Cardboard Ironman Helmet

Sorry for the lack of pictures, this is my first project. To make up for it, I will give extra detailed instructions on what I did and all the problems I encountered. Here is the template

file:///Users/eddie/Downloads/Templates/iron%20man%20helmet.pdf

Only cut out the colored parts

-scissors

-cardboard(I used amazon old packages) -Hot glue gun w hot glue sticks(Super glue could work) -Glue stick -Cloth Mesh(I got mine from an old back pack) -Matte Primer Spray -Plastic from a bottle or action figure box

First, if you have a relatively small head(like little kid small), print the template at around 90-95 percent of its usual size. If you have a medium head print 100 percent. If you have a square or bigger head(or lots of hair) print between 100-105-110 percent. Then roughly cut out the template and glue it onto the cardboard. Try avoiding spots where the box was folded if possible. If the box has a rough and smooth side glue onto the smooth side. Then cut out the template after the glue dries. I roughly cut mine out the did the little cuts over a trash can.

Carefully peel off the paper so all you have left is the cardboard. If you want you can label the back with a marker since that wont be visible when the helmet is assembled. Instead of gluing, take masking, painters, or the scotch tape that is meant for paper to assemble the helmet. Do the face plate separate from the helmet for now(pages 1-3). Only assemble pages 1-6 for now. You can still cut out the rest of the pages to get it out of the way. Now tape the faceplate onto the helmet on the top sides, left and right chin parts, and the middle forehead cover.

Hot glue the inside of the main helmet where needed. Put an extra piece of cardboard on the forehead strip to stable it. You can also super glue the folds and crevices. For the faceplate I would recommend super gluing the crevices. I did not have super glue so I just covered the inside of the face plate with hot glue. The problem with this is it takes forever to dry and makes the helmet very heavy. Put just enough hot glue in between the faceplate and helmet to hold it in place but still make sure you can cut if off without ruining the helmet. Once everything is dry, remove the tape on the outside.

Now to make sure the face plate can sit nicely on helmet, we need to harden the helmet. This also makes it more durable. I did not do this on my current helmet but I did it on an old one and I liked it better. First brush water onto the helmet to soften it up a little bit. The use 2 parts pva and 1 part water and brush it onto the helmet. Let it dry and then add 2-3 more layers. Do this until you can knock on it and it kinda sounds and feels like plastic.

This is what I did on the black helmet you see in the pictures. You need mod podge. You just brush 3-4 layers of this onto the card board and it hardens the helmet while giving it a glossy look. After this, spray paint it with primer and then the colors you want. You can also hand paint it.

First, cut out the smaller piece from page 7 and glue a little bit under the back of the helmet. Now for the smaller piece on page 8, you can put it behind and under or just put it directly under. You can look at ironman pictures and toys to decide. Now cut out a round piece from the last page and glue it onto the inside of the helmet(where the big circle space is). Page 7/8 makes a big back piece that you put onto the the piece you just put inside the helmet. You can connect these with a stick or toothpick and super glue. What this does is it moves the back piece enough to get your head in. If you put the helmet on without it, you would notice a space near your neck that doesnt look right. Paint this when your done.

Take a piece of plastic and put the mesh onto it. You want these to be bigger than the eye holes so you have space to tape/glue the mesh onto the plastic and the that onto the faceplate. This gives a somewhat reflective look and the mesh makes your eyes less visible while still giving you the ability to see. And now your done! please give feedback on my instructions so I could do better next time.