Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
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MagnaPrime
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Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
you have been a busy little bee there Iain
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
"Why Did I Start This!?" 
It seemed such a good idea all those moons ago when I first decided to do this helmet.
Ah well!Getting there and just started on the home stretch now but still got some way to go. It has turned into a real labour of love TBH.
The actual helmet itself is pretty well finished and really just needs a final undercoat to highlight any last blemishes or areas that need a bit extra work but I am not anticipating any major problems at this stage. I did put my thumb right through the helmet crest on the left side as I had sanded it down a bit too much but it was a pretty easy fix in the end. But!apart from that I reckon it's just about done.
The magnets that will help 'lock' the plumes into place in the helmet have been installed and they will match up to otheres which I will install in the plume 'runners'. One annoying thing is that the polarity of one of them is different to the other nine which is really bugging me but I just need to make sure it's opposite number has it's polarity the same.
I have started the final version of the plumes themselves as can be seen and the fiirst seven are in place. I worked out that each plume will have 64 seperate tufts of horse hair in them so only 121 tufts to go. There will be a slightly thicker tuft that will go between the main ones to add additional support and 'bulk' up the plumes but I did go "oh s**t" when I realised how many tufts of hair will be involved. Thankfully I will have more than enough horse hair to do the job.
So!There we go then. Hopefully not too long to go before this one is finished and ready to be unveiled at a troop.
Thanks for following this thread.
It seemed such a good idea all those moons ago when I first decided to do this helmet.
Ah well!Getting there and just started on the home stretch now but still got some way to go. It has turned into a real labour of love TBH.
The actual helmet itself is pretty well finished and really just needs a final undercoat to highlight any last blemishes or areas that need a bit extra work but I am not anticipating any major problems at this stage. I did put my thumb right through the helmet crest on the left side as I had sanded it down a bit too much but it was a pretty easy fix in the end. But!apart from that I reckon it's just about done.
The magnets that will help 'lock' the plumes into place in the helmet have been installed and they will match up to otheres which I will install in the plume 'runners'. One annoying thing is that the polarity of one of them is different to the other nine which is really bugging me but I just need to make sure it's opposite number has it's polarity the same.
I have started the final version of the plumes themselves as can be seen and the fiirst seven are in place. I worked out that each plume will have 64 seperate tufts of horse hair in them so only 121 tufts to go. There will be a slightly thicker tuft that will go between the main ones to add additional support and 'bulk' up the plumes but I did go "oh s**t" when I realised how many tufts of hair will be involved. Thankfully I will have more than enough horse hair to do the job.
So!There we go then. Hopefully not too long to go before this one is finished and ready to be unveiled at a troop.
Thanks for following this thread.
Iain
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
This is amazing! Great job!
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
Have had a bit of a set back in that the plumes as is are way too 'floppy' and there was just too much hair so I have started again (thankfully all the hair in the previous pictures can still be used with just a wee bit of work.
With the hair being too floppy I had a look about to see what could be used to stiffen them up a bit without going down the hairspray route (a bit too flamnable al la Micheal Jackson for me).
So!After a bit of research I came across common clothing starch (all you who have served in the forces will remember this stuff). The folllowing pic shows the top plume after a squirt or two of the starch , whilst the bottom one has been left alone and quite a dramatic difference with something so common in any household.
I have also sent off for some fabric stiffener (aparently damn good stuff as well but a bit more pricey than ordinary starch) and will see how that goes when it arrives.
I have watched the special features on the blue-ray boxed set over and over again when it highlights the Senate Guard and I just wish they went into how the plumes where done but I think I am on the right track (sort of!).
That's were I am at the mo - a bit dis-heartened but it will work out in the end.
With the hair being too floppy I had a look about to see what could be used to stiffen them up a bit without going down the hairspray route (a bit too flamnable al la Micheal Jackson for me).
So!After a bit of research I came across common clothing starch (all you who have served in the forces will remember this stuff). The folllowing pic shows the top plume after a squirt or two of the starch , whilst the bottom one has been left alone and quite a dramatic difference with something so common in any household.
I have also sent off for some fabric stiffener (aparently damn good stuff as well but a bit more pricey than ordinary starch) and will see how that goes when it arrives.
I have watched the special features on the blue-ray boxed set over and over again when it highlights the Senate Guard and I just wish they went into how the plumes where done but I think I am on the right track (sort of!).
That's were I am at the mo - a bit dis-heartened but it will work out in the end.
Iain
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
Sort of back to square one with this after the last attempt at making the plumes!
Anyhoo!On with the update.
