As promised in the original costume build thread, I'll report my new helmet's assembly and painting process here. You can find my ESB Fett project thread in the Costume subforum.
The helmet is often the most important part of the suit and people tend to put a lot of effort, time and money to their costume "faces". My helmet came as a part of a larger package from a retiring collector a couple years back and back then I really didn't notice any faults in it. However the Don Post Deluxe helmet is not known for precise features or very accurate paintjob. It's more like a nice collector's piece, something to display and of course an important part of Fett helmet history.
This was the reason I didn't want to do any modifications to it, because of it's collectable value. No one really knows how many unmodified and fine-condition Deluxes exist anymore. The helmet was good sized for me and even the paintjob could've been "good enough" but the visor inaccuracy made the upgrade clear as I finally realized what was wrong with the helmet. It creates a whole another kind of look and effect when the visor is deeper in the helmet.
A new helmet then. I recently purchased a Bobamaker helmet from Cargo Hold. This one was in mint condition and the important Dent detail had been exchanged into a Fettpride Dent. I love the BM's durable finish and the opportunity of getting prepping and painting it immediately without need to do a whole lot of cleaning first. I was very happy with the acquisition. Just a tiny flaw; the other cheek and mandible courve seem to be warped a tiny bit, I need to figure out a way to straighten it somehow or then just leave it as it is.
I have to admit, I'm scared sithless to start painting this helmet!! The armor was child's play compared to the complexity of a layered ESB paintjob. For the painting project I hunted every template I could get and then compared these to each other and some pro paintjobs I had seen. Now that I have already started painting I can't believe how skilled and precise you master painters are, as it seems impossible to replicate every little scratch and chipping detail, yet you guys do. Hats off to the amazingly skilled painters here in TDH, you're crazy.
This is my newbie first go at painting a helmet and I'll try to do it as well as I possibly can, with the time and resources at hand.
This is how the helmet was pictured in it's original sales thread. Mine!
First stage, silver basecoat completed. As you can see, the right-hand side mandbile is a bit higher than the other one, creating an uneven look. I think it might work if I just bent them at the same level when hotgluing or bolting the visor inside and it would hold them at place. Any opinions if this would work?
Here's some of the tools I'm using. Winsor & Newton's liquid masking will be used for covering weathering details as new paint layers are applied. I chose Vallejo's Model Air series because of their availability. I can get these from the local hobby store without any external hassle. Ordering paints from webstores has proved to be a hit and miss gamble and personally I'm not doing it anymore.
Aaaaiee, first coat! Even from the Rafal's great templates it's pretty **** hard to determine in what exact order the different coloured paint layers should be on top of each other. This is the first, light layer upon masked silver battle damage. By the way, all colour hues in these pictures will be off, as my camera was made long long time ago (and probably in some other galaxy as well)!
Peeling off masking, laying down a new one, another layer of paint and peeling off the mask again. It's like the most rewarding feeling in the world to rip off the masking coat to reveal the chipping details underneath! This is how it slowly starts to resemble a finished product.
Some people do the paintjob in a "topical" way, meaning that they lay down the green base color of the helmet and then paint all the scratches and damage on top of it as it's easier and if the layers are thin, no one will see the difference. I wanted to do a layered paintjob however, as it's more realistic and that's how it was done in the movie as well.
Let's continue from here. Thanks for interest!
The helmet is often the most important part of the suit and people tend to put a lot of effort, time and money to their costume "faces". My helmet came as a part of a larger package from a retiring collector a couple years back and back then I really didn't notice any faults in it. However the Don Post Deluxe helmet is not known for precise features or very accurate paintjob. It's more like a nice collector's piece, something to display and of course an important part of Fett helmet history.
This was the reason I didn't want to do any modifications to it, because of it's collectable value. No one really knows how many unmodified and fine-condition Deluxes exist anymore. The helmet was good sized for me and even the paintjob could've been "good enough" but the visor inaccuracy made the upgrade clear as I finally realized what was wrong with the helmet. It creates a whole another kind of look and effect when the visor is deeper in the helmet.
A new helmet then. I recently purchased a Bobamaker helmet from Cargo Hold. This one was in mint condition and the important Dent detail had been exchanged into a Fettpride Dent. I love the BM's durable finish and the opportunity of getting prepping and painting it immediately without need to do a whole lot of cleaning first. I was very happy with the acquisition. Just a tiny flaw; the other cheek and mandible courve seem to be warped a tiny bit, I need to figure out a way to straighten it somehow or then just leave it as it is.
I have to admit, I'm scared sithless to start painting this helmet!! The armor was child's play compared to the complexity of a layered ESB paintjob. For the painting project I hunted every template I could get and then compared these to each other and some pro paintjobs I had seen. Now that I have already started painting I can't believe how skilled and precise you master painters are, as it seems impossible to replicate every little scratch and chipping detail, yet you guys do. Hats off to the amazingly skilled painters here in TDH, you're crazy.
This is my newbie first go at painting a helmet and I'll try to do it as well as I possibly can, with the time and resources at hand.
This is how the helmet was pictured in it's original sales thread. Mine!
First stage, silver basecoat completed. As you can see, the right-hand side mandbile is a bit higher than the other one, creating an uneven look. I think it might work if I just bent them at the same level when hotgluing or bolting the visor inside and it would hold them at place. Any opinions if this would work?
Here's some of the tools I'm using. Winsor & Newton's liquid masking will be used for covering weathering details as new paint layers are applied. I chose Vallejo's Model Air series because of their availability. I can get these from the local hobby store without any external hassle. Ordering paints from webstores has proved to be a hit and miss gamble and personally I'm not doing it anymore.
Aaaaiee, first coat! Even from the Rafal's great templates it's pretty **** hard to determine in what exact order the different coloured paint layers should be on top of each other. This is the first, light layer upon masked silver battle damage. By the way, all colour hues in these pictures will be off, as my camera was made long long time ago (and probably in some other galaxy as well)!
Peeling off masking, laying down a new one, another layer of paint and peeling off the mask again. It's like the most rewarding feeling in the world to rip off the masking coat to reveal the chipping details underneath! This is how it slowly starts to resemble a finished product.
Some people do the paintjob in a "topical" way, meaning that they lay down the green base color of the helmet and then paint all the scratches and damage on top of it as it's easier and if the layers are thin, no one will see the difference. I wanted to do a layered paintjob however, as it's more realistic and that's how it was done in the movie as well.
Let's continue from here. Thanks for interest!