Animatronic Horus helmet- here we go again!

[Honus]

So I made one of these before but it was a cheapie low budget foam job- now it's time to do it right.

This build is a special project I'm doing for a friend. I didn't make the helmet- I'm just making it move. I will say that the helmet that was sent to me is one of the most gorgeous movie prop replicas I've ever seen. It's an absolutely stunning piece and it's dead on accurate. Once I'm done the helmet will be shipped back to the owner for proper finish work and painting. Although it is to be a display piece it is wearable just like the movie helmets.

The helmet will have moving head, light up eyes (dimmable), opening eye iris and properly moving fans. Everything will be radio control just like the original movie helmets. I may write up a complete tutorial when I'm done but there will for sure be a short video series about the construction. It's a really exciting project and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work on it.

Now for some pics! Here's the head casting-




Forward head mechanism mounting plate-

 

[BrundelFly]

Oh this is gonna be GOOOOD.

;-)

 

[Honus]

Yes sir! It's a pretty complex bugger. There's not really that much room in the head when you figure out the space needed for the mechanics and three servos that need to go in there. Four more servos go in the helmet part but that's a lot roomier.

I'm going to modify the radio too in order to make it easier to control multiple functions at the same time.

 

[spoudastis]

Oh man, I can't wait to see your progress, even that first piece is beautifully engineered! Subscribed.

 

[Honus]

Got the servo mount for the iris servos done-

 

[Fawbish]

looking forward to seeing this progress, love it when props have functional sides to them!

 

[Honus]

Would have got more done yesterday but I ran out of cutting fluid. I didn't want to risk tapping holes and destroying my end mills...

I'll be working on the iris cups tonight.

 

[Honus]

Here's the eye iris I'm using. They measure 37mm OD x 5mm thick- perfect size! Full open to full close requires rotating the pin lever 90 degrees. Because they are identical, in order to operate them properly the right and left servos need to rotate in opposite directions. The way I've designed it the pin lever is fixed and the iris body rotates- it's housed in a machined cup that rotates in the bearing mount. Pics of that soon...

 

[andy19422]

VERY COOL:cool

 

[Honus]

Made one of the iris cups. I machined this test piece from Delrin to check clearances- it can be a bit deeper so I'll put a slight bevel on the inside which will make the eyes light up a bit better. There is a relief cut in the side of the cup for the iris lever pin. the lever pin will be held in a fixed position so when the cup rotates the iris will open and close.

 

[Pseudonym]

Ohhhhhhhhhh schnip schnap! This is going to make your friend's showpiece all the more sweet!

 

[BrundelFly]

I think I just wet myself.

 

[Apollo]

This is gonna be epic! :thumbsup

 

[BrundelFly]

The EYES make the BIRD!

 

[Honus]

More work done on the Horus head. Machined new eye cups from Aluminum. Each iris is held in place with three 6-32 set screws. Still need to attach the head pivot mechanism, iris locating brackets and eye LEDs. It’s a perfect fit in the head casting… no room to spare!

 

[Sean]

This Is going to be beyond amazing. any chance of video when your done.:thumbsup

 

[B Wo]

COOL! Where do you even find apertures like that?! Awesome, awesome, awesome. Can't wait to see this completed.

 

[xl97]

COOL! Where do you even find apertures like that?! Awesome, awesome, awesome. Can't wait to see this completed.

^^ ditto! ^^

I mess with electronicsa all the time for my props/projects.... these pre-made iris/apertures are great! (and should save tie vs making them by hand)

 

[Honus]

Of course there will be video when it's finished! Heck, there will be video even before it's finished. I think it's cool to see how animatronic mechanisms move.

The iris apertures are available from China via eBay but you can find them in the U.S, from companies like OptoSigma and Thorlabs. The trick is finding one with the correct dimensions and we just lucked out with an eBay find as they were a lot less expensive than sourcing stateside.

 

[Liquid Designs]

I second that! A video would be amazing!