Sunday, July 3, 2011

Predator bio mask helmet !

Predators are bad-ass, I always wanted a Bio mask and dreads ever since I watched the first movie, so I decided to give it a shot

     My best friend is a wiz with pepakura and put together this pep model of a bio helmet for me


I made some temporary cardboard braces on the inside to make sure it held its shape while I applied a few  coats of resin on the outside


Then I took the braces out and lined the inside with fiberglass mat, I added an extra layer in the cheekbone area behind the eyes where i felt it needed reinforcement and dabbled in a generous layer of resin to the fiberglass on the inside, this made it REALLY strong, I even banged it on a table to demonstrate to a co-worker how durable it is now!



Once I had some solid coats of resin applied, I sanded down the ridges left by the joints of paper


After that I Marked as many high and low areas with a marker that I could to make applying the bondo easier. It really didn't take that much bondo to smooth it out due to preparation and the excellent pepakura work of my friend.


Here I am getting the shape pretty good, I gave it a coat of primer and made some final shaping adjustments, the onlt trouble I had was with the crown ridge area. I tried not to make it too perfect and smooth because it is supposed to look like a forged metal mask.





Final coat of primer before finsh sanding with a fine grit foam sanding block

I sprayed it with a mettalic silver paint first, Then I did the weathering/dirtying using some torn up kitchen sponges and black spray paint sprayed into a bowl. I would just dab the sponge into the black paint and dabble it quickly around areas that should be dark, the crown ridge, eybrows, cheekbones, around the laser housing etc. I would then dabble silver paint over that using the same method, changing back and forth several times until I had the right look.



Starting to look better ! I coated the whole mask in a clear coat to preserve the weathering, give it a little shine, and improve durability.

I carved the temple piece, witch I believe is a line for connecting the hoses the predator rips off before removing the mask in the movies, out of an air-dry sculpting clay that I found at Michael's craft store, It was ok, but something like Apoxie Sculpt would have probably been better. Once dry, I glued it in and painted it to match. I also rummaged through my junk and found a suitable peice of black mesh and glued it inside to cover the eye holes, visiblity is still very good.

 Next was the dreads, after researching "The Hunter's Lair", Replica Prop Forum, and youtube, I decided to try something called backer rod,  It is a foam rod, kinda like pipe insulation, that is used for gaps in concrete, wood, etc to fill in the gaps before sealing them. I cut the backer rod into 2ft lengths and used the heat from a burner to soften the ends, then rolling them on a tabletop quickly to taper the ends. I coated them in Plasti-dip spray rubber and hung them out to dry.


I cut a strip of Sintra and made it so it attached to the bio mask and wrapped around the back of my head, kinda making the mask into a helmet, also giving me a place to attach the dreads. I cut the end of the dreads at a 45 drgree angle and hot glued them making a row just under the crown edge, and another row under that, the hot glue actually holds it really well.


I took apart a 3 led headlamp I got from Lowe's on sale and installed the guts into the laser housing, They look blue here as I haven't yet tinted them red. For now, the "beads" are just chrome tape until I decide to fabricate some better ones.


Sport hunter vs. Bounty hunter, that would be epic !

8 comments:

  1. where can i get the pep file

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  2. I believe it was done by Dungbeetle and was on the 405th forums, but I cannot find it now, if I can find the files I'll post it here if he says it's ok.

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    1. I would like to know if you may send me the template papercraft only. I want a lot assemble a predator papercraft biomask. I already tried, without success, to find models for assemble, but all is unavailable. Please send me the papercraft archive for assemble jetniky@yahoo.com.br, Eu thank a lot.

      Daniel from Brasil.

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  3. Good news ! I used Google and found the file ! Just follow this link and the P1 Bio helmet file is available for download on this post on the Hunters Lair, which is a great Predator forum ! Here is the link, http://www.thehunterslair.com/topic/22568-bios-for-pepakura/page__hl__rhinoc

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  4. I see when up you applied bondo, you didn't put it all over the mask, you then applied automotive filler, my question is the bits that don't have bondo are they smooth enough? Also do you need to use automotive filler?

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    1. Bondo IS automotive body filler, any brand should work just fine. I always apply body filler in light coats while sanding in between, rather slapping on one thick coat and trying to carve your details back in that were lost under the filler. This particular pep model was good enough that it didn't need an abundance of filler to smooth it out. I hope this addresses your question !

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  5. Thanks for clearing that up :) Before I start my first predator pep model, I want to finish my freehand cardboard biohelmet. I was wondering do you know how give your helmets predator symbols similar to those seen in the scar and wolf predator. I am assuming you simply carve it into into the filler, with some sort of tool, but I'm not sure, thanks.

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  6. That´s really great ! This encourage me to make such a mask for my Shoei
    motorcycle helmet; it will be remouvable - Many, many thanks for your
    pictures it will help me a lot ! .... ;-))
    Greetings from " Gacek "

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