Star Wars RFT Pepakura Helmet

dkaniel

Hello all, long time lurker and occasional poster and now my first thread. Another member on this forum FIERFEK has been doing a lot of Star Wars Pep Files and in exchange for letting my have one of his files, I promised I would do a thread on my build. As the title says I am doing a build on his Rebel Fleet Trooper Helmet.

What is going to help me in this build is that I already have a RFT Helmet I purchased as a kit from TK560 years ago. So I will be using my helmet as a guide in checking the size of the various sections of the pep helmet. I don't know how movie accurate TK560's helmet is, but when I wore the helmet with the uniform to a costume party years ago people immediately knew who I was supposed to be.

Here are some pictures of my helmet that I will be using as my reference.
I will post more info on how the build is going so far, but right know I am going to step away so I can get some breakfast!

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dkaniel

The first part I assembled was the rear swoop section of the helmet. Overall the piece looks good but it is too small. The picture doesn't show the proper depth but the size of the pep swoop measured with a cloth tape measure is approximately 11 inches long. The length of my swoop is 15 1/2 inches long.

I double checked that the dimension on the pep file were correct based on measurements that FIERFEK gave in another post on a RAYMUS ANTILLES Costume Build.

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dkaniel

I did some measurements on my RFT Helmet to see how they compare to the dimension of the Pep File and noticed that the Width and Height on the Pep helmet are almost identical. The height and width on my Helmet differ by at least 2 inches with the helmet being wider than it is taller. I have the 3D Obj. File for the Helmet but really don't know how to adjust it with a 3D program.
Instead I have played around with dimensions in Pep Designer to try and get the dimension of the helmet closer to the real thing. The pep helmet will still be too narrow but increased depth should help make the swoop look larger.

I need to rearrange the parts layout in the pep file for the larger size and hope to at least build the swoop again and post what the results are later today.

Fierfek

Good work so far. I will see about adjusting the model for easier assembly and scaling.

dkaniel

I was able to printout and assemble the larger swoop assembly and compared to my RFT Helmet the size is almost the same. The first picture shows the smaller assembly next to the larger assembly. So far it is looking pretty good. This will be my last post for at least 7 days as work is going to be busy for me this week. I'll post when I can later.

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dkaniel

Finally was able to get back and do some more work. I am assembling the main helmet section and hope to have some pictures posted on my progress by this weekend at the latest.

dkaniel

I finally started assembling the main helmet. I thought that the helmet would be the basic version of the NAVY Talker Helmet with the visor and rear swoop added over. I was surprised to find that the helmet is made up of only the visor section and back section as the pictures show.

The dimensions on the Visor Section are almost identical to the visor assembly on my helmet. The difference is maybe 1/2 inch on the bottom.

The rough dimensions on the helmet assembly are;
7 1/2 inches- height
10 inches- wide
11 inches- depth

The height and width are 2 inches too narrow compared to my RFT Helmet.

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dkaniel

Another problem with the visor and back helmet section is that in the 3d and PDO files the two sections are never attached to each other. The visor just floats above the helmet. This means the two units will not attach without a lot of modifying. I tried to attach the visor to the helmet section using some tape to get and idea of how it would look but the pieces were not coming even close in some areas. There were some large gaps and I couldn't get the two sections to mate up.

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dkaniel

Last but not least I wanted to see how the Comm Box measures up to my comm box on my helmet. The box is too small and should be more of rectangular object. The dimensions on my helmet comm box are;
3 inches- Height
2 1/2 inches- Width
1 inches- Depth

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dkaniel

Overall I would say that the Pep File is a good base for the RFT Helmet, but some areas of the helmet need to be corrected to bring the overall dimensions of the pep helmet closer to the real thing?

Fierfek

First, excellent review and analysis of the pep, this will really help with future development. Thanks for taking the time to build this and provide comparative details. I will see what I can do to address these issues and will endeavour to find solutions. I think some of these problems can still be corrected with some scratch building and a bit of ingenuity. Also, do you think the scale could be adjusted to compensate for the 2 inches that are too short?

dkaniel

I tried playing with the dimensions on the Helmet in Pep Designer and could never get it too match my RFT Helmet Dimensions. The best I was able to get was having the rear swoop section the same length as mine but still too narrow. Also I did not completely unfold the file, I only concentrated on the exterior sections that make the main parts of the helmet. The interior sections are a good idea but may not be used if someone wanted to fiberglass and then bondo the helmet.
If you want the latest unfolded version that I have then let me know (PM or email). And if you do make corrections and need another beta builder...well them I'm your man

Timbog1

Great work so far! Looking forward to building one of these soon!

dkaniel

Just got a copy of Version 2 of the RFT Helmet 3d File. I still need to unfold and print it out, but hope to post soon on how the newer version compares to my RFT Helmet.

dkaniel

Got the helmet unfolded and already like some of the changes FIERFEK incorporated into this latest version. The Base Helmet, Front Visor assembly and Rear Swoop Section are all seperate sections. The picture of Vesrion 2 of the file doesn't look quite right compared to my helmet. The Base Helmet Section has a bowl shape and doesn't follow the outline of the Navy Talker Helmet on the rim section. I won't know until I build the helmet section if the differences are minor or would require a major rework.

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dkaniel

Decided to start the build with the Comm Box Unit. Overall it is a vast improvement over the first version. It is maybe 1/8th of an inch wider than the comm box from my Rebel Helmet. Next up I will build the Rear Scoop Section and I hope to do that and post pictures by maybe Sunday.

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dkaniel

I just finished the rear swoop section and overall it is the right length and width compared to my helmet. There are some small differences in the details when you look at the pictures. The pep section is sitting on top of my helmet.
So far I would say that both the Comm Box Unit and Rear Swoop Section are good enough as a base for a RFT Helmet. Next up will be the visor assembly.

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dkaniel

I finished the visor assembly and was surprised to see that it was larger than the visor from my helmet. Using a cloth tape measure I was able to measure the width across the bottom of the visor and the height in the middle of the visor assembly. My helmet visor unit measures Width 11 3/4 inches and Height 7 1/4 inches. The Pep Visor measures Width 16 inches and Height 8 3/4 inches. Placing the Pep Visor over my helmet there is no gap between the front and back sections as compared to the gap that it has now.

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dkaniel

I looked at some screen captures from Star Wars ANH that show the Rebel Trooper and realised that the gap between the front and back pieces is almost no gap. The overall size of the Pep Visor more closely matches what is being worn by the troopers in the movie. A version of the Helmet that is offered for sale by the site Studio Creations also shows there helmet with almost no gap. Next up will be the main helmet assembly.

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AndiB

Wow.

So cool to see this helmet being built. I had seen another, but it seemed to be a bit off to me. And yours is the ONLY one I have seen to include the visor. Cant wait to see the finished product.

dkaniel

I'm glad to see that there is an interest in this Helmet. You almost begin to wonder if anyone cares what you are doing.

Ardrich Keybus

I rarely see anyone build this helmet, you're doing a heck of a job!

Fierfek

Once again your assessment and feedback proves invaluable to the development of an accurate pep file of the RFT helmet. I didn't realize that the visor assembly would differ that much in width from your helmet. Keep up the good work, I hope my model will be an overall improvement from the first.

dkaniel

Thank you, you are too kind!

dkaniel

This second version of the helmet is a vast improvement over the first helmet. You are the one who should be thanked for taking the time to do this helmet and then making some major improvements to make it more accurate!