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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

[Dar'manda]

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

[Dar'manda]

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

[Dar'manda]

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.

[Dar'manda]

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!

Np vod! I'm stil trying to decide on greeblies for my gaunts. lol That glue will last you for your whole kit easily. I've used it on my kit, weapons, and various other things and there is still right under half the bottle left. Needless to say, a little goes a long way with it.

 

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.

You are correct vod. And I can vouch for it bonding skin instantly. lol Onces you pry your fingers apart, I literally have to use sand paper to sand the glue off of my fingers...not fun. haha  I am unsure as to the brand you are referring, but if it's cyanoacrylate type glue and not a cheap reproduction, (which coming from Home Depot I very much doubt that it would be), it should work just as good.

[Thel Ihveen]

Okay, big update time!

This morning my dad came to the rescue and lent me his best hacksaw, which made short work of the spiky rivet stems that were all over my bucket. With those gone, I realized that I (unfortunately) had to cut the visor out, yet again. I'm planning on putting EL wire along the edges (a la RC buckets), and in order to get the right kinda internal-shelf-thing going on, I had to trace the visor off the overlay piece and add a quarter inch all the way around, then glue them together. However, I didn't want to deal with the noise and the mess and the smell of the dremel wheel (and I don't quite trust myself with it, yet) I decided to try cutting out the visor with an x-acto knife by hand.

Problem is, I only have one knife with me. The full set with all the nice blades are three hours away in my closed-down dorm room. So I spent most of the day cutting out my visor - again - with a very small scalpel of a blade that's given my middle finger a horrible blister where my pens/pencils rub. I would have liked to draw tonight, but it's not happening...

I did discover, however, that my beloved blue scissors can cut through the bucket plastic. I've had them for ages, and they're my cardboard/leather/non-fabric scissors, and I think they were meant for kitchen use because they're very short-bladed and have a serration on one blade that catches just about everything and just shreds through it. Once I got the angles figured out, I used those instead of the little knife for some of the bigger parts. I did leave two support pieces to keep it in shape, but I may honestly remove them once I get the cheeks in.



In order for the glue to stick well, I roughed up the parts where the overlay is going with some 80-grit. I also spent way too long cutting the back vent hole (not pictured) and squaring and sanding the vent cover. I'll make whatever the internal structure will be and then just glue it on the inside later.



It's not perfectly perfect, but the only person holding a ruler to my kit will be me. Five-Foot Rule, everyone. I'll go back with some Apoxie Sculpt and a metal straight-edge when I've got the thing on!

Next; the cheeks. Those were evil. I'd basically traced around some templates that were the exact right size, but when I cut the bits out, I'd left a marker's-width worth of space around the outside in case I messed up. So, with my tiny painful scalpel of a craft knife, I shaved down each of the 6 triangles to the exact size they needed to be to fit together.




Here they are, the awful poky things.

Every time I reached the end of a cut on one of these, my knuckle (you know, the one with the huge blister from the knife?) hit my cutting mat. By the third piece, my finger was raw, so I put down a folded handkerchief and tried not to get plastic in it. I realized when I was scrubbing out the plastic dust later that I'd scraped my pinky finger raw, too. Oh, well. Bleed for your kit, huh?

Thankfully, I didn't let the house-wide bandaid shortage nor the frigid garage temperatures stop me; my dad not only gave me some of his secret bandaid stash (no idea why he keeps one? What a weird secret stash...) and let me glue in the bathroom instead of the garage. Our bathroom is warm, but also has a vent fan and a window you can open wide. So that made things easier.

When I put on the overlay, I had to cut it in half, since I hadn't accounted for the width of the plastic when I drafted the pattern. I'll fill the front gap in later, but for now, my bucket is covered in clothespins and tape as it dries.



As for the cheeks - the angled pieces are cut, and I'll cut the template for the backing piece (big ol' flat one) after I have the others in place. Thanks to Den Barren for that technique! It'll make my life way easier. I was also going to weld the plastic together with a soldering iron, too, but now that I'm looking closely at the pieces, I'm thinking I just want to glue them and fill/back them with Apoxie Sculpt. I'm almost out of E-6000 due to glueing the overlay, but I do have some Goop (the "craft" formula, if that makes a difference...) that I originally bough to put my spats together with. It may work to tack them with that so they hold, then back the pieces with the epoxy, then fill the gaps? I'm not sure if it will hold, but I'll rough up the backs and fronts of the pieces so the stuff sticks. The last thing I want is for my cheeks to fall apart, but I don't know as I'm confident enough to weld them. Not sure, yet. I'll see if my ever-patient handy-man father has an extra soldering iron tip that he's willing to spare, just in case...

[Dar'manda]

Looks like you've got some good progress vod! I am enjoying following this build very much! I'm kind of intrigued by the kitchen scissors. lol    I may have to try that out on my next build! Keep up the good work!

