Right, sorry it has taken so long to getting around to starting this but It's underway now, so pay attention kids. :D

What you'll need
Any Marine Iron Halo
Green Stuff
Pliers
GS Sculpting tool
Hobby Knife
Fine tooth file
Plastic Clippers


Step 1
Trim the longer spikes on the Iron Halo to the same height as the short ones.
Leaving them gives the GS something to bond to.
(Don't cut the cross piece at this stage, I'll explain why later)
Like this.


Step 2
Mix up a small batch of GS, rolling it into a small sausage shape.
Take the sausage and begin to fit it to the outer edge of the Iron Halo.
Use your sculpting tool to get a rough shape of the crest.
Take care to not cover the Iron Halo's rim piece.
(also holding the cross piece with your pliers means no fingerprints.) :)
It should look something like this, at the end of this stage.


Step 3
Next take your sculpting tool and start making indents on one side of the crest, they should start at the base of the GS and end at the top.
Then repeat on the other, make sure you check that the indents on the first side have not been blurred too much while you did the second side.
Check that the crest is relatively in a straight alignment.
Allow to cure.
(Pic TBC)

Step 4
Once the GS has cured, work out how long you want the bristles to be.
Cut to the desired length with a hobby knife and then file the flat top surface to a smooth finish.
Next take a pin or needle and begin to poke holes in the now smooth surface.
This is to represent the ends of the bristles. (Pic TBC)

Step 5
Now carefully cut the cross piece from the Iron Halo.
Do a rough fit to the helmet to see if you need to trim/shorten it.
(especially if its to be a front to back crest)
Be sure to check for clearance from shoulder pads and back packs.
Cut to your desired specs with a hobby knife.
(Also be aware of the angle of your cut)
As you can see from this pic, the front of the crest is a different angle to the back.


Step 6
Using either a piece of round plastic cut from a spear haft or equivalent attach it to the helmet. In the position you desire. (As seen above.) :)

Step 7
Undercoat, paint and smile knowingly when you opponents ask how you did it. :D

very very good idea
extra points to you for this one

Very nice!
Thanks for the tut.

I scratchbuild mine.

I have two methods, one using flat plasticard, plastic rod and greenstuff, and the other as previous but with a bit of plastic tubing.
In both methods I use the plasticard to form a spine for the 'horsehair' but I keep it smaller than I want the greenstuffed shape to be.

I use the rod to hold it above the helmet, and the tubing piece I cut up to form the base of the crest.

I used the first method to create the Greek crest on my Company champion, and the second to make the Roman crest on the Luna Wolf scout I recently posted.

any chance you could post a tut on this Gagoc?

i like having different ways to do things, gives me the chance to try out which one is the best for me.

Very Kool! Thanks for the tut ;)

Gold star for the southern hemisphere type.

I might well make use if this in the not too distant.

Tanks for sharing ;)

I grow miniature mohicans on my gerbils, which are almost exactly the right scale, then transplant them straight over to the model (but I guess it might be easier this way..)

(great tutorial, thanks :D )

Good start, Yvraith; when can we expect part 3?

I say neaten up the whole tute when finished and get it sticky'd
Do you think it would be better to leave that tab on the bottom of the halo or cut that off flush and drill a small hole in the top of the helmet and attach that way(like pinning)?

Okay, here's the first of my two methods.

Greek Crests.
You'll need some plasticard, either one sheet of thick (about 1mm) or one thick and one medium, and greenstuff / greystuff. Optional plastic rod, for afixing to helm.

First you'll need to cut out a piece of the thick plasticard that is the silhouette / profile of your crest.
Be sure to have the part where you'll greenstuff the brush slighlty smaller than your aim, so the plastic doesn't show through the 'hairs'.

Next you'll need to cut out two matching pieces of thick plasticard shaped to the 'metal' body of the crest but about 1mm shallow / below the bottom the brush spine.
This is so you'll have a trough around the spine to put the greenstuff into.
If you're going for an especially wide crest you may want to add two additioal pieces of medium thickness plasticard the same shape as the above two, either side.

The cut out another two pieces but shaped as the base of the crest and stick on either side.
Cut the final two pieces of plasticard from the medium thickness to book end the base.

What you should have now is the main body of the brush with a trough in the top and a spine of plasticard.

