ShadoKat's Samus Aran (Metroid Prime 3) helmet sculpt - WIP

[LongShot X]

Done with this for the day. There are still some bubble pinhole pit things, but it's not as bad as it was. I screwed up some of the details and the shape a bit with that casting resin fiasco, but I think I recovered to the point where I can move on. I'm really glad this is just a prototype, and not the only cast I have, or I'd be crying into a pint of ice cream right now. Things I've learned from this process:

1. Don't rush the sanding: Use progressively finer grit papers to remove scratches left by coarser grits. If you skip a grit, it may not be aggressive enough to do the job, and if you rush the job, your bound to miss them anyway.
2. Address defects before priming: Or at least before the last coat of primer. Primer clearly shows defects, and can be a great tool for finding them, but it it can't fix them.
3. Be patient with the defects: This is a general thing. Rushing in a quick fix will often cause more problems.
4. Don't put on too much primer at once: This I learned in the very last primer coat. I put on way too much and got really bad drips that wouldn't wet-sand out.
5. Red spray paint gets everywhere and doesn't come off...

Thanks!!

WOW! Excellent progress! From what I can see... Prototype or not, It's looking very nice.

Your right on all those points.

If you wanted too get a glossier finish, you can follow up with a 600 or an 800 grit sandpaper. Or higher if you wish.

FYI: I hate the spot putty thing too. I have the same problem. They would come off. I recenlty found that I sometimes had to do 2 or 3 applications of it. 1st application was a very thin layer. It did not have to FILL the hole, it just had to reach the bottom of the hole and hope it would stick. Let it dry and harden. Then lightly dry sand with the 400 grit. Apply another thin layer of putty. Repeat the process until the hole is filled. It takes way longer to do it this way, but I have had way better success with the pits and scratches staying filled.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

 

[ShadoKat]

Slow week...

Hi, everybody! So much for that "update-a-day" thing I was going for... That stupid "life" thing, and all... When it rains it pours, so it seems... my S.O. is on break from school, and has discovered several ways to occupy my time before going back. Also, my computer has been exerting its own quirky nature to inform me, in no uncertain terms, that it needs to be replaced. Frequent reboots and other unusual behavior to keep me off the internet with any measure of stability. Ordered a new one today, so hopefully I'll be more active soon. With these trials, and being back at work after vacation, and having so much to do on this and other projects, is been hard to keep focus. I'm having a kind of decision-paralysis on how to proceed, but I have been taking steps here and there. Here's what I've been up to...

Taking one of the test casts and trying out some different paint effects, and will update once the experiment has completed.
Trying out a new slush casting method so that anyone that wants a cast can have one without me killing my arms.
Work on the MK VI helmet continues, finished cutting out the tape and support struts earlier today.
Finally got back to work sculpting the shoulder bells. It feels SOOO good to get my hands back in clay gain!! Maybe TMI, but I even like the way it smells... Here is a Youtube video of the current progress. (As good as it feels, it's a bit melancholy... tearing apart the helmet sculpt makes my heart hurt... with pain...)

Other than that, there's just seems to be so much to do, and I keep jumping back and forth between things.

is there a pep model of this anywhere?

Not this one, no... this helmet was all sculpted, in clay, from scratch. There is only one Samus pep model that I know of, and it wasn't quite what I was going for, so I decided to go the sculpting route. For my reference, though, I have been working from a really good 3D model that is, as I understand, also in the possession of a 405th member who is much more experienced in the ways of pepakura conversion than myself. Whether such conversion is permissible, however, remains in question.

This is looking very awesome! Great control of the clay etc And props to you for not giving up!!! It's great to see a Samus pop up here

WOW!!! Skullcandy Girl! In my thread, no less! I haven't seen you around lately, and it's an honor to have you post here! Thanks, for the kind words, it's still a work in progress. Even after the clay, there is a LOT of work to be done. Much more than I expected, actually. I've always had a special place reserved in my heart for Samus

FYI: I hate the spot putty thing too. I have the same problem. They would come off. I recenlty found that I sometimes had to do 2 or 3 applications of it. 1st application was a very thin layer. It did not have to FILL the hole, it just had to reach the bottom of the hole and hope it would stick. Let it dry and harden. Then lightly dry sand with the 400 grit. Apply another thin layer of putty. Repeat the process until the hole is filled. It takes way longer to do it this way, but I have had way better success with the pits and scratches staying filled.

