Beld
New Member
Hi all,
I've always been fascinated in building/creating things.
I love the research part: digging in forum posts, watching YouTube tutorials, gathering the correct materials. After that the fun starts with the actual build itself! The build itself needs to be fun and this is holds especially for my first time helmet projection this thread.
If it wasn't any fun I would have never been able to finish it.
One of my bucket list items is to create a vacuum form machine and make a storm trooper armor.However... When I saw the Dredd 2012 movie last year I was blown away! I missed it here in the cinemas, was not aware of it's existence, but after watching it became an instant cult classic for me. In that same week I watched it at least four times with different friends to show them how awesome it is.
Needless to say, after the first viewing my mind was set. I have to build the full armor. And what else to start with then the helmet?
This thread won't bea complete tutorial on making the helmet since there are already many threads on the rpf that cover helmet builds in depth. I will try however to shine my light and experiences during this build and in such hopefully contribute/inspire other for their builds
I'll update this post with more in depth information later on since there is a lot to go through.
Useful links:
One of the amazing threads on the rpf with a lot of practical information which I referred to many times during my build
Part 1: Pepakura build
As many before me I choose a pepakura model as starting point for my helmet build.
The pepakura model itself is not very hard to assemble but it helps if you get the scaling first-time right. As you can see in the picture I had to re-size the helmet since my first build was a bit too small. It is however worth it to get it right before continuing since this will be the starting base. The helmet was scaled to my head but I used the studio creations website (link to be added) to keep it as screen accurate as possible.
Note:
Use the right paperweight for your pepakura build this will make your base model more rigid.
(to be added -> paper weight I used)
Part 2: Polyesterresin coat
The next step in the build will be to reinforce the pepakura paper model. This is done using polyester resin (link to be added) and fiberglass sheets. In order to avoid deformation of the model while the resin cures the paper model needs to be reinforced with some additional cardboard or sticks. I coated the inside and the outside of the model first with only resin which is soaked into the paper.Once cured you will find that the model is hard but very brittle. Roughly three layers of fiber glass sheets were placed on the inside of the model to reinforce it and make it durable.
Note:
1. By using fiberglass sheets only on the inside you will retain the outer shape of your pepakura model.
2. Please use proper protection when working with fiberglass and polyester resin. Protective eye-wear, gloves and a good respirator with carbon filter is mandatory!
After curing I just had to do a fit test. A towel was needed to pad the inside to see how it would fit.
Part 3: Polyester Putty and sanding
Now to the longest part of the whole build: Puttying and sanding of the helmet. Over and over and over again.
Many refer to this step naming it the "Sanding Hell". Considering this was a Dredd build"The Long Walk" sounds more appropriate.
In order to get rid of the polygon shapes of the pepakura model you will need to apply putty. Bondo is the magical term outside of Europe to use in this step. In the Netherlands I could not find any bondo and had to look for alternatives which was not that hard. I'll update the thread later with the materials I used. Mix the putty and apply it in thin layers to the helmet, let it cure and sand it down.
Putty, Sand, Repeat:That's the bottom line.
Eventually you will need less and less putty and use finer grid paper. This helmet took at least 5or 6 layers and in the final steps it came down to wet sanding with 1000grid and 1200grid paper.
Note:
1. The more putty you use the more you will have to sand down again.
2. Start with rough grid paper (for example: 120grid) and gradually work your way up to finer grid paper (400grid).
3. A sanding block made out of cork will help even the pressure during sanding. If you use just your hands you will get more local pressure at your finger tips through the paper.
4. When sending you will eventually reach the top parts of the pepakura model. This is a good indicator to start putty again if the surface isn't smooth enough.
Part4: Raised areas
In order to make the raised areas on the helmet I used the method as described in this thread (link to be added). Using a mask I drew the lines where for each raised area on the helmet. After a border was made with double-sided foam tape from the construction market. This was puttied and had to be sanded down again.
Note:
1. The double-sided foam tape worked brilliantly however, it was a real pain to remove it. The glue in my tape was sooo good I had to sand and use chemicals to dissolve it from the helmet... Try to use tape that is not that sticky.
