Filling in the gaps
NOTE: I started using new Key display software today. I ddn’t realize that I had moved it so far down that it was out of my recording window until I was editing the video for this episode. I have fixed it for future recordings.
I am looking at our pattern and realizing that there are a couple places that we are missing coverage.
1. The back of the helmet (where the fins are) is designed for the fins to cover that entire space. We could do it that way, but I don’t feel like that will be very structurally sound. So I want to make a piece to cover that spot. This will make the final build stronger AND it will give us something to mount the fins on for stability.
2. The side of the helmet where the fins go into the helmet. I had thought about adding a fan on the side for ventilation, but even the quietest of fans will be EXTREMELY loud inside the confines of the helmet.
So we are going to need to generate those shapes. There are a couple of ways we could do that. We could use Tiny Samus to make some paper pieces and then scale those up, but I think this is a good opportunity to show you the power and flexibility of the software we are using. We are going to go into Blender and use some of the basic editing tools to close the gaps in those two spots, load it into Armorsmith, scale it, and export those shapes.
It sounds daunting, but it is REALLY simple.
Open blender and let’s get at it.
The first thing we are going to do is import the model we’ve been working with. Until now, we’ve been working in object mode… we need to edit the model so we need to activate editing mode. In the upper left hand corner, there is a drag down menu.
Once we are in object mode, we have to decide how to manipulate the object. Since this is the model that we simplified, it should be pretty easy to close these gaps by bridging edges. So, let’s change our selection mode to edge. This will allow us to click on an edge and select it, rather than having to select individual vertices.
Now that we are in edge mode, we are going to close the gaps so that we have whole shapes to work with and not jut teeny pieces of foam. To do this, you are going to click on one edge. Then hold down shift and click on the other edge of the gap. Once they are both selected, hit the “F” key.
The image above on the left are the two edges I selected. The one on the right is the new polygon it created to bridge that gap. To make these two shapes, we are going to continue this process up across the front faces of the fins, and then along the side faces. When you are done, they should be two solid shapes and it should look like this.
See that? We have 2 solid pieces to work with. That is going to give us a lot more precision in assembling this than we had be trying to estimate it. Go ahead and export it as an .OBJ file and lets move over to Armorsmith one last time… for the helmet. We will be going back to armorsmith a lot throughout the build, but for now, we are in the home stretch.
Go ahead and open the file you saved with the helmet in it. Then hit import again and select the new one we just made.
Just like before we are going to attach this one to the head as well. Select the new helmet file > click attach > then click the attachment point.
It’s going to look like a mess, and that is fine. We are only here for two bits.
We can see both of our costume pieces there. That is EXACTLY what we want. Since we already have the same geometry scaled to where we want it, we don’t have to back through all that again. Click on the semi-transparent helmet and take down the scale adjustments we made before. This is my scaling (it will probably be different for you because I am huge and my head is shaped like a cinder block).
Click on the new helmet we just imported and change those numbers to match. We don’t need to worry about position and rotation – those are just for reference to make sure we have Scaled it right.
Once you do that, click on the patterns tab and unwrap it.
Then we are going to do what we have done so many times before: click on the part you want > right click in the pattern area and select “send to” > create a new pattern. Do this for both the parts.
NOTE: Since Armorsmith is designed to work with the exterior of parts, it may be difficult to actually select these parts. I wasn’t able to do it in a close up and had to “reach in” through the faceplate to make get them selected. See below.
Then we are going to go back through the same steps we’ve been doing.
1. Export it as a DXF
2. Import that DXF into Inkscape
3. Trace the shape
4. Refine it
After we do all that, we should be ready to organize our pieces on in Inkscape, add a square for scaling and export our pattern.
November 21, 2025
