Daft Punk Helmet Sculpt

[foxymcfox]

For about as long as I can remember, I've wanted to have my own Daft Punk helmet. Specifically, I've wanted a Thomas Bangalter helmet (AKA "The Silver One"). So having "oooh'd" and "ahhh'd" a a thousand times over at pictures like this:

I decided it was time to make a helmet for myself.

I started by trying to scratch build a helmet out of some thin cardboard, and failed...twice. Next I decided that instead of building up a model I should try to "shape it down" so I glued a couple sheets of insulating foam together and started shaping it:

Sadly, by the time it got to this point:

The glue holding the sheets together started to give out, so I didn't get a change to refine the shape any further. Luckily, right around that same time, pepakura files for the helmets started showing up, so I thought "This seems like a good idea," and made this:

But it just wasn't accurate enough for my perfectionistic tastes. So a few weeks later when a slightly modified version of the pep files showed up, eliminating the dome in favor of using your own helmet, I decided to try it out...but not after modifying every piece of the template myself to get it as close as possible. This was the result...

Without helmet:

...and with:

Now, I know what you're saying, you're saying, "I thought this was supposed to be a sculpt." Well it is. I realized while working on the last iteration that no Pep file would ever be accurate enough for me so I decided to use it as a sculpting armature, saving me from having to buy 25+ pounds of clay. Instead I ordered a few blocks of Chavant, and after fiberglassing my armature for strength:

and using bondo to fill major holes:

I was ready to rock.

My clay just came in yesterday, and I've slowly been building up my armature to match the original helmet as closely as possible.

(This pic is flipped left to right, sorry)

With a little more work, I got it to this point:

And that's where it stands now, after I make this post, I'm going to go back to sculpting. It should take me a few more days to get the shape finalized, and after that (And some smoothing with lighter fluid) I will put in an order to Smooth-on and hopefully I'll be able to get this thing mold and cast just in time for Halloween.

...Wish me luck.

I'll post more when I make more progress.

^-^Foxy~>

 

[LastSpartan]

Woah...

You surely know what you're doing!

And you are doing great! ^^

Keep us updated!

 

[rundown]

cant wait to see this project finished^^

 

[foxymcfox]

Thanks, guys. As you can tell from all my previous attempts and false starts, this has really been a dream of mine for a long time, so to see it finally come this far is very fulfilling.

cant wait to see this project finished^^

Neither can I .

^-^Foxy~>

 

[Ice198]

WOAH, very nice man. Ive been looking into building a Thomas helmet for myself also, for Halo-ween. What type of helmet is that? Baseball? And if it is, did it have a brim on it, or not? Just thought id get some info out of you before i fully start my project. - Ice

 

[foxymcfox]

WOAH, very nice man. Ive been looking into building a Thomas helmet for myself also, for Halo-ween. What type of helmet is that? Baseball? And if it is, did it have a brim on it, or not? Just thought id get some info out of you before i fully start my project. - Ice

I used a novelty baseball helmet, the type that they sell at ball park gift shops. They are quite a bit narrower than a standard batting helmet, and overall much closer in width and depth than a real batting helmet. It did have a brim, but I chopped it off with a jigsaw, plus I cut a little into the helmet itself so that the brim of the pepakura would meet the edge of the helmet at just the right spot (I hope that made sense ). I also extended the height of the back of the helmet with cardstock and fiberglassed it to the rest of the helmet to give the helmet the proper height.

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help you (or anyone for that matter) out. I've tried so many different methods I'm practically a Bangalter Helmet expert by now.

I should have some more pics tomorrow morning. I'm just finishing up the front of the helmet now. After that comes the easy part, the back of the helmet. So, within a day or two, I should have a nearly finished sculpt. Now all I have to be concerned about is symmetry.

^-^Foxy~>

 

[Twisting Neather]

Looking good. With the kind aof dedication you've out into this, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project.

 

[Bamabat]

If you are using non sulfur clay (looks like Chavant) you can use a rake to smooth then some goo gone on a piece of sponge, it will really smooth that thing out. I was taught this technique by one of the top Batman prop makers in the country. Try it for yourself, plus if you get the orange smelling goo gone your hands are refreshingly clean afterwards. Good luck.

