LOTS of questions regarding Pepakura Iron Man helmet process.

[Madosheet]

I've read many threads on here of peoples' process when doing a pepakura helmet from start to finish and have read many pages of the Pepakura sticky thread, used the search functions for many things, but I'm not even sure what search query I should be typing in to find the answers.

But here goes my, probably noob questions.

1. When do I attach the ears on a Mark42 Iron Man helmet? (Before resin-ing, resin separately, bondo separately - and if it's either of the latter two, how would I reattach it later?)
2. How do I cut off the faceplate on a Mark42 helmet but still keep the 'cheek' details intact?
3. How do I bondo the cheeks but still keep the cheek layers intact without bury-ing them?
4. Is the bondo stage necessary? I've read that everyone does do it, but then I also read that it's only used for adding symmetry to the helmet or buff out any uneven parts. So can I just resin and fiberglass a helmet and go straight to painting from there?
5. Does using normal spare cloth/cotton actually work as an alternative to fiberglass?
6. On a Mark3/4/6/7 helmet, how would I keep the details on the 'teeth' - do I bondo those sections?
7. When pepakura-ing Iron Man helmet, am I meant to stick the eyes in or do I just skip the eyes and leave them hollow (see through)? Cos I can't think of a way that I would cut the eyes out evenly later?
8. On the 'vent' section on top of the Mark 6 and 7 helmet, how do I bondo that? It seems much to thin to get anything into that gap (almost the same question as question 1)

I have way more questions, but I've forgot them as right now my brain is frustrated over the fact I can't find the answers to these and I can't figure them out myself. I'm very new to this prop building hobby but am very eager to learn. I mean I spent 3 months lurking on the forum and reading many-a-thread before even attempting to start the pepakura process!

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me answer any or all of these!

 

[kaffemustasj]

I'm commenting to subscribe.
Good luck!

 

[Rokunited]

I'm brand new but I think I can fill in the blanks on question 4. From what I gather the bondo part is needed, to add all the fine detail and really smooth out the piece. From what it looks like when you finish the pepakura paper model the curved parts aren't really curved. It seems like there are maybe some cuts or bends in the paper or card stock to get the curved surface "which isn't really a smooth curve. Adding the bondo allows you to curve those pieces out. But, take everything I said with a grain of salt as I have never even made a pepakura anything, or anything prop related. So good luck!!! I will be attempting my venture soon. I can't seem to find the actually pepakura files though.. lol been searching and reading all day.. But for sake of not getting flamed all over I'll continue searching till I find it, rather than open a thread haha.. if this is anything like the car forums noobies are pretty much ignored and shuned.. But, hey maybe the prop community is different, welp lets see!!!

 

[ZachWinks]

To answer best I can
1. Fiberglass and resin the piece as a whole
2 and 3 Pepakura is a skeleton for you to work on, that being said you should cut off the faceplate as best you can, and if you mess up simply try to fix it
4. Bondo is required if you want a long lasting helmet the doesn't look like garbage
5. Idk
6. Bond them and go back through with a rotary tool
7. This depends on how detailed of a helmet you want, such as light, etc
8.you can bondo them with small applicator, or simply let the resin in those areas be enough.
The thing to keep in mind is the more time, effort, and sometimes a little more money, the better result you'll have

 

[Madosheet]

I'm commenting to subscribe.
Good luck!

Glad to know there are other people wondering about the same questions!

I'm brand new but I think I can fill in the blanks on question 4. From what I gather the bondo part is needed, to add all the fine detail and really smooth out the piece. From what it looks like when you finish the pepakura paper model the curved parts aren't really curved. It seems like there are maybe some cuts or bends in the paper or card stock to get the curved surface "which isn't really a smooth curve. Adding the bondo allows you to curve those pieces out. But, take everything I said with a grain of salt as I have never even made a pepakura anything, or anything prop related. So good luck!!! I will be attempting my venture soon. I can't seem to find the actually pepakura files though.. lol been searching and reading all day.. But for sake of not getting flamed all over I'll continue searching till I find it, rather than open a thread haha.. if this is anything like the car forums noobies are pretty much ignored and shuned.. But, hey maybe the prop community is different, welp lets see!!!

Hey Rokunited, yeah I had the same idea as you regarding bond, but then the more I read the more I found and then I found that some people say that you only have to bondo the uneven or unsymmetrical areas.

