Iron Man Mk VII Helmet Pepakura build

Damnation · May 7, 2013

*EDIT* Keeping this first post updated with latest progress pics as I go.

iron-man-mk-vii-helmet-pepakura-build-imag0438.jpg-226576d1378093280

iron-man-mk-vii-helmet-pepakura-build-imag0439.jpg-226577d1378093286

Hi, I'm a total complete and utter newbie to prop/costume building, but still I really wanted an Iron man suit.which seemed out of reach but i wanted at least the helmet. After lots of research online about the best/cheapest/most accurate ways to build the suit, I came to pep building, which I've never done before, and while looking for tips, notes and the likes, inevitably registered to this great looking website. So considering my total lack of experience, please entertain a newbie's few build questiony questions.
(I am using 250 gsm paper , building Iron Man Mk7 pepkura helmet using Darkside501st's 1.05 scaled pepakura files (Great work and many thanks there))

any help would be greatly appreciated , and thanks

Damnation · May 19, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

Scratch all that. with no responses (

) i looked around on every thread i could find for help and went ahead with the work. remade helm from scratch, pepped, resined, and now has 1 layer of fiberglass.

Few progress pics:

Finished pep look. I noticed I built the helmet with a closed lips look which Darkside501st's pep files do not have. fixed at a later stage

First layer of resin

Inside layer of resin, cutout of eyeholes and separated the lips that had glued together (still together but no longer stuck)

1st layer of fiberglass

a "best quality i can provide shot of the inside fibreglass work in the messy areas

readjusted faceplate shape and position so lip separation now follows the pep files' look and the upper lip edges now are aligne with lower lip, instead of being too curved inwards.

now new question:

I only have 1 layer of fibreglass on the inside of this thing and it feels quite solid but i still want to reinforce some of the edges/faceplates/bits with a second layer and make it really solid before moving on to the body filler.

Do I:
-sand the messy and not always stuck-to-paper fibreglass layer than proceed to apply another newer neater one, then move on to bondo?
-just plonk a second layer of fibreglass over the top first one, and fill in any bubbles or holes or cracks in between with extra resin?

Also, since access inside for a clean work is quite complicated as a single piece, is this the time where I start to cut out the separate plates/jaw/back to work neater inside or will it still risk warping even with the toughness of 1 layer of fibreglass inside and I should still wait until i've started bondo-ing (or whatever equivalent I can find here in aus, any suggestions?)?

Cheers and thanks

chazodude · May 19, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

Not that I've built a helmet yet, I'm still cutting out pep between exams, but generally the consensus is that you split the helmet AFTER doing some bonding, so that the pieces then fit together well. Get a flexible shaft for a dremel to make it easier and take your time cutting the faceplate off. Then repair any damage with some more bondo work.

You other question about resin/Fibreglass, I'd just reinforce the bit you think need it with a new layer, making sure to get the fibreglass filling any air bubbles by sticking it in with spray glue before you resin. Air holes are bad!

(correct me if I'm wrong better people!)

Hoep this helped a little bit and good luck, I'm interested to see how you do

PurdueMadLou · May 19, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

Hey damnation-

I'd recommend some more fiberglass and some bondo before during surgery. The fact that it is still connected gives it more strength - when it is separated you'll lose some of that.. You'll also want to cut/sand out the bubble before adding more glass. I found that if I filled in the small corners (basically where the paper makes a sharp bend) with bondo before glass, I limited the bubbles tremendously.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Damnation · May 20, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

thanks for the tips guys. So far i've resolved that I need:
-lots of sandpaper of many different grits
-very sturdy gloves
-acquire body filler bondo equivalent
-aquire rotary power tool, dremel if I can somehow afford *EDIT: done. not dremel, but has a flexishaft and lots of good dremel attachments.)

I'm gonna put the gloves on for protection while i heavily sand away any air bubbles or cracks between the glass and paper and then lay another cleaner layer (if I can manage, working with the closed 1-piece helmet doesnt give much wiggle room for a neat finish).
Next up Bondo?

will post pictures of any progress if i can manage to take some nice enough that differences are visible.

