IronCostumer
Well-Known Member
So for a long time I've wanted to make an Iron Man helmet. But the pepping, resining, and bondo work all seemed too time-consuming, expensive, and above my level of experience. So with all the foam costumes going around, I figured it was time for me to have a go at it. If anyone is wondering, this is the foam I used:
I believe I got it at Amazing Savings, but I'm sure it could be found at any major hardware store or possibly an automotive store as garage flooring.
First I had to make my templates, which because I'm on a Mac, I had to do by hand. This was done by printing out the pep files (I found some on here that were converted into .pdf format) and cutting, overlapping and taping pieces together like this:
If you choose this method, DON'T USE AN HD FILE! HD files have too many small pieces, which doesn't translate well into foam. Although, I did end up using a few pieces from and HD pep and a few from a normal one. (I don't exactly recommend this, I think it's what made my helmet difficult to construct.) After you have your pieces all good and ready, trace them onto some paper with a pencil. You may be asking yourself "Self, why don't I just trace it directly onto the foam?" Well I'll tell you why not. You are going to need to modify the pieces. This means you will have to put smaller pieces together to make bigger ones, and possibly change some angles or lengths so the pieces fit together better. Try to make the pieces as continuous as possible, because foam can be heated and shaped in a way that allows it to be made in bigger pieces with less folds. Now the only place on this helmet where I had to put the template in two pieces was the top of the helmet. Places with a lot of surface area and big curves will need to be split so they will fit better. For symmetrical pieces being split in two or duplicate pieces, just draw it once and when tracing on foam, flip the template to get the other part.
After that, I scanned in my templates and if I found a problem, I edited the original template and re-scanned. When you have all your templates good and ready, print out the scanned-in templates. I didn't use the originals because I thought that I might need to go back and change something during the build, and its much easier to do this when you can erase everything. I suggest you do the same!
When you trace the templates onto the foam, tape the back with some scotch tape so it stays in place better. I used a regular sharpie to trace them. I tried to go over the edge of the template a bit so I knew my line was as close to the edge as possible.
After that, cut them out (preferably with a hot knife, makes cutting much faster and easier) on the inner most part of the sharpie line. Then to put it together I used my hot knife to make angle cuts so everything fit together nicely, and then a ton of hot glue to keep it all together. I suggest going over the connections on the back with some extra hot glue so the pieces stay together better.
For some pieces, you will need to heat shape it to get the correct curvature. The way I did this was to hold the piece above the stove and either press it against a form, or mold it with my hands. You might want to over compensate a bit, because once cooled, the foam will bounce back a bit.
So that's basically what I did. Now here are the progress pics I took along the way:
The chin.
Side parts surrounding the ear puck added
Top of the helm added (ignore faceplate I'll get to that in a second)
This is where I am now.
Now the faceplate. Oh the faceplate. My first attempt at the faceplate was a complete failure. I didn't heat shape it well enough so it was too big, and at the time I made it, the main helmet still needed to have stuff added so it would be spaced properly. Here's some pics of the epic fail:
Oh the fail!
My suggestion is to make the base of the helmet first, THEN do the faceplate. This way, everything will be spaced out properly.
So that's what I've done so far. I have until the 13th to finish this, which should be enough time. I hope to be updating regularly until then, so keep an eye out for new posts. If I have enough time, or maybe after I'm done painting, I have some plans for a hinge and motorization setup :love So please comment, give opinions, tell me where I could improve, and ask questions. Any advice from foam Iron Man helmet makers is extremely welcome!
I believe I got it at Amazing Savings, but I'm sure it could be found at any major hardware store or possibly an automotive store as garage flooring.
First I had to make my templates, which because I'm on a Mac, I had to do by hand. This was done by printing out the pep files (I found some on here that were converted into .pdf format) and cutting, overlapping and taping pieces together like this:
If you choose this method, DON'T USE AN HD FILE! HD files have too many small pieces, which doesn't translate well into foam. Although, I did end up using a few pieces from and HD pep and a few from a normal one. (I don't exactly recommend this, I think it's what made my helmet difficult to construct.) After you have your pieces all good and ready, trace them onto some paper with a pencil. You may be asking yourself "Self, why don't I just trace it directly onto the foam?" Well I'll tell you why not. You are going to need to modify the pieces. This means you will have to put smaller pieces together to make bigger ones, and possibly change some angles or lengths so the pieces fit together better. Try to make the pieces as continuous as possible, because foam can be heated and shaped in a way that allows it to be made in bigger pieces with less folds. Now the only place on this helmet where I had to put the template in two pieces was the top of the helmet. Places with a lot of surface area and big curves will need to be split so they will fit better. For symmetrical pieces being split in two or duplicate pieces, just draw it once and when tracing on foam, flip the template to get the other part.
After that, I scanned in my templates and if I found a problem, I edited the original template and re-scanned. When you have all your templates good and ready, print out the scanned-in templates. I didn't use the originals because I thought that I might need to go back and change something during the build, and its much easier to do this when you can erase everything. I suggest you do the same!
When you trace the templates onto the foam, tape the back with some scotch tape so it stays in place better. I used a regular sharpie to trace them. I tried to go over the edge of the template a bit so I knew my line was as close to the edge as possible.
After that, cut them out (preferably with a hot knife, makes cutting much faster and easier) on the inner most part of the sharpie line. Then to put it together I used my hot knife to make angle cuts so everything fit together nicely, and then a ton of hot glue to keep it all together. I suggest going over the connections on the back with some extra hot glue so the pieces stay together better.
For some pieces, you will need to heat shape it to get the correct curvature. The way I did this was to hold the piece above the stove and either press it against a form, or mold it with my hands. You might want to over compensate a bit, because once cooled, the foam will bounce back a bit.
So that's basically what I did. Now here are the progress pics I took along the way:
The chin.
Side parts surrounding the ear puck added
Top of the helm added (ignore faceplate I'll get to that in a second)
This is where I am now.
Now the faceplate. Oh the faceplate. My first attempt at the faceplate was a complete failure. I didn't heat shape it well enough so it was too big, and at the time I made it, the main helmet still needed to have stuff added so it would be spaced properly. Here's some pics of the epic fail:
Oh the fail!
My suggestion is to make the base of the helmet first, THEN do the faceplate. This way, everything will be spaced out properly.
So that's what I've done so far. I have until the 13th to finish this, which should be enough time. I hope to be updating regularly until then, so keep an eye out for new posts. If I have enough time, or maybe after I'm done painting, I have some plans for a hinge and motorization setup :love So please comment, give opinions, tell me where I could improve, and ask questions. Any advice from foam Iron Man helmet makers is extremely welcome!
Last edited:
