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[Vercopaanir]

Starting my first scratch build bucket.  I am using the hard hat and bucket method for one and bucket on bucket for the other.  Yes I am attempting two.  That might change if I prefer one over the other.  So what have a done so far? 
   I got my hard hat's brim trimmed off.  For those of you who are like me and don't have any motorized tools to work with, most poly plastic will become malleable with heat.  You can use this to your advantage when cutting.  Heat the section you're going to cut carefully...too much heat will distort the shape.  Then use a regular box cutter or other cutting implement.  The plastic is now super easy to cut.  Be CAREFUL when heating and cutting.  You're dealing with hot and sharp at the same time.  Gloves are a must.




I did a rough sanding to both smooth the edge and do some pre-prep for paint and bondo later.  Next I got out my template and sized it.  I guessed a few time before I got it right.  You only need to print out the pages that directly apply to the interior wall of the helmet for this part not the whole pattern.  After I got it sized ( I had to shrink the WOF templates to 95% for me) I taped it onto the hard hat to get a sizing idea.




I left a little bit of overlap intentionally.  The thickness of the bucket for the wall should take up that extra space.  Then I printed the remainder of the pattern, minus the dome section, to the correct size.  My second helmet I am making a little bit smaller as I am afraid that the finished product for this one might be too big for my frame. 

Soo, patterns prepped and my buckets are cleaned and ready for tomorrow.  Check back soon with an update.

Edit:  I ended up being about a 1/4 inch short so a little more overlap next time I measure one out.

Edit 2: when printing out the pattern it is better to tape the back together and leave the front open.  See the Bearded Mando's build to understand why.  The way I did it was the other way and I had to fight the two pieces trying to pull apart the whole build.

[Vercopaanir]

I continued working on my first bucket today.  I traced my pattern onto the two buckets and cut them out.


Then I started my assembly.  I hot glued the outer wall on from the inside...I couldn't get it to stick from the outside.  Then I marked five points...center front, both sides and both edges of the back panels.  I drilled holes for my bolts and then ran them though.



Next I attached the second layer using contact cement.  Previously, before I glued anything on, I marked center front on all the pieces and lined them up from that point.  Then I traced the outline for the location of the contact cement.



After I attached those two together I added a supporting band to the back of the helmet.



Then I cut out the cheeks.  This could have been done earlier but I left it till now to help keep the correct shape.



Then I tried to attach the cheek pieces and was confounded.  I will attempt to do that again tomorrow after a bit more research and pondering alternate methods of attachment. 

[Sir Auron]

This progress looks excellent.  I haven't started mine yet; I may have to follow your helmet WIP for guidance 

[Vercopaanir]

This progress looks excellent.  I haven't started mine yet; I may have to follow your helmet WIP for guidance 

Thanks Sir Auron...It's my first bucket so you might want to wait and see if it works first. 


Okay so I stated today out right.  You can't see the coffee but rest assured it is there.



After that I got started on my bucket.
First I scraped all the glue off from my attempts to add the cheek bones the previous day.  Then sanded down the edges a bit.  Then I tried again.  The heat, mold then hot glue in place.  I managed to get one in...



The problem I kept running into was that in order to keep the plastic soft enough to bend into shape it was too hot for my hot glue to set properly.  So it was a challenge and I feel like I used way to much hot glue to secure it.  But it is on and pretty much in the right place.

I was given the link to another tutorial on scratch building a helmet and that one suggested taping the cheek in place with clear tape then running a line of super glue as a 'tacking' before using the hot glue so I gave that a try for the other side.  I heated my piece then taped it down as I molded it as it cooled.  This doesn't happen fast.



A thin layer of super glue on the inside...let that set up for a minute then hot glue.



Pulled the tape of to find this.



I did a tiny bit of heating and shaping after I pulled the tape clear but my heat gun was a little too hot and started to melt the hot glue so I left it alone.

Now the two sides:




Next I added the cheeks....after I added them I noticed something.  If you cut out both pattern pieces for the cheeks from the WOF templates, the cheek backing is actually bigger than the cheek itself.  The inner cheek is the one that fits inside the cheekbone piece while the backing overlaps a bit.




And then I filled in a little with some more glue to attempt to secure it...filled in around the brim as well.



And here I left it to cure overnight.  I am a bit skeptical about my cheek bone mounts so I will test them tomorrow to see if they pass muster.

Edit:
One of the tutorials I referenced when making this bucket.

I finally found that old tutorial on my PC, and uploaded the pdf to my Mediafire account; you can download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/ck3tl3bctbjooo3/Mando_helmet_tutorial_V.2.pdf/file

Don't worry, it's a safe download.

