Daft Punk Guy-Manuel Helmet Build

[Thermistor]

With many thanks to Volpin for such well-documented guidance, I'm starting a Guy-Man helmet build. I'll be posting updates regularly as I progress. This is part of a larger project, too, which I will reveal more about as it progresses, but for now I'm going to start by uploading what's been done before.

-Thermistor

 

[Thermistor]

I started with an MDF profile and base, which I glued to insulation foam using gorilla glue. The amount of expansion was unexpected as I'd never used the glue before, but I counter-weighted the top with a furnace door that was lying in the basement of my building...!

 

[Thermistor]

Next, I shaped the foam with hand saws, finishing the basic shape with a coping saw.

 

[Thermistor]

After I had a shape I liked, I coated the outside in wood glue to seal it against the solvents that are in bondo.

 

[Thermistor]

Next: Bondo, bondo, and more bondo. I also attempted some sanding just to gauge the difficulty of shaping it later.

 

[Thermistor]

Sanding, bondo, sanding, bondo, etc. It was at this point I came to believe it would never look like it was supposed to, though I guess every project passes through that phase at some point.

 

[Thermistor]

Using a laser level to determine the center line, which helps for measurement and symmetry.

 

[Thermistor]

More shaping, and it's starting to develop a bump on the right side I think.

 

[Alex]

You should of tried using pepakura, it would have saved you a lot of time and materials.
But your helmet still looks nice.

 

[Thermistor]

More measurement. Starting to look like a cylon.

 

[Thermistor]

Space made for earpiece, and a placeholder of sorts made from MDF.

 

[Thermistor]

Actual ear pieces made from MDF. I couldn't find a satisfactory router bit to do the beveled edges, so I sanded them with an angle grinder and an oscillating sander. It's still not perfect and needs a little more sanding to straighten out a few lines.

This update brings me up to the present, and I should be updating again on Tuesday. The build was started the second week of January, and I'm surprised this is going so fast!

 

[El Duderino]

This is coming along great, love Daft punk.

 

[pzfaust]

Looking great! I'm enjoying watching your progress. Plan on making a Guy helmet after completing my Thomas helmet. Good luck!

 

[Thermistor]

Ok, this doesn't really look like much but it's a proof of concept for the LED lighting that will be going inside the helmet. It's an arduino running a MAX7219 chip which can control up to 64 lights. The MAX7219 chips can be daisy-chained together to make many individually addressable rows.
The final version will be on one board (both ATMega328 and MAX7219), and, obviously, the LEDs will be blue!

 

[Thermistor]

More shaping - I consider that beautiful shadow that cuts down the face of the helmet a good sign that I'm smoothing this helmet correctly. After this, it's fine sanding and adding the borders of the visor portion.

 

[trooper1m]

Looking good, loving this thread

 

[Garuda]

Bondo rocks!!!!

 

[Thermistor]

Alex,
I'd considered pepakura, but I was more comfortable with sculpting. I don't even know if you can mold and cast from pepakura, and I wanted the helmet to be homogeneous in its make-up because I'm a purist like that.
Once I got a ryobi oscillating sander I could go through the bondo like butter and it really sped things up!

 

[Harmonic_Distortion]

Dude. Love this build. I wish I'd done it this way for a costume I did at last year's D*C. Inspiring.