WIP Daft Punk FOAM Build (jfcustom Pep Files) + Pics!

D00M99

New Member
"First" official build! :D

After at least a year and a half of lurking I'm finally prepared to start a project! I wanted to try foam building, and after encountering jfcustom's FOAM Pepakura thread I thought I would try something simple from there. Personally going to be starting out with a Thomas helmet, and potentially a Guy helmet for a friend later on too. I have some friends that are also doing both helmets with the same methods as a school project, so going to need to figure things out for both Guy and Thomas helmets now anyway. :D

So far I've only gotten the Pep files scaled to my head, and it only took me three reprints. XD

Daft Punk Thomas Helmet Pep Mockup 1.jpgDaft Punk Thomas Helmet Pep Mockup 2.jpg

Helmet scale seems alright to me, it's only a roughly taped together mockup from jfcustom's Pep files.

Aiming more for cost efficiency/builder friendliness then super professionalism, the current plan is to use 2mm EVA foam for the helmet, coated with drywall spackle/joint compound, then chrome painted, with a plastic visor insert tinted black with iDye Poly.

Anyway, I need a bit of HELP regarding paint, as I know close to nothing about it. With this being a budget build I was aiming for rattlecans as opposed to professional chroming, and from what research I have done the method is to a) prime your surface b) lay down a base of gloss black and c) slowly spray the chrome paint in thin layers, with light sanding in between coats. To those of you who know how, does this sound about right, or am I missing anything? And what can I use to clear coat it without covering up the chrome?

Current plan is to use Rustoleum gloss black and Krylon Original Chrome. I've heard about Future Floor Finish, but not sure what it is or where to get it.

Thanks for reading guys, hope to get advice from you guys soon and hope to update sometime too!
 
Last edited:
Re: Daft Punk FOAM Build (jfcustom Pep Files)- PAINT HELP NEEDED

- Updated first post to reflect change in plans -

So I got a few more days in this week to work on it a bit. Almost finished with foam~

Disassembled the paper mockup and transfered to foam by gluing down the pieces with a glue stick, tracing, removing, and cutting. (helmet dome Pep file not shown)
P1010771.JPGP1010772.JPGP1010773.JPG

Files cut, ready for assembly. (Paper pep dome shown)
P1010774.JPG

To score the lines where the folds are, I placed the template over the foam piece and traced the fold lines with my fingernails to leave a slight indent in the foam. I then traced the indents with a x-acto knife, careful not to cut all the way down, making it easier to fold.
P1010778.JPG

Ear pucks assembled.
P1010781.JPG
TO NOTE- jfcustom's files only have two C-shaped semicircle files per ear on it. You need the center circle and the piece in between the two C-shaped circles to fill it in properly. If you're scaling the files to fit your head do NOT separate the C-shaped semicircle pieces unless you want to freehand the gap between it; also, make sure the inner C-semicircle is exactly centered. Use the intermediary piece between these two pieces and trim to fit in the gap.

And here are the pieces lightly taped together! The visor, helmet dome, ear pucks, and chin are all separate pieces that have been taped together to make sure it'll fit; I still haven't glued everything together yet.

Photo on 5-22-13 at 11.29 PM.jpgPhoto on 5-22-13 at 11.29 PM #2.jpgPhoto on 5-22-13 at 11.29 PM #3.jpgPhoto on 5-22-13 at 11.30 PM.jpgPhoto on 5-22-13 at 11.30 PM #2.jpgPhoto on 5-22-13 at 11.31 PM.jpgPhoto on 5-22-13 at 11.31 PM #2.jpgPhoto on 5-22-13 at 11.31 PM #3.jpg

So far so good! Looks better then the paper pep, at any rate, and the seam between the visor and the helmet dome fits a little better XD

Next step is to hot glue everything together, then start coating in joint compound, sand down, paint, and figure out a visor.

Also, if anyone has any paint tips do respond~ :]

Thanks again guys!
 
