Superjedi's FP Premium ESB for Nighthawk5296

UPDATE: May 13, 2014

Right mandible is done. . . whew! This area takes me several sessions to complete.
There's such a wealth of tiny flecks and chips scattered through the silver and the
relation of each portion is important for the overall look.



Depending on which area of the helmet I'm working on, sometimes I apply the gray first, then go
back and add the silver. Other times I'll paint the silver first, then add the gray (and other colors as needed.)
With the mandible, I do the silver first to get the major damage laid in, then come back in 3 additional
passes to add the gray, the maroon, and a few key chips in the base red.
Here's a slightly closer look.



With this section done, the basic painting on the helmet is now complete! I'll begin the "effects" painting next.
This includes the fade beneath the killstripes, the white thumbprints, the "grease stains" on the back of the dome,
the contrasting gray, and the tan/rusty spatter over the front of the helmet. There will also be a bit of pastel
weathering around the dent, and on the inner cheeks. So there's still a little way to go yet!

In between the stages of paint work on the helmet, I have airbrushed the base colors on the ear parts.
They still need to be detailed, too. This will give me a variety of things to work on as the helmet nears
completion.

It's unbelievable to watch you bring these things to life time after time. Wow!

Ah geez, stop being so darn good at this Eric - you make the rest of us look bad dammit..

Thanks, guys! Jonny I'm still waiting for that ROTJ helmet. Hope it didn't get lost in the mail!

UPDATE: May 14, 2014

Closer and closer. . .
Got 2 small stages done this afternoon: the fade below the killstripes, and the white thumbprints.
The fade is subtle, and even more subtle in pics, but there's structure to it and I've tried to
replicate that as best I can.



The thumbprints are fun to do. Just some Tamiya flat white applied with a fine brush to
get the basic shapes, then "swooshed" back with a larger stiff-bristled brush.



I'll be working on the ears next. The ears have some of the spatter on them, so they need to
be at least temporarily installed before I do that. I save the greasy looking stains on the back of
the dome and the pastels until right before I'm ready to do the final clear coat.

I also need to detail the Borden and work on the RF stalk/topper. Small changes from here on out.

jbdubz said:

friggin GOWGEUS!

Click to expand...

Yes love watching SuperJedi at work. Fine work sir!

Thanks, G2b!

UPDATE: May 15, 2014

Boba can hear! Sort of. . .

Here's what I've gotten done on the left ear so far. The base coat has been on since
I did the base coat on the dome, and I did the white arch today.
I measured it out and masked it off with tape. Then I used some masking fluid to do
the 2 chipped areas.



I'll work on the detailing next, as well as the detailing on the left ear pieces.

UPDATE: May 17, 2014

Got the left ear done and temp installed. Here are a couple of shots.



It probably takes me about as long to paint the bottom angled face as it
does to paint the entire rest of the ear!



Next up will be the RF ear parts.

Great work SJ

Beautiful work as always!

Thanks a lot, guys.

UPDATE: May 22, 2014

Finding little bits of time here and there to work on the weathering stages. Memorial Day is this weekend,
so I'll have lots more time after work tomorrow!

I've gotten all of the pale contrasting gray done. This is a nice subtle feature, and it looks very different
depending on the lighting angle. The gray is scattered all over the helmet, most noticeably on the right
rear panel and the dent, but it's in other areas, too.

Here's an angle of the rear panel where the gray blends pretty well with the silver.



When the helmet is rotated, it's much more apparent.



There's a decent amount of the gray on the edge between the right mandible and the outer cheek.
But it's much less than on the rear panel, so it's more subtle overall. Here are 2 different angles.





Within and around the lip of the dent, it's lots of thin strokes and chips. Here are 3 angles as
the helmet is rotated. Some of the gray seems to disappear then reappear.







So that's the gray stage complete. I'll begin working on the grease stains on the back of
the dome next. I have the lower RF ear part done except for the bare metal portion. I also
have the black arch airbrushed onto the upper RF ear. Once I airbrush the white half-arch and
finish detailing the upper piece I'll spray the bare metal parts and apply the small markings.
Almost there now!

