"abomallstars' 2014 Halloween Contest Entry"GI Joe Crimson Guard last minute

abomallstars

New Member
Ok, Im new to this, and short on time. My two sons have given the last minute Halloween request to be Cobra Crimson Guard. I've done some paper mache for the kids in the past, but I've been reading some posts here that you can use Bondo.

Started with an old school souvenir baseball helmet and cut off the bill. Looked at some pictures of the Crimson Guard helmet online and I just taped and glued some cardboard and cereal boxes to the helmet. Can't believe I have to make two of these!

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Re: GI Joe Crimson Guard last minute Halloween build

No experience, so going on what I've read. Applied a coat of fiberglass resin, let it dry, then came in with a coat of Bondo the next day. I wish I would have started this earlier so I could have asked for some advice. After sanding the Bondo and getting it ready for paint, the odor is still super strong. Don't think my kid is going to be able to wear the helmet. Does anyone know how long before that strong odor dissipates?

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Re: GI Joe Crimson Guard last minute Halloween build

It's been a couple of days, and the helmet still has a super strong chemical odor. Too strong to wear. Decided to make the second helmet out of paper mache to avoid anything toxic. Used a mix of wood filler and water to make a paste and used it to help round off the top of the helmet. Seems to work ok. Don't want to risk putting it all over the helmet. 3 layers of newspaper and papermache should be strong enough.



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Re: GI Joe Crimson Guard last minute Halloween build

Paper mache helmet on the left. Once the paper mache dried, I hit both helmets with one coat of silver primer (Rustoleum) then the red. Once the red dried in the sun for a bit, I sanded down some spots for the battle damage. I also smeared in a little black acrylic paint into some of the holes and dents in the Bondo helmet to give it a more aged look.

The Bondo helmet still has a super strong smell on the inside. My son won't be able to wear it, other than for a few photo ops. He'll just carry it as a prop. He was a little bummed, but no time to crank out another paper mache helmet. I made a quick Cobra stencil on paper and hit the back of his helmet, just to give him something different than little brother.

The visor was just luck. I hadn't planned on giving them visors, just because we're down to the final hours, but I got lucky and found some old window tint type plastic downstairs. Worked out great!

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Re: GI Joe Crimson Guard last minute Halloween build

DSC_0555.JPGDSC_0459.JPGMom is taking up her once a year sewing duties and trying to finish up the Crimson Guard uniforms. Ebay came through in the clutch with some red cargo pants and the awesome Cobra logo on the chest, and a smaller one we'll put on the shoulder. My son used some para-cord to make the decretive lanyard on the shoulder, and the military rank is from my old high school ROTC uniforms. Don't ask why I still have that junk 25 years later!

We found a perfect fabric match to the pants and my wife just made a simple pattern from the boys' everyday jackets. Spray painted some buttons silver, and it's starting to come together.
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Re: GI Joe Crimson Guard last minute Halloween build

It was down to the wire, but we got it done. After school yesterday, we scored some red German military berets that matched perfectly. Lucky. Cut out some scrap fabric for black bandanas, and now even without the helmet, I think it looks pretty tough.

The Bondo helmet is still too toxic to wear around. My son has accepted the fact that it's just a prop at this point. The cool beret helped him get over it. Unless someone has some good advice about getting rid of the toxic Bondo smell, I would go paper mache for kids costumes in the future. Doesn't have the same detail, but it's easy to work with and I think it still turned out pretty great.

The sewing ran late into the night. Velcro saved the day. My wife made the jackets, then sewed the large decretive flap down on just one side. Attached velcro to the other side so that the boys could easily slip into the jacket, then close the flap shut with the velcro. Even had to had a little slit on one of the arms for the little guys since he's got a broken arm. Luckily he's rockin a red cast!
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Halloween was a success! Only a handful of dads in their late 30s-early 40s knew who they were, but they had a blast. It was a dream come true for the boys. Cobra!!!
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