Star Lord Helmet Build ( HARDENING PHASE )

[Kow]

Greetings All.

This is my first post and first attempt at a full build, bear with me. I'm embarking on Star Lord's Helmet from the up coming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I have to first give a huge shout out to Helagak for providing the pep file! ( http://www.therpf.com/f78/star-lord-helmet-helagak-208660/ ). As of now I have completed the Pep and I'm in the hardening process.

pep just before resin


and with a couple coats:


I'm gonna give it a couple more coats of fiberglass and resin, then probably take it apart to test the fit. I scaled it very close to the size of my head with the intent to make it snug, and turn it into a two piece helmet. But i think i might be cutting it close. wish me luck, more updates coming soon!

cheers!

 

[made007]

Looks great
what paper weight? What resin?
looks like it didnt warped one bit, sometimes mipy stuff warps, i hate that

 

[Kow]

Thanks. I used a 110lb. card stock, I built an initial one with white card stock, and realized when i was about 90% done that the helmet was going to be massive. So i picked up a blue card stock just so i didn't get them mixed up.

And i'm actually using an Epoxy Resin from a craft store. I've used the fiber glass - polyester resin combo from Walmart in the past and found the fumes overpowering and the work time very short. I will say though, the polyester resin made much quicker work of the hardening process ( 1 - 2 coats). Where the Epoxy is taking a couple more coats. But it's giving me time to make adjustments as i go.

If anyones interested in resin I found cereal Kill3r's video to be a FANTASTIC source:
How To Harden Pepakura (Part 1) - Understanding Fiberglass Resin - YouTube

 

[-VERTIGO-]

Looks absolutely fantastic man, how are you going to approach the canisters and such on the side? Going to pep and do those separately or figure out another solution for those on the mask?

 

[Kow]

I'm planning on pepping the canisters and side details separately. That way i can just make one, cast it, and pop out as many as i need.

 

[Kow]

Looks great
what paper weight? What resin?
looks like it didnt warped one bit, sometimes mipy stuff warps, i hate that

i actually just used 110lb. card-stock. i pepped an initial one out in white paper and realized, when i was 90% done, that it was going to be massive. So i resized and printed on blue card-stock to differentiate the pieces.

And i'm trying out Epoxy Resin for this build. I've used the polyester resin in the past, but found that the odor was too harsh and didn't give me much work time. The Epoxy is taking a couple extra coats, but it's giving me time to make adjustments as i go.

an example of which i did last night... I noticed that the back of the helmet was shaping into a bit of a point. I told myself that i would fix it post hardening, but i managed to convince myself to make an adjustment. i little tweak of my supports and the shape became much better!!!

 

[made007]

Nice
i use polyester cause i find it locally
but i have to try epoxy resin one day is never to late to learn about new materials and try them

 

[GhostMinion]

Killer job on the pep :thumbsup Looks amazing!

And epoxy resin is all I ever use, it's good stuff. More expensive, but way better that the cheap bondo crap.

Can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

[Kow]

Well, I've got some great news! I finished hardening the pep, split the mask open to get a quick test fit, and It's PERFECT! I can not tell you how worried i was that it was going to be too small, and that i was going to have to pep a third helmet. The eyes are lining up, my ears are snug, it fits... it all fits!


and i didn't stop there, i got to work with the bondo. i have the first coat on the back of the helmet and sanded, i started drilling out the eye holes, and i've gotten half the helmet preped for bondo. The only thing slowing me down now is my urge to reattach the back of the helmet. So, i'm putting magnets in as we speak to snap the back on.



more updates to come soon!

 

[Lord Magneto]

Nice man.

 

[loregrohl]

hi, great job! i have a couple of question, did you use fiberglass? And the entire helmet (not splitted) doesn't fits?

 

[Kow]

hi, great job! i have a couple of question, did you use fiberglass? And the entire helmet (not splitted) doesn't fits?

yep, i used fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. And to answer your other question, not exactly. The helmet does fit, but what you can't see it from the photos that i have posted is that there is a bottom to the chin. So the opening at the bottom is too small to slip the helmet on. Splitting the helmet into two was the plan from the get go to ensure a tight fit.

Thanks for asking

- - - Updated - - -

Nice man.

Thank you good sir

 

[Kow]

I'm setting a completion date! August 1st is the premiere for Guardians, so i'm shooting to have it completed by then ( 81 days ). It sounds like enough time, but we'll see. I'm gonna spend the week getting the first coat of bondo onto the helmet, Then probably change gears and work on the canisters. From my reverence material and the 3D model of the helmet, it looks like the canisters actual overlap with the "cheeks" of the helmet, so i might be cutting into them before long. If anyone can confirm or refute that, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Also the planning was to pepping out the canisters, but i'm thinking of hitting up a hardware store and just putting them together with pips/tubes. The pep of the canisters is terrifying.

 

[Prometheus7Fire]

Hey! Fellow paper pepper here. Love the build so far! How are you going to make those eyes? Will you use some type of lens or leave them open?

 

[Kow]

Hey! Fellow paper pepper here. Love the build so far! How are you going to make those eyes? Will you use some type of lens or leave them open?

I'm not 100% sure yet, but the idea of cutting my own lenses out of glass is a front runner. I have some stain-glass supplies that haven't been used in a while and the local hobby shop always has red glass. We'll see though, i might also just make them out of epoxy resin if the glass is too opaque.

Does anyone know what color the eyes are supposed to be? I know in the comics they are a yellow-orange, but the movie version is super red in some shots and orange in others. Or do they change colors ( battle mode : RED, stand-by mode : ORANGE )?

 

[loregrohl]

i think it's more red than orange

 

[Kow]

yeah, that and a couple other shots have Super deep red eyes. but then there are photos of the prop like these:

and they look orange.

 

[loregrohl]

ok i don't know, but i prefer the red one. Another question, what kind of "yellow" is in the insert of the helmet?

 

[Kow]

ok i don't know, but i prefer the red one. Another question, what kind of "yellow" is in the insert of the helmet?

which part of the helmet? and i agree, i like the look of the red lenses.

 

[HeroLids]

That is one awesome build mate, i love helmets and masks and yours is superb, keep it up my friend