RobWolf
Well-Known Member
Okay, so this is my first prop posting on the RPF! Well it's not the first I have built, I have done a Proton Pack which is very rough around the edges but it outshines the Rubies' costume and cereal box efforts which are all I've ever seen in my town! Now I know a lot of you are SERIOUS prop builders with lots of fancy gear and lots of money and a hell of a lot of patience. Me, I'm a novice, I don't have much money (just landed a new job though 
) and I don't have a lot of patience, so when I build a model etc I just do it casually to occupy my time. Maybe I will get better...
Anyway, because I have really gotten into Judge Dredd in a big way over the past 7 months, a while ago I started work on a Lawgiver Mk1 and a Dredd helmet....well the Lawgiver is on hold for now as I was building it from a NES Zapper and sadly it broke during construction and is not salvageable.
However, my Dredd helmet is progressing and it's now in a stage where I can show it to you, it is very rough around the edges at this point though.
I have been using 'Emerald Isle' as my main reference for the helmet, as drawn by Steve Dillon, I like how it looks in that one. I'm not over keen on the cheekplates having that curve when viewed from the front...I know Termight's has it and others have built theirs that way, I'm not criticising them at all but I prefer the straight-edged look
Now the Emerald Isle helmet has quite a low-profile mohawk section, and for most of the story the respirator badge appears to curve around the front of the helmet, I originally wanted to try and recreate that but rather early on decided to go the easier route of buying a respirator badge from Termight and working around that. Thanks to Wake BTW, fantastic work on those badges.
Some of my reference:
Anyway I started off with the deleuxe Iron Man costume helmet...at this point I should thank 'Judge Palmer' for leaving the faceplate off the helmet visible in one of his photos, that gave me the idea to sacrifice mine. I thought I could see a faint curve in his which told me roughly what he cut away and I did likewise. Having found more pictures from him on the RPF I can see that I was actually a way off what he did but never mind. That Iron Man helmet BTW is a great base helmet but they are about £40 brand new so only use one if you can get it cheap. I see them on eBay from time to time at a fraction of the cost.
So the process was very trial-and-error, first I experimented with some wire and cardboard just to get an idea of the shapes and what I needed to cut off the helmet. Then the add-ons were done by supergluing some thin plastic to the inside of the helmet and cutting the shapes from that. The thin plastic also served to block the big holes which are left in the sides of the helmet once you remove the massive vent cover things. Then I matched the shapes with some thick plastic and used two-part epoxy resin to secure those to the clear plastic and the helmet. The thick plastic also finished filling the big holes in the side. The epoxy was from Poundland, it's no Araldite and tricky to get off your hands, but it does the job. The next step will be puttying and sanding, a coat of 'Bondo' would do wonders as well but I've never used it before.
And so here it is:
Due to the trial-and-error nature of the construction, it's not entirely symmetrical...but then, neither were the original Stormtrooper helmets in Star Wars. The fit is pretty good for my head, not perfect but padding should sort that out. I think my that my big nose is going to end up far too close to the visor than I would like. Also I have a funny feeling finding a visor to fit will be a b*stard.
Comnments, criticisms and advice much apopreciated
) and I don't have a lot of patience, so when I build a model etc I just do it casually to occupy my time. Maybe I will get better...Anyway, because I have really gotten into Judge Dredd in a big way over the past 7 months, a while ago I started work on a Lawgiver Mk1 and a Dredd helmet....well the Lawgiver is on hold for now as I was building it from a NES Zapper and sadly it broke during construction and is not salvageable.
However, my Dredd helmet is progressing and it's now in a stage where I can show it to you, it is very rough around the edges at this point though.
I have been using 'Emerald Isle' as my main reference for the helmet, as drawn by Steve Dillon, I like how it looks in that one. I'm not over keen on the cheekplates having that curve when viewed from the front...I know Termight's has it and others have built theirs that way, I'm not criticising them at all but I prefer the straight-edged look
Some of my reference:
Anyway I started off with the deleuxe Iron Man costume helmet...at this point I should thank 'Judge Palmer' for leaving the faceplate off the helmet visible in one of his photos, that gave me the idea to sacrifice mine. I thought I could see a faint curve in his which told me roughly what he cut away and I did likewise. Having found more pictures from him on the RPF I can see that I was actually a way off what he did but never mind. That Iron Man helmet BTW is a great base helmet but they are about £40 brand new so only use one if you can get it cheap. I see them on eBay from time to time at a fraction of the cost.
So the process was very trial-and-error, first I experimented with some wire and cardboard just to get an idea of the shapes and what I needed to cut off the helmet. Then the add-ons were done by supergluing some thin plastic to the inside of the helmet and cutting the shapes from that. The thin plastic also served to block the big holes which are left in the sides of the helmet once you remove the massive vent cover things. Then I matched the shapes with some thick plastic and used two-part epoxy resin to secure those to the clear plastic and the helmet. The thick plastic also finished filling the big holes in the side. The epoxy was from Poundland, it's no Araldite and tricky to get off your hands, but it does the job. The next step will be puttying and sanding, a coat of 'Bondo' would do wonders as well but I've never used it before.
And so here it is:
Due to the trial-and-error nature of the construction, it's not entirely symmetrical...but then, neither were the original Stormtrooper helmets in Star Wars. The fit is pretty good for my head, not perfect but padding should sort that out. I think my that my big nose is going to end up far too close to the visor than I would like. Also I have a funny feeling finding a visor to fit will be a b*stard.
Comnments, criticisms and advice much apopreciated
