in the slices for the dome. It also made it lose some of it's flex there (which is why it looks all wonky), the mandibles need to be further apart on the bottom which should get corrected when the visor is in.
Now, I am not entirely sure what happened, but this helmet is smaller than a normal size helmet. Raf recommended printing Fit to Paper, which I did, and they seem to match up with the paint stencils I already have cut out, but many of the measurements are not correct according to his posted measurements. It has been difficult to tell with out the visor in, but it seems like the reduced size may actually look better on me. I also bought Machinecraft's Ears to hopefully put on it, but alas they will not fit. My Plan B was to put the ears on my current helmet which may eventually become a custom Mando or something, but I have been considering Plan C, which is build ANOTHER helmet and size the templates to the ears.
Tough decision, but it does beg a question: If I am going of 501st approval, what do they value most? A helmet that is proportional to the wearer, or a helmet that is the size of the original?