Although the first attempt at making a plume mk.1 failed it was a valuable learning experience and the final versions are about to roll off the production line. Thankfully the hair used in the first attempt will not be going to waste and will be getting re-used to fill in the gaps in the final version of the two plumes (besides it cost too much to throw away and the vast bulk of whatever I have left has already been claimed by various parties and I'll keep some for any repairs that may be needed in the future).
First item on the agenda was to make the two bases/runners which all the tufts of hair will be placed to form the two plumes and after an hour with the trusty Dremel and various types of bits I ended up with two strips of black ABS with 33 holes in each and a lot of black plastic bits all over the place. With the additional tufts added to fill in the gaps and add some strength each plume will now have 67 individual tufts of hair. The two plumes when finished will weigh the better part of 2lbs so this is going to be a bit of a 'heavy' helmet at the end of the day. But! the way Amy Berry made the lid all of the weight will be spread across my shoulders so that should be ok!.
Next item on the agenda was to start off with a fresh batch of hair which presented its own problems as lots of individual strands wanted to play silly buggers and refused to line up alongside the rest of them which really started to get annoying very quickly until I exacted my revenge with a pair of scissors.
Once I got the tufts looking right it was just a simple case of folding/looping the tuft around and tying off the looped end with some black thread used for tying fishing flies! After that eached looped end was capped off with some black heatshrink which helped seal off the end and stop the thread coming loose. This sealed off end would then be placed in one of the holes in the ABS runners. After the last plume attempt I went out and got some top superglue instead of the crappy stuff I had gotten from the local pound shop a while ago and I certainly noticed the difference.
The leading edge tufts where angled to follow the contour of the helmet crest. The front tuft will also have a piece of ABS glued/plasti-welded to it which will allow it to grip the velcro I will install (hooked stuff inside the grooves and velvet stuff on the plumes). I had a quick go at this earlier on and it worked a treat and a damn sight better than those rare earth magnets I wanted to use originally (thanks to my neighbour Glen for the loan of the velcro).
As I went along the angle of the tufts where straightened but not so much as to help hold their shape each plume will have a slight 'upwards' angle (I noticed this in the helmets used in the films after much use of the pause button and pouring over all the reference pictures I have).
The last pic gives an idea as to how it will all look once I eventually get both plumes done. Still got a lot to do and both plumes will need to finally trimmed and shaped but I reckon it will be worth it in the end.
Thanks for looking and following this WIP thread..
Anyhoo!On with the update.
Although the first attempt at making a plume mk.1 failed it was a valuable learning experience and the final versions are about to roll off the production line. Thankfully the hair used in the first attempt will not be going to waste and will be getting re-used to fill in the gaps in the final version of the two plumes (besides it cost too much to throw away and the vast bulk of whatever I have left has already been claimed by various parties and I'll keep some for any repairs that may be needed in the future).
First item on the agenda was to make the two bases/runners which all the tufts of hair will be placed to form the two plumes and after an hour with the trusty Dremel and various types of bits I ended up with two strips of black ABS with 33 holes in each and a lot of black plastic bits all over the place. With the additional tufts added to fill in the gaps and add some strength each plume will now have 67 individual tufts of hair. The two plumes when finished will weigh the better part of 2lbs so this is going to be a bit of a 'heavy' helmet at the end of the day. But! the way Amy Berry made the lid all of the weight will be spread across my shoulders so that should be ok!.
Next item on the agenda was to start off with a fresh batch of hair which presented its own problems as lots of individual strands wanted to play silly buggers and refused to line up alongside the rest of them which really started to get annoying very quickly until I exacted my revenge with a pair of scissors.
Once I got the tufts looking right it was just a simple case of folding/looping the tuft around and tying off the looped end with some black thread used for tying fishing flies! After that eached looped end was capped off with some black heatshrink which helped seal off the end and stop the thread coming loose. This sealed off end would then be placed in one of the holes in the ABS runners. After the last plume attempt I went out and got some top superglue instead of the crappy stuff I had gotten from the local pound shop a while ago and I certainly noticed the difference.
The leading edge tufts where angled to follow the contour of the helmet crest. The front tuft will also have a piece of ABS glued/plasti-welded to it which will allow it to grip the velcro I will install (hooked stuff inside the grooves and velvet stuff on the plumes). I had a quick go at this earlier on and it worked a treat and a damn sight better than those rare earth magnets I wanted to use originally (thanks to my neighbour Glen for the loan of the velcro).