It's not the most polished of tutorials (and I never got around to doing the earcaps part, lol), but hopefully it will give you some additional insights.

Rob

[Sir Auron]

It seems like working on a Mandalorian helmet is similar to playing tennis...precision over power, place over pace.

Regardless, fantastic work, and thanks for sharing the link (and thanks to Ohl'd Vart for the link to begin with).

Are your helmet colors a basic black and white?

[Vercopaanir]

It seems like working on a Mandalorian helmet is similar to playing tennis...precision over power, place over pace.

Regardless, fantastic work, and thanks for sharing the link (and thanks to Ohl'd Vart for the link to begin with).

Are your helmet colors a basic black and white?

As someone who has only ever tried to play tennis once, I'll take your word for it. 

My base color is a very light grey (think mist) with a matte white, black and hopefully gold accents.  I haven't quite figured out the gold bit.  I want it to swirl through the armor...we'll see what happens.  I am also using some bright red in my soft parts.

My WIP for soft parts and armor if anyone is interested stop on by.

http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=183386.0
http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=183388.0



Progress today:

I started by tracing my visor onto my helmet.  I didn't cut it out yet as I still needed to add the vent in the back and figure out what I am going to do with the ears.  And of.
 course by this point you just have to try it on. 




Next I cut out my ears.  I used 3 layers of 3 mm sintra (PVC foam board) for this....probably could have used leftover bucket but that would have been much harder to shape and sand down.



I decided that for now I will try magnetic attachments for my ears.  I may change my mind later but if I am going to do it, it must be done before I assemble the pieces.  I was thinking magnetic simply because I was doing two 'left' ears (WOF Boba Fett left ear pattern, no RF) and that gives me the option to change them later if I don't like the look.  I also still have the option of permanent attachment.

So I made the marks, drilled the holes, sanded them down and glued the magnets into the ears.




As it was drying I heat formed the other two layers of the ears to the correct shape.  Once the glue for the magnets dried I glued all three layer together. 




In the drying times I also worked on my helmet and various other armor bits. 

I marked and cut out the back vent.  Then I used the same template but cut it out a little bigger.  This bigger chunk is going to be mounted inside the helmet as both support and to give the helmet the 'layered' look.  Because of the overlap where the wall and hard hat meet, I ended up having to trim some of my hard hat back to make room for the vent backing.  Then I attached it using contact cement first to hold it in place then a thin line of hot glue as insurance.





As you can see cutting straight lines on a curved surface is a skill I am still developing.    Also for future reference, when adding the support band, pre-cut the area that the vent will go in before mounting it into the helmet. 

Now for the key slots.  I altered the pattern to better suit my design and made triangles!    I heated the bucket pieces to make it a bit more malleable and went at it with an exacto knife.  Then hit it with a bit more heat to give it a slight curve...mine is a little too curvy in the pictures.  I had to flatten it out some to fit into the space better.




Then I mounted it using the same method as I had for the backing.



(I damaged the bottom rim when I cut the hole...don't worry I'll fix it.)

Now take those two little half moon shapes that come with the key slot template and cut them out.  I just dug through my bucket scraps till I found some that were close and just shaved them down. 



These little bits are going to go on the top and bottom of the vent inside the hole. Secure them with the contact cement and hot glue same as before.




Now for the visor.  This bit was both exciting and scary.  I carefully cut the visor out.  Next time I am going to cut the visor out on the top layer before I mount it to the helmet.  As I cut I ended up tearing apart one side of the cheekbones purely by accident.  Guess I was pushing to hard to get the leverage needed to cut into the bucket.  Oh well, better now then later.  The side that gave was the side I had only used hot glue on.  The other side, which was the combo of tacking with superglue then hot glue survived pretty much intact.  I will now recommend that method over the other for durability.



I reattached the cheekbone with superglue and then hot glue.  As I was doing this I was hit with an idea....used the tip of the glue gun (Very HOT) to smooth out some of the rough seams...glue melts slightly and you can sorta smear it smoothish...made my OCD feel better even if it did nothing else.



And TADA!!!!



I still have a long way to go but this is a very rewarding point.  I probably won't get much done tomorrow but I be back soon with an update.

Quick question though....does it look to big?  I fear it may be too wide for me.  Maybe once I add the rest of my armor I'll look more balanced.

[The Bearded Mando]

Looking good so far. The size is right. Once you get your vest and shoulders on, it will come together. 

[Vercopaanir]

Looking good so far. The size is right. Once you get your vest and shoulders on, it will come together. 

Thanks for the reassurance.  Better hurry with the rest so that I can get it all together.

