Iron Man – Inspired Cement Headphone Stand

I wanted a headphone stand, but I didn't want another boring stand sitting on my desk.

So I thought... why not make the stand itself something worth looking at?

I started with some old cardboard and slowly turned it into an Iron Man head. Then came the messy part: covering it with cement, building up the shape, sanding it, fixing the details, and finally painting it red and gold. What started as a few pieces of scrap cardboard ended up as a solid Iron Man-inspired headphone stand that I can actually use. The best part is that I didn't need a 3D printer or any complicated equipment. Just cardboard, cement, some basic tools, and a lot of patience.

Here’s how I made it.

1. Cardboard from old boxes
2. Scrap paper
3. Masking tape
4. White paper
5. Cement
6. Water
7. Acrylic paints
8. Paint brushes
9. Sandpaper
10. Pencil
11. Scissors
12. Cutter
13. A small container for mixing cement
14. Gloves and a dust mask

I started with some old cardboard pieces and made a basic frame in the shape of a head. First, I cut cardboard strips and joined them together to make the outer shape. I also made a simple base and neck because I wanted the finished head to stand on its own. I didn't try to make it perfect at this point. I just focused on getting the overall size and shape right.

Once the basic frame was ready, I started filling in the shape with more cardboard. I added pieces around the forehead, cheeks, jaw and back of the head. I used masking tape to hold everything together. For the empty spaces, I used crumpled paper and small cardboard pieces. This made the structure stronger and gave me something to build the cement over.

Now came the messy part.

I prepared my cement mixture and started covering the cardboard frame. I applied the cement in small amounts and built up the surface gradually. I used my fingers and simple tools to spread it and shape the helmet. I didn't worry about the surface being smooth at this stage. The first layer was mainly to cover the cardboard and create a solid surface for the next steps.

After the first layer had hardened, I added more cement where I needed extra volume. I worked on the forehead, cheeks, jaw, chin and the different sections of the helmet. For the larger shapes, I built them up slowly instead of applying one very thick layer. This is also where the rough cardboard shape started looking like an actual helmet.

After the cement had dried properly, I started cleaning up the surface. There were quite a few rough areas and uneven edges, so I used sandpaper to smooth them out. I wasn't trying to make the surface perfectly smooth. I just wanted the helmet shape and details to be clear.

After I finished shaping and sanding, I started painting.

I used red for the main helmet and neck and gold for the face plate. I painted the larger sections first and let them dry before working on the smaller details. For the eyes, I used blue paint.

After the main colours were dry, I used black paint to define the lines between the armour pieces. I carefully followed the shapes I had created earlier. These black lines helped separate the red and gold sections and made the face details much easier to see. I also touched up the paint wherever necessary.

And that's it.

What started as scrap cardboard, paper, tape and cement became an Iron Man-inspired headphone stand. It isn't perfectly smooth or factory-made—and that's part of what I like about it. The whole thing was shaped and finished by hand.

Now my headphones have their own place on the desk, and the stand itself has become a decoration.

A piece of concrete that doesn't just sit there... it holds my headphones.