Anthro Master Chief motorcycle helmet shell

[TechMav]

Long time lurker, first time poster (well, not really...) Decided to post progress pix of the Anthro Master Chief helmet shell I'm working on, based on IroniumCostuming's Pep file. I believe this is #4 so far, 130% scale over original. First one went pear shaped (literally), second turned out OK, but too small for my head. Third build was 120% and was too small to fit over the motorcycle helmet shell.

And yes, I'm taking safety into consideration on this build. The visor area is the same size if not larger than the helmet visor, so I won't lose any sight area. I plan to attach it with velcro to the helmet, so as not to compromise the integrity of the helmet. If I can get it to fit correctly, I plan to pull a mold and cast it in plastic to custom fit the helmet.

This is the result of about 44 Aerosmith songs, 4 sticks of hot glue, and 4 #2 Exacto blades. My fingers are hating me about now from sticking them in the hot glue to hold things in place as it sets.

****Update 07/07/11****
Been working on and off on sanding and filling. Just been too hot out in the garage when you're wearing a Tyvek suit, gloves, and a respirator. Picked up some brown primer and shot a scratch coat on the helmet, just to give it a bit of contrast. It's about 85% rough sanded (60 grit). Once I finish the rough sand, it'll get a skim coat and I'll start in with the 150 grit. There's a low spot in the top near the front, I figure I can give that spot some 'battle damage' to give it a reason to be somewhat dented in.

 

[AbbyWanKenobi]

Wow, this is fantastic! Great job, man. I'm totally interested in how this'll turn out!

 

[EMAW09]

I see you are using a modular helmet. Are you going to split the helmet so the face can flip up. I originally came to this site to see if anyone had done this before. How will it be attached to the helmet? That was always my biggest concern because my shadow doesn't have a windshield I thought it might take a beating if it moved at all.

 

[TechMav]

Current plan is industrial strength Velcro. I use it on my bluetooth module that mounts on the side of the helmet and have had no problems with it coming loose. I plan to notch out depressions inside the shell to mount the velcro in, to allow the shell to sit against the helmet.

I would love to be able to swing the chin of the helmet up. I'm going to try to get that working, but barring that, at a minimum I'll have the visor able to be raised. Right now, I'm trying to figure out where it needs to be cut/trimmed to allow it to swing up.

 

[TechMav]

Wow, this is fantastic! Great job, man. I'm totally interested in how this'll turn out!

So am I... Like I said up top, this is pretty much my first real try at Pep. I can see spots where I'll need to sand it down when I get it filled, but overall it seems to be turning out good.

 

[TechMav]

Two more hot glue sticks, one blade, and 26 songs later...

I haven't added anything to the back at this point, since I wanted to make sure it could still fit over the helmet. I think I'm gonna knock off for the night and give my fingers a break. The underneath of the chin is also still open so far. Now that I know it'll fit more or less correctly, I can start figuring out what to add and fill in to make it fit properly.

Oh, and the stickers on the back of the helmet, in case anyone is wondering...
On the left, "Crashing SUCKS" (trust me, it does)
On the right, "DILLIGAF"

 

[EMAW09]

Might wanna watch the quadruple post. Mods would rather see you edit your original post if you have more stuff to add. Just a heads up I don't want to see this thread die.

Edit: I also hate pepping pieces and would probably never do it if it weren't for itunes and pandora.

 

[TechMav]

Might wanna watch the quadruple post. Mods would rather see you edit your original post if you have more stuff to add. Just a heads up I don't want to see this thread die.

Edit: I also hate pepping pieces and would probably never do it if it weren't for itunes and pandora.

Thanks for the heads up... I've merged at least one post, I'll have to see if I can tighten the rest up too.

 

[Evilpenguin]

is this just usng the helmet as a base or do you intend to still ride in it

 

[TechMav]

is this just usng the helmet as a base or do you intend to still ride in it

If I can get it to come out correctly, I intend to pull a mold and cast it in urethane and fit it to the helmet to ride. As it is, I've already had to start over completely and build #5 to include the paper visor area to hold it all rigid.

Currently it's had one coat of resin on the outside, one coat of Rondo on the inside, the upper half has been rough sanded, and a second coat of Rondo has been slushed inside. Waiting for the second coat to dry and hoping the storm cools things off this evening. Updated pix whenever there's something more to look at than "OK, it's the same thing only sanded..."

 

[Kryptonice]

Looks awesome right now like everyone else i can't wait to see this done.

 

[TechMav]

Looks awesome right now like everyone else i can't wait to see this done.

I want to see it done too, but it's just too hot to be working in the garage... and unlike some people *glares at wife*, I can't stay up all night working on projects. 6am comes way too early to get up for work.

 

[TechMav]

Hate to say it, but I think this project is gonna need to go on the back burner for a while. Other concerns have cropped up that need taken care of first, plus after reading more info on the board, I think I could do this better in clay. The helmet is destined to be nothing more than a master mold, so no reason to not make it from clay... that, and I can work on clay in the office rather than the garage.

It's been fun working on the project, I've learned a LOT from reading the boards, especially the idea that doing it in clay would work better as a master mold. Too many ideas, not enough time/money/space to do them all in. Now I just need another pack of card stock, since the son got hold of mine and printed out pretty much an entire ODST armor set. I think I have about 5 sheets left.

Rest assured, I will be back on the project. I'm not giving up, just stepping back, sorting things out a bit, and reordering my priorities.

 

[Serepheth]

Nice! this is a cool idea. and it dot certified haha. is there a gap between the visor and the pep model? how do you plan on filling that in withough sticking it permanently to the helm?

 

[TechMav]

Nice! this is a cool idea. and it dot certified haha. is there a gap between the visor and the pep model? how do you plan on filling that in withough sticking it permanently to the helm?

I plan to make the shell slightly larger than the helmet... I've already verified that if I cut the visor area about a half inch larger under the bill that the visor can be raised fully. As for fitting it without sticking, I was going to take a mold of the helmet itself to make a plug, and fill the gap with Foam-IT to fill it in. Attachment to the actual helmet would be with industrial strength velcro. I already use it to attach the bluetooth unit to my helmet.

 

[Serepheth]

Ah ok, nice plan man sounds like it'll work nicely.