My First Mark VI Helmet

[Wahoo]

Hey everybody. I'm Wahoo. I've been a Halo fan since the very beginning, and only recently I've become interested in making helmet replicas. After very little research I came across this site, and ever since I got here I have been so amazed and inspired by all of the work you guys and girls do here. I've never tried pepakura before, but I'm so inspired by yall's work I can't wait to get started. I've decided my first project will be Flying_Sqrl's HD Mark VI Helmet that can be found on the Halo Pepakura Wiki (I'm on my phone right now so I can't provide links)

I plan on putting the helmet together from the bottom up unless you guys would advise against it. I would also like to put motorcycle helmet padding in it and the LEDs on the sides, so if there is anything I need to know to do ahead of time to do those, please let me know. I scaled it according to a method I found that somebody posted in a thread on here called something like The Noobiest Question Ever (again, sorry, no links right now) and it came out to be 290mm, so I guess that sounds right..? I'm 6'3 and I have a big head so if it's a little bigger than average that's ok. Also, can someone explain the difference in valley and.. the other kind of folds (peak? mountain? something like that..) and which type of line means which? And I plan on using a hot glue gun to put it all together. Is that a good idea?

That's all I can think of right now and my thumbs hurt from all this typing. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to post. Any other tips or advice that I wouldn't know to ask about would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help.

PS: Does anyone know where I could get a 405th t-shirt?

 

[Liq]

for an explanation of pepakura read the stickies, but mountain folds go up, and look like a mountain. I usually score these with a blue pen. The valley folds go down, and look like a V. I mark these with red ink. I would use super glue over hot glue, because sometimes the hot glue has a reaction to resin and melts. The scaling seems OK I guess. My FS MK VI is at 275mm, but I have an average sized head and I'm only 5'7".

 

[Sky Dragon]

Good luck to you man! I'm doing my first project an hd mark vi as well, and I've decided that for scoring, I do the mountains with a black pen and the valleys with blue (Cause rivers usually go in the valleys). This prevents any stupid accidents with backward folding. I haven't really gotten to the mark vi helmet, but I am 6'3 as well with a pretty decent sized head lol - The height that I scaled my helmet to was about 280mm, but I am currently hot gluing a few test parts just to see how it will fit on my head. If it is too small I can bump it up to 285 or 290.

 

[Wahoo]

Liq: Thanks for the heads up on the glue. About the mountain and valley lines, the reason I asked was because I was looking through the Help with Pepakura sticky and came across Ithaca's tutorial videos, and in the first video he says the dashed line is the valley line, and the dashed with dots line is the mountain line, but in the second video he says the opposite. So I was hoping someone could once and for all tell me which is which.

Sky Dragon: Good luck to you too bro. I'm so excited about this.. I have a bad feeling this is going to become a new obsession for me lol

 

[Liq]

I always set the lines myself in Pep Designer. I use 0.5mm for mountain, and 2.0mm lines for valley. The lines also print lighter for valley folds for some reason.

 

[Wahoo]

Here is something that I either only just realized or am now misunderstanding:

When you go to fiberglass the inside of the helmet, you apply a thin layer of resin (the same kind of resin as on the outside of the helmet?) then lay the strip of fiberglass cloth on top of it and then apply a thicker layer of resin on top of that. So do I do all of this the first time I resin the inside of the helmet? Or do I apply resin to the inside, let it dry, and then do the resin/fiberglass/resin?

Also, just to clarify, it is better to resin the outside of the helmet before the inside, correct? Or is it the other way around?

 

[Xenocrates]

As for fiberglassing the inside, most people cut the strips before applying resin to them and first put them inside the helmet and then put a layer of resin over it so it sticks. Usually around the tops and sides of the helmets this becomes easier. So yes, you put the fiberglass strips inside then a thin layer of resin over them.

As for resining the helmet, it's better to resin the entire outside first and let it fully dry so that way when you apply the fiberglass sheets with resin on the inside it won't warp because the outer shell is already nice and hard. I don't know if people resin the inside unless it's with the fiberglass but I could be wrong.

Best of luck with your build! My friend did this as his first project but he didn't scale it properly so had to scrap it. But he said it was a lot of fun to do, and quite the challenge!

 

[Wahoo]

Thanks for the tips. Do you think I would be able to buy fiberglass cloth at WalMart or would I most likely need to go to Lowe's? Or somewhere else?

And some of my printouts have areas labled "Floating Faces" and the pieces don't have numbers on them. What are these for?

