Rocketeer - "We're gonna need a helmet"

[dualedge]

Thanks, guys!

Rob, can you share how you thinned out the mouth opening? When I was doing my helmet, I used a dremmel to do the eyes, luckly the mouth did not need thinning out because I would not have known how to get it in there like that.

I used a Dremel "MiniMite Cordless" that I bought a couple of years ago at Wal-Mart for $20. It's one of my favorite tools for working on Rocketeer helmets. I mean, you really need patience more than horsepower to grind through a bunch of resin anyway so the MiniMite's "Hi" and "Low" settings work just fine for me.

This is what it looks like:

I tried using a flex-shaft on another Dremel but it just didn't work well for me. Flex shafts just ain't all their cracked up to be IMHO. The MiniMite is small enough that you can work on the eyes and mouth really easily - and to a slightly lesser extent the air vents.

Other than that, you've just got to have a steady hand and patience. Doing the eyes is hard enough because you've got to try to maintain a consistent thickness all the way around the eye opening but the teeth requires about twice as much patience I think. It's not uncommon for me to have to get the bondo out and patch a small spot here or there on the teeth that I got too thin by accident. It's hard to avoid since the edges are so close together. But the finished result makes a world of difference.

In that pic above, you're also seeing it after I've cleaned it up a bit so it looks a little nicer. I hate for the inside to look too rough so it's all relatively smoothed out.

 

[CustomCreations]

Hi,
Ive been finishing up a Rocketeer helmet I sculpted to put in the Junkyard soon, so much of this thread has been very interesting to try out, thanks Dual Edge!.
My way of thinning out the edges/thickness might be helpful too, hope you dont mind me adding-
I use a chunky bit of wood sanded to a circle/disc about 4" diameter.
Through the dead middle of this I run a long bolt, so the wooden disc is held on to the bolt nice and tight and doesnt spin.
I then wrap 80 grit sand paper around the edge of the disk with double sided carpet tape, and mount this all into a battery drill.
This makes a really cool sanding disc, and makes really light work of thinning out the resin around the mouth and eye area. Remember to use a mask as this method tends to create a lot of dust !!
Its a bit more hardcore, and lets you use the dremel for final neatness...
Regards,
D

 

[Westies14]

Great thread!

Would you be willing to share any dimensions of the screen-used helmet? Even one or two key ones that I could use to scale others from? I'm going to try my hand at a pepakura template and I'd like to get it scaled properly!

Beautiful work!

- Douglas

 

[Too Much Garlic]

What was the Timeslip Creations kit like compared to this Acme piece?

 

[dualedge]

Great thread!

Would you be willing to share any dimensions of the screen-used helmet? Even one or two key ones that I could use to scale others from? I'm going to try my hand at a pepakura template and I'd like to get it scaled properly!

Beautiful work!

- Douglas

I took a few measurements when I still had the helmet but I don't recall them off the top of my head. I'll see if I can dig up some info though.

I didn't make very many measurements since relatively accurate castings have been available for a while. I can make some measurements of the Acme helmet though if you like.

The only problem with the castings is that most folks either don't know how to finish them properly or just aren't as obsessed as I tend to be

 

[EvilRocketeer]

What was the Timeslip Creations kit like compared to this Acme piece?

They are the same helmet..Timeslip creations and MIM sold the Acme Helmets..Basically, they are the middle men for clint

 

[Westies14]

I took a few measurements when I still had the helmet but I don't recall them off the top of my head. I'll see if I can dig up some info though.

I didn't make very many measurements since relatively accurate castings have been available for a while. I can make some measurements of the Acme helmet though if you like.

The only problem with the castings is that most folks either don't know how to finish them properly or just aren't as obsessed as I tend to be

Thanks for the info! Are the castings still actually available? I can't google my way to one to save my life... MiM doesn't carry them anymore. Is Clint still in business?