OY!!! Thanks, LongShot-X! Those pits are... well... the pits!!! A serious setback, to be sure, and I've all but given up on them in the test cast. They are virtually everywhere, and I would have to go back over them repeatedly, almost over the entire product!! In the last primer coat (after the failed "casting resin brush-fill" attempt), a great many of them were filled in... almost satisfactorily, even. To anyone who might be thinking about this method, DON'T DO IT!!! More harm than good. Take my and LongShot-X's advice and be patient with the spot putty!! You'll be glad you did!

I have been trying to finish painting my Gray Fox helmet and I'm going for super glossy as well. I bought two types of clear coat gloss.. one that is suppose to leave a glass like finish and one that is just clear coat gloss...so far it's semi glossy. I have tried both and I'm on like my forth coat still not that shiny...hope you have better luck.

Thanks!! I have been trying out different paints and finishes, myself, and I'll let you know what I come up with. If you're going for super glossy, I would recommend priming and painting in many thin coats with a lot of wet sanding in between using a high-grit paper. This right here is the resource that I've been using. Also, be sure to get your piece as smooth as you can BEFORE painting, with wet sanding at least up to 600 grit before priming. You won't even believe the difference it makes!!

Start sanding one of the other castings? Will be interesting to see if the others have the same pitting issue as this one did. It takes long enough, might as well get a jump on it.

I'm just getting the simple pourable starter kit with the Oomoo for a 1 piece open back mold for my tiny project: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/26070-Starting-Small-DA-O-Morrigan-Necklace-Sculpt-WIP
I don't have the guts to jump right in with a jacket mold lol. Especially since I'm a complete noob to sculpting. I'll likely update that thread though once I have a few more pictures.

Sanding the "good" cast is definitely on my agenda. I just bought some new sandpaper in preparation for this, in fact! Also, I added some "hardware" while I was making it, so I'm really anxious to see how that turned out. Good luck with your mold!! I can see that a block mold is much more suited to your project, and I wish you luck!! Be sure to keep your thread updated, I want to see how that Morrigan necklace turns out! I'm a complete noob to sculpting, too, so I'd LOVE to see what you learn through your own process! Have you looked into the "Cast Magic" system from Smooth-On? I'm thinking about trying it out for a future helmet cast, but I think that your project might benefit from it.

Thanks again, everybody!!

 

[cr1tterp0wer]

Incredible!

 

[ShadoKat]

Paint tests!!

Hi there... How have you been? Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? The S.O. started back to school this week, so I had a little time to actually... do... you know... some stuff. Not a lot since last update, I've managed to steal a few minutes here and there to try out some different painting finishes. So, I've got two helmets and a bunch of different options.

For the first one, I just did the basic prime-and-paint. Here are my implements of construction!!

Basically (very basic), it's red. I've wet-sanded between paint coats, but I always seem to cut through to the primer, and it's still not as smooth as I'd like. The "orange peel" just won't go away. Time to get some finer grit sandpaper? Even though the finish is not smooth enough, it's still too glossy, so I got some satin clear coat (not sure about the Valspar brand, but it was on clearance, and this is only a test). I'll be putting that on later this week, but right now it doesn't look much different from the last pic, so that one stands.

The second tester, I tried a few different things... showing here...

Basically I've got three different kinds of metallic and what I thought was going to be a translucent red. I applied it in sections, and taped them off so I could try them out separately. Here are a few shots of the copper metallic...

When I peeled up the tape, however, the smooth metallic shine completely disappeared. It came up on the tape, and left a patina that made it look a lot more like old metal than new. It looks nice, but it is definitely not what I'm going for. Here are some pics of the the three metallic finishes after the tape came off.

You can't tell from these pics, but the two silver metallics are slightly different (see the cans above). One was supposed to have been smooth and shiny, like the copper, and the other was supposed to look a bit softer, and more "brushed." After the tape came up, though, they ended up looking nearly identical.

You may also notice that the "ear bananas" looks a little different. In addition to the metallics on the "bucket" part of the helmet, I sprayed some of the basic red on the ear bananas and followed it up with a "pearl effect" spray (whose can, I've just noticed, is in the wrong picture). The pearl has to be seen in motion to truly appreciate its effect, so I give you this...

(There was supposed to have been some narration but, apparently, I was recording with the sound off.) It looks much better in the video than in person. However, it dulls the red a little too much, and in certain lights has something of a green tint to it. I really like it, though, and it's the best finish I've been able to produce so far, so for this tester I'm going to go fully red/pearl and keep it as a souvenir! Even better, since I haven't been able to find a decent orange spray (one that's not too bright or... well... orange!) for the shoulder bells and other parts, the pearl might yet be an excellent solution to both tone down the orange AND give it a good surface effect! Fingers crossed!!

