Iron Man Helmets, a real "poke in the eye"!

Spidey7 · Mar 25, 2011

I thought the title might get some attention.

I've looked all around for info on how to do the eyes correctly on an Iron Man helmet. I, (and many others, I'm sure), have a nice lighted "eye" kit, but simply don't know how to make it look "right". I've noticed that simply putting the lit square up to the eye won't be enough. The real-deal helmet has the lit eye panel recessed and almost "layered". It looks as if there are multiple layers of ablative armor and other stuff sandwiched between the outside of the face-plate and the final luminescent "eye". It's a NEAT look, and one that I would really like to do to my helmet, (a Finhead piece, REALLY nice!). I just can't seem to find ANY sort of info about it.

I've seen some pictures of other people's finished work where they have done a great job of replicating this effect. This is the thread to share your helpful skills, hints, tricks of the trade, etc. on getting the PERFECT Iron Man eyes on a helmet. It's also a good place to ask questions. If this thread is helpful/busy enough, I might even want to turn it into a "general purpose" Iron Man helmet thread where people can share various paint colors/shades and other things that they've tried.

Between ALL of the colors, skills, and experiments that we've all tried, between EVERYONE'S hard work, we can come up with the perfect replica!

If you don't post your tips for that reason, than for God's sake, PLEASE do it just to help out a poor Iron Man n00b1e!

Correct Look for Eyes

Incorrect Look for Eyes

Finhead · Mar 25, 2011

Here's a better pic for you. Really it's just 2 layers of I'd say 1-1.5mm material. I was just going to use styreen or foamies to do this on a bust (non wearable) since I think it would be almost imposable to see out of once you scale the eye opening down that far. That's why I don't cast that kind of thing into my lids.

Spidey7 · Mar 25, 2011

FINNY! You're like LIGHTNING!

I really like the picture that you put up. Your incredible helmet that I'm going to be finishing is just for a bust, so I don't need to worry about seeing out of it, although you bring up a good point. I was just worried about getting a good look on a bust. For someone that wants to recreate the look AND see out of it, it's going to be WAY harder! Ugh!

With all of the incredible rocket scientists/artists on this site, surely someone out there has done it though.

Spidey7 · Mar 25, 2011

In this picture, it's possible to see JUST how recessed that luminescent eye is really set! :eek

How do you set it so deep and what do you use to pad the space in between the face-plate and the "eye" and still keep it looking good?

Is there any sort of clear "glass" over the eye? Like a goggle? Or is the lit part just exposed to the wind? You would think from a practical standpoint that much like the headlight on a car, the "sensor eye" would be separated from the outside atmosphere by a layer of clear glass or something. i don't see any glass in any of the pictures though.

BTW, Finny, is that pic that you posted a picture of one of your builds? If not, who did it and where did you get the picture from?

Finhead · Mar 25, 2011

As far as I have ever seen there is no outside glass. The pic is a section of the Hero suit, as far I know Stan's shop built it.

chuckyAPP · Mar 25, 2011

Thanks for posting this Spidey. Was going nuts looking for the same thing.

Spidey7 · Mar 25, 2011

Finny! You MAGNIFICENT Sonofabitch!!!, that's amazing! Please tell me you have more pics! Do you have anything from the side that gives a better idea of how deep the "socket" is? Or how the "inner lining" angles up to the "eye"? Any other stuff you might have to share would be MUCH appreciated!

@ ChuckyBaby: Sure thing, Broseph! My hope is that little by little we can start to amass a "database" here of colors, techniques, tricks of the trade, etc. that will help us all do justice to these amazing helmets that Finny and others are sharing with us. Feel free to ask questions or post your own discoveries. Let's get this party STARTED!

jrhaake · Mar 25, 2011

It looks to me as if everyone references the Sideshow bust for the eyes. I happen to have an IM 1 movie poster that uses the eye as the focal point. In that, the lit section looks like an insert that is contoured much like the rest of the eye. I am attaching a couple photos to illustrate what I mean (sorry for quality...taken with the built in camera on my macbook). It looks as if it was built for the wearer to see through the spaces underneath and around the insert. This is the way I am approaching my helmet build..

