Real Steel Helmet - WIP (Updated pics 2023)

[NathanB41]

Hi,
New to this forum.
I am a mechanical engineer and have always fancied making a real steel Mandalorian helmet.
I am hoping to make it out of 1.2mm 18 gauge steel sheet.
I have an English wheel, bead roller, metal roller and welder.

I need templates that I can place over the steel sheet to cut it out and form the metal.
Is there such a template that exists?
The main problem I can see with the paper crafted helmet templates is the dome is obviously not going to work. I want to have a template that allows me to cut the dome out in half, then beat and roll the metal into a half bowl shape, then weld the two sides together to form a dome.

Oh and I would need it to fit a size 60cm head at least.

Is anyone able to help please? I don't mind if it is a Boba / Jango Fett or Din Djarin mandalorian helmet. (I plan to make both styles eventually)

I've gained inspiration from this video where a metal worker made a Boba Fett Helmet out of sheet steel, I want to follow the same route:

Thank you

 

[Mythos Fenn]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Definitely an ambitious build and am I am looking forward to seeing you progress with this.

I would imagine using the paper templates would actually still work for the way you want to build the dome. I haven't used the templates for the bucket in awhile but I would imagine if you print it out, then cut it out, you should be able to fiddle with it to be able to turn that into 2 half domes.

I am also a member of the Mandalorian Mercs and I have a guy in my local clan that has been posting video tutorials on youtube about his full metal builds as well - not sure if he has any templates available for how he did his builds but feel free to check out his stuff.

His youtube handle is - TheWeldingGeek (he also has an instagram as well with the same name)

 

[NathanB41]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Definitely an ambitious build and am I am looking forward to seeing you progress with this.

I would imagine using the paper templates would actually still work for the way you want to build the dome. I haven't used the templates for the bucket in awhile but I would imagine if you print it out, then cut it out, you should be able to fiddle with it to be able to turn that into 2 half domes.

I am also a member of the Mandalorian Mercs and I have a guy in my local clan that has been posting video tutorials on youtube about his full metal builds as well - not sure if he has any templates available for how he did his builds but feel free to check out his stuff.

His youtube handle is - TheWeldingGeek (he also has an instagram as well with the same name)

Ok I'll check him out! Thanks!

 

[Mythos Fenn]

Not a problem. Hopefully it helps!

 

[NathanB41]

Ok so this is as far as I've got. I went and bought myself a load of metal working tools including an english wheel, metal roller and bead roller. The bead roller is a seriously great piece of kit. I also used that to repair some panels on some old cars.

Anyway front and back of the helmet is pretty much ready for assembly, I had inspiration from GoldPointProps and TheWeldingGeek but I also used the wizardofflight paper template which was massively helpful.

The trouble I'm having is with the dome.
I used the paper template as you can see which proves it can be done, which turned out *ok* but the amount of welding on such thin steel (18 gauge) meant a ton of grinding to get it smooth which has made it thin pretty much all over. So I used that dome as a base to make another template off of as you can see, using duct tape over tin foil. I then cut that tin foil template in half and flattened that out over some more sheet steel and drew around it and cut it out. I then had to make my own swage block by chiselling a dish into a tree stump. Then I shaped the steel into two half domes (or half helms) using the tree stump but again this is a massively time consuming process and I can't seem to get the shape right even with the english wheel. It ends up too "pin headed" at the top of the dome. I'm sure with alot more time and effort I could get the shape right but it would mean cutting and shaping the half helms with a grinder etc.
So I'm wondering if there are any actual half helm templates out there that I can use to get a more accurate template to use when cutting out the half helms as I'd like to start the dome over again. If all goes well I'd like to make more of these helmets hence why I want an accurate template that I can use multiple times.

(Also I cut all the pieces out so far using a slitting disc on a grinder but it's not always very accurate as you can't turn while cutting so I've since bought an electric shear which I highly recommend for cutting sheet metal.) Since I've now got an electric shear I may also retry the paper template version and maybe try and be a little accurate when cutting out the template and also more cautious with the grinder when removing the welds...

Thanks

I'll update with progress when I can

 

[Icetalon]

Ok so this is as far as I've got. I went and bought myself a load of metal working tools including an english wheel, metal roller and bead roller. The bead roller is a seriously great piece of kit. I also used that to repair some panels on some old cars.

Anyway front and back of the helmet is pretty much ready for assembly, I had inspiration from GoldPointProps and TheWeldingGeek but I also used the wizardofflight paper template which was massively helpful.

The trouble I'm having is with the dome.
I used the paper template as you can see which proves it can be done, which turned out *ok* but the amount of welding on such thin steel (18 gauge) meant a ton of grinding to get it smooth which has made it thin pretty much all over. So I used that dome as a base to make another template off of as you can see, using duct tape over tin foil. I then cut that tin foil template in half and flattened that out over some more sheet steel and drew around it and cut it out. I then had to make my own swage block by chiselling a dish into a tree stump. Then I shaped the steel into two half domes (or half helms) using the tree stump but again this is a massively time consuming process and I can't seem to get the shape right even with the english wheel. It ends up too "pin headed" at the top of the dome. I'm sure with alot more time and effort I could get the shape right but it would mean cutting and shaping the half helms with a grinder etc.
So I'm wondering if there are any actual half helm templates out there that I can use to get a more accurate template to use when cutting out the half helms as I'd like to start the dome over again. If all goes well I'd like to make more of these helmets hence why I want an accurate template that I can use multiple times.

(Also I cut all the pieces out so far using a slitting disc on a grinder but it's not always very accurate as you can't turn while cutting so I've since bought an electric shear which I highly recommend for cutting sheet metal.) Since I've now got an electric shear I may also retry the paper template version and maybe try and be a little accurate when cutting out the template and also more cautious with the grinder when removing the welds...

Thanks

I'll update with progress when I can

So I'm actually doing the same project right now, I've been working on it all summer, but I took a break September till this week to take care of some other business. I bought similar equipment to you, and got inspiration from the same place. The way I did my dome was cutting an 8 in radius semicircle (could be wrong on that number, might have been 11, it was back in July), and formed it into a half dome, via pounding with a metal hammer on a sandbag, and smoothing on an English wheel, and using a shrinker on the edges to pull in the curve, repeating until I had a solid dome shape. Whatever inch radius size I used, it was too big so several times I had to cut it down to size. After I got them similar enough I took a laser level to draw straight lines with it, and cut them to have nice 90 degree corners before matching the two halves perfectly and welding them together. Welding that ring on the bottom finishes off the full dome shape.

Obviously with my being new to this process, there were a few imperfections, but these are easy to take care of with sanding, and if need be bondo and sanding, prior to painting. Unfortunately, do to the material stretch required to change a flat shape into the dome, it is practically impossible to create a template out of which to just make the dome, believe me I spent 3 months trying to perfect the calculations. At least, not one that would be accurate to the end product. The key is to stretch the inside while shrinking the edge, pushing out the middle and pulling together those edges, forming a dome-ish shape.

Hope this helps!

(edit: just realized you commented on my thread a while back, so I hope my feedback had helped)

 

[NathanB41]

Update after 2 years! So originally this was going to be a Din Djarin mandalorian suit but I ended up using templates for a Boba Fett suit, which this build has become. So I apologise that this is in the wrong thread. Although I do plan on doing Mando's suit in Stainless steel once this one is finished.

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 couldn't 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.

 

[RamSkirata]

This is truely impressive craftsmanship!
I also like the aluminum headed SBC in the background