Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build - FINAL p.20!

Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Looks great! That's nice of them to willingly sand it down and try again, too.

I know they were chroming a Mr.Pinski helmet at the same time as yours, but I think I see a third Thomas in the reflection of your helmet? I wonder if they are sick of Daft Punk lids yet.

Yep, there's a Pinski Guy and Thomas there now, the other Thomas belongs to David Reimer of 2 Story Props. I think his name on the RPF is Torsoboy. He's also got a TRON style Guy lid there as well.

David's buckets had some issues with chroming; apparently there were very tin pinholes in the gelcoat that caused some stipling around the ears of his Thomas. I believe Pinski's buckets turned out fairly well.

For reference, David's helmets and mine were polyester resin, Pinski's were urethane resin. CnC has gotten the process down pretty well at this point without any more deformation issues.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Hey man,
Is the idea of a gel coat to ensure an even finish? What do you use for that coat? I think it would help my Guy-Man as I'm using up a ton of primer right now.
-Nick
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Ah! A couple bumps and nodules on the ear pieces. Don't suppose you can spot fill chrome can you?

-Arcko
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Is the idea of a gel coat to ensure an even finish? What do you use for that coat? I think it would help my Guy-Man as I'm using up a ton of primer right now.

Its used mostly to capture detail in the mold surface. I didn't use a gelcoat in the proper sense, just brushed in some polyester resin with cabosil first before adding cloth layers.

Spent some time today working on a solution to a visor issue I've been having. After the PET on my test helmet had sat in place for the past couple of weeks, small cracks started to show up in the surface and inside the plastic itself. I guess this was stress caused by bending a straight piece of this thickness into a curved position like this.

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So I decided to make a vacuumform buck out of my visor template and some MDF. Never tried pulling PET plastic on my machine before, so this was kind of a crap shoot.

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Turned out pretty well though for a first (and only) attempt. I only had one sheet to experiment with.

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Problem is, the deep draw on this piece caused some inconsistencies in the material thickness - at the front the visor was nearly its stock thickness, but on the sides it was about 1/4 of that. This made for a fairly flimsy piece. Also, the former wastes a ton of material to just get one pull.

I decided to try a different approach. A few ratchet straps stretched across the plastic on top of the buck seemed to work pretty well. After bending into shape, I hit this piece with a heat gun to get the plastic to keep the bend.

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Only, it took the form a little too well. Next time, I'll have to put a piece of styrene over the PET so it doesn't pick up the strap pattern; I had a sheet of paper on this one, but that wasn't substantial enough. That said, the visor has consistent thickness and fits the curve of the helmet face perfectly.

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Ran out of PET at this point, so hopefully I'll pull some working visors when the new material shows up later this week. Chromed helmet is leaving Creations n Chrome on Monday, so I should have it in hand and start assembly by late next week.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

really cant wait to see this finished man :D
especially for the LEDs.is it will be able to do what the original Bangalters helmet do?you know,like showing words,patterns
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

I may have a solution for you visor troubles!

If you intend to use RIT dye to tint your visor, you can tint and shape at the same time. Essentially cut out your flat visor. then use a pan or pot that will hold your flat visor in it. I use a Pyrex pan and carefully balance it on my oven top's largest burner. Fill with water. Slowly heat to about 140deg F, then add four packs of black RIT dye. If you play with the temperature a bit you will find that about 150deg will allow you to shape the petg without completely destroying the integrity of the petg. I say 140 because you want to progressively increase the temperature till you get it malleable enough.

Personally I tint the visor first, then when I am happy with the depth of color (6 soaks, 5mins each, last soak 10mins, cold water bath in between each dye bath) I will increase the temperature, and first using a scrap bit of petg test how soft it becomes. Then when I feel it's just right I will submerge the visor for about 1-2mins then carefully remove it and lay it on your visor buck using hand pressure to conform it to shape. It may take a few hot dips to get your desired shape.

If I had a visor buck that I could put into a hot bath I would mostly likely strap my prev. tinted visor to the buck then submerge it in the hot bath followed by cold water soaks. I think this way it would save time and give you the same results.

Here are a few pictures of my results using this process.


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Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Interesting, thanks for the tips Rabid! I'll try out a few attempts. I've played around with some PET and tint, I think I've got a good heat/dye mixture planned out.

Just got these shots back from the guys at Creations n Chrome - they did a few more coats of clear and got the ears done too. Should have it in hand on Friday!

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Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

I see you're just as crazy about accurate details as I am! :lol (I'm working on a jacket and a book for an upcoming convention on Friday, and I've gotten most of the details down on the jacket. I gotta start on the book tomorrow, though...)

That being said, this is pretty cool! :cool I'm not a molder, so I could probably never do this. :confused It's so close to the original, that no one would suspect it wasn't originally made by Daft Punk themselves! :D
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

That looks sooooo cool:D They did a great paint job, it really sets off an amazing sculpt:)
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Wowzers! I have to put my shades on to view that! They did a really beautiful job!
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Wicked! I can't wait until you get it back so we can see more progress. :p
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

i have been following your progress and it is truly amazing how well you are making every teensy detail positively spot on
while being new to the forum i have much experience in electronics and more specifically led lighting and sequencing
so i wish to offer my services to any of you who want help making or improving the already amazing helmets here with lights and leds
just pop me a message
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

good luck with all your designs they're really cool. i hope DP's producer wants nothing more than to do business with you because it'd be a cryin shame if they wanna sue u.
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

Making the final push for Dragon*Con!

Might not update while this is happening too much, as I've been mostly working my ass off, but things on the helmet are going rapidly. Chrome is looking great and I've begun installing the electronics.

For a bit more diffusion on the ear LEDs, I embedded the boards into the plastic rings and scuffed the surface a bit. There are still some hotspots, but I think the overall effect works well.

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They're really best viewed in person - the colors are so much more vibrant!

Mounted the visor last night, today will be mounting the matrix and hopefully the side displays too. WOO!
 
Re: Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet build

wow, you put all other Thomas helmets to shame lol
 
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