Green Ranger Helmet Sculpt

Exanimus · Jul 6, 2014

Hello everyone. Very new to the forums but love what I'm seeing. The makers here are incredible. I am building a Green Ranger costume from scratch and would like to know what people think of my helmet sculpt thus far? I have learned during this process that clay is not the greatest material to be prefabricating helmets in. Oh well, live and learn. Anyway, am I close?

Adding finished photos to first post:

kialna · Jul 7, 2014

Looks pretty good so far to me. I can't see any inaccuracies on top of my head but It's definitely better than most sculpts I've seen.

Exanimus · Jul 7, 2014

Sweet, thank you!

Dessa · Jul 7, 2014

Which version of the helmet are you doing? The original MMPR version had solid green on the top, but the version that was seen in Dino Thunder episode 20, as well as will be seen in Super Megaforce, uses a silver trim on the nose of the Dragon on top.

Also, not on the subject of the helmet, but what will you be doing for your Dragon Dagger? I've seen someone with a really good Dragon Dagger they made, but there's also the [expensive] Legacy Dragon Dagger that Bandai of America put out, which plays the songs that the Dragon Dagger does in the show.

*denies buying one and just getting it in the mail today*

kialna · Jul 8, 2014

You're talking about buzz's dagger right? King ranger is also working on one too

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exanimus · Jul 8, 2014

I will definitely be going with the solid green. And yes, I bought my legacy dagger months ago, haha. I really wanted to make every piece of this costume myself, but the dagger is beyond my current skill level, I think, and that's not the only thing; made a practice body suit last night. It... Did not go well.

firion1234 · Jul 8, 2014

This looks terrific! Your post is of particular interest to me because I too am currently doing a ranger sculpt out of clay and likewise I am finding clay is not ideal. Your sculpt is so clean. I would love to trade tips with you (if I even have any to offer, I'm a neophyte when it comes to sculpture). My thread is here if you're interested. Keep up the excellent work, I will be watching this thread closely!

ArkRaider · Jul 12, 2014

Looking great! I can't wait to see the final product!

Exanimus · Jul 14, 2014

This place rules! Everyone is so supportive. Molded this weekend... It was difficult... I made so, so many trips to the art store, seriously. Helmet almost fell over while I was sealing the sculpture. I caught it, but there was a gouge. Silicone started setting up before I finished the base coat, so I really hope I didn't wreck the mold. Will find out tonight, I suppose. Added tin cure registration keys over platinum cure silicone, which come to find out inhibits the cure of the platinum, so I had to pull those off and now there are soft spots. I tell ya... The plasti paste or whatever it's called also sets up really fast and if you try to trowel it while it's in its semi-cured state, it will pull away from the silicone... This stuff leaves no margin for error, though it is also really good stuff and does its job. I just need more practice. Also a first attempt at the suit. Not super happy with the diamonds, and so I'm going to make a new top half and applique them, I guess? I am not a sewing guy. Never done it before, but am learning. It helps to have a seamstress friend to ask for advice.

There's a long way to go, but Comic Con is a mere two weeks away!

The Ronin · Jul 14, 2014

Looking good! I'm crossing my fingers that your mold comes out good.

Exanimus · Jul 16, 2014

The mold turned out great! A couple air bubbles and some space between the chin and the mold jacket, but I needed to fix that area anyway. Tried roto casting for the first time with smooth cast 300. I think I used too much and turned it too slowly, so there was a huge chunk of plastic that gathered in the top. My second attempt went much better, (though many gloves were shredded). Gonna de-mold tonight. Feels good after all this time and energy to have it kind of working out as I'd hoped!

ArkRaider · Jul 16, 2014

Great work man! A lot of this is trial and error while you're learning. I'd even suggest trying your hand at laying some fiberglass if you don't like the results of the rotocast. Interested to see how it comes out!

Edit:
If you do end up wanting to try fiberglass I found these videos by Matt Munson to be very helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmi-faf42NQ&list=UUsXrY2yQz9k5euvFVZeV_MA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gKu3xWxaw&list=UUsXrY2yQz9k5euvFVZeV_MA

Just make sure you get the right gel coat for tin or platinum based silicone.

