KILLZONE Helghan Assault Rifle

[Moderate]

Could you possibly mod a CA8-2 into this? Remove trigger guard, modify the stock, shorten the outer & inner barrel, add a shotty to the bottom of the foregrip and put some mold over it so that it matches? Maybe extend the carry handle (not in picture)



to



I have no idea what's metal or plastic, or if that 870 is to scale...and I have no knowledge of modding but its just a suggestion.
Most likely this would not work :P

[C.G]

Definatly Frankensteining a P90 and G36, if you manage to get one together, post pics.. good luck!

[LUTNIT]

The only problem with what moderatesniper said is that it still looks like a G36 variant. If you really want to make the Helgast assault rifle you need to make it look like it and not like any real steel gun. Its all in the little details, making it work will probably actually be the easy part. In short you can't really use any existing airsoft gun without making an entirely new body for it or else it'll still look like the original gun enough to be easily identified by other airsofters. Even look at the G36c to SL8/9 conversion kits. The two guns are almost the same in appearance but the conversion kit replaced 90% of the exterior. so if you want to make the Helgast assault rifle your going to have to reskin the entire gun essentially. Its scope for example, though in concept is similar to the G36 scope/carry handle, isn't. If you used a G36 carry handle people would instantly identify it as a G36 carry handle because of the small nuances.

To an outsider they may look very similar but to anyone that plays airsoft they would instantly be able to see all the little details.

[MrEvolution]

my suggestion is to take a famas + that shotgun. famas has that box frame on top already and a good stock.

[Moderate]

Originally Posted by LUTNIT

The only problem with what moderatesniper said is that it still looks like a G36 variant. If you really want to make the Helgast assault rifle you need to make it look like it and not like any real steel gun. Its all in the little details, making it work will probably actually be the easy part. In short you can't really use any existing airsoft gun without making an entirely new body for it or else it'll still look like the original gun enough to be easily identified by other airsofters. Even look at the G36c to SL8/9 conversion kits. The two guns are almost the same in appearance but the conversion kit replaced 90% of the exterior. so if you want to make the Helgast assault rifle your going to have to reskin the entire gun essentially. Its scope for example, though in concept is similar to the G36 scope/carry handle, isn't. If you used a G36 carry handle people would instantly identify it as a G36 carry handle because of the small nuances.

To an outsider they may look very similar but to anyone that plays airsoft they would instantly be able to see all the little details.

Quite understandable. Hopefully someone will (someday) make this gun, it's really cool

[Goldman]

Why not custom resin build the body of the rifle, and build a GBB into it?

[Ceros]

Wow.... I thought maybe this thread was dead after a few weeks with no action. Nice to see you folks kept it alive... thanks! Well lot's of great ideas and input for sure. I think I may have to just settle for fabricating a body from scratch, but I'm still not positive on that. Some of these recommendations certainly have potential.


Oh... and in reply to falconwind's post.

Originally Posted by falconwind

Hey Ceros, I'm a new guy here too.

You might have to settle for something that 'resembles' the helghast rifle, rather than accurately replicates it. A FAMAS does look like a promising place to start, as far as the carrying handle and bullpup design. With some modification, it could work. You do props and stuff professionally, so I'm sure you have access to equipment and knowledge that most of us don't.

In regards to a uniform:

I've been trying to put together a helghast uniform as well, though, I've only succeeded in mimicking the general look and feel of it. It's tough, but not impossible. I've taken mine about as far as I can without major modification.

If you want to compare notes, I'm all for it.

Almost a year ago, I wrote a pretty detailed description on the SONY forum for KZ, of how the suits were made for GG's first Killzone commercial. Once I find the original post, I'll re-post it here for you, in case you can use some of the info to spice up your Helghast costume.


Thanks again to everyone for their valued input on this replica.

__________________________________________________ ____________

[Moz]

This thread is headed towards awesome.

I think the G36 monster with some paint could easily go in the right direction



Ceros, where do you go to become a prop guy anyway? (always wanted to do that)

[falconwind]

I've seen references to the Grey Division of Helghast elite. They wear grey long coats and a sort of cloth cover over the bottom portion of their mask. They're insignia looks sort of like the shipping symbol for 'do not get wet'. It's an umbrella with bombs instead of drops of water.

http://www.dgs-online.nl/image.asp?id=27513

The regular Helghast symbol is designed to give the impression of a swastika-like design. It sort of reminds me more of the Mark of Chaos from Warhammer.

Does anyone know if someone is making these patches? I don't really want to have to get a embroidery company to run me off a batch of 50 just for myself.

Also does anyone have an idea for how to simulate their gasmasks? It's obvious in pics that the mask is actuall two pieces, goggles and respirator. Closest thing I can think of is say, a 3M half face respirator and a pair of welding goggles.

[Ceros]

Originally Posted by Moz

This thread is headed towards awesome.

