WIP WWW1 British steel helmet

[MENTAL DENTAL]

Any one got a suggestion as to how I should sculpt a WW1 steel helmet?? Seems like it will be a bit 'fiddly' to me!

Tried a few glasses of wine waiting for inspiration............zip!

David

 

[housecarl]

If all else fails have another glass.
My only suggestion would be to cut a template, that way you'd ensure symetry.
Carl.

 

[Einion]

What scale David?

Failing being able to get a cast from a press mould I'd build the shape in stages - flange first, then crown - relying on carving (paring, filing, sanding) for the final shaping, rather than trying to do it 'wet'.

A template (two actually) is a good idea: one from the front and one profile view, so you can check what you've made directly against something to scale instead of just eyeballing the shape from photos.

Einion

 

[valiant]

David,
I would echo Einion's advice to use two profiles. Could be difficult if you want a large scale hollow version, you could shape a solid former from wood, plastic,etc, then find someone with a vacuum former to mould a plastic one to work from.
hope this helps,
Steve

 

[Barke02]

Nah, you won't get ispiration from wine...you need rum my friend, and lots of it!

Or if you're in the west country then probably an apple based delicacy? I would highly recommend the beautiful taste of 'Pommeau de Normandie' Fantastique! Expensive over here...buy it direct from Normandie. Or maybe a Somerset version? Business opportunity there......

Getting back to the subject. We're in the 21st century now. We have an incredible array of tools at our fingertips. I'd say that 'sculpting' a helmet is an old fashioned way of doing things. Putty is an ideal medium for creating heads, hands and cloth. Machine made items are better being made by 'a machine'.

Enter the 3D printer.

The full size steel helmet was 'stamped' from a single piece of steel in an industrial process. The idea of trying to sculpt any form of industrial process from a blob of putty is nonsensical.

There is a new tool in our armoury that allows us to reproduce 'factory' and 'machine' standards to an hitherto unheard of degree.

What you see in the attachment is a 1/16th British para helmet, scaled down using measurements from an original example. Designed on a computer, emailed to a 3D printing company and delivered as an actual model in the post. This allowed me to get on with the realy fun stuff of sculpting character heads and hands, flesh and cloth.

I'm still experimenting with this great new tool, but if you want to know more just google it and you'd be amazed. (by the way, that helmet was printed in Holland for about 10 Euros).

All the best David,

Cheers,
Minz a zider!
Jon.

 

[John Long]

I made a couple of these in different scales. I made a disk of putty, let that set and added the crown. After all had set, I carved and sanded to shape. What scale are we talking here? Unless it's an odd size, or you're making a master I think you'd be better served to get one from an Airfix or DML kit, (1/35-1/32).

 

[Einion]

The idea of trying to sculpt any form of industrial process from a blob of putty is nonsensical.

...but sometimes necessary.

I'd be more than dismayed by the idea that you can't make something by hand just because the prototype was made industrially. Apart from anything, it's cheaper and faster!

Einion

 

[MENTAL DENTAL]

Blimey, an incredible amount of replies and really usefull!

I tried wine and rum.........awful.......

I'm considering replacing a 'cor blimey cap' on one of the Tommy's War figures as the peak was so thin on the casting it fell off. I've a good reference picture showing a bombadier with a steel helmet. I must admit most of my old 'works' were done in stages but by eye.

Thanks for all the info

David

 

[housecarl]

Sent you a PM David.
Carl.

 

[Paul Bonnett]

Sorry David but was the 'gor blimey' not the hat that had the side flaps and soft crown and peak ? Tommys War figures all have the stiff peaked early war cap apart from the Gordon Highlander as far as I'm aware. Scale link supply 54mm spares.
Paul

 

[bwildfong]

Hi David,

I know you're working in 1/32, but Hornet have a set of 1/35 heads wearing the helmet (set HBH06), to wit:

Maybe, just maybe, they'll fit the Tommy's War body; otherwise, Scale Link might be your best bet.

Hope this may be of help. Best of luck.

Happy New Year all!

Cheers,

Brian

 

[Gaudin]

Fairly easy to do - if you get a lump of hardened magic sculpt approximately of the shape you want and a dremel.

Fix the dremel ( it helps if the collet at the tip isnt loose or off centre), drill through the lump and fix it on a rod with a locking screw (used to hold polishing/buffing thingies) and then its just like woodturning - a scalpel or coarse file should do the trick. Be prepared to be snowed in by very fine flakes.

!!!!Be mindfull of angles and seek advice how to do it if you never tried woodturning before so the blade doesnt fly into precious body parts.

certainly not a thing to do with alcohol on board
can make shields helmets anything that requires round symetry - any scale.

 

[Tony Barton]

Just one point : the WW1 Brodie had a circular brim, and an oval crown, unlike the Mk.II WW2 version , which had an oval brim and an oval crown.
And the very first 1916 models had a sharp edge ,were painted apple green , with no folded bead around the edge. That was fairly quickly added by 1917 , by which time they mostly went khaki .