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[Thel Ihveen]

Hi, vode! I'm starting a new thread here because I don't want my helmet logs cluttering up my other armor thread, and I think it would be useful to get some feedback!

I'm planning a custom helmet from a skate helmet and some 5-gal bucket plastic - none of the readily-available helmets were simple enough to go with my design, and the mods I'd have to do to a standard resin Boba in order to get the look I want would be too much work for the cost of the thing. So, I've decided to build something of my own from scratch!

A few days ago, I happened to be at a resale/liquidation store and stumbled upon a few kid's skate helmets. After some encouragement from my cyar'ika, I bought one and have started making cardboard templates. I took the WOF Boba helmet and modified the curve (so it flares less) and then re-drew the T-visor and made the cheeks from scratch. The dome I have is a bit larger than I'd intended it to be, so I ended up modifying my design just a little...





The sides are flaring a bit more than they did before I cut the cheeks/visor out - it'll be a narrower profile, hopefully. I had to leave a band at the bottom intact so it wouldn't get totally warped...

I don't have a picture of it on my head, yet - I'm making the rest of the armor templates tonight, and I'll throw everything on either me or my dummy to see how it looks! I'm also concerned about the cheeks not being inset enough... Do they look flat to you guys? I wanna catch whatever I can before I start cutting buckets.

Thanks!
 - Thel

[Sulkon88]

Keep at it. scratchbuilds are hard but rarely is anything more satisfying.

[AndySanchez]

The inset of the cheeks might be a little bit shallow, but that might just be the pictures.
In the scratch helmet builds I've done in the past I've skipped the whole cheek thing by creating a base shape of  out of ducttape and just placig the actualcheek down down amd filling it in with fiberglass, goving me a lot more flexiblity when making it! I think I have pictures if my suggestion is hard to understand.
The helmet looks beautiful though!

[Thel Ihveen]

The inset of the cheeks might be a little bit shallow, but that might just be the pictures.
In the scratch helmet builds I've done in the past I've skipped the whole cheek thing by creating a base shape of  out of ducttape and just placig the actualcheek down down amd filling it in with fiberglass, goving me a lot more flexiblity when making it! I think I have pictures if my suggestion is hard to understand.
The helmet looks beautiful though!

Thanks for the help and the compliment!   You're right about the cheeks being shallow... I've gotta tweak the angle on the templates before I start cutting plastic. As for the inner surface - yeah, that's gonna be hard... I'm following Den Barren's build which uses what sounds like a very similar technique, minus the fiberglass. I'll definitely try the duct tape and fiberglass if plastic ends up being too tough to work with, though.

Keep at it. scratchbuilds are hard but rarely is anything more satisfying.

Thanks, vod! Having handled some resin-cast helmets... I'm already more pleased with the shape and fit of mine than I would have been getting one ready-made. Also - the dragon theme you've got going on your armor looks great! Details like that are just hard to get unless you do it yourself.

[Dar'manda]

Very well done, Im going to be watching this.

[Thel Ihveen]

Very well done, Im going to be watching this.

Thank you! I'm excited to get working on it! Unfortunately... I'll have to wait until I get the proper power tools for the job before I start cutting plastic. My dad has suggested to "wait until after Christmas" before I get myself a dremel, so I'll be giving it a rest for a whole five days and probably work on soft parts.

In the mean time, I've re-done the cheekbones to make them a little deeper, and closer in shape to the classic Fett cheeks. They certainly change the look of the bucket... More of a high-cheekboned thing going on? I do think it gives the face area more dimension, and it'll look better once I start throwing on paint. Here's a turn-around, taken unhelpfully against my black comforter. You know you've got mando'ade on the mind when you start working on armor immediately after waking up...




I'll be sure to keep everyone posted once the real building begins!

[Thel Ihveen]

Well, I'm excited.

As was foretold, I got a rotary tool for Christmas, and I'm very happy because it means that I get to start my helmet!

I ended up using both 5-gallon buckets, since I'm doing all my cheek stuff and earcap nonsense in the flexible bucket plastic instead of sintra. After cracking my shoulder plate, I trust the 3-mil about as far as I can bend it, which is not far at all... I've been covered in black dust all day, even after making a little cardboard booth in my room to corral the shavings. I've cut all the major pieces so far and sanded two:



Here's how the cheekbone/brow ridge/visor overlay looks right now. The cuts are jagged, so I've given myself a sharpie's-width of leeway to sand smooth after cutting. The plastic is very flexible and I was kinda concerned about how the final product would hold up... But after I got the main body pieces together and taped to the dome, it turns out the thing is pretty solid.



(Pardon the bad pics; I was rushing...) The upper area is marked for rivet holes, but I'll end up adding more underneath where the earcaps will go to keep that side seam together.



