How to Make a Unique and Extra Lustrous Roman Imperial Helmet From Scratch

Kids in general, especially boys, are fond of playing dress-up games. Apart from the usual superhero costumes, little boys also love to imitate how the ancient Roman soldiers dress-up. The Imperial helmet is the type of helmet that the soldiers in the Roman legions wore during the ancient Rome era. While you can easily buy different types of swords at a very affordable price, you can rarely see Roman imperial helmets being sold at the local toy store and if available, they are generally quite expensive. But you do not have to spend that much for a Roman helmet because you can make and design your own at home by using simple and easy to find materials.

Below is the instruction on how to make a do-it-yourself helmet. You can make one for your child and you can as well use it as your costume during your office costume party. What is unique with this design is the material that you will use. Roman soldiers want their helmets to be as shiny as possible. And because of that, I replaced using simple paint with a lustrous aluminum foil.

Step 1: Prepare the Materials

• Cardboard
• Aluminum foil or metal foil sheet ( silver or gold)
• Double sided tape
• Liquid glue
• Glitters
• Red construction or art paper
• Laces ( optional)
• Plastic beads (optional)
• Scissors
• Marker or pencil

Step 2:

Draw the pattern of the helmet pieces. First, draw a semi-circle figure. This will be your primary helmet piece. And then draw two pieces of long straight bands that measure around 1.5 to 2 inches in width, a crown-like visor, a crest, and then two curvy cheek guards. Now cut all figures you have drawn. (*TIP: To make a perfect semi-circle figure, you can use a standard size plate or anything round. Then adjust the diameter to fit your head.)

Step 3:

Lay all the helmet pieces and then attach a double sided tape on each of them just like what is shown in the picture below. And then detach the other side of the tape.

Step 4:

Once everything is cleared, it is time to cover all the helmet pieces with a foil. You can use an aluminum foil or if available use a metal foil either silver or gold. (Metal foil is cheaper than aluminum foil and it is as well easier to work with).

Step 5:

Cut the excess foil. Be sure everything is covered and secured.

Step 6:

Use your creativity in designing the different helmet pieces specifically the pair of cheek protectors and the crown-like visor. You can use plastic gems, colored glue, sequins, beads, glitters, puffy paint, laces, or anything you can think of. You can add traditional Roman helmet elements like flowers, dots, curvy lines, scrolls, and leaves.

Step 7:

Cut the red construction paper or art paper and create fringes. And then attach it to the crest using a liquid glue.

Step 8:

Attach one long straight band behind the bottom right corner of the primary imperial helmet piece and the other long straight band behind the bottom left corner. Be sure to align the bottom edge of the long bands with those of the helmet's.

Step 9:

With the use of a double-sided tape, attach the crest tab behind the topmost center part of the primary imperial helmet piece.

Step 10:

With the use of a double-sided adhesive tape, attach the crown-like visor on the lower part of the helmet, forming a slightly curved figure. Be sure to slightly pop the visor out in order to break the dullness and flatness of the primary piece.

Step 11:

Fasten the curvy cheek guards on the bottom corners of the main helmet piece.

Step 12:

Fasten the end of the two bands together. Be sure that it will fit around your head.

Step 13: Congratulations!

You now have a unique and extra lustrous Roman imperial helmet!