Part 5: Sanding again...
I used a dremel tool to cut a small line between the raised areas at the front side of the helmet.(see the bottom right previous picture and compare it with the top left of the picture below). Apart from that the edges of the raised areas were rounded to make the transition more natural. The helmet was still not smooth enough thus that meant:
Putty, Sand, Repeat.
Part 6: Spot putty,battle damage and first paint coating
Finally the helmet was smooth enough but after close inspection some spots were still cracked/rough. By applying local putty to those spots this could be fixed quite easily. Next was the battle damage step: using a dremel tool with grinding disk cuts were made. Screen reference pictures were used to get the damage in the same spots. (as good as possible of course).
After that the helmet was rinsed with a mixture of St. Marc (will add info later) and water to degrease the surface. After degreasing water was used to rinse again. The first coat was a primer using a spray can followed by metallic aluminium spray paint.(I'll add info later -> standard construction market spray paint).
Note:
I found some tutorials that used Vaseline between spray layers. If you spray a different color after applying Vaseline to certain areas the paint will not adhere to those areas. After the paint is dry you can wipe the Vaseline away and see the underlying color -> aluminium in this case.
I tried it on the scratches and sprayed a new black coat on top of it. While removing the Vaseline too much paint came off. For weathering Vaseline is perfect but for scratches it turned out to be not that good.
So I re-sprayed a black coat (without Vaseline in between) and used some toothpicks to scratch away the black paint before it would fully dry.
Part 7: Final paint coating and padding
In total I used 3 coats for each color before starting the next. After the black coating I started working on the inside padding of the helmet using some regular foam bought at the market (typically they use this foam for cushions etc). I just placed the foam inside the helmet and traced out the contours to be cut. Also during this stage I demolished a sun visor that I bought in Japan during my holidays (picture to be added later).
With some papers and cheap tape I covered the rest of the helmet so I could start spraying the red color.
Note:
I bought special masking tape from the construction market that could be used on delicate areas.I think there is less adhesive in the tape which helps avoiding pulling of underlying coats of paint when removing later.
In the picture below you can see how I stitched some black stretch fabric to the inside foam padding. Just to make it look better.
Some old black T-shirts would also work as donor material.
Part 8: Inside construction
A good way to attach the visor into the helmet was already given here on the forum. And I decided to do the same. Using a glue gun some nicely cut to size bolts were glued into the helmet. This makes it also easy to exchange the visor if it gets damaged during field duty. The padding was simply put in place using double sided tape.
In the bottom right figure you will see one of the black acrylic washes I applied to the helmet in order to weather it. The wash was made by mixing black acrylic paint with a lot of water. Just coat the helmet with it and wipe of the excess leaving just enough on it as seen fit. Repeat this until you are satisfied with the degree of weathering.
Part 9: The Badge and more weathering
I used cardboard and later 2mm craft foam to create the badge for the helmet. You can see it in the top-right picture below. The foam badge however did not cut it. I could not get myself to settle for that quality considering the amount of time and effort put into the rest of the helmet... Therefor I started anew and used plexi-glass to cut out a new badge. I sanded it down such that I could spray coat it black with plastic model primer before painting. After that I used gold acrylic paint to make it gold. I liked the effect of the black coat seeping through it from underneath and decided not to weather it any further. Depending on which direction you look at the helmet you will get a different effect.
During this step I also used silver acrylic paint and went all over the helmet edges where I thought it would be damaged/weather over time.
Note:
1. Not much too add in this step except for that you should not take any shortcuts during a build.Settling for the foam badge in my case would leave a sour aftertaste.
Part 10: Clear-coat
Finally I spray-painted two layers of clear-coat on the helmet to seal in all the weathering that was done. Here is the end result.
I hope my Long Walk will give you some inspiration and maybe some tips while building your own Dredd helmet.
As mentioned: I'll update this post with some more information later.
If you have any comments or questions about my build: please let me know.
And lastly: thank you all here on the rpf for sharing and contributing. Without it my walk would have been much longer.
