Custom Captain America Helmet

[RuckaFett]

Hey!
So, like many others out there, I decided I wanted to make my own Captain America helmet. I actually did this back before Halloween, and have been wearing it to comic conventions for a while now, so it’s actually done. A little bit o history… I had previously purchased a Deluxe Disguise Captain America First Avenger costume. When it arrived, I was thoroughly disappointed with the entire costume, but specifically the mask! So with my small amount of knowledge, I decided that I wanted to make this helmet as a means to take that costume to the next level…
I began by finding research on what the helmet looked like, and even though it’s based on actual images, I still took creative liberties and made it my own. So at this point, let me say that this is NOT a 100% AUTHENTIC copy. I did many things the way I wanted to, and NOT how they appear in the photos of the actual helmet. With that, I then purchased the materials I felt I needed...

• Captain America half mask from Target (or where ever you can find them)
• Skateboard helmet (these typically have a smoother finish than bicycle helmets)
• Liquid Nails and Gorilla Glue (I used BOTH at different points to the bond, seal, and fill the two pieces together)
• Blue Dupli-Color Automotive Spray paint (as close a match to the blue of my costume as possible)
• White Primer Spray Paint (to even out the colors between the blue mask and black helmet)
• Testors ¼ oz bottle of brown brush paint (for leather accent pieces made into the mask/helmet mold)
• Testors ¼ oz bottle of Aluminum brush paint (for clips and etc on the chin strap)
• White 3M Opaque Vinyl (option for applied graphics “A” and wings)
• Blue Automotive Interior Panel Trim Striping (for the two ridge line that run front to back)
• The original mask from the Disguise Costume (Used as a liner inside helmet)
• Leather Strap and various leather pieces (ear flaps and chin strap)
• Brown shoe polish (to even out the leather colors and to cover any exposed glue)
• Sand paper, paint brushes, thinner, etc (as needed)

Once I had most everything I needed to start, I cut the rubber eye cushion out from the inside of the face mask. Cutting the support posts out was one of the more difficult portions of the project, but honestly the hardest part of the entire thing was getting the dense foam padding out of the freaking skateboard helmet! That one step nearly made me give up on the entire project… Just allow lots of time, and exercise lots of patience. I should say, I left the elastic strap attached to the face mask for quite a while, as it was helpful in holding the mask and helmet together while fitting and bonding. I estimated where I needed to cut the front lobe out of the skateboard helmet, and test fitted the mask over it. I did this a few times, only taking a slight bit off each time. This allowed me to "sneak up" on just the right size without going too far. Once I had everything like I wanted and all was prepped, spent countless hours bonding, gluing, and sanding until I had the finish looking as damn near perfect and smooth as I could. At that point, I sprayed the entire helmet primer white, then sanded it down again. Then I used Adobe Illustrator (a computer program) to draw and print graphics that I could use to stencil and masked off the “A” and wings. That way they could be reversed out of the blue top coat (and expose the white primer coat below). I applied an even coat of the automotive blue. Once dry, I removed the stencils to see that the blue had bled badly under and pretty much ruined the white graphics of the “A” and the wings. At this point, I decided to reprint them and stencil them onto white vinyl and cut them out. I basically made custom stickers of them. I then applied these over the previous white painted graphics. At this point, I painted the areas of the mask with the Testors brown that were molded to appears as leather.

To dress up the helmet dome and to also serve as a means of additional structural support, I applied the automotive trim as the ridges from front to back. I also inserted the original mask inside the helmet, making a cushioned liner inside. The strap of the original mask went under the jaw, which wasn’t preferred. So, I cut it off and created a new strap and chin cup out of actual leather. I attached the strap to the rivets (which I had the foresight NOT to remove) that were the attachments for the original nylon strap of the skateboard helmet. I also used the leather to customize the ear flaps of the liner mask, and to make them look more authentic (I alternated between the smooth and the rough sides of the leather when I created my pattern). FYI, I didn’t stitch any of the leather. I glued it all on the backsides, and along all of the edges to seal them. I then used the shoe polish to even out all the leather colors, and to hide any exposed adhesive. I masked off all of the graphics and leather work and applied a final top coat of the automotive blue spray.

I then prepped the chin cup for the strap, and sanded and painted the original strap clips with the Testors aluminum paint.

So here are some images, showing as close to step by step as possible...

REFERENCE MATERIAL


MASK & HELMET


MATERIALS (+/- As Listed Above)


PRIMER COAT (After Assembly)


BLUE TOP COAT w/ WHITE GRAPHICS


INSERTING ORIGINAL COSTUME MASK AS LINER


NEAR FINAL TEST FIT (Not Final Paint)


REVISED CHIN STRAP & HARDWARE TEST Fit w/
ADDEDE RIDGES & FINAL BLUE TOP COAT (Not Final Chin Cup)


FINAL FINISHED HELMET w/ COSTUMES

 

[Mystery]

Very clean nice looking helmet man :thumbsup

 

[RuckaFett]

Thanks! Not as difficult as I thought. Just took my sweet time

 

[capcicle86]

Looks great! What did you use to cut the helmet??

 

[capcicle86]

Also...what did you use to fill the air vent holes on the top and back of the helmet?

 

[Fly4v]

Fine looking helmet and it gives you some real protection.

 

[RuckaFett]

I just used a hand saw to cut it. Although a dremel would probably work fine too. I actually left the vent holes open to allow "venting". Also, I left them to be able to show it was made from scratch.

 

[capcicle86]

Very cool... What size helmet did you use?

 

[RuckaFett]

If I recall correctly, I believe it was a child-size skateboard helmet. Knowing I'd take the dense foam lining out of it, I thought that size would be most appropriate. Also, skateboard helmets have less "modeling" going on than most bicycle helmets.

 

[capcicle86]

Makes sense! Cool thanks!

 

[RuckaFett]

Thanks for asking! If you have any other questions, just let me know.

 

[Declanuk123]

you've inspired me to try my hand at my own cap helmet

I managed to get my hands on the half mask, and a small helmet....

Don't suppose you could maybe do a quick picture/video tutorial, on how you cut out and fitted the two pieces together

Thanks,

Dec

 

[RuckaFett]

GREAT!

I've actually been considering making another one at a point, so I'll see if I can do a video.

If I can state anything, it's be conservative when cutting it. Because you can always cut more, but you can't add more back. So, cut, fit, and cut again if necessary.