How to make a Roman helmet: tutorial

[Tanotrooper]

Hey everyone,

centurio Cassius is going to explain how to make a Roman helmt of the type Imperial Gallic. Enjoy! *sweet*

Cassius is one of the many TTfigs wich will help ilustrate the Roman mafia game *sweet*

EDIT: side view:

Salve!

Gaius Tanus Domus

Edited April 7, 2008 by Tanotrooper

[Asuka]

Very nice and useful! I came, I saw, I MOCed on! *y*

[iamded]

Very nifty! I may just have to try that! *y*

~Peace

[BlueBard]

Nice Idea! *y*

Is one of this things they look simple but you have to think on them... *knight*

[Tanotrooper]

Nice Idea! *y*

Is one of this things they look simple but you have to think on them... *knight*

well, I thought about making such a helmet without customising very long but it didn't work...

Then I suddenly got the idea and it worked... Weird if you think about it...

TT

[Natman8000]

This is a great idea. now where did my t bar go?

[Tanotrooper]

updated with side view ;-)

TT

[tedbeard]

Sorry to have to be Simon Cowell again but this creation, while technically interesting, bears no resemblance to any Roman helm let alone the specific type referenced. Your creativity and imagination are brilliant but the final helm design looks more like a Cyberman from Doctor Who than an Imperial Roman soldier.

Sorry, thumbs down on this one. *n*

I must say though the rest of your centurion, using your "big-fig" technique, looks really great with the vine-staff and the torso that suggests the phalerae.

[Tanotrooper]

I'll answer that comment tomorrow, as I'm too tired right now.

TT

[simonwillems]

I like the idea of making your own helmet out of some standard pieces and although it looks a bit blocky I do believe in a way it really resembles a Roman helmet.

I myself would have tilted the red tile on top 90 degrees.

*y*

Sorry to have to be Simon Cowell again but this creation, while technically interesting, bears no resemblance to any Roman helm let alone the specific type referenced. Your creativity and imagination are brilliant but the final helm design looks more like a Cyberman from Doctor Who than an Imperial Roman soldier.

Sorry, thumbs down on this one. *n*

Well, that wasn't very constructive feedback....

[Lord Of Pies]

I think it looks very good considering it is brick built, better than anything I could manage. I have to say that it does look a bit blocky, though I don't suppose that can be helped at all.

[iamded]

Sure it looks a bit blocky, but we have to remember, it is made of building blocks. ;-) The only thing I don't understand is why the plume goes, well, sideways. Shouldn't it be pointing the way the soldier's looking, and not to the sides?

~Peace

[Tanotrooper]

Sure it looks a bit blocky, but we have to remember, it is made of building blocks. ;-) The only thing I don't understand is why the plume goes, well, sideways. Shouldn't it be pointing the way the soldier's looking, and not to the sides?

~Peace

This type of helmet was used by standard legionnaires, optios (2nd in command of a century, they had a red plume that was faced like you suggest), centurios (with the crest sideways to easily identify their rank), auxilia (cavalry and infantry, but mostly bronze coloured)

This model may improve as I find better techniques... I try to find a way to work in the typical "brow"' piece.

image of centurio:

TT

[tedbeard]

Well, that wasn't very constructive feedback....

It was honest feedback which is often lacking around here.

As for constructive, there is no way to make any changes to the design that could make it look any better so I could not offer any suggestions. Sometimes experiments simply fail. In this case the result looks so little like the prototype that IMO it should be considered a failure.

BTW just because an experiment fails does not in any way mean the person doing the experiment is a failure. How does the story go, Edison invented a thousand ways NOT to build a lightbulb before be found a way that worked. I enjoy every creation and the creativity that goes into it. We can all learn something from every experiment whether it succeeds in it's original intent or not and in fact we can often learn more from what did NOT work than from what did.

Sadly the scale is such that giant blocks on the head cannot really replicate the smooth lines and beautiful sculptural qualities of an Imperial Gallic Helmet. There is a reason LEGO creates helmet elements. There is a reason people have created custom helmets. There is a reason BrickForge, BrickArms et al sell LEGO-compatible accessories. Some things simply cannot be done in minifig scale with even the smallest bricks. This experiment shows that even a very creative approach does not change that fact.

[Tanotrooper]

That is a wrong thinking. Everything can be made. If we all thought that, the world wouldn't develop. It may take time, much time, but a solution WILL be found. I can't say when, but the design will be improved.

TT

[Sir Dillon]

I have to agree with Tedbeard on this... It's a creative build, and I think it does resemble a Roman helmet, but this just doesn't look good to me.

Sorry I can't give you any suggestions to improve it.

[tedbeard]

It may take time, much time, but a solution WILL be found. I can't say when, but the design will be improved.

Awesome! I always look forward to your latest work. *sweet*

And if, in a small way, I provide some motivation in the form of "I will prove Tedbeard wrong!" I am happy with that. :'-)