Now comes the bad part... After that, for the rest of the metallic finishes, I sprayed on the translucent red. Unfortunately, it was a LOT less translucent than I'd hoped. Even worse, it actually peeled off when I tried to wet sand it. This is what the fail looks like...

I did some research, and found what might be a better translucent red spray by Tamiya, so I'm going to try to get my hands on that.

So, that's what I've been up to. Still looking for that perfect paint effect in a spray. If worse comes to worst, I may have to break down and actually get an air brush!

And thus the build continues... Thanks much!

 

[Tactonyx]

You did an incredible job on your helmet, I likes lots. As for the pit problem, one of the methods that I use to get rid of them (In Rondo) is I get some Testors or Model Master acrylic paint and brush it into the pits, let it dry, sand it down and repeat. Works great for the small stuff. Hope that helps you.

 

[ShadoKat]

Got that Tamiya clear red and sprayed it over a silver metallic on a test piece of cured resin, and I'm really liking the results, despite having done it in a quick and dirty fashion. I'll post pics tomorrow. I've also discovered that if you soak a strip of cheese cloth in Smooth Cast casting resin, it has much the same effect as fiberglassing, only not as toxic, and without having to worry about glass fibers. I can't attest to the strength by way of comparison, but it seems very solid so far.

 

[astrocreep 22re]

You did a great job sculpting the helmet it looks awesome! Wish I could sculpt like that.

I had heard you can use old t shirts to replace fiberglass a whole back. Wasn't sure it would work but there was some talk about it in the fiberglassing sticky recently. Apparently it does work but it isn't quite as strong as fiberglass but its got to be better than getting stuck by splinters.

Don't know if you have seen it but krylon also has a transparent red too I think it says something like x-metal on the can.

 

[EdMcSmoke]

really great helmet you have great sculping skills.
Metroid rocks

 

[Road Kill]

that is pretty awesome

 

[rumble]

Ah yuck at the way the other paint chipped off - can't wait to see the results of the new paint! Great sculpt.

 

[ShadoKat]

HEY!!! I got moved!! Wow, suddenly I feel like less of a noob!! Oh, no, wait, nevermind, that was just gas... anyway, results of the paint test...

It looks a lot better in person, though still maybe a little too red. BTW, I misspoke before, that's not Tamiya, it's Testor's. That will teach me to read the can! They were right next to each other in the hobby shop, and I just grabbed based on the cap. Like I said before, this was a VERY quick and dirty test, so I expect better results with more time and attention. At any rate, I'm really liking the effect, if not quite so much the color, but we'll see. Maybe I'll lay down a brighter silver, or try the shiny copper again, or try to find a metallic yellow, or maybe a less flamboyant red, or cover it with pearl or satin clearcoat to dull it... OR I could do a chrome, then a yellow like thorssoli's EVA visor, and THEN do the red, or maybe... GAAAH I NEED TO STOP THIS!! So many different ways to experiment, it makes my head spin!!! And, yeah, I know, I've spent WAY too long on the paint already, but I tend to completely obsess over one thing at a time, and I can't focus on anything else. Kinda like the opposite of Attention Deficit Disorder... Attention Surplus Disorder! That's just how I roll

 

[Syphon]

Now comes the bad part... After that, for the rest of the metallic finishes, I sprayed on the translucent red. Unfortunately, it was a LOT less translucent than I'd hoped. Even worse, it actually peeled off when I tried to wet sand it. This is what the fail looks like...

Did you wet sand the paint between coats? sometimes paints with a smooth finish like your metallics and clear coats wont be rough enough for the next layer of paint to stick to. I ran into this when painting my car. I only had a 15-30 minute waiting time between each coat or i had to resand the entire area i intended on painting...You start to hate sandpaper after the 3rd time of wet sanding a whole car (painted black no less) with 400 grit sandpaper lol

Anyway, if you still have problems with your second or later coats not sticking to your first, i would try wet sanding them with 400 grit sand paper. Hope that helps solve your problem.

 

[ShadoKat]

Did you wet sand the paint between coats? sometimes paints with a smooth finish like your metallics and clear coats wont be rough enough for the next layer of paint to stick to. I ran into this when painting my car. I only had a 15-30 minute waiting time between each coat or i had to resand the entire area i intended on painting...You start to hate sandpaper after the 3rd time of wet sanding a whole car (painted black no less) with 400 grit sandpaper lol

Anyway, if you still have problems with your second or later coats not sticking to your first, i would try wet sanding them with 400 grit sand paper. Hope that helps solve your problem.

