Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Submitted 2024.06.17 by Pat LeBlanc

This is a throwback to the styrene Halloween mask that came with the Collegeville Halloween Costume set - updated and scaled for adults. Cool project!

Pat writes:

2024.06.17
Back on April 30, I posted a picture of the Collegeville MMM and astronaut Halloween masks (somehow I had missed John Eaton's post about the original "buck" a month before).

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

I wanted to create an adult-sized vacuum-formed version that was more faithful to the artwork that was included with the Satellite Locker.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

I checked the dimensions of one of my original helmets and decided a 12" outside diameter would be close.

I contacted some folks with 3d printers about printing the front half of the helmet but it would have been prohibitively expensive and require printing in multiple pieces.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a 12" diameter foam hemisphere.  It's hollow with a wall thickness of about 7/8".

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

I'll be posting updates for creation of the buck to be vac-formed.
Stay tuned!

2024.06.20
Halloween mask update #1:
I took a picture of the helmet profile to work out the curve of the scallop in the front.  I figured the cleanest way to remove the scallop would be with a hot-wire cutter so I built one with some nichrome wire from eBay.  I built a jig to allow the cutter to follow a precise line and cut the hole for the visor.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

2024.06.23
Halloween mask update #2:
The neck is built from layers of blue foam board and plywood.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

The foam surfaces are covered in over 100 pieces of aluminized tape to protect them from the heat of the melted styrene.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

After contracting a friend to 3d print the front half of a face, it was time to figure out how the face would be integrated with the helmet.

In the original masks, the face pretty much fills the inside of the helmet.  This is not the case for this one so I decided fill the extra space with a curved surface that matches the scallop of the visor opening.

2024.06.26
Halloween mask update #3:
I went back to Hobby Lobby and bought a 10" diameter foam hemisphere.  This one is solid and has a rougher surface.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Using the jig and the hot-wire cutter, I cut out the same scallop and covered the exposed surface with aluminized tape.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

After receiving the 3d printed face, I built another jig to hold the face and used my bandsaw to cut the matching curve.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

The face sits on the solid foam surface.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

2024.06.29
Halloween mask update #4:
With all the pieces ready, it is time for vacuum-forming.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

One 16" x 16" styrene sheet is used to make a copy.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Here's a copy after trimming from the big sheet but before making any holes.  As you can see, this has much more depth than the original masks.  Kind of looks like a marble statue.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

The trimmed piece is 12" tall, 12" wide and 5" deep.

2024.06.30
Halloween mask update #5:
The previous updates have condensed 8 weeks of work into 2.  This is the final update.
A Dremel is used to make holes for the eyes, nose and mouth.  This is giving off a "Westworld" vibe.  But hey, it's a Halloween mask.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

An adjustable elastic strap is attached on the inside.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

I chose Peach for Matt's face and gray for the interior of his helmet.  The colors are brushed on by hand and covered with a couple of coats of matte lacquer.  

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Given the lack of reflective paint, this probably wouldn't pass muster for a child's "in the streets" Halloween mask.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

I chose Chestnut for Jeff's face and blue for the interior of his helmet.  I went with coloring the interior rather than the helmet itself to stay truer to the original.  I would do something similar for the interior of a helmet for Storm (red) or Doug (yellow).

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

What do you think?

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

2024.07.06
A good start to the Matt Halloween masks for Mark Hecht and Tom Langland.  They have been vac-formed and trimmed from the big styrene sheets.

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

Pat LeBlanc's Adult-Sized Astronaut Halloween Mask

2024.09.02
Halloween is just around the corner.  Anyone interested in an updated mask?  All four "flavors" are available.

You can reach Pat LeBlanc on Facebook, he's also an active member of the MAJOR MATT MASON Facebook group.

Should anybody reading this have any similar information, additions or corrections, then we would very much appreciate hearing about them.

All Mattel images and captions are copyright Mattel and used without permission. All other content, including images and editorial, is Copyright © 1997-2024 John Eaton and/or contributors unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton.