Superjedi's FPH Progress Thread

[superjedi]

UPDATE #1: November 11th

Yikes! Here goes.
First of all, I mentioned in the FPH thread how unbelievable this helmet looks. I've been doing props and costumes for 6 or 7 years now, and of all the FG and resin kits I've worked with, this is far and away the nicest, cleanest set of castings I've ever had on my workbench. The parts are just perfect.
It may be a little thing, but one thing that struck me the most is how smooth these parts are! The ear pieces and the RF feel like injection molded plastic. Fantastic work! :thumbup

To begin working on the helmet (after I washed off all my drool ), I chucked a very small drill bit into my Dremel and drilled many small holes in the keyslots. I left very little space between them. Then, I carefully dragged the bit sideways to connect the dots. This opened the keyslots up. I finished the rough openings with a couple of jewelers' files. Since the casting was so clean it was very easy to see where the outer edges were.

For the visor, I used a reinforced cutoff wheel in my Dremel, and carved out the majority of the visor with that. I finished the edges in the upper corners using that small drill bit again. After the opening was roughed out, I went back with some course sandpaper wrapped around a thin chunk of wood and sanded the edges smooth. Once that was done, I took some finer grade paper and finish sanded all the way around the opening.

I took a whole bunch of blue painter's tape and plastered the interior to keep the nice gelcoated interior clean, and hit the whole helmet with a few light coats of Tamiya gray primer. I've used Tamiya primer several times before, and it gives a great smooth finish. I've never had any problems with my topcoat adhering.
So here she sits on day one!







Much more to come!
Eric

[Jluck]

great start eric keep em comming!

~shoulda read this first...disreguard the pm

[batninja]

Phew! Now I don't have to do a tutorial.

Great start to an awesome project, Eric!

[superjedi]

Thanks! This one's gonna be a pleasure to work on.

Phew! Now I don't have to do a tutorial.

Huh?? Why wouldn't you? The more the merrier!

[Rich D.]

I'm really looking forward to watching this one. Please take some pictures after masking scratches/before painting the layers.

[fettpride]

Geeeeeez man !!!! You're quick !!!!

I'm definitely gonna watch this thread with great interest !!!

Thanks for the kind words man ... I don't think people up here truly
realize how much I appreciate it I'm glad you love your bucket !

FP

[superjedi]

I'm really looking forward to watching this one. Please take some pictures after masking scratches/before painting the layers.

Count D, will do! Although, the only layered sections I do are the rear panels with the pale/blue green colors. I do everything else topically.

Geeeeeez man !!!! You're quick !!!!

I'm definitely gonna watch this thread with great interest !!!

Thanks for the kind words man ... I don't think people up here truly
realize how much I appreciate it I'm glad you love your bucket !

FP

Well, I gotta say after doing so much research into Fett and seeing how much the quality of products can vary, this helmet just floored me right out of the box. Your hard work is definitely appreciated!!

[evan4218]

You da man bro... fastest gun in the west. Keep it up bro... your off to a great start! You aint kidding about a clean cast. These castings set a new tone for what folks should look for these days.

[Lucksy31]

CAN'T wait to see this masterpiece!!!!

[Scott Kaufmann]

You're not done already Eric? Man you are slowing down.

I can't wait to see how you complete this masterpiece that is the FPH.

[SegwayOfOhio]

Looks great...please keep the pics coming!

[superjedi]

Thanks guys! I'm enjoying this helmet immensely.
Scott, yes, I'm slowing down. . . but not too much!

UPDATE: November 12th

The back panels. OK, this update shows several steps all together, but the work involved covers many hours.
I first masked and sprayed the back panels with Floquil Concrete. I suppose masking the entire bucket isn't really necessary, but I do it anyway. So there!
Once the Concrete was dry, I traced the damage areas and transferred them onto the helmet. I filled in the areas to remain Concrete with Winsor & Newton's liquid mask. I think it was Spideyfett that turned me on to this stuff, and it's just an amazing product. It's really easy to work with, and only a thin layer is needed. It's a bit expensive, but I've had 1 bottle that's lasted me through 5 or 6 helmets so far.
Here's what the masked areas look like.





The fluid dries VERY quickly (less than half an hour) and once it was dry, I masked the helmet again and sprayed my custom blue-green color. Here it is after I removed the plastic from the rest of helmet, leaving the tape along the very edges until it dried.



After a few hours, the blue green was dry, and I removed the liquid mask. I just use a small square of tracing paper to "roll" the dried fluid off the helmet. After removing the mask, I checked it against my reference pics, and using a small size 0 brush, corrected any edges that needed some tweaking.
The masking fluid is great, but it's hard to capture every tiny curve and dot.
Here's how it looks now, after all those steps! *Whew!*





I haven't decided what to do next. I will either mask the helmet and paint the dome/lower cheeks, or detail the back panels. Depends on how I feel later.

[Jluck]

:thumbup:thumbup......man, u start with one killer fett cast and put it in the hands of one killer paint master and there u have it folks!


looking great eric . at this rate u should have it done by saturday huh!

[mrgr8ness]

This isn't done yet? Come on man, you're slowing down. J/K, can't wait to watch this thread everyday

[Geo]

Wow Eric! This is gonna be one beuatiful helmet!

Geo

[evan4218]

Off to a good star bro... if your doing the other stuff topical or at least reverse masking... just get the base red and green on there so all of us can see it in its green an red glory!