Exanimus · Jul 16, 2014

ArkRaider said:
Great work man! A lot of this is trial and error while you're learning. I'd even suggest trying your hand at laying some fiberglass if you don't like the results of the rotocast. Interested to see how it comes out!

Edit:
If you do end up wanting to try fiberglass I found these videos by Matt Munson to be very helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmi-faf42NQ&list=UUsXrY2yQz9k5euvFVZeV_MA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gKu3xWxaw&list=UUsXrY2yQz9k5euvFVZeV_MA

Just make sure you get the right gel coat for tin or platinum based silicone.

Awesome, thank you! I will try fiberglass one day. In fact, I might clean up this helmet and get it really nice now that it's in a hard form and then do another mold off that. And if that's the way I go, I believe I will try a matrix mold with fiberglass. The stuff just scares me a little, especially being that I live in an apartment and don't necessarily want to add fiberglass particles to all the other crap I've subjected the place to.

ArkRaider · Jul 16, 2014

The West Systems and BJB stuff Matt recommends in his videos is pretty low viscosity. With ventilation you would be ok. Just.do your sanding outside with a respirator.

Exanimus · Jul 17, 2014

Second ever roto cast was a success! Incredible to pop it out of the mold and feel that heft, almost like it's real. I'm so proud of this, and yet have a lot of finishing to do. There are plenty of dents and symmetry issues. I mentioned before being afraid about my silicone application, but needn't have worried - it really picks up the detail! I can see every rake mark, every bump and even the tiny fingerprints I accidentally left in the crystal clear when the sculpt almost fell. Amazing.

The Ronin · Jul 17, 2014

I remember reading one of Thorssoli's blog posts about making a lifecast of a model's arms. The detail was so good that you could actually see the faint outline of her tattoo scarring in the pull. This stuff will pick up EVERY detail and flaw. Thankfully we have sandpapaer!

ArkRaider · Jul 18, 2014

Fantastic work man! Like Ronin said, the silicone will pick up every little detail. It just takes a little elbow grease, some fine grit sandpaper, and little Bondo spot putty.

I can't wait to see you finish this up! If you do a run I'd be interested in one!

Devilblades · Jul 18, 2014

Question, what do you use to sculpt? Is that clay, and if so, what kind?

Exanimus · Jul 18, 2014

ArkRaider said:
Fantastic work man! Like Ronin said, the silicone will pick up every little detail. It just takes a little elbow grease, some fine grit sandpaper, and little Bondo spot putty. I can't wait to see you finish this up! If you do a run I'd be interested in one!

Dude, thank you so much! I also can't wait to see it finished. Now that I can easily look at it from all angles, I have noticed that my dragon nose is off from the original and there are a lot of other differences that make it not quite screen accurate, but still cool!

The Ronin said:
I remember reading one of Thorssoli's blog posts about making a lifecast of a model's arms. The detail was so good that you could actually see the faint outline of her tattoo scarring in the pull. This stuff will pick up EVERY detail and flaw. Thankfully we have sandpapaer!

Wow! Now I want to mold someone's tattoo.

Exanimus · Jul 18, 2014

Devilblades said:
Question, what do you use to sculpt? Is that clay, and if so, what kind?

Yes sir, that is clay. Chavant NSP Medium. It has its advantages and disadvantages. It is somewhat soft, so hard to get really clean sharp lines and angles, but at the same time, it's a bit easier to put in sculptural details and then change them if they aren't to your liking. I think mostly in the industry and even in the maker community, things like hard foam are the norm to sculpt helmets in. This guy Volpin makes a bunch of really nice helmets with foam and resins. I can't say I recommend using clay, I think it took me 2 months just to build up the right basic head shape. Then again, that might have just been me, I'm sure a more skilled sculptor could do it much faster. Also, if you're gonna use clay, DO NOT use a tiny little Styrofoam wig head like I did. I had to use so much extra clay. Either use a big foam head, a life-cast of yours or someone of similar size's head, or build a big armature with wire and tin foil and stuff. Also I've heard that Monster Clay is easier to work with than the Chavant, if a little more expensive. Sorry, that was a long-winded reply.

Green Ranger Helmet Sculpt

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