Template question

[IXMandalorianXI]

Figures that after years of procrastination, I get a 4-day to start my costume and TDH goes down haha.

So, over this last weekend, I printed off the WizardOfFlight templates and cut them out in poster board to get an understanding on how they all fit together. I immediately ran into a new problem. I have no idea how to fit all the pieces together. Some of them are obvious, and a few have corresponding letters, but especially regarding the cheekbone plates and other angled parts. I was unsure how to fit them all together. The result was...something like this (See attached thumbnail)


It may be hard to see, but the pieces don't appear to fit together properly. That made me realize that I have no idea how to angle the cheek pieces correctly. Is there a tutorial somewhere that discussion how to properly fit these pieces together using a template (this one or any template?) Or am I just over-thinking it, and it's simply a matter of cutting out extra tabs to each piece that can be glued and attached? I was also thinking of trying RafalFett's templates. Which brings up another question, is there a difference in ESB and RoTJ helmet templates? And to that end, if I'm not aiming for a 1:1 perfect replica (this is my first Fett Bucket,) will it make that much of a difference? If not, what is the best first timer template you would recommend?

Thank you in advance.

 

[ShortFuse]

For the first time I would use WOF templates, in my opinion.
https://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/antmans-second-cardboard-scratch-build-24821/
This tutorial may help answer some of your questions about construction.

 

[IXMandalorianXI]

For the first time I would use WOF templates, in my opinion.
https://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/antmans-second-cardboard-scratch-build-24821/
This tutorial may help answer some of your questions about construction.

Thank you, I have come across that thread at some point before, unfortunately with the recent Photobucket changes, all the images in that link are broken.

EDIT: Oh, I just realized that "Open Image in New Tab" takes me directly to the image. It's going to involve a LOT of open tabs, but I certainly can't complain, this is a great first step, thank you!

 

[Grimstuff]

Cheeks are definitely the hardest part of it, second only to perhaps the dome. The challenge comes from having to align the upper cheek to both the faceplate and the lower cheek at the same time, while both want to force the piece to curve differently to fit them. Yours honestly looks pretty alright as far as they go, though does the WOF have the 2 layers for the 'cheekbone' part like Rafal does? If so, you're forgetting that, but it mostly just functions as an alignment groove, you can get by without it.

But yeah, they're difficult to get perfect, especially when working with thicker materials that like to resist bending. But as long as the cheeks are indented to the proper depth and the curve is smooth enough, it'll work. You'll fix all those gap and alignment issues later on in the filling and sanding process.

 

[IXMandalorianXI]

Cheeks are definitely the hardest part of it, second only to perhaps the dome. The challenge comes from having to align the upper cheek to both the faceplate and the lower cheek at the same time, while both want to force the piece to curve differently to fit them. Yours honestly looks pretty alright as far as they go, though does the WOF have the 2 layers for the 'cheekbone' part like Rafal does? If so, you're forgetting that, but it mostly just functions as an alignment groove, you can get by without it.

But yeah, they're difficult to get perfect, especially when working with thicker materials that like to resist bending. But as long as the cheeks are indented to the proper depth and the curve is smooth enough, it'll work. You'll fix all those gap and alignment issues later on in the filling and sanding process.

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback, yes WOF has the dual layers. I'm glad to hear that small gaps like that can be easily adjusted for as the helmet moves to later stages. I was getting concerned that things like this now could have snowball affects later on in the process, especially when materials become more expensive. I'm excited to try and assemble this and seeing what it this first step looks like.