ROTJ - Leia Boushh Helmet Progress

I had a post up about my Boushh helmet, but I think it dropped off.

Here's some earlier progress photos:


I made the mistake of using Epoxy to put the helmet together originally (2004), but I've since reinforced the helmet with Weld-on, styrene glue. (Note the styrene used is the same style used for the old ST communicators. The texture can be seen inside the helmet.)


Notice the "H" parts (white) in the photo below, which are replacing the scratch built "H" parts:


Moving right a long over the weekend, I machined the small "tubes" for the sides of the helmet:



These went on the left side of the helmet. I made another set for the otherside.

These were made out of 1/4" diameter aluminum round stock and took about 2 hours to do.





More photos here:

http://astromechbuilder.com/mechload...stumes/boushh/

Thanks for the compliments.

It's got to be one of the most intricate helmets I've ever built. It's definitely more difficult to put together than a TK helmet. Now that my R2 is mostly done, I can move forward with this project and finally put it to rest. Maybe we'll unveil the entire costume at the next Toys For Tots event. We'll see what happens.

steveo said:

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Looking good...makes me want to really get off my butt and finish mine. Did you make the back ear pieces that hold the leather strap or are those found items?

Those parts actually came with the kit. Most of it appears to be scratch built and include what appears to be a large bump.

I did get some casts (I think from Jamey) which appear to be from a model kit, but they're of just the disk section.

In an attempt to keep it accurate, I replaced the model part on the "ear" cast with an accurate cast (Farrari Engine). I also swapped out the "H" parts (Hellicoptor Engine).

Next up, I'll start masking sections off and begin the difficult process of weathering.

The entire helmet is now assembled, painted and ready for weathering.

To simulate "battle damage", I'm going to use the old technique of applying 100% silicone to areas where the aluminum needs to show through. These are large areas, so the silicone will come in handy. I've just brushed it on. Once applied, I've taken a tooth pick to simulate scratches. This only took about an hour to do.





I've also taped off some lines, which appear to be aluminum in the reference photos. I used some auto detailing tape (1/8") which was left over from my R5-D4 dome project.

Thanks for the WIP pics, I have always liked this helmet, but it so rarely is for sale that it tends to cost a bit much for me.
I wish one of these days someone (in either a novel or comic) would write a story about the character. I thought that the costume worked to get in Jabba's place because Boushh, at some point, was a real bounty hunter and that Leia used that costume for that very reason. If that was true then it could be a cool backstory - that would just add to the costume.