As I went along the angle of the tufts where straightened but not so much as to help hold their shape each plume will have a slight 'upwards' angle (I noticed this in the helmets used in the films after much use of the pause button and pouring over all the reference pictures I have).
The last pic gives an idea as to how it will all look once I eventually get both plumes done. Still got a lot to do and both plumes will need to finally trimmed and shaped but I reckon it will be worth it in the end.
Thanks for looking and following this WIP thread..
Iain
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
Great ideas!
I think my favorite part is what you said, "<version 1> failed it was a valuable learning experience..."
That's what we do...we keep trying things until we get them to work.
I think my favorite part is what you said, "<version 1> failed it was a valuable learning experience..."
That's what we do...we keep trying things until we get them to work.
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
Good to see your not giving up, especially after all you have done up to this point.
It will be cool to see this in full when it's all done as I've always had a soft spot for the senate guards.
It will be cool to see this in full when it's all done as I've always had a soft spot for the senate guards.
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
Agreed. It doesn't help me that everytime I walk past our stage on campus there are giant blue velvet curtians which I could so easily make into Senate Guard robes if campus ever does some changes.redpaint wrote: It will be cool to see this in full when it's all done as I've always had a soft spot for the senate guards.
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
JesterTDA wrote:Agreed. It doesn't help me that everytime I walk past our stage on campus there are giant blue velvet curtians which I could so easily make into Senate Guard robes if campus ever does some changes.redpaint wrote: It will be cool to see this in full when it's all done as I've always had a soft spot for the senate guards.
It's got be done!
Iain
Re: Senate Guard 'Plumed' Helmet (It Begins)
"The Hairy One Cometh"
Getting there slowly but surely.
The main work on the two plumes has been completed (these damn plumes have taken nearly as long as a Death Star build !) and with the filling in of the gaps that appear when the plumes are mounted on the helmet I am just about done!
Worked out that there was about 20 hours of at times 'very tedious and mind numbing' work that went into the two plumes so far and they are still not finished yet. At this rate the grand unveiling will take place at next years Memorabilia in November .
Anyhoo!The sacrifice of god knows how many poor wee horses in America will be remembered when this lid is finally worn at a troop (really wish I went for the broom bristles at times TBH!).
Still got a wee bit of work to do with them apart from the gap filling as the plumes still need to be stiffened and be trimmed to their final shape. No matter how much hair will end being trimmed this is going to be a heavy helmet.
The next bunch of pics are just to show what the two plumes look like when put in the two grooves that run along the length of the helmet crest just to give an idea of what the whole thing looks will eventually look like (By The Power of Blue Tack!) but mind that they are just in the grooves temporarily.
Definately going to go with the velcro option to 'lock' the two plumes into place as it will be so easy just to put the plumes into place and get them out again for storage and transport.
With the plumes on the final straight before completion that really just leaves the helmet to be painted but unfortunately that won't happen 'til at least next April as I have a holiday to save up for and some other things need to be attended to first but like I said earlier I'm nearly there with this one (at long last!).
Just need to give the lid a final going over to get rid of any wee imperfections that may still be hiding somewhere but that won't take too long.
Getting there slowly but surely.
The main work on the two plumes has been completed (these damn plumes have taken nearly as long as a Death Star build !) and with the filling in of the gaps that appear when the plumes are mounted on the helmet I am just about done!
Worked out that there was about 20 hours of at times 'very tedious and mind numbing' work that went into the two plumes so far and they are still not finished yet. At this rate the grand unveiling will take place at next years Memorabilia in November .
Anyhoo!The sacrifice of god knows how many poor wee horses in America will be remembered when this lid is finally worn at a troop (really wish I went for the broom bristles at times TBH!).
Still got a wee bit of work to do with them apart from the gap filling as the plumes still need to be stiffened and be trimmed to their final shape. No matter how much hair will end being trimmed this is going to be a heavy helmet.
The next bunch of pics are just to show what the two plumes look like when put in the two grooves that run along the length of the helmet crest just to give an idea of what the whole thing looks will eventually look like (By The Power of Blue Tack!) but mind that they are just in the grooves temporarily.
Definately going to go with the velcro option to 'lock' the two plumes into place as it will be so easy just to put the plumes into place and get them out again for storage and transport.
With the plumes on the final straight before completion that really just leaves the helmet to be painted but unfortunately that won't happen 'til at least next April as I have a holiday to save up for and some other things need to be attended to first but like I said earlier I'm nearly there with this one (at long last!).
Just need to give the lid a final going over to get rid of any wee imperfections that may still be hiding somewhere but that won't take too long.
Iain