Something I've been kicking around for a few months is a replica of one of the Emergency Helmets seen on the bridge of the Nostromo. Prop Summit has an exhaustive look at the origins of the helmet and what it was originally constructed from:

http://www.propsummit.com/viewtopic.php?t=1478&start=0

Armed with that knowledge (and a few Aspen Beers) I began making my own version. It should be noted that these two images represent probably the midpoint in the build. I have a few of the beginning, and I will continue to document as I go, but here's where I'm at right now:



And a view of the detail on the top:



Lots of work to go (including redoing the red cap on the front), and then even more weathering on top of that. Still, it's a start!

(Eagle-eyed Marines may notice an FNG-style IR eye piece for a USCM helmet in the far right corner of the second picture. That's another project on the backburner...)

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

Oh man! Great start!

You just have to let us know what that helmet started out as!


(I pretty much considered myself the King of the "budget/found-item/innovative" builds around here... but it looks like I might have to hand my crown over to you Christian! )

Kevin

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Thanks Sarge! Your builds have been a huge inspiration to me.

My Emergency Helmet began as a Goodwill find:



It fits my head but somehow I think it might have been a kids helmet of some sort. The top is made out of two milk jugs, cut so that all I was using was a "right angle" made from the corner without the handle. I'll save the handles for a Cyberman costume



Here's the milk jug parts glued on the top. Not a very impressive start, but that's what it was! The bottom face guard is made of clear plastic and leather, and sadly I don't have any photos of how that came together. I've used black craft foam to hide the bottom portion of the original helmet. It was either that or saw it off, and that seemed like a lot of work. The red plug hides most of it anyway.



These are some of the bits I used to make the red plug on the front and some of the details on the top of the helmet. Just last night I reworked the plug using red wax to more accurately capture the rubberized feel of the original. Other details on the top of the helmet were made from rubber furniture bumpers, industrial sewing machine parts, and caps off Target Pharmacy prescription bottles (I'll post a photo of these soon).

So the details are coming together, but the helmet isn't 100% accurate. This is fine, but it catches me off guard when I go to add a detail and discover I don't have the surface area for it, or the parts aren't lining up right. In the end I think that detailing and weathering will go a long way towards making this helmet come to life.

My explanation for the difference is that this is a WY Emergency Helmet from the 2160's and the design had changed a bit since the days of the Nostromo. In the end I think that detailing and weathering will go a long way towards making this helmet come to life.

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

More progress! I remade the red plug on the front using wax to finish it off and I think it looks much, much better. I also did a first pass with some black to start bringing out the details:



A view from behind. The four plugs are covers from Target Pharmacy prescription bottles. They are similar in the shape to what the original helmet had, but I like the instructional text on them as it adds some nice "real world" detailing.



From the side with a first pass at aging the helmet. As I add more detail I will continue to paint and distress to really build up the character.

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

I really like this, good work Christian!

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"Awww, someone tell me that's a boot!

It's a boot!"

III drops

that's frickin' awesome dude! i wish i had a tenth of your talent, nice work

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ever wondered what the colour blue tastes like......?

Thanks guys! Just wait until you see the "diorama" I have planned for this

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

I love your tutorials!

Awesome work!!

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Lt. Melissa L. Klassen, ALG
AL Colonial Admin. - Executive Officer (XO) -- 2021-2022
RCCM | Royal Canadian Colonial Marines - Commanding Officer (CO) -- 2021-2022

Read the AL Charter Rules & Regulations: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i3gd9QUyIqI_6rfk8kpxspbKU-JT4MBAjLPxfCkvGJ8

I'm constantly amazed at the stuff you can create out of nothing. Excellent work!!

Charlie

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"There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated. On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money."

very cool, now if only I hadn't thrown out my old bike helmet......

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" I'm anispeptic, frasmotic, even compunctuous to have caused you such pericombobulation."

Private
UKCM
42 rgmt, 1st Bttln,
Hadrian's Wall.

