Ponte's FPH Deluxe ESB paintup. *Visor Trim Completed*

For anyone that was following my Sgt. Fang ESB paintup I did about a year ago, they'll remember it was my very first helmet. My very first time working with stencils, an airbrush, weathering, etc. While many thought I did a decent job, I graded my helmet at a C. Nowhere near perfect, there were a lot of mistakes that were made be it improper stenciling, bad paint mixtures, etc.

One year later, I've had a whole lot of practice on other parts of my armor, as well as working on commissions for other TDH members, and I really think it shows. I'm planning on having this done for Celebration V, and this will hopefully be the helmet I'll be using for quite some time (Unless fettpride comes out with a Super-Ultra Deluxe FPH :lol). The ultimate goal is to get this helmet as close to the AOSW helmet (minus blue marker) as I possibly can, leaving little room for error. So begins my journey:

Here we have the kit, ready for visor trimming and paint prep:
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2829.jpg

Using my trust Dremel rotary tool, I neatly cut out the visor area and installed the visor using Chicago screws:
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2879.jpg

A big thing that I noticed was that the visor on the original ESB hero widens out towards the bottom, and I wanted to replicate that flare to the tee. I used a thin steel ruler that we at the Old Guard use to measure medals and insignia on our uniforms. I scaled the AOSW pictures to what my helmet measured out to be, and proceeded to get accurate measurements of the distance between mandible trims:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2900.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2901.jpg

And with some patience (and possibly luck) I nailed the measurements exactly when the visor was installed:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2882.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2883.jpg

Up next came the physical damage that's seen on the AOSW helmet. And of course, being as anal as I am with details, I measured out exactly where the damage would be placed on the helmet:
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2884.jpg
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2885.jpg
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2886.jpg

I then drilled out the holes for the earcaps (sorry I don't have photos for that step) and coated my helmet using Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. I swear by this primer, as it's honestly the best out there for this type of hobby work. Not only does it coat evenly, but the fine particles fill in any minute scratches, giving it a smooth surface.

Next came the base color of Testors Light Gray. I think this color has a bit more of a bluish hue to it as seen in the AOSW pics compared to the Humbrol 147.

To be honest, I'm using a rather custom list of colors here. I borrowed a few of the Humbrol colors from terminal fettler's, Superjedi's railroad colors, some from Rich D.'s list, and a few custom mixes I came up with. I did this because I felt that there needed to be some adjustment based upon the AOSW pics, and I'm really trying to nail everything as close as I can color wise.

The Light Gray is then masked:
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2975.jpg
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2974.jpg

Humbrol no. 11 Silver is then sprayed over:
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN2976.jpg

After masking the silver and light gray damage, I sprayed Humbrol 79 and honestly, it's WAY too dark in my opinion, and that's the color you see in the next photo:
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3151.jpg

It should be Reefer Gray, or at the time a combination of SP Lark Dark Gray lightened up with Light Gray that I mixed. Later on, I used a brush to paint the lightened gray mix over the Humbrol 79.

After the light gray, silver, and gray were masked I sprayed Humbrol 28 followed by a misting of Humbrol 103. I think in the future, I'll use Testors Concrete.

Once the light gray, silver, gray, and beige are masked, I sprayed Humbrol 76 and 96 mixed together at ABOUT a 1:3 ratio. I felt that the 1:1 ratio came out far too green, so I added the 96 blue a drops at a time until I got the desired color.

And here's the final result with some of the fine scratches added in:
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3284.jpg
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3282.jpg

Here are a few comparison pics to the AOSW ESB helmet:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...helmetcomp.jpg
http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...elmetcomp2.jpg

I was VERY happy with how the back panels turned out. I still need to implement a few scratches here and there (including the check-mark found of the left panel) and some pigment weathering.

I got my tonsils cut out yesterday, which means I got 2 weeks of convalescent leave from the Army to stay at home and rest...more like, work on my helmet and finish up some commission work. :b

Stay tuned for updates everyone. It only gets better from here.