If you look at the back, you'll notice that it doesn't have a seam at all - instead of one in the back, I split the main body piece into front and back and will hide the two gaps under the overlay piece. I did this because 1) I think it'll make the whole thing keep it's shape better and 2) I'm really, really lazy, and honestly don't wanna bondo a back seam and then slap a keyhole panel in there later. I'd rather just... cut the vents and call it a day.

Anyway - After I drill and set the rivets I have (little autobody ones my dad has provided) I'll maybe do some sanding and then glue the overlay piece on top...

What glues do you all use? I have some E-6000 that I was hoping would work, after I rough up both surfaces some.

Also speaking of roughing; it turns out those $1 little nail buffers have some pretty good sandpaper on them and are easy to work with. After grinding the fresh-cut edges with my dremel, I'm going over them with a couple different grits of nail-buffer-paper, and it removes the burrs and shavings and smooths it out. I don't really trust my dremel quite yet, and using the sanding drum leaves a wobbly edge on my plastic. I'm... still getting the hang of it... Cuts great, though!

More progress... hopefully soon!

 - Thel

[Den Barren]

I love how  this is coming along vod! I'll be watching with interest!

[AndySanchez]

For my builds in the past I've actually never used any rivets or glue, I coat everything with a thin later of fiberglass, I swear by that thing. Interested to see how glue and what other glue people recomend!

[Thel Ihveen]

I love how  this is coming along vod! I'll be watching with interest!

Vor entye, vod! Your helmet build thread is actually what got me to make my own bucket - seeing how nice yours came out gave me hope that a scratchbuild wasn't going to be a disaster, and gave me direction when starting. Your tutorials were also helpful and showed me that armor-forming was easier than I thought! Thanks for following my progress!

For my builds in the past I've actually never used any rivets or glue, I coat everything with a thin later of fiberglass, I swear by that thing. Interested to see how glue and what other glue people recomend!

Does it stick plastic to plastic? If so - that's exactly what I'm after. Thanks for all your help! I'll see if my dad has any of the stuff, still - he's used it and it was messy enough that he's placed a garage-wide ban on the stuff. Not sure how it'll work, but I'll try! I am honestly a little scared of fiberglass, since all the resin I've used in the past has been a real mess. I'm gonna try the e-6000 on some scrap pieces and hope for the best!

I also gave in to my love of helmet amps and bought a $10 amp from here. I'm planning to open up the plastic box and spread the guts flat on the inside of my bucket, since I've got lots of room front-to-back. My dream setup is to have nothing outside the helmet - no wires, no batteries, no headsets. I know there's canon evidence of headbands and hoods (Jango Fett, Fenn Rau etc.) but I love the idea of having a helmet with electronics that are self-contained and just... vanish when I take the thing off. I'm also hoping to get away with a high neck seal and no balaclava - just tie back my absurd mane of hair and call it a day. I'll keep you all posted as to whether or not that works...

Tomorrow; drilling and rivets, I hope!

 - Thel

[Den Barren]

Vor entye, vod! Your helmet build thread is actually what got me to make my own bucket - seeing how nice yours came out gave me hope that a scratchbuild wasn't going to be a disaster, and gave me direction when starting. Your tutorials were also helpful and showed me that armor-forming was easier than I thought! Thanks for following my progress!

Wow! I'm glad to know my build and tutorials inspired someone. No problem vod! I'm looking forward to seeing it's progress! Feel free to pm me with any questions you might have. I'd be happy to help.

Does it stick plastic to plastic? If so - that's exactly what I'm after. Thanks for all your help! I'll see if my dad has any of the stuff, still - he's used it and it was messy enough that he's placed a garage-wide ban on the stuff. Not sure how it'll work, but I'll try! I am honestly a little scared of fiberglass, since all the resin I've used in the past has been a real mess. I'm gonna try the e-6000 on some scrap pieces and hope for the best!

I also gave in to my love of helmet amps and bought a $10 amp from here. I'm planning to open up the plastic box and spread the guts flat on the inside of my bucket, since I've got lots of room front-to-back. My dream setup is to have nothing outside the helmet - no wires, no batteries, no headsets. I know there's canon evidence of headbands and hoods (Jango Fett, Fenn Rau etc.) but I love the idea of having a helmet with electronics that are self-contained and just... vanish when I take the thing off. I'm also hoping to get away with a high neck seal and no balaclava - just tie back my absurd mane of hair and call it a day. I'll keep you all posted as to whether or not that works...

Tomorrow; drilling and rivets, I hope!

 - Thel

I personally would recommend E-6000 over any adhesive. I've not not heard of using resin, so I don't have an opinion on it either way.  But, I would recommend E-6000 over any two part epoxy. And I would never recommend using any kind of super glue to glue to helmet layers together.

