ODST Helmet

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DaftAttic

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Hey guys, so im pretty new here but i wanted to take this opportunity to share what ive been up to and maybe get to know some of you guys.

its been about 10-11 days since ive officially begun my undertaking of a halo 3 odst helmet and i am very happy with how it is coming so far.

i picked the model by kirrou because i liked all the fine details and it presented a little challenge. :p

I actually started by printing up all 20 pages and cut them all out right from the start. then i put them all in envelopes according to pg number so i could refer back to them after selecting each piece on the 3d model.
IMG_20170614_153418582_HDR.jpg

then i just started putting the pieces together. believe it or not, i just used elmers craft glue... i found that was very forgiving to work with, this being my first ever pep, because the glues dry time was long enough to make adjustments. And it adhered instantly when i applies pressure with tweezers. I would recommend it tbh.
IMG_20170616_240253382.jpg

Yesterday, day 9 i think, i finished the cardstock paper version and was super pumped about it.
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and today i finished applying two coats of resin.
IMG_20170619_194259159.jpg
So thats currently where im at right now. tomorrow ill do the fiberglass, unless i should wait longer to let the resin set more? idk, im a little impatient by nature... despite making a helmet out of paper over the course of 9 days lmao.

Anyway i have a few questions. how do i keep the resin from getting clumpy for future reference? can i use plaster for the outside layer for sanding or does it have to be bondo? And my biggest roadblock, what can i do for a visor. I dont have a bunch of fancy tools at my disposal unfortunately but i did find a heat gun in the garage. I was thinking of forming some plastic to fit it and then dying it using iDye. apparently it is good for tinting plastics? I also wanted to form a motorcycle visor underneath it to make it more sturdy. Im still open and grateful for suggestions. Its been a sweet experience so far.

Thanks for taking the time to read this if you did. any suggestions, tips and pointers would be appreciated, especially with the upcoming fiberglassing stage. its gonna be long...
 
If the resin is getting clumpy during application, that means you've added to much hardening agent. After mixing you should have enough time to "paint" the whole helmet. Plaster is ok to fill little holes and gaps provided the helmet is solid.....and I mean that there should be no flex in the helmet because plaster is a very soft material. And if that is the case........the plaster will chip and crack. You could try using a stronger material like dental stone. Regular plaster has a PSI strength raging from 2,000 to 5,000. Dental stone, and there are many different varieties, can reach up to 18,000 PSI in strength.....and cures almost as strong as ceramic material. If you interested, here is a link to Hirst Arts where you can get a bit more info and purchase if you need. Also. if a price is an issue and I know that dental stone can be a bit pricey....Duram's Rock Hard Water putty is available at Home Depot and has a strength range of 8-9,000 PSI......but they do warn that this has 0 flex.
 
Alright so hearing this, it just sounds like it makes more sense to do a bondo layer and sand that right? the bondo would fill in any cracks and give me a surface to sand right? and there would be 0 flex correct? anyway i have to go out today to pick up a different fume mask. I was able to smell the resin through the cheap mask i bought and since i want to do a lot more work with prop building, i might as well get a decent mask.
 
yes you will need a better filter mask. Just know, before you work on the outside, you need to harden the inside. Fiberglass and Rondo. And then yes Bondo will fill any cracks and give you a surface to sand.
 
what is rondo? i keep seeing this term used but its not clear to me. today i was planning to fiberglass the inside with the same resin i used yesterday. but then after that i need to "rondo" the inside? could you give me a bit more info on that if you have time?
 
Sure......Rondo is a combination of Bondo and Resin. The resin will "liquefy" the more clay like attributes of bondo, allowing it to flow more smoothly within the helmet. The fiberglass will harden but leave plenty of sharp edges which will have to be ground down and then in order to get a smoother interior......romdo.
 
awesome thanks. i just got a new respirator and im surprised at how much this project is costing me. in total ive come to around $150 for everything ive bought. of course a lot of these materials will last me for the next few pieces of armour so it all evens out but i cant stop thinking about that number. lol
anyway, one more question, how to i keep the resin from ruining my brushes?
 
I've always used cheap brushes (99 cent) and just toss them out after......Check the container for clean up....not sure if paint thinner would work.......DON'T USE THE FOAM BRUSHES. The resin will melt them.
 
Hmmm alright thanks. I bought three the other day and I have one more left over so I'll use it for the bondo.
I just finished the fiberglass on the inside. I'm currently wondering how to get rid of the little fiberglass strands. I hope they aren't hazardous because my pants were covered in them. (They're rolled up in a corner at the moment.)
 
