SIGNALIS COSPLAY
ARAR Hard Hat
By Kingcosmore
Index:
1 - Prototyping
2 - EVA shaping
3 - Colouring
Disclaimer:
This design is open sourced and I am happy for anyone to use it for personal reasons but DO NOT RESELL.
This document is not meant to be a full tutorial. There may be mistakes and inconsistencies but I will do my best to make things clear. I highly recommend experimenting as this is for someone with a ~58cm crown, you may find your method is better than mine.
And before anyone says anything, I got confirmation from one of the creators of Signalis, Yuri Stern, that it is in fact a Hard hat.
If you do end up making your own ARAR Hard Hat from this document, it would help me out if you credit me @Kingcosmore
Anyways, Happy reading.
Stage 1: Prototyping
1.1 - Grab References
The first step to start working on any cosplay is to grab references of what you are basing your work on. Whether that being an accurate replica or inspiration.
For this helmet I have found 2 references which provide all the information we need.
We see that it has 2 straps, one in front of the ear and behind the ear. Keep note of this, it will be important later.
We also begin to see the shape of the helmet. We can create a draft of it onto a scrap piece of cardboard.
1.2 - Prototyping with disposable material
For me, I use scrap cardboard from an ikea furniture set but any (relatively) stiff material works.
Before you start marking out and cutting, I would recommend you read first as I have a full measurements guide is provided at the end of Chapter 1.3
I had no real idea of how big I needed to make it so I began to draw it out using a marker and a ruler.
I just followed the shape of the helmet and tried my best to keep the right proportions. As you can see, I made a small mistake when marking the angle but it’s not an issue. It’s only a prototype.
Because it is symmetrical, once you have one side done, it is best to cut it out and use it to trace for the other side which is what I did.
Once you have both sides cut, I would recommend sticking it together with some tape so that the markings of details you put will be even.
1.3 - Details on Prototype
I used a ruler to mark out any important creases, lines and details using the reference. For round objects, use any household objects to help. For the large curve, I just used the round corner of my guitar.
By the end of the marking phase, you should generally see it starting to look like the reference image.
Just an important note is that I did redo my prototype as I found the first attempt turned out too small. All following information is for the 2nd size. (For a 58cm head)
In the next page, you will find all the sizes and measurements I made. Feel free to copy that.
1.4 - Make sure it fits
A short but important step is to make sure that the prototype fits. There is no point in making it out of EVA, just to realise it doesn’t fit.
Anyways, use some tape to hold it into shape and see how it fits. It will sit a bit awkward for now but as long as it’s generally the right size, it should be fine.
Best thing to look out for is if it just about covers the top of your ear. If it doesn’t, I would look at increasing the width. If it barely doesn’t make it, don’t worry too much, the straps will pull it down a bit but use your own judgement here.
Once you are happy, well done, you’ve completed most of the planning.
Stage 2: EVA Shaping
2.1 - Trace and cut EVA foam
Take the tape off. You will only need a single plate since you’ll flip it for the other side to keep things even.
I use 5mm High Density EVA foam.
Place the prototype onto the EVA foam and a good tip is to keep the long flat side against the edge of the EVA foam if possible. It just reduces uneven cutting errors. Anyways, trace the edge of the prototype onto the EVA foam with a pen (I do not recommend using markers as they are thick which may make it harder to follow the edge exactly).
Once that is done, use a SHARPENED box cutter or x-acto knife to cut the EVA foam, following the line.
Make sure that the blade is sharp either by using a new blade or a knife sharpener. EVA foam will very quickly dull your blade.
← It should look like this once done.
One important thing I did before moving onto the next step was bevel one of the pieces at 45 degrees all the way along the long side. This will make it significantly easier to put together and have the sharp bend like the reference image. You can use a Dremel to make it easier.
2.2 - Flattening the EVA
If you got the EVA foam from a roll. You may see that the pieces naturally bend like mine. This is normal. To flatten it, use a heat gun, being careful to not burn yourself, heat the EVA foam. We will heat treat it later but this is to just make it flat. Go over the entire piece and then place it under a flat object. I used my cutting mat with a small weight like a water bottle. Let it cool and see if it is flat. You may need to repeat a few times and maybe even fold it the opposite way to try to promote it to cool flat.
2.3 - Measure details and cut
For the details, I used 1mm thick EVA foam.
Although in the prototype we drew some lines to be very thin, I wanted to give my “edges” some thickness so I made them about 1mm wide which will mess up a bit with the measurements of things but generally, you can just eyeball it so that it looks good.
Anyways, cut out the details using measurements of your prototype and adjust where necessary. I recommend not cutting extra lengths of flat pieces that will hang off the edge. It will be easier to get it flush if you cut it after you glue.
I recommend always using a ruler. It will help you keep straight lines.
For the rivets (circles), I used my pen lid to make indentations into the EVA foam and cut it out with a knife.
By the end you should be left with:
12 parallelograms
8 thin strips
2 short 30mm wide strips
1 LONG 30mm wide strip
6 big buttons
6 small buttons
2 short thin strips
2.4 - Glueing details
When using contact cement, I highly recommend using a squeeze bottle to prevent spillage. It’s generally just a lot easier to manage.
