Cardboard ODST helmet progression

[theostrickk]

Hey guys, ive been poking around the sight for 5 years plus and am proud to be able to post one of mine. im currently frustrated with the visor so nothing yet. also i think ill probably go back and sharpen up the details of the paint in the future. Let me know what you think!

So I started by looking at reference photos and cutting peices of paper out and laying em over an old softball helmet. i traced it over onto cardboard and eventually it started to take shape.

here is the first version i finished, i didnt like it very much because i sped up my work and the pieces started looking shabby.

i started the lower half of the helmet over with all new perfect pieces. it was a lot faster cause i had the old templates to work off from.

heres some varnish on the cardboard

heres the helmet after i put resin and fiberglass cloth on the inside.

i wanted to see what it looked like so i painted it, heres it sanded slightly

bondo

putty

primed

voila

 

[MissingSpartan7]

For posting images:
Right click on the image and "Copy image URL/link". Then use the "Insert image" function on your posts.
Or, if you're feeling brave...

[IMG] <imageURL> [/IMG]

Can't wait to see the build pics!
MS7

 

[MissingSpartan7]

and how do i get my photos into that format?

...righto, you'll need to upload them to an image sharing site first. Most people here use things like imageshack or photobucket. Some require an account, some do not - I find it makes it easier to keep track of all the images for projects you are working on.
Then just follow what I posted above.

Hopefully this solves/answers it all for you.

thanks for help btw

No problem, I seem to spend most of my time here helping everyone else. Now, if only I could find time to actually start/finish one of my put-on-hold-indefinitely projects.

MS7

 

[theostrickk]

got it! thanks again!

 

[MissingSpartan7]

Now that I can see the pictures ...wow. I was surprised that that was cardboard - I honestly couldn't have picked it from those last couple.
Seriously - well done!

Oh, and welcome to the 405th!
MS7

 

[theostrickk]

thank you very much ive been trying to post this for days >.<

 

[jbluedue]

Looks great! Some say cardboard helmets don't look as good as pepped, but they should look at this before saying that!

 

[theostrickk]

very much appreciated, here's the base to the back plate,

 

[jbluedue]

Looks good so far, glad I get to see from the beginning (sort of) to the end, usually enter when the person has already finished!

 

[theostrickk]

how do you think i should fiberglass it into the right shape? its only ever in the right shape on the mannequin

 

[jamescandy]

I agree, the helmet looks very good, theostrickk! I had been curious about using cardboard in a suit build; this makes me feel much more confident in it. Do you feel it is easier to work with than using paper?
And I remember James Bruton, who's got a very impressive Iron Man build going on, has a simple and cheap DIY mannequin tutorial on his site:
http://xrobots.co.uk/dummy/

Perhaps you could create that to have a base to hold the vest while you fiberglass it.

 

[Redshirt]

how do you think i should fiberglass it into the right shape? its only ever in the right shape on the mannequin

For my cardboard build, I wiped it down with a wet cloth. The water soaked in to the corrugations and softened the glue. Don't get it soaking wet! This allowed the layers inside to move slightly and 'set' when dry into the shape you've made. It might take a couple of tries. After that, brush the exterior with catalyzed resin thinned with a little acetone to help it soak in. This should really help stiffen it. Follow up the same on the inside. I did not resin my build due to no resin available in country X. I had to make do with painting the whole thing (interior & exterior) with oil based paint to stiffen and waterproof it. Check my build for some cardboard lessons-learned. PM if I can help further.

Redshirt

 

[theostrickk]

@james well honestly im just using what i have at hand, i use a mac so no pepakura for me although i do remember when i did work with pep i hated the tediousness... i want to give foam a shot.
@redshirt boy am i glad you stumbled on this thread, ill give that a shot thanks a lot!
heres an update with that wet cloth trick

 

[Redshirt]

A couple of other thoughts to speed you on your way. Invest in a rubber hammer and pound the crap out of any cardboard you intend to bend. Hammer it against the pavement. You can even get gentle compound curves in this way (bends in two directions). Everything I built, except for surface details had at least two layers of cardboard with the corrugations going different directions. This really helped the curves stay and the overall strength. Finally, Bondo probably isn't your best option for filler over cardboard. It is too hard. That affects you two ways: When sanding, the soft cardboard will give way before the Bondo. The costume will always be more flexible than most. That's why the foam crowd doesn't Bondo. Consider spackle or a mix of paper mache' and spackle. It's softer and more flexible.

Redshirt

 

[theostrickk]

well actually i just finished fiberglassing the chest and back and i have confidence if i use bondo / rondo i can pull it off.
i just strapped the cardboard to a bag filled with trash until it was in the right shape then slathered it real nice with resin, took it off and glassed the inside

just killed off all of my bondo on the chest plate and parts of the back

 

[Rysjin7717]

Very nice work brah if I hadn't seen this /w/ my own eyes i wouldn't have believed it was cardboard. :cool I look forward ta see more progress keep up th' great work.