Blue Leader
Sr Member
Greetings,
I hope that this is the correct place to put this thread. I really couldn't figure out exactly where this should go, so my apologies if it should be somewhere else.
For around six months plus I've been working on a B-wing pilot helmet from "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi", and I've been trying hard to make it as accurate as possible. Being an amateur model-maker in every since of the word this wasn't easy and I still don't know a whole lot about the process.
Even so I've managed to finish the helmet, but because it's made out of PaperClay it is rather heavy (and somewhat fragile). I would really like to make some copies of this thing, some lighter copies, so that I always have a spare if anything happens to one. Heh, if the only helmet I had broke I would cry.
But I'm just not sure how I could make copies of this. I'm a member of the Rebel Legion, and through my local base a member offered to let me use their vacuum forming table to try to make some copies of it, but neither of us are too sure that it will even work because of its shape and all of the small details in it. Not to mention that I'd have to cut it up into at least three pieces, which I'd rather not to if at all possible (though it's not the end of the world if I do).
So I've been racking my brain trying to think of some ways to make some lightweight, fairly durable copies. It needs to be durable enough because I'll be wearing this fairly often to conventions, parades, charity troops, and things like that. I know I probably wont get anything as strong as plastic, and that's fine, as long as it's strong enough not to crush too easily.
I've only had one idea so far, and I'm not even sure if it would work. The idea I had was to put paper mache or plaster of Paris around the outside only of my clay helmet and let it dry. I could pop that mache/plaster off the helmet and hopefully I'd have a hollow shell. I would probably have to spray the clay helmet itself with something so that mache/plaster wouldn't stick. Not sure what.
Once I had the shell I could spray it over with a few coats of a spray resin to (hopefully) harden it up, make it a little stronger and protect it from the weather. I could sand it smooth with a fine grain of sand paper if needed.
I know that there's also a fiberglass resin I could use instead of the spray resin, but I know nothing about it, so I wouldn't even know what to do with that. Heh.
Of course I know nothing about the spray resin, either....
But as I said I'm not even sure if this process would work.
If anyone has any ideas of some way I could make some copies of this thing, that I (as an amateur) could do, that would be wonderful. As I said, it would need to be somewhat durable because it would be worn at lot, and not too extremely heavy because it needs to be able to stay on my head, which with the shape of this thing isn't an easy task. Though I can always figure something out for that-- that's the least of my worries. And, preferably, it wouldn't be anything too extremely expensive, like around $120 or less if at all possible.
If it helps any here are some pictures of the helmet. Note that there are a few pieces taped onto the back and top which I only put on for the picture to show off to my fellow Rebel Legioners. These pieces wont be molded into the actual copies (how ever I make the copies) but instead will be made as separate pieces from resin and glued on later.
Again, any ideas would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
I hope that this is the correct place to put this thread. I really couldn't figure out exactly where this should go, so my apologies if it should be somewhere else.
For around six months plus I've been working on a B-wing pilot helmet from "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi", and I've been trying hard to make it as accurate as possible. Being an amateur model-maker in every since of the word this wasn't easy and I still don't know a whole lot about the process.
Even so I've managed to finish the helmet, but because it's made out of PaperClay it is rather heavy (and somewhat fragile). I would really like to make some copies of this thing, some lighter copies, so that I always have a spare if anything happens to one. Heh, if the only helmet I had broke I would cry.
But I'm just not sure how I could make copies of this. I'm a member of the Rebel Legion, and through my local base a member offered to let me use their vacuum forming table to try to make some copies of it, but neither of us are too sure that it will even work because of its shape and all of the small details in it. Not to mention that I'd have to cut it up into at least three pieces, which I'd rather not to if at all possible (though it's not the end of the world if I do).
So I've been racking my brain trying to think of some ways to make some lightweight, fairly durable copies. It needs to be durable enough because I'll be wearing this fairly often to conventions, parades, charity troops, and things like that. I know I probably wont get anything as strong as plastic, and that's fine, as long as it's strong enough not to crush too easily.
I've only had one idea so far, and I'm not even sure if it would work. The idea I had was to put paper mache or plaster of Paris around the outside only of my clay helmet and let it dry. I could pop that mache/plaster off the helmet and hopefully I'd have a hollow shell. I would probably have to spray the clay helmet itself with something so that mache/plaster wouldn't stick. Not sure what.
Once I had the shell I could spray it over with a few coats of a spray resin to (hopefully) harden it up, make it a little stronger and protect it from the weather. I could sand it smooth with a fine grain of sand paper if needed.
I know that there's also a fiberglass resin I could use instead of the spray resin, but I know nothing about it, so I wouldn't even know what to do with that. Heh.
Of course I know nothing about the spray resin, either....
But as I said I'm not even sure if this process would work.
If anyone has any ideas of some way I could make some copies of this thing, that I (as an amateur) could do, that would be wonderful. As I said, it would need to be somewhat durable because it would be worn at lot, and not too extremely heavy because it needs to be able to stay on my head, which with the shape of this thing isn't an easy task. Though I can always figure something out for that-- that's the least of my worries. And, preferably, it wouldn't be anything too extremely expensive, like around $120 or less if at all possible.
If it helps any here are some pictures of the helmet. Note that there are a few pieces taped onto the back and top which I only put on for the picture to show off to my fellow Rebel Legioners. These pieces wont be molded into the actual copies (how ever I make the copies) but instead will be made as separate pieces from resin and glued on later.
Again, any ideas would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
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