Absolutely beautiful work Superjedi, love it was the silver in the dent hand brushed as well? looks amazing

Thanks, Spacebob! Yes, all of the silver over the entire helmet is Floquil Bright Silver applied with
a fine detail brush. That's what I love about Floquil--it levels out so nicely.

I see in your sig line you have a thing for white helmets. Nice collection!

Stunning work to say the least. I absolutely enjoy reading through your helmet threads, they are a wealth of knowledge. Looking forward to seeing more progress.

Thanks superjedi i do have quite a collection on the go although usually I make scratch built droids, that's my main thing check me out on the rpf.
I'm starting my own esb boba paint up thread tonight so I need to find some floquill paint in England

Yeah the Floquils will be harder to find these days.

UPDATE: May 25, 2014

Delay of game! Hit a minor snag while working on the RF assembly. I was working on drilling and
tapping a hole in the top of the stalk so I could use a bolt to secure the RF topper, and my thread
tap broke off inside the hole. Grrrrr. . . :angry
It broke off nice and flush, too, so I couldn't get a tool on it to try and twist it out. I'm working on
sourcing a new stalk already.

But on the good side, I've finished detailing the RF ear parts. I'm going to give them a shot of dull coat
later today, and once that dries, I'll be able to spray the Testors Metalizer for the bare metal portions.

I have also detailed the Borden and I'll be installing that today, too.

Hate to have a delay like this when the helmet is 95% complete, but not sure what else I can do at this point.

Awe that stinks sj...maybe drill it with a smaller bit? I'm sure you can get it out of there...call metals tech. Haha

Testors model masters has equivalents guys...I've been using the brilliant silver and floquil Grey and get the same effect....

Sent from my SCH-I545

Found the floquil Grey deep in my stash...




Sent from my SCH-I545

Fett 4 Real said:

Awe that stinks sj...maybe drill it with a smaller bit? I'm sure you can get it out of there...call metals tech. Haha

Click to expand...

LOL. Man. . . how many times we had to wait on metals tech out there on the line. . .

UPDATE: May 31, 2014

OK, here are a couple of shots of details I've been working on while I'm waiting for the
replacement RF stalk. Hoping it will get here soon, as it's just about the only thing left, LOL.

I completed the detailing on the RF ear. Did the gray and silver damage, masked off and
sprayed the Testors Metalizers, and applied the small markings.



I use dry transfer lettering to do the small markings. My technique differs slightly depending
on whether I'm working with resin ears with the bare metal painted on, or real metal ears.
For real metal ears, I rub on the letters intact, then use a sharp plastic tool to do the chipping
and scratches. The plastic tool doesn't damage the aluminum, so it's easiest to do it that way.
If I'm working with painted resin ears, as I am in this case, I chip the letters before I apply them.
I just use the tip of a brand new #11 X-acto blade and very carefully add the chips before
I rub the letters onto the ear parts. I tried chipping them after they were applied on another
helmet a while back, but it marred the silver paint and I had to sand and respray the silver.
Here's another angle.



Difficult to see in the pics above is the spatter that's been applied over the front of the helmet.
I mix up a nice rusty shade using Tamiya Khaki and Red Brown, then thin it down so it's pretty
watery. Then I flick little droplets on using an old toothbrush. Primitive, but effective.

In the second picture above, and in the following pic, you can see the "grease stains" on the rear
of the dome. These are concentrated on the rear half of the dome, although there are some
stains on the sides of the dome, on the rear half of the red band, and even a couple of minor spots
on the rear panels.



I have finished painting and installing the dummy LEDs in the RF topper. As I mentioned, I'm only
waiting on the cold-cast RF stalk to arrive from Animefan and then I'll be able to finish up the RF
assembly. After that, I'll install the visor and post some completed pics!
Apologies to Nighthawk for the slight delay, but I wasn't expecting that thread tap to snap in
half inside the first RF stalk. It'll be done really soon, though!

Just looking flat out superb Eric… It's fair to say you have mastered your technique bud, absolutely love all the colours, detailing, smudges, stains etc, etc…

Not to mention the shot with 'I Love you Man' in the background - love that film…. "slaaapppinnn' the baasss…"