4 ms·

Guy crafts a Daft Punk helmet in 17 months

194 points by ulvund 16y ago

norswap 16y ago
<<THIS PROJECT WAS A ONE-OFF. I AM NOT TAKING ORDERS FOR DUPLICATES.>> Huge market opportunity here :D
- maukdaddy 16y ago
  Not with a 17 month lead time. He'd have to seriously optimize that process to make money.
  - naner 16y ago
    Or sell them for a bazillion dollars each.
  - joezydeco 16y ago
    He did make a cast, so it's a lot easier from this point (except for the electronics I guess). The guy even mentioned this was an on/off project for 17 months, and it also looked like a lot of trial and error in the beginning to get the shape right. A dedicated modeller with a stereolith machine could slam that out a lot quicker.
  - noodle 16y ago
    17 month lead time to develop the making process, with trial and error, in his free time. i'm sure he could drop that down to a week with some effort into reproduction. would be worthwhile for $1k+ or so.
electromagnetic 16y ago
I'm assuming the time frame involved a lot of research and learning new skills to implement the design. Regardless, the accomplishment of this alone would surely be enough to land the guy a job in the costume department for a special effects company. I've seen much worse work on huge budget movies, if a guy can do this in his free time with his spare cash he should definitely get a hire somewhere. Edit: Robot Rock - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBbasXXtrXw&a=GxdCwVVULXdoMgoVZr_K9d8CXXSb1xvF http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBbasXXtrXw&a=GxdCwVVULXd...
- pavel_lishin 16y ago
  I saw the stills on his blog - it looks like he does this sort of thing on a regular basis. I'd wager that learning how to create the electronics took the longest in terms of learning new skills.
- vollmond 16y ago
  According to one of his comments on OP's Youtube link, he also interspersed work on 15 other projects while he was working on this. Would be interesting to know the actual amount of time spent on it.
  - electromagnetic 16y ago
    For a pro who knew everything on how to do this, I would likely expect little over a week of man-hour work. However the guy looks like he had a great grasp on the modeling aspect, but not so much on the electronics, so I wouldn't be surprised if he spent equivalent of about two-man-hour work weeks on this. For someone like me, it would likely take the full 17 months to produce something like this purely for the modeling portion. I'm actually adept at electronics, but I wouldn't be able to model something like that to save my life.
nivals 16y ago
I haven't seen the final product, but did get to try on the prototype seen at 1:34. This was pre internal padding and any electronics. Can't wait to see the final working unit.
- asnyder 16y ago
  At the end of the video he's seen wearing the final product with the electronics.
  - bdr 16y ago
    I think they mean IRL.
Derferman 16y ago
The company behind this helmet, Volpin Props (http://volpinprops.blogspot.com/ http://volpinprops.blogspot.com/), produces absolutely amazing work, especially considering it's all one guy. Some of his other projects include: Big Daddy (Bioshock) http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/72157622860877546/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/7215762286087... Portal Gun http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/72157618889995883/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/7215761888999... Force-a-Nature (Team Fortress 2) http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/72157623024519808/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/7215762302451...
- mustpax 16y ago
  Why are you shortening URLs? There's plenty space on HN for full ones. Edit: Thanks for unobfuscating those :) Great links!
  - Derferman 16y ago
    I actually wasn't aware that HN automatically shortened urls that were over a certain length. All the URLs have been unshortened.
zandorg 16y ago
Pop bands on the front page? What's happening to HN?
- rationalbeaver 16y ago
  Judging submissions without clicking through and being astounded by this guy's incredible artistic hacking skills? What's happening to HN indeed.
- mcs 16y ago
  It's not even pop. :)
obama121 16y ago
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Gianteye 16y ago
What's the most amazing is watching his progression through his flickr stream over years of making props. I love being able to spot techniques and tricks, witness failures, and track someone's development through their own documentation. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/
mkramlich 16y ago
in time for Tron Legacy with several months to spare
AndrewO 16y ago
This is really awesome, but I have no idea what this is a reproduction of. (I haven't seen a Daft Punk video in at least 5 years). Anyone who's more versed in Daft Punkology have a link to whatever this came from?
- jat850 16y ago
  Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo wears a helmet like this in the Daft Punk video "Robot Rock" (I can't provide a good link to it from here as I cannot access Youtube from work), as well as in a number of live performances. Thomas Bangaltar wears a differently-styled helmet. Searching "Daft Punk helmet" on Youtube will show other crafters making helmet replicas. (edit) Apologies - HNer electromagnetic links to Robot Rock in this post. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1539586 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1539586