[Thel Ihveen]

Wow! I'm glad to know my build and tutorials inspired someone. No problem vod! I'm looking forward to seeing it's progress! Feel free to pm me with any questions you might have. I'd be happy to help.

I personally would recommend E-6000 over any adhesive. I've not not heard of using resin, so I don't have an opinion on it either way.  But, I would recommend E-6000 over any two part epoxy. And I would never recommend using any kind of super glue to glue to helmet layers together.

Well, I'm glad E-6000 is the right stuff! I used it on my cod plate and my chest diamond today, and I have some more work on the helmet before I glue the other pieces on. The autobody rivets I used work great, but the tool stopped cutting them off after like three rivets. I'll have to cut and grind the stems off before I glue anything. So far I've added a few nasty hand blisters to my list of armor-making injuries, but so far that's the worst of it so I'm no longer skittish around the dremel. That's what I get for pulling a 6-hour art day.

I'm assuming you used the E-6000 for your cod plate? I noticed in the cod-shaping video you posted that the two layers are already glued when you form them. Hopefully I used the right stuff and the adhesive doesn't mind getting a little warm!

Anyway - right now my bucket is in one piece more or less, but looks kinda like something from Hellraiser. So I'm working on cleaning up my body plates before forming them. Hopefully I get to work on my helmet some more; I'd love to get it done before I have to pack up and move again!

 - Thel

[Den Barren]

Well, I'm glad E-6000 is the right stuff! I used it on my cod plate and my chest diamond today, and I have some more work on the helmet before I glue the other pieces on. The autobody rivets I used work great, but the tool stopped cutting them off after like three rivets. I'll have to cut and grind the stems off before I glue anything. So far I've added a few nasty hand blisters to my list of armor-making injuries, but so far that's the worst of it so I'm no longer skittish around the dremel. That's what I get for pulling a 6-hour art day.

I'm assuming you used the E-6000 for your cod plate? I noticed in the cod-shaping video you posted that the two layers are already glued when you form them. Hopefully I used the right stuff and the adhesive doesn't mind getting a little warm!

Anyway - right now my bucket is in one piece more or less, but looks kinda like something from Hellraiser. So I'm working on cleaning up my body plates before forming them. Hopefully I get to work on my helmet some more; I'd love to get it done before I have to pack up and move again!

 - Thel

E-6000 should work just fine with the plates. I actually use this, which is a type of super glue that I get from hobby lobby. As I stated before, I don't recommend super glue for helmets. It doesn't stick to the bucket plastic good and it's too thin when trying to bondo the pieces that have rivets in them. But, this kind works great with sintra. It almost forms a kind of chemical wield between the pieces.



I also had that problem with my rivet gun. Make sure you have the correct sized muzzle on the gun for the rivets you're using. And you may want to look inside it. The spring inside came loose and popped free on me and was just laying out of place on the inside. Hopefully it's something simile like that.   I hope all of that helps and made sense! lol Kind up the great work vod!!

[Thel Ihveen]

E-6000 should work just fine with the plates. I actually use this, which is a type of super glue that I get from hobby lobby. As I stated before, I don't recommend super glue for helmets. It doesn't stick to the bucket plastic good and it's too thin when trying to bondo the pieces that have rivets in them. But, this kind works great with sintra. It almost forms a kind of chemical wield between the pieces.



I also had that problem with my rivet gun. Make sure you have the correct sized muzzle on the gun for the rivets you're using. And you may want to look inside it. The spring inside came loose and popped free on me and was just laying out of place on the inside. Hopefully it's something simile like that.   I hope all of that helps and made sense! lol Kind up the great work vod!!

Ooh! I'll see if I can find some of that glue for putting together my gauntlets! I'm still not sure what kind of greeblies to throw on them (though one of the plastic bits that came on my amp is looking like a likely candidate...) and something that chemically reacts with the plastic would be a great help.

As for the rivet gun - glad to see I'm not the only one! I'll check it out and see if I can do anything to make it work again... Thanks for the help and encouragement!

[Shevla Ram'ser]

Den, judging by the label of "Hobby Glue" and the warnings of "Bonds skin instantly," would I be correct in assuming that is a cyanoacrylate glue?

I use the loctite brand on my 1/100th scale WWII modelling projects, and it will absolutely glue two plastics together (or just about anything else.)

If I'm right about it being the same type of glue as my Loctite, I know you can buy that small size of bottle, or larger sized bottles at The Home Depot for a pretty reasonable price. Cheaper than hobby shops, in my experience. Probably not the best for gluing to the helmet, as you've said, but definitely will hold two pieces of the expanded pvc together.