Titanfall MCOR Helmet - Ambitious and Determined WIP

[RazorHD]

First off, I'd like to say "Hi" to all you "four-o-fivers"! The water's nice and warm!

Anyway, I've been lurking around here for about a month now. Reading, and reading, and reading. As I started my project I hadn't even heard of this site, but my research brought me here and I'm glad. This community cranks out some quality work, and the collaboration is amazing. Enough of this and on to why I'm here.

Bam


What you see there is an early "Militia Helmet" from Titanfall and is most definitely a "WIP" and it will be, for a while. The end result will be "production grade". As this is not a debate, the word "ambitious" will remain in the title.
I bought the child's full-faced motorcycle helmet before discovering pepakura and decided to meld the two. The result will be a strong and symmetrical piece with minimal struggle. The Scope of Work for this project is extensive. Knowing this is a hobby and not having to meet any kind of deadline gives me the time to precisely plan out everything, funds being allocated as needed, so, the sky is the limit. The end product will have a manufactured look, paying as much attention to the inside as out. LED's, spotlights, strobe light, fan, and iphone integration. I'm putting tactile buttons for everything as well as the phone in a wristpad. Batteries will be housed in the "Jump Kit" mounted on my lower back. After viewing many, many Iron Man builds, and buffing up on some kinematics, I've designed a way for the faceplate to open in three pieces and fold back. I've gone so far as to pep a second face shield to serve as a Proof of Concept.

Ok. That's all for right now. After I cover the plastic with paper, I'll be ready for resin by Saturday, and I'll be bondoing some small accessories to test my methods. I'm going on everything I've read from you wonderful people, so I'll let you know how it goes as much as I can. I do have a full time job that sometimes requires my work to come home with me.


*sorry for potato

Let me know what you think. Criticism is warmly welcomed.

 

[CasualCosplayer]

Cool! I can´t wait to see the finished product!


Pat-

 

[RazorHD]

I know it's a sloppy pep. My first. It's my understanding that the paper is really merely a skeleton, to get the shape. Small details and proper angles can be made through proper fill work. Some of my angles need to be addressed before the resin stage. I do have a question though. One that I haven't found through searching. I plan on reinforcing with 2 layers of fiberglass. But as far as sandable edges, before the glassing, could I apply bondo with a tongue depressor or Popsicle stick to the inside corners? My reason is to not build weight/thickness.

 

[RazorHD]

Tiny update.




See ya next week.

 

[Jen A266]

Nice pep work! One thing to point out, did you make your helmet out of regular paper or 110 lbs/230 gsm cardstock because it looks like paper and it can be a real pain trying to fix the warpage and disfigurement when resin is applied and the paper helmet can't withstand its own weight. Keep it up!

 

[RazorHD]

Thanks. I printed the file out of regular copy paper. Glue sticked it to cardboard and then cut out the shapes. I'm trying now to remove as much of the copy paper as I can to ensure consist any resining. I'm a little worried about that.

 

[Jen A266]

so you stuck your paper on cardboard an then cut it out and glued them together? you dont really need to remove the paper. Resinning shouldn't be a problem but bear in mind that resin might melt/ dissolve some glues.

 

[RazorHD]

Thanks. That eases my mind a little. I lightly used 3M Clear Glue for the paper on poster board. And hot glue for the pepping. I think they're stable. My next "test" is to apply resin directly to the plastic on the helmet as I'd like to keep some of those details. I've got some scraps I'll try first. The reason for this coat is that bondo likes resin more than ABS plastic.

Headed to gather supplies now. Hopefully my next project update will have some bondo applied and sculpted. Here goes nothing.

 

[ppapared]

One that I haven't found through searching. I plan on reinforcing with 2 layers of fiberglass.

This looks good so far but this quote concerns me. With already having a helmet inside the helmet for support and fit, why are considering fiberglass? You should be resin-ing and bonding. I don't see why you would consider fiber glassing it. If you plan to put the fiberglass on the outside, usually that's a no-no. You would lose the detail that the pep gives yous. Fiberglass is used only for internal support on average to keep it from being brittle. With the internal helmet, you've already passed that hurtle.

 

[RazorHD]

Absolutely correct. The resining and fiberglass is only for support on the paper structure. Roughly half of the helmet is paper with zero backbone. The resin on plastic is merely for the bondo to adhere, nothing more. Fiberglass will strengthen the faceplate and chin area,on the inside, as well as cut lines where the visor will open.
I'm also trying something I haven't read about here. I've applied bondo with on the inside creases, places where I'll want to smooth down past the Pep File, before hitting the inside with glass. "Rondo" Is a great idea, but sounds heavy, and thick.

 

[Chernobyl]

Several years of working with resin has taught me that a rough surface (such as fibrous carstock/paper) is far more receptive to resin than a smooth surface. If you're going to be applying resin to your helmet base, I would advise perhaps giving the plastic a short session under some coarse sandpaper, with the aim of giving the resin more of an anchor to grip than simply the smooth plastic outer coating (which the resin is likely to simply slide off and refuse to adhere to). By that same token, giving each resin layer a slight scuffing will help subsequent layers of resin/bondo to stick much better.

I'm not suggesting you take a coarse grade of sandpaper and sand through the plastic entirely, but giving a rough base will help your resin adhere much better. Give it some consideration.