Duke's Halo 4 Venator Helmet Pep *COMPLETE* (with Step-by-Step)

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Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Photo Update:

I decided to go ahead and rondo the inside. Not only does it give it more weight (actually feels like a helmet), and more integrity (super strong, keep reading), but also leaves a nice smooth surface on the inside that looks more attractive when you're putting it on. First attempt at rondo and it went well. Funny thing though, when I set it outside to dry, some of it oozed out the neck hole and onto the concrete it was sitting on. When I came back to pick it up, it had basically welded itself to the ground! So much so that when I finally got it up, it took a chunk of the concrete with it!!
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I've rewatched Cereal Kill3r's videos on smoothing with bondo and I feel more confident to continue moving forward. So far I have filed down the edges that need to be smoothed.
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I had to stop because I needed the other supplies mentioned in his video and decided to make one of my own. This is the first time I've seen what the helmet looks like on (with padding) and I am so stoked about it now! :D

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Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

so how's the visibility so far mhhppffff....
Joke aside Nice work bud

I can't see anything with the blast shields down! Hah. Thanks. I am concerned about the sound though. I couldn't hear hardly at all inside it. No official testing yet on the sound, so we'll see.

I'm saving removing the visor part until later because I don't want to risk breaking it during sanding.
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Finally the bondo is done! I have to say that using a sanding tool is much faster than doing it by hand. :rolleyes Some have mentioned using a mouse sander, but I went with an oscillating tool from the pawn shop. It was $10 more than a mouse sander, but it has way more uses. One down side is that it is pretty heavy.

Photo Update:

Applied the first coat of body filler:
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Using the very handy technique of razoring off the clumps when it hasn't fully hardened yet:
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Fully covered in the first coat. Even though I did the whole thing, I only did sections using a golf ball of bondo at a time and cleaning it up as it dried.
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The reason for the red and blue is just because I used up the last of my bondo brand body filler before opening up my generic brand.

This is midway through the second coat. After sanding down the first coat, you can see in the light pink part up front that there are some darker patches. Those are pits in the first coat that I am filling in by applying a second coat.
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Tons of sanding later!!!!!
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I'm pretty pleased with it. My next step will be to cut out everything that needs to be cut out (visor, light holes, AI slot) then painting, then install all of the cool stuff. Good night to all and happy building!



*I don't claim to be an expert on this. Be sure to watch Cereal Kill3rs' youtube videos. Below is my summarization of his work, including what I've learned.*

Tips on Shaping with Bondo (Body Filer):

- Don't get confused by the name.. Bondo is a brand. They are known for their body filler, which people just refer to as bondo.
- Get a plan. My project features curves and hard angles, so I don't want to smooth everything. I marked lines I want to stay defined.
- Don't get impatient, this will take a while with multiple coats.. there is no workaround.

Prepping the piece:
1. Using a Dremel or file (or sander), knock down anything that might poke or cut you while handling the piece (like the fiberglass edges).
2. Use markers to make notations to yourself on the piece. Which lines you need to keep defined, where you need to build up more.
3. Get a coarse file and file down every glue seem that is sticking up (mountain folds and pretty much every one). This will reduce the amount of bondo you need.
4. If you break through the paper with the file, get some super glue (Krazy Glue) and let all the paper fibers soak up glue. They can now be sanded without the risk of the fibers poking through your bondo or paint.

First Coat:
1. Always work in small batches, about as much bondo as would fill up a golf ball. Be sure to mix in about an inch line of hardener cream.
2. Use a putty spreader to press in the bondo. (I bought cheap 4" ones and cut them in half to save money).
3. Press it on and spread it around evenly and very thin.
4. Don't get too hung up on it being even. You only have about 10 minutes to work and you'll want to use up all the bondo before that point, so move on and come back later.
5. Stay working in a small section. Once you run out of body filler, check the areas you just did and even them out with the spreader.
6. It should be getting difficult to evenly move the bondo now. Grab a paper towel and wipe up any bondo on the piece that shouldn't be there (ie, drips, over spreading).
7. After about 3-5 more minutes the bondo should still be a little soft, not quite rock hard yet. This is a great time to clean up what you've spread around. Grab a razor blade, or any any thin knife and cut down any high points, clean up edges, anything that will save you from sanding too much.
8. From here you can move on to another section with another golf ball size, or try to finish the one section. Just depends on how you like to work. (I like to do all of the first coat in one sitting)

