First Time Builder ( stormtrooper helmet ) I need tips.

[Jorts]

hello good people of the RPF, as the title says I'm a newb, both to prop building and to the forum, and I need tips.
This is my first build, ever, so with that in mind I wanna see what you guys and girls think about how I'm doing so far and what I can do better. I'm mainly looking for suggestions as to how to shape the finer details as I have the basic form down already. specifically I know I need to build up the cheek areas but I'm not entirely sure how, also if someone can tell me how to make the mic tips that would be awesome, and third I do have the template to make the earpieces so don't worry about that. Aside from those three things though whatever suggestions I can get from you would be appreciated.
Here's a materials list.

• Craft Foam
• Fiberglass
• Fiberglass Resin
• Body Filler (Bondo)

And here are some pictures:

And one of me wearing it, just for fun.





Sorry for the bad quality, (phone camera) oh and I know the dome is horrible, I'm gonna bondo the crap out of it.
Thanks in advance
-Devin

 

[BobasDent1138]

Have you ever tried pepakura? Same deal with resin, fiberglass and bondo, but you can get an overall more accurate look with pepakura. For foam this looks pretty good but pepakura, a good file, will give you the finer details and will be an overall better bucket

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[Frodo Skywalker]

Hey, I am a fellow noob with some minor experience and lots of knowledge on this matter. I agree with BobasDent. I think your best bet would be to attempt using a pep file, i can email you one, and constructing it with thin cardboard then doing the same fiberglass and filler process you already had in mind. let me know how it goes! I am about to attempt the same build soon, but with the whole armor. I can supply you with the files for the rest as well. Good luck!

 

[Jorts]

Thanks guys you're totally right about the pepakura I just don't really have the money for the good version right now plus those pep files are scary for a noob Anyway I'm done with the fiberglass work and I started with the bondo, I'll post some photos when I get home. I think I've mostly figured out how I'm gonna finish it up but any advice is still greatly appreciated especially about the lenses and Mic tips. Wish me luck
- Devin
PS
I would've replied sooner but I got in a car accident which was a bit distracting.
PPS
Let me know how the armor turns out Frodo I might decide to give it a go myself, maybe we'll be done at the same time

 

[BobasDent1138]

Fierfek, a modeler and pepakura designer on here, has a really good stormtrooper helmet AND armor files for FREE!! That'll be your best bet

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[Jorts]

Do I need the pepakura designer program for that or can I just print it straight off? If I can I'll probably look into that thanks for the tip

 

[BobasDent1138]

Do I need the pepakura designer program for that or can I just print it straight off? If I can I'll probably look into that thanks for the tip

You just need the pepakura viewer (free) for fierfek stuff, I think he designs in Letter paper. Unless you use A4, then you may need him to adjust the sheets or get the designer ($40)

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[beetle]

I tried the stormtrooper as my first attempt last year.http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=214195
It was firefeks pepakura version, it was challenging and time consuming. I thought it turned out okay.

 

[NoJohns]

Welcome to pepakura! You have many, many hours of frustration and smelly clothes ahead of you. :lol
Like several other users have said, if you're going for a super accurate build, I would start with Fierfek's (free) stormtrooper files which can be found here: https://fierfekspremiumpeps.wordpress.com/2014/04/20/fierfeks-premium-peps/
He has the entire armor set, so if the helmet goes well and you decide you want to do a full armor build, that would be the best place to start.

To be totally honest, I don't know if the dome would be salvageable with just bondo. You'd have to use an ungodly amount and that can get expensive really fast. And since you would also be piling sculpting material on top of more sculpting material without a solid fiberglass dome, it'll be extremely difficult to shape into anything workable. Also, did you put fiberglass strips on the outside? That can cause a lot of problems in the bondo stage (at least it has in my experience.)

A couple other pieces of advice I've learned the hard way:
1. Take your time and be very careful in the cutting/folding/gluing stage. On my first build I got too excited and went too fast and I ended up completely scrapping that project after I had bondo'd it.

2. Never become too attached to any project, especially your first few. I've had to throw away a project after I had bondo'd the whole thing because there was no way to save it. I've had to do this multiple times and it never gets easier to just throw away hours of hard work. So if you get done with your cut/fold/glue stage and you see a lot of problems, that's the moment to decide whether or not to start over. Fiberglass resin and bondo is expensive, card stock isn't.

3. Coming from my own experience and having to scrap an entire bucket because of this, use only a very, very small amount of bondo at a time. It'll cost you more hours, but then it'll save you hours of pain and suffering when it comes to the sanding stage.

Hope I could help!

 

[Jorts]

Wow, if mine turns out like that I'll be happy. Good job beetle.

 

[Jorts]

Can't agree more about the nasty smells, hell smells like fiberglass resin. The bondo dome is turning out alright so far but it is definately a lot of bondo and a lot of sanding, love that 80 grit, it's a bit heavy but that's not a big deal for me. I tried to only put fiberglass on the bits where I figured I'd have to build up anyway. Thanks for the advice though, in the future I'll be smart and follow it. I'll be sure to add more pics soon, wish me luck.
-Devin