Re: WIP Daft Punk FOAM Build (jfcustom Pep Files)

I got quite a bit done since the last update, so bear with me as we go on a magical journey of PHOTOOOSSSSSSS


But first, to tie off a few loose ends. I've decided on a paint process, where I will be using Krylon Fusion Gloss Black as an undercoat, wetsand, layer, buff, and Micromesh to shininess, and then use Krylon Premium Metallic Silver Foil lightly misted as a topcoat, which I HOPE will work. Possibly might use Future Floor Finish, if needed. Much cheaper than shipping in Alclad and getting an airbrush, not to mention this helmet isn't super top notch enough for that. XD


Since my last update I took apart the tape on the mockup and glued everything together. I also cut a mock visor from foam, placed tape on the inside of the visor rims, and glued the mock visor to the tape. That way the helmet stays together in one piece (instead of flopping about because there's no structure/strength to allow such a hole) and so that once everything is finalized I can peel out the visor because it's glued to the tape, not the foam.

P1010938.JPGP1010937.JPGP1010936.JPG

Since foam is so soft I decided to crease the folds on the chin piece and anywhere else with sharp edges by first adding glue on the inside seam, then pinching and creasing the line on the outside. Once the glue on the inside dried the lines were much more crisp and sharp as opposed to soft and foam-y, although this did cause the flat faces of the chin to have a little indent and not be perfectly flat. This can be remedied later with the joint compound.

Here you can see where it was creased (bottom chin) vs. where I haven't creased it yet (right side chin):
P1010939.JPG

And some more of that here:
P1010940.JPG

Here's a good comparison of before and after the creasing where I did it on the visor. Much better looking, right?
P1010946.JPGP1010945.JPG

And this is a photo of the inside of the helmet where I put a bead of hot glue along the seam after I creased it and it dried.
P1010947.JPG
In my opinion, it makes the edges easier to see once you slather everything in joint compound, but to each their own.


For anyone happening to be following this thread because they're building it in foam too, here's how I glued in my ears. If you see on the Pep model the ears are glued in a way that's almost impossible to eyeball, and since the sides of the ear pieces are flat and not contoured to the edges of the pep file you have to do some clever planning to get it to fit in right. The correct alignment for the ear piece is also what I think makes or breaks a good Thomas helmet, IMO.

Anyway. The black line around the rectangular piece around the circumference of the ear piece is the outline of the original rectangle piece that jfcustom's foam file has. I left a little on just in case, but that wasn't needed.
So first I glued a small dab of hot glue on the edge of this piece (on the edge/black line) and glued it to the under-back side of the ear piece hole.
P1010941.JPG

Next I wrapped the foam helmet around the ear piece snugly and glued another point on the under-front side of the ear piece hole, again on the edge of the rectangle/black line.
P1010942.JPG

Wit these two points in you only need to glue one more point for the ear piece to be fixed into place. I chose the joint area where the visor, helmet, and ear piece meet. This is the only part you have to eyeball, so reference the model and place it how you like it.
P1010944.JPGP1010943.JPG

And that's it! It's much easier to have two points you're absolutely sure are in the right place and eyeball the third point than to eyeball exactly where the ear piece goes and how far in it goes, especially considering the contour of the seam between the helmet and the ear piece is super funky and hard to freehand.

Finished foam helmet:
P1010953.JPGP1010952.JPGP1010951.JPGP1010950.JPGP1010948.JPG

And a test fit~ The opening is actually a tiny TINY bit too small, but the chin edges bend to let me fit my head in so it works perfectly. :]
Photo on 6-13-13 at 6.10 PM.jpgPhoto on 6-13-13 at 6.09 PM.jpgPhoto on 6-13-13 at 6.08 PM.jpg

For some reason my other photos aren't attaching to this post, so I'll just throw those photos in with the next update. I can say at this point in time that I am on the second coat of joint compound, so there's that. :]

Also, on a final note, anyone know how to get these photos to appear bigger in this thread, or does it have to do with the resolution of my original images? o_O

Anyway, thanks for viewing~
 
Last edited:
Re: WIP Daft Punk FOAM Build (jfcustom Pep Files)

hey awesome job could you share with me the .pdo files from both helmets i try to download from de JFthread but i can´t u_U sendme a PM with the files please n.n
 
This thread is more than 9 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