Damnation · May 24, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

Update:
Haven't had good weather lately but i finally got around to doing a bit. Bought a new rotary tool, its a generic brand, but came with lots of good attachments and the flexi shaft

, and lots of cutting discs, fiberglass reinforced.

So I used a little scrapey attachemnt thing and sanded out the bubbles and bulges in my first layer of fiberglass, and have now proceeded to apply the second layer to all over the inside of the helmet, which is now as solid as I can expect to ever need, and gave the whole thing a light sanding on the outside with 200 grit paper to remove any stray FG strands lying around the surface and get some of resin out.

Not much apparent change, but hey, low quality phone camera

So now, I've seen a few threads and tutorial tips that suggest i start marking out and indenting the fine detail lines on sides of helmet and next to the eyes straight into the helmet before applying bodyfiller, so That I can feel them when working with the filler, and not lose them once I apply a layer of it over the for-now visible paper. Is that safe, or will it weaken the structure of the helmet too much? And if it's fine and recommended to do, should I go with a sanding attachment or cutting disk and be extremely careful not to go through (which ill do in any case)

Also. ears. Anyone with suggestions to obtain best results with when to attach to main helmet/method of applying to helmet/ways to make them fit snug and look best inside helmet?

Cheers again guys

Damnation · May 29, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

Bit of progress update:
Aquired body filler and started first layer application and did a bit of sanding.

For this I actually didn't use automotive body filelr because it is hard to find where I am, so I went for "selley's Tradie's Bog" body filler and so far I can say that it is doing the job fairly good. It is a little bit of a pain to get a smooth even application, in fact I dont. but I do get an even, thin application which is what I'm really going for. the stuff cures and is ready for sanding in 30 minutes dries rock hard, doesn't crack (yet! but i have strained it a bit with the sanding already ).
Anyways, progress pics and if anyone has any idea how to make it look best or tips during the sanding or ways to improve my work, I'd be glad to hear it. pretty excited to work on it more tomorrow.

Damnation · Jun 1, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

more update, more filler work more sanding, more questions.

Helmet now looks like View attachment 192190

View attachment 192191

I've been trying to work out a way to get those lines going along the sides and back of the skull looking even and smooth. after 5 tries of applying and removing filler, this is the best I've achieved for now going through the semi-cured filler with a knife blade and then running folded sandpaper through the crack. I'm quite happy with the thickness and evenness of the lines now, I still need to clean them up and get rid of the few kinks and jumps that don't look smooth.

Fixed a misalignement in the "eyebrows" where the left eyebrow was way further forward than the right one and gave the faceplate a derpy look.
smoothed a little more on the upper area of the faceplate and finishing putting filler on almost the full helmet surface.

Now I want to finish these helmet lines and make them look clean, smooth and even, and once that is done, sculpting the rings around the ears so that they are perfectly circular ( any ideas how a how to? ) and then..... mega thin filler layers and fine grit sanding all over till the helmet is all smooth everywhere, and ready to be cut into.

I'd still like any ideas as to how to place in the screwmarks and such on the faceplate, which you can see drawn in pen on the helmet, and any ideas for where to take measurements to make sure that I cute the faceplate along the right lines/where they should be under the filler.

thanks for looking

Damnation · Jun 3, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

Another update post:
finished with sculpting and shaping. Did the earpod concentric rings today and I am happy with them now.
Only thing remaining are the earpods themselves. for which I want to make a thins disc out of my bodyfiller and sand and sculpt to shape because I am not happy with the way I manage shape that pep piece. want it to be a perfect cirlcle, with even ridges all round.

Now to apply VERY thin layers of filler and sand down until it's smooth all over. and primer checking.

View attachment 192948 View attachment 192949
View attachment 192950 View attachment 192951

I'd love any feedback.
In particular if anyone has any suggestions for engraving screwhead indents into the sides/top of the faceplate, because I do not have that good a steady hand that I can just carve out some nice even looking ones.
Cheers

Damnation · Jun 3, 2013

Re: Iron Man markVII helmet Pep build questions.

First Very visible difference in a while, a first coat of primer to look for imperfections and give it a prettier look for pictures Will start filling and smoothing as of now.

