Reforged Kylo Ren Helmet Build - FINISHED

[Magnavis]

Hi all,

I'm finally ready to kick this thread off. My first major prop project on here was a Kylo Ren Helmet. You can see that thread here:

Kylo Ren Helmet + Lightsaber Scratch Build [REFORGED HELMET UPDATE]

UPDATE: You can now get the Reforged Kylo Ren Helmet files here - Kylo Ren Helmet - The Rise of Skywalker - Reforged Version by Magnavis Hey all, I'm just about ready to jump into this project; a scratch build Kylo Ren Helmet and Lightsaber. Around Xmas I invested in my first 3D...

www.therpf.com

In 2019 I updated my Kylo Ren Helmet files to include the Rise of Skywalker variant, but at the time I was working on other things, and didn't get the chance to print it out myself. I've learned a lot since then, and so wanted to revisit Kylo.

Over Xmas, I made some further updates to both of my helmets, making significant changes to the faceplate.

Both of my files are free to download at Thingiverse:

Kylo Ren Helmet by Magnavis - TFA
Kylo Ren Helmet - The Rise of Skywalker - Reforged Version by Magnavis - TRoS

Over the past couple of weeks, I've gotten all of the main parts printed. I printed the main dome in 8 pieces on my Wanhao i3+ - I also printed the nose sections on the Wanhao. I split the faceplate into four pieces, and just about managed to squeeze them onto my Elegoo Mars, and the same goes for the little side pieces.

I'm doing another project at the same time as this one - Dark Rey's Lightsaber. I'll open a separate thread for that one once I have the parts printed.

I do have a plan for the cracks in the helmet. I have a 3D pen and some transparent red filament. The plan is to dremel the cracks a little more to define them, and drill holes along the cracks. Then fill the cracks with the red filament, and sand it all flush, and underlight with LEDs inside the helmet. An internal dome should stop light bleed. I know how I want it to work, but as of yet, I'm yet to test it...

That's all for now!

 

[Magnavis]

Small update:

I've started the process of sanding and filling the helmet. I attacked it with some 80 grit paper. I then did a nuke fill with some spot putty. That will then get sanded back, and we'll rinse and repeat until it's nice and smooth.

I'm going to redo all of the cracks with my dremel, so I'm not too worried about some of them getting filled in a little.

The nose pieces will get a similar treatment, but I've not started on those yet.

As for the faceplate, I got all of the parts glued together, and I then re-enforced the seams with some epoxy glue. There was some slight warping from the printing, so they didn't go together perfectly.

To fix the warping, I had to break it a little. I clamped the faceplate to the helmet, which caused the top middle seam to break. The epoxy allowed it to flex just enough though, and so I was able to correct it's shape.

With it clamped, I then applied some epoxy glue. You can see the slight gap between the two parts. This is from the slight warping. With it clamped, I allows the epoxy to fully cure. Once dried, I removed the clamps, and thankfully, it retained it's corrected shape.

I've now started sanding and filling on the faceplate. Some 120 grit paper to lightly sand all over, being a little rougher where the seams were. I then applied some spot putty to the seams, and am currently waiting for that to dry..

More soon!

 

[Halliwax]

Really nice!

 

[Magnavis]

So...I've done the first round of sanding and filling on the helmet. I'm pleased with how it's going thus far, but still a lot of work to do. PETG sands a little nicer than PLA, but it's still tough and scratchy which makes it hard work - but that's the way it goes!

Most of the seams are pretty smooth now. There are a few bits that need knocking back due to not gluing completely flush (hard to avoid when gluing multiple parts), but it's going well so far. This'll probably get a light coat of XTC-3D and then another sand before it's first round of primer. Should have a much better idea of where we're at then...

As for the faceplate, that's not too far off being 'done'. Seams filled nicely, and sanded nicely too. Resin is super nice to sand - kinda a bit of a slap in the face when you go from lightly sanding resin to sanding the PETG...

Little bit more work on the faceplate - I'll prime to get make sure I get any hiding imperfections.

Also, quickly sanded the two nose pieces with some 80 grit. The front nose piece was pretty easy, but the under piece is a pain in the ass to sand - I remembered as much from my first Kylo build!

That's all for now!

 

[Magnavis]

An update:

So, as promised, I gave the helmet and nose pieces a light coat of XTC-3D. Acts as a general filler, a little like the spot putty, but is much better at getting into the tiny spaces that like to hide. Before that, I did a little more sanding, and a little bit of work with the dremel to get rid of some stubborn areas..

Once that was fully cured, I gave it all a good sand with some 120 grit paper, and then some 180 grit.

