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| Materials Needed: * Fiberglass cloth * Polyester or Epoxy Resin *Polyester or Epoxy Hardener * Hanger Wire * 5 min. Epoxy *Tag Board * E-Z Craft Foam *Plastic Jems * Silver and Gold Fabric Paint *Feathers *Silk Flowers *Silver and Gold Spray Paint * Clear Acrylic Spray Paint * Craft Glue *Acid Brushes *Plastic Cups |
| Making Valkyrie Helmet sounds more difficult than it really is. There are a lot of small parts and details that take time but only because they require drying time rather than actual labor. The labor is the easy part! To start off with You need to make a pattern for the helmet itself out of tag board. I choose tag board because it is thick enough to hold fiberglass but thin enough that its very flexible to work with and can be manipulated into shape after the fiberglass has dried. Be sure the make the pattern big enough to fit around your head comfortably! You can use almost any design you like so don't think you have to limit yourself to the stereo typical helmet look. I choose to keep my design simple due to the decorations I would be adding later on. |
| For fiberglass I normally use 3.0 - 3.4 oz. weight which is more on the lighter side of fiberglass but works great for smaller projects. Cut the fiberglass cloth into squares big enough to cover the ENTIRE Helmet and lay it over the tag board cut out. Be sure to lay down some news paper or protection over whatever table your using because fiberglass DOES NOT COME OFF once it is dried. I would also HIGHLY suggest doing this outside because fiberglass STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN! Now get some acid brushes and a plastic cup ready! Using the instructions on the back of the resin can, pour some resin into the cup and add the proper amount of hardener. I always mix more than I need for the project just in case because this stuff dries in a matter of minutes and if you run out in the middle of the project you won't have enough time left to mix some more! Coat the fiberglass cloth with the resin liberally until the cloth is saturated with the resin. Don't be afraid to slap a lot onto the cloth because your going to have to add a second coat of resin later anyway and this will help cut down the time. Leave it to dry and if you want a more glass like finish you can add more coats of resin once the first coat dried completely. |
| Now your piece is dry right? Okay now take your creation and cut the pattern out of the fiberglass! You can see your pattern underneath it, its now permanently apart of the cloth now. So follow your pattern and cut away access cloth and loose strands. Time to make it fit your head! I used simple hanger wire from my closet to make the inside brace. Measure out some wire the same length as your helmet and then using common craft glue, glue it to the inside of your helmet. It makes it easier if you also lay down some extra tag board on the inside to keep the wire flat and secure. Once that is dry you can bend it to form the shape of your head! To make it a bit more comfortable around your forehead I recommend that you add some E-Z craft foam to cushion the weight of the helmet. Simply cut out the foam in the same shape as your helmet and glue it to the inside. Once that is done you can paint and decorate your creation. After laying down the initial base color of your helmet I suggest giving it a spray coat of clear acrylic paint to five it a high gloss finish and a chip resistant coat! |
| Now that your creation is painted you need to add some personal flare and taste. You can use ANY decorations you wish for your helmet. I envision my Valkyrie to be a Celestial Goddess like character who is both beautiful and delicate but incredibly powerful and wise. So for my helmet I choose flowers and plastic Jewels found at any craft store. I used fabric paint to glue the jewels on and also to add some detail to the wings on the back end of the helmet. By tradition Valkyries always wear a feathered headdress with wing on the back on the head. Using this concept I built upon it and added my own personal touch to the traditional Valkyrie concept. Your imagination is the limit for what you can do with this concept so have fun with it and add your own elements to it as you see fit! You may run into a few bumps along the way to making this but the key to success is to experiment and come up with your own ways of crafting. |