NO! fiberglass strands are very bad! clean them up ASAP! They get everywhere, and tend to get in the tenders. You have been warned. If you end up having to scratch yer tenders for 3 years straight, don't blame me. Those fiberglass strands get everywhere. :oops:
They're not deadly or anything, but it could have bad results. By my experience, anyway.
 
Hahahaha lol. Noted. Sorry for laughing.
Im doing all my work in the garage so it's all quarantine in there. That said, is it okay to throw my pants in the wash? And should I vacuum or sweep the garage?
You can probably vacuum it, but dump the collected stuff into an outdoor trash can/dumpster. And you might want to vacuum your pants before you wash them. Just to be safe. Do yer tenders a favor. Hahahaha.

And laugh all you want. I took a more comical approach anyway. If I ever get a chance to joke about "yer tenders", believe me, I'll take it. xD
 
hey, quick question. so the helmet i have now looks amazing and its harder than i thought... but it still smells like resin. how long will it continue to do so and after reading up on how dangerous fiberglass can be, how the heck am i supposed to wear this thing if its covered in fiberglass on the inside? :/
 
Ah, you can use a combination of fiberglass resin and Bondo. Lots of people call it "Rondo" and pour it on the inside of their helmets. It is very strong, and reinforces it even more.

PerniciousDuke uses Rondo a lot, he knows more than I do about Rondo.
 
Hey DaftAttic , Blackwell mentioned that Rondo is good for hardening up the inside of your helmet. It is also nice for covering up a lot of the jagged fiberglass pieces after you sand off the really pokey stuff. But, it is still has resin... So it is also going to smell. But, it's not the smell that is bad for you.

What's bad for you is the fumes put off by the chemical reaction of mixing accelerants with other products. So when you mix the resin hardener with the resin you need to wear a mask. Or cream hardener with bondo, wear a mask. Also when sanding any of this stuff it sends particles in the air, so wear a mask. :)

The unpleasant order should dissipate after 2-4 weeks in a decently ventilated area. One way to speed this along (once it's cured 1-3 days) coat it inside and out with primer. It will trap the smell in. And spray paint smell dissipates much more quickly.

Great job with your pep!
 
And as for your "tenders".......believe it or not, mblackwell1002 is right......well actually it can effect just about any part of your skin that it come in contact w/. You can shake out your clothing, outside, but washing off your body.....cold water. So if you take a shower right after, use cold water first. If you use hot, it will open the pours in your skin and the fibers can and will find their way in......it is a very annoying and itchy situation.....one I have plenty of experience in, and can take a few days for you body to expel the fibers at that point.
 
@Blackwell, Pernicious, and Dirtdives...

Thanks so much for the advice guys. this really helps. this project is coming along and each day im closer to a finished product. today im going to file down those geometric edges a little bit before i bondo the outside. and then ill rondo the inside to make it more comfortable for wearing. Also thanks for the pointers about those chemicals. ive been wondering about them and how to deal with them properly and im glad to know that the smell will dissipate given some time.
so now i have to go back to canadian tire today to pick up some sand paper. im the only person in my family who is well... interested in creating things so i have to basically buy all the materials. that said, im not very efficient at making one trip and buying everything at once lol. its probably my 5th trip to canadian tire -_-

for the visor, is there any reason i should not cut it out now? everything inside of the helmet is fiberglassed but the visor which will help with removing it. (i left it in to maintain the helmets shape) but should i bondo the outside first and then cut it out? just curious. i suspect it sould be okay to go ahead and pull it out now but you guys are the ones with the experience.

alright back to the grind. i have another busy day.

and thanks pernicious. It took me 6 days of cutting out the pieces and another 3 days of assembling to even get this bad boy all peped into paper form. lol
im stoked for painting it but thats still a long way off i think.
 
I cut mine out just before I rondoed it. Not sure if that was a mistake because when I did rondo it, I didn't bring it all the way to the edge and it may have left the edge weaker than other areas.....also it is not flush when the visor will be installed and created a gap that I now have to fill......so perhaps keep the visor in until after. Don't rondo the whole visor....but enough to just overlap and not run into the issues I'm having/had.
 
okay ill keep that in mind. last question (probably not)
for helmet details do i do that after i bondo or during? or should i just do a couple coats of bondo to find the shape first and then worry about helmet details?
 
It depends.....Like PerniciousDuke, who is following CommanderPalmer (as will I), the detailing can be created using craft foam. That means bondo and sanding......a lot of sanding...must be done first. Now I have seen people use bondo to create plenty of detail but it is a very difficult method and not w/o it's own issues. Regardless, the bondoing process must be done and sanded....it might be easier if that were done before detailing.

And keep the questions coming.....that is what we are here for.....to help the next Spartans.
 
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