I think the G36 monster with some paint could easily go in the right direction



Ceros, where do you go to become a prop guy anyway? (always wanted to do that)

Well Moz, I just sort of worked on stuff myself and spent a lot of time researching materials and methods used in the film industry. As for schooling, not sure really. Prop people seem to come from a variety of backgrounds... everything from carpentry to sculpture. If you want it bad enough, take the time to research the materials and methods and start making stuff yourself. Once you get a decent sized portfolio, you could approach some of the prop companies and see if you could get on with them I suppose.

[Ceros]

Originally Posted by falconwind

Does anyone know if someone is making these patches? I don't really want to have to get a embroidery company to run me off a batch of 50 just for myself.

Also does anyone have an idea for how to simulate their gasmasks? It's obvious in pics that the mask is actuall two pieces, goggles and respirator. Closest thing I can think of is say, a 3M half face respirator and a pair of welding goggles.

Hey Falconwind. As for embroidered patches, I think they might have issued some in limited quantities with either the special edition of KILLZONE (available only in the UK), or made some available as promo material for the initial release... but I can't be sure of that. As for KZ merchandise, there's very little. What has been made is not available for purchase to the public, but is instead given out as promo or prizes to G.A.P. members at Sony or to fans at conventions.

I finally got around to finding my original post on the Playstation Forum so I've copied and posted it here. It should clear up your questions about the rest of the costume and how you might go about making a cheap version of Helghan sodier for yourself.


MAKING YOUR OWN HELGHAST COSTUME

There are several variations of the regular grunt-type Helghan soldier, each with slightly different ammo pouch placements and variations of BDU styles. I have also come across a photo I'm sure you will find useful for reference purposes. The picture below appears to be one of the costumes made for the KILLZONE commercial, and other media promotions. For the most part this is not even close to the BDU designes featured in the actual games or other illustrations. I would assume rather, that someone at GG had a go at it instead of hiring a professional costumer/prop-maker, and at least came up with a halfway decent and recognizable representation of a Helghan soldier.




Here is my breakdown of the seperate components used in this particular rendition, based on my experience in this field.

Upon close inspection, it appears as though the base for the costume is a either a black pilots flight suit or police tactical uniform. You can find a suitable flight suit ($120 to $250) or tactical uniform ($130 to $230) here. http://www.flightsuits.com/products.html

Over that is a tactical vest. Unfortunately, this costume could have been a lot better if they found a decent sized model (bulkier/stockier) and if they took the time to pad out the ammo pouches to “beef up” the vest a little. This specific model is the Guarder S.D.U. Tactical Vest Level 4 V-12C available for purchase for $72.00 US here. Scroll down about half-way down the page and find model #GD-CG-V12C http://www.wgcshop.com/pcart/shopper.php?cat=Vests You can actually find these MUCH cheaper on ebay.



The back of the vest is even further from the Helghan design than the front, but that may be irrelevant for the purpose of your own costume. There are more suitable tac-vests out there, and with a little searching you can find one much better suited than this. The main similarities are the raised reinforced collar, the “almost wide enough” shoulder pads, and the placement of the three front pouches.

Onto the helmet. Unfortunately whoever made this costume did not invest the time or money themselves to get certain things right, and hiring a professional costumer/prop-maker would have gone a lot further in selling the image. One or two bang-on Helghan military uniforms would have given KZ tons of media mileage in my opinion, because they are just that cool. This helmet, is not even close to the ones we are used to seeing in-game. In fact, the Helghast design is probably closer to the ones seen in Starship Troopers than anything else. As everyone on this forum knows, you can buy this tactical helmet at just about every airsoft or tactical supply company in the world. The overall shape is right, but I would end up adding clay and sculpting over this, upward and outward to achieve the proper shape of the Helghan helmet. Once that was done, I would take a mold of the helmet and pull my own in fiberglass, or make a positive in dental stone and vacuform one over that.

The goggles are easily purchased cheap-o snowboarding goggles as far as I can tell, and simply not worth mentioning due to the shape being completely wrong. Almost every depiction of those piercing red glowing eyes is round, save but for a few illustrations in which they appear slightly oval shape running horizontally. That is why I would suggest using chippers goggles (also known as grinding or welding goggles), which come with removable lenses in clear and dark green for welding. Make sure you order the “cup type” as these are closest to the Helghan design and likely what they were based on. They actually do come with colored lenses but I doubt red is available. This can be remedied by cutting out lense sized pieces of “lighting gels” available at any local sound & lighting rental company (the kind that rent PA’s for DJ’s and dances etc.), and inserting them behind the clear lense. These are easily available at any safety equipment retailer or here http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...lr%3D%26sa%3DG
They are the ones 5th and 6th from the top of the page.