Amazing job mate! Good luck with the rest of the helmet, look forward to following your progress

Looks horrible keep on working on it and then just send it to me and Ill send my FP budget kit and you can try again lmao good job so far it looks pretty dang good to me

too bad you'll have to wear it over that awesome hoodie I sent ya!

Sick work. brother!!!

AWESOME JOB! Can't wait to see what the finished helmet looks like. Hope you're feeling better after the operation. Now get back to work ! You have a commission to finish.;):b

WOW :D Looking good Ponte can't wait to watch the progress on this as I am sure it will turn out to be another fine bucket bro.

Fantastic! Really like the way those rear panels came out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by superjedi

Fantastic! Really like the way those rear panels came out.

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Appreciate it. I'm really looking forward to using the pigments once I finish the helmet and get it sealed. I did some practice with pigments on my old boba helmet and I really liked how it turned out. I actually found all the MIG pigments in a pack at my local Hobbytown USA.

Excellent work! You are right about that no.79 being too dark on the rear panels, i now use a lighter shade there and also on the mandibles and trim, although i still see the dome grey as slightly darker...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by terminal fettler

Excellent work! You are right about that no.79 being too dark on the rear panels, i now use a lighter shade there and also on the mandibles and trim, although i still see the dome grey as slightly darker...

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Yup, you are correct, the dome does have a darker gray. I plan on adding a bit of SP Lark Dark Gray (or any dark gray for that matter) to the Reefer Gray for that area. I just finished up the left ear cap (pics up soon) with your color choices green 78 and 59 1:1 and once again, absolutely perfect in color. :thumbsup

Back panels are lookin sweet! Can't wait to see the rest

Very nice work, I'm looking forward to seeing the next pics.

DAZ

:suprise:suprise:suprise:suprise:suprise:drool:dro ol:drool:cheering:cheering:cheering:cheering:thumb sup

i see a painting service in the future....;)

Between commission work, and straight up busting out hours at The Old Guard, I've been able to get some documented work done. I'd consider this a HUGE update, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have a lot of minor detailing/weathering that I need to accomplish in order to pull off a true AOSW Fett helmet.

Finally got the dome and lower cheek main colors done, as well as the upper cheek/mandibles done! In order to get the gray color that surrounds the silver damage, I had to make my own special mixtures. Looking at numerous AOSW photos, the gray used on those areas compared to the visor trim is slightly different, so I used reefer gray as my base mixture and added in small quantities of SP Lark Dark Gray until I thought the colors were just right. Being some of the most defined areas of the helmet, I made sure to get every little detail correct. Here are a few side by side shots :D:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...ontcompare.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...ntcompare2.jpg

And for a few more photos of various areas:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3460.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3454.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3461.jpg

For the main dome/lower cheek colors I used Humbrol no. 78, which is a dead ringer over the POG Green, wasn't a big fan of it. Big thanks to Terminal Fett. for nailing this color :thumbsup. The upper cheeks were painted with PRR Green, which looks a lot better than straight up black. Highly recommended :thumbsup

*NOTE*: For the areas of the cat scratch and dent, use Chrome Silver instead of Bright Silver (the rest of the helmet). For some reason those areas have a more metallic brilliance when looking at the AOSW photos. Unfortunately, you're going to later on have to dull down that brilliance with a 0000 wire wool pad, as you can clearly see a lot of the silver is worn/dulled on the screen used helmet. :(

Working on the visor trim now, so hopefully I can get that done this weekend.

Once I'm done with the helmet, I plan on compiling a complete color list that has all of my paint colors used as well as my special mixes that I made to get a more accurate representation. I'm really looking forward to getting everything painted so I can begin the weathering process. Stay tuned, there's more to come, I promise.

Rock on! Looking terrific. I love seeing helmets in progress and how people tackle the various stages. For example, I usually get all my "base" colors on before starting the damage. But I'm strictly a topical guy. :)

Great update Rick! This helmet is going to come out great!

