Is casting this my only option?

[robstyle]

MDF is wood based regardless if its sawdust and glue. It is porous so it should be treated as if your treating wood. If that krylon primer works, go for it. If not, youll know quickly as it will seep in.

 

[Ozymandius]

I was afraid that soft foam would not hold up. Even the stuff I use is mostly there as a base for resin and body filler.

Make sure you wear a respirator while you work on the mdf.

No one ever said it would hold up. It's not a structural material. Just a base to build something structrual on and then throw away.

No offense, but you guys seem reall intent on making this as hard as possible. :unsure

 

[Risu]

I don't have the proper dremel attachments for wood, so this is slow going, but I've got the layers of MDF glued together and the shape drawn out, I've started cutting the basic shape. I'm not too worried about that or the beveled edge because I've got a dremel trio, but I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to accomplish the slightly slanted surface where it tapers down toward the chin. I've got some rasp files, those are probably my best bet so long as I take it slow. The MDF turned out to be pretty weighted, which is probably a good thing because it will help balance the weight of the helmet out once the hose is attached. As is, the hose pulls the helmet back on the head slightly and the hard hat rigging inside isn't quite tight enough to stop it.

Rob, would it help at all for me to paint Elmer's onto the surface of the finished MDF piece and let it dry on before priming it, or would that not be a good idea?

 

[robstyle]

I dont think Elmers is a good idea as its not a solid surface. Maybe some have had luck that route but me personally I wouldnt do it if your after a final item and not molding it for castings.

You also dont really need any proper dremel wood bits. Get the rough shape then go at it with the sanding barrels. You could make yourself a simple jig to attach the tool to if your hands not too steady or breathing too heavy. Its a tedious task but slow and steady is whats called for. If you have to walk away for a few minutes inbetween, do it.

 

[Risu]

Yea, steady hands is what it will come down to for sure. I'll probably just get in the ballpark and go the rest of the way with some low grit sandpaper on a block.

 

[LDR]

What is the helmet from? It looks very cool.

And what is the base helmet called? Looks like a nice project.

 

[LDR]

found it! Dr Who!

heres a couple more pics from the guy who made the original:

Doctor Who 2

 

[Risu]

Yep, Doctor Who. The reference pics would have been very useful to me a week ago. Oh well, I'll just have to live with the inaccuracies.

The original helmet was a Scott respirator helmet from the UK. Unless you're as obsessed with the show and this costume in particular as much as I am, I wouldn't recommend the build. The helmet cost somewhere in the vicinity of 200 pounds and I had to have it shipped over by a friend because they won't send it to the US. Scratch building isn't a very realistic option either, since the inside and outside of the helmet are both visible and there are a lot of complex parts. Maybe with a hard hat as a base it could be managed.

 

[drmoreau]

+1 for carving green floral foam and covering it with fiberglass. i've done that before to pretty good effect. also lightweight and strong.

 

[LDR]

Thanks for the info. Expensive! Very cool though.

The helmet is a Scott Tornado - Headtop T/Procap

Safpro Workwear and Personal Protective Equipment

 

[Risu]

Wow, I wish that place had been selling them when I bought mine.

 

[LDR]

might be worth emailing the guy who made it and see what he used for greeblies and things.

 

[Risu]

It's a little late for my build, but I have been thinking about maybe stripping the whole thing down to repaint it later. My light box is definitely different from the real thing, it's way too narrow. Maybe he could give me some info I could use on the rebuild.

 

[Risu]

Well that went nowhere. He responded promptly, but said he couldn't help because most of it he found randomly and the stuff that was made custom wasn't actually made by him, just given to him for final assembly.

 

[LDR]

Thats a shame.

Was worth a try anyway.

 

[Risu]

Yea. The pictures will come in handy. Knowing now how much wider the top light box is than the one I scratch built actually helped me figure out how they made the thing fit the helmet. The respirator has an abnormal shape on the top that totally messes up the curve. I thought the box was 1.75" in the back, but it looks like it's actually closer to 2.5", which means to make the whole thing work they probably just removed the entire bulging section and used the light to cover up the hole.