Solaire Helmet update

Okey dokey, so there is still progress on things, I've just had a few days off and have had to wait for things to dry... now they have! So back to it. I've been working on the Dark Souls Solaire Helmet...

So I fibreglassed the helmet model. This basically involves making your paper model out of 250gsm paper, taking a lot of time and glue (I use PVA) to ensure everything is exactly where you want it. Following that you resin the outside of your model. Do this once or twice, the more layers the tougher the base to work with. For this one I did a layer on the outside and one on the inside at the same time, which was tricky (soggy paper!).
Once that was completely dry I applied a thin layer of resin to the inside to form a sticky surface, then fibreglass sheets and more resin to strengthen.

After the fibreglass was dry I cleaned it up a little with the rotary tool (since dry fibreglass matting can cut and stab like crazy). I applied a layer of filler to one section of the outside, allowed it to dry then began sanding. If there are uneven areas it doesn't matter as they'll get fixed up a bit later.

It was then that I realized that in my haste to get the project done I had forgotten to sand the outside to roughen up the helmet. This allows the filler to adhere a bit better. So I sanded the rest of the helmet with 80 grit just enough so it lost the resin shine. Time would tell if the initial layer of filler would stick. But so far so good!
I did a test fit and my god I'm glad my head is bigger than most as putting it on was fine but taking it off... I was worried it was stuck! The size should be good for the owner as it will give him some breathing room (the helmet has no vents according to all the reference images

Which brings us to current status! I have applied some more filler across the right hand side of the helmet, along the top and in patches on the initial area (to fill shallow parts). Once this is dry I will sand back, reapply filler and move on to other areas.


So that's it for now, the next update will mostly be more sanding! Though I may look at some detail work while I'm at it (such as the bolts at the back of the helmet etc). Adios!

No pics today!

So no pictures today as I've had to restart on the Dark Souls helmet I'd been working on as the sizing didn't seem right (and it would be more trouble to fix it than to start all over again). So I have begun making a new frame that's a little more reasonable in size. Fingers crossed this one is appropriate.

The Brotherhood of Steel helmet will, as a result, be put on a bit more of a backburner role for now. With PAX just over 3 weeks away, I am beginning to fret about offering to help out people :P

Brotherhood update 06/10, cutting in half

Okey dokey. So I didn't get much done today because my brother called me and told me my nephew wanted to spend the day with me (which was pretty sweet). However, what I did get done was probably the most nerve-racking thing I'll ever do with the project. The helmet is designed to fit a much more normal head, not my enormous thing, however the neck hole isn't big enough to accommodate even a normal sized head. As a result, I'm putting a hinge system on it with some locks or magnets to ensure it stays closed once it's one.
So to that end, I drew some general lines for where the cut would be...

Then I cut. And cut. And cut. And it was cut!

At least now I can hold it up and see how it would look if a guy in a flanno got his hands on a Brotherhood of Steel helmet.

And just to finish it off, I then cut the lense slots out. Obviously needing some major fine tuning once I get some new rotary tool sanding discs

And that's about it for today. I did some very minor work on the headlight, but nothing worth sharing for the minute.

Brotherhood of Steel

Off to a great start! I ran out of sanding pads for my palm sander and sanding pads for my rotary tool. So for now, this will have to do until around Thursday or so as I'm out of money (and since I still haven't started work yet money flow is a bit of a problem!).

So with that in mind, I used the last of one tin of fibreglass resin to solidify what will be the light mounted above the eye. The entire unit will be made into a solid chunk and then I'll dremel out what space I need for the lights etc.

And my precious fibreglass gloves, now almost solid as a rock!

So since that dried I decided to work on shaping it out a bit more, filler applied and back to waiting. Shouldn't require much in the way of shaping details


Later that day...
I shaped the headlight pieces and drilled out a couple of holes through it to hopefully guide screws down to hold the LEDs in place.

I also filled out the uneven parts on the main helmet section.

Buuuut there's no point in uploading a picture of the completed step for now as I still have lots more filling and sanding to do on the front of the mask and the vent attachment parts :D That will probably do it for today, I am going to spend the rest of the evening looking at the wiring and playing games.

The first post. Project list.

So I've been told to make a blog thing so here we go. Expect stuff! Work log stuff. I will try to take some progress shots as I take a break or stop for a moment. My current projects... in no particular order...

• Fallout 3 Helmet in progress, above
• Dark Souls Solaire of Astora helmet, sword, shield in progress

• Payday 2 Dallas mask in progress, above
• Fallout 3 Laser Rifle

• Chaos Space Marine Slaanesh Noise Marine helmet above is a Nurgle helmet

Oh god, it didn't feel like much until I typed it out. Anyway, I'd also like to run my webcam in the shed if I can figure out how exactly I want to do it. I imagine that won't be until well after PAX though.