ANH Stunt helmet scratch build

[Abe Froman]

Hi all.

I’m new to this forum and am scratch-building an ANH stunt helmet - at least that’s what I hope it will become.  At this early point in the build, I’m trying to get the overall contours and proportions right.  Ideally, I’d like to get it as screen-accurate as possible in hopes of possibly qualifying for 501^st approval some day.  (If it doesn't look like it's headed in that direction, somebody please let me know now, lol)

I’ve stared at the thing for so long that it’s difficult to be objective any more, even when comparing it with photos of the originals, but the areas I can see that might need some work are:

   1)  The curvature of the dome, especially in side view.

   2)  The height of the dome in relation to the brow line

   3)  The size/width of the side tubes

I know there are other issues that I’m not seeing.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  The pickier, the better. J

Thanks!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Nice job so far, Abe!  In looking at yours alongside an original, you are on the right track, sir.  A few tweaks here and there and you should be in good shape.

 

  

[Frank75139[501st]]

Wow that’s really good


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[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Really looking forwards to seeing this progress.  You look to be doing really well so far!

[Abe Froman]

12 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

Nice job so far, Abe!  In looking at yours alongside an original, you are on the right track, sir.  A few tweaks here and there and you should be in good shape.

 

Thanks for sharing the photo.  It confirms that my dome is too round and needs about 1/8” more material at the front-upper and rear-upper areas to tighten up those radii a tad.

 

One thing I’ve noticed when comparing photos of the original helmets is the variation in the spacing in the brow area between the tops of the eyes and the black trim line (I don’t know what that’s called).  Some of them seem quite large while others overlap.  My preference is to make it minimal so that’s how I’ve built the helmet so far, but it can be adjusted if necessary.  Is there a standard or acceptable range for that distance that’s considered canonically “correct” (i.e. when the helmets on set were deemed to be assembled properly)?  Or is it anything within the range of what we see in the movies?  Does it make a difference if we're talking about Stunt versus Hero?

 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

In general that's just an assembly difference.  The face plate is pulled separately from the cap and back.  Depending on how the brow was trimmed and bolted up (and how rushed the build was) you get a number of different looks.

 

This is further exacerbated by the fact the left image is a hero helmet and the right a (sandtrooper) stunt and one well know for a large gap.  The hero face plates are different, but I've heard multiple explanations as to why.

 

As for which is right? All of them.  If you're building a hero you'll want no gap, a "move along" sand trooper, a big and lopsided one.  Generic TK? probably somewhere in the middle but really it's up to you.

[sylverbard[TK]]

Nice project.  If you are sculpting in clay i presume you plan on eventually pulling abs?

 

The mandibles seem too thick for an ANH Stunt helmet, proportionately.

[Abe Froman]

 

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 8:48 PM, Bud Spaklur said:

Wait, why are you scratch-building a helmet and not ordering a kit?

I like the experience of building.

 

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 8:48 PM, Bud Spaklur said:

Also, what is that made out of?

It's Pepakura (paper) plus Bondo.

 

 

 

 

[Abe Froman]

On ‎11‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 1:46 PM, sylverbard said:

If you are sculpting in clay i presume you plan on eventually pulling abs?

Yeah, this will be the plug for a mold.  I still have to educate myself on the materials to use.  Lots to learn, but that's a big reason why I'm building.

 

On ‎11‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 1:46 PM, sylverbard said:

The mandibles seem too thick for an ANH Stunt helmet, proportionately.

Agreed.  Those red markings in the photo are where material needed to come off, and even more has been removed since then.

Thanks for the feedback!