Showoff: ESB FP Prem helmet paintup

Thanks, guys - it took a LONG time (several months of on & off work).

Eric/Jayvee: I tried steel wool over the weekend and while it brought up the overall sheen of the helmet, I think anyone besides myself would be hard-pressed to see a difference. I think I'm going to hold off on until my next helmet -- maybe try a few tests along the way. I'm pretty convinced the base material of the ILM helmet is probably the main contributor to its surface quality (as opposed to any finish they may have applied).
 
. . .I tried steel wool over the weekend and while it brought up the overall sheen of the helmet, I think anyone besides myself would be hard-pressed to see a difference. . .

It is a very subtle effect. I did a steel wool rub-down on my PP3 once I got done with it.
I had used Polly Scale clear flat, which if you've never tried it, is just a touch "milky" when
it's airbrushed on. It's also dead flat, so that's why I used the steel wool.
But as I mentioned, it's really hard to get an even look all over the helmet. I wasn't so
worried about doing it on the PP3, as that has a really worn look overall.
 
superjedi said:
It is a very subtle effect. I did a steel wool rub-down on my PP3 once I got done with it.
I had used Polly Scale clear flat, which if you've never tried it, is just a touch "milky" when
it's airbrushed on. It's also dead flat, so that's why I used the steel wool.
But as I mentioned, it's really hard to get an even look all over the helmet. I wasn't so
worried about doing it on the PP3, as that has a really worn look overall.

I tried some polyurethane satin clear on another resin model and it worked pretty well on that. I think it was the finish of the resin kit that helped (and whatever paints they used). I guess the scary part is sinking in so much time and money into a helmet build and paint-up -- and then to screw it over with a clearcoat -- its not exactly a trivial thing.


Thanks for the props, brothers. Finishing up the overall build this weekend (What? Halloween already? How'd that happen?). Hopefully more pix to follow.
 
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