Mk VI Helmet WIP (Pic Heavy!)

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Bruteforce56

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My introduction to pepping was last Oct. I started off small with the M6D pistol and then completed the ODST Rookie helmet. After that, I was comfortable with pepping and was confident about making a pretty darn perfect MkVI helmet. I completed pepping it in about 60 hours. During winter break, I applied two layers of resin to all three pieces. And then for 6 months they sat around collecting dust.

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A few weeks ago, I began an internship at a small aircraft kit manufacturer, where I am currently being trained on how to fiberglass and create molds. I decided I just wanted to focus on the Mk VI helmet since that was the best piece I had made so far. Working at this aircraft manufacturer, I have access to tools and chemicals (various types of glass, resin, fillers, etc) that are not available at your home depot or ace hardware. The next step of the process was filling it with foam to reinforce it so I can pull it out of the mold without ruining it incase the mold doesn't come out correct.
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Unfortunately I ran out of hardening for the foam so I used a filler called microballoon "something" to paste the inside walls with and allowed it to harden overnight.
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Next, I sprayed a couple layers of automotive primer so I could see every facet and imperfection.
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After that, I mixed and applied a less harder filler called microballoon epoxy to the outside of the helmet in order to eliminate the geometric shape and smooth it all out.
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I didn't apply the microballoon epoxy to the whole thing so that I could see where my edges are suppose to be. I expect tomorrow that I will sand and smooth these spots all out and then proceed to work on the other parts of the helmet. I want this sucker to be perfect so I have a lot of sanding ahead of me; fortunately, microballoon epoxy is much much easier to sand than bondo. Ultimately, I plan to use this helmet as a plug to form probably a three piece mold in which I'll be able to produce perfect, accurate fiberglass casts. If you can provide any professional advice regarding where I am currently at with it or with molding, it would be much appreciated. Thanks.
 
Thats really cool. Pretty neat to see new methods being used, and its looking pretty slick. Keep it up, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants more pics.
 
Thanks yall, I really appreciate the encouragement. Today I didn't get to much; I spent about 4 hours sanding but wasn't able to get to applying more microballoon epoxy to the rest of the helmet. I plan to do that tomorrow!
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Third part of filler and sanding. So far, I've sanded around 13-14 hours total. Tomorrow it gets a fresh layer of primer and then I start working on all the little flaws such as pin holes.
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Yeah, I know its been a while since I last updated. I got this far the past few weeks. Unfortunately I will not finish it until December now that I am at college. But that means I am now prepping to pep the whole suit, starting with the chest.

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This is looking great. I've got no advice for you since it seems like you're on a roll. Excellent job on the pepping, and you will certainly be rewarded with a great finished product(s) due to all the sanding and smoothing you're doing.

If you don't mind me asking, what company (and where) were you working at? I'm a big fan of aviation! :cool
 
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