Sgt. Fang progress thread

Sixxgunn13 · Sep 5, 2007

Spideyfett said:
Practice....lots of practice.....

Great Job as always Superjedi!

Yup, like SF says... plus you need to take your time!!

I'm almost done my ESB.. it's my first paint job. nowhere near the skills and attention to detail like Superjedi

...but heck i'm still learning.

superjedi · Sep 6, 2007

Yes, lots of practice. . . and patience. Even though it seems I'm going quickly, each section is very carefully matched to the reference pics.

UPDATE: Sep 6th (DAY 11)

OK, not much of an update today, but I did get the prep work done on the ear pieces. While sanding a seam last night on the lower right ear piece, I discovered some bubbles that had to be filled. So I applied some putty so it could dry overnight.

Also, I remembered something from when I built my MS helmet. Chad sent me an aluminum RF stalk for this helmet, and I remembered when I put my helmet together, my alu. stalk was a little too thick to fit in the slot. What I did was create a "shim" on the upper ear cap to give it a little more space. I traced the shape of the ear cap on some .020" styrene sheet, and cut it out to the overall shape. Then I used the shape of the slot on the molded-in portion of the upper ear to cut out a template to leave room for the RF to pivot. This is what I'm talking about:

Once I had the shim cut out, I superglued it to the back of the ear cap, letting a little glue squeeze out along the edges to "seal" the seam as much as possible. When the glue dried, I used a sanding stick to make it flush with the ear cap. Here's what it looks like.

So this gives the slightly thicker aluminum stalk enough room.
(NOTE: I absolutely did not come up with this idea on my own. Someone [Batninja???] did a very similar alteration on their Sgt. Fang helmet a while back.)

When I paint smaller parts/assemblies, I find a spot that won't be seen once it's finished, and use a small screw as a "handle" during painting. Hemostats are a great modeling tool, too!

I won't be able to do any more today. I have a dentist appointment (bleah) so I'll have to leave for work earlier than I normally would.
More to come!

Laan · Sep 6, 2007

As always bud, awesome work! Your attention to detail is amazing!

GrottyFurball · Sep 6, 2007

That looks nice, when batninja did his I believe he put the shim on the helmet side to keep from altering the profile of the ear cap.

Jango72 · Sep 6, 2007

Nice work, I'm amazed at how much you've gotten done in such a short span.

As for the shim, it really doesn't matter on which part you place the shim as the upper earcap will still stick out that extra bit.

NikNak aka · Sep 7, 2007

Man you pump these things out like no ones business. I wish I had time to finish my bucket :*(

superjedi · Sep 7, 2007

UPDATE: Sep 7th (DAY 12)

OK, getting really close now.

I've painted the base coats on the ears. After the RF ear's base coat was dry, I masked and painted the bare silver areas. They'll dry for the rest of the day and tomorrow I'll apply the decals and paint the damage.

I also masked and painted the "arch" that's molded into the right side of the helmet.

After it dried, I went back and painted the inside of the "slot" silver.
Almost there!

Melvin Fett · Sep 7, 2007

I am getting so excited to get this...8)

GCNgamer128 · Sep 7, 2007

Great looking helmet so far

superjedi · Sep 8, 2007

Melvin Fett said:
I am getting so excited to get this...8)

Well I'm getting excited to finish it!

UPDATE: Sep 8th (DAY 13)

OK, the ears are done! So that's the last paint application for the entire helmet. All that's left is the weathering.
Here's an overall shot of the ears.

And some of the detailing on the ear bottoms.

Here's the RF ear cap. I used a combination of vinyl decals and rub-on transfers for the markings. The "T" with the dot, and the 9 thin stripes are rub-on letters. I scraped the damage into those little stripes before I rubbed them down on the ear piece. Just that part alone made me cross-eyed for an hour.

But I like using the transfers because they're so thin. To me, the thickness of the vinyl for such small details looks a little out of scale.

Rich D · Sep 8, 2007

Superjedi, your work is amazing as usual. Those ear caps look perfect. I really hope I can get a bucket painted by you at some point, before you get totally burned out on doing these.

superjedi · Sep 8, 2007

Thanks, Count D! I'm still enjoying doing helmets. I don't see myself getting burned out. . . but I have an optometrist's appointments later this month (not a joke) to see how my poor old eyes are doing. :facepalm

UPDATE #2: Sep 8th (DAY 13)

I just wanted to show my ear attachment method. I talked to Chad and described a couple of different ways to put the ears on. He chose the bolt method.
What I do is hold the ears against the helmet and determine a couple of good spots to fit some bolts. I pick 2 spots per ear, and 1 thru the center of the upper RF ear cap. This one acts as a pivot for the RF stalk. Chad said he wasn't planning to install a servo, so it won't interfere with any "internals" but still allow the RF to pivot up and down.

I use a little bullet-shaped grinding bit on my Dremel, and carve out a couple of "scoops" on the back of each ear piece.

Then I'll use JB Weld to epoxy these small machine screws into each ear. I make sure the head of each bolt will actually be just slightly below the surface, so all that sticks out are the threaded portions.

Once the JB Weld cures, those suckers are in there for the long haul.

I'll then drill corresponding holes in the sides of the helmet, making sure to make them just slightly large enough to have a little bit of play so the ears will line up correctly.

And yes, if my brain were working correctly, I would have done this at the beginning, before painting.

But at this point, I just wiped off a little resin dust, and everything's good to go.

So close to being done now!!

Spideyfett · Sep 8, 2007

Soo pretty..

Melvin Fett · Sep 8, 2007

WOW!!! So close!

Del Fargazer · Sep 8, 2007

I've been watching this thread since the start ... time for me to say something. Not only are you doing a FANTASTIC job painting that helmet, but I have to say thanks for sharing your progress along the way.

Beautiful work and terrific photos .. my Fang helmet should be here any day, and while I don't imagine it will turn out like yours superjedi, it will definitely be BETTER because of your thread. Thanks ... and keep it coming !!

Cheers

superjedi · Sep 8, 2007

Thanks guys!
Del, one of the primary reasons I do progress threads is to hopefully give people some ideas about techniques they can use themselves.
This community has given so much to me in the creation of my costume, I think it's the least I can do to give some tips here and there.

Right now I'm pretty much done with the helmet. I have JB Welded the machine screws into the ears, and I'm waiting for them to dry. I'm gonna give them the rest of the day and overnight to fully cure. (I hate waiting for stuff to dry!!

)
Once they're good and solid, I can drill thru the sides of the helmet and secure them in place.
While the ear bolts are drying, I'm painting the range finder.
Then, the absolute final step will be to add the tan "spatter" over the helmet.
Tomorrow=Finished!

superjedi · Sep 9, 2007

FINAL UPDATE: Sep 9th (DAY 14)

Well. . . it's done. :cheers

Here's a final selection of pics for you guys. I took these out on my balcony in natural light. These shots give a much closer idea of the "real life" colors.