Halo Reach Recon Helmet - What do I do now?!

[PledgeDuster]

Hey everyone!

Basically, during the summer holidays I got a bit bored and decided to have a go at making the Recon helmet from Halo Reach (I'm a massive Halo fan).

I more or less just used carboard boxes, a knife and a glue gun (no measurements or anything, purely by eye) and this is what I ended up with:

I think it turned out really well considering it's the first time I've ever attempted anything like this

However, having gotten to this stage I have literally NO idea what to do next and I don't want to leave this helmet unfinished having come this far.

I'm hoping some of you lovely and more experienced people can give me ideas on the next step so that I can finish this build

Thank you!

 

[Toacrabman]

I can see that youre new here, but this is great for a new person. To finish it, id recomend resining it and bondo'ing it, or just going right to the bondo, considering its cardboard, and is already sturdy enough, so it probably wont need fiberglass inside. Read some stickies about the bondo, its not that hard to use. You can use the search to find a good tutorial. Then all you need is a visor, and some foam padding in the helmet. You can make a visor from Acetate, or get a motorcycle helmet visor, or use pvc sheets.

 

[matth101]

i'd say still put a layer or 2 of fiberglass on the inside. wouldn't hurt to have some extra support ya know. looks pretty dang good for cardboard!!! you gona build the resto f the armor or just stick with the helmet for now?? if you can do this helmet out of cardboard, i'd love to see what else you could do with it!

 

[weeds]

The 405th has a great mentoring program. You might want to check in with them. There are years and years of experience out there that you can take advantage of.

http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/30138-405th-Mentor-Programme-2.0

 

[PledgeDuster]

Cheers guys, it's always nice to have a couple of instant replies
I'm on a bit of a low budget here being a sixth form student and all so my methods are somewhat limited :/
I would like to try my hand at the rest of the armour but i won't have the time for quite a while due to school work and everything.

 

[PledgeDuster]

I've done some reading around on all this resining, fiberglassing and bondoing and to be honest I'm somewhat dispirited.
I'm 16 at school so the availability of safety equipment needed to use the formentioned products is somewhat scarce and as a result am not sure If I could partake in these steps. My budget is very limited but I really want to finish this build and to a decent quality too.

I just don't know what to do next
Please help guys!

 

[steveocaster]

Hello,
I understand where you are coming from concerning budget issues... I actually made a Master Chief costume last year for Halloween, and I'm in college (don't judge me) lol, and I too, had a bit of trouble finding materials to make it with within my budget. In the end, i discovered that cardboard, duck tape and plaster strips work very well. I wouldn't depend on it to stop bullets, but it got the job done. For the visor, I just used a motorcycle helmet visor I ordered from Amazon, (about 15 bucks after shipping and handling), and everything turned out great in the end. I will be adding to it for this year, but if you would like to see what I have so far on a blog I started, go to steveocaster.com and check out what I have so far... I'll update it soon.

Good luck!

 

[MissingSpartan7]

I've done some reading around on all this resining, fiberglassing and bondoing and to be honest I'm somewhat dispirited.

don't be - yes, i'll admit this is a daunting undertaking for a hobby but i can guarantee it will pay off when you finish your first project

I'm 16 at school so the availability of safety equipment needed to use the formentioned products is somewhat scarce and as a result am not sure If I could partake in these steps. My budget is very limited but I really want to finish this build and to a decent quality too.

I just don't know what to do next
Please help guys!

i can say i know this situation - i'm in it!
i will say though, material cost does start to add up a bit by the end of the project

if you're not on a time limit, build your project in stages
so for example, spend $10 - 30 on cardstock (i can get 500 pages of 150gsm for $30) and then build some of the pepakura models

resin is ~$10-15 per litre plus catalyst and recommended to use on warm-er days
whether you are using fibreglass or not will determine how many coats of resin you need

bondo / rondo is ~$10 - 20 per 250 - maybe 800 grams (i can get 450gm for $15)
this process can be confusing for newer members and i would consider optional in this instance though can make an incredible visual improvement if done correctly

spray paint is ~$5-10 a can, though i prefer handpainting some sections with acrylic paint

and i don't know much about sandpaper or dremel-like tools

most experienced members recommend using motorbike visors and attaching those into the helmet
these are ~$10-15 each

all up - total cost is less than $100 though can become more expensive the more resin,etc you buy when you run out

"aftermarket customisation" - any electronics you plan on adding in later will have to be considered for sizes when you are building with pepakura. placing a fan inside a helmet can take up space as well as costing ~$5+


i do hope this is somewhat helpful and does not discourage you, rather shows you what can be achieved with so little
CJ

 

[RearmostCube660]

Hey everyone!

Basically, during the summer holidays I got a bit bored and decided to have a go at making the Recon helmet from Halo Reach (I'm a massive Halo fan).

I more or less just used carboard boxes, a knife and a glue gun (no measurements or anything, purely by eye) and this is what I ended up with:

I think it turned out really well considering it's the first time I've ever attempted anything like this

However, having gotten to this stage I have literally NO idea what to do next and I don't want to leave this helmet unfinished having come this far.

I'm hoping some of you lovely and more experienced people can give me ideas on the next step so that I can finish this build

Thank you!

WOW! Good job with cardboard! I saw this helmet on the weekly update on Bungies' website! Congratulations.

Me

 

[PledgeDuster]

Hey RearmostCube660, thanks for the comments and as thrilled as I am about it being on Bungie's weekly update I'm afraid I didn't post it there and someone else is infact taking credit for my work, thanks for letting me know about it and I have sent them an email :/

 

[thorn696]

OK here we go Budget Cheapest way first.

