Walraad Posted May 10, 2015 Report Posted May 10, 2015 (edited) Hello all. I apologize if this is the wrong area of the forum. Please move if needed. It's been a goal of mine for a while to build a storm trooper set of armor, and I finally took the first few steps. I've started with the pepakura helmet design by Space Cowboy. The build up was pretty straight forward. The only issues I had were trying to piece together the individual sections together. After many hours of cutting, bending, gluing, swearing and drinking I had this to show for my efforts. Edited February 20, 2021 by gmrhodes13 photos updated gmrhodes13 2021 Quote
Walraad Posted May 10, 2015 Author Report Posted May 10, 2015 (edited) Next step was to apply resin to the inside and outside of the helmet. Unfortunately, the first batch I used was old and was difficult to work with (green parts). Fortunately it did cure and I purchased some new resin. I also applied a layer of fiberglass to the inside of the helmet. Edited February 20, 2021 by gmrhodes13 photos updated gmrhodes13 2021 Quote
Walraad Posted May 10, 2015 Author Report Posted May 10, 2015 BONDO TIME! I'm going to approach this in thinner more numerous coats as needed. Not a big fan of sanding all day... Quote
Picasso69 Posted May 10, 2015 Report Posted May 10, 2015 I made mine some time ago but I still haven't put resin on it yet. One day I will. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Picasso69 Posted May 10, 2015 Report Posted May 10, 2015 My pic won't upload to show you, not sure why. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Walraad Posted May 11, 2015 Author Report Posted May 11, 2015 As I continue to research, I'm realizing there are a few parts of the helmet I know I will struggle with. The vocoder in particular... Is there anyone that offers a pre-made piece for this? As I build, I will try to continually add pics to show my progress. Any comments or critisizms are always welcome. Quote
Tolo[TK] Posted May 11, 2015 Report Posted May 11, 2015 As I continue to research, I'm realizing there are a few parts of the helmet I know I will struggle with. The vocoder in particular... Is there anyone that offers a pre-made piece for this? As I build, I will try to continually add pics to show my progress. Any comments or critisizms are always welcome. The vocoder are part of the helmet's faceplate. You won't be able to find loose, unless you're lucky and can find an old FX or AM vocoder that are separated from the faceplate. Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk Quote
Walraad Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Posted May 12, 2015 Thank you Tolo. I'm two coats of bondo with sanding in between on the dome section of the helmet. I'm also trying something a bit different. I'm going to try using air drying crafting clay to build up and detail the face area. I hope it's pretty solid when cured. Does anyone have any experience with this? Quote
trooper96[501st] Posted May 12, 2015 Report Posted May 12, 2015 There are different kinds of clay. They all look good when you first shape them. Most natural clays will shrink maybe 10% or so and will likely crack some as they dry. Some plasticized clays are advertised not to shrink or crack. I can't speak to how durable clay is. It appears soft to me, but there may be some kind of sealer or glazing compound you could use. Quote
CommanderZel Posted May 12, 2015 Report Posted May 12, 2015 As I continue to research, I'm realizing there are a few parts of the helmet I know I will struggle with. The vocoder in particular... Is there anyone that offers a pre-made piece for this? As I build, I will try to continually add pics to show my progress. Any comments or critisizms are always welcome. This pep file is actually one of two by spacecowboy. The other file has all the greeblies, like the vocoder and the mic tips. I can send the file to you if you'd like. I think I've still got it rattling around on my hard drive. Quote
Walraad Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Posted May 12, 2015 This pep file is actually one of two by spacecowboy. The other file has all the greeblies, like the vocoder and the mic tips. I can send the file to you if you'd like. I think I've still got it rattling around on my hard drive Thank you all for the help, its greatly appreciated. I was initially very impressed with the clay. I was able to shape by hand and fine tune the shapes easily to what I needed. Unfortunately, a day later it has turned into an epic fail. The clay cracked and easily pulled free. So I'm back to the method of bondo and hand sanding... Hope to add some more pics soon. Having issues with file sizes... Quote
CommanderZel Posted May 12, 2015 Report Posted May 12, 2015 Are you using letter files or A4 files? Quote