 

[vshore100]

Yes you CAN buy it at Wal-Mart. It is usually back around the automotive section, along with resin and body filler. Good luck with your project man. Hope it all works out for you.

 

[Liq]

I run a light layer of resin over an area before I apply fiberglass because it helps the fiberglass stick to the pep and make it easier to work with then add a heavier layer on the fiberglass after its on. Make sure to kind of dab it on to the fiberglass, if you try to brush it on it will just push the fiberglass around. I also always run a good layer of resin over the inside after it has dried just to kind of smooth it out a bit. You'll be surprised how heavy and durable a helmet is with a few good layer of resin over a couple layers of fiberglass is.

 

[Wahoo]

Thanks for the help guys. Can you tell me what the Floating Faces are for on my printouts?

 

[Wahoo]

I just watched this video of JediStumpy using Smooth Cast 300 as a substitute for fiberglassing. Would anyone advise against this? In one of his comments on that page he says it is cheaper, less messy, and no need for a respirator, so I know there are a few pros but I was wondering if there were any cons to using this method. Is this method better or worse than fiberglassing?

 

[Liq]

I used smoothcast 320 inside my daughters suit over pep. It's pretty much the same method he uses for his helmet. You'll still need to resin the exterior of the helmet, as well as fill any holes where the smoothcast might leak out. On my girls suit I started using smaller batches at first to make sure everything was filled and smoothcast wasn't dripping out everywhere as well. I'm never going back to using fiberglass since having done it this way. The entire strengthening process is much faster than having to deal with glassing the insides.

The only negatives to doing it this way is the higher cost of materials ($80 gallon kit of smoothcast) and on more open pieces such as shoulders it can be difficult to not waste the plastic. I used blue painters tape to help keep plastic from pouring out of the sides, then typically I would have to either cut it off or sand it off since the plastic hardened on the inside of it. I did do a whole child sized suit minus the helmet with a gallon kit, oh and I do probably have enough product to harden an entire adult sized helmet left over.

Lastly the floating faces are the details that go behid the temple area of the helmet.

 

[Wahoo]

Cool, so the Smooth Cast sounds a lot easier than fiberglass. Just to clarify, with the Smooth Cast I resin the outside but not the inside? And a quick google search says I can get a pint of Smooth Cast 300 for about $21. I don't really have any plans to make anything other than helmets at the moment, so how many adult-sized helmets do you think I could make with a pint of Smooth Cast?

 

[Xenocrates]

Haha, man I don't mean to offend or bash you but you're asking a lot of questions!
A pint of smooth cast might serve you a decent amount of projects by the way. I was just like you when I was about to start my first project, because I wanted to get everything right

But start pepping the project and showing us all what you're made of! And ask questions as you go so we can all see your progress visually and help you out as best as we can based off your pics! I'm going to be keeping my eye on this thread as well as your progress because I'd really like to see you succeed!
(Considering I've never finished pepping a project so it'd be nice motivation XD

 

[Wahoo]

Haha, sorry about all of the questions. When doing a project I like to know exactly what I'm supposed to do and exactly how to do it. I think I'm finally going to start pepping tonight because I think I've got all of the concepts down.

Here is another question I have :

Is there a time window after I finish pepping that I should apply the resin? Like "You should resin your helmet within x days of finishing pepping it" Or can I pep it and then resin it whenever?

PS: Thanks everybody for the help so far. I promise I am serious about this. I just want to get everything straight before I go and mess something up. I'll be sure to post pics of my progress along the way.

 

[Liq]

Don't quote me on this but I think a trial size is what Jedistumpy used for his helmet. I wouldn't mix it all at once though and try to get several coats in if possible, worst case scenario you either buy another trial size and finish it or use fiberglass to get what isn't strong enough.

You can resin the inside before adding the plastic if you want. I didn't just to save time, if a hole was still there after I resin the outside I just fill it with hotglue.

You can resin it whenever you like, but I always do mine right afterward to save the piece being beaten up by a kid, or cat, or wife.

 

[Wahoo]

Just finished pepping the helmet opening.

With a little manuvering I can get it around my ears and onto my head. Is that normal or is it too small and should I go ahead and start over?

 

[ventrue]

With a little manuvering I can get it around my ears and onto my head. Is that normal or is it too small and should I go ahead and start over?

Flying Squirrel's helmet is indeed a bit tight around the bottom, so that might be ok.

 

[Ehekky]

It's probably ok, and it will probably go better once it has some more parts to strengthen it a bit better.