Add a layer of greenstuff to the spine with a narrow bottom curving out to a wide top, and leave for a few minutes, but I wouldn't suggest more than 10. If the spine is visible beneath the greenstuff, then the greenstuff is too thin.
Take a sculpting tool and add vertical lines into the sides, back and front of the sculpt. If the lines aren't sharp enough, try a craftknife. They don't have to be regular, but they can't be too random.

Next use the poin of the tool (and craftknife) and jab it randomly into the top.

This is basically how I did this models' crest.



The Roman crest next.

Don't wish to cramp anyone's style, but shouldn't you start a separate thread for your own method, Gagoc?
After all, the thread header does say "The Yvraith way".

Just an observation ;)

I might well do a thread for my method as well then. I'll be able to include all the details of raising a family of gerbils and the dangers inherent in using hair spray on them while smoking a cigarette.

Why couldn't this be the "General crest making thread"? :)
Everybody could post their own method here and this could be even stickied.

Just thought I'd point out, there is no such thing as a "roman" crest or a "greek" crest. The crests are almost all the same, and the way they were mounted on the helmet was left to the wearer. I imagine, you are confusing them with the greek style helmet.

The final steps have been added above.
It still requires some pics for a couple of steps but that shouldn't pose a problem to anyone.
I seem to have misplaced them! :rolleyes:

When I do my next crest I will remedy the situation.

Cheers for all of the comments Everyone & Happy Gaming. ;)

These types of crest, and the original helmet designs, are generally referred to as Greco-Roman.

Now I know both Romans and Greeks had the front to back horsehair crests, even though our Latin friends had more elaborate versions, but I have never seen or heard of a side-to-side Greek crest.
So I simplified them based on the iconic examples of each, and referred to one as 'Greek' and the other as 'Roman'. The reasons for the second being referred to as 'Roman', should become evident once the tutorial has been posted.

And don't you think the crest of my model above is reminiscent of those found in the film 'The 300 Spartans' (1962)?

Spartan officers wore sideways crests, the way Roman centurions did.

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this.

keifer113; The only Greek helmet types I know of are from popular media (TV & Films) and a few descriptions in books, and they only present the 'classic' helmet with the front-to-back crest.
And if I've never come across the Spartan officer one, how can I reference it?

'Roman' Crests.

This one has the plasticard spine in common with the 'Greek' crest. But the bases of the brush is made from horizontal layers instead of the vertical layers of the 'Greek' pattern.

You'll need to get your hands on some plasticard tubing for this one, available from Model-railway/road shops. You can use different dameters for the layers, but the base layer must have a similar curve, if not larger, to the helmet you're using.
You will also need a piece of plasticard for the spine of the brush, and if you want to mount it above the helmet, a plastic rod though a rounded piece of sprue might do.

I'll describe this scratchbuild using just one diameter of tube.

Cut a ring of the end of the tube about 3mm in depth which will become the width of the crest.
You'll need to cut this ring into three pieces, a long and shorter pieces. The long should be the length of the arc you want the crest, this will mean using the helmet it will attach to as guide.
I cut this piece to approximately 12mm in length, but it's hard to measure because of the curve.

The two shorter pieces need to be slightly about 0.5-1mm smaller in length and width than the longer piece. You can shorten them at this point or wait until they're stuck together.
In the centre of both drill a hole for the plastic rod you will use to raise it above the helmet.

In one make a cut in the middle lengthways for most of the length. It's best to use a sawbladed craft knife an not cut it in half. This cut will form a slot for the spine to fit in.
Glue them together with the slot on top and the holes lined up. If you're using the same diameter of tube for both pieces they will want to deform from the arc.

Once set you'll need to files the ends until they form a single edge on each end, and if you haven't reduce the width beforehand, do it at this point. Now you have the base of the crest.

Take the long piece and try it on the base, it should appear to form a lip to the base. Mark out the base where it meets the long piece on that piece.

You will have to cut out an oblong from the centre of the long piece within the marks. This is so that when the long piece is glued to the base it has enough area in contact whilst also forming a trough.
Glue this piece in place once you're satisfied.

Make the spine of the brush in the same manner as the one for the 'Greek' crest, but this time you may have shape it's base to better fit the slot you made, and you will need to remove a square of plastic in the bottom-centre to accommodate the rod.

Glue the spine in place and once set glue the rod in place.

Then use greenstuff to form the brush itself using the techniques I described in making the 'Greek' brush.

This is how I made the one on the first scout below.