[Raestin Ke'Varek]

This is looking great so far!!  I love watching scratch builds come to life.  8)

[Thel Ihveen]

This is looking great so far!!  I love watching scratch builds come to life.  8)

Thank you! I'm kind of amazed at it, myself. I'm glad I'm making it from scratch, though!

Looks like you've got some good progress vod! I am enjoying following this build very much! I'm kind of intrigued by the kitchen scissors. lol    I may have to try that out on my next build! Keep up the good work!

Haha Yeah - not sure where the kitchen scissors even came from... I kinda adopted them from (naturally) my family's kitchen, and my folks keep so many pairs around they've just kinda... bequeathed them to me? They do take some man-handling to split the plastic, and they only like to work in one direction. I can't quite explain it other than; they're like metal shears that "curl" in one direction, meaning that if you're cutting with the piece you're removing on one side, you're fine, but as soon as you put the to-be-removed piece on the other side... they don't really work. Honestly I was possessed by some ancient Mandalorian armoring-rage and needed the visor cut RIGHT NOW WITH MY OWN BARE HANDS AND NO PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. (Safety glasses are default at this point and don't count ) Also thanks for following!

I made even more of a mess progress today and started playing with my Apoxie Sculpt! It's very sticky while mixing, and it turned my rubber gloves black. I am, however, delighted by how it feels - it's exactly like working with a stoneware clay, since water makes it squishier and less sticky. I thankfully brought my sculpting tools home with me (thanks, Past Me!) and was able to fiddle around with it some while I wait for my other pieces to dry.

"What other pieces?" you may be asking. "I thought you had the visor overlay glued down already?" Well, so did I. I awoke this morning, removed my clothespins, and inspected my work only to find that one of the mandibles had been glued on completely off-kilter. So I had to rip it off, scrape the rest of the mostly-cured glue from the two surfaces, and glue again. While I was at it, I also affixed my vent cover, so at least there's that. No pictures of that, yet, since it's basically only like a quarter-inch difference angle-wise. Honestly I'd be the only person to know, but it would also make my cheeks infinitely harder to put on, so there's that.

Onward to the Apoxie! There was a weird part at the bottom of one of my earcap bases that needed filling, so I started there and closed a 1/4" weird spot where the overlay was shorter than the two base pieces...



I forgot to take a "before" shot, so here's the other edge of the same part for comparison, sans filler.



I am delighted at both the color and consistency of the stuff. This is before sanding any of the Apoxie Sculpt - it sticks great (I hit the whole helmet with 100-grit beforehand...) and blends reaaal nice with a wet finger. Just make sure you don't have any cuts you don't know about - I'd sliced the top layers of skin on one finger with my pointy cheek piece and found out that it was a cut only after I found black particles lodged in it...

Here's the back (again, shoulda done a before pic!) where there was a half-inch gap between the two overlay pieces. It will need sanding, but it's very smooth and blends great.



As for filling spaces between the overlay and the main body, it works wonders and holds angles well! Doesn't look like much here, but there was a noticeable gap between the two sheets that is now completely gone, and I probably won't even need to sand it.



I do have a before-and-after shot (by which I mean, halfway done shot) of the back ridge. On the left is the filled part, and on the right is the janky two-layer mess, along with all the hard evidence that proves my two pieces weren't cut completely straight... I'm fixing things as I fill, though!



This may need a touch of sanding, but is otherwise looking great! I''ve been using the edge of a thick wooden ruler to help keep the thing straight, and smoothing as I go. Tomorrow, the two other pieces will be dry, so I can basically just play with my black goop all afternoon. I did sand nearly all the paint off the dome, and it should take the stuff pretty well! Gonna fill those holes soon!

[Dar'manda]

lol I now dub you sir/miss scissors! I definitely like how that apoxie is working out! I'll be getting some of that for my next build for sure! Do you plan on using it to fill the large holes in your helmet?

[Thel Ihveen]

lol I now dub you sir/miss scissors! I definitely like how that apoxie is working out! I'll be getting some of that for my next build for sure! Do you plan on using it to fill the large holes in your helmet?

Why thank you! I am honored to be Scissor Knight of The Kingdom of My Parent's Kitchen (or, possibly, Bathroom Where the Glueing Happens...)

I am gonna use the stuff to fill the big holes, for sure! Since it's essentially clay, I can create a kinda "plug" on the backside of the holes, then add some to the top and smooth it out. That way, the fill piece is secured on both sides and can't pop out in either direction. I have the areas around the holes roughed with 80 grit and will go back later and make them super smooth!

I'm just really, really hoping that the smaller bits will hold up to flexing... They should, but you never know! The stuff is only halfway cured currently... I'm hoping to be able to use it to back all my cheek seams for stability (seems to stick well to the rough parts) and if it cracks, I'm in trouble!

[Dar'manda]

Why thank you! I am honored to be Scissor Knight of The Kingdom of My Parent's Kitchen (or, possibly, Bathroom Where the Glueing Happens...)

