My budget Bucket Progress

stellardude

Active Hunter
Hi folks!
My ugly recast from eBay has been sitting on my shelf for a really long time.

This is my first attempt at costuming of any kind, so be easy on me, ok?
It was $65 off eBay and it came with reeeaaally ugly casts of the ears, RF and stalk.... so (with the help of a very kind forum member, TK172) I replaced the ears with FP ones... and an aluminum stalk with cold cast RF.

So here's some pics! Not quite sanded for painting yet... but hopefully this week :)

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Nice start... (y)
Man that dent looks very similar to the FPH dent?
Thanks!
It should look better when it's been sanded a bit and has the silver undercoat and one coat of each colour. If it doesn't turn out well, at least it was a learning experience, paint-wise.

You think it looks like the FPH dent? That's a compliment!! (But the FPH is a MUCH nicer bucket than this one! lol)
 
Great start... bit of sanding and I'd recommend spraying a coat of grey primer onto it... this will show up any surface imperfections that may need filling/sanding? ;)
You going for airbrush or rattlecan method? patience in using either media... I learnt the hard way once and tried too much too quickly and soon regreted it? :lol:
Can't go wrong with FPH ears too.. nice casts!

This is what I mean about teh dent...

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Wow! You're right about the dent! Mine looks a but rough in comparison... but the shape is pretty much the same! (yessssssss)

I'm going to use rattlecans... I don't have the know-how or equipment for airbrush.
But I'm going to mist it reeeeeaaaaally slow. So I might need more layers, but it will be nice and even.

It's got a coating of grey primer on right now... I can see LOTS of imperfections! lol
But I'm going to fill what the major stuff in (leave the minor stuff as surface damage to give it a battle worn appearance). But I'm going to prime it grey again, once it's ready... to give the silver something to grip to.

Thanks for the feedback!
Keep it up! :) Any other suggestions are welcome!
 
No worries bud... glad to help out? (y)

Even if you are keeping the smaller imperfections, I'd still go with a coat of primer to give the Silver something to 'grip' to as you say.. :lol:

I don't know if you have ever used rattle cans? no offense intended if you have! but my experience (little) with spraying is to approach the area with the nozzle depressed and pass over it then release once you have passed that area? make sense? :confused What I'm trying to say is try not to spray direct but more shorter bursts will give you an even coat.

Always make sure you have masked the remainder of the helmet well as over spray will lead to tears! :lol: or at least till you get to the weathering stage... :p
 
Thanks for the advice about the spraycans! I've had a little experience using them for models and other props, and I've learned the hard way that you're absolutely right about starting the spray before contact and ending it after. Also, a little distance doesn't hurt either... you might get a lighter mist, but it's more even... you can always do 2 or 3 coats (always once the previous coat is dry)

Any advice about fillers? Every time I go to the hardware store and ask for "epoxy filler" they look at me like I have two heads! lol
 
Thanks for the advice about the spray cans! I've had a little experience using them for models and other props, and I've learned the hard way that you're absolutely right about starting the spray before contact and ending it after. Also, a little distance doesn't hurt either... you might get a lighter mist, but it's more even... you can always do 2 or 3 coats (always once the previous coat is dry)

Sounds like you got it covered... (y)

Dunno much about epoxy fillers? I generally use car body filler for all my surface imperfections and it sands out really smooth... ;)
 
Hehe, got one of those sitting on the shelf too, waiting for me to spend some time. They actually do have a pretty good shape to the dent. I got a lot of my prework done already. The back of mine was pretty warped, so I heated the whole thing and re shaped it a bit. You are right about the ears. The rangefinder ear on mine is almost impossible to fix. Much easier to buy a better set. Hmm...those FP ears look pretty good on there, might have to get a set for mine. These buckets can come out good, if you are willing to put in the work.
 
Hehe, got one of those sitting on the shelf too, waiting for me to spend some time. They actually do have a pretty good shape to the dent. I got a lot of my prework done already. The back of mine was pretty warped, so I heated the whole thing and re shaped it a bit. You are right about the ears. The rangefinder ear on mine is almost impossible to fix. Much easier to buy a better set. Hmm...those FP ears look pretty good on there, might have to get a set for mine. These buckets can come out good, if you are willing to put in the work.
You got it from the same fella I think :)

That keyhole area was a disaster! I think with a bit of Bondo (thanks for that suggestion btw, Tony) it will come out acceptably (not perfect.. the keyholes themself are horrible! Hopefully the layered paints and some intentional battle damage will help with that).

Did you find you had any problems with the mandible area on the inside bening a little thick? I had to grind and sand that sucker down so that a visor will fit properly!
 
Hi everyone!

Some new progress pics for today!
I was able to Bondo the Keyhole area... cleaned up the bucket... a few layers of grey primer... and on goes the silver layer!!

While I was waiting for Bondo and paint to dry, I was able to paint the right ear pieces and the RF! WHOOHOO!!!

Off to the craft store tonight to buy some latex masking fluid!!
Gonna mask off the damage tomorrow.

Enjoy!
As always... feedback would be great!
Thanks!

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I didn't even cut the visor out yet. I wait until all the body work is done first, so it stays sturdy. That bucket is coming along great BTW
 
Very nice prep work bud (quick)... bet your glad you sorted out that keyhole area? ;)
Always remember bondo is your freind... :lol:

So what colour scheme are you going for? ESB / ROTJ / Custom

That way we can help out with colours and details etc... (y)
 
Thanks folks!
Good point about the visor... beginner's mistake (although I wish it had come cut out already! It was a pain to cut!). It's veeeery thick (too thick actually) fiberglass... so sturdiness is not a problem (cutting on the other hand...)

Yeah... that keyhole area was a tough one! Thanks for the advice! Although it could gone smoother (smoother in the sense that I wish I could have gotten the lines and the surface smoother) but I'll mask it with damage, lol. It went quick because I have the luxury of being on involuntary vacation (read: laid off from Dell) so I have LOTS of time.

I'm going to be doing ESB colours... so any advice is welcome!

I got some craft latex masking fluid tonight so I will be masking off the damage tomorrow.
Fun fun fun!! (I'm doing some FP v.2 armour at the same time.. it's all ready to be masked... trimmed, primed and layered silver). I got some rattlecans of two different greens from my local hobby shop too. Hunter Green for the darker parts and a light green (looks accurate) for the light stuff (if it's not exact, it should be ok, since I'll mist some weathering on later)... any suggestions for the Red? I have some Blood Red, but I might use that as a base layer and do a mist of something darker overtop... what do you guys think?
 
Looks good so far!

Sorry to hear about the woes with Dell though :-\
Yeah, thanks brother.
I was at Dell for almost 2 years and they closed my group (Quality) and laid us all off!
So next time you think about buying a Dell... remember: They have no interest in Quality Assurance! :)

Thanks for the kudos about the helmet!
I have a rebel tattoo also (albiet quite a bit smaller).... not sure how well that goes over in this group lol... (The skull tattoo is a veeery good idea though!... somebody should design a standard DH skull tattoo! So we can have a link set in ink!.... whoah! deeeeep!)
 
Yeah that sucks about Dell. I am a buyer with my company, we use Dell exclusively and also resell servers. We have a Premier Account, I spend a ton of money with Dell.
 
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