Hi All
I'm looking for some advice as I've only recently started to find my back into the Star Wars galaxy after visiting Galaxy's Edge early this year. I was so impressed with the droid displays scattered around Black Spire Outpost, I returned to NZ and immediately made 3 droids; BB8, BB9 and a GNK. Easy enough with what I had lying around the house. At the same time Bunnings Manukau had the SW resin planters on clearance at $5. I purchased many! Lots!!! With the idea of cutting the base out and adding the top of the helmets to Darth, Boba, and the Stormtrooper. Maybe even making a diorama of the Mandalorian and the stormtrooper helmets on stakes.
There's were my plan stalled. Having never moulded any thing before, and am seeking anyone's advice on a simple method (maybe cheap too?!) to mould the tops. Can any one point me in a direction to research, otherwise I'm guessing fiberglass?
Brilliant scratchbuilding! They look fantastic!
Also - great score on the $5 planters - very envious.
I thought about making a plug out of some plaster, probably a bag of 45 minute gib stopping plaster. Then carving it to shape and making a female mould out of fibreglass, keeping the shell fairly thin and flexible to aid demoulding. Wax the inside of the mould with car polish as a mould release, then lay in some fibreglass , trimming it to size and epoxying it onto the helmet.
But considering I have a shed full of unfinished projects, there is probably a better, faster way...
As for molding... probably is going to require a female mold as Blaxmyth suggested. Can't think of a quicker/cheaper way that'll give a flexible shell.
Thanks for the advice MattG and Blaxmyth. Both seem to be good options. I'll investigate both and let you know how I progress. Coincidentally, I had never heard of Worbla until you mentioned it Matt, then a few days ago, I saw it being used on a Youtube cosplay channel, "KamuiCosplay''. Looks interesting. You're both correct that I'll have to make a mould to begin with so here goes nothing! A project to start over Xmas together with a 1/5 scale of a T-65.
Thanks again.
Thanks to Covid lockdown, I've progressed a little further towards completing the first of 5 storm-trooper helmets on stakes (scene from The Mandalorian) using Bunnings Warehouse planters.
I thought I'd experiment using something a little cheaper than Worbla and thanks to 'Ace Cosplay' on YouTube, came up with the idea to use a cardboard exoskeleton (Stormtrooper planter) and EVA exoskeleton (Mqndalorian Planter). So far Free and $2 respectively!! And a few glue sticks. They were then covered with a wood putty compound ($7). Sanded, painted, and weathered.
The cardboard skull on the Stormtrooper didn't finish as well as the Mandalorian helmet using EVA. I wasn't too worried as the end result needs to be a battered helmet.
Here's a few pictures of the work in progress. Not a bad result for approx $10 per helmet.
Here's pics of the two finished planters. I'm quite pleased how they turned out considering the gap between when I last did any modelling in my teens and now. Amazing how weathering can hide a host of sins! About to start my second trooper so I can put a stake through as in The Mandalorian scene.
Real shame they aren't a few centimeters larger. They would be very close to a 1:1 match. If I don't place them next to my 1:1 helmets, you almost can't tell the scale difference.
With lock-down finished and getting back to work this week, I have to say, I'm going to miss being able to head to the shed each day and scratch build droids from whatever I find in the shed. Here's a few items that have been the result of lock-downs 1 and 2 in Auckland. I'm slowly getting the hang of droid making out of nothing.
Mandalorian Amber-pulse Sniper Rifle
TT-8L/Y7 Gatekeeper Droid
Baby Gonk
Stormtrooper Helmet on spike
MSE-6 Repair Droid
Stormtrooper (will add to a spike as well) and Mandalorian helmets
(lol - Snowman in the background is the start of getting the property ready for Xmas - takes me 2 months to decorate our house and street, fundraising for Child Cancer)
BB8, BB9E and the large GNK were projects from last year.
A bit more weathering and fine tuning and they should be good to go (display)
Having never moulded any thing before, and am seeking anyone's advice on a simple method (maybe cheap too?!) to mould the tops. Can any one point me in a direction to research, otherwise I'm guessing fiberglass? 