This was a good time to give everything it's first coat of primer, so that I could get a better idea of where I'm at after round one of filling and sanding..

Super dingy this time of year - I need to set my big light up - but photos give a decent idea of the current state, though they do make things look a little better than they are...There are a few high spots that still need knocking back with the dremel, and some more filling is needed, but for round one, it's not bad at-all..

Faceplate needs a little more work, but is almost there. Just a little more sanding and filling on some of the seams..

Front nose piece is almost there too, but the back piece still need a lot of work..

More soon!

 

[Halliwax]

Sand sand sand... fill fill fill

It all pays off in the end!

Looks great man!

 

[Magnavis]

Update time!

So, I had to do a little more work on the faceplate, but - minus the cracks - it's now a wet sand away from being paint ready.

I had some stubborn seams, which didn't want to go away for some reason or other. After some consultation via Twitter, I used some superglue and baking soda, which seemed to do the job.

Before:

After:

All gone!

Next step was more general sanding and filling of the main dome, and nose pieces. This was just sanding with 120, filling and repeating. For some more stubborn pieces, I used my dremel.

As of right now - I think the main dome is more or less there now, but I need a prime to confirm. Front nose piece is also there, but back bit may need a touch more work - I lost some details filling which I need to get back..

I started to dremel out the cracks a little more, but it was awkward to do, so I've got the flexy attachment now, which should make it a little easier to do..

All pieces have been sanded up to 180 grit as of right now - and are ready for what should be their final pre-paint prime.

I've also been trying to work out the best way to do the cracks. Yesterday, I came up with a 900iq idea which sort of 60-70% worked. I think I know how to improve that number - but I also think this is going to be a "F*ck it, we're doing it live!" kinda thing..

Here's the result, lit by my soft box:

That's all I got for ya...More soon!!

 

[Magnavis]

Update:

I'll start with the results of some more tests for the cracks.

Let he resin kick before pouring this time, which means nothing spilled where it wasn't supposed to go - which means the general method is pretty solid, and will definitely work for the helmet.

I've not ground out the cracks yet - but I did add another coat of primer to the helmet pieces, so that I could see how close I am to them being ready. Some parts are great, some parts still need work. Some very stubborn seams again, aswell as some lumpy bits, which need to be attacked with the Dremel.

More sanding and filling up next - which will hopefully be the final round! Also need to Dremel in some extra damage, and enhance some of the bits that are already there.

Once the helmet is ready for it's final wet sand, that's when I'll grind out the cracks with the dremel. They need to go all the way through - so I have to be very careful, as the whole helmet could literally fall to bits. I'll probably work on the front nose piece, as that is ready for it's final wet sand - so I can get the resin done on that. I'll do that over the weekend.

More soon!

 

[Magnavis]

A Sunday morning update for you!

I did a little more filling, and tried out a new filler. The 3M spot putty I use (green) is good for general imperfections, but it's really crap at seams, which I've learned during this project.

I used the spot putty for the general areas, and the new filler on the seams.

I then sanded it back with some 180 grit.

A quick coat of primer (still wet) and those pesky seams are gone!

There are a couple of small bit's I'll probably work on a little more. But generally, I'm happy with it now. The next step is to dremel in the lost details, and start the process of dremelling out the cracks, which is going to be a little tedious, but it's going to be 1000% worth it!

I'm also going to add some of this new filler to the middle seam on my faceplate, as the repeated sanding has given it a slight flat spot, and this stuff is actually really good and super easy to sand, so I should be able to fix that middle section a little more, as I'm still not happy with it..

That's all for now!

 

[Magnavis]

Final little update for today:

I got round to using the dremel to redefine the cracks, ready for phase two. This stage was just to make them clear again - there is some cleanup needed, but that'll come after the next step, which is to grind these out all the way through, being super careful to not let the helmet literally fall to pieces..

I'll do the nose cover first, as it's smaller, and a little easier to work with..

More soon!

 

[ChickenHaunt]

Interesting idea with the resin filled cracks. I just finally got a coat of primer on my print of your original Kylo helmet the other day. I've been thinking about redoing the face pieces in resin for a while, and seeing yours pretty much solidifies that plan.

 

[Magnavis]

Interesting idea with the resin filled cracks. I just finally got a coat of primer on my print of your original Kylo helmet the other day. I've been thinking about redoing the face pieces in resin for a while, and seeing yours pretty much solidifies that plan.

Yeah, if you can, I'd recommend it. Saves a lot of time, and looks so good. Only slight issue I had was a little warping which affected the joins. But even then, it was much less work than sanding and filling a normal print. I'm even tempted to rip the faceplate off of my original helmet, and redo it with the new one in resin!

