PredatoRob

That’s the Hero helmet fresh from the platers. All the hero props; weapons, gauntlets, spear, disc, etc. were all gold/copper plated. That picture was taken during production. *Note the stunt head in the background they used as a base to sculpt the helmets for the different predators.

That’s one thing I dislike about Rustoleum aerosols; the spray tips they have, have an annoying tendency to spatter. Which just makes more work for you. Krylon, in my opinion, doesn’t suffer from this - only it’s just a finickier coating. Easier contamination, etc. Anyway, beautiful work man. I think it turned out great. I’ll definitely be checking out some “how-to” videos on YouTube, because I have no idea how to wet sand properly.

I was told this P2 “stunt” helmet was cast in fiberglass straight from the SWS mold. The helmet is fairly large next to the original Predator stunt helmet. There’s no warpage, and the detail is super sharp. However, if you’re considering making a 1:1 Hero helmet, it was much larger than the stunt. The stunt was sculpted over a mask for someone who was 6ft plus. The Hero was sculpted over a much larger mask for someone over 7ft tall. I’d recommend getting as many screen shots and reference pics as you can. Also, the Hero helmet has sharper details and is much more refined. Trust me, I’ve spent the past 20 years pawning over the P2 Hero. Good luck with your search and your build.

I find the USB powered pump questionable. The last thing you want is for it to crap out on you mid-painting. Also, you'd have to find an adapter to plug it into a wall socket if it'll run with the cord in it. I don't trust it. Especially for long sessions of painting. And not a lot of people have random USB ports laying around. But if it works for you, good on ya.

I know it's been a minute since I've posted anything, but I've been drawing my ass off when I have the time. They're mainly just sketches and nothing I'd consider a 'finished' drawing. I've got quite a bit of art board to use up (I really don't like drawing in sketchbooks - it's too awkward for me) but I'll be sure and post it all when I'm done. Shouldn't be too long.

Now that looks incredible. Just take your time with it; remember, I never intended it to be an actual, physical 3-D piece. Sculpting, for me, is like problem solving. And I think you've cracked the code on bringing the helmet into the physical world. I've been drawing this helmet for the past few weeks, and I solely based it off your sculpture work, but I'm never one to not mess with something; including the unusually dramatic way he takes off his helmet. But damn, dude.... I don't think there's anything I can do to help. You seem to have this on lockdown. *Also, thanks for the heads-up on the Steve Wang tools. I bought a set years ago and I can't find them. So, I purchased another set. They're really great tools, and I remember using them a lot.

You are correct, sir. The head(s) were sculpted without the mandibles in both movies. The bio covered those areas because that's just the way it was sculpted and why it looked so tightly fit. In my opinion, I think they were trying to hide as much as they could with the design of the helmet that you wouldn'tve thought there appendages under there. Now, in Predator 2, when Harrigan lays out the Predator, and goes to pull off his mask, they simply put the helmet over the puppet head; which is why you can see his crown poking out from the sides. Now the head KPH wore in P2 that was made for the helmet, the helmet covers his entire crown. In fact, in some behind the scenes footage, you can see they glued dreds in-between the valleys of his crown to make it look more dramatic when wearing the helmet.

This has always been a puzzle for me. With mixed parts from different makers it's hard to determine the actual scale. Different makers of either helmets or heads, it's kind of up in the air. And I believe that each individual interprets what is an actual "fit" as far as helmet-to-head goes is personal aesthetic opinion. The orginal helmet fit like a glove on the original Predator head by completely covering the crown and being tight up against the "start" of the crown/jawline. The Predators head was large and exaggerated, and meant to fit the head of someone who was 7'2". In some pictures the head looks smaller than you'd think, and in others' it looks huge.

Perfect!!!

Not yet I'm afraid. I've been focusing on The Juggernaut currently, but working 7 days a week (we had someone quit) I get very little time to work on stuff. It's like every job I've ever taken to fund my work; i.e. materials and such, ends up taking most of - it not all - of my time. Startin' to piss me off. But I have started to replenish my paint arsenal.

Yeah, it's got a lot of detail and still has the chin piece - but I just don't understand how it got so warped. When I painted it, I pretty much just threw the kitchen sink at it and hoped for the best. That's an old picture of it, but I'm surprised how well the paint has held up over the years. Many, many years. And to be honest, if you asked me how I did it, I couldn't tell you. I don't remember a single thing I did to achieve the finish.

I got that from Scott; aka "TheMortalImmortal" from the old Hunters Lair. I got it for free because it was one of Dan Bravo's P2 helmets (Scott had other things he wanted to paint, and didn't wanna dick with it) and the helmet itself was so extremely warped. I mean badly. So, I did what I could. I added the brow accent, and had to putty, smooth, and sharpen other areas - especially the tri-laser housing. But, the unique thing about it, is that it has the full under-chin area - complete with the breathing holes scored in it. Which surprised me, because the helmet had been re-cast so many times most of the texture on the helmet had been lost. From certain angles it looks good, but from other angles the warpage is awful. I still have it. It was a great practice piece. It took me two attempts to get it where it's at in the picture. This is what it looks like now under low light - *Edit - I can't remember if the chin holes were scored or not. But, I drilled out the holes anyway. I still need to install the lasers I bought years ago.

I'm not a huge fan of the designs of the Emissary Predators. They felt to me like they were like, "Hey, let's do something different just to be different." Neither designs work for me because I feel that the sculpts are too stylized; and look more like great sculpts, rather than "in-universe" characters. I feel bad for the artists that sculpted those just to have them thrown on the cutting room floor... but they were throw-away-characters in a throw-a-way movie that never should've never, ever been made.