Tutorial: How to build a stormtrooper helmet for less than 10 GBP FINISHED see Pg9

Well, as my printer is Kacked, and I cant afford a new one right now, I have had to postpone the Pepakura build of a Stormtrooper Helmet that Fierfek so generously sent me. So.....What to do???

I decided to set myself the challenge of building my 'Bucket' anyway, but from general household crap, such as toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes, newspapers, and on a budget of up to £10 and not a penny more. I have also set myself one week to achieve the finished article, from start to finish and it must be as close to screen accurate as possible but wthin reason considering the budget and time constraints.

Finally, I should point out that this will not include the fiberglass casting and molding - just the the construction of a finished helmet which could be used as a display piece, or from which a mold could be taken.

If anyone thinks this might be of interest, or completely insane!!! lol! then please let me know and I will start posting the build up here.
Thanks everyone, in advance

Ok! Here's the list of ingredients that I will be using:
Three Toilet roll tubes
One Newspaper
Four Cereal Packets
One roll of Sellotape
One tube of Super glue / Crazy glue
One tube of PVA glue (to be diluted 50/50 with water)
5 sheets of white A4 paper
One extemely understanding wife!

So far, this list contains items that I have around the house already. My budget is £10, so I will be spending £6 of it on body filler/Bondo to coat out the finished product. That leaves me £4 for emergencies! lol!
And my time starts..........NOW!!!

First three images are the building of the dome. This involves 1 cereal box, lots of cutting, and loads of sellotape.







Next : 3 layers of papier mache, (I have mixed the PVA glue 50/50 with water, this will go off like rock).

Setting the dome aside to harden up/dry, I've started construction of the lower structure. As with the dome, I have verified the outline/shape by tracing around an original ANH helmet side and front picture, which I enlarged onscreen and saved to my pictures. The size I have used is 12" x 12" x 12". This is approximate, as accurate dimensions don't seem to exist, or are a closely guarded secret.





Dome placed upon the lower structure to verify that they fit together.



Here, I have started to fit the rear panels to the lower structure. I have also started to cut up and attach the toilet roll tubes to form the lower, front facial structure.





Here, I have tentatively cut and placed the eyes; these will require further adjustments as the build progresses, as they are fundamental to the look and overall appearance of the finished project.



As you can see, I have now inserted all three tubes, and the base for the vocoder. This enables the whole structure to become much more rigid and allows me to take points of reference regarding dimensions, etc.



Here, the front side panels are installed, which continues the contours from the rear of the helmet. This also will provide the surface on which the lower tubing will be mounted.



I have joined the dome to the lower structure with papier mache and have also started to form the front features; difficult to make out due to the multi-coloured paper. I have also started to attach the formers for the bell housing, which encircles the lower part of the helmet.



This front view, although blurry, shows that the front is now taking shape. As you can see, I have cut the frown and the whole build is starting to take shape.



Bell housing has been coated in papier mache.



Rear view after coating bell housing in papier mache.



I have decided at this stage to coat the whole helmet in white paper; the reasons for this are three-fold: firstly, this affords much better definition when taking photos, and secondly, it will allow me to avoid purchasing paint, and thirdly, will show up any imperfections prior to body filler application.





Build time so far is 2 days, so that leaves me 5 days to complete this project. I hope you have enjoyed this first installment and I welcome any comments or encouragement you may have. To all Star Wars officionados, I will reiterate that this is a budget project in an EXTREMELY short time frame!!! What I mean by this, is that if the eyes or the dome, or whatever, are not exact, please bear that in mind.
Next installment coming soon......

Hi All! Thank you all again for the support. I am beavering away, gluing bits on here and there and it is slowly coming together! Your interest and supprt REALLY do spur me on, so keep it coming and I will hopefully post today's progress pics on here this evening

Hi All! Well, here are the pictures of today's progress!
I started by cutting and fitting the half discs for the lower side tubes.



I then started to form the two "eyelids" that are situated either side of the vocoder.



In this one, you can see the new technique I have started using to try and give better support to the Paper, which can sag a little in places. It seems to work well.



I then made good over the top with papier mache to form the right shapes.



This next pic shows the bloomin' nightmare of trying to sculpt the front Jowls that house the pods and mic tips. Cardboard doesn't like bending in more than one direction at a time!



I finally achieved the right shape by building a lattice of thin strips of card, as I did on the lower side tubes. This worked really well and I will post some pics of how it looks, when I do the other side tomorrow. The papier mache is a little uneven, but I will go over it in white paper before I bondo it.



This view from the front shows what an absolute PIG of a shape this is to recreate, but I am happy with the overall result. The Pod where the mic tip goes is possibly a little too round, but I guess that's the price you pay when sculpting with bog roll tubes! I can live with it...



Last pic for today.....the helmet looks really tall in this one but I think it must be the white causing an optical illusion as I have rechecked my measurements and they are all checking out fine!



I hope you enjoyed today's installment and I'll be back tomorrow the another update! Thanks again for all the wonderful support Guys!