My Dredd helmet (used to be - Quick Rub n Buff question)

[ScoobiJohn]

I'm doing a judge dredd helmet and i've used antique gold for the .....crest? whatever the gold bit anyway being terribly impatient after the red parts were dry and pulled off the masking tape and immediatly thought oh this will looks good with the gold on and applied it before i did a clear coat over the red - so question time can i put clear coat (this stuff...... 2 QTY Rust-Oleum Crystal Clear Matt Spray Paint Protective Top Coat - 400ml: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools) over the rub n buff - i dont care to much if spoils the gold effect as i can reapply it, i just want to know if it will react or not stick or go wrong in some other unforeseen manner

on another note... for the visor i have some maybe 3mm acrylic which i'll dye black but i dont have a vacuum form machine (keep meaning to make one in fact i've got most of the bits already) so i was thinking about just heating it up and shove it in place and hoping it would mold itself to about the right shape - but it bring up a question - the helmet is 3d printed in pla will the acrylic be hot enough at a temp where it is moldable to melt/fuse with the pla? as that could be a disaster

 

[Rylo]

Clear will dull the R&B

-Rylo

 

[ScoobiJohn]

ok got impatient and just went for it - figured if i had to sand it back and start again its would only be the gold bit and anyway it worked fine - amazingly it didn't even dull it down much - so i sealed it all and then i started on weather it - now since i decided to stick with the rub and buff i used the pewter to do the edges and scratches etc and then i got out and here where i made a mistake, oil paints, i normally prefer working with oil paint for its longer working time but the oil just lifted up the rub and buff - so i had to be careful where i applied it - did help one bit where i had gone over board with the rub n buff - anyway now i'll have to wait for the oil to dry before i go back with acrylics and finish the weathering

in the mean time though i've decided what to do about the visor - i went back into my 3d modeling software and pulled up the file and created a shape that fits inside the helmet visor area and i'm going to shape the acrylic over that and well if it sticks at least i haven't ruined the helmet

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

Love the result. Looks great!

 

[kruleworld]

I recommend watching Punished Props video on making a visor

he goes over how simple vac-forming can be and will probably save you time and money in the long run. He also dyes a visor too.

 

[ScoobiJohn]

would need a vac forming machine for that..... i kinda hoped to make one but running out of space in my workshop so haven't got around to it yet - i was just trying to heat the plastic and draping it over the printed shape (didn't go very well as i suspected it started to melt and stick) going to try putting some bondo over the visor shape - might have to find a better way to heat the plastic too as i think i was holding it to close to the heating elements as it started to bubble but was barely soft enough to pull it over the shape - in the end i might end up with a vac former yet

 

[ScoobiJohn]

decided to make this a thread about my dreadd helmet build - so here what i've been upto - i bondo's the mold shape for the visor and that worked to stop it melting and the acrylic from melting - sadly since i was just holding the plastic over the heater by hand even with leather gloves there was a limit to how long i could hold it and it maintaining enough regidity to hold by hand so it wasn't quite soft enough so i call the visor only partially successful - it should look fine but the contact area on the hidden bits is less than i would like to get a good join - so i'm going to use hot glue to stick it on hopefully that will provide the contact area

so anyway i've put the visor into the pot with the dye and its cooking as i type (fingers crossed) - was going to do this in the house but my pot doesn't work on induction hob :/ so using a camping stove barely able to get the water hot enough but think its close enough

also been doing some quick foam inserts to make it booth look like the one on screen and be more comfrotable and fit correctly (not that i really intend to wear it much)

so thats things upto date for now - off to check how the visor is coming along

 

[ScoobiJohn]

ok its almost done - just a quick weathering wash or two and maybe trim the foam inside just a little to drop it down on my head maybe a cm or so - but overall i'm pleased with how its turned out

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

Looks great. I just put another coat of primer on mine about 20 minutes ago. How thick is your visor, if you know?

 

[ScoobiJohn]

wouldn't swear to this as i just used what i had available but i think it was 3mm - could have gone thinner and might have made a better job on forming the shape - but the thickness give it a satisfying rigidity for a helmet

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

3 sounds about perfect. I still haven’t cut out the printed area of the visor yet because it’s still adding the extra strength while I sand it. This is all great info, thank you.

 

[ScoobiJohn]

3 sounds about perfect. I still haven’t cut out the printed area of the visor yet because it’s still adding the extra strength while I sand it. This is all great info, thank you.

i checked the acrylic was actually 2mm - looked thicker to my eye so i even checked it with calipers and 2.1mm and its more than thick enough - but as kruleworld linked vid it might have been easier to use petg - to late for me but might be worth looking at for your one - but regardless i'm happy with mine (which is now finished - will post photos when i get it mounted for display in my home cinema)

 

[ScoobiJohn]

ok here the it finished - lighting in my home cinema isn't great but i'm pretty happy with the end result

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

Looks great, nice job.