Senate Guard Plumed Helmet Help!

Centurion

Active Member
Howdy folks.

Looking for any ideas/advice or hints on how to do the plumes on the Star Wars Senate Guard helmet!

Have trooped as the only SG in the UK Garrison last week :-

100_0311.jpg


Got a brilliant response form the public and my fellow troopers. So much so that I have decided to go ahead and do the plumed version of the helmet to compliment the one in the above picture.

This is the one I'm planning on doing:-

SENATEguard_08.jpg


I have put the feelers out with regards to getting another helmet from the original maker and also someone in the UKG may well be able to provide the material for the plumes.But I'm having a look around to see if I can find anything suitable in the meantime.I have even thought about approaching LucasArts/films etc to ask them what they used for the plumes!
All well and good so far, but it's a real head scratcher as to how to physically attach the plumes and not make them look like my head is being assaulted by some wee mad hairy thing!:$

So!Here I am picking the collective brains of the RPF and I thought if you guys had'nt any ideas then nobody would!:)

Many thanks in advance and I'm off to do some more head scratching now!:cry
 
This may sound silly...but....black nylon bristled broom. Cut the bristles off... there you go. :confused
 
That really looks like horse hair to me, it would have to be ultra-stiff to get that length though. To attach that you'd need to drill along the tops of the V on the crest of the helmet and glue them in.

As an aside isn't the assembly different on both the crested and non-crested SG helmet? I'm sure in the most common reference pics the top of the eyes are different.
 
Having the same kind of issues with Leonidas 300 helmet. Unfortunalety it would be difficult to find bristle brooms that are that long.

I'm going to use real horsehair, apparently they used crow feathers among the hair in the movie to help it stand up.

Maybe ask Tim Allen, he has made a few Leo helmets, I'm sure he can shed some light on it.
 
I made this a few years ago using horse hair.

my-general-kael-project-helmet-01.jpg-22083d1267706316


It's a case of drilling lots of evely spaced holes along the length of the creast base, then getting smallish bunches of horsehair in approx 30 cm lengths, then folding the bunches in half to form a big V. Then half fill your hole with PVA and cram the folded end of the hair bunch into it and let it dry. Its the bend in the hair which makes it stand up stiff in the crest

I sourced some horsehair from a guy who makes and renovates bows for violins and cellos. It comes in different grades of quality the lowest being pretty cheap and perfect for a helmet crest! The hair I bought was white/natural so I dyed it with some black fabric dye on the stove.

Here's the web address for the hair supplier
Micheal T. Sowden & Sons - Providers of the worlds finest bow hair - Home

I hope that makes sense, your helmet will look incredible with that double crest
 
Aw Man!

Thanks so much guys for all the advice and tips.

Ever since I mentioned doing the double plumed helmet I've had folk going on about how awesome it will look when done.

The beers are on me if we ever meet up!(y)thumbsup

Out of curiosity Pete what was the hair you used??Black bow/double bow?/And any suggetsions on how much you used as going by that pic you supplied both helmet crests are about the same lenght!
The method you desc ribed Pete seem to be the way to go with the only difference being the holes will be at a slight angle. Just need to find a suitably sized drill bit and dust off the trusty dremel.

Was thinking of drilling the required holes and then getting the helmet painted prior to the fiddly hours that lie ahead putting all that hair in place!
 
Last edited:
It was about 5 years ago now when I made it, but I remember using the cheapest, lowest grade hair, rubbish for bows, but perfect for helmets!

Micheal T. Sowden & Sons - Providers of the worlds finest bow hair - 1 Star Mongolian Bow Hair

I remember it coming in 30cm length bundles, but they seem to be longer now. I guess you'll have to cut the bundles in half before you start.

I used white hair as it was the only option in the cheaper grade, then I dyed it black with some Dylon fabric dye. I seperated the big hair bundle into smaller bundles with some string in the middle of the 30 cm length (this is because the dye wont take where the string is, so where the tie mark is in the middle, will be the part that is glued into the crest base)

The smaller bundles were about the diameter of my finger. I then cooked up a dye mixture on the hob, and added a few of the smaller bundle at a time to dye them. It took a while!

When it's cool enough, rinse it under the cold tap to make sure it's taken, then let it dry naturally.

I remember sitting up almost all night putting the hair into my crest, I watch Braveheart twice in a row.

Once the hair is all glued in you'll have to trim it with a nice sharp pair of scissors as it'll be a bit uneven.

One last little tip is that once the helmet is finished, it's best to store it upside down, hang it if you can, otherwise the crest will sag down over time and may get a bit floppy. The more hair you can fit into the holes you drill the less likely it is to sag. I think the holes I put hair into were about 5mm so you can get a fair amount of hair into it.

Good Luck!
 
Back
Top