Option 1.) Polyacrylic (water based non toxic) inside and out. Cotton fabric (I used old T-shirts) inside between coats of Polyacrylic. Drywall mud to smooth out side. Add multi coats of Polyacrylic over mud. Cost about $35

Option 2.) Rondo (fiberglass and Bondo mix) inside and out. Sand. Bondo outside till smooth Cost about $65

Option 2. is the stronger of the 2, But I have made 2 of the Option 1. while learning how to build armor and after a month of drying to 100% I was able to set a 25lb. weight on it with no ill effects.

Finish with: Add visor and clean up around the spacing of visor. Finely paint.

Hope this helps

 

[higdog827]

Hey RearmostCube660, thanks for the comments and as thrilled as I am about it being on Bungie's weekly update I'm afraid I didn't post it there and someone else is infact taking credit for my work, thanks for letting me know about it and I have sent them an email :/

This is a problem. Have you heard back from bungie? because if you havent put the pictures of this up anywhere else, than it must have been someone on the 405th! We must find the perpetrator!! Stealing someones work is a serious problem, and whoever it was is in for some serious trouble. Keep us posted on what happens. In the meantime, 405th community- I suggest we begin sharpening our pitchforks...

Also, the helmet looks amazing!!!

 

[=AT=Seraph]

Thats some snazzy cardboard-manship. new adjective...

 

[PledgeDuster]

This is a problem. Have you heard back from bungie? because if you havent put the pictures of this up anywhere else, than it must have been someone on the 405th! We must find the perpetrator!! Stealing someones work is a serious problem, and whoever it was is in for some serious trouble. Keep us posted on what happens. In the meantime, 405th community- I suggest we begin sharpening our pitchforks...

Also, the helmet looks amazing!!!

Thanks man glad you agree that it's wrong, unfortunately I've not heard a word from them since I attempted to contact them nearly a week ago. I've tried everyway i can think of to notify them, I've sent messages to contest@bungie, bnetbugs@bungie, messages to the majority of the moderators and bungie.net overlords including Urk and Achronos, submitted a news story and posted on the weekly update forums but so far to no affect. Any other ideas on how to get their attention???

 

[PledgeDuster]

don't be - yes, i'll admit this is a daunting undertaking for a hobby but i can guarantee it will pay off when you finish your first project

i can say i know this situation - i'm in it!
i will say though, material cost does start to add up a bit by the end of the project

if you're not on a time limit, build your project in stages
so for example, spend $10 - 30 on cardstock (i can get 500 pages of 150gsm for $30) and then build some of the pepakura models

resin is ~$10-15 per litre plus catalyst and recommended to use on warm-er days
whether you are using fibreglass or not will determine how many coats of resin you need

bondo / rondo is ~$10 - 20 per 250 - maybe 800 grams (i can get 450gm for $15)
this process can be confusing for newer members and i would consider optional in this instance though can make an incredible visual improvement if done correctly

spray paint is ~$5-10 a can, though i prefer handpainting some sections with acrylic paint

and i don't know much about sandpaper or dremel-like tools

most experienced members recommend using motorbike visors and attaching those into the helmet
these are ~$10-15 each

all up - total cost is less than $100 though can become more expensive the more resin,etc you buy when you run out

"aftermarket customisation" - any electronics you plan on adding in later will have to be considered for sizes when you are building with pepakura. placing a fan inside a helmet can take up space as well as costing ~$5+


i do hope this is somewhat helpful and does not discourage you, rather shows you what can be achieved with so little
CJ

Thanks for the reply MissingSpartan, I am relieved to say that i now have a part time job so there's a bit of money floating around, however the big problem is that I'm in the UK so the materials are pretty hard to get ahold of :/

 

[PledgeDuster]

OK here we go Budget Cheapest way first.

Option 1.) Polyacrylic (water based non toxic) inside and out. Cotton fabric (I used old T-shirts) inside between coats of Polyacrylic. Drywall mud to smooth out side. Add multi coats of Polyacrylic over mud. Cost about $35

Option 2.) Rondo (fiberglass and Bondo mix) inside and out. Sand. Bondo outside till smooth Cost about $65

Option 2. is the stronger of the 2, But I have made 2 of the Option 1. while learning how to build armor and after a month of drying to 100% I was able to set a 25lb. weight on it with no ill effects.

Finish with: Add visor and clean up around the spacing of visor. Finely paint.

Hope this helps

Again thanks for the information but it's near impossible to get ahold of this stuff in the UK (as far as i know)

 

[higdog827]

hmm. thats suprising that you cant get in contact with bungie. I actually head that they reply to almost every email with something important like this! I read a story once about a guy who bought something in the bungie store, got the wrong size sent to them, then bungie let him keep the unfitting shirt, sent him one in the right size, and sent him like a 3 month live card or something! So their customer service is great, im suprised they havent gotten back to you. Although, if youve read their updates, the office has been mostly empty for the past few weeks, theyre just now getting back from some secret bussiness trip somewhere! So keep your fingers crossed, you might just get an email in the next few days, who knows!

 

[0235]

well fibregass resin you can either use somthing called aqua resin (water based resin, which is non-toxic) or you can use car body fibre glass resin (e.g. Davids). for the bondo (which is an american brand name for car body filler) try using somthing like U-pol easy sand or easy 40. you can get it in big tins. try looking around ebay etc for it. i got a dirt cheap tin from amazon as it was dented.

 

[PledgeDuster]

SUCCESS!!!
The good people over at Bungie HQ were very helpful in taking down the grunt that stole my images and as a plus they awarded me an All Star!
I love you Bungie <3

 

[higdog827]

SUCCESS!!!
The good people over at Bungie HQ were very helpful in taking down the grunt that stole my images and as a plus they awarded me an All Star!
I love you Bungie <3

Congrats man, you deserved it. so did they tell you who the perp was?