Spidey7 · Mar 25, 2011

Yeah, you're right. That pic does seem to have a curved "eye" that contours to the face-plate. Of course, that's probably an artist's rendition, painting, computer graphic, etc. as opposed to being an actual photo of a costume helmet. Not that you couldn't have just as awesome looking a helmet if you went that route.

Interestingly enough, it almost seems to have that "glass lens" in it that we were talking about before. I'm pretty sure that it's an "imagined" art-piece, but it looks nice!

STEALTH · Mar 25, 2011

That look for the eyes is extremely overrated for cosplay. Great for Display Helmets though.

Leslee has pulled it off on his helmet but it is only a tiny slit under the light.

I think it doesn't take away from the helmet at all if you don't go that route.

The majority of the time in the movie the eyes were so bright you don't see that detail at all anyways. Just My opinion.

Everyone has their own taste

Spidey7 · Mar 25, 2011

Yeah, I'm sure you're right. If I were using it for cos-play I would probably do it differently. Since it's for a display bust, it would be fun just to figure out how to replicate the look.

I don't mean to sound "sacrilege" or offend anybody, but who's Leslee? I really only know people by their screen-names. Do you have any pics of his helmet work? Do you think he would post in this thread and give us some pointers?

Also.......... How about paint shades? Has anyone found a color or method that they think looks really good? What about ways to give the gold face-plate that "brushed" metal look? Ideas?....... Anyone?....... Bueller?........

STEALTH · Mar 25, 2011

Oh sorry man lol

Screen name: Masked Rider.

Spidey7 · Mar 26, 2011

Oh, of course! "Masked Rider"! He does great stuff too. I wonder if he'd tell us anything about how he does the eyes? I guess I'll have to P.M. him.

Thanks for the suggestion, Stealth.

Bimmer · Mar 26, 2011

perhaps a little something like this..

Personally i love the look. I'm a stickler for little details, especially ones that are often overlooked and add that much more depth and authenticity to a piece. As a display this type of eye looks great, but if you're going to be wearing the helmet, not so much.

Bimmer · Mar 26, 2011

ooop on the double post

MCL34N · Mar 26, 2011

I remember thinking about this back when I was making my helmet, and I ended up deciding that the sleek curve-matching light looks better as well, so i implemented it-

Its hard to curve the reflective surface and still have the light go where you want it, but it does the trick for sure. If you're close enough to the curve of your faceplate, the dark slit looks like the inner dark layer between the faceplate and light, while offering a little visibility.

jrhaake · Mar 26, 2011

As for color shades, I don't have specific shades, but I have a guy at a detailing shop helping me out (he personally painted the few hundred Harley gas tanks at the Harley Museum). Given the depth that the movie suit offers, he suggests a base coat of the gold you will use, and then cherry the rest, which is a tinted transparent top coat. This avoids the overall cartoonish look you get with a solid red.

godproject · Mar 26, 2011

I'm thinking of using the lcd screen from two mp3 players with the back-lighting removed so it's a transparent screen that I can actually put hud display animations on and play with the rest of the mp3 player embedded in the mask. Then making the recessed lining out of an I-bar of rubber sealed around it.

Eric0101 · Mar 26, 2011

Making the depth that deep you wont probably unable to fit you head in I think.

Spidey7 · Mar 27, 2011

There are a lot of good ideas floating around in here for both the people that want to cos-play the helmets and those that want to use them as static busts. BIMMER!, those files you posted are AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing that with us! Is that your file work? It's really nice.

So I've noticed that if you want to talk "cannon", that there really do seem to be two completely different configurations to the eyes. There is what I'll call the "Sideshow" configuration, which is the deeply recessed trapezoidal eyes with the "layering". Then there is the "Poster" configuration, which is MUCH closer to the surface of the face-plate, more curved and rounded then trapezoidal, and seems to have a layer of "glass" over it.

I guess that both could be considered accurate. Finny's picture of the screen-used prop from Winston Studios shows the "Sideshow" eye, but the one-sheet theater bill shows the "Poster" eye. My guess is that we will have two groups that favor one or the other and good ideas on how to accomplish both of them.

"Sideshow" Eye

"Poster" Eye

Iron Man Helmets, a real "poke in the eye"!

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