Daft Punk Guy-Manuel Helmet Build

[Thermistor]

Shiny.

More sanding and priming. I think those little scratches and imperfections are going to drive me crazy.

I also didn't like the ear pieces so I remade them today. I added about 1/8" to the width this time around, and I'm much happier with the full-on perspective. I now have spot putty too so that should speed up closing these little holes.

You can see the old and new ear pieces above. The newer one is definitely better.

Next, I need to figure out how to get the detail inside the ear pieces right. I used a dremel with a steel ruler as a guide and was pretty happy with the results, so I think I'm going to use that with a drill press.

I also started a Quorra helmet which I'm documenting here.

 

[Volpin]

looks clean, love the shape of the chin so far

 

[Thermistor]

ok, so the finish is a little spotty because I'm still building it, bla bla bla, but...it's starting to look like it should!

I worked a little on finishing the ear piece:

and I'm totally excited about how this is coming out. I am thinking of laminating layers of cardboard to build up around the visor area. I tried to look for some plastic with a sharp edge that I could use to form the edges of the visor and other parts, but I just couldn't get something that would form properly. I tried using 1/4" plexiglass square rods, but when I boiled them in water they were still too hard, and when I used a blowtorch I lost the nice right angled edge I wanted.

So it was either all apoxie or laminated sheets, and I think I am going with the sheets. The laminated parts will then be coated in apoxie and sanded to shape.

I also discovered that Reynolds Advanced Materials is located right near me, so I drove out and made an investment in the smooth-on company in the form of it's many products. I have to restrain the urge to mold until the model is perfect, though, because I know how much fun molding is going to be...!

 

[trooper1m]

This is really taking shape , great build , following it avidly

 

[KaanE]

Try to use Forex (also known as Foam or Sintra). It's a plastic PVC derivate, easy to cut and, with a little bit of heat, it'll take the shape you want.

 

[Thermistor]

More a conceptual update...I'm remaking the ear pieces (again) because I found a way to do it even more precisely. I feel like by the time I finish a section I know how to do it, so doing it again allows me to complete it to the degree of perfectionism I prefer.

I put a hole saw in a drill press and used it to get the best possible curve on the inside of the ear piece, and connected with someone who has a CNC machine to do the detail.

I'm also experimenting with how to raise the area around the visor, etc. I think I'm looking at using cut plastic to create a raised "fence" perpendicular to the surface of the helmet. I'll carefully cut it to the proper curves, then attach it from one side using apoxie. I'll then use the fence to control the application of the bondo to only the areas where it is raised. Then, I'll mark the fence to the proper height and sand both it and the bondo down. The result SHOULD be a raised area that is uniformly tall and has a clean, right angled edge.

Of course, I'm going to build a small test piece and try out this whole technique first. I originally was going to build up the area with dowels and cover that with apoxie, but I REALLY want to avoid sanding right angles if at all possible, and I think the fence approach will help that.

My other worry is how to get a precise groove in the bondo for the rear parts of the helmet. I tried making a dremel jig for the details on the ear and that went to hell pretty fast, so I'm a little lost on how to do it, especially since I need a precise groove that turns a right angle. I may even try imprinting the groove into the bondo while it is still curing, but then I'd need to find a way to release whatever I used from the bondo. Hmm...?

 

[Thermistor]

Test 1 Complete: I can create a clean, well anchored "fence" out of thin PET and apoxie. Test 2 is how that creation weathers bondo, test three is priming and sanding the test part.
Still lost on creating precision grooves, though.

 

[Darth Serberus]

Now that is ALOT of sanding and filling!
Looking beautiful already.

 

[Thermistor]

yeah, I'm probably going into too much detail here about the minutiae here, but I found that if I shape the PET, then use it to shape the apoxie edge and add bondo, I can remove the PET all together and have a perfect edge. Because it's clear, I can even see if there are air bubbles along the seam. Any minute imperfections are covered by the primer.

I think I've been stalled because I couldn't tell which direction to go next.

Now I just need sheets of thin PET to cut up as I've been using water bottles for scrap. Off to Peterson's Plastics!

 

[Thermistor]

After buying an acre of PETG for the dome today, I started building up the fencing to apply the bondo:

I also spent some time on Sketchup and am going to prototype this through a connection at a Hackerspace I joined:

 

[SUPERprops]

Amazing work man!

 

[Thermistor]

Using PET to mold the edges of the bondo was about 88% awesome. I'll post pics this weekend.

 

[BenStreeper]

Looks great very similar to how Volpin built his and his was amazing, so I'm excited to see how yours turns out.

 

[Thermistor]

So using the PET as a fence/guide really worked well. It's not complete, but here are some progress shots:

Adding material is easy, but the tricky part, and the part I'm most proud of from this stage, is that the groove in the back plate is razor-straight. The curvature will be straightened, the contours will be corrected, the holes will be filled, but the lines and straight borders over a curved surface are the real victory.

The challenge was removing the PET once the bondo had hardened. The first one was removed too early and took bondo with it, and the final ones were really set in place!

I also made prototypes of the circuit details through a friend at the hackerspace:

They may need to be made out of something harder but the look is perfect, and he really helped me do an excellent job.

Many thanks to Dan "MeisterTek" Meyer for the CNC help using a PhlatPrinter at:
http://www.phlatboyz.com
http://www.phlatforum.com

 

[Thermistor]

Also, I think I've made these ear pieces 9 times now. That's 18 of them. But I FINALLY have two sets of candidates for the final helmet.

Not that I'm a perfectionist.

As a side note, I keep asking myself why I'm doing this (mostly because other people are). I start out with something heady about the desire to enter a cyber space as well as bring the cyber into the real. Then I remember all the fun I had as a kid building models and watching all the little technically complex parts come together. Then I realize that sometimes the process is what's important. Then I think of this TED talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/adam_savage_s_obsessions.html

 

[Volpin]

Looking brilliant man, keep it up!

 

[Thermistor]

This is one of those "looks worse before it looks better" kind of posts, which is why I think I've been not photographing this stage, but I think another day of bondo and sanding and I'll be able to have the rough form complete. Here is some process stuff. The PET fencing I used was shaped using a wooden buck. I put the plastic in the oven to soften it on the buck. It was also important to learn how the plastic responds so I can do some awesome vacuforming later.

All the labels on the PET are so I know which barriers go where. Their purpose is to keep out bondo, and to possibly mask the casts when I paint later.

 

[mandoman]

That's looking amazing! Epic job you're doing.

 

[Zackf1337]

Your build is going awesome man, can't wait for more updates. It's a great source of inspiration.

I am wondering, though: what are the dimensions of your original MDF cutouts and how did you come up with those numbers?

Any and all help is much appreciated.

 

[Thermistor]

There was an interesting process for sizing it (which I hope works as I haven't tried it on yet!)

I photographed my head with a ruler held below it using a long lens to minimize distortion. I imported it into indesign and blew up the photo to exact dimensions using the ruler as reference.

I then imported the sketches and photos I was using and overlaid them to the exact dimensions I wanted (I really eyeballed how large I wanted the helmet relative to my head, leaving room for LEDs). I printed a front view, side view, and bottom view at exact dimensions on tabloid size paper, and that's been my guide. The plans are pixelated because of the resolution of the photos, but it's plenty of information to get some good measurements and proportions.

I'd been using sculptor's calipers to measure on the plans and be sure it was in fact larger than my head (I lost them recently, but they're somewhere in my apartment).

I can post some exact dimensions if you'd like, though I recommend making sure the MDF is SMALLER than you'd like the final helmet. I sanded through the bondo and hit MDF a few times and I had to drill out and refill the holes, which made for extra work.