Daft Punk Interstella Helmet WIP

BlindSquirrel · Oct 4, 2010

Hey all,

I was commissioned to build a helmet from the Daft Punk animated film "interstella". It is visible for about 3 seconds total so don't blink or you'll miss it! No lights on this one but it will feature a movable visor.

I started with a youth sized batting helmet that fits the client. I cut off the brim and a section of the back to make way for the new geometry.

I then added insulation foam to build up the new areas as well as round the overall shape.

Next comes the first of many Bondo coats to start refining the shape.

Side view

The crest and ear pieces will go on once I have the main helmet "baby's butt" smooth. The visor will have to be built once I pull a resin copy.

I welcome your comments!

Aphius · Oct 4, 2010

Awesome, I loved Interstella 5555, can't wait to see it finished. :cool

giz · Oct 4, 2010

love to see your new projects!

Cosmic Ash · Oct 4, 2010

can you shed some light on using insulating foam? what are techniques in using it. amd i love daft punk and wanna see this finished tomorrow morning hahaha

juno · Oct 4, 2010

I saw your twitpics on this! Sweetness.

(BTW, I miss your old blog format. :love)

BlindSquirrel · Oct 4, 2010

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Sleeping Lionheart said:
can you shed some light on using insulating foam? what are techniques in using it. amd i love daft punk and wanna see this finished tomorrow morning hahaha

I'm afraid I'm pretty new to foam so I don't have much advice. I started by cutting blue foam pieces to fit the areas that I needed to extend but I lost patience and just hosed it down with expanding foam. The next day I carved it down with a drywall saw and sanded it smooth. I'd say grab some and play with it.

juno said:
I saw your twitpics on this! Sweetness.

(BTW, I miss your old blog format. :love)

I'm still doing a blog but I just wait until a project is done before I post. The Twitter is maybe a more accurate version of the build as it will show all the dead ends and screw-ups.

I'm finishing some other projects this week so it'll probably be this weekend before I have new shots.

BlindSquirrel · Oct 9, 2010

Here's what I was able to get accomplished today. I got to the point where it was too difficult to reach some spots so I popped it off the bust. A few coats of Bondo and some edge refining got me here.

After comparing this shot to the plans, I need to correct the curve on the back "duck-tail" and make the cheek pieces a bit pointier.

The front view needs some mass added to the upper curve on each side to make the dome of the helmet rounder. the pencil line at the edge defines how thick the final helmet will be.

More Bondo work and sanding tomorrow! I'm going to end up looking like a Fiddler Crab after this project.

BlindSquirrel · Oct 10, 2010

Today's progress before I ran out of Bondo:

I corrected the dome contour and fixed the curve on the back "duck-tail".

I cut a template out of posterboard for the crest...

...and then cut a master out of 3/4" MDF.

I also cut a master for the ear cups from MDF and sanded it to shape.

precious · Oct 11, 2010

Looks nice so far! I'm excited to see the finished helmet, I love Interstella 5555.

BlindSquirrel · Oct 18, 2010

This weekend's progress:

I beveled and smoothed the helmet crest.

I trimmed it out for a quick test fit. Is it just me or does every helmet look better with a crest?

More shaping to remove bumps and fill holes.

I have a few more corrections to make but it's close!

Aphius · Oct 18, 2010

Nice! Lookin' smooth! :cool

BlindSquirrel said:
This weekend's progress:
I trimmed it out for a quick test fit. Is it just me or does every helmet look better with a crest?

It's not just you! :lol
That looks awesome~

brashsculptor · Oct 19, 2010

I agree!!
Every helmet looks better with a crest. It gives the helmet some...swagger.
Brash

BlindSquirrel · Oct 25, 2010

Here's the latest:

I made the master for the ear cups from MDF and heat formed styrene for the visor pivot plate. Since they're symmetrical (Thank God!), I cast a copy for each side in resin.

It was a happy day when I got to epoxy on the ear cups and crest. It's these moments where you actually feel like you're making progress.

I couldn't find styrene half-round strips wide enough for the trim, so I made my own. I drilled a hole the width I needed in a scrap of steel then cut the steel halfway through the hole. Then it was just a matter of scraping trips of styrene into half round.

The piping glued on the edges. The tight curves had to be done in sections and then puttied up and sanded smooth.

And here we are at the sanding, cleanup stage for the base helmet waiting for my silicone to arrive.

The plan is to slush cast a copy and sculpt the visor over it. The sculpt will in turn be molded and cast into a vacuum forming buck.

jimjim · Oct 29, 2010

Looking very good and can't wait to see how this progresses. Thanks for the step by step photos. They really help and encourage peeps like me. Your blog is a great read and very inspiring.

Skor · Oct 29, 2010

That's an amazing helm.

Nice work. I love just how smooth you've gotten it. It'll look amazing finished.

giz · Nov 3, 2010

One of my favorite current builds - the finish is amazing.

Any insight into how you managed such a tight, clean fit between the crest/helmet and earpad/helmet? Or am I looking at really well done cleanup?

BlindSquirrel · Nov 3, 2010

For the crest, I knew that the bottom would need to be somewhat concave to fit the top of the dome. I Dremel sanded a bit out, test fit and removed material where needed. Once I got to where it was only 1/16" gap, I glued it on and Bondo'ed the gap.

It was more or less the same procedure for the ear cups, although it was a grade A pain to get them even as well as angled correctly.

As of last night, the helmet got a print coat of silicone and I'll be brushing on layers all week. Maybe (fingers crossed), I can pull a copy this weekend!

phase pistol · Nov 3, 2010

:thumbsup

Helmet looks rather "Gatchaman" to me actually....

Aphius · Nov 3, 2010

Looks great! I love how smooth you got it to look. :cool

BlindSquirrel · Nov 11, 2010

I finished casting my first copy of the helmet and I'm really happy with the results! I cast black tinted resin in the inside so the outside has some color variation but the surface is actually glass smooth!

The master looks dented to hell but those are just last minute patches where the sanding removed the red primer.

I'll use this copy on my plaster head to sculpt the visor. The casting from that will be the vacuum forming buck for the final visor.

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