torsoboy
Sr Member
So I'm working on a Discovery-era Guy-Manuel helmet. I've never seen anyone do the actual Discovery-era sculpt for this helmet - of the ones I've seen, they are typically based on the more recent Human After All-era helmet, but they put the Discovery style lighting in it. However, the Discovery helmet is quite different in terms of shape from the later helmets.
To start, since I've already made my own Tron-style helmet, I'm starting by modifying the original sculpt since it's already a good base to start on.
To begin, I needed to relocate the top band of the visor "frame" back to a different angle. I achieved this with applying Apoxie Sculpt to it in the desired location, and then dremelling away the remaining exposed old visor frame.
DSCN4528 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
DSCN4525 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
At this same stage I added the groove that it between the visor frame and the ear block, as well as the little hole that appears in the top corner. The real Discovery-era helmet is actually two pieces (front and back), and I assume that this hole serves as some kind of attachment point for the back piece. For my sculpt, however, I'm building it as one combined piece, so this hole is merely cosmetic. You will see the hole in later photos.
Next I added the ears. I cast up copies of my existing ear piece, and set them out to the extended position they should be in (for comparison, the more recent helmets show the ear disc being recessed). In this photo, the Apoxie Sculpt looks very rough - obviously this will be cleaned up later.
DSCN4525 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
Following that, I began working on the rear section. I imagine that most people decide against this sculpt because its "ugly" by comparison, but after having built a later version first, and closely examining the rare source material there is for this portion of the helmet, I've really come to appreciate it. The rear section is quite a significant addition to the helmet, as its much thicker and bulkier than its later appearance. This too was added with Apoxie Sculpt. Note the neat little ridge that sits behind the ear.
DSCN4664 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
A particularly interesting detail about the Discovery-era helmet is that the joint where the front and back sections meet above the ear is not flush. You can really see it during their 2-part Interstella 5555 interview on YouTube. In the second part, there is video of them walking in a subway tunnel - watch the light play around that portion of the helmet and you can easily see the oddity in the sculpt.
DSCN4667 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
So far the sculpt is going rather quickly. I was expecting it to take much longer, but I'm loving this Apoxie Sculpt so much that I'm able to crank out rather large portions of the sculpt each time I sit down to work on it. Naturally, I'll still have lots of clean up work to do, and I may have to rework the visor a little bit down the road, but for right now, things are moving quickly!
To start, since I've already made my own Tron-style helmet, I'm starting by modifying the original sculpt since it's already a good base to start on.
To begin, I needed to relocate the top band of the visor "frame" back to a different angle. I achieved this with applying Apoxie Sculpt to it in the desired location, and then dremelling away the remaining exposed old visor frame.
DSCN4528 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
DSCN4525 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
At this same stage I added the groove that it between the visor frame and the ear block, as well as the little hole that appears in the top corner. The real Discovery-era helmet is actually two pieces (front and back), and I assume that this hole serves as some kind of attachment point for the back piece. For my sculpt, however, I'm building it as one combined piece, so this hole is merely cosmetic. You will see the hole in later photos.
Next I added the ears. I cast up copies of my existing ear piece, and set them out to the extended position they should be in (for comparison, the more recent helmets show the ear disc being recessed). In this photo, the Apoxie Sculpt looks very rough - obviously this will be cleaned up later.
DSCN4525 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
Following that, I began working on the rear section. I imagine that most people decide against this sculpt because its "ugly" by comparison, but after having built a later version first, and closely examining the rare source material there is for this portion of the helmet, I've really come to appreciate it. The rear section is quite a significant addition to the helmet, as its much thicker and bulkier than its later appearance. This too was added with Apoxie Sculpt. Note the neat little ridge that sits behind the ear.
DSCN4664 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
A particularly interesting detail about the Discovery-era helmet is that the joint where the front and back sections meet above the ear is not flush. You can really see it during their 2-part Interstella 5555 interview on YouTube. In the second part, there is video of them walking in a subway tunnel - watch the light play around that portion of the helmet and you can easily see the oddity in the sculpt.
DSCN4667 by 2StoryProps, on Flickr
So far the sculpt is going rather quickly. I was expecting it to take much longer, but I'm loving this Apoxie Sculpt so much that I'm able to crank out rather large portions of the sculpt each time I sit down to work on it. Naturally, I'll still have lots of clean up work to do, and I may have to rework the visor a little bit down the road, but for right now, things are moving quickly!
