We were hugely proud to work on Marvel’s fantastic superhero film, Guardians of the Galaxy. Working with the designer Alexandra Byrne, we created the iconic helmet worn by the film's central character Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and manufactured the Nova Corp's high-tech helmets and body armour.

 

To make the Starlord helmet, we first 3D scanned actor Chris Pratt and then digitally modelled the helmet to perfectly fit his head. Inside the helmet, features were modelled to fit small hidden fans for ventilation, as well as the clever system of lenses that allowed us to light up the masks red eyes without affecting vision. The helmet itself was made using a vacuum casting process, allowing it to be tough, lightweight but very detailed.

 

For Korath (played by Djimon Hounsou) we made armour with a complex pattern of overlapping and underlapping surfaces, as though manufactured using alien technology. To achieve this, the armour was 3D modelled and the parts 3D printed. Normally, the parts would then be moulded, but due to their complex underlapping geometry, we decided to use the actual 3D prints in the final armour. To make the prints robust enough for an action movie, they were coated with a very strong layer of real copper then electro-plated and art finished to create the final colour.

 

By contrast the helmets for the Nova Corp. were sculpted traditionally in clay then refined by our model makers before being cast out in a strong polyurethane material. The Nova Corp. body armour was cast out in combinations of rigid and flexible urethane making them suitable for stunt sequences. The breast plate of each Nova Corp. soldier featured remotely controlled LED lighting.