I am gonna use the stuff to fill the big holes, for sure! Since it's essentially clay, I can create a kinda "plug" on the backside of the holes, then add some to the top and smooth it out. That way, the fill piece is secured on both sides and can't pop out in either direction. I have the areas around the holes roughed with 80 grit and will go back later and make them super smooth!

I'm just really, really hoping that the smaller bits will hold up to flexing... They should, but you never know! The stuff is only halfway cured currently... I'm hoping to be able to use it to back all my cheek seams for stability (seems to stick well to the rough parts) and if it cracks, I'm in trouble!

Your welcome!    It should work well for the plugs it would seem.   As I don't know that much about it, I don't know how well it would hold up to supporting the cheeks. I have noticed the cheeks seem to get the most pressure out of the whole helmet.  If you find that it doesn't work, you could reinforce them using fiberglass resin and cheesecloth. Using the cheese cloth removes the hazard of inhalation of the fiberglass strands or getting them stuck in your skin. Mainly you would want to wear a respirator when first applying it if you're going to do it in the garage. That would be the next best thing next to using the soldering iron. But, hopefully it want come to all that and the putty will work just fine!!

[Thel Ihveen]

Your welcome!    It should work well for the plugs it would seem.   As I don't know that much about it, I don't know how well it would hold up to supporting the cheeks. I have noticed the cheeks seem to get the most pressure out of the whole helmet.  If you find that it doesn't work, you could reinforce them using fiberglass resin and cheesecloth. Using the cheese cloth removes the hazard of inhalation of the fiberglass strands or getting them stuck in your skin. Mainly you would want to wear a respirator when first applying it if you're going to do it in the garage. That would be the next best thing next to using the soldering iron. But, hopefully it want come to all that and the putty will work just fine!!

Yeah, hopefully the cheeks hold! Welding them would be ideal, but I've got a bad track record when it comes to melting things, and I don't think my parents would be too happy. If the glue and filler doesn't work, I'll just... pull the pieces out and try something else, I guess.

Today I sanded and set in the whole cheek assembly, starting with the "curve". The glue I used was called Goop, and boy does this stuff stick. I was absolutely blown away by it - usually I hear that E-6000 is the way to go, but this stuff was stiffer and thicker. The label actually calls it "contact cement and filler", which would explain why it works so well. I did the cheek curves at maybe 1:00, and then by 8:00 they're... set up? My personal theory is that this stuff is made from the hoof-clippings of unicorns.




As predicted, the curve of the bucket where I cut out the pieces gave me some grief. They don't quite line up like they should - this is probably because the curve of the cardboard I used when I made the patterns is slightly different than the more rigid bucket material I'm using, now. I'm kinda sad it looks sloppy now, but after the amazing results with the Apoxie Sculpt, I'll probably have no trouble making the edges look all super nice! Here's what the inside looks like...



The cheeks are kinda deep by design - gives the buy'ce some more drastic proportions. In some of my earlier cardboard attempts, the cheeks were pretty shallow, which is okay but... not what I'm going for. If I later decide they're just too deep, I can always fill them out with some epoxy putty and sand 'em smooth again.




After I removed the tape from the curves, I got to work fitting the flat parts. I used Den Barren's method of pattern-making (thanks again, vod! ) and found that - as predicted - the new patterns were slightly different than my old cardboard ones. I would have done them in sintra, but I didn't have any pieces large enough, so I traced the patterns onto one of the swiss-cheesed 5-galon buckets I have and used my Trusty Blue Scissors of Truth to snip them out. I did hit a setback when I discovered that the pieces were NOT going to have any of my shaping nonsense; I bent the curve out of them, and they looked fine, but after a minute or so went right back to bucket-shape. I had anticipated this, however, and made sure their angles and orientations were mirrored. I thought "yeah, they'll just... be curved out a bit. No problem!"

There was, of course, a problem. After roughing up one side of one piece, I randomly had the idea to flip them and see what the helmet would look like with them indented instead of curved out. The difference was drastic, and the result is the kind of weird seat-of-your-pants art-making I've come to know and love. Having decided on the somewhat more predatory-bird-looking indented cheeks, I realized that one of my pieces was absolutely chewed up, and did my best to sand it smooth again. I'll probably do some more tweaking later when it's all dry, but I think I did okay...?

Anyway - I got the flat pieces all taped up and then glued the heck out of them again.





On the bottom, you can really see the shape of the flat parts. The line of tape is to keep the sides from splaying out while I glue - I'm hoping that the thing will keep its shape when I remove that bit and let the cheeks take the full tension of the plastic...



There's also this ugly gap I had to fill on the outside due to the cheek curve... It's symmetrically wonky, at least, and some sandpaper should fix it right up!

More updates... as I have them.


UPDATE:

So my glue is finally dry and - as predicted - super solid. I finally bucked up the courage to remove the tension-keeping tape and...



It fits! Smells funny still, but after some filling and some earcaps/vents, I'm done! Also - the little banner Shevla made me is the perfect backdrop, actually...

[Torolf Goran]

That's coming out great and I love the angular cheeks. This is making me want to finally start my scratch build.