First Build: ODST - Helmet Concentration

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Aster Tea

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CURRENT PROGRESS SHOT:
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Past Progress Shots:
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
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After much lurking and reading I tried to do my first pepakura to see if I could do this kinda stuff. I do plan to do two full ODST armor sets by Halloween for me and the boyfriend. He's wanted one for years, but he's a workaholic. Luckily he has me. (; Quite a task I've set out to do, but I enjoy seeing him and his buds trippin' out over the progress pics. I appreciate any tips and tricks you have for me.

I used RUNDOWN's ODST Rookie helmet for my try. I didn't really look at the unfolded parts too much before I printed it. I only made sure everything fit the page and what not. I only completed the front half and it took me 10 hours. I would've been disheartened if time didn't fly so fast while doing this.
Helmet WIP Front Shot

I should have checked the parts before choosing this ODST helmet. RUNDOWN's parts had super thin and tiny parts that kick my butt, mainly this part below. I looked at Kirrou's ODST helmet and that one had less thin parts to it so I got that printed out for another go at pepping. I dunno if I should finish this one or just leave it on the side just because of the one messed up part. I'm pretty proud of myself for my first pepakura start.
Helmet WIP Messed Up Part

I was wondering if there was any tricks to getting these thin parts to go on as it should. I'm using pens to help with the folding, but it still ends up this way.
 
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That part of the ODST Helmet is quite difficult. I cant figure out what you may be doing wrong. Are you running the pen across the fold-line 3-4 times? Because thats how they become most affective for the folds. It also might be the order you are puting this pieces together. It make it easier if you put together the difficult pieces first (so you have as much room to work with as possible). I hope i answered your question, but other than that little section the helmet looks great!
 
wow that looks really good man, just need to fix the top part a little. a little sport putty should do the job =D
other than that, it looks like a very clean pepped helmet
 
That part of the ODST Helmet is quite difficult. I cant figure out what you may be doing wrong. Are you running the pen across the fold-line 3-4 times? Because thats how they become most affective for the folds. It also might be the order you are puting this pieces together. It make it easier if you put together the difficult pieces first (so you have as much room to work with as possible). I hope i answered your question, but other than that little section the helmet looks great!
Thanks for the suggestions! I run my pen at least five times for those parts because I knew it would make it a little easier. I went bottom to top for that part because the pieces were so thin that if I did that part separate from the rest of the helmet, the tabs wouldn't really have anything to glue on to. I wonder if anyone else did RUNDOWN's ODST helmet with this part looking good.

wow that looks really good man, just need to fix the top part a little. a little sport putty should do the job =D
other than that, it looks like a very clean pepped helmet
Thanks! :)
 
If this is you're very first pep...then you did a awesome job. That is a very hard pep to do. As to the question you should finish it just to get the practice. The more you do the easier it gets.:)
 
If this is you're very first pep...then you did a awesome job. That is a very hard pep to do. As to the question you should finish it just to get the practice. The more you do the easier it gets.:)

Thanks! I found out part of the reason that it was so hard. The tabs to put glue on were all kinds of sizes so you end up having to cut them to fit and I didn't notice until after putting glue on them. xD

I'm gonna finish that after I finish my ODST build... hopefully. Just started on Kirrou's ODST helmet. I'll try to have pictures and questions up of what I have tonight.
 
Another suggestion to get a good fold is to do what I do. I use a slightly dulled x-acto blade to score the fold line. This gives a very sharp and clean fold. This takes a bit of practice to get a feel for it, so you should practice on something more simple first. I've found that using a pen can get sloppy for the tighter folds.

Other than that problem spot, the helmet looks great!
 
Another suggestion to get a good fold is to do what I do. I use a slightly dulled x-acto blade to score the fold line. This gives a very sharp and clean fold. This takes a bit of practice to get a feel for it, so you should practice on something more simple first. I've found that using a pen can get sloppy for the tighter folds.

Other than that problem spot, the helmet looks great!
Thanks! I'm a bit afraid of using an exacto knife to score the fold lines so I'll have to practice lots and lots.

Got called into work last night so I couldn't upload any pics, but here's what I got so far on Kirrou's helmet. There's a lot more folds on Kirrou's helmet than RUNDOWN's helmet, but less parts on Kirrou's. I'm dreading to do that ear looking part.