Thanks guys! I've done some more work on it so there will be more photos shortly.

The biggest differences between my attempt and the real SA helmets is the shape of the "forehead" (mine is the Christophe Lambert of Emergency Helmets), and the, um, chin part. The original helmets do not have any chin protection, with the double face shields "floating" in front of the face. It looks fantastic that way, but offers little protection from the vacuum of space. Of course they aren't wearing pressure suits anyway so there you go...

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

More progress on the helmet:





Always more to do, but I'm trying to document as I go. Next up: stripes on the crest, more weathering all around, and some water slide decals.

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Not exactly related to the the Emergency Helmet, but I also just made a copy of Ripley's watch from Alien. The watch and strap castings both came from Noble (with Stephen210's involvement). I printed out and laminated the screen faces, painted the buttons, and added the orange backing. The correct backing should be flexible orange rubber with a lip running around the outside, but I improvised with a piece from an orange water bottle holder made of closed-cell foam. It is comfortable to wear and feels like a logical material choice.

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More progress! Decals, stripes and weathering of a few different varieties.







I need to attach the red plug permanently, and better integrate the upside down GENTEX clear visor on the front. Removing the "slider ridge" bits on the edges will help. It should only take a second with a pair of pliers as they are just glued onto the visor.

Nearly done, then I just need to build the chair and console to display it on!

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That's looking great! I really like the Nostromo watch as well. I tried making one; the orange backing was super annoying and I switched projects out of frustration.

How are you doing the decals?

Charlie

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"There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated. On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money."

With the exception of the WY wings logo, these are all water slide decals from model kits. There are airplane, helicopter, motorcycle and Klingon battleship decals on here (the Klingon one is the red rectangle above the letters ES on the front of the mohawk in the last photo). The WY wings and the stripes are printed out in color on standard paper, glued down with white craft glue and then sealed with the matte spray. I thought about doing all the decals that way (and thereby matching the screen used helmet a bit closer), but it is a pain and honestly I had fun mixing and matching bits.

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Ah. Awesome. Great job on the wings then; I couldn't tell they weren't the same as the others. Is that how you did the EMERGENCY HELMET part as well or are those white vinyl cut letters?

Charlie

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"There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated. On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money."

Yes, the EMERGENCY HELMET text was just printed out (you can see how it's just a piece of paper in the first post). I then covered the entire front piece in red wax (taken from a couple of individually wrapped Babybel cheeses, my kids love them!), blending it in around the text. Originally I'd covered over the text and planned to glue a new piece of paper over the top, but I noticed it was blending quite well so I scraped it back off and worked it until it looked alright!

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Nice! I love those Babybel cheeses too. I would have never thought to use that!

Charlie

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"There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated. On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money."

I read Adam Savage's account of weathering his Nostromo helmet using wax, so I thought "what the hell" and gave it a try. It will only work on display props of course, but it does give a smooth finish.

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

check this out, looks a little like the helmet
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ANTIQUE-MARX-SPACE-HELMET-BUCK-ROGERS-FLASH-GORDON-OUTSTANDING-COND-/380660020125?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58a11af39d

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Rob Slater
A08/TQ2.0.42136E1

Holy fuck dude...the shit you come up with lol. You should have been a prop maker. Waaiiitttt....are you a prop maker???

Rob: over on Prop Summit they identified a lot of the original components (I think it's the same helmet base used in TRON), but I couldn't afford any of them! The helmet you've posted does look close, but I'd feel awful messing with it if it was actually from an original production. Also I can't afford it

Matt: Prop building keeps me sane.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.
All work and no props makes Christian a dull boy.

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Very cool build. Thanks for sharing!

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"A writer needs a pen, a painter a brush, and a filmmaker an army." - Orson Wells.

http://www.rookscastle.com
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Thanks Russ! I may actually be making a second one now, my bridge looks funny with just one. Every 'Tom' needs a 'Jerry' after all!

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