This is the stage where I would glue the two large plates together. The previous bevel cut that you made should help it bend sharply.
When applying contact cement, put a small thin layer evenly on both sides of what you are sticking and what you are sticking it on. The less you put, the faster it will dry and stick. A good way to tell if you have enough is to use the light to see if there is a shine on every part you are wanting to glue.
Then the blueprint in 1.3 to help you place where you need things. I would start with the centre 30mm strip first, as anything else that hangs off can be cut flush.
2.5 - Heat treating
To get the EVA foam ready for the next stage which is priming, you will need to heat treat the piece. If your helmet is too flat, you can also use this chance to sharpen the crease down the middle which will give it a smaller angle. I had to do that so don’t worry if yours doesn’t look like the images yet.
Once you are happy with the shape, go over the entire piece with a heat gun to heat treat it. This will close up the pores in the EVA foam and make it so it doesn’t completely soak up the primer.
2.6 - Adding Straps
Hopefully by now, it should start to look good. Now, you can skip this step and do it last or do it now, it really doesn’t matter. I did it now since I wanted to check if it fit on my head.
I didn’t really measure where the straps would attach to, I just placed it somewhere where it felt right.
I also recommend you use small buckles so that you can take it off and put it on easier. It’s not necessary but helps sell the image a bit better. Especially when referring to the reference.
Once you’ve adjusted for the correct size, try it on with the wig (if you are planning on wearing it for a cosplay that is) since the extra floof will make it slightly tighter.
Stage 3: Colouring
3.1 - Priming
(If you added the straps, be sure to cover it with masking tape so that it does not get tainted by the primer)
After heat treating, take your helmet to a well ventilated place to begin the priming process. I hung mine by the strap on my washing line outside.
When priming, spray the entire helmet over with a single coat, wait around 15-20 minutes or until it dries. Repeat this process 3 times, black pieces like the rivets above should begin to turn to the colour of the primer (mine primer is white so black to white).
3.2 - Main coat
Once the primer fully dries, spray paint the entire mask in a metallic colour. (or do what I did which was a single coat of light grey paint first to give it a nice colour before lightly going over with a metallic shine)
Make sure you wear a respirator when spray painting.
3.3 - Detail Painting
Very carefully paint each segment with the corresponding colours on both sides.
White
Crimson
Orange
Bluish Green
Light Blue
White
It’s pretty self explanatory.
Feel free to paint the rivets grey but they’ll be darkened when we do weathering
I recommend that if you do paint the extrusions of the parallelograms and not just the flat face, to use a flat brush instead of a normal brush. It will keep the paint from going everywhere.
3.4 - Weathering
Put some black paint on a dish and grab a large flat brush. Put only a small bit of paint on the brush and carefully brush nooks, crannies and edges. Try to think of how dirt and grime would get into places and where it will stay even if you try to wipe it away.. If you put too much on, quickly wipe it off and your hand or a small cloth. You will notice that when you do wipe it off, the corners will naturally not be picked up leaving you with a dark weathered edge/corner. Repeat this for every part of the helmet and you will be left with something that looks like it’s been worn. It also pronounces shadows making it POP.
Even on flat surfaces, you can put some black paint and quickly wipe it off to give it a more weathered appearance. The remaining pores will fill with black paint. Don’t leave the paint on for too long though as it will not come off so you must be quick when removing it.
Conclusion:
Once you are happy, try on your ARAR helmet!
I hope this guide has been useful to you. Please tag me @Kingcosmore or any of my other socials at: https://kingcosmore.carrd.co/ I’d LOVE to see your final product!
If you have any questions or need something explained, feel free to message me in any of my socials.
My Final Version
If you are struggling with time or money (and you can’t afford buying all the equipment), I’m happy to do a commission for you for a more affordable price of £55. This is for 4 hours of labour and material cost so I hope you understand the pricing.
https://kingcommission.etsy.com
Disclaimer:
This design is open sourced and I am happy for anyone to use it for personal reasons but DO NOT RESELL.
Products I used:
5mm EVA Foam: MEARCOOH 5mm EVA Foam White High Density
1mm EVA Foam: Hobby Craft Foam Sheet White/Black
Buckle: 15mm
Elastic Strap: 15mm
Rotary Tool (Dremel): HARDELL Mini Cordless Rotary Tool
Contact Cement: EVO-STIK Impact Adhesive
Heat gun: GUTIYYO Heat Gun 2kW Professional Hot Air Gun
Primer: JENOLITE Plastic Primer Spray
Paint: SHORE & MARSH Acrylic 59ml (Coloured)
Paint: GRADUATE Acrylic (Grey) (*I don’t recommend getting this brand, paint too watery)
Metallic Spray Paint: 151 MULTIPURPOSE Spray Paint Silver Metallic Finish
Respirator: JSP Force8 Half-Mask
Anything else like squeeze bottles and paint brushes are pretty generic, it honestly doesn’t matter what brand you get it from but feel free to message me if you do want the specific brand of something I didn’t mention above.
Thanks for reading~
My socials:
Kingcosmore@gmail.com