Sgt. Fang progress thread

[superjedi]

Hi!
Well. . . I'm at it again. On August 27th I received a Sarge bucket from a member here to paint ESB style. Once again, I won't reveal his secret identity, but he's welcome to say hey!
I'll be putting up some pics to show how it's coming along.

1st UPDATE: August 30th (DAY 4)

Today is really the 4th day I've had the helmet, and until now, there hasn't been much to show. Just the usual trimming and sanding and filling. I cut out the visor and keyslots, turning myself into a resin snowman in the process. Then I used some modeling putty to fill in along the seam on the back of the helmet. I have to say Sarge's new molds are really good! The seam is a lot less noticeable than the first one of his helmets that I worked on several months ago. Still, there were some areas to be filled.
I got the first coat of primer on this morning.





Priming always brings out any flaws in the surface, and as you can see, it looks a little uneven after sanding. I noticed some tiny bubbles that still showed in a couple of places along the seam so I'll reapply some putty, let it dry overnight, and re-sand and re-prime tomorrow.

[Melvin Fett]

Eric, it's going to be great watching you work again. As Todd mentioned before, the fact that it's my helmet really doesn't matter. Watching a master at work is always a jaw-dropping experience!

[drokkul]

turning myself into a resin snowman in the process.

Isn't it amazing how much dust resin makes? Just dremeling out the keyslots on mine made an unbelievable mess!!

[superjedi]

I know!! When I got done, I sneezed and a fully formed Range Finder came out!!
Nice sharp cast, too.

[Laan]

Off to a great start my man. Looking forward to more.

[Jluck]

cant wait to see some paint slaped on! looking smooth so far 8)

[drokkul]

I know!! When I got done, I sneezed and a fully formed Range Finder came out!!
Nice sharp cast, too.

That, sir, is the grossest thing I've heard all year!

[superjedi]

Hooray for gross out humor!

UPDATE: August 31st (DAY 5)

We have color!! Did the back panels in Floquil Concrete. Man, Floquil and Polly S paints spray on nice! I've probably mentioned that before, but it's true.
I'm still using my older 4 MP digicam, and the colors are showing up a bit weird. If everything goes according to plan, my wife will be back in a few more days and I'll have our nice 8 MP camera to use again.





Once the Concrete dries, it'll be stenciled and masked for the dark green-blue color.

[Melvin Fett]

That's looking really cool so far Eric...::DROOL::

[superjedi]

UPDATE #2: August 31st (DAY 5)

Well, the Floquil dried quickly enough that I was able to get some more done today!
I got the dome and lower cheeks painted using good ol' Testors Panzerolivgrun.



Once the green had a few hours to dry, I traced the damage on the back panels, and transferred it to the bucket. I'm using the same method I've described in my other progress threads.





So tomorrow, it's Winsor & Newton time!! I'll paint on the liquid mask, then spray my custom dark blue-green. If I have time after that, I'll paint the mandibles, too!! Go ahead, try to stop me!! You can't!

[Laan]

Looking good man!
Well of course the paint will dry fast. That's what happens when it's so freakin hot out.
Cant wait for more bud!

[Melvin Fett]

I am so excited! You are flying!

Todd, any progress on getting a visor into that bucket?

[superjedi]

UPDATE: Sep 1st (DAY 6)

OK, making some good headway (no pun intended) on the back of the helmet. Got the Concrete areas masked with W&N fluid, then once it was dry, I masked off the rest of the helmet and sprayed my blue-green. A few hours for it to dry, and I rubbed off the liquid mask.





After removing the liquid mask, I go back with a small brush and fix any outlines that don't quite match up to the reference photos. Since the masking fluid is. . . a fluid, it's really hard to get it to exactly match my stenciled lines. A size 0 brush is my constant companion when painting one of these helmets.

The next step will be masking and painting the mandibles!

[Mojo-Fett]

Great update...
Bought my paints today, so this is a great help.

[Melvin Fett]

Great update...
Bought my paints today, so this is a great help.

haha! that's great. lookin' good eric!

[superjedi]

UPDATE #2: Sep 1st (DAY 6)

Alright! Just moving right along here. . .
Got the mandibles/band/keyslot area sprayed. Now it's starting to look like Boba!





The only major color application left is the dark color on the upper cheeks. Then, it's on to detailing!
The RF ear "arch" will be painted close to the end when I work on the other ear pieces. That way, I can spray everything at once.

[Melvin Fett]

seriously...

[superjedi]

Glad you like it, Chad! Hope you like this too.

UPDATE: Sep 2nd (DAY 7)

Wow. . . total painting marathon today. *Whew!* Didn't realize it was after 5:00 PM already!!
Anyway, got a lot done today. I was seriously in the zone. . . tracing, transferring, painting up a storm! Got the lower back sections done, and started working my way around toward the mandibles. Got some of the "hat band" done, too.
Here's an overall look at the back.



And here's each side.





Starting on the left side of the face:



I'm really trying to take advantage of the long weekend. . . guess it's working!

[Melvin Fett]

Eric I'm speechless. This is absolutely fantastic! I hope that you will sign the inside of mine, too. You are a true artist. ^^

[al13ns]

i'm speechless

[Jluck]

beautiful eric!!!!! wow

[Halo_1]

Sweetness! Great work bro!

Stay safe,

Tim

[superjedi]

Thanks, all! This is really starting to shape up now.

UPDATE: Sep 3rd (DAY 8 )

OK, got the left side of the face done!



