activation email

[Belleg Com]

Well i started with a large sheet of cardboard and Ori Cabur's http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=34853.0 and Antman's http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/antmans-second-cardboard-scratch-build-24821/ tutorials (amazing guides).
So heres how far i have gotten
the left over cardboard

front after first coat of bondoglass

side view

view from above


as you can see i have alot of sanding and bondo work left to do but thats what i have so far.

[Belleg Com]

Hmm looking at the pics im not as blinded by pride in whats been acomplished and im thinking i may have to redo the dome gonna have to give it a good hard look maybe its just the pic making it look lopsided.

[Vash Bastra]

I also saw the possibly lopsided thing, but I think that perhaps if you sanded that area down a bit more and bondo-ed up the other area to match, it might still work. I'd try to salvage this piece before starting over, and I think it can be done. However, I'm not as expert as many others on the boards are, so anyone else's opinion?

[Belleg Com]

ok tried to build it up a little and balance it out.I guess the rest will be up to sanding and bondo.

[Vash Bastra]

Looks MUCH better. Keep going with the rest of the build, and let's see where it goes.

[Belleg Com]

wasnt able to work on helmet today (worked late) so i decided to work on paint scheme. Going with a darkish blue (cause i like it) and a yellow (since the armor plates i purchased happened to be that color) At first i was planning to repaint the plates but i think the yellow and blue with black accents will look good (course this could all change by the time im ready to paint).

[Vash Bastra]

I really like it! Only thing I might be iffy about is having that black vest, but I'm not sure that I would even be iffy on that. It'll probably look good when you put it together in 3d. But I love the color scheme!

[Belleg Com]

ok finally got first layer of bondo on cant wait to start smoothing this thing out.


this is part of why im progressing so slowly. My nephew wanted something cool for SheVa Con so i had to crank this out for him short notice. Definetly not the quality of some of the backpacks we have seen on these forums but i think after sanding and painting he will be happy with it.

[Vash Bastra]

Looks like you got the Bondo on pretty smooth, so sanding will be easier. If you have one, I HIGHLY recommend an orbital sander. If you don't have one, might be a good idea to get. Orbital sanders are good for knocking most of the protrusions of and getting it mostly smooth, and then you can use hand sanding for the rest.

[Scorlord]

When you fiberglass to make bonding easier resin the outside, and fiberglass the nside. Makes cleaning up the helmet easier.

[Belleg Com]

I have an orbital and it is my friend 
Got the first coat of bondo sanded and second layer of bondo on. No pics of the bondo on because it pretty much looks like the last bondo on pic. Its definetly smoothign out although theres alot more to smooth out.


having alot of fun working on this. Its feeling more like a helmet and less like a bucket of cardboard.

I had a bad experience with some resin and wasted alot of work because either it was to cold i didnt get the mix right or the resin was bad (was about 3 years old). So i went with bondoglass (on the outside) and resin gel (on the inside). If i have to sand more i guess that will help me get my courage back up for the liquid resin. 

[Belleg Com]

Well the weather was nice today and i didnt have to work so i got 2 coats of bondo on and sanded and a good coat of glaze filler on it. Hit it with a coat of primer and although its not perfect im very happy with it. I will try to put a different color coat of paint on it tomarrow and wednesday after work and then thurs paint it blue and yellow.



im also gonna try to find a real camera tomarrow the phone isnt doing to good a job.

[Belleg Com]

Well got it all primed and put on my "bare metal" coat of paint. i just stuck the viser in it still needs to be trimed and glued in (which im not doing till after i paint it blue and yellow.





its not perfect but im happy with it. the ear pieces are going to need more work.

[Hondo Karr]

Youve done a pretty good job of smoothing it all out. There are a couple divets in it that could be worked into weathering. However, the main issue is your browline. That's going to need to be cleaned up and evened out more. Good work though man. I know it's a bear but stick with it!

[Vash Bastra]

Next time I scratch-build, I'll def be following your example and bondo-glassing it before using normal Bondo. When just glassing the outside and then adding a couple layers of Bondo, I end up sanding down all the way to resin to get it all nice and smooth and I have to tread carefully. Your helmet is looking nice and smooth, but ditto on what A'den said. Maybe it's just the angle of the pics, but making the cheeks more defined from the "cheek bones", if you know what I mean, might also be a good thing. I know it'll suck to have to do this now, but if you have the time you can make this helmet that much better.

[Belleg Com]

I have been thinking about that and wondering if i where to take a sheet of aluminum and cut the eye shape out of it and attach it. That would give it a more lamenated look. Of course im guessing that would cause all kinds of problems with mounting it in such a way that it wouldnt just pop off.

Its amazing how i can look at it for long periods of time and it look great then look at it as a picture and be like crap how did i miss that (see lopsided above and browline issues). The 2 larger dents/divits  i left intentionally but know im second guessing them (the one in the front is a little too much like the boba dent). The mass of scratchs on the top happened when i forgot i was baking the paint in the van and drove off lol.

Well i guess i know what im doing next week for fun

[Belleg Com]

Ori's tutorial was why i decided to do the bondo glass. I figured it would give it a heavier more solid feel (and it definetly feels solid).
Im gonna definetly look at it pretty hard and fix brow and i can see what you mean about the cheeks although i think it looks worse in the pics than in real life. Ill see what i can do on those while im working on the brow. I think part of the problem is when im working on it i dont have any pics of other helmets handy so i lose perspective.
I have a tendancy to rush things ( i get excited) but i want it to look professional so i am going to keep at it till its right.


Items that i want to fix:
    1. straighten brow
    2. fix cheek bones
    3. add bondoglass to inside lower rim to give it the illusion of being thicker than it is and to protect the edge.
    4. fill in the dents and pin holes
    5. make the line around back of dome more distinct.

if anybody notices anything else let me know

[Belleg Com]

first a pic or two of my helper


next a pic for sizing i think its pretty close (excuse the viser malfunction its just stuck in there

then some pics of its current state (thinking i may redo all of the yellow)

still need to do my ear pieces




the blue is actually a good bit darker the flash seems to be washing everything out.

[Belleg Com]

im not happy with the weathering so im going to sand it down to the mustard layer. Clean it up real good and repaint. Thanks to some input from a helpful Talon member im also going to add some black to the paint scheme and change up my plate colors a little due to my darker than expected flight suit.

not sure exactly which of the two schemes below ill use but something along these lines.

[Riya Morut]

I'm uber impressed with your scratchbuild!  Keep up the good work, and post pics of the new weathering when you get it done!

[Vash Bastra]

Dude, looking nice!
On the whole "metal attachment thing", if you just sand the area you plan to attach to and then use JB weld (also shaping the metal to the helmet beforehand is good), you should have no problem with attachment/popping off. JB weld is incredibly strong if you follow the instructions and is designed to attach a variety of materials together, and is so good it's even sandable/drillable when done! Of course, there's no need for the metal eye-piece now, but should you choose to still pursue that you could.

[Belleg Com]

ok here we go again 









Wanted it to look lightly Weathered. Still having a hard time getting weathering im happy with. Hoping this is ok for a start. I get a little pain in my gut thinking about repainting again lol.

[Belleg Com]

Thanks for all the advice and positive comments.  They have helped alot.

Riya thanks so much for taking the time to show me how your helmet ( at ShevaCon) was made and especially the advice about the ear pieces. It was both incouraging and instructive.

[Riya Morut]

No problem!  I'm glad I was able to help!

[Pointoforigin]

I love the lightly weathered look, it's just subtle enough to be cool. Maybe a bit of blackwash on the more pastel - looking parts, but that's about it.