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Flexible Masks - Plasti Dip - Nathan True Here is a basic tutorial on how to make helmets or masks from liquid rubber. They will be paintable, removable, and potentially any shape you want. I'd rate this as a Beginner level customization technique. My Juggernaut's helmet is what I used for this tutorial.
|  | Tools: These are the tools I used: - Performix Plasti Dip. I use the spray, but it also comes in a dip. I'm also sure there must be another brand of similar stuff, but I've only seen this one. You can get it at hardware stores (it's designed to coat tool handles).
- A very sharp razor or X-acto knife. It must be very sharp (i.e. a brand new blade) or it will tear the rubber instead of cutting it.
- Masking tape, to limit overspray.
|  | First you want to do any basic sculpting for what you want covered. You can see in the picture that I have sculpted the chest and the basic shape of the head. The head will have hair, but I left that for a later stage, as the plasti dip would get in the undercuts.
|  | Next, I covered the head with a layer of Super Sculpey. You can use any type of clay, as long as it is easily removed. I did not cure the Sculpey, as that would make it harder to get off and also because Plasti dip sticks to cured Sculpey (but not to uncured).
|  | You will now shape the Sculpey into the basic shape you want (if you just want a skin-tight face mask, you can skip the Sculpey steps). Remember that Plasti Dip will not mold details, so you'll have to just have a basic shape and add detail later. You can see here that I have left the face open, since I want the eye and mouth holes to touch the face when It's done. The Sculpey on top of the head is to allow space for hair.
|  | Now you place tape around the area to be covered and spray away.
|  | The number of coats you use will determine the thickness and pliability of the mask/helmet. I used four coats here, as I wanted a very smooth and somewhat rigid helmet. For a more fabric-like effect (like Batman's cowl and cape: COMING SOON!!), I would think two coats would be enough. |  | Now you cut off the tape carefully and peel back the mask (again, carefully). This picture is after 3 coats; I decided to do the fourth to get rid of that slight indent on the face. |  | You've peeled, now you dig off the Sculpey or clay to get back to your bare head. Now you can cut down the mask to your desired shape, even cutting eye holes, etc. Add whatever detail you like and paint away. |  | Here is the helmet after I had cut the eye and mouth holes and the basic shape. You will need to use an extremely sharp blade for this or you will have trouble getting small pieces off. You should also try to cut the hole in one try; if you have to go back and cut off small pieces, it stretches too much to get a good cut. |  | For this helmet, I needed bolts all the way around, so I put small nail heads around it. I also decided to use magnets to hold it on. I used three on the helmet (see red arrows) and three on the body. They are very small (same size as the nail heads) and not very powerful, but they keep the mask from flopping around. | | And there's the finished project. If you have any questions or comments, you can send me an email: ntrue@mail.utexas.edu. |
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