Daft Punk Interstella Helmet WIP

Good luck mate!

IGNORANCE said:

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Any updates?

He has like three projects running at once, but he did attempt to tint the visor recently, you can always follow his work at his blogspot and twitter.

Last night I got to put on my Mad Scientist hat and ran some experiments on tinting PETG. Big thanks up front to Rabid Irish for the advice on this process!

Because of the size of the visor, I had to buy a 15 Qt pot so it could be completely immersed. I cut up some pieces of scrap PETG and bought some dark green RIT dye.



I got the water to 159ºF and dumped one pack of dye in the pot. I wasn't sure how much dye would be required to get the color right so I figured it was easier to add more than take it out. I dipped each scrap in the water, slowly increasing the amount of time and testing the color. Eventually I increased the dye to 3 packs and exposed the plastic for three five-minute sessions (dipping in cold water between to lock in the color).



The final visor is in front (predrilled for the trim), the one in back is a spare.



A quick test fit of the trim on the tinted visor. I'm beyond relieved that this actually worked! Visibility is really good too!



I'm almost finished painting the helmet so there should be some pics of that by week's end as well!

Told ya it would work! Glad to see how well it turned out for you as well. I find the visibility to be pretty good with this method as well. you don't get those blurry waves and fish eyes like the spray tint or brush on style colored clear coats.

thanks for posting the process as well. This is a great method and it has yet to be documented very well. eventually I will do a nice write up on it, but even with your outline it can help others.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks a lot for posting those pics! I've read about this technique but never seen any photos besides the final products.

Is this technique only appropriate for semi translucent projects? I've seen some Halo helmets in the past that looks like they tried to go for complete darkness from the viewers perspective, but you could still sorta see the wearer's face. That and the visors looked brown, not black, but for all I know that was intentional.

I don't know how dark you can eventually go. Of the three 5-minute baths that I gave my visors, there was about a 20-30% increase in the color each time. The amount of dye you use definitely makes a difference as well.

Another brilliant craftsman at work. Very nicely done .

OK, first two colors done! I have touch ups to do as well as the yellow marks on the cheek pieces (I forgot to mask those off). I've masked off the areas for the red paint and should get that done tomorrow. So close to done, I can taste it!

it makes me wanna shout "WANT!"
great work!

wicked bucket buddy.

That is amazing, here's hoping you do a run

I don't post here very much, i don't like Daft Punk... but man, what a fantastic job you did here... it's quite inspiring to be honest.

M.

I really like how the yellow turned out there. I don't know why it just looks great. :] Also your blog has helped me a lot!

Well, I am finally done and ready to ship this baby off to the client! Woo + Hoo!

I painted the inside flat black and hot glued some of the original batting helmet padding back into it. It fits nicely now!

Also you can see the magnets in the crest (the trench at the center) that hold up the visor.



The visor attached.



and in the down position. You can see the green tint of the visor better in this one.



back view



This helmet was deceptively complicated…much harder than I ever thought. But I guess I learned a thing or two along the way.

I'll be doing a full write-up of the build on my blog in the next few days.

A++++

Thanks! The green looks pretty rich over a white background but also being transparent, it can't fight any dark color behind it.

I hope the client likes it. I got some snotty attitude this weekend over how long it's taken. If I get any more, I'll offer him his money back and sell it someone more appreciative.

BlindSquirrel said:

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Thanks! The green looks pretty rich over a white background but also being transparent, it can't fight any dark color behind it.

I hope the client likes it. I got some snotty attitude this weekend over how long it's taken. If I get any more, I'll offer him his money back and sell it someone more appreciative.

Umm... That is horrible.

There are plenty of people who would have cranked out a shoddy POS for him.

I coulda duct taped a visor to a batters helmet for him in like a day!

Seriously. If he gives you more crap. He doesn't deserve it.

This thing is seriously a work of art buddy. Sorry you are not being respected by your client.

WOAH, even better than imagined! Sucks the client is impatient, hopefully he will change his attitude when he sees how awesome it is.

I used a cutting wheel on the Dremel to the rough cut, belt sander where I could for rough sanding for shape and then smoothed it out with fine grit sand paper by hand.