Second Coat:
1. Bust out a sanding tool or those meat mitts you've got and start smoothing down the first coat. I'd recommend anything from 40 grit to 80 grit.
2. Once you've got it pretty good, you'll see pits that don't have enough bondo. Don't get carried away trying to sand at them, that is what the second coat is for.
3. Using the putty spreader again and still working in golf ball sized clumps of bondo, apply a second layer thinly, making sure to fill in the pits.
4. You'll find it's a lot easier applying the second coat. Take this time to apply more bondo to areas that need to be built up. Still follow the same techniques as used in the first coat.
5. Once done with the second coat, it's time for sanding again. I'd start with a minimum of 60 grit.
6. Determine if you're going to need a third coat (are there any pits you don't like, still areas that need to be built up?)
7. If not, keep sanding, working your way to finer grits. 60 grit, then 80 grit, then 120 grit, then 180 followed by 220 grit. You can skip some of the grits, but you risk leaving scratch marks. You should be able to end on 220 or follow that up with a 320 grit for a super smooth finish. Any higher grits are not necessary.
8. After many hours of hand sanding, or many minutes of machine sanding, you're piece should be done.
9. You can fill in any little pits or smoothing left with bondo brand Spot Putty, applied with you fingers.


Note: It is a fine investment to buy a sanding machine. There are some options. An orbital sander is large and very practice if you have other wood-working-type projects to use it on. A mouse sander is cute. Basically, it's a tiny orbital sander that has a point to get into tight places. The uses afterwards are rather limited. I chose to buy an osculating tool with a sanding attachment. Buying it used costs only a little more than a mouse sander and the functionality for other uses is vast. I found the shape of the sanding attachment to be perfect for both large and tight spaces. The downside is that it is heavy. I had to switch between my left and right hand every minute or two.

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Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

I don't know how I didn't see this thread earlier! Duke you're doing an amazing job on this project. Your friend is one lucky guy. Subscribed.
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

I don't know how I didn't see this thread earlier! Duke you're doing an amazing job on this project. Your friend is one lucky guy. Subscribed.

Thanks man! I don't how you missed it either. :p

Photo Update:

I have finally figured out how to cut the stylistic grooves in. There were too many to file and most dremel tools end up walking, very hard to keep a straight line. I went to the tool shop and found a milling cutter dremel tool. Put this baby on it's side and you've got one groovy groove maker.
;)

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A little bit of sanding in the grooves and rounding off the hard edges makes for pretty convincing detail work. Only took about an hour and a half to draw the lines and grind them!


I'm getting a little nervous about putting the visor in. I bought the visor material from Icon Props. I've never done any work with plastic and I'm not sure how to go about forming it to fit the v-point of the helmet. Question: Can I heat up the plastic to form it into a roughly 70 degree included angle and how would I go about that? This stuff is pretty thin and I don't want to melt it.


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Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Wow. That helmet is looking REALLY good. Can't wait to see how it looks with a visor and paint.
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Wow. That helmet is looking REALLY good. Can't wait to see how it looks with a visor and paint.

Me too! :D And thanks for the compliment, they help push me along.
More pics tomorrow!! (Does anyone have trouble viewing my pictures? Are they too big?)
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Looking great! I can't wait to see some paint on it.
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Domino is not sure how he feels about it, but he hasn't tried to eat it yet so there is hope. All things considered it seems to be coming along alright. Santa should be rolling by in a few minutes so I should be getting to bed! :)

I was working on a storm trooper helmet last year, and after countless hours of cutting, scoring, folding, and gluing, my dog ate it..... I moved on to a different project
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

I was working on a storm trooper helmet last year, and after countless hours of cutting, scoring, folding, and gluing, my dog ate it..... I moved on to a different project

Wow, that is rough. Many people on here often build three helmets before they get the sizing right, but to think it may have been right only to have it destroyed would be pretty upsetting. Sorry, dude. Was it the Iron Man build you moved on to?


