Helmet in progress - pepakura based

[Jon]

Enough of my questions in the huntorials section (the topics of which were me talking to myself for the most part). Over the past week I have been working on cutting out and gluing together a pepakura-based bio helmet. I sized the file up from its stock form, and it matches pretty close to some dimensions I was able to find through some serious digging on the Internet. At the very least, if this Bio turns out to be a little small, I at least have a basis to work from if I should decide to add material to it and bulk it up to proper size.

Front-facing shot. I have the Bio glued, and a thick cot of fiberglass resin on the outside of the helmet. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. Some of the folds were "unpleasant".

Side-view shots. The "cheeks" of the helmet weren't lining up symmetrically, so I have them taped so things are lined up properly. Once I have a couple layers of fiberglass cloth and resin on the inside, the alignment problem ought to disappear.

Photo from the rear. After giving the outside a liberal coat of resin and allowing it to dry, I did go ahead and 'glass the underside of the "dome". Very pleased with how strong it is, yet still light weight.

I'm going to continue working on this over the next couple of weeks. I suppose I ought to start sourcing a latex mask soon, so I know if this Bio is going to work as-is, or whether I need to adjust it to fit.

Comments and criticisms welcomed. Thanks for looking.

 

[ablary]

looking good so far mate, you have the basic shape down - looking forward to seeing it finished and everything blended together

 

[Roydraven]

wow mate doing awesome for pepakura the shape is getting there for sure can't wait till you finished it
good luck with the rest

 

[Darth Pinhead]

Looks great so far, Brother! I'll be watching this thread intently for future developments...

 

[Jon]

It rained a lot yesterday, so the humidity is too high to work on the helmet. Hopefully it dries up a bit today and I can get out to the garage and do a bit more work on this helmet. I will keep taking pictures of the progress.

I need to get around to contacting a few folks here and see if I can gather up a latex mask. Looks like my project is off to a good start!.

 

[Jon]

It warmed up and dried up enough for me to work on the mask last night. By midnight, I had the remainder of the mask glassed inside. I did do a bit of glassing on the outside of the mask. Specifically, the underside of the "brim" as it transitions to the underside of the dome. Time will tell whether or not I can smooth this out with Bondo enough to look good.

I left the helmet outside last night, and this morning, I had a rigid bio helmet! Now the hard part begins...making it look good.

 

[Jon]

Me again. All double-posting like I own the place. Sorry.

Wife has the camera, so no pics tonight. Was able to mix up a couple small batches of body filler and start smoothing out the helmet. There are a couple areas so far that I must've been a bit rough with during construction, because they are really dented. Hopefully I can smooth them out. If not, the bio is getting a bit of built-in damage that'll be chalked up to being used on many great hunts over the centuries.

My story, and I am sticking to it.

One thing I know for sure...I have to try and borrow a palm sander. Sanding the filler by hand is for the birds!

 

[Darth Pinhead]

One thing I know for sure...I have to try and borrow a palm sander. Sanding the filler by hand is for the birds!

Couple quick questions: what scale factor did you end up using for printing? What was the final width once you put it together? Thanks in advance! Looking forward to seeing the latest crop of pics!

 

[Jon]

Couple more pictures to show progress. Once the fiberglassing was done, it was time to start laying down the body filler to smooth everything out. I picked up the Premium variety of Bondo, which goes on smoother and sands nicer than the normal ghetto variety. Worth the extra few bucks.

Couple shots quartering from the front. I worked on the dome first, since it is a nice, wide area to work on. I'm only working on little sections at a time instead of slathering Bondo on the whole thing at once and trying to get things sanded properly at the end. Good results take time.

Shot of the half of the dome that I am getting sanded into submission. There was a harsh transition between the "brim" and the dome, which I filled with Bondo and then ran my finger along to give it a curved profile. I sanded the profile and it is nice and smooth. I'm going to try to get most of the angular joints smoothed out somewhat as I go.

One question I have for anyone reading this thread - what's the dimensions of the laser targeting system on the side of the helmet? I'm holding off doing anything on the sides around the eyes until I have an idea of what I need to construct for those areas. If anyone can help me out, it would be appreciated.