I've always been fascinated in building/creating things.
I love the research part: digging in forum posts, watching YouTube tutorials, gathering the correct materials. After that the fun starts with the actual build itself! The build itself needs to be fun and this is holds especially for my first time helmet projection this thread.
If it wasn't any fun I would have never been able to finish it.
One of my bucket list items is to create a vacuum form machine and make a storm trooper armor.However... When I saw the Dredd 2012 movie last year I was blown away! I missed it here in the cinemas, was not aware of it's existence, but after watching it became an instant cult classic for me. In that same week I watched it at least four times with different friends to show them how awesome it is.
Needless to say, after the first viewing my mind was set. I have to build the full armor. And what else to start with then the helmet?
This thread won't bea complete tutorial on making the helmet since there are already many threads on the rpf that cover helmet builds in depth. I will try however to shine my light and experiences during this build and in such hopefully contribute/inspire other for their builds
I'll update this post with more in depth information later on since there is a lot to go through.
Useful links:
One of the amazing threads on the rpf with a lot of practical information which I referred to many times during my build
- More links to be added
Part 1: Pepakura build
As many before me I choose a pepakura model as starting point for my helmet build.
The pepakura model itself is not very hard to assemble but it helps if you get the scaling first-time right. As you can see in the picture I had to re-size the helmet since my first build was a bit too small. It is however worth it to get it right before continuing since this will be the starting base. The helmet was scaled to my head but I used the studio creations website (link to be added) to keep it as screen accurate as possible.
Note:
Use the right paperweight for your pepakura build this will make your base model more rigid.
(to be added -> paper weight I used)
Part 2: Polyesterresin coat
The next step in the build will be to reinforce the pepakura paper model. This is done using polyester resin (link to be added) and fiberglass sheets. In order to avoid deformation of the model while the resin cures the paper model needs to be reinforced with some additional cardboard or sticks. I coated the inside and the outside of the model first with only resin which is soaked into the paper.Once cured you will find that the model is hard but very brittle. Roughly three layers of fiber glass sheets were placed on the inside of the model to reinforce it and make it durable.
Note:
1. By using fiberglass sheets only on the inside you will retain the outer shape of your pepakura model.
2. Please use proper protection when working with fiberglass and polyester resin. Protective eye-wear, gloves and a good respirator with carbon filter is mandatory!
After curing I just had to do a fit test. A towel was needed to pad the inside to see how it would fit.
Part 3: Polyester Putty and sanding
Now to the longest part of the whole build: Puttying and sanding of the helmet. Over and over and over again.
Many refer to this step naming it the "Sanding Hell". Considering this was a Dredd build"The Long Walk" sounds more appropriate.
In order to get rid of the polygon shapes of the pepakura model you will need to apply putty. Bondo is the magical term outside of Europe to use in this step. In the Netherlands I could not find any bondo and had to look for alternatives which was not that hard. I'll update the thread later with the materials I used. Mix the putty and apply it in thin layers to the helmet, let it cure and sand it down.
Putty, Sand, Repeat:That's the bottom line.
Eventually you will need less and less putty and use finer grid paper. This helmet took at least 5or 6 layers and in the final steps it came down to wet sanding with 1000grid and 1200grid paper.
Note:
1. The more putty you use the more you will have to sand down again.
2. Start with rough grid paper (for example: 120grid) and gradually work your way up to finer grid paper (400grid).
3. A sanding block made out of cork will help even the pressure during sanding. If you use just your hands you will get more local pressure at your finger tips through the paper.
4. When sending you will eventually reach the top parts of the pepakura model. This is a good indicator to start putty again if the surface isn't smooth enough.
Part4: Raised areas
In order to make the raised areas on the helmet I used the method as described in this thread (link to be added). Using a mask I drew the lines where for each raised area on the helmet. After a border was made with double-sided foam tape from the construction market. This was puttied and had to be sanded down again.
Note:
1. The double-sided foam tape worked brilliantly however, it was a real pain to remove it. The glue in my tape was sooo good I had to sand and use chemicals to dissolve it from the helmet... Try to use tape that is not that sticky.
