Madmartigan's FPH Prototype ESB Helmet

I feel like a lazy doofus for not finishing my Fang by now. You've done most of what's taken me four months in four days. lol

Looking fantastic, Eric!
 
Stunning work Eric, I cannot believe this was only started the other day!
You are the speed painter king! :eek:
 
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Thanks guys. :) I have to use my weekend time to full advantage. Not nearly as much spare time during the week.

UPDATE: September 15th

OK, got a bunch done today. (y)
I completed the detailing on the upper cheeks, and moved down to the lower cheeks, too. When I paint the gray details on the lower cheeks and dome, I use the 2nd custom color of this whole project. The SP Lark Dark Gray is very similar in tone to the Panzerolivgrun. I don't feel there's enough contrast to make it show up like it should. What I do is use the PRR Brunswick Green (the color of the upper cheeks) and add a few drops to my Lark Dk. Gray till it shows nicely against the lower cheeks and dome.

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Here, I've also given the Borden a base coat of silver. It will be detailed toward the very end of the project.

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So that completed everything below the dome. So what to do next???? The dome, of course! :lol:
I started at the back, doing small sections at a time while working around toward the front.

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Here are a couple of shots of the back of the dome with some more painting done, plus a bunch of the really fine scratches.

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The next detail to paint is one of my favorites; the cat scratch! I just think this is a really cool looking scar. (y)

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Finally for this round, the damage above the "turn signals" on the forehead. :)

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Still to come: The Dent! Maybe some killstripes, too. ;)
 
Man, that's one seriously fast paint job!

OK, since you make it look SO EASY, what are you doing to transfer the stencils to the bucket and then to mask? I tried printing the stencils on water transfers, I tried printing them and then cutting them out with an X-Acto blade, tried printing and then turning the print over and tracing them and then flipping it back over and rubbing the stencil on... NOTHING seems to work well enough to make it worth my effort and I end up hand drawing all the damage using the stencils as a guide. Any advice would be a HUGE help!
 
Man, that's one seriously fast paint job!

OK, since you make it look SO EASY, what are you doing to transfer the stencils to the bucket and then to mask? I tried printing the stencils on water transfers, I tried printing them and then cutting them out with an X-Acto blade, tried printing and then turning the print over and tracing them and then flipping it back over and rubbing the stencil on... NOTHING seems to work well enough to make it worth my effort and I end up hand drawing all the damage using the stencils as a guide. Any advice would be a HUGE help!

I'm in the same boat as you. I tried the x-acto method but that is WAYY too tedious and takes forever if you want clean lines. FettDad told me that tracing the mirror of the stencil on carbon paper then rubbing it onto the helmet works great. Since I haven't got carbon paper, I tried to do it all freehand just using stencils as a reference but my masking fluid is causing me problems.
 
I tried a new method when I painted the mythosaur's on my wife's shoulder armor and the emblem on her helmet. I used graphite paper. You can get this at Michael's or another craft store:

cimg1267fz8.jpg


You can print your stencil or image at the correct size and glue it directly on to this graphite paper with a thin spray of Elmer's Craft Bond. I would cut a piece of graphite paper a little larger than my image/stencil, spray the back of the paper with the image. Smooth the graphite paper on to it and then cut around the image so there is none hanging over the graphite paper -- this avoids any sticky edges on the stencil from overspray. You get something about like this (i had already used this one, so you see my trace lines around it):

cimg1268sl3.jpg

cimg1269xm2.jpg


Much more precise than tracing because:

a) with traceing paper --you have to trace the image twice and then rub it on, so you're three steps removed from the original image/shape. This way you transfer directly on to the surface from the image with one trace
b) it makes more accurate, darker lines. I got really frustrated with trace paper when the final rub onto the surface left very faint or -- in some cases -- indistinguishable lines

It worked for me. I'd love to see what others think....

-Chris
 
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"If Terminal Fettler could be. . . turned, he would be a powerful ally."

:lol:

Just remember everyone, there's no one right way topical to paint a helmet. There are several topical methods that lead to great topical results!!

:lol: :lol:
 
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