Recon and marine helmet build

Update!

So I wasn't happy with the hardness of it earlier, so I went ahead and put a heavier coat on it with a bit more hardner. Now its time to move onto the inside with rondo! Next update will be soon hopefully!

Ok small update. I found out I have more holes in my pep than I realized. Either way this is the first coat. I figure another couple small coats and let it dry on each side. (Also I'm using knowledge from the stickies and other members fyi)
If anyone sees something dangerous or might be able to suggest something feel free to chime in.




(See a bit leaked out.)

Btw I would like to apologize ahead of time if I'm not allowed to post as I am. (Like double posting and what not.)

Anyways progress!
The good- Helmet is 95% rondo'd on the inside and ready to be bondo'd and reshaped/detailed.
The bad- The jaw area is not sitting correctly. Though I have high hopes either it can be rectified with enough bondo or cut off and either put on correctly or a new one put in. (Doubt the last option is smart though.) Any suggestions would once again be super appreciated.

(You can really see it off here.)

Minor update!
So I dont have much time before work, but I figure an hour or two will make a difference before I get time on the weekends to get some work done.
That being said I have 100% rondo'd the inside of the helmet with no light showing through. (Should give it enough strength.)
After that I started getting bondo on the top and sides. I have a few reference shots for the general look of the helmet so I can fix the jaw and chin area and hopefully true up any other minor flaws. ( Also I will probably add some flair to it.)



Btw does anyone have any suggestions on how to apply it on smoother? Not a huge deal, but would probably save a little bit of time sanding and making it smooth.

your helmet is looking great so far and you will only get better! cant wait to see what it looks like when you are done!

Pepakura helmet seems complicated... But it's cool!

Without wanting to sound rude or mean - you've gone way overboard with the bondo. The idea is to work in small batches, rather than slap it all on in one go like it's icing sugar and then sand it off later. It's far less wasteful to work up a smaller batch - aim to be covering the surface area roughly similar to the palm of your hand in one go, if not less than that, and spread the stuff thinly using a good-quality spatula with a clean, straight edge. I've noticed that in some places you've spread the stuff with what appears to be your fingers.

Your helmet isn't beyond salvage, but you're going to need to spend a lot of time, and waste a lot of bondo and effort, on stripping most of that stuff back before you continue. Good luck with your build regardless!

Chernobyl said:

Without wanting to sound rude or mean - you've gone way overboard with the bondo. The idea is to work in small batches, rather than slap it all on in one go like it's icing sugar and then sand it off later. It's far less wasteful to work up a smaller batch - aim to be covering the surface area roughly similar to the palm of your hand in one go, if not less than that, and spread the stuff thinly using a good-quality spatula with a clean, straight edge. I've noticed that in some places you've spread the stuff with what appears to be your fingers.

Your helmet isn't beyond salvage, but you're going to need to spend a lot of time, and waste a lot of bondo and effort, on stripping most of that stuff back before you continue. Good luck with your build regardless!

Click to expand...

Sadly I figured that out late. I've been sanding the hell out of it for a few days now. Not to mention I have to build some areas from scratch so it looks correct after it warped a little when it was resined. I figure once it look right I'll bite the bullet and mold it. That way I'm not wearing a 10 pound helmet.

shwarzwald said:

Sadly I figured that out late. I've been sanding the hell out of it for a few days now. Not to mention I have to build some areas from scratch so it looks correct after it warped a little when it was resined. I figure once it look right I'll bite the bullet and mold it. That way I'm not wearing a 10 pound helmet.

Click to expand...

It might save you more grief to re-do the helmet entirely. It's probably not entirely appetising a prospect, but in the long run it's less effort than trying to fix your mistakes - plus, you'll be able to correct the errors in some areas of your helmet (the lower faceplate, the jaw areas).

Believe me, I've made exactly the same mistakes in the past - I doubt there's a member here that hasn't made a botch-up with bondo at some point in their career. I also firmly believe that there are no such thing as 'bad experience' - the best you can do from here is to look objectively at your work and learn from your attempts. In this case, you'd do well to curb your enthusiasm and force yourself to work at a slower pace, no matter how inviting it is to get your resin and bondo all on in one go. Again, it's easier to fix problems in a paper/card form than it is in a hardened build, so don't start putting your product on unless you're absolutely certain you're happy with the base form.

If it helps, you could always try another project - a smaller piece, such as a shoulder plate, perhaps, to refine your techniques to a point where you'd be happy with advancing to something more complex. I could suggest something from Halo 3's Mk VI range - the Scout, CQB and Security shoulderplates in particular are very simple builds that still offer relatively complex areas for you to work around when smoothing over.

Again, best of luck with your builds, and above all: don't be discouraged! You should see some of my first builds - they look like absolute arse.

I appreciate that. Though after reading through many threads and looking at a large number of finished armors I think I will try my hand at eva foam for the body and use pep/bondo for the helmet. Though I do have a question. In the not to far off future I will be starting my odst build and was curious. Should I go ahead and start a new thread and let this one slowly die? Or do I just do a massive edit of sorts? (Either way whenever I finished the recon helmet I was gonna edit the first post anyways to show a finished helmet.)

Ok update! So i pretty much have just been sanding and reshaping some parts. I have to build out the chin area a bit and flatten the sides out some too. After that just smooth it down completely and maybe get to the point of making a cast.

( See the chin/jawline is slowly coming together.)