Walraad

Hello, Im sorry if this is the wrong section or has been answered before. I have used the search function but was not very successful... Im part way through completion of my ANH stormtrooper helmet. I started this project long ago, and it is built using a pepakura file and fiberglass, bondo, repeat process... This has been extremely labor intensive and time consuming. For the armor, Im hoping to 3D print the pieces as a starting base rather than the pepakura process. Ive looked through the internets and found files in the usual thingiverse and yeggi locations, but am curious if there are any particular files or models that are recommended. I hope to someday bring this build to a 501st standard. Any help is greatly appreciated, and I thank you for your time. M.

Doesn't seem to be a lot of interest.... not surprising when you look at the price and quality of the helmets currently on the market. I would advise anyone thinking of taking this route to think twice about it. It really isn't any cheaper and the man hours involved (for me anyway) are crazy. Never the less, I have gone this far and I've got a ton of time invested so I will continue. I cut openings in the back of the helmet to allow for the trapezoids to be recessed. I then fibreglass ed over the holes from the back side to give some dimension. I have yet to do the front as I'm not sure yet of the exact positioning. I need to get my ears and brow trim sorted so I'll know approx where to place them. I plan to also throw a coat of primer over the whole helmet soon so that it will be a solid colour making it easier to see my flaws. Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

After a long time away from this build I have again decided to pick it up and try to see it through to completion. Its funny how life sometimes gets in the way of certain projects. Ive still got along way to go with solidifying the shapes and details. The original pep file was for ANH trooper so I will likely move in that direction. For that model, are the rear and side trapezoids recessed into the helmet? If so I've got some scary cutting to do. Thanks again to all for the help and support. Maybe 2017 is the year I finally complete this thing. Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

Thank you all for the positive feedback. I intend to use a solid strip of rubber glued to the brow line as JohnnyChaos mentioned. Does anybody know the width and thickness? The neck trim shouldn't be an issue. I'm also looking for a good reference for the ears. I am not sure how far up the helmet they should go . I've peped a set but they seem small. Lastly, trying to decide how best to make the vocoder.

Thank you Trooper, Ill check it out. I was able to get the teeth in place. I realize its far from perfect, but I am quite pleased with it thus far. In the picture the spacing on the left seems off, but its only perspective. Soon I hope to come up with a good way to make the vocoder followed by the ears and cut outs for the upper vents.

Thanks CommanderZel I have started to fit the teeth and moving towards getting many of the forms to look decent. Still have a long way to go. Hope to post a pic of my success or failure tomorrow. Is there any one out there that can provide a finishing kit of sorts. I will need lenses, a neck seal, brow trim and possibly a set of ears. Any ideas? Thanks again.

Im wishing I went with a kit construction. Ive lost count of the number of times Ive applied bondo and sanded. Beginning to get frustrated and a little discouraged with my progress. Really struggling to get the forms accurate. As always any tips or recommendations are always welcomed.

Thank you very much. This will be very helpful.

Thanks again. I'm using letter sized files for printing. Milliput looks interesting. Definitely worth a better look. I have a hard time manipulating the bondo and hand sanding to get the shapes I want. As always any advice is appreciated.

Thank you all for the help, its greatly appreciated. I was initially very impressed with the clay. I was able to shape by hand and fine tune the shapes easily to what I needed. Unfortunately, a day later it has turned into an epic fail. The clay cracked and easily pulled free. So I'm back to the method of bondo and hand sanding... Hope to add some more pics soon. Having issues with file sizes...

Thank you Tolo. I'm two coats of bondo with sanding in between on the dome section of the helmet. I'm also trying something a bit different. I'm going to try using air drying crafting clay to build up and detail the face area. I hope it's pretty solid when cured. Does anyone have any experience with this?

As I continue to research, I'm realizing there are a few parts of the helmet I know I will struggle with. The vocoder in particular... Is there anyone that offers a pre-made piece for this? As I build, I will try to continually add pics to show my progress. Any comments or critisizms are always welcome.

BONDO TIME! I'm going to approach this in thinner more numerous coats as needed. Not a big fan of sanding all day...

Next step was to apply resin to the inside and outside of the helmet. Unfortunately, the first batch I used was old and was difficult to work with (green parts). Fortunately it did cure and I purchased some new resin. I also applied a layer of fiberglass to the inside of the helmet.

Hello all. I apologize if this is the wrong area of the forum. Please move if needed. It's been a goal of mine for a while to build a storm trooper set of armor, and I finally took the first few steps. I've started with the pepakura helmet design by Space Cowboy. The build up was pretty straight forward. The only issues I had were trying to piece together the individual sections together. After many hours of cutting, bending, gluing, swearing and drinking I had this to show for my efforts.