Production:
The helmet
Building the Form Vacuumforming Details
and finishing Painting
| 2. Vacuumforming: Vacuumforming is the process of shaping plastic (or any thermoplastic, acrylic, Plexiglas, etc.) to an existing form by heating and then using suction to pull it over the form. The result is a shaped piece that is light and can have a good amount of detail. Commercial vaccumform machines cost thousands of dollars and are the size of a large car, mine cost about $40 (not counting the shop vac). With a few exceptions I followed the instructions for building my vaccuform setup from Jeff Allen's excellent "Definitive how to - Stormtrooper Armor" site. Details on building the machine and the vaccumform process can be found there, I won't repeat them here. |
| The main difference in my setup is the construction of the holding frame, I couldn't get the frame to work using screws to hold the two frames together. Instead after building the two frames I connected them together with hinges on one side and window clasps on the opposite end. This way after taping down the plastic you just close the frame and the clasps. I used black 1/16" styrene for the helmets and armor, probably a bit too thin, but the next size up that was available seemed too thick. The upside is that the end product was light and easy to work with. |
 Form on the vacuuform table. |
| I won't go into too much detail (check out the above link for more info) but the process is as follows: The form is placed on the vaccumform table taking care to ensure airflow, then the plastic is heated in the oven using the holding frame , once it's nice and droopy the shop vac is turned on and the frame is placed on the table, a good seal is the key. If all goes well (about 60-70% of the time) the plastic sucks down over the form and you have the beginning of an Orky hat! |
 Successful vaccuforming. |
 Soon they are legion! |
|
I
formed two hats for each finished helmet. One was used as the base and
the second was cut up and used as reinforcing bands for the outside of
the helm. Carefully cut out the helmets using a sharp mat knife, making
several light cuts, if you get impatient you can rip the plastic or cut
the wrong part. At first they look a bit Nazi/Darth Vaderish, but that
will be fixed. The spare hat was then marked and cut into reinforcing
bands, again Medieval Japanese and European helmets were used as inspiration.
The bands and sections were attached with styrene cement and clamped in
place to set. The edges were trimmed flush and the edges and surfaces
were sanded. |