Made a helmet!

[Sikarian]

Made my first helmet!

Tryin to figure out what to do next. I've got some stupid questions though. I'd like to harden it up, so naturally I want to use some resin on it. I see a lot of people discussing fiberglass and posting pictures of fiberglassed helmets...my only concern is...well... And to clarify this isn't putting anyone down, but most of the helmets (okay, so all of them) that I've seen photos of fiberglassed look terrible. They look like a kid just badly molded some clay on there. Is this just a fault of fiberglass? Is there anyway to harden the helmet up without fiberglass?

 

[link4044]

ummmm...your helmet is alittle big.....dont type bad comments about others stuff untill you had tried it yourself

 

[FinAeros]

The fiberglass acts as a structural support body that can be detailed to have the features of the fully rendered (ie, skinned) helmets from in game.

The best way to fiberglass is to put a coat of resin on the outside in sections (all at once can and does cause the helmet to sag and deform under the weight of it before it can dry), coat the inside with a coat that will dry a little tackier (by varying the amount of hardener) then layering some fiberglass cloth (some people have used mat before and it's a little different to work with) and resining it. Additional layers of fiberglass can be added, but if you just want to keep the faceted frame from Pepakura I'd recommend leaving it at one or two. That way it's still light weight but can stand up to some abuse. I'd also recommend painting it, starting off with an auto body primer, and you may want to smooth and seal the interior of the helmet (definitely sand off any fiberglass strands that are sticking out) before padding it.

Oh, yes, and that's a decent job at a full sized helmet, but most people shoot for something scaled around a 25 rather than the 30+ of the full size.

 

[Sikarian]

ummmm...your helmet is alittle big.....dont type bad comments about others stuff untill you had tried it yourself

Well, hence why I did not mention anyones in particular and simply asked if it was the way fiberglass worked.

And I realize the helmet is a little big, this was the first pepakura I've ever done, and I wanted to see how it all worked and get the processes out of the way of actually doing the whole thing. Now that I've figured it out, I can go and scale it down to make a proper fitting one.

Also, thanks for the tips FinAeros. Makes it a little more clear to me now. Quick question, if I make the scaled down model, it it kosher to just remove the neck piece altogether? I had to trim up this one to be able to actually fit it, and I assume with a smaller one the neck piece will need to be completely removed.

 

[flying squirl]

Well, hence why I did not mention anyones in particular and simply asked if it was the way fiberglass worked.

well you mightnt have mentioned anyone in particular but you still said "...but most of the helmets (okay, so all of them) that I've seen photos of fiberglassed look terrible. They look like a kid just badly molded some clay on there." therefore refereing to everyone whos posted a pick of their stuff.

on a lighter note, i did the same thing with my one the first time i did it. i decided to make a custom model of the helmet and work from there.

 

[Sikarian]

Well, if it came of as if I was putting down everyone, I apologized. I didn't know if thats how fiberglass looked, or if that was just everyones personal preference, just in my opinion I prefer the angular look to the other look.

 

[Vexona]

Quick question, if I make the scaled down model, it it kosher to just remove the neck piece altogether? I had to trim up this one to be able to actually fit it, and I assume with a smaller one the neck piece will need to be completely removed.

You assume correctly I had to do the same on mine.

 

[Toftt Nightmare]

I think the helmets being posted on the forums look good, and be sure to comment on my Pep fiberglassed helmet when I post it up in a day or two with the rest of my armor complete, because personally I think it looks great.

As for your helmet I think you already may of made a mistake but it can be fixed, you shouldnt have cut the paper visor out before using resin. The paper visor acts as a support. When you resin you will want to somehow run pieces from the jaw to the top of the visor so nothing warps.

This is how I fiberglassed my armor

1 light coat of resin
a 2nd and heavier coat of resin
light coat of resin on inside (not really a must do step I did it in case the paper tried to warp from the inside)
Then add fiberglass cloth.

Good Luck.

 

[Spartan 086]

yep. SAW OFF THA NECK!!! Even then its kindof hard to put on and take off.. lol

 

[Sikarian]

Awesome tip on leaving the visor in. I didnt think of that. I got a gold mirror visor on its way that im going to install....how hard is it to cut resin? Like if I resin the faceplate, will it be hard to remove? Or do I just not resin the faceplate and cut the paper away after the rest is done?

 

[Sikarian]

Made second helmet after scaling it, much nicer now.

Still curious, how hard is resin to cut? For example, if I want to install LED's should I cut the holes now and avoid resining that area, or can I cut it away later? Same for vents, etc.

 

[Sikarian]

Bump! I'm ready to resin and I'd sure like to know

Do I need to cut the holes for the LEDs/vents before I resin, or can it be cut afterwards? Same with the visor. If I leave the paper visor in for support, do I resin everything but the paper visor? Or do I resin the paper visor and can it be cut out later?

 

[dannifood4less]

Bump! I'm ready to resin and I'd sure like to know

Do I need to cut the holes for the LEDs/vents before I resin, or can it be cut afterwards? Same with the visor. If I leave the paper visor in for support, do I resin everything but the paper visor? Or do I resin the paper visor and can it be cut out later?

leave the paper visor on untill after the resin, i found out that without it, the helmet gets deformed, just cut it out with a dremmel, and sand the edges. and for the LED's theres a tool for the dremmel (looks like a pointy drill bit) for making holes. you can use a hot glue gun from the inside to keep it in the hole, unless you actually get an LED mount

 

[drgon47]

I agree with leaving the paper visor in. I think the Pepkura FAQ should be updated to have this as one of the steps so theres less helmet deformation rates. Looks good though.

 

[Sikarian]

Alright, I'll put the paper visor in. I havn't cut it out yet, just have yet to attach it. Wanted to see how it looks without.

Good deal on the whole resin being able to be cut thing.