I also, had the same assumptions as you before I began posting that I or any other noobs to this hobby would be super flamed if posting a noob question, but generally TheRPF is really nice, welcoming and helpful…even if all the threads I've started don't have many people answering and just fizzle out quickly…

To answer best I can
1. Fiberglass and resin the piece as a whole
2 and 3 Pepakura is a skeleton for you to work on, that being said you should cut off the faceplate as best you can, and if you mess up simply try to fix it
4. Bondo is required if you want a long lasting helmet the doesn't look like garbage
5. Idk
6. Bond them and go back through with a rotary tool
7. This depends on how detailed of a helmet you want, such as light, etc
8.you can bondo them with small applicator, or simply let the resin in those areas be enough.
The thing to keep in mind is the more time, effort, and sometimes a little more money, the better result you'll have

Hey ZachWinks thanks for answering my questions!
But just to elaborate, on question 1 (whether to resin the ears as a whole piece with the helmet), how would I fiberglass the ear at all if it's already hot glued to the pep? And because on the Mark42 there is a small gap on the front of the ear, how would I get bondo inside of there?

Also, on question 7 (cutting out the eyes/leaving them out when pepakuring all together), if I did want to install LED eyes later, would I just not bother to pepakura those in then? Or do I do it and cut it out later - if so, at what stage do I cut it out (after resin? after fiberglass? after bondo?)

Your help is much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Per the eyes, don't bother with them because you're just going to remove them later. Do the ears as separate pieces and attach when finished.

As for all the questions on filler, some would argue it's the most important part of the process. Like someone mentioned already, that is how you get all the finer details. Think of the pep as a canvas with just a background pained on it. The filler is your palette of paints to complete the picture. Yes you are going to fill in and cover up all the details you pepped, like the teeth. You just carve/file/cut them back in to the filler.

 

[Kryro]

Madosheet

Regarding your question 1 - (Its like were working in tandem ahaa) I Have just finished my initial resin coat inside and out, but I kept the ears separate
HOWEVER - I am kind of regreatting that I think, because its made it harder for me to stick them on as they are now harder to bend slightly
So I will be re-doing the ears, so I would have stuck them on first

I am trying to think of this gap you are mentioning and it doesn't make sense to me


If you used Gimpee's file the ear should attach like this so the flat part of the ear is on the helmet side

Also, (Regarding question 2) with gimpee's file there should been a support page, with the shortest one attaching to the cheek section - that will hold them in place
You should use a Dremel tool - or other rotorary tool - and cut around the faceplate sections

 

[Madosheet]

Per the eyes, don't bother with them because you're just going to remove them later. Do the ears as separate pieces and attach when finished.

As for all the questions on filler, some would argue it's the most important part of the process. Like someone mentioned already, that is how you get all the finer details. Think of the pep as a canvas with just a background pained on it. The filler is your palette of paints to complete the picture. Yes you are going to fill in and cover up all the details you pepped, like the teeth. You just carve/file/cut them back in to the filler.

Hey Kevin, thanks for the response, you confirmed my suspicions regarding the ears, so that gives me a lot more confidence to move forward now!
And that metaphor helps me understand this pepakura -> bond process much more actually.
Thanks again!

@Madosheet

Regarding your question 1 - (Its like were working in tandem ahaa) I Have just finished my initial resin coat inside and out, but I kept the ears separate
HOWEVER - I am kind of regreatting that I think, because its made it harder for me to stick them on as they are now harder to bend slightly
So I will be re-doing the ears, so I would have stuck them on first

I am trying to think of this gap you are mentioning and it doesn't make sense to me

Also, (Regarding question 2) with gimpee's file there should been a support page, with the shortest one attaching to the cheek section - that will hold them in place
You should use a Dremel tool - or other rotorary tool - and cut around the faceplate sections

Hey again Kryro !
It's so cool knowing that you're building the same helmet at the same time ;D we can learn from each other!

What I meant regarding the gap is at the front (see the picture attached) - I was wondering if you attached it on at the very start, before resining or even after doing the resin, how would you bondo inside that gap if the ear is already attached.
I'm thinking what Kevin Gossett said, that you finish the ears separately and attach them at the very end.



But do let me know how you get on with attaching the ears first before resin-ing!