 

[Too Much Garlic]

SWEET. So, since Timeslip ain't selling them anymore and MiM are duds... where can I find info on the acme?

 

[dualedge]

What was the Timeslip Creations kit like compared to this Acme piece?

Timeslip sold the same Acme kit that MiM also sold.

As for other versions besides the Acme kit, there have been a few. There were a couple of fan sculpted kits which were pretty grotesque. Don't get me wrong, I respect anybody that has the guts to do a sculpt from scratch, but ultimately if you want what you saw in the movie, something cast from an original (or as close as you can get) is preferable IMHO.

None but the Acme kits that I know of have ever been cast as one piece though so you don't have any hassle of trying to attach the fin and make it seamless. And actually the original helmets were resin so I prefer resin over fiberglass. Resin is also easier to tweak and make more accurate.

The only other really good kit I liked was a fiberglass one offered here on the RPF about 7 or 8 years ago by a board member but I rarely see those surface these days.

The Acme is my personal favorite...

 

[EvilRocketeer]

If you guys want Clints/ACME information, PM ME.

I will give his contact.

Timeslip and MIM had to take the rocketeer stuff off their website for legal reasons. Not sure what really happened though

Also, Mim wasnt duds on the rocketeer items. Once they had an order in, they would immediately contact clint, so the wait time was based upon how fast clint could get a pack or helmet for you. He is a busy guy

 

[Too Much Garlic]

The dud comment was meant as I don't want to buy from them.

PM sent.

 

[Firespray]

Very nice! :thumbsup

 

[BronzeGiant]

What has everyone done for a chinstrap. I bought, from eBay many years ago, a cloth flying helmet that I thought I'd epoxy to the inside of my helmet thus solving the problem of how to attach a chin strap. What has everyone else done?

 

[EvilRocketeer]

What has everyone done for a chinstrap. I bought, from eBay many years ago, a cloth flying helmet that I thought I'd epoxy to the inside of my helmet thus solving the problem of how to attach a chin strap. What has everyone else done?

I know some findheads just got thick leather straps and glued them to the side of the helmet.

And I seen about two liners that had buttons to the liners/...the straps would snap on to the liner..

 

[ewokus]

Beautiful piece of work. I was working on the Rocketeer Helmet Master for Icons for a while, but this was when the company was completely falling apart, and the project never got completed. Your Helmet is terriffic - well done!

 

[Novalux]

Very awesome helmet job!

 

[SonOfPumpkinhead]

I want one!

 

[HandSolo]

id love to see someone do it out of real metal and do real welds...anyone do this already?

Excelent work, my man.

 

[dualedge]

id love to see someone do it out of real metal and do real welds...anyone do this already?

Excelent work, my man.

Thanks, guys, wish I had time to do more!

Hand, I assume you mean other than the MR version which was metal though it lacked true welds obviously. That's an understatement of course

I ran across one fan-made metal version though I don't think it had welded lines either. It was cool and very nicel made but unfortunately *much* more inaccurate than the MR helmet which was closer though still missed the mark.

Honestly, I don't know how you'd make an accurate helmet out of metal. I suppose it's possible but it'd take someone who was either very, very determined or simply a master of working with metal...

Personally the idea doesn't appeal to me but I can see how it might to others. The weld lines were sculpted so well on the original hero helmet that there was a guy familiar with welding at ComicCon a few years ago when Profiles was auctioning my hero helmet. He asked the Profiles guy how the welding was done because he apparently thought it was a real weld.

The weld lines on the MR are a joke of course... The original weld lines on the Acme casting were removed and redone by those guys. They aren't horrible but they aren't nearly as nice as the weld lines on the hero helmet were either unfortunately. It's still the best option IMHO but to each his own of course.

Anyway... probably more information than anyone wanted but there you go.

 

[ScottageCheese]

Great thread, great reference images.
Will revisit once I start painting my Bargain Helmet...
http://www.therpf.com/f13/bargain-rocketeer-helmet-112605/