Skyrim: Daedric Helmet

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cuse

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Its been a while since I've posted here but I decided to get back in the game. I finished a Daedric Helmet today. The file wasn't very smoothed out so I'm going to have a TON of bondo work ahead of me. I've never done resin before so this should be an interesting learning experience.

Oh and if you can't tell, I woke up my girlfriend to model this for me, she was pissed, lol.

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Halo Helmet
 
That's some nice looking pep work. I love me so Skyrim! But you really are gonna have a lot of bondo ahead of you. Here's some advice I learned for myself the hard way, and I like to share it since a lot of people don't know how smooth pep files work.

If you have a pep file with a lot of shard edges, open the file in Pepakura Designer. Then, go to "Settings" -> "Other Settings". In the drop down box next to "Threshold" change the degrees to something around 150-160, you have to play with it a bit to see what works best for the file, and click "OK". That should smooth the file out for you and save a bunch of time.

Its too late for the helmet, but I guarantee it will save you a lot of time and energy (and money) in later peps. Trust me, its something I wish I knew when I first started. My helmet is way heavier than it needs to be because of all the bondo it took to sand it.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your build!
 
Its too late for the helmet, but I guarantee it will save you a lot of time and energy (and money) in later peps. Trust me, its something I wish I knew when I first started. My helmet is way heavier than it needs to be because of all the bondo it took to sand it.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your build!

10 points to Griffindor!!:eek What a life saving tip.

Cuse, awesome job mate. Keep it up and good luck! Oh and flowers will getcha out of the doghouse ;)
 
That's some nice looking pep work. I love me so Skyrim! But you really are gonna have a lot of bondo ahead of you. Here's some advice I learned for myself the hard way, and I like to share it since a lot of people don't know how smooth pep files work.

If you have a pep file with a lot of shard edges, open the file in Pepakura Designer. Then, go to "Settings" -> "Other Settings". In the drop down box next to "Threshold" change the degrees to something around 150-160, you have to play with it a bit to see what works best for the file, and click "OK". That should smooth the file out for you and save a bunch of time.

Its too late for the helmet, but I guarantee it will save you a lot of time and energy (and money) in later peps. Trust me, its something I wish I knew when I first started. My helmet is way heavier than it needs to be because of all the bondo it took to sand it.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your build!

Holy crap, I wish I had known about that! Thanks for the tip for future builds! I'm contemplating re-doing it with this technique and using the one I just made as a test model since I've never done resin before.
 
Glad I can help man. In the end, its probably better, I think the helmet would have been way to heavy with the amount of bondo you would need. And like you said, now you have a helmet to practice your techniques on. Can't wait to see more!
 
Are the "horns" on that helm open in the back? Only reason I'm asking is because those are gonna be a biotch to glass if they are tube-like. How do people get around issues like this? I'm a pep noob so anytime I see something new I have to ask questions. Hope you dont mind. Helmet looks pretty bada$$!
 
Are the "horns" on that helm open in the back? Only reason I'm asking is because those are gonna be a biotch to glass if they are tube-like. How do people get around issues like this? I'm a pep noob so anytime I see something new I have to ask questions. Hope you dont mind. Helmet looks pretty bada$$!

You can see into the horns when looking into the helm. I have a feeling they'll be a bitch to fiberglass like you said...good thing I have small hands. Might have to use a screwdriver or something to stuff the fiberglass cloth in.
 
Since there are a lot of sharp corners and the horns, I suggest looking into the "Rondo" method to coat the inside of the helm. Rondo is just a mixture of resin and regular Bondo body putty. It can be mixed at different ratios to get a runny or thick liquid that can be used to coat your piece. It allows you to get thicker coats of material in or on your project, giving you a very strong, sturdy finished piece without the need for fiberglass cloth. Its great for small intricate details and hard to reach places, like inside solid objects.

However, rondo has to drawbacks. First, its weight. Cloth is harder to get into small places effectively, but is generally a good bit lighter. Rondo allows you to get into details, but it often goes on thick, so it weighs more. The other issue is that it shrinks a little as it cures. If your piece isn't properly enforced, it has the chance to warp what you are working on. The ways I've seen to combat this is simply to apply at least two coats of fiberglass resin to the outside instead of one.

I use this method a lot instead of working with cloth, and its usually a lot quicker than dealing with the cloth. Plus its much less of a head ache in the end because you are a lot less likely to leave a hollow spot in your armor. And the only time its ever failed me is when I was working on an assault rifle. I didn't properly support it and it warped beyond repair. I did it twice. To two guns. Because I don't learn lessons.

I hope I'm not rambling. I just like to give advice.
 
Since there are a lot of sharp corners and the horns, I suggest looking into the "Rondo" method to coat the inside of the helm. Rondo is just a mixture of resin and regular Bondo body putty. It can be mixed at different ratios to get a runny or thick liquid that can be used to coat your piece. It allows you to get thicker coats of material in or on your project, giving you a very strong, sturdy finished piece without the need for fiberglass cloth. Its great for small intricate details and hard to reach places, like inside solid objects.

However, rondo has to drawbacks. First, its weight. Cloth is harder to get into small places effectively, but is generally a good bit lighter. Rondo allows you to get into details, but it often goes on thick, so it weighs more. The other issue is that it shrinks a little as it cures. If your piece isn't properly enforced, it has the chance to warp what you are working on. The ways I've seen to combat this is simply to apply at least two coats of fiberglass resin to the outside instead of one.

I use this method a lot instead of working with cloth, and its usually a lot quicker than dealing with the cloth. Plus its much less of a head ache in the end because you are a lot less likely to leave a hollow spot in your armor. And the only time its ever failed me is when I was working on an assault rifle. I didn't properly support it and it warped beyond repair. I did it twice. To two guns. Because I don't learn lessons.

I hope I'm not rambling. I just like to give advice.

I was watching some videos while pepping today on the rondo method and fiberglass method. I do plan on doing at least 2 coats of resin, probably going to do 3 coats. I could potentially rondo the horns and detailed areas and fiberglass the rest of it. I do worry about it warping though.
 
You should smile a bit on the pictures ;)

So you love skyrim ? :) and about the warping... if u really work with a very thin layer it wont warp ... after the thin layers you can put more on to make sure its gonna be hard and taff...

Work carefully and slow and u will be satisfied! :)

spes 256
 
-Agrees with Pig-
You should smile more!

You are doing great, and I was just about to suggest Jimmy's advice about modifying the Threshold, but I see he has that covered ;)

Oh, and here's a soundtrack that I think that might go well with your helmet, its one of my personal favorites.
 
Hey cuse, looking sharp. I just got skyrim for xmas so probably be seeing this character alot. As far as the horns go...you could try a low expansion window foam. Not as hard as fibreglass but would be easier to fill the horns. Coat of rondo first, then when cured, spray in the foam. The rondo will keep the horn stiff and the foam would act as a backer. Just my 2 cents.;)
 
Sick. I'm actually planning on doing up the full set of Ebony for my Khajiit character concept after I finish my space marine. I love learning from other's work and this one I feel has a lot of promise! The daedric set is pretty damn epic. Probably one of the coolest looking sets for agressiveness in the game. I've still got to find some good light armour peps for my girlfriend so she can come out too.
 
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