Damnation · Jun 4, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

Dremel work today. Bits are cut out

now to reshape all those new edges so they connect juuuust right. and more smoothing out all over.and probably more strengthening inside each piece as well.

Djstorm100 · Jun 5, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

what bit did you use on the dremel to cut the helmet? Looks great! I'm about to apply resin to mine

Damnation · Jun 5, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

thanks!

I used a fiberglass reinforced cutting wheel, attached straight into the dremel. no flexi-shaft. and for the area around the vent on top of the helmet, I used a very thin metal one with a smaller diameter to, so i get a cleaner cut around curves and dont damage any of the little details by using a thick cutting wheel.

Madosheet · Jun 30, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

Any updates on your build Damnation ? Interested to see what stage you're at now~
Been subbed to this thread for a while and about to start resin and body filler my own, this thread I'm sure will come in handy

Your helmet looks great so far, hope mine turns out as well!

Damnation · Jul 1, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

Yeah, there are updates, thanks for asking. I'd almost given up on this forum thinking im just wasting my time making my own thread with no interest. so thanks for the morale boot

Truth, I have slowed down on my work, morale is currently very low for this stuff due to bothering life events. moving forward ever so slowly.
I dont have any pictures as of yet, but short description of progress as of now.

- recovered the surface of every piece with a new layer of filler, attempting to fix some mistakes in the shaping and finishing of the first few layers, which has proved very time consuming and not much of an improvement, that now needs re-working. overall another setback.
-with redone surface, finished faceplate shape and sanding. too unskilled to carve out the screwheads marks on the top and sides of the faceplate, I got a few flat headed screws and have sawn off the actual screw bit. am planning to drill small places in the filler/fibreglass on the faceplate and glue in those screwheads. (probably will mean a tiny bit more bodyfiller work)
-smoothed out and attempted to shape a lip and a nice fit with main helmet on the back-of-the-head piece thats supposed to be removable for fitting on head. ( its smooth but its definitely not shaped right, so needs more work.
-smoothing on the overall headpiece and jaw piece, WIP not complete.

I will try to get new pictures tomorrow or soon anyway, and thanks for your interest

Madosheet · Jul 1, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

Ahh, I understand how you feel sometimes with the lack of responses.
I would of posted on this thread earlier but I too as a noob was wondering the same questions that you posted and didn't have the answers xD

But be sure to stick around and update, i'm sure lots of people like me would appreciate it, and I'm sure the responses will come flooding in nearer completion

I had the same idea as you regarding cutting some screw heads off and putting it onto the faceplate rather than just etching it in.
Looking forward to some pics!

Damnation · Jul 3, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

A little late, but as promised, Progress

Sanding, and a coat of primer( white this time) for looks and visibility and stuff. side screwheads inserted into helmet ( i know they're not the flat line screwheads but i couldnt find better). so yeh. faceplate almost complete and same for detachable back piece. trying to find a way to make it hold without magnets though.. thinking velcro or claps.

frenzyboi · Jul 3, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

Damnation said:
A little late, but as promised, Progress Sanding, and a coat of primer( white this time) for looks and visibility and stuff. side screwheads inserted into helmet ( i know they're not the flat line screwheads but i couldnt find better). so yeh. faceplate almost complete and same for detachable back piece. trying to find a way to make it hold without magnets though.. thinking velcro or claps.

I look at your pep image and realized that you weren't specified. Nothing bad/wrong with that. Just curious, but did you use the foam pep or the normal pep?

iron-man-mk-vii-helmet-paper-pep-wip-imag0273.jpg-181033d1367913529

Damnation · Jul 3, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

It's all paper files, paper pepped.

thanks for lookin at my stuff, hope you like it.

Madosheet · Jul 3, 2013

Re: Iron Man Mk VII Helmet paper pep WIP

Looks great Damnation!
that's some pretty clean lines especially for a first go
If I can get at least a faceplate to look like yours I'll be happy enough x]

How difficult was it to clean up the edges of the faceplate and helmet after dremel-ing them apart? In my head it just sounds impossible.
Any tips or secrets for that bit?
Keep it up anyway!

Iron Man Mk VII Helmet Pepakura build

New Member

Attachments

New Member

New Member

Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

New Member

Member

New Member

Active Member

Similar threads