Photo Update:

This will be my last post until the helmet is complete. Two full thread pages for one helmet is ridiculous, it's been fun though. :)

I had some pieces of wood lying around and with a few nails, quickly threw together a painting stand.
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½ Coat of Primer
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Full Coat of Primer
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I decided to do an undercoat of silver. I thought that if my friend ever scratched it, it would look cool at least. lol
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Here's the first layer of the primary color. We were going for a dark steel and I think the mission was accomplished.
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I still have to finish with another coat of the primary color, then the secondary color and then a nice enamel to seal it all in. I love spray paint! :)

Tips on Spray Painting (uber noob here, but here's what I know):

- Make sure your piece is complete and sanded (minus attachments).
- Hold the can 12" away from piece when spraying.
- Making horizontal lines, go back and forth going past the pieces before changing directions and work your way up or down.
- Do very thin coats. Think of it like doing 1/2 a coat at a time. (see primer pictures for reference)
- Sand in between coats (once dried), if needed, to eliminate any drips that are forming.

Also, consider the types of paint you are using and test it on something 1st. View attachment 22768 I made a mistake as you will read later. Not necessary but also recommended to stick with the same brand for the primer, paint and clear coat.


Stay tuned for final pictures!

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Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Heh. In answer to your tag line : YES. :D
Looks really good, definitly is going to be a head-turner.
Blondiebot : ooooooooh. Man's best friend he ? That's why we have cats. Well, actually, the cats have US. :D
No seriously, that's really rough, I feel for you.
 
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Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Nice set up for painting, I'll have to remember that and borrow the idea.

Yes, I moved on to the iron man build, which I needed to do anyway so it would be ready for my daughter for Halloween. And that scale on that storm trooper was perfect....

Can't wait to see your finished paint job.
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Love it! It's a amazing how big of a change happens once you get some paint on it! When I primed my son's helmet, I was like wow now I'm getting somewhere. This build is turning out great. Good job
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Love it! It's a amazing how big of a change happens once you get some paint on it!

You mean how the paint highlights every little mistake you make like a big neon sign? lol Sometimes I have to remind myself to let things go. I do love how things look with good colors on them.


Heh. In answer to your tag line : YES. :D
Looks really good, definitly is going to be a head-turner.
Lol. My signature "Am I doing this right?" was a little joke for me too. Apart from never having done costuming, I am also a noob to forums and have a fear of doing/saying the wrong thing. :p It has been a blast here though. Everyone is very patient and helpful.


Thanks for the compliments all. Once my electronics show up in the mail and the weather lets me paint again I'll have the most important piece of the build (imo) done. :D
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

I'm very impressed with the work so far!

Regarding the visor - if you're not sure about using heat to form it, I might suggest a shallow score along the inside of the material would allow the material to bend and flex along a point more easily, similar to scoring a Pepakura piece. If you use a decent ruler and a sharp blade, you should be able to score a shallow V to the back of your visor material which will help it bend to a point without breaking.
 
Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

I'm very impressed with the work so far!

Regarding the visor - if you're not sure about using heat to form it, I might suggest a shallow score along the inside of the material would allow the material to bend and flex along a point more easily, similar to scoring a Pepakura piece.

Thanks Chernobyl, that means a lot! I tried your idea on scoring the plastic and it worked perfectly. I used a scoring tool from my leather working stuff.



I'm a little bummed right now though. Everything was looking great. I got the primary color done and it was a great color. I did the secondary color and it complimented as it should. I noticed that the original helmet in game has parts that are always black, so I painted those too. All fine until I laid on a coat of enamel... It did this to the black. :/ Not the most crucial parts, but I'm thinking I'll sand it down and repaint, but I want to be able to seal it so what kind of black paint should I use???

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These are all the paints I used in the order I used them:
Rustoleum Gray Spray Primer
Rustoleum Flat Metallic Silver Spray Paint
Rustoleum Advanced Flat Iron Metallic Spray Paint/Primer
Rustoleum Advanced Matte Robin's Egg Paint/Primer
Rustoleum Satin Black Enamel
Krylon MAXX Flat Crystal Clear Acrylic

*edit: I'm realizing now that the black wasn't paint, but enamel. Maybe enamel and acrylic don't mix well... :(

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Re: Duke's Halo 4 Venator Pep Build *WIP (1st suit Step-by-Step) +photos!

Wow! Looking good! And just think, every little mistake, is just Battle Damage >:D
 
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