Scratch Build beginner

[JonGon]

Hello everyone! decided to join this board because I wanted to possibly build my own Fett Helmet. I downloaded Wizard's awesome templates but have run into a problem. I printed the inner surface pieces at the same scale but they don't align very well. Is this normal or am I doing something very wrong?

 

[JonGon]

I think my printer might just be bad

 

[Silverstalker]

Hi Jon first off welcome, it seems your printer maybe out of calibration, you could auto calibrate it through your printer options, also check the scale markers on one of the printed sheets it will be a series of black and white rectangles that will measure at 1 inch long, if they are at 1 inch long you have your helmet scale correct. I would use adobe to print out the pictures as they tend to print out at the correct scale right off the bat.

plus you can scale it up or down depending on the size of your head, what do you plan on using as your build medium, card? Sintra?

Take an hour out to read through this, it will give you a good insight to what you are facing

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/antmans-second-cardboard-scratch-build-24821/

 

[ToEleven]

I've had similar problems before. Like silverstalker said, try calibrating if possible...or maybe just reprinting them from another pdf viewer. I've used different viewers and gotten varied results in print ie adobe, sumatra, etc. Another thing you could do is only print the sheets you need together.

 

[Badgerdash]

I've had this problem on other projects — software surreptitiously rescaling artwork differently from one file to the next during printing, even with all scaling settings turned off. I ended up inserting a scale in every image that was exactly one cm (or whatever) in length so I could measure after printing to make sure no shrinking had occurred.

 

[JonGon]

Thanks for the link SilverStalker. I've actually been lurking these forums for about a month and finally decided to join. All the scratch build threads are great for tips and inspiration.

I also tried using a different PDF reader at my job this time and that one was way better than my POS at home. The black and white bars measure to 1 inch and all the pieces finally line up! Appreciate the help guys

 

[Silverstalker]

Good to hear.... let's see some progress pics along the way

 

[JonGon]

Sure thing Silver. I also forgot to mention that i'll be using 1mm cardboard type material I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I'm thinking of doing this one as a way to learn the art of crafting because i've never done this before. If I feel comfortable enough I might attempt a Sintra bucket

Got the pieces cut out and spray glued. Forgive the inefficient use of board lol

 

[Silverstalker]

You are good to go, 1MM would be s bit thin for a stable end product but if you are cutting your teeth on this as a try out then go for it, 3MM Grey board has been found to be the best size and type of card to use. But one step at a time, keep your blades sharp and fresh, let things dry before you move on, and take your time...

 

[JonGon]

The helmet is shaping up thanks to AntMan's thread. It's packed with very useful info and very good progress pics. I did run into a slight problem with the inner surface not wrapping completely against the dome base. Is this something that I should worry about or is it negligible since that part will be cut out for the visor later on?

 

[Artakha]

I think you shouldn't worry about it too much. I have done two scratch built helmets myself, one of which is still a WIP (although nearing the finish) Here's the thread if it will help you: Le1120's Second Cardboard Helmet Scratch Build -- WIP

Another thing is you may want to consider going with RafalFett's templates instead of WOF's for an accurate Boba. The actual screen used helmet was asymmetrical, which Raf's templates reflect. However, many people have done excellent Fett helmets with WOF's templates, and I don't mean to discourage you. The basic construction is the same with both templates, and I think you can achieve the asymmetrical look by mixing templates, although I cannot confirm how well it will work. You can find his templates here if you're interested: Rafal Works Helmet (RWH) v2 Helmet Templates and Build

Good luck, and you're doing quite well especially considering this is your first try!

 

[JonGon]

Thanks for the heads up le1120. Getting a screen accurate helmet might be a little too ambitious for me at the moment. Maybe in the future haha. I checked out your build and it's crazy to see the amount of work that goes into these. I'll make sure to follow your build for any tips.

 

[JonGon]

I need to get better at taking progress pics lol. I managed to get the cheeks in place with some masking tape and lined them up before glueing.

I made a "V" cut along the cheek bend to put less stress on the board.


Here are the cheeks in place.


Another thing! I missed out on the Target Boba Helmets. I only managed to find one that was missing the dome and the ears but the price was cheap so I went ahead and grabbed it. I'll be doing this one with the skate helmet technique.




Side by side to show the Target shape compared to the WOF shape.

 

[Artakha]

Coming along nicely!

 

[hamsandwich72]

Looking good!

 

[JonGon]

Thank you le1120 and hamsandwich!

I've been putting this off due to Fallout 4 hehe but i'm back on the grind. Not very good documentation on my part but that's mainly because I mostly followed Antman's build thread. Good stuff in there. Here's some progress pics so this thread won't be dead.



Since this is my first attempt I think I won't get too worried about getting it screen accurate. Please feel free to point out any mistakes you can notice

 

[JonGon]

Forgot to ask something... Is it recommended to seal these types of helmets before putting bondo or will it go on good? And if I do need to seal it what do you guys recommend?

 

[Silverstalker]

Body filler or bondo even multi purpose wall filler will go right over the top of that no problem... fiber glass the dome from the inside and the cheek area...will be sold then