Pepakura Imperial Gunner Helmet

dkaniel

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Fierfek has been cranking out a lot of Star Wars Pep Files so I thought I would help by offering to unfold and test build the Imperial Gunner Helmet File. The 3d Image File of the helmet looks very close in accuracy to other reference photos of the helmet I could find online. The helmet is made up of a base helmet section, comm box section, front jaw(?) section and rear scoop section.

Fierfek did not know what the dimensions should be on the helmet so I took an educated guess (?) and made it the same width as my Rebel Fleet Trooper Helmet. If you look at a lot of the helmets in SW (Rebel Trooper, Rebel Technician, Death Star Trooper and Imperial Gunner) you can see some similarities in the size, general shape and use of some of the same sections like the comm box unit. If anyone knows something different about the origin of the Gunner Helmet then feel free to speak up!

I have just finished unfolding the helmet and have printed out the pages for the base helmet section. I hope to start assembling tonight and will post pictures of my progress as soon as I can.
 
Thanks for the info I was starting to second guess myself. I am assuming you either have a Gunner Helmet or have some inside info.
 
My understanding is that the DS Gunner helmet, DS Trooper helmet, Rebel Fleet Trooper, and the Yavin base ground crew helmets are all based on the old Navy talker helmets. The one I have is 11 1/4" across the widest part of the helmet. Well, about 1/32" short of 11 1/4". The shortest distance from the front to the back of the helmet is 12 15/16". Well, it's the longest distance, actually. What I mean is that with the helmet sitting on its' top, with a tape measure going through where the head would normally be, it's 12 15/16".

Hope that helps!
 
Excellent contributions! I'm much obliged for everyones assistance in the development of this file. This information I believe will prove most useful. Can't wait to see how the build goes.
 
Just finished the base helmet section and it went together without any problems. The large empty square section is where the comm box unit would be. The comm box is a fairly simple build, but I won't get to it until tomorrow.
 
Got the Comm Box Unit done and just taped it in place on the helmet for now. The placement of the buttons I based on a photo of the Gunner Helmet in the Star Wars Visual Dictionary I have. Not sure which section I'll tackle next, but hope to print it out tonight maybe start and have photos posted by Sunday night.
 
I just did a quick comparison of the size of the comm box unit to my Rebel Trooper Comm Box unit and they are almost exactly the same size and shape. The size of the Comm Box Unit is maybe off by no more than 1/8 of an inch on all sides. So far this build is encountering no problems except for some minor fit issues with the pep pieces that you would encounter with a pep file.
 
I finally was able to start the rear scoop section and got it finished earlier today. It was pretty easy to assemble and I didn't encounter any problems. The scoop also came with pieces that are supposed to be glued to the underside. I left out most of the underside pieces as I probably will fiberglass and bondo the helmet when I'm done. The sections on the underside would only enclose the scoop and make it hard to fiberglass. I did put in one piece which helps to give the scoop a curvature going across its width. I don't know if the position of the scoop on the helmet is correct, but you get the general idea of how the helmet is coming along. Tomorrow I hope to print out the last section and hopefully get started on it sometime this week.
 
I finally got the last section assembled and had no problems with putting it together. For now it is just taped in place so you can see what the final helmet looks like. I don't know how accurate looking it is compared to other plastic kit versions out there. If anyone reading this thread already has a Gunner Helmet then feel free to speak up on how it compares to your version. As assembled I couldn't get the helmet on over my head, but that is probably do to some of the support pieces.

If anyone is interested in this pep file then contact Fierfek. I am going to do some minor rearrangement of the pieces so as to minimize the amount of paper one has to print out to assemble this helmet. So the corrected file should be in Fierfeks possesion in a couple of days.
 
I finally got the last section assembled and had no problems with putting it together. For now it is just taped in place so you can see what the final helmet looks like. I don't know how accurate looking it is compared to other plastic kit versions out there. If anyone reading this thread already has a Gunner Helmet then feel free to speak up on how it compares to your version. As assembled I couldn't get the helmet on over my head, but that is probably do to some of the support pieces.

If anyone is interested in this pep file then contact Fierfek. I am going to do some minor rearrangement of the pieces so as to minimize the amount of paper one has to print out to assemble this helmet. So the corrected file should be in Fierfeks possesion in a couple of days.
Excellent work, the helmet seems to be scaled correctly and is cleanly assembled. Thanks for taking the time to build and unfold the model. I'm glad the build came together smoothly. Will you be fiberglassing and detailing the helmet later?
 
Will you be fiberglassing and detailing the helmet later?

Yes I will, but it might be awhile before I start and progress may be slow. My last successful attempt at fiberglassing and bondo was on a ODST Pep costume for my son last halloween. BUt when I do start i'll probably post it here.
 
That came together nicely and I agree that the dimensions look just about right. Do you have a plan for detailing the commbox? The only things that look off are the "greeblies" (assuming you're going for an accurate look) and that only by a little bit.

Can't wait to see the completed helmet :)
 
I was thinking about using my RFT Helmet Comm Box as a guide and then improve upon the other buttons that are attached to the box by using plastic pieces for the buttons.
 
I highly recommend these parts for the greeblies:

Allied Electronics:
White Cap
Part number:EAO 61-9311.7

Red Cap
Part number:EAO 61-9311.2

Newark Electronics:
Blue Cap
Part number: EAO 01-901.6

They look really nice and can be lighted for extra effect.
 
This thread is more than 12 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top