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Making a 200mm German Helmet

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by Anders Heintz, Jun 30, 2004.

  1. Anders Heintz Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hey Guys!

    I need a 200mm German helmet for the bust I am working on. I started out with a block of Apoxie Sculpt in the rough shape of the helmet. Then I used round and flat files to get the shape closer and then it was sanded like mad. Still some work to do to get the right shape, the front needs to be reworked and the top needs to be rounded off. Still need to do the hollowing out and add details inside.

    Here are the progress so far.

    [IMG]
  2. yeo_64 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Singapore
    Looks very GOOD so far,Anders (y) (y) !! Looking forward to the next step.Cheers !
    Kenneth :lol:
  3. Anders Heintz Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks Kenneth! Helmets are tricky but kind of fun to do.


    Here is the finished outside. Found out the damned thing is too small. The Germans did have a few different sizes though and maybe it is about right for a small helmet. But more then likely I will have to do another one or just redo this one :angry:


    [IMG]
  4. Manfred Active Member

    Anders, there were 5 sizes.

    In my opinion the "forehead" of the helmet is too rounded. It should be steeper.

    Look at a paratroopers helmet to see that clearer. They had the brim cut down but were otherwise identical in form.

    However, you're definately going there and I would not accept the challenge of doing this difficult helmet ;)
  5. Bryon Ray New Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Anders by holding up one of my 1/6 Dragon helmets to the screen and lining them up you are almost dead on. what I can see using the old comdey crush your head method is that the top of the helmet is a little to round and the frontal plate is too far out, and needs a slight swell removed above the bill.
  6. LCoote New Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Anders, you're on the right track, you're right helmets are trickier than they look. A couple of things, the sides of the shell started off vertical then started to curve towards the crown about half way up. The radius of the sides to crown on your helmet is too large, the crown flattens off quite a bit at the top on the real thing. The other thing is the brim needs to be longer and thinner at the front, and the flare around the brim could be a bit sharper.

    Another point is that german helmets were produced in 6 sizes (according to Osprey's new book) and 3 versions, M35, M40 and M 42, the first 2 being almost identical but the M 42 had an out turned edge around the brim rather than being folded under on the earlier models. '
    I have the measurements of the real thing if you need them, or they may even be in my vbench.

    I certainly wouldn't rely on those Dragon 1/6 helmets as a reference, they don't capture the shape accurately at all.
  7. LCoote New Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Anders, Here's a good side view which illustrates the shape perfectly.

    Attached Files:

  8. Anders Heintz Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks for the SUPER feed back guys! I really appreciate it. I have added more mass to the helmet and will start over with all the carving and sanding, hopefully I will get it right this time!
  9. Anders Heintz Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hey Guys!

    After meeting with John last night I was rejuvinated and I sat down today and did some serious sanding. The worst was probably to hollow the shell out. Man it was dusty, looked like I took a bath in talcum powder. Anyways, I hope the shape is correct now, it looks pretty close to the pitures I used.

    Next thing is to add the rivets and send out to get casted so I wont never ever have to do this again!

    Attached Files:

  10. Alex M. Active Member

    Country:
    Canada
    Anders,

    The shape on that next one looks an awful lot better than the first (ya don't see me trying things this big!! lol)

    Well done...show us the finished piece soon!

    Alex
  11. LCoote New Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Yeah Anders! great work there, well worth the effort, well done!
  12. garyjd Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Anders, Excellent job on the helmet, far better than the first go. Give yourself a big pat on the back.~Gary
  13. Anders Heintz Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks Guys!

    Seams like I got it right this time, It only took four tries...:lol:

    I think I really need to invest in one of those respirator thingies as I still have a Russian helmet to do and I am sure I'll have to redo it a few times too.

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