Jay's Skyrim Dova helm [COMPLETED]

[Axios8591]

Hey thanks, and here's a really strange tip i wanna share with you guys:
I had a small section of the helmet that I missed with my resin and glass. It was on the point where the cheek and neck meet, I call them the wings. Well I didn't notice until I started to file, rasp and sand my bondo, and it cracked slightly due to the lack of structural support. I decided to just throw a it more glass and resin into that spot, but it was a really tight bit to get to, talking a 1inch^2 piece in a corner. So I cut the piece, laid it into the spot, and saturated it with Elmers, being sure to push it around with my finger to get it all really wet. I was only doing this to hold it in place so I could resin it later.
To my surprise, next morning when I came out to work on it some more, the Elmers had dried solid, holding the glass extremely well. The glass had absorbed the Elmers just like it does with the resin.
Now of course I don't expect that it's half as sturdy or solid as resin, but damn... that's a hell of a work around for people that really can't use Resin in doors, nor afford the Aqua resin.
I may try it again later on a bigger piece and see just how structurally sound it is. Needless to say I'm impressed right now though!!

Your progress keep surprising me, i love the details. I'm really interested in what you said (quote above), since i can work with resin (in an open space) only 2-3 days/week. I'll try to do it by myself but if you'll re-do it aswell i'd like to see some pics.

 

[The Doctor]

Curious, what did you use to make the cuts? also, how did you go about doing that? when I try I end up making a complete disaster of the helmet. Any help would be amazing.

 

[JayOneSeven]

Curious, what did you use to make the cuts? also, how did you go about doing that? when I try I end up making a complete disaster of the helmet. Any help would be amazing.

The cuts? Not sure I understand :/

 

[Chainsaw ninja]

I think he means the damage

 

[The Doctor]

The cuts? Not sure I understand :/

The face plate, the nose bridge, cuts, scratches, notches, bridge of the nose, and forehead.

 

[The Doctor]

Yes the damage.

 

[JayOneSeven]

Ah my apologies.
I use files, that way you maintain the straight line, and the sharp cut. I have a needle file set which I really like for carving and shaping, which this helmet turned out to be 99% carving and 1% sanding.
If you're going to do deep cuts though, like those on the helmet, be sure that you rondo the inside of the helmet with a nice thick layer, that way you don't accidentally punch through the helmet, leaving a hole. You have to have something to cut into, so plan ahead and build it up in advance.
Sometimes I'll use an exacto knife for the finer details, but it's somewhat difficult to use as the Bondo tends to crack easier beneath the stress of the blade, so I'd say practice a bit with files and see if you can get the desired outcome. this helmet was, as I said, 99% carving because the pepakura file differed so greatly from the actual design I wanted. Hopefully on my Ironman, this is switched up slightly.

 

[The Doctor]

Ah, thank you. I was working with a Dremel, and that went crazy on smaller details, so I went with just sandpaper by hand and It took a VERY long time to get anything.
Granted my works are a tad different. I don't use traditional fiberglass resin, but I think I can engineer a work around.

Thank you very much. ++

 

[JayOneSeven]

Ah, thank you. I was working with a Dremel, and that went crazy on smaller details, so I went with just sandpaper by hand and It took a VERY long time to get anything.
Granted my works are a tad different. I don't use traditional fiberglass resin, but I think I can engineer a work around.

Thank you very much. ++

Haha yeah, I haven't used a single power tool, everything is done by hand. I prefer it that way though. I love carving and shaping Boondo, some people see it as a nuisance substance, I see it as 90% of the appearance of the piece :]
I picked up this set at Walmart for $4. They've done me right so far.

My most used one looks more like this: the edges are incredibly well done, and just one pull across leaves a deep, sharp valley that you can turn into whatever damage you want.

 

[Spicythai]

Very nice!

 

[JayOneSeven]

it's painting time!!

 

[JayOneSeven]

Working on the metal paint before the horns. Almost got it to where I want it to be. It's kinda tricky keeping it within the dark gray/ silver spectrum that the helmet is supposed to be in. will hopefully finish that up tonight then start the horns some time soon. Then I just have to add foam of some kind to the interior of the helmet so it's comfortable and snug, then I'll be done!

 

[Axios8591]

Awsome! I could wear that helmet on an Halo suit, and noone will ever notice that i'm wearing an Halo suit!

 

[Carpathia]

I'm pretty impressed with the detail you've managed with the horns. Very natural looking. I can't wait to see this all painted up. Keep it up!

 

[JayOneSeven]

I'm pretty impressed with the detail you've managed with the horns. Very natural looking. I can't wait to see this all painted up. Keep it up!

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll have a better picture here in a few hours, with an update on the paint job. I found an interesting technique to get the metal look I was shooting for so I'll show you all later.

And thanks Carpathia, the horns took about 4 coats (thick) of bondo to really get them to the shape I wanted them to be. As with everything else, this pep model just wasn't exactly how I wanted it to be. I spent about an hour total on both horns filing and sanding to get the desired finish. Hopefully the detail will show better with some nice graded paint work, and a picture that isn't shaky and blurry!

 

[JayOneSeven]

Alright so the metalics are starting to look closer to how I want them. Perhaps one final highlight and one final black wash once I've gotten the horns done will do it.
The horns on the other hand are turning out to be much more of a pain than I thought. It's taking a bit of trial and error to get the desired effect, but not to fear, I'll get it eventually :]

 

[Chainsaw ninja]

Are you using hammered paint? You'd probably like the results better but it looks great man

 

[JayOneSeven]

Are you using hammered paint? You'd probably like the results better but it looks great man

Nope, just regular $2 Walmart paint lol. I'm on a tight budget

 

[Kinggoobero]

Very nice work. Idea for the horns, but maybe try black washing the horns but with a dark brown maybe? I think a bit of a darker color in those crevices would make it look really awesome. Keep up the good work!

 

[Jester19]

I've been following this build for a while now and I'm quite impressed with the work you've done to date. The paint work is top notch so far. Great work!

Unrelated to the build: that is a well appointed home brew setup you're sharing your work space with. I'm a bit jealous of both it and the helmet!