Also, I wanna see your helmet when it's done!!

 

[Magnavis]

Update:

I wanted to get the resin started, and so went with the nose piece first. Using the Dremel, I carved out the cracks until they went all the way through, making sure to leave little tabs still connected, so that it didn't fall to pieces. One but did nearly fall off, but I taped it together with aluminium foil, which is what I use to seal the cracks when pouring the resin.

Even though this was PETG, I was still having some trouble with my Dremel getting a little gummed up with plastic. Some of the cracks were widening a little too much for my liking aswell.

I gave the piece a quick spray of matt black. A temporary coat which just served to ensure the color was uniform, as I didn't want buts of filler, or discoloured plastic to show through the resin.

I then sealed the cracks using some foil tape.

The resin was then poured from the inside going out - I let the resin kick a little before pouring. After an hour or so, I removed the tape.

At this point I was pretty happy with it. Once fully cured (the next day) the plan was to grind out the small tabs of plastic which I left in. I realised I'd made a mistake almost straight away.

Firstly, some of the tabs I left were too thick, which meant the resin on that part of the crack was thin. When I ground through, often I ground straight through and out the other side. I fixed the small holes easily enough, but It just looked tatty afterwards - to me atleast! I wasn't too happy with the overall quality.

The final result is ok - but I'm not happy enough with it, and so am going to re-do it.
I also realised something: There is no need for me to keep the little plastic tabs once the piece is taped up. The foil tape is strong and rigid. If I tape the whole piece up, I should then just be able to snip the little plastic tabs out, and the piece will stay together. I can then pour the resin without the chance of missing bits hidden by tabs, and it should be a lot cleaner.

So...nose cover will be re-done. It's super easy to sand, so it's a couple of hours max after printing to get it back to where it was. Grinding the cracks takes longer, but towards the end, I found a combination of bits for my Dremel which worked really well, and allowed for thinner cracks.

On a plus though, I did get the resin done for the faceplate, which turned out fine. Nothing really to it. A little cleanup needed from some leaking, but overall, it's good, and will do just fine.

It's going to take me about 26 years to do the cracks on the helmet, so probably no updates until the resin is done. I'll have to do the resin in parts for the helmet, as it's too big to hope to do in one go.

More soon!

 

[Magnavis]

Little bit of an update:

I got the replacement nose piece printed out. Printer really nicely at .1 layer height. Won't take a great deal of work to get it nice and smooth.

The good thing about deciding to redo the nose piece, is that I now have a test piece which is an actual aproximation of the final result. I wanted to test a couple of things regarding the final finish. The surface texture, surface finish, and also how well masking fluid works on the cracks.

I masked off the cracks, and then sprayed a coat of Rustoleum Aged Iron, which is a textured paint, which looked like it might do the trick. I sprayed it over the black, and it seems to stick well. I then let it dry for an hour or two, and sprayed it with a coat of Matt black. I then left it an hour or so and peeled off the masking fluid. I didn't leave the paint long enough, so I smuged some of it off with my finger, but it's a test piece, so it doesn't matter. I then gave it a satin clear coat to seal it all in, and this is the result..

With clear coat - just a little light from the window really makes the resin pop!

I think the texture is good, I may go a tad lighter for the final prop. It is annoying when trying to match the actual helmet though, because it varies massively. Sometimes it's quite smooth and shiny, other's it's dull and matt, and has a really rough texture. I don't know why it varies as much as it does, but it makes choosing a finish difficult.

For good measure, I stuck my led's behind the nose piece, and it looked pretty great honestly...

For the new piece, it's going to be a lot cleaner - but this was a good starting point, and I learned a lot from it.

I've started the long, and slightly tedious task of carving the cracks on the helmet. I've done just under half so far, and it's probably taken 5-6 hours with the Dremel. It's slow, but I've got a good technique going now, so it's going a little smoother. The helmet is starting to feel a littttttle fragile, and I'm super clumsy, and am trying real hard not to smash it against anything, or drop it lol..

I start by using a teeny tiny carving bit, to gouge out the cracks and make them a little deeper. I then drill a bunch of small holes along the path, which allows me to use a thin diamond sanding but to carve the rest out.

It's gonna need some cleanup, and I've probably got a few more tabs I can remove, as I'm playing it a little safe at the moment.
More Dremelling is in my future, and I'll be back here when I've finished, or I'm crying in the corner because it all fell to pieces - Stay tuned!

 

[Magnavis]

I DID IT!

Damn, that was dull! But I did it, and it didn't fall to pieces, and I'm happy! Took around 9-10 hours in total, and I'll probably have to spend another hour or 2 cleaning it up. It's still pretty sturdy too, which is good!