194 points by ulvund 16y ago

norswap 16y ago

<<THIS PROJECT WAS A ONE-OFF. I AM NOT TAKING ORDERS FOR DUPLICATES.>> Huge market opportunity here :D

maukdaddy 16y ago
Not with a 17 month lead time. He'd have to seriously optimize that process to make money.
- naner 16y ago
  Or sell them for a bazillion dollars each.
- joezydeco 16y ago
  He did make a cast, so it's a lot easier from this point (except for the electronics I guess). The guy even mentioned this was an on/off project for 17 months, and it also looked like a lot of trial and error in the beginning to get the shape right. A dedicated modeller with a stereolith machine could slam that out a lot quicker.
- noodle 16y ago
  17 month lead time to develop the making process, with trial and error, in his free time. i'm sure he could drop that down to a week with some effort into reproduction. would be worthwhile for $1k+ or so.

electromagnetic 16y ago

I'm assuming the time frame involved a lot of research and learning new skills to implement the design. Regardless, the accomplishment of this alone would surely be enough to land the guy a job in the costume department for a special effects company. I've seen much worse work on huge budget movies, if a guy can do this in his free time with his spare cash he should definitely get a hire somewhere. Edit: Robot Rock - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBbasXXtrXw&a=GxdCwVVULXdoMgoVZr_K9d8CXXSb1xvF http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBbasXXtrXw&a=GxdCwVVULXd...

pavel_lishin 16y ago
I saw the stills on his blog - it looks like he does this sort of thing on a regular basis. I'd wager that learning how to create the electronics took the longest in terms of learning new skills.
vollmond 16y ago
According to one of his comments on OP's Youtube link, he also interspersed work on 15 other projects while he was working on this. Would be interesting to know the actual amount of time spent on it.
- electromagnetic 16y ago
  For a pro who knew everything on how to do this, I would likely expect little over a week of man-hour work. However the guy looks like he had a great grasp on the modeling aspect, but not so much on the electronics, so I wouldn't be surprised if he spent equivalent of about two-man-hour work weeks on this. For someone like me, it would likely take the full 17 months to produce something like this purely for the modeling portion. I'm actually adept at electronics, but I wouldn't be able to model something like that to save my life.

nivals 16y ago

I haven't seen the final product, but did get to try on the prototype seen at 1:34. This was pre internal padding and any electronics. Can't wait to see the final working unit.

asnyder 16y ago
At the end of the video he's seen wearing the final product with the electronics.
- bdr 16y ago
  I think they mean IRL.

Derferman 16y ago

The company behind this helmet, Volpin Props (http://volpinprops.blogspot.com/ http://volpinprops.blogspot.com/), produces absolutely amazing work, especially considering it's all one guy. Some of his other projects include: Big Daddy (Bioshock) http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/72157622860877546/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/7215762286087... Portal Gun http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/72157618889995883/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/7215761888999... Force-a-Nature (Team Fortress 2) http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/72157623024519808/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/7215762302451...

mustpax 16y ago
Why are you shortening URLs? There's plenty space on HN for full ones. Edit: Thanks for unobfuscating those :) Great links!
- Derferman 16y ago
  I actually wasn't aware that HN automatically shortened urls that were over a certain length. All the URLs have been unshortened.

zandorg 16y ago

Pop bands on the front page? What's happening to HN?

rationalbeaver 16y ago
Judging submissions without clicking through and being astounded by this guy's incredible artistic hacking skills? What's happening to HN indeed.
mcs 16y ago
It's not even pop. :)

obama121 16y ago

Welcome to our website: http://wowcool.org http://wowcool.org Dear Customer Hello everybody thank you for the support of the company and trust the company launched the following products: jordan air max oakland raiders Ed Hardy AF JUICY POLO Bikini Christan Audigier BIKINI JACKET gstar coogi evisu true jeans coach chanel gucci LV handbags coogi DG edhardy gucci t-shirts CA edhardy vests.paul smith shoes jordan dunk af1 max gucci shoes EDhardy gucci ny New Era cap coach okely Adidas CHANEL DG Sunglass free shipping competitive price any size available The company introduced factory direct, free shipping, the greatest benefits to consumer prices,We do wholesale and retail! All are extremely CHEAP，and also can accept paypal payment We welcome you to buy your favorite products thank you Click: http://wowcool.org http://wowcool.org

Gianteye 16y ago

What's the most amazing is watching his progression through his flickr stream over years of making props. I love being able to spot techniques and tricks, witness failures, and track someone's development through their own documentation. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/

mkramlich 16y ago

in time for Tron Legacy with several months to spare

AndrewO 16y ago

This is really awesome, but I have no idea what this is a reproduction of. (I haven't seen a Daft Punk video in at least 5 years). Anyone who's more versed in Daft Punkology have a link to whatever this came from?

jat850 16y ago
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo wears a helmet like this in the Daft Punk video "Robot Rock" (I can't provide a good link to it from here as I cannot access Youtube from work), as well as in a number of live performances. Thomas Bangaltar wears a differently-styled helmet. Searching "Daft Punk helmet" on Youtube will show other crafters making helmet replicas. (edit) Apologies - HNer electromagnetic links to Robot Rock in this post. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1539586 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1539586