Thanks for the tip, Syphon! Yes, I did wet sand the metallic coats. I hadn't originally intended to for fear of screwing up the shine, but when the tape came up, the shine was gone, and the finish was uneven, I tried sanding it to try to even it back out. It didn't work, so I just proceeded. At any rate, I really think it was the type and brand of paint i was using. It peeled up like a really thin coat of rubber. The label says it's for stained glass *shrug. Actually, I spent the next afternoon peeling off the rest of it, and had a bunch of little balls of rubbery red all over the place The new clear red that I got didn't do that at all, however, and scratching it reveals the metallic underneath quite nicely (even though I'm not going for the "battle worn" look) so I think I might repeat the test (WITHOUT TAPE LOL!!) on pieces of scrap resin instead of spending all that time and effort on a cast.

 

[Kadus27]

I always have admiration for whoever scratch builds out of clay. It takes alot of work and effort, as well as a Creative mind which some of us on the forums aren't to blessed with. But you are doing an absolutely amazing job, And I can't wait to see it finished. Already it looks like samus, but this certainly will turn out to be an AMAZING BUILD. Keep up the great work!

 

[DarkBebi]

truly an inspiring thread shadokat, First, I thought you were a girl by your name, then I heard you on youtube and I am like ok... It's a boy, then I am like wait.... Samus is a girl right? So I got mind-screwed all in a split second, congrats ^^. Anyways back on topic, you are amazing. I just bought a case of NSP clay and am gonna start doing a helmet I have always wanted to do and started to look at tutorials and what not, so my question would have to be, aren't you filling the hole of your helmet like you did with the kitty (by the way was awesome, are you gonna paint her up)? Or are you putting something inside to not fill up all the way, I am so confused!!!!!! Thank you for your time.

 

[Surmainey]

Wow Shadow, your thread continues to be such a handy guide in all the things I'm doing. I would have screwed up at least a dozen more times if I didn't have your mistakes to spectate. =P

 

[ShadoKat]

I always have admiration for whoever scratch builds out of clay. It takes alot of work and effort, as well as a Creative mind which some of us on the forums aren't to blessed with. But you are doing an absolutely amazing job, And I can't wait to see it finished. Already it looks like samus, but this certainly will turn out to be an AMAZING BUILD. Keep up the great work!

Thanks, Kadus27! I've never really considered myself "creative" because, really, I'm just copying someone else's work. I'm just doing it in clay. And if building from clay is creative, I don't think I'd consider any other method any less so, especially some of the cardboard scratch builds like darth wombo's Jun helmet. The creativity aspect, I think, lies more in the desire and determination to create something, and in finding different ways to do it. As an example, look at how far pepakura-based creation has come from when it was first introduced! Bondo, fiberglass,, clay, magnets, hot glue, foam, casting resin... all to turn a few sheets of cardstock in to something wonderful! Off the top of my head, I can very easily name several pep-based builds that exhibit exceptional creativity, way more than this sculpt (but I won't because I know I'll forget some, and I don't want to leave any out haha!!). So far I think the most creative thing I've done is designing the Symmetrizer, which has helped me out tremendously (I need to post pics of that thing one of these days). Still, I need to build (or, rather, have someone build) a "version 2.0" to correct its deficiencies and implement some design improvements I've come up with.

truly an inspiring thread shadokat, First, I thought you were a girl by your name, then I heard you on youtube and I am like ok... It's a boy, then I am like wait.... Samus is a girl right? So I got mind-screwed all in a split second, congrats ^^. Anyways back on topic, you are amazing. I just bought a case of NSP clay and am gonna start doing a helmet I have always wanted to do and started to look at tutorials and what not, so my question would have to be, aren't you filling the hole of your helmet like you did with the kitty (by the way was awesome, are you gonna paint her up)? Or are you putting something inside to not fill up all the way, I am so confused!!!!!! Thank you for your time.

LOL!! This isn't the first time my gender has been called into question, but I find I actually prefer keeping it ambiguous, even androgynous. I mean, really, it doesn't matter, I'm not here for dating, after all hahaha!! Good luck with your sculpt, I hope it turns out fabulously!! Don't forget to make a thread, I love seeing sculpts, also! And, no, I'm not filling the empty space in the helmet, or else there would be no way to get a head inside it. This is done with a method called rotocasting, or slush casting. Basically, you pour in the liquid plastic and roll it around inside the mold, which will "slush" the liquid plastic all around the inside. As the plastic begins to turn from liquid to solid, it will stick to the inside of the mold. It's very very cool, but you have to be careful with it, as it can be very unpredictable. Eventually, I would like to create a "plug mold" so I can just pour in the resin and forget it (this mold is very heavy, and my arms are very scrawny, so it's a pretty torturous process for me), but that will be a lot of work a long way down the road. As for the kitty, I gave it to a friend to paint, but she hasn't done anything with it yet.

