Mega Man Helmet

By Ambrosia. 15/08/12, 12:42 pm

Hey there,

Not sure if this is a stupid/obvious question or not but I'd like to get some advice from people who've had some experience in building props and other odd bits and pieces.

I'm working on building a classic style Mega Man helmet, check the spoiler for an example picture:

Spoiler:

Using an open face helmet as the base (again, spoiler below for example) I'm wondering what materials I could use to make the ears and top 'blocks' of Mega Man's helmet and how I could attach these to the helmet. I'm looking to create the smoothest finish possible over the entire helmet before spray painting the entire outer surface.

Spoiler:

Any and all advice appreciated! Very Happy

By Cookie Monster. 26/08/12, 12:08 pm

Personally I'd prefer to have "seams" between the helmet and the attachments - it's easier to paint, making the paint job more "natural".

The best and labour intensive way would to use thick EVA foam sheets and Epoxy Resin.
Measure and cut out your shapes from the EVA Foam.
Spray the helmet with WD-40 (this will prevent them from sticking to the helmet), pick out a couple of spots with a dry cloth and your finger tip. Put a drop of PVA glue on these spots and (temporarily) affix your attachments.

From here spray or coat your attachments one at a time with the epoxy resin, letting the cure - for even coverage, and to prevent dripping, and for the first coverage, by sections - to keep distortion to the minimum.
When you are happy with your resin coatings, release your attachments from their fixings (carefully by craft knife if need be) and clean up any overspill or build up from the edges and sand if need be. This will give you your smooth attachments, while still fitting close to the helmet.

For permanent attachment, clean up the helmet; Rub with a dry cloth, then with warm water and a little dishwashing liquid, dry with a clean cloth, then buff with another cloth afterwards to remove the WD-40. Paint up the helmet and attachments, then before gluing, sand the helmet where you're going to affix your attachments with 240 - 320 grit sand paper then affix with Liquid Nails.

By Ambrosia. 26/08/12, 01:35 pm

Thanks for the advice, I've only just recently learnt of how useful EVA foam is Very Happy

When it comes to attaching it I think I'll go with your permanent idea.

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