trooper96[501st] Posted May 12, 2015 Report Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) Walraad, If you are looking for something that works like clay but is superior in adhesion and maintaining shape, try something called Milliput. Works great, but not cheap like air dry clay. http://milliput.com/index.html Edited May 12, 2015 by trooper96 Quote
Walraad Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Posted May 12, 2015 Thanks again. I'm using letter sized files for printing. Milliput looks interesting. Definitely worth a better look. I have a hard time manipulating the bondo and hand sanding to get the shapes I want. As always any advice is appreciated. Quote
CommanderZel Posted May 12, 2015 Report Posted May 12, 2015 I have the file in PDF version as well, but I can't compress it enough to post it here. This will work if you're using Pep designer, which I assume that you are. Trooper Details.zip Quote
Walraad Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Posted May 13, 2015 I have the file in PDF version as well, but I can't compress it enough to post it here. This will work if you're using Pep designer, which I assume that you are.Thank you very much. This will be very helpful. Quote
CommanderZel Posted May 13, 2015 Report Posted May 13, 2015 No problem! I was originally going to do a pep build, but I was easily swayed to the kit construction side of things as I have no experience with pep builds. Quote
Walraad Posted May 14, 2015 Author Report Posted May 14, 2015 (edited) On 5/13/2015 at 10:02 AM, CommanderZel said: No problem! I was originally going to do a pep build, but I was easily swayed to the kit construction side of things as I have no experience with pep builds. Im wishing I went with a kit construction. Ive lost count of the number of times Ive applied bondo and sanded. Beginning to get frustrated and a little discouraged with my progress. Really struggling to get the forms accurate. As always any tips or recommendations are always welcomed. Edited February 20, 2021 by gmrhodes13 photos updated gmrhodes13 2021 Quote
CommanderZel Posted May 14, 2015 Report Posted May 14, 2015 The only thing I can say is that you're probably going to want to attach the details before you finish the bondo. I just don't know how else the teeth in the frown are going to work. It's looking really good, though! Keep up the good work! Quote
Walraad Posted May 18, 2015 Author Report Posted May 18, 2015 The only thing I can say is that you're probably going to want to attach the details before you finish the bondo. I just don't know how else the teeth in the frown are going to work. It's looking really good, though! Keep up the good work! Thanks CommanderZel I have started to fit the teeth and moving towards getting many of the forms to look decent. Still have a long way to go. Hope to post a pic of my success or failure tomorrow. Is there any one out there that can provide a finishing kit of sorts. I will need lenses, a neck seal, brow trim and possibly a set of ears. Any ideas? Thanks again. Quote
trooper96[501st] Posted May 18, 2015 Report Posted May 18, 2015 Trooperbay seems to be a popular place to source the seals, trim, and lenses. Quote
Walraad Posted May 19, 2015 Author Report Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) On 5/18/2015 at 8:41 PM, trooper96 said: Trooperbay seems to be a popular place to source the seals, trim, and lenses. Thank you Trooper, Ill check it out. I was able to get the teeth in place. I realize its far from perfect, but I am quite pleased with it thus far. In the picture the spacing on the left seems off, but its only perspective. Soon I hope to come up with a good way to make the vocoder followed by the ears and cut outs for the upper vents. Edited February 20, 2021 by gmrhodes13 photos updated gmrhodes13 2021 Quote
CommanderZel Posted May 19, 2015 Report Posted May 19, 2015 Looking great! I'd definitely suggest Trooperbay as they've been reported to be reputable and the things I've bought from them have come in excellent shape and time. I do have one more concern, though: How are you planning on attaching brow and neck trim? The bucket will probably be thin enough at the neck for the application of neck trim, but the brow looks like a solid shelf! Quote
JohnnyChaos Posted May 19, 2015 Report Posted May 19, 2015 it's starting to look real good.most people seem to get bored well before this point, are you going to be slush casting this eventually?you could just glue a strip of rubber along the brow line. I've seen it done on slush cast helmets and it looks fine. Quote
Walraad Posted May 20, 2015 Author Report Posted May 20, 2015 Thank you all for the positive feedback. I intend to use a solid strip of rubber glued to the brow line as JohnnyChaos mentioned. Does anybody know the width and thickness? The neck trim shouldn't be an issue. I'm also looking for a good reference for the ears. I am not sure how far up the helmet they should go . I've peped a set but they seem small. Lastly, trying to decide how best to make the vocoder. Quote
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