After applying a total of three paper mache layers to the helmet and allowed it all to fully dry, I went to the store and bought some Celluclay (a paper mache mix needing only water, 1 lb box was about six dollars) instead of making my own paper mache pulp. I looked for a mannequin but couldn't find one, so I just bought a styrofoam cone and ball and glued them together to keep the helmet up. I had a mixing bowl and some tools to apply the mix. Here's a picture if you're wondering what the Celluclay stuff looks like:
I recommend a bigger bowl, but this was all I had and I didn't feel like going back out to the store so I just mixed little by little and applied globs and smoothed them out. I ended up abandoning the tools and just used my hands in some rubber gloves. I had to even out all of the places that were sloping unnaturally, and as a result the helmet gained some significant weight. I ended up using about half of the bag of Celluclay mix and this is what I ended up with:
With it being all uneven it seemed like a sanding nightmare after it dried, so I just dipped my hand in a bowl of water and smoothed it out as best as I could to facilitate with sanding after it dries. At this point I'm going to let it dry overnight because I had to use a lot more of the stuff than I would have needed if I had just assembled the skeleton cardboard layers with a little more care. With all of that aside, it's starting to look pretty damn cool if you ask me!
I added a second layer of paper mache. One thing I have run into is material warping. It may be that I'm using too much of the glue mixture, but I'm sure that if I had some sort of way to keep the inside braced (a mannequin head with my dimensions for instance) I could avoid this issue. For now, I'm just keeping an eye on the helmet as it's drying and occasionally putting some pressure with my hands on the parts that need to keep their shape. What is giving me the most trouble with movement is the line where the visor hole meets the mouthpiece hole.
I figured that some of the warping was being caused by gravity. I have the helmet standing on its own (no stand, mannequin, etc.) so the weight of the helmet is likely causing the material to bend while it is drying. Since I don't have a mannequin head or anything else for now, I just propped it up on a can of lysol spray (the tallest can I had) to prevent any pressure points for the next layers. When you are working on yours, keep warping in mind and try to have something in place to keep it from doing so.
Today I started with the first layer of paper mache. I hadn't done this sort of thing since I was in high school so I needed some brushing up. The most common recommendation I found was Elmer's Wood Glue mixed with a bit of water. I bought a newspaper and started cutting strips and dipping them in the mixture and spread them across all the outer surfaces of the helmet. I used smaller pieces around the visor and mouthpiece to slightly wrap inside the helmet to secure the pieces.
I'm going to let the first layer dry, I have no idea how long it will take, I went a little crazy with the glue so it could take a while. The plan is to do a few more layers of paper mache through the week and then make some paper mache pulp to even out all the mistakes I've made at the top curve of the helmet. And now, we wait...
When I made the basic shape of the helmet I did it knowing I would have to make adjustments as I got closer to finishing the skeleton. The idea was to make sure it could fit on my head with continual try-ons and it's good to be working with cardboard because all you need is a pair of scissors to add on or take off.
The next step was to fill in all the gaps with cardboard (as suggested by the link in the previous post). For the top of the helmet I just generalized the size of cardboard I would need and hot glue gunned one side to secure the piece and made adjustment cuts as I tried to size it to the skeleton.
In retrospect, I realize it would've been much easier to trace the outline with a piece of paper and then cut the cardboard along the outline. In the future, I will do it that way to save time and create a more natural curve at the top of the helmet. I assume (rather, hope) that I'll be able to fix it once I start adding the layers of paper mache and pulp.
Once I finished the top, I added more cardboard at a slight curve to cover the front of my chin and filled in the gaps at the front of the helmet. I used masking tape like before to temporarily secure the pieces and then went over the edges with the hot glue gun to keep it in place. I left a general opening where the visor will be.
I did a little cutting along the bottom because it was starting to look more like a Clone Trooper helmet in shape. It was a slightly angled cut to the back of the helmet. I just used some masking tape to hold that in place. For the fit I imagined how a motorcycle helmet would be shaped along the bottom and tried to cut it like that. It was a very slight angle, but if you cut off too much you can always add more cardboard and reshape. Trying it on several times after adjustments was necessary, and I learned it was even more important during the next step.
The next step involved using a marker to draw a general outline of where the visor was going to be and also the mouthpiece or whatever you want to call it. I would have used an exacto knife but I didn't have one on hand so I just found the sharpest knife I could and carved out the mouth area. Since there was already an area open for the visor, I just used some scissors to cut out the rest of the visor hole. I made adjustments as I did it and compared it to reference pictures (screenshots from the show) and this is what I came up with:
Not perfect, but it looks good enough to me! After trying it on once more I realized that I needed to make the helmet a little bit longer in the front only for fitting my face without having a full view of my head if someone were standing below me (something I rarely avoid since I'm tall), so I just shaped out some more cardboard and added a little bit to curve under the bottom of my chin. I'm not sure if that will take away from the realism of the helmet, but I figure I can make the mouthpiece area a bit longer if it looks too odd.
One problem I have run into so far (which may or may not be a problem) involved adding the cardboard at the top curve of the helmet. If I had used paper to make the cuts perfect from the beginning, then the helmet wouldn't be slightly lopsided. The center of the visor from the front view had to be moved slightly to the left due to this, but it looks fine once the helmet is on. Lesson learned.
It looks good at this stage and I'm very pleased with how it's turned out so far considering this is my first attempt at anything like this. I have a day off work tomorrow so I plan on starting the first couple layers of paper mache. The next post will cover how that goes.
My first costume is going to be of the White Ranger from "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", a show that I grew up watching obsessively. Since you're here, you likely know what the White Ranger looks like, but for those who don't:
Upon doing research, I discovered a tutorial by someone who had built their own (Link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Power-Rangers-Helmet/). Spending some time on it last night I decided I couldn't get it just like that tutorial, so I've decided to take it in a fairly different direction. So far, I have made the most basic skeleton of the helmet. The most time consuming aspect of it has been continually resizing it to fit my egg head. In order to allow for constant fitting, I've decided to leave the bottom loose for now until I can figure out how to reshape it later.
The positive side of this is that I'm working with cardboard (from a cereal box) and masking tape prior to using a hot glue gun to stick the pieces together for good. Here is the first photo of my mistake:
I thought it would be a good idea try and get it below my jaw, but of course that didn't allow me to try it on very easily (beginners mistake). If it's hard to put on now, it'll be hard to put on once it's got whatever compounds I decide to use to make it a hard helmet. I cut that vertical jaw loop and thought it would be easier to make an open loop similar to the forehead loop.
This allowed for the bottom horizontal loop to go around my chin so I could try it on as I finished the skeleton. My plan is to make adjustments later to make it shaped more like the show-used helmet.
Below are pictures after I added the new loop for ease of access. The second picture is a rear view. This is going to take a lot of tweaking as the process moves forward, and certainly a lot of time because I'm a novice at this. My hope is that by sharing my mistakes, it might help save you time when you decide to craft your own.
My name is Pete and I created this blog to keep track of the progress of my first attempt at a hand-made Power Ranger costume. I was inspired by all of the Lexington Comic Con 2013 attendees who had their own, and upon online research I discovered that this was quite an expensive hobby (if you paid someone else to make it for you). As such, I decided to give it a go and allow others to see how it's done so that others may be able to replicate the process for their own enjoyment.
As I said, I am 100% new at this and there are going to be bumps and rough spots along the way, but that's how all of life's lessons are learned: trial and error. I hope that you enjoy the pictures and tutorials and are in some way able to apply them to your own Power Ranger costume in the future. Good luck to you, and especially to me because I'm gonna need it!