Wow Shadow, your thread continues to be such a handy guide in all the things I'm doing. I would have screwed up at least a dozen more times if I didn't have your mistakes to spectate. =P

LOL!! Thanks so much, Surmainey!! There's a saying, I don't know exactly how it goes... something like, "It could be that your only purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others." Even making mistakes can be fun, especially if I am not the only one to learn from them. Glad I can help Not sure if I said this lately, but your helmet came out beautifully!!

I worked a bit more on the "red cast" and bought some 1000 grit sandpaper. After wet sanding, it's VERY smooth, but the paint job is really really dull and uneven, which is a little distressing since this is the fourth coat of red I've put on it, and now my can runneth empty. I really don't like the idea of using an entire can of paint on just the helmet. What's really weird is that, when it was wet, it looked EXTREMELY good, smooth, and shiny, and I thought I was done, but when it dried all the shine went away. I'm thinking that maybe what's happening is that the sandpaper is having more of an effect on the gloss finish of the paint than the actual color. This makes me wonder hopefully if maybe the gorgeous evenness of the "wet look" will be restored when I apply the clear coat. I'll find out Tuesday but, if it doesn't, I'll just cover over it with some different experiments. I have a two week vacation beginning this coming Friday, and I hope to be able to mentally move past the painting so I can get back to sculpting the shoulder bells, and maybe also work on my MK VI helmet (which has also not changed since the last pic). Ugh, I really need to stop all this testing and get back to work... I only have 394 days left until next Halloween!!!

 

[Syphon]

I worked a bit more on the "red cast" and bought some 1000 grit sandpaper. After wet sanding, it's VERY smooth, but the paint job is really really dull and uneven, which is a little distressing since this is the fourth coat of red I've put on it, and now my can runneth empty. I really don't like the idea of using an entire can of paint on just the helmet. What's really weird is that, when it was wet, it looked EXTREMELY good, smooth, and shiny, and I thought I was done, but when it dried all the shine went away. I'm thinking that maybe what's happening is that the sandpaper is having more of an effect on the gloss finish of the paint than the actual color. This makes me wonder hopefully if maybe the gorgeous evenness of the "wet look" will be restored when I apply the clear coat. I'll find out Tuesday but, if it doesn't, I'll just cover over it with some different experiments. I have a two week vacation beginning this coming Friday, and I hope to be able to mentally move past the painting so I can get back to sculpting the shoulder bells, and maybe also work on my MK VI helmet (which has also not changed since the last pic). Ugh, I really need to stop all this testing and get back to work... I only have 394 days left until next Halloween!!!

To answer your question, yes the shiny look will come back when you apply clear coat, thats one of the functions it was designed for, the other being protection. The more coats of clear coat you apply, the greater the effect. If nothing else, just use a sample piece to spray a coat of color on, then a coat of clear coat to see if it achieves the desired effect. This way you aren't using a massive amount of paint just to repaint you piece because you didnt like the way it turned out.

I'm glad my sanding tips helped ya out, although I would have to agree with you that paint for stained glass prolly wont stick to much else. Gotta say I am looking forward to seeing some progress pics, and I'm glad everything is working out so well for you. Keep up the good work.

 

[prpride221]

Sweeeet scuplt n mold, seeing the pics for your build are great motivation and again awesome job!!!

 

[ShadoKat]

Applied the first clear coat tonight, but the the spray is coming out of the can in an odd way. There's more of a "stream" to it than a spray, and it's not going on very evenly. Could be the brand, could be the composition, could be because it's water based. I thought it might be the nozzle, so I stuck a pin in it, but that didn't help. Meh, if it comes out really bad, it's just paint. For the clear coat, I am trying to go satin rather than gloss, since I want the finish to look more like metal than plastic. Unfortunately, this was the only brand of satin spray I've been able to find so far. I'll keep looking. Meanwhile, a painting tutorial thread has FINALLY popped up that's NOT of the "battle damage/weathering/distressing" variety!!! Yay!!

Oh yeah, here's the thread!

Thanks!!