So my original plans for the day ended up being scrapped so I did get to do a little work on my bucket.  I have officially been adopted into the Bondo users club.  I got the first layer of bondo around the brim of my bucket.  I used too much hardener so I only had about a minute of working time. 




Then I mixed up some more and applied it around the whole thing...much less hardener and an even smaller amount of bondo...like a tablespoon full.  I failed to take a picture of the rough application but I do have some photos of the sanding process.  LOTS of sanding, be judicious with your bondo application.




Then I added a second coat of bondo to cure overnight.



In between sanding the helmet and waiting for the bondo to dry I did some sanding on my ears.  They still need a little more refining but they're getting close.



That is about all I got done on the helmet today.

[Vercopaanir]

So yesterday I didn't accomplish much in terms of my bucket (tiled the bathroom floor instead ).  I did however manage to flub a batch of bondo.  I now need to scrap down some spots on my helmet.  Oh well, lesson learned.   

Today however was a much more productive day for costuming.  I prepped, traced, cut out and started the assembly of my second bucket (remember I said I was doing two).

This second bucket is being made without a prefabricated dome  (aka no hard hat). The cheeks and cheekbones (somtimes I see them called mandibles), are going to be made out of sintra this time around.  I have seen a few others who have mentioned that this was easier than trying to do them out of bucket.  Also another WIP I read said that a beveled edge will seriously help putting these together so I marked my edge that I will bevel under the piece.  Please note that my dotted line is so that I remember which edge not how far under I am cutting.





I altered the pattern a bit to match my custom Mando and started cutting.  When I altered it I only drew it on one side then traced it over to the other.





This time I cut the visor area out on the top layer.  The downside to doing this now, I discovered, is that the points of the 't' tend to pucker outwards if you don't keep them tapped into the proper shape.  I also immediately clamped them into a circle upon cutting them to start to train them for the shape I will eventually want.

The Dome:

So the pattern for this was a little intimidating to cut out but really it's just time and patience.  The more precise your cuts the better the results I noticed.




I hindsight I should have left the shaded out area on the dome template as the overlap section when I joined the dome to the bottom.  Next time!
I marked center front and the edges of the visor area.  This is important as trimming out the inside layer now will give a nice place for the visor to sit later.  I didn't do that with the first one and now I am dreading how to put in my visor later.




Next I pre-shaped the dome.  I heated the points then shoved them into a bowl.  Make sure you use a bowl that can stand the heat.  Glass will shatter if you hit with directional heat.  If all you have is glass then do this step with hot water to soften the plastic and keep the bowl heated evenly so it wont break.




Next I started to tap it together.  I did this while it was still warm but not hot enough to melt my tape.  I started at the center front and put a piece of tape diagonal across the first point.  Collected the next one to it and kept taping around.  I added strips of tape at the same angle and kept wrapping them around the dome.






I used clear packing tape, not the little role of tape you see in the photo.

So now I have a dome shape but there's a hole in the middle.    So I decided to cut a circular piece and add it to the inside.  I did this not only to fill in some of the space but give me a point to bondo to later and provide some structural support.



Okay so now I started to glue it all together.  I started with a thin bead of superglue to 'tack' it all together.  Then I traced the lines with hot glue.  Finally I added the central piece with hot glue under it then superglue on the sides followed by more hot glue.






I removed the tape, after letting it dry, to find this!



So it will need a lot of bondo work to be truly round.  I filled in some of the seams on the outside with more hot glue then I used an knife to cut off the excess as close to the dome surface as possible.

Then I began attaching the pieces.  As I noted earlier I failed to leave the strip on the pattern that would allow the two pieces to overlap and be screwed together like the first helmet.  So I improvised.  I taped and glued the dome to the inside wall base.  (Same method as before)  Then I added a brace.  I made sure to cut out my room for the visor from the brace.  I also made sure that each seam was in a different location within in the helmet.  I did that to hopefully prevent a large weak point...like that center back seam...from being even worse.  The dome seam is off to one side...the brace seam is on the other. 



I still need to add the brace around the bottom of the helmet to help strengthen it but also to aid in keeping it  in shape.  I will not forget to cut out the slot for the keyhole in the brace this time.

I also added the second layer of the outside helmet wall using contact cement.




To be continued...

[Vercopaanir]

Continued....

So I started by cutting out my supporting band.  I taped the helmet inside wall template on the remainder of one of the buckets and marked the line around.  I made sure that the back part of the helmet was the side that was assembled.  Then I marked center back so that I could cut out the space for my vent.  I measured approx. an inch probably closer to 2 cm in from the line that I drew and cut out the band.  After I freed the band from the bucket I marked out the width and depth of the backing pieces for the vent.  The backing was cut so that it was bigger then the template and thus it will be bigger than the whole I will cut into my bucket later.