Bamabat

 

[Ice198]

I used a novelty baseball helmet, the type that they sell at ball park gift shops. They are quite a bit narrower than a standard batting helmet, and overall much closer in width and depth than a real batting helmet. It did have a brim, but I chopped it off with a jigsaw, plus I cut a little into the helmet itself so that the brim of the pepakura would meet the edge of the helmet at just the right spot (I hope that made sense ). I also extended the height of the back of the helmet with cardstock and fiberglassed it to the rest of the helmet to give the helmet the proper height.

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help you (or anyone for that matter) out. I've tried so many different methods I'm practically a Bangalter Helmet expert by now.

I should have some more pics tomorrow morning. I'm just finishing up the front of the helmet now. After that comes the easy part, the back of the helmet. So, within a day or two, I should have a nearly finished sculpt. Now all I have to be concerned about is symmetry.

^-^Foxy~>

Alright thanks man, but I dont really get waht you mean when you say "novelty baseball helmet"
And yes, cutting into the helmet a little bit to make it fit right did make sense. And if I have another large amount of questions, ill just PM you instead of filling up your thread with loads of questions. Keep goin on the project. - Ice


EDIT- Found a novelty helmet found here... http://www.choppersus.com/store/product/34...--Baseball---M/ that whatcha mean? -EDIT

 

[foxymcfox]

Sadly, I didn't have a chance to do as much as I wanted to today. I ended up having to dig some post holes, which in turn gave me blisters on both of my thumbs. So as you can imagine, sculpting was difficult. But I worked through it to at least finish roughing out the front of the dome and the visor. I also added a visor that I could sculpt on top of (It's just a lot of popsicle sticks cut to size, taped together, and covered in aluminum foil). The visor should definitely help me keep the top and bottom brims pretty symmetrical.

Here is is as it stands now:

This picture really shows just how much I've built up certain areas like he jaw line. Just compare the difference in height between the left and right cheek pieces and you'll see what I mean.

Luckily the only parts that really need much more detail are the ears and the piece just in front of the ears on the left side. Everything else should be pretty easy to rough out and smooth over with some rakes.

As for the Goo Gone, I may have to try that. I normally use lighter fluid, but I don't have any at the moment, BUT I do happen to have plenty of Goo Gone under my sink. You just saved me from spending yet more of my precious (and limited) money. Thanks for the tip.

^-^Foxy~>

 

[foxymcfox]

Quick update. Well, the blisters on my thumbs finally went away, so I'm back and sculpting again. I roughed out most of the back of the head and I just have to worry about the ears now. The shape is there and pretty symmetrical, but still needs sharpening, but I'm not too concerned with the details. In fact, I'm impressed that I've gotten it as detailed as I have while only using my hands...no tools.

Anyhoo, here's a recent picture to show you how it's progressing:

As you can see, I'm even leaving in the center seam-line to make it appear as accurate as possible.

The one quick question I have is how much silicone do you reckon I'll need. I've heard that for a helmet I'll need around 3/4" to 1" of silicone over all surfaces, but I'm just curious about the exact volume I'll need to order. I've done smaller molds and casts before, but this is my largest item to date, so I just want to make sure I'll have enough without too much left over. So, anybody know about how much I'll need to order?

Thanks, and I hope to have more updates for you guys soon as I start refining the helmet.

^-^Foxy~>

 

[foxymcfox]

I've been busy lately and haven't had much time to work on my Bangalter helmet sculpt, but now I have a few free days now and I'm going to try to get it all finished up in that time. I've been trying out some smoothing methods and I go, and I have to say that I like using Goo Gone much more than lighter fluid. Nothing makes you feel better about hours of sculpting than the wonderful smell of oranges.

Here's where I am now:

I just need to refine some details (especially in the ears), make the top brim slightly more symmetrical, smooth it all out (With rakes and butane/goo gone), then add the final details.

I'll try to keep you guys updated.

^-^Foxy~>