[superjedi]

Geez, I'm sorry I'm not as quick as I used to be!
It's these old eyes of mine. . . and these old fingers. . . and my back. . . *sigh*



UPDATE #2: November 12th

OK, I decided which way I wanted to go. I figured I'd do the major color applications before I started with any of the detail painting. That way, if something goes horribly wrong, I won't have as much to do over!!!
So anyway, I got the dome/lower cheeks painted with Testors Panzerolivgrun (which by the way, is German for "Panther Groin Oil". . . I think. . . my German's a little rusty ). Again, everything but the areas I was painting was carefully masked off.
Once the PO Green dried, I went back and did the upper cheeks using Floquil PRR Brunswick Green. Some people have had great results using weathered black, and to me, I can't really tell the difference. The PRR is so dark, it basically looks like a kind of oily black. The upper cheeks were hand painted. The Floquil paints are fantastic and they level quite nicely. After I got good coverage, I went back with my medium brush and gave a final "stipple" coat to mask any small remaining brush strokes. Once everything is weathered and clearcoated, the finish will be great.
Here's the helmet as it will stand for the rest of the evening. . . I've done enough for today! :o





With sunset around 5:30 PM these days, I dunno how much I'll be able to get done during the week. I just can't airbrush in the dark! But hopefully I'll get to finish the mandibles/band/keyslots within the next couple of days.

[Tension113]

Well you really don't waste any time at all do you ...

You know how much I love your progress threads.. I use them just as much as the real ref pics.. (For that one day out of each year that I decide to work on my helmet)

Looking forward to the progress.. You're work is always amazing..

[superjedi]

Matt!! What's up man? Well, I've seen from the pics you've sent me that you're working on a lot of other stuff the other 364 days out of the year, so it's forgivable.

[superjedi]

Well, I couldn't leave it alone. . . so. . .

UPDATE #3: November 12th

Since I couldn't do any more airbrushing (I'm afraid of the dark ) I started on the detailed damage on the back left panel. I used Floquil Bright Silver, and Polly Scale SP Lark Dark Gray to do all the damage areas. Each color is stenciled individually, and painted with my very good friend, the size 0 brush.

Here she be!!



Here's a closer-upper shot. The setting on the camera makes the shape of the bucket a little odd.



Once I get further along, I'll try to get some shots in natural light. This lamp in my hobby room doesn't do the colors justice.

[BobaFettSlave_1]

looks absolutly amazing buddy. good luck on your project

[Farva]

Dude you are a machine! It looks awesome!

[Bountyone]

very nice Eric. thanks for posting your progress man, your a true credit to this website!!

B1

[Jango's kid]

Jeepers creepers!!!! Moving right along there. Fantastic so far!!!!! Keep it up!!
D

[Foxbatkllr]

You work fast, man! Can't wait to see it finished!

[Spideyfett]

You work fast, man! Can't wait to see it finished!

Finished?? you mean you're not done yet Eric???...

Outstanding work so far....keep the pics coming.

[HeadlessHunter]

Looks great

[stormtrooperguy]

are you done yet?

...

...

how 'bout now?

[fettpride]

That's just crazy

Eric, not sure how you do it bro. I remember back in my paint days, people credited me for being quick, wondering if I ever slept. Wondering how I "Did it" ... Dude, this isn't the first time I've seen you do this. And the attention to detail and quality never suffer. The finished product is always FANTASTIC !!!
Dude, you are a "Machine"

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, right?




The machine that IS "Superjedi" ....





Great work man !

FP

[Mojo-Fett]

Great work SJ.... and Oh my G~@ - how fast this thing is coming together!

[Mojo-Fett]

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

[deadland]

I love your progress threads I will be watching this paint job with great interest. great work so far keep it coming.

[superjedi]

Geez, you animals!! I have to do boring stuff sometimes, like work and sleep.
Chris, any decent paint job has to start with a great canvas. And this one's just phenomenal!! I can't say it enough. . . bravo for an incredible helmet! :thumbup
But to satisfy those who are watching. . .

UPDATE: November 13th

I got home early enough to do some airbrushing! Hooray!!
I masked off almost the entire helmet (this is the most extensive masking for the whole project) and shot some Floquil Boxcar Red. I tend to use acrylics wherever possible for most of the rest of the helmet. They're easier to thin and clean up. Just some running water, and my spray gun is nice and clean. But there is a significant variance in some of the batches of Polly Scale Boxcar Red, which is the acrylic version. So I use the enamel for my mandibles.
Another reason I prefer acrylics is that they dry so much faster. Now that the mandibles are painted, I'll have to let it dry at least 24 hours before I even think about handling it. With my acrylics, I can handle it much sooner.
So here it is with all the major colors applied!





After the Boxcar Red is nice and dry, I can begin the rest of the damage on the back right panel, and then start working my way around.

[Spideyfett]

sooooo pretty!!

[charlie]

Awesome SJ. Just awesome. I can't wait to see how it compares to the Sgt Fang you did earlier this year.

Charlie

[COPENHAGEN6]

Impressive talent. I like your method and detail.

[SoulAssassin]

Looking great, can't wait to see the finished product.

[DarthMiller]

nice!!!

[Sixxgunn13]

Soooo Beautiful!!

[MandalorFett]

Amazing work as always SJ. :thumbup

[Jluck]

u the man eric!!!

[superjedi]

Thanks, all! Here's where the fun begins. . .

UPDATE: November 14th

Kind of a smallish update today. I began painting the damage on the back right panel.
Same colors, same techniques. I got the upper right corner, and the lower right area complete, and have blocked in the big silver area just to the right of the keyslots