Real life Kabalite Helm

This thread will be the home of all info, pictures and project updates as I work to create a scale wearable of the below Kabalite Warrior helm.


The build will be a multi-step process starting with creating some full scale Blueprints, then making a Master copy with MDF, insulation foam etc, next the Master will be cast in Silicon and a Urethane hollow helm cast from the mold before finally being painted, lite up and made wearable.

If it all goes well then I could potentially use the mold to create copy's of the helm for sale should others want to skip the more difficult first build steps.

The obvious main issue with something like this is that the helms we paint are very small and as such they have some design flaws and sculpting issues that while not noticeable on the minis are quite obvious on a full scale replica. One of the biggest examples of this is all the rounded edges that would most likely come to a fine point.

Find bellow the potential front view of the Blueprint. There have been slight modifications to it to fix the issues mentioned above.

(Old image removed. See below)

How does it look to every one? Close enough to the original mini?

looks good, and i would like to get a helm once you are done

This sounds like a very cool project! I think the WIP blueprint looks good so far, especially like how you've cleaned up the eye/lens area. Did you have a color scheme in mind already? I'm also curious regarding the choice of urethane as a mask material, Did you ever consider resin at any point? I ask as I've actually helped my wife with a couple halloween masks she sculpted in clay that we cast in hydrocal and molded in latex. We have not attempted any other materials yet but would like to eventually and was hoping for a little insight regarding material selection. Regardless, we had a lot of fun and it was all her little art supplies lying around that gave me the inspiration to finally pursue my longtime, unfulfilled fascination with wargaming. Please do take lots of photos as you go along, I will be following this with great interest!

Vishuss wrote:

especially like how you've cleaned up the eye/lens area.

Thanks, this area took the most work so far thanks to how the models edges are actually rounded and have no points to the spikes bellow the eyes.

Vishuss wrote:

Did you have a color scheme in mind already?

Not particularly. I am partially temped to follow the same colors I use for my army which is a quite Dark Royal Purple with Green lenses but part of me is considering the standard black too.

Vishuss wrote:

I'm also curious regarding the choice of urethane as a mask material, Did you ever consider resin at any point?

It will be a Urethane resin slush cast through the mold to make the hollow helm. The limitation will be on what product I can use as you can't just head to a hardwear store here and buy it as its not as common as the States.

Orthien wrote:

I am partially temped to follow the same colors I use for my army which is a quite Dark Royal Purple with Green lenses but part of me is considering the standard black too.

Purple/green sounds pretty sexy to me!

Orthien wrote:

It will be a Urethane resin slush cast through the mold to make the hollow helm.

Ah, I believe I misunderstood exactly what kind of material urethane resin is. I was thinking it was quite rubbery, similar to latex but in fact it is quite a bit more rigid than that. After a little research that makes a lot more sense and sounds like it should make for an excellent mask.

Orthien wrote:

The limitation will be on what product I can use as you can't just head to a hardwear store here and buy it as its not as common as the States.

Haha! Possibly a little easier to get here but not quite that easy. We had to order most of our materials from the other side of the country, usually at exorbitant shipping rates

Anyways, best of luck to you, definitely looking forward to more!

Would you ever consider making an entire kabalite suit? Would this helmet creation work the method which entails thick bond stock paper w/schematics drawn on, and built up layers of paper mache, similar to how some people make Master Chief suits (I think that's the process, but I could be totally wrong).

A full suit would be quite an undertaking and not really something I would do right away. If the helm works well then I would be doing a few little projects before attempting anything of that size.

It would kind of work the same. Its just a different way of starting and different materials mostly. The main difference is they need to build it all in 3D software first which requires more detailed images than what I can get for the mini's helm. With my method I will also be able to alter features on the master as I see fit before the final castings where a last minute change on the pappakura models may require a reprint/assemble.

Here we have the current WIP shot for the side elevation. There is some tidy-up to do on it and it still does not quite match the front elevation completely but it will give you an idea of how it looks.
I have a feeling these helms will be very unforgiving on the nose.

(Old image removed. See below)

I am still trying to work around the irregularity in the two images. Seems I just need to sit down with the mini in hand and freestyle something up.

Here is the two beside each other with reference lines to show how nothing lines up.