I know I told you I beveled the cheekbones but I didn't show you... here they are.  I do not posses a steady enough hand to free cut these at the 40-45 degree angle I wanted so I sanded them into the angle I desired.





Okay back to the bucket assembly.  I attached the supporting band to the back of the helmet with contact cement.  Then super glued on the edges followed by hot glue.   The clamp is where the cut out is.  I am using it to hold down the two edges of the wall while my glue sets.



Now I should have cut out the vent next but I got a little ahead of myself and cut out the cheeks instead.



I took my sintra cheekbones and drew a line from the highest point of the arch to the corner.  Then I heated them and pressed them into my triangular ruler.  Any sharp edge can be used for this step.  This crease gives me a good angle to work off of when I attach the cheeks.  I made mine very sharp as I knew it would soften as I heated my cheekbone when I put them into the helmet.





Now I started to put them in.  I lined up the corner and taped down the outside of the cheekbone.  It didn't need any shaping after the fold.   Then slowly with a little bit of heat and a lot of tape I began to line up the inside of the cheekbone with the visor frame.  While this part still takes a while the sintra is much easier to work with.  I got both pieces placed in half the time it took me with the bucket plastic ones from the first build.  I recommend using the sintra unless you don't have any to work with.  Then I secured them from the inside same as before.










Some how I failed to take a picture of the cheek assembly.  I glued the flat cheek to the backing using contact cement.  Then gently heated and taped them in same as I did with the cheekbones.  The backing makes this easier as it gives a shelf for the cheekbone to rest against.  Then I glued them together.  I got a little over zealous with the heat gun and melted a smidgen of my one cheek but bondo will be able to fix that later.






At this point I realized that I had not yet cut out the vent so I did so.  I followed the same steps as I have with the first helmet to do this.  Added my backing to the bucket then the key-slots and the little filler pieces.  Then I cut out my visor






Now for the test fit!



And then the bondo...



When I went to bondo I had to go looking for my other helmet that I had scraped down  from my bondo accident.  It wasn't were I left it on.  Found it a few minutes later on my 'little' brother.



Edit:  I saw another WIP where the template is taped together in the back instead of the front for the inner wall.  Doing this way will remove the seam from the back (which I have been fighting with since I first attached it) and put it in the visor area which I will CUT out when I cut out the visor.  Much better placement for the seam and will give the helmet better structural integrity.  Next time!

[Vercopaanir]

So not much to show as far as progress. I sanded down the bondo until the high points of the helmet started to show through.  Then I added a second coat.





I did the same with the other helmet I just didn't take any pictures of that one.

I also did a little work on the second set of ears.

[Kenoh Ra'h]

I vive anyone who uses this method to make their own bucket a WHOOOOOOOOLE LOTTA credit and respect....

I attempted to create my own 4 years ago and botched it pretty bad..likely due to my patience at the time and lack of adequate build space.. jumpy to present time,still dont really have the space so still haven't tried (eventually one day)   i took a slight cheater method and 3d printed mine two weeks ago and have been slowly working on it a little at a time...

This gives me hope for a time i can make a real effort...bucket off to you sir!...nicely done

[Vercopaanir]

I vive anyone who uses this method to make their own bucket a WHOOOOOOOOLE LOTTA credit and respect....

I attempted to create my own 4 years ago and botched it pretty bad..likely due to my patience at the time and lack of adequate build space.. jumpy to present time,still dont really have the space so still haven't tried (eventually one day)   i took a slight cheater method and 3d printed mine two weeks ago and have been slowly working on it a little at a time...

This gives me hope for a time i can make a real effort...bucket off to you sir!...nicely done

Thanks.  You'll do it some day.

Update: 

I have been adding layers of bondo and sanding the last few days.  I am nearly there with the dome.  I also added my first set of ears.  I decided to go with the permanent attachment rather than the magnetic that I had originally set it up for.

[Awall]

Man that is some hard work and time your putting into it... and it is paying off! Really looking forward to seeing this in primer.  Great job!  Thanks for all the pics

[Vercopaanir]

Man that is some hard work and time your putting into it... and it is paying off! Really looking forward to seeing this in primer.  Great job!  Thanks for all the pics

Thank you Awall.  Yes lots of time and effort but here they are with their first coat of primer.  Thinking it might be worth it.

Update:

I added ears to my second bucket and then filled the spaces with bondo.  I got the first coat of primer on the first bucket that same day.  Next day I sanded down the bondo again on my second bucket on the dome and around the ears.  Then today I primed them both.  The first one for the second time ( I sanded down my first layer of primer) and the second one for the first time.  They're starting to look like actual helmets and not just five gallon pails I glued together.