If you are a little more ambitious and willing to risk it, you may want to purchase the pair 3rd from the top on the right. The overall shape isn’t quite right, but keeping your helmet low and tight to the upper edge of the goggle system should hide that well enough. The nose piece is by far, much closer to the Helghan design, but you will need to modify it slightly by removing some of the bottom of the nose-piece to make room for the nose-ridge on your respirator. Be warned though - unless you plan on “sculpting up” your respirator to match actual Helghan designs, this goggle system will not work with an out-of-the-box respirator… which brings me to the last piece of the puzzle. I know… it’s a long post but bare with me.

The last and definitely most frustrating piece of the Helghan soldiers combat uniform is the respirator. It seems quite obvious that the design is based on oxygen masks used by jet-fighter pilots. Well, if your wallet is deep enough… be my guest. Heck, even if you can afford it you still may have trouble finding someone you can convince to ship it to Canada because it's illegal for anyone in the States to export any military gear that is currently still being used.Your best bet is to look on ebay, but if you do find one complete... you'll be dishing out large coin for it. You can find many of the main individual components of the pilots oxygen masks on ebay, but not quite everything to build it up to spec. This might not be a bad thing though since you would still have to build up on the regular mask if you wanted it to perfectly match the Helghast respirator.

So.... unless you can find one second hand, your best bet is to do what the person who made this Helghan costume did. You are looking for a regular old respirator used by airbrush artists, car painters, and anyone else using hazardous or toxic fume causing nasties. The particular one used here looks to be the 7700 Series North Respirator which is readily available at a cost of roughly $20.00 American




I hope at least some of this info is usefull. Either it should give you an idea of what to do... or what not to do. If you have any questions or need advice on building or assembling anything, I would be happy to help in any way I can.

[LUTNIT]

There are CNC sewing machines out there and people or small companies that have them and do one off or small production runs of custom patches. Several airsoft teams have custom patches made and they only have 10-20 of them.

[Moz]

Originally Posted by Ceros

Well Moz, I just sort of worked on stuff myself and spent a lot of time researching materials and methods used in the film industry. As for schooling, not sure really. Prop people seem to come from a variety of backgrounds... everything from carpentry to sculpture. If you want it bad enough, take the time to research the materials and methods and start making stuff yourself. Once you get a decent sized portfolio, you could approach some of the prop companies and see if you could get on with them I suppose.

Any place you think I should start? I'm making a futuristic AEP pistol based on a nerf revolver (planning to go pretty far form the design) and hope to design a stylized set of riot gear but I'm sorta running short of places to find materials. I'd imagine any old junk will do, but I just don't know where to find junk in Toronto.

[falconwind]

Originally Posted by Ceros

....

I finally got around to finding my original post on the Playstation Forum so I've copied and posted it here. It should clear up your questions about the rest of the costume and how you might go about making a cheap version of Helghan sodier for yourself.
...

Very interesting reading... I came to many of the same conclusions myself.

I found, after careful study of the CGI wallpapers that the Helghast grunt looks to be wearing an old-style modular tactical vest (the type that is velcro and snap buttons arranged in a grid) but without any attachments. Over top of this is a very basic load bearing vest.

Originally Posted by LUTNIT

There are CNC sewing machines out there and people or small companies that have them and do one off or small production runs of custom patches. Several airsoft teams have custom patches made and they only have 10-20 of them.

hmm... well there was this one shop in a strip mall near here and I asked about making custom patches, and I remember him saying that it'd be something like 100 dollars just to set up the machine to make the patches. Of course this was a good five or so years ago and he could easily have been trying to scam me.

I'll try to post some pics of my costume when I have some more free time.

[Ceros]

Originally Posted by Moz

Any place you think I should start? I'm making a futuristic AEP pistol based on a nerf revolver (planning to go pretty far form the design) and hope to design a stylized set of riot gear but I'm sorta running short of places to find materials. I'd imagine any old junk will do, but I just don't know where to find junk in Toronto.

I'm not familiar with the TO area, but yeah... any old junk will often do. I find great stuff at flea markets, antique shows, and even the garbage. Yep, I can often be found walking around after midnight rummaging through other peoples trash looking for that special something that pops out at me. I actually have friends and family that come up to me with something and say "Hey I was going to throw this away... do you want it/can you use it?" Kind of funny actually.

My best advice to you is to pick things up and look at them different ways. Something that may not look very interesting the way it normally sits can look completely different turned on its side or upside down. Also, always pick or buy in multiples of two if possible. Costume and prop elements often repeat patterns within themselves, and having two of something is a god-send in this respect. I would also advise that if you find a great piece that you likely won't run across again, take a mold of it if possible. This can also be applied to the "I don't have two of something" scenario... take a mold and make as many as you need.

As for the riot gear, I would suggest looking at second hand sports stores for old hockey/football/soccer equipment etc. Some of that equipment could look great if you added on to, or cut away from it.


Hope this helps a little.
Let me know if I can be of more help.