(Old image removed. See below)

The one facing us is tilted forwards. You'll have to tilt the sideways helm to the left slightly to get them to line up.

How have I been staring at this for days and not noticed that.

You sir have just made my hours of headach look very silly.

Thank you.

Its been a while since I started this thread and its probably time for an update.

After realizing what was wrong with the last images and deciding I wasn't happy with what I had done to that point I started fresh.

Once I was back from holiday I got hold of the camera myself this times so I could take the pictures as I wanted.

Taking piles of photos I started the process again this time using Inkscape to get the lines accurate and smooth. With the front and side views done I started the process of aligning the two and editing to make the helm resemble the form it would take in real life.

Here below is the surrounding views all polished and matching perfectly. I am not 100% sure on the eyes as those took a bit of work and still didn't seem quite right.

Any critiques on making this more like the model before I scale them up?

Hopefully this weekend I will print a test negative on cardboard as to figure out how the heads actually going to come in and out.

I am very excited to see the progress on this Helm

Looks great so far!

put razorblades in the helmet's horns (or knives, of um... what ever) XD

The original helm shown in my previous post is the helm as designed, which un-suprisingly is made for the Dark Eldar skull structure which is slightly narrower front to back than a human head. The helm is also designed to be a tight fit all around which doesn't give room for padding and any joins I may need to make down the sides.

I have tinkered with my plans further to increase the helms size a little, extend the back out and bring the eyes closer so I can still see in it while keeping the overall look with some creative editing.

Here is the new, made for human helm.

the designs are looking great, i rather like the detail you have on it.

As the guys in chat know, I have been tweaking my Blueprint further after doing a full printout and considering the mechanics of the actual build and final helm. I have added sectional lines for where the helm is to break in half as well as tabs for the Blade connections and sections for the mdf subframe to assist in shaping. I have also altered the thickness of some sections very slightly so they can easily be made out of available mdf thicknesses.
Finally I also made a few additions and corrections to the helm shape itself.

Here is the revised print I will be working off.



As of tonight I will be picking up the mdf and some supplies and as soon as I have free time and some decent weather I can finally start on actual physical work and get to posting pictures.

I can't wait to see the results of your work. This looks like it's going to be awesome

I have finally managed to spend a weekend working on the helm.

This is the progress after 5 hours work on Sat(+3 hours of glue drying)
Technically the first image is from the first cut that I scrapped for being the wrong thickness of mdf, but I did not take one of the new cut and the shape hasn't changed at all just the width.





And for 2 hours on Sunday(+3 more for glue drying)



I still have a few more sections to add in mdf, then the jaw line and underside of jaw to add with Styrene before I can begin adding foam and shaping.
Next week is our own mini con, Armaggedon so I am unlikely to get much time to do more work but hopefully I can get a few hours to finish the mdf work.

Yay for progress! Off to a great start.

I can't wait to see more.

Was hoping it would be wearable : (

Khain mor wrote:

Was hoping it would be wearable : (

It's mentioned in the thread that It will be. This is the master before he makes a mold and recasts in urethane resin.

Khain mor wrote:

Was hoping it would be wearable : (

Eye beat me too it.
The final result will indeed be a hollow, wearable helm but it would be impossible or at least very improbable to make a hollow helm with the kind of curves this will have right from the beginning.

More progress photos.

Day 3 saw 5 hours put into mostly the front half but I also did a piece for the back that wasn't fitted. I also brought a Dremel which with the sanding head has made the concave curves much easier to get looking nice.



Day 4 again saw 5 hours on the job sans glueing. This time I fitted the piece cut on day 3 to the back and added the flat under-chin panels with 1.5mm plasticard.




The halfs slipped a little from the clamps holding them so they are not lining up 100% perfect in these shots but they give you a good impression of the whole.



On day 5 I didn't have a lot of free time so I spent an hour wrapping the two halves in clingwrap and masking taping the whole thing to get a test fit of the final product.
Heres me wearing the test shell.




I also started work on the blades which look fantastic and will hopefully be able to do a lot more on them this coming weekend and get pictures up after that.

very nice work so far, and GREEEEEEENNNNNNNNNN LLAAAAANNNNNTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEERRRRRNNNNNNNNNN SHIRT!!!