After cleanup, I'll probably give the helmet it's final sand (wet sand up to 1500), and then it'll be ready for the resin. I could do the resin first and then sand it afterwards, but I don't really want to scuff up the resin too much, and I want the lines to be sharp. I think sanding over the cracks could make things a little too blended together. But I'm not 100% decided yet, so we'll see!

More soon!

 

[Magnavis]

IT WORKED!!!!

There are some air bubbles that need to be cleaned up, aswell as a couple of little bits the resin didn't quite reach, but overall, it's been a success! I am going to grind out most of the little plastic tabs I left in, which will hopefully go without issue.

Inside a little messy, but none of it will be seen once complete anyway. I'll probably do a light inner coat of clear resin over everything once I've finished clean up, and then it'll be ready for the final stages.

Some more pics:

 

[Magnavis]

Small update - just getting everything tip top, ready for their final wet sands before printing.

As mentioned above, the helmet needed a little attention, and some spot fixing. The first thing I did was grind out the majority of the small tabs I left in, which until the resin pour, was the only thing stopping the helmet from falling to pieces. Once they had been removed, I then went around, and made a few of the imperfections a little bigger, so that I could seal them with tape, and add some resin from the inside, just like before. For the most part, this worked really well, and did the job. 2 or 3 of the more awkward pieces still needed some additional work done afterwards, but that was easy enough.

I also later went and added some small blobs over the air bubbles that remained, which still need to be sanded back. Circling imperfections with a sharpie made them easy to find when spot fixing.

It's a little messy still at the moment, but once sanded a little, it'll clean things up nicely.

Once I was done fixing up the main dome, I moved onto my replacement nose piece, which was also ready for resin. Some sanding with some 80 120 and 180 grit paper, and a little filling along the way got it all nice and clean, and not a layer line in sight. I also used the dremel to clean up some of the smaller details.

As before, I ground down the cracks with the Dremel, until all the way through. I only left a handful of tabs on this one, to the point where it was twisting and bending in my hands, and I had to hold the thing together with tape, or it would have fallen to pieces.

I ran out of resin on this piece, and so i didn't quite mix the ration correct, but other than some slightly slower cure times, it didn't seem to affect it at-all. I used some XTC 3D for spot fixing, which is a little more adventurous than my normal clear resin, and didn't really care for boundaryies set by the tape, which you can see in the images below. A little sanding though, and it'll clean up nicely..

I'm much happier with the cracks on this one, and am glad I decided to re-do it!

Next step is to clean up all of the resin from the outside, and inside. I'll probably coat the inside of the main dome with some XTC, which i'll then scuff up, which should help with a little additional diffusion. I think I'm going to get the lights fixed before painting too (Or at-least ready to be fixed) - as I realised I don't want to be handling, and potentially, bashing about fresh paint, especially the faceplate!

More soon!

 

[Magnavis]

"We're in the endgame now..."

Wrong fandom....But anywho, things are moving along, and we're on the home straight.

Firstly, after giving everything another good sand, and blending all the resin spot fixes, I got everything wet sanded up to 1500 grit, with the faceplate up to 3000 grit. I then attached the faceplate to the main dome, which was easy enough, but a few last minute adjustments needed to be made with the Dremel, to make sure everything sat nice and flush. I used some Epoxy along the top part, and hot glue to secure it - so it's nice and firmly stuck.

The following day, I noticed that the center seam of the faceplate (which gave me some issues a little while back) was giving me some issues again, which was caused by the original epoxy I used to repair the middle, which must have gone bad, as it never fully cured, and I was getting a little cracking. So I took the decision to remove the old filler, and epoxy, and fill it with the car body filler I picked up - which is much harder, and does a better job with seams.

I wacked some primer on to confirm the seams was repaired, and then sanded the area back again, up to 3000 grit.

Once that was done, I could move on and attach the two side pieces.

I was also able to see the helmet fully assembled for the first time too, though the nose pieces are just loose fits right now.

The next step is to to the inside of the helmet, and install the lights. I don't really want to be messing around with the helmet too much once its been painted, so I think it's a good idea to get the lights installed now before painting - and due to them being attached to foam panels by velcro (that's the plan, anyway), I can remove them whilst I paint too, to make sure nothing gets paint that shouldn't.

But we're not too far away now. I hope to be able to get some paint done by the weekend at the latest.

More soon!

 

[vebo1]

did you scale the helment to your head or did you have to still scale it up a bit.?

 

[Magnavis]

did you scale the helment to your head or did you have to still scale it up a bit.?

Nope - didn't scale it up. It's actually a pretty loose fit without padding, which in this case is good, as I need room for the lights