Also, I'm not to sure what you mean about the support page with the shortest one attaching to the cheek section? Do you mean a tab? If so, I can't seem to see one :/

I'm interested on keeping up to date with your build too! So good luck

 

[Kryro]

Madosheet sorry I tend to go on a waffle then I realise that only I know what the hell im talking about
the last page (15) has 3 support beams that attach to the middle piece of the helmet, the shortest attaches to the cheek section to hold it in place
and as the faceplate sits on the outside of the cheek there should be no problems when cutting off the faceplate

At the moment my helmet is now back to 3 separate pieces, being held together by binder clips so I can fiberglass it as 1 whole helmet and I had no problems with the cheek sections in this aspect


As for the ear bondo-ing - I would have used a thin bondo applicator as opposed to the playing card size one I have atm and after it dried some needle files, but I am glad I read these 2 posts because now I don't think ill attach my ears until the end, but ill just redo them

 

[Madosheet]

Kryro Ah I see I understand now - my only prior worry is that during the bondo stage, especially around the cheek areas I'm worried that the cheek details will be lost and will also end up 'sticking' to the faceplate lip which will make dremmel-ing it off harder.

Do let me know how your body filler stage goes! I fear that, I, as a noob will end up losing those small detailed layers in the helmet when I'm at your stage!

 

[Kryro]

Madosheet - Ok I will let you know, maybe post some pics - it'll probably be about thusday/Saturday, as im currently making a 2nd faceplate for a) back-up and b) make it better more detailed and still needs fiberglass on the inside

Keep me posted how yours comes along

 

[freezol]

hello
can u help me?
which glue and what thickness of paper you use?
i dont found anyone who describes that -.-
sorry for my bad english...

 

[Madosheet]

Kryro Looking forward to your updates! I won't be able to update for at least a while though as I won't have time to continue to the next stages of resin, fiberglass and bondo xD and before I do continue on my Mark42, I want to practice some methods on my half finished Mark7 as all this stuff is very new to me - but in that time I do plan to build a larger Mark42 and possibly Gimpee's Iron Patriot too, so I'll vicariously live through your project for now haha ;D


freezol I used a normal hot glue gun and 250gsm A4 card. But I hear that 110lb card stock is the way to go if you're in America? As I only recently found out, across the pond in the UK a different standard is used in regards to a letter size, I think.

 

[freezol]

freezol I used a normal hot glue gun and 250gsm A4 card. But I hear that 110lb card stock is the way to go if you're in America? As I only recently found out, across the pond in the UK a different standard is used in regards to a letter size, I think.[/QUOTE]

thx im from germany
hot glue gun and paper? i dont know that it works..
is 160gsm A4 card enough?

 

[Madosheet]

freezol I'm not sure if 160gsm will do, I've read on this forum and from others that it should be at least 180gsm? Or 220gsm is also a good weight from what I've heard. For me 250gsm was a very nice weight to work with, but this is only my first attempt with pepakura. I ordered my card from eBay for a decent price~
and hot glue works fine with the card - I initially tried double sided tape, but quickly moved to hot glue as it works so much better.

 

[Kryro]

freezol

I am pretty sure I have used 160gsm card, ive thrown out the clear packaging with the number on it, but 160 definitely rings a bell
I use 160 because its not that thick, and its so easy to work with, and once the resin and all that go on - nothing matters anyway
Oh I use superglue as opposed to hot glue though, so that may be why 160gsm works aswell as it should

Ahaa, ill assemble some pictures and make a W.i.P thread soon and tag you in it Madosheet

 

[Rokunited]

I used 110 that's all I could find in my area

 

[sodapop]

2. How do I cut off the faceplate on a Mark42 helmet but still keep the 'cheek' details intact?

I know this thread is old but its the closest thing i could find to what im looking for. Its kinda based on question #2.
In the end i want a motorized mask but I'm not sure at which stage i should remove the face plate.
should i resin the whole piece as a whole or resin them separately? Remove/cut the face plate off after the resin? bondo? sanding? Kinda confused.

 

[Redman99]

Hi sodapop.
I think you'll find it easier to align the pieces if you separate them with a dremel after all the glass & resin & main bondo is done. this way the lines/edges all match up.

I would also put a bit of "extra glass between the eyes and ears so when they are separated, there is little movement there.

 

[sodapop]

Hi sodapop.
I think you'll find it easier to align the pieces if you separate them with a dremel after all the glass & resin & main bondo is done. this way the lines/edges all match up.

I would also put a bit of "extra glass between the eyes and ears so when they are separated, there is little movement there.

Thank you Redman! I should be getting my resin today so Ill be trying this on a tester model and see how it works.