1st attempt at my own Rocketeer Helmet

[whoami11]

I had thought about strapping a giant rocket to the cat's back, but the gold paint and fin is pure genius!

I really like Bondo and like the feel of building this from scratch. But I would like to expand my skills. Fortunately I live in an area surrounded by antique stores and goodwill departments. Hopefully I'll be able to find a mannequin head around here. I totally agree with Dualedge. During my original build, I could see potential problems going the "tube" method. It was going to be a difficult task getting this thing to take the right shape without adding so much bondo that the helmet is twice or three times the size I wanted.

Going head hunting today. I'll update when I have made some progress.

-Ryan

 

[The Rock-a-who]

You ever hear of how two problems can create their own solution? How about spray paint the cat gold and stick a fin on it's noggin'. Not sure it'd go over well with your wife or the cat and it may have some... er... accuracy issues... but it would theoretically solve two problems at once.

The Rock-CAT-eer? :lol

 

[whoami11]

I think what gets me the most is that even if my helmet was a miserable failure, at least I would have made it and probably learned alot along the way.

I digress, I saw a couple of mannequin helmets online but I just as soon not wait. I'll give it a go today and if nothing comes up, I'll surrender to the Amazon.com gods.

Still hate that cat.

 

[BAK55]

Poor puttytat. I'll bet it ran like hell with it's eyes as big as saucers when the helmet crashed. Then calmed down enough to look at you as if to say, "Well,...what?"

'Cause that's what they do.

 

[whoami11]

So after going to numerous places to get a mannequin helmet with no luck, I found this one on amazon... $10

This should do the trick. Anyone have recommendations this? Bondo or fiberglass? Never worked with fiberglass before but would give it a shot. I love bondo because I can sand it and it's very lightweight. Don't have a clue where to start with fiberglass. Gonna do a search on the rpf for fiberglass tutorials.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

The Rock-CAT-eer? :lol

how about the puppiteer

 

[geordietrooper]

how about the puppiteer

lol very cute

 

[whoami11]

Puppiteer...awesomeness. Could you send him my way, I've got a Nazi cat that needs a serious @$$ whoopin'.

 

[Nyne]

man sorry to hear bout your scratch build getting destroyed.. looking forward to seeing a complete scratch build..

 

[whoami11]

Alright back to it. Just got my mannequin helmet today. Still slightly hesitating when it comes to the method in which I plan to build this thing. I was going to use styrene and bondo like I had in my original build. However, I have seen some posts from other thats used pepakura or paper mache followed by fiberglass or bondo. I should have my decision today. BTW, the pepakura seems like a great option, but since I am currently without a printer, I'll probably have to do this by hand.
​

 

[BAK55]

This is just my opinion, but the Pepakura of the helmet I have seen seems to have the eyes swapped around, meaning the right eye is on the left side and the left one is on the right. It kind gives the helmet a worried about something look /l l\ rather than the bold, confident look l\ /l . I hope this makes any sense.

 

[whoami11]

This is just my opinion, but the Pepakura of the helmet I have seen seems to have the eyes swapped around, meaning the right eye is on the left side and the left one is on the right. It kind gives the helmet a worried about something look /l l\ rather than the bold, confident look l\ /l . I hope this makes any sense.

I know exactly what you mean. I've seen a couple of Pepakura helmets made and was a little concerned with the overall dimensions...and yes, the eyes!

 

[whoami11]

Ok, back to work. I started with taking some basic measurements of my head and making adjustments to my mannequin head so I could have an accurate base.

After that, I used some chicken wire to make of rough shape of the helmet. Once completed, I used some white duct tape and laid it over the entire exterior of the helmet (prepping in for fiberglass cloth).

After the fiberglass cloth was measured, cut and placed on the exterior and interior of the helmet; I applied fiberglass resin on the inside first, followed by resin on the exterior.

As rough as it looks, it is FAR better than my bondo helmet. A great lesson learned and hopefully a good lesson for any future scratch builders.

Now this helmet is a "rough draft" since I have never worked with fiberglass before. As I learn the technique and through trial and error, I hope to have my "final draft" helmet started in the next couple days.

As always, tips and criticism is ALWAYS appreciated!

-Ryan