Absolutely, spot on work, bruv. Brilliant! :)

Awesome work Ponte... :thumbsup

Outstanding detail...
How many hours have you put into it so far?

To answer your question James, too many hours, that's how long :D. I can't get a steady time to work on it since my work schedule is so hectic, so its pretty sporadic.

Just for a quick update, got the Silver, Reefer Gray, and Humbrol 73 + 104 (1:1) mixture applied onto the visor trim. I added a few more drops of 73 to give it a SLIGHTLY more reddish tint. Now I have to trace out the purple areas, have everything masked up, and slap on the Boxcar Red and I'm good to go with the visor trim (almost):

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3478.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3477.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3480.jpg

looking nice

Very nice, this is going to be an amazing helmet.

:suprise:suprise:suprise:drool:drool:drool:cheerin g:cheering:cheering:cheers

WOW bro looking great most impressive!!!!!

Awesome work!!!

Where are the updates I was waiting for?!?! Bro after i talked to you I got that **** looking good realized i missed a spot with the green and you could see the silver through the green cause it was so thin there tried to get it right but ended up screwing it all up so I ended up sanding the dome back down and re spraying the silver, and re sprayed the green this morning after remasking all the damage, I did get very familiar with the different damage on the lid so Im gonna be through sometime might be in full ROTJ at CV

and how are you attaching the T visor? The one FP sent with mine is like shade 3 and you can for sure see my face through it got a shade 5 and you cant see through it but need to workout a way to secure it maybe chicago screws

i'd love to see some new pics too !

Hes to buisy painting

Boxcar Red finally applied. Lots of little details that need to be hand-painted, but I think it came out rather well. Sorry about the super fog, the humidity in Virginia is ridiculous:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3555.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3556.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3557.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3559.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3560.jpg

Some close ups. Still need to wipe away the white-graphite trace:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3561.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...P/DSCN3562.jpg

Looks like **** Ill send you my MSH to paint and you can make it look like **** too! No but really looks better than my ESB which I didnt paint so I blame my ignorance at the time...But I need to get working on it now that I have the ROTJ one done for C5 I kinda wanna have both versions done for C5 ROTJ and my comic rendition...know anyone with a left gaunt for the cheap?

oh and rather well? Really that thing came out amazing

WOW! I love the paintjob on that! Looks GREAT :D

:skull El1te

That is outstanding Ponte! Truly impressive. I can't wait to see it in person at C5.

Beautiful work...

And hes still working on it just sent me a pic of the back I think He's gonna be working till tuesday at midnight pack it up and hop on a plane to orlando after and sleep then

I know this is a bit of an older thread. Assume this got finished. Would love to see the end result.....Amazing work.

He finished heres at the hotel at CV
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/attac...954d1293061940

Timely. :)

very nice paint up.

He's the Michelangelo of the Boba

i can see that

Thanks F4R. Great looking suit. Top notch work....

heres a couple more
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5202/...bec4b982_b.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/...cc9e79b9_b.jpg

Geez his is better that the real one ( that he is holding his next to) .
But seriously very nice job ,
Ive seen people say AOSW (art of star wars )version Fett ,; ie ; jet pac, gaunts and helmet , why is it refered to in this sense
are the peices not just SE Fett , ESB lid on a Jedi body ?
Ive never seemed to be able to clarifie the difrents , is it just that 30 od years of moving it around has added to the weathering or are there new peices added?

AOSW is the SE fett...its not just the helmet theres different hip and belt pouches hoses or lack there of knees wookie braids and helmet...

Yeah i know the difrents on the SE but what i mean is people like in this threed refer to there paint job as AOSW so i was wondering were these peices new aditions or are they the old stok pulled out and put toghter? for the art of star wars?

the actual screen used stuff...its more beat up than in the movie too since its been used so much and mishandled

Cool so like the left mandibl crak and the filler in it , and other subsiqunet damage that comes with years of handeling