WIP ESB Helmet

[DerHannibal]

Hi everyone,

after reading tons of threads and a failed first try on building my own helmet by using cardboard and the Rafals stencils i decided to buy a helmet and give it another try. I found a store called Galaticstore from the U.K. and they sell Helmet kits for a good price-performance ratio. The kit consits of the Helmet, the visor and the parts for the range finder. In my opinion it is a good quality cast that still needs some work. Trimming, filling, sanding, changing some details etc.

Because i'm very busy at the moment i won't have that much time to work on the helmet. But i will post some pictures of the progress from time to time. I consider this thread as a kind of incentive to keep on working on this project. Also it takes me hours to write because my english is kind of rusty...

Ok, enough talking, here are some pictures of the raw helmet.

Have a great one!

 

[Ghostphoenix01]

Good luck! Take your time and it’ll turn out great.

 

[DerHannibal]

Ok, some weeks have passed and i've orderd a lot of different stuff. After reviewing the helmet once again i realized that there are some parts i really need to change. For example i ordered a 3 hole borden connector and a range finder from toolguy301 to replace the existing connector and the range finder. Furthermore i need to minimize the section where the visior is going to be because at the edges it is to wide. I guess it'll never be 100%
accurate but i'll give my best. At the moment i'm doing a lot of sanding etc. And i'm frequently tkaing pictures. I'll post some pictures of the progress as soon as i'm satisfied with the result... :-D

Frequently is catchy word... I digged out my eletronic skills and prepared the circuit for the range finder LEDs. Still trying to figure out the correct frequency. At the moment the LEDs a flashing with an interval of about 1 second. Is it to fast?!

So long

The video is a gif so i takes some time to load completly

 

[BudaFett]

How much was your helmet kit? It looks pretty rough.

 

[DerHannibal]

It was about 135 € shipping included. As I mentioned, after reviewing it once again it’s not 100% accurate and needs some (or more) work. But as it’s my first helmet i‘m pretty happy with it.

 

[DerHannibal]

I cutted out the casted borden connector and replaced it with a 3D printed version by toolguy301 and as you can see i added some additional scratches to the cheeks... I cut my thumb yesterday and didn't have that control over my dremel... But it doesn't matter because it's in general a very raw cast and needs a lot of filling and sanding. Next step will be narrowing the visor area because the cutting for the visor is a little bit to wide. A bought 1m of 5mm x 5mm plasticprofile and I'll trim it down to the requiered thickness. Besides I'm setting up the curcuit for the LED of the range finder to fitt in. I guess it'll never be 100% screen accurate but i'm giving my best.

Cheers

 

[PaulH]

Looks like you've made a good start - I'm watching with interest. I've got the same helmet on order and should have mine in the coming days. I've ordered some parts too. I've got a borden connector coming from a U.S dental supplies company, and after failing on an Ebay auction for an MQ-1 I've ordered a resin cast of the board as well as printed dental file handles.

 

[DerHannibal]

Ok, now a little update. I didn't have much time during the last weeks because we built our house last year and this years project was the garden and there was a load of earth to be moved...

In the meantime I did some putty work. But everything is still raw and needs more sanding. I reduced the visor area to get it a little bit more screen accurated because the casted helmet is very symmetrically. I added putty and plastic profiles to the visor area and started sanding it down. I took the measurements from Rafals pdfs and transfered them with my calliper. I realized to late that it would've been much easier to do it before cutting out the visor but well... But in the end I'm pretty satisfied with the result. The visorarea needs more work especially in the inside that the visor fits again.

Next I will apply primer again and take care of the right ears and the key slots because they really need special treatment.

It's harder than I thought it would be. Work still in progress...

 

[PaulH]

Ok, now a little update. I didn't have much time during the last weeks because we built our house last year and this years project was the garden and there was a load of earth to be moved...

In the meantime I did some putty work. But everything is still raw and needs more sanding. I reduced the visor area to get it a little bit more screen accurated because the casted helmet is very symmetrically. I added putty and plastic profiles to the visor area and started sanding it down. I took the measurements from Rafals pdfs and transfered them with my calliper. I realized to late that it would've been much easier to do it before cutting out the visor but well... But in the end I'm pretty satisfied with the result. The visorarea needs more work especially in the inside that the visor fits again.

Next I will apply primer again and take care of the right ears and the key slots because they really need special treatment.

It's harder than I thought it would be. Work still in progress...

View attachment 168077

Looking great so far !

 

[DerHannibal]

Well after some time and more sanding, filling etc. I decided to stick with the result. I never used an airbrush system before and I don't even have one yet. But luckily it's christmas in two weeks and who knows what santa's bringing in his bag...
I'll use this helmet as a kind of test object. After installing the battery packs, fans, servos provisionally I realized that my head is a little bit to big for the helmet. Especially at the back of the helmet where the keyholes are located. This part is very thick and extends into the interior. My nose is literally pressed to the visor...
The next bucked will definitely be a FPH2 by Wastedfett... As we say in Germany: If you buy cheap, you'll buy twice...
In the meantime I made a list with all the colors and I'll continue with the electronics for the rangefinder and the fans.

 

[Big Game]

You did a great job making a rough helmet look a lot better! Keep at it

 

[Fett 4 Real]

Looks like someone recast a Target helmet...

 

[DerHannibal]

I don‘t think so because the part behind the earpieces (don‘t know how to describe it in english) looks different than my „original cast“. The cast has some unique dimensions anyway...

Thanks dir the kind words Big Game

 

[ainslieking]

I too bought a helmet from Galaticstore and I'd say it's a good enough helmet after some work! I closed the visor corners up by about 3mm, sanded the ends of the ear ends to a sharp edge, plus rebuilt the entire key slot panel. In fact did a lot of filling, cutting and sanding in various other areas. It's now nearly all painted too. It's a bit bigger than some of the castings out there, just as well as it fits my slightly odd shaped head - RAK

 

[ainslieking]

 

[DerHannibal]

You really have to put some effort in it. I've ordered some 3D printed parts by toolguy and RafalFett at shapeways. Range Finder, Borden Connector Circuit Board and the earcap for the right ear. As I can see it is missing at your helmet, too. After Christmas I'll start painting the bucket. Im excited how this will turn out because I've never used an airbrush before...

 

[ainslieking]

You really have to put some effort in it. I've ordered some 3D printed parts by toolguy and RafalFett at shapeways. Range Finder, Borden Connector Circuit Board and the earcap for the right ear. As I can see it is missing at your helmet, too. After Christmas I'll start painting the bucket. Im excited how this will turn out because I've never used an airbrush before...

Yes, the range cap is missing, I just had to route a pocket in it to accept the head of the bolt holding the antenna stalk. It's on it now and I've improved the paint job too. RAK

 

[hvacdon]

You've come along way with this helmet ! I would also guess that you have gained some skill while working on it...

 

[ainslieking]

Yes, certainly in the learning all about the helmet, the legacy and variants. I've been building models and puppets for many years and started collecting Star Wars helmets a few years ago. I got the Stormtrooper first (as a kit) and turned it into the Sandtrooper style (copied the one who stopped Luke and Ben) then bought the Darth Vader from a friend (it's the Master Replicas ROTS version - it's really heavy) then 3PO - still doing that one, then Fett. I've found another Fett helmet on Ebay and with what I've learned from TDH I'd guess it's a recast from a recast etc. but has the legacy bumps/distortions etc. so it's a bit more authentic, maybe? See what you think?
Boba Fett Mandalorian 1:1 Full Size Helmet Kit Fibreglass Prop (with Visor) | eBay

RAK

 

[DerHannibal]

Well I guess there are some answers in your own thread