Now I'm starting to work the right mandible. Well, the part above the visor anyway.



Next will be the mandible itself. . . lots of detail in this area!

[superjedi]

UPDATE #2: Sep 3rd (DAY 8 )

OK, got the mandible done! Wow. . . this section is one of my favorite areas, even though it's got a lot of tiny detail.



Next I'll finish the right cheek area, and then everything below the dome will be done!
Then it's on to kill stripes!

[Melvin Fett]

The attention to detail...stunning. I am amazed, yet envious of your talent!

[MandalorFett]

What impresses me the most is how fast you do this, and with great detail. With great power comes great responsibility.

[superjedi]

Yeah, I've been really spending a lot of time on it this weekend. My free time usually dries up during the week. I just get into it and don't realize how long I've been painting. Tonight I only stopped cuz my stomach was growling.

And don't worry Jim, I shall only use my helmet painting for good and niceness. . . and not for evil and bad things.

[mrgr8ness]

Fantastic as always. I love watching your threads. They are usually over in a week though

[ItsThatGuy]

I need to change my underpants! That thing is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

[Mikey Fett]

Great Job, might need your services soon

[superjedi]

Thanks! I can feel myself slowing down. . . but not too much. Just can't keep up the same pace for more than a couple of days. My back winds up yelling at me.

ItsThatGuy, I love your HS Fett!! I saw some pics in your photobucket album. Really great looking suit!

UPDATE: Sep 4th (DAY 9)

Began working on the dome. I started at the back and I'm working my way around the right side. I'm still using my trace/stencil technique to place the "larger" damage areas, then after the silver and gray are painted on, I go back with a compass point and do the really thin scratches.



Here's the area behind the right ear.



And I wanted to show a pic of the cat scratch in a couple of stages. First I stencil the silver area. I don't worry about most of the small details. I just try to get the overall outline as close as possible to my reference pics.



Once the silver is laid on, I go back with my tiny size 0 brush and do the gray. You can see as I work around the silver, I add the little dips and divots, changing the overall shape of the outline, as well as putting in the internal scratches. This is done freehand.



So next will be working around the front of the dome toward the dent! Still have the killstripes to do as well.

[GCNgamer128]

Great job on the mandibles That's always difficult to get going perfect!

[Melvin Fett]

I am still amazed that this is my helmet...I can't thank you enough for doing this Eric!

[superjedi]

GCN, thanks! The mandibles give the "face" so much character, so I try to put as much detail in those areas as I can.

I am still amazed that this is my helmet...I can't thank you enough for doing this Eric!

Chad, no problem man! Although. . . I'm thinking of scrapping the whole paint scheme and going with a "Hello Kitty" Boba after those Vader pics from D*Con. That cool with you?

[Melvin Fett]

GCN, thanks! The mandibles give the "face" so much character, so I try to put as much detail in those areas as I can.



Chad, no problem man! Although. . . I'm thinking of scrapping the whole paint scheme and going with a "Hello Kitty" Boba after those Vader pics from D*Con. That cool with you?

Haha as long as we can do a pink t-visor and you can sculpt a cute bow over the dent!

[superjedi]

UPDATE: Sep 5th (DAY 10)

Well, I decided to forego the "Hello Kitty" Boba Fett and stick with the original ESB scheme.
So now, all major painting on the helmet it done. I actually began this final stage last night with the kill stripes. I masked them off and added the chips with masking fluid, painted them, then let them dry overnight.
This morning I unmaksed the stripes, then worked on the damage around that area. I moved on to the dent, and the long scrape behind it.
The final area I worked on is the big weird scrape across the top of the dome.







Still to do: weather the entire helmet, add the 2 white "thumbprints," and spray on a final dull coat.
I'll start working on the ears tomorrow.

[Laan]

Great job man!
I still like mine better though




For people who dont know, SJ painted mine too.

[tubachris85x]

How do people learn to paint like this, I mean seriously..???

[Spideyfett]

How do people learn to paint like this, I mean seriously..???

Practice....lots of practice.....

Great Job as always Superjedi!

[Jluck]

sweeeeeettttt!!!! :thumbup man its amazing paint work there eric!!

[Sixxgunn13]

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:thumbup...but heck i'm still learning.

[superjedi]

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]

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

[zombierepellent]

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]

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]

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

[superjedi]

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]

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

[GCNgamer128]

Great looking helmet so far

[superjedi]

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.]

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]

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.

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]

Soo pretty..

[Melvin Fett]

WOW!!! So close!

[Del Fargazer]

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]

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]

FINAL UPDATE: Sep 9th (DAY 14)

Well. . . it's done.

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.







And some different angles of the back.







Finally, some close-ups.







This has been a really fun project. Chad, I hope you'll enjoy it even more once you have it in hand. I'll be sending it out early this week. I'll be a little sad to see another one of my babies head out the door. . . *sigh*

Thanks for following the progress, everybody!
Eric

[Wildabeast]

awesome job

[charlie]

Amazing paint job Superjedi!! And again, thanks for posting the progress thread! It's a definite help to those of us getting started!

Charlie

[Melvin Fett]

I still can't believe this is my helmet! Eric, I wish I could hug you man! You're the best!

[SD68]

Awesome work SJ. You make it look so easy. The owners' of these helmets have received works of art.

[plin86]

:thumbup:thumbup:thumbupPlease oh lord of helmets, bless us with your skill.:thumbup:thumbup:thumbup