Is it easier to build the bottom ring first and work my way up or is it better to build the front half and work my way back?
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that is looking sick! i wont say which way to build it up is better, personally, i have found that starting from the bottom and working up, leaves built in warping that either never goes away or takes a butt load of bondo to fix. i wouldnt suggest the front to back either, same problem. personally, i build in segments. for example, the MK6 helmet, i built each jaw seperately, and the mouth on its own. then combined them. same thing with the top the brim and the back. when i was ready to assemble, i had about 5-7 different parts. this made aligning really simple as any distortion wouldnt effect the overall section either at all, or just a little bit. but it never caused such a problem as to create major warps in the piece. hope this helps, and keep up the work!
 
Nice work so far, I can see some pretty awesome folds there. I used Rundown's file and it wasn't that hard, but I did it twice to make it perfect, although it's not done yet. But I think Kirrou's files are good too. Good luck!! :D
 
that is looking sick! i wont say which way to build it up is better, personally, i have found that starting from the bottom and working up, leaves built in warping that either never goes away or takes a butt load of bondo to fix. i wouldnt suggest the front to back either, same problem. personally, i build in segments. for example, the MK6 helmet, i built each jaw seperately, and the mouth on its own. then combined them. same thing with the top the brim and the back. when i was ready to assemble, i had about 5-7 different parts. this made aligning really simple as any distortion wouldnt effect the overall section either at all, or just a little bit. but it never caused such a problem as to create major warps in the piece. hope this helps, and keep up the work!
I'll continue on with your way by doing sections. :) It might be a little too late, but it should help the dome part to be symmetric and smoother. Thanks!

Nice work so far, I can see some pretty awesome folds there. I used Rundown's file and it wasn't that hard, but I did it twice to make it perfect, although it's not done yet. But I think Kirrou's files are good too. Good luck!! :D
Thanks! I took a look at your helmet. It looks a bit different than the one I did, mainly the area where I messed up. Is that an older helmet that RUNDOWN did?
 
glad i could be of some help Aster! hope the piece comes out great!! and dont worry if it doesnt. i have built the same mk6 helmet 5 times, and only my most recent is worthy enough for me to be satisfied. if you mess up, no worries, you will most likely re-make a few pieces due to sizing issues or you wont like how the piece hardens or whatever. i have actually almost made 2 whole suites because of many reasons. just take your time and have fun and your golden!
 
glad i could be of some help Aster! hope the piece comes out great!! and dont worry if it doesnt. i have built the same mk6 helmet 5 times, and only my most recent is worthy enough for me to be satisfied. if you mess up, no worries, you will most likely re-make a few pieces due to sizing issues or you wont like how the piece hardens or whatever. i have actually almost made 2 whole suites because of many reasons. just take your time and have fun and your golden!
I think I might cry if I have to re-pep this helmet five times, haha.

I finally finished pepping the helmet! It looked kinda really big, but when I put it on it looked fine. I kept trying to put it on with my hair tied up, but the corners of the tabs got stuck in my hair each time. I spent the longest time trying to find a shower cap and then I realized that I should just put my hair down. -__-;
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Hopefully I can resin this soon. Luckily anytime of the year in Hawaii is good for resining. :)
 
I'm planning on using Hugh's file for the chest core and I was wondering if making it out of foam would be better than pepping it. I want to use foam for that flexibility and durability (And no need to resin, bondo, and sand as much). If this turns out great I might make the rest of the armor with foam instead of pepakura.

I'd have to order foam mats off of Harbor Freight's website since I can't find anywhere with decently priced mats in Hawaii. I might have to check Home Depot when I get the chance.
 
Got a little bit done while thinking about the chest core. :) I used Hugh's chest plate for this. He wasn't kidding when he said butterfly clips would be highly recommended. I didn't have any, but I managed to find a couple random clips that worked fine.

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I think I'll pep the stomach piece next. I went to Walmart for resin, bondo, and a respirator yesterday. They had resin the bondo, but no respirator. D:< Luckily my man's gonna get me one from City Mill tomorrow. Hopefully they have it. I have my fingers crossed!
 
nice work so far! i think your should go with foam as well, because those abdomen pieces limit your movement most so the flexibility would be helpful. keep it up!
 
Thanks! I was thinking that too.

I'm planning on test resining my chest plate tomorrow! I just hope it isn't rainy or windy outside.
 
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Random windy and rainy day here in the islands. ): Instead of trying out the resin I stayed indoors to do a little bit more pepping with the ab piece. I'm waiting for the first joint in my right index finger to stop hurting before doing my second helmet. Too much cutting with the exacto knife. ):
 
Been gone for a while. I did little things here and there. I made Kirrou's tester helmet to compare sizes to the actual HD one. It's a little smaller that the HD version, but I needed to see if it fit my guy and I didn't want to take the HD helmet on the bus. The tester helmet actually feels sturdier too. I made another HD helmet a weeee bit bigger than my first one. I could pep it easier this time. :)

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