My Early Disasters pt 2 - A Biker Scout Helmet - How hard can it be?

[Dtrasler]

 

[Bigturc]

Don't forget, if you decide to reinforce it, do it from the inside! :thumbsup

 

[Dtrasler]

So, I'm bashing regular filler onto the outside of the MK1. Why am I ignoring Bigturc's advice? Well, I'm not. The MK2 is waiting on proper resin and bondo, which will be carefully applied in the right places, but the MK1 is just for fun at this point. It's so out of whack and flimsy that anything I try will make it better. Probably.

Anyway, it's a mad amount of sanding and filling still to go, and then I have to figure out how to do the eyepieces, but I stand more of a chance of making the MK1 into a "good enough" model for the Library Star Wars Day, and then I can take my time with the MK2 as my own personal model. Never going to be making a casting of this one.

In the meantime, I've managed two of three kids' birthday parties, and 85% of the bathroom reno, as well as caring for a post-operative Mrs Dim, who's not well. Time is not something I have a lot of right now. So it'll be slow and steady, and concentrating on the crappier one, so I don't screw up the good one.

 

[Roughneckone]

Hi,

Sounds like you are doing well cramming all that in and still getting a bit of time for helmet making. The Mk 2 looks pretty good at the moment look forward to seeing you start on the resin process for that one.

Please tell your better half I hope she gets over her op and back to being fighting fit soon.

Roughneckone:cool

 

[Dtrasler]

Many thanks Roughneckone - always appreciated.

 

[Dtrasler]

So I'm sanding a little here and there as I'm passing by, but still no nearer getting hold of the resin (cashflow issue, not access). The library have confirmed the Star Wars Day display, so I'm concentrating on getting the MK1 good enough for show, bearing in mind this will be behind glass, and labelled as "amateur effort". I'm hoping to inspire other people to try, not dazzle them with my brilliance. Luckily.

 

[Snow Builder]

How far you've come grasshopper

Shaping up nicely.

 

[Roughneckone]

Hey Damien, :thumbsup

Considering what you started with that is definitely as (Snow Builder said) "shaping up" well. Lots of "sculpting still to do in the passing though .

You have to think that if you can do that with the floppy Pep mess you started with, what can you do with the MK 2..............

Roughneckone:cool

 

[Dtrasler]

I just realised that I have never credited the Pep file I've been using for both models. The title says "Model rundown reunfold - Fisher K2", and I'm sorry, but I can't remember where i grabbed it from. I've seen on some other threads that there's some discussion about the accuracy, and I wanted to say something else before I put in my two cents.

This was my first ever attempt at Pepakura, It was tricky, but the errors were my own. The model was good, relatively easy to put together, and when I did it twice, they looked the same. I cannot even begin to understand the process of 3d modelling the helmet, let alone converting that to a pep model. I have taken my hat off to the person who produced this model. It is perfectly good, and way, way more than I could ever make.

That said, here's one of the illustrations kicking about from after the movie came out:
Oh fer... Bloody sideways!

Anyway, even with the awkward orientation, you can see that the cheek pieces are quite prominent. Even allowing for the angle of the picture, the pep model is much slimmer at the eyeline.



It's not a huge issue, and would only be apparent when the helmet was placed next to an illustration, but even so, I've been working on building up the sides. Since it's me, I'm doing it quick and dirty, and only time will tell if I make a half-decent job of it. Again, the MK 1 is a good place to try this stuff out, so I can skip the errors on the MK2 and go straight to making different mistakes....



In those other threads I mentioned, there was another pep file that someone had used, but the builder mentioned it was very, very tricky - accurate as hell, but contained many, many times more pieces than this file. Since I'm a bodger by nature, I'm happy adapting, and willing to admit that taking two hundred tiny strips to make the dome alone would have driven me completely Jar Jar Binks.

 

[Dtrasler]

With filler drying and time short, I used five minutes to make a stand for one of my old helmets - I don't have enough stands for the display, so I have to make more. Here's how it went:

 

[Dtrasler]

Slooooooooooooooooooooooooow prooooooooooooooogress.



The surfacing is getting better, the profiles are matching up, but there's still a long way to go. I have some actual car filler now, which should sand to a better finish, but the fact that it needs to be activated and then will go off means I'm reluctant to use it in the "five minutes here, five minutes there" fashion I've been doing this up to now. With the final kid birthday being today, I'm done with making cakes and wrapping presents etc (Today's cake is a TARDIS, obviously), but the script reading business is picking up, and I'm behind with that too. Also, the bathroom plumbing did not go well. Water should stay in the pipes, is what I'm hearing. Everyone's a critic....

Anyway, I touched up the black paint because it helps me see what this could be like, and defines the shapes of the white areas better. Having the DVD of the movie at last is extra-inspiring, and I'm determined that this will be a good model, MK1 or not.

 

[Snow Builder]

Hard to believe it started from paper

The filling and sanding is coming together.

 

[Roughneckone]

Starting to look much better my friend, I'm impressed. Keep at it and it'll soon be as good as an Anovos one .

Roughneckone:cool

 

[Dtrasler]

Keep at it and it'll soon be as good as an Anovos one .

Roughneckone:cool

Thanks Roughneckone, that's quite a compliment! But today I finally tried out some bondo (or Walmart equivalent.) Despite filling the house with fumes, and probably covering a bit too much area for the first slop, I think it's going to be great! Once it hardened and I started sanding, the finish was much better than the wallboard filler ever managed, and yet you can still carve into it with the scalpel.

Obviously, this is the unsanded pic. And my timetable is still crazy for weeks to come, so it'll be a quest for five minutes to mix, slop or sand, and those have to be times when everyone else is out of the house. On the other hand, I have a working sink unit in my bathroom now (one more job off the list there...) and the dishwasher is only leaking a little bit, which is a distinct improvement.

 

[Dtrasler]

Slowly going green... There's a lot of sanding in my future.

(And yes, you warned me!)

 

[Bogleo]

FYI, you shouldn't use bondo (or similar body fillers) in your house. Also, always wear a respirator when using it, and a dust mask when sanding. Those fumes and dust are not good for you! :ninja

 

[Dtrasler]

Thanks Bogleo - I learned that a little late! Next layer goes on outside! I have masks for use while sanding, but the headache from the fumes was a lesson I won't forget in a hurry.

 

[Snow Builder]

Very good grasshopper!

 

[Roughneckone]

Thanks Bogleo - I learned that a little late! Next layer goes on outside! I have masks for use while sanding, but the headache from the fumes was a lesson I won't forget in a hurry.

That's what it's all about really, learning from our mistakes and hopefully not repeating them!
So not actually killing your self with Bondo fumes is an extremely good lesson.:facepalm

Looking much better now you're getting a few 5min layers on.

Roughneckone:cool

 

[Dtrasler]

So, the next lesson I learned about Bondo (and I promise, I really DID read the beginner's bondo posts... I think!) is you shouldn't go nuts with the hardening agent. If you do, you get about one minute of usable material, and then the remainder (probably 4/5ths of your load) turns to a porridge-like consistency (That's oatmeal, to you North Americans). Once that happens, if you DO get any more out of your container, it'll be in one big lump.

Time is the key here, and time is what I generally don't have enough of.


That last pic really shows up the eyebrow line, huh? Well, I still have two weeks until May 1st. Might be enough.