Building the HELL-BENT Helmet: Glueing, Seam Filling, and Sanding
Before paint can begin, the HELL-BENT Helmet has to become one clean shell through careful alignment, glueing, seam filling, and a great deal of sanding.
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A finished cosplay helmet may look like one solid piece, but the workshop stage tells a different story. The Helldivers 2 inspired HELL-BENT Helmet begins as several separately printed sections that need to be aligned, bonded, reinforced, and blended before paint can even enter the conversation.
One of the first major steps is glueing the printed sections together. Alignment matters here: a small shift at one seam can throw off the face plates, eye openings, or side panels farther around the helmet. Each section is test-fitted first, then joined so the overall shape stays balanced and the panel lines meet where they should.
Once the shell is solid, the seams still need work. Filler is applied across joins and low spots, then shaped back into the surrounding surface. The red filler visible in the photos marks areas where the printed sections are being blended. It may look rough at this stage, but this is exactly what the process is for.
Then comes sanding. The first passes knock down filler and the most obvious print texture. Finer passes refine the curves, sharpen the transitions between panels, and make the joined areas disappear into the helmet's design. Complex shapes like the brow, crown, and eye surrounds take extra care because we want a smooth finish without softening the character of the original geometry.
This stage is repetitive by nature: sand, inspect, add a little more filler, and sand again. Light across the surface reveals ridges and dips that are easy to miss by touch alone, so the helmet is checked from several angles throughout the process.
The goal is not to make the helmet look finished yet. The goal is to build a reliable surface for primer and paint. Good paint cannot hide weak seam work, but careful preparation lets the colour and weathering do their jobs later.
With the major joins secure and the shell taking shape, the next milestone is the black foundation coat. That single colour will reveal what still needs attention and begin turning this collection of printed parts into the HELL-BENT Helmet we are aiming for.
The finished helmet is planned at CA$349, with an Etsy listing coming soon. Until then, the catalogue and workshop journal will keep following the build from raw shell to final finish.
Keep Exploring
Want to see more of the build process? Visit the workshop page for behind-the-scenes progress, or browse the finished prop catalog to see what is available now and what can be made to order.