Part 5: Sanding again...
I used a dremel tool to cut a small line between the raised areas at the front side of the helmet.(see the bottom right previous picture and compare it with the top left of the picture below). Apart from that the edges of the raised areas were rounded to make the transition more natural. The helmet was still not smooth enough thus that meant:
Putty, Sand, Repeat.
Part 6: Spot putty,battle damage and first paint coating
Finally the helmet was smooth enough but after close inspection some spots were still cracked/rough. By applying local putty to those spots this could be fixed quite easily. Next was the battle damage step: using a dremel tool with grinding disk cuts were made. Screen reference pictures were used to get the damage in the same spots. (as good as possible of course).
After that the helmet was rinsed with a mixture of St. Marc (will add info later) and water to degrease the surface. After degreasing water was used to rinse again. The first coat was a primer using a spray can followed by metallic aluminium spray paint.(I'll add info later -> standard construction market spray paint).
Note:
I found some tutorials that used Vaseline between spray layers. If you spray a different color after applying Vaseline to certain areas the paint will not adhere to those areas. After the paint is dry you can wipe the Vaseline away and see the underlying color -> aluminium in this case.
I tried it on the scratches and sprayed a new black coat on top of it. While removing the Vaseline too much paint came off. For weathering Vaseline is perfect but for scratches it turned out to be not that good.
So I re-sprayed a black coat (without Vaseline in between) and used some toothpicks to scratch away the black paint before it would fully dry.
Part 7: Final paint coating and padding
In total I used 3 coats for each color before starting the next. After the black coating I started working on the inside padding of the helmet using some regular foam bought at the market (typically they use this foam for cushions etc). I just placed the foam inside the helmet and traced out the contours to be cut. Also during this stage I demolished a sun visor that I bought in Japan during my holidays (picture to be added later).
With some papers and cheap tape I covered the rest of the helmet so I could start spraying the red color.
Note:
I bought special masking tape from the construction market that could be used on delicate areas.I think there is less adhesive in the tape which helps avoiding pulling of underlying coats of paint when removing later.
In the picture below you can see how I stitched some black stretch fabric to the inside foam padding. Just to make it look better.
Some old black T-shirts would also work as donor material.
Part 8: Inside construction
A good way to attach the visor into the helmet was already given here on the forum. And I decided to do the same. Using a glue gun some nicely cut to size bolts were glued into the helmet. This makes it also easy to exchange the visor if it gets damaged during field duty. The padding was simply put in place using double sided tape.
In the bottom right figure you will see one of the black acrylic washes I applied to the helmet in order to weather it. The wash was made by mixing black acrylic paint with a lot of water. Just coat the helmet with it and wipe of the excess leaving just enough on it as seen fit. Repeat this until you are satisfied with the degree of weathering.
Part 9: The Badge and more weathering
I used cardboard and later 2mm craft foam to create the badge for the helmet. You can see it in the top-right picture below. The foam badge however did not cut it. I could not get myself to settle for that quality considering the amount of time and effort put into the rest of the helmet... Therefor I started anew and used plexi-glass to cut out a new badge. I sanded it down such that I could spray coat it black with plastic model primer before painting. After that I used gold acrylic paint to make it gold. I liked the effect of the black coat seeping through it from underneath and decided not to weather it any further. Depending on which direction you look at the helmet you will get a different effect.
During this step I also used silver acrylic paint and went all over the helmet edges where I thought it would be damaged/weather over time.
Note:
1. Not much too add in this step except for that you should not take any shortcuts during a build.Settling for the foam badge in my case would leave a sour aftertaste.
Part 10: Clear-coat
Finally I spray-painted two layers of clear-coat on the helmet to seal in all the weathering that was done. Here is the end result.
I hope my Long Walk will give you some inspiration and maybe some tips while building your own Dredd helmet.
As mentioned: I'll update this post with some more information later.
If you have any comments or questions about my build: please let me know.
And lastly: thank you all here on the rpf for sharing and contributing. Without it my walk would have been much longer.
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