Darth Pinhead - the bio was scaled in Pepakura designer to be 12 inches wide. Since the dimensions were constrained, it increased the height and depth too. Measuring along the widest part of the bio (the "brim") and going along the profile of it, it is around 17" wide (I think the 12" was as the crow flies). The height from chin to top of brim at the back came in at around 21".

 

[Darth Pinhead]

Couple more pictures to show progress. Once the fiberglassing was done, it was time to start laying down the body filler to smooth everything out. I picked up the Premium variety of Bondo, which goes on smoother and sands nicer than the normal ghetto variety. Worth the extra few bucks.

"Ghetto variety"-That's funny...

Darth Pinhead - the bio was scaled in Pepakura designer to be 12 inches wide. Since the dimensions were constrained, it increased the height and depth too. Measuring along the widest part of the bio (the "brim") and going along the profile of it, it is around 17" wide (I think the 12" was as the crow flies). The height from chin to top of brim at the back came in at around 21".

Sweet, brother. Thanks! Hopefully getting started on mine tonight. Yours is looking great. Find a palm sander, or are you wet sanding?

 

[Jon]

I tried borrowing a palm sander, but nobody I know has one. I certainly not going to buy one at this time. For now, I am using an auto body "cheese grater" to knock down the high spots when the Bondo sets up a bit, then sanding by hand with 80-grit.

I think once I get the helmet all smoothed out with Bondo, I will spray a light guide coat of black paint and then re-sand to show the low-lying areas I need to touch up again.

 

[Darth Pinhead]

I tried borrowing a palm sander, but nobody I know has one. I certainly not going to buy one at this time. For now, I am using an auto body "cheese grater" to knock down the high spots when the Bondo sets up a bit, then sanding by hand with 80-grit.

I think once I get the helmet all smoothed out with Bondo, I will spray a light guide coat of black paint and then re-sand to show the low-lying areas I need to touch up again.

Well, when you do plan on purchasing one, shoot me a PM, I may be able to locate a better price, than say, Home Depot or Lowe's....

 

[Jon]

The wife is back from her weekend, so the camera can be put to use tonight to get a few pictures taken. Long story short, the helmet is done as much as I can get it. Personally, I think it looks alright. However, the measurements are too far off for me to use it as a costume piece. Lots of hard work for nothing. At most, I suppose I can finish the detailing of the helmet and make a display piece out of it in the spare bedroom.

It looks like I will have to go through this whole process again. Next time, I am doing it AFTER I have my mask, so I can be sure to scale the helmet correctly.

Pics coming tonight.

 

[Darth Pinhead]

Personally, I think it looks alright. However, the measurements are too far off for me to use it as a costume piece. Lots of hard work for nothing. At most, I suppose I can finish the detailing of the helmet and make a display piece out of it in the spare bedroom.

It's not necessarily for nothing; you just haven't thought of a cool way to use it. You could mount it on a lawnmower, put it on a kid's big wheel, entrance sign to mancave (garage), finish out the sides and make it a chip bowl...Seriously, though, it's still good practice...

 

[Jon]

Time for finished pictures of the helmet.

After 3 rounds of smoothing everything out with body filler, I wiped the helmet down and gave it a couple light coats and one heavy coat of primer and let it sit overnight. The painting was done in three stages. I masked off the areas I wanted protected, then sprayed the helmet with a textured paint. After that dried, the entire helmet was given a few light coats of metallic silver. The final color coat was a hammered silver. After all the paint was dry, I began the weathering process with some washes of gunmetal, black, and finally an antique silver.

Really too bad it ended up the wrong size to use for the costume. Still, it'll look alright hanging up on the wall. C'est la vie.

 

[Jon]

I got my latex P1 styled mask from Manowar the other day, and started working on a new Pepakura Bio. This time, I went with the file found here:

http://www.propzone.be/productspayed.html

It's much more accurately sized. I'm happy with how it's turning out. Unfortunately, I will have to make some modifications to the bio to fit around the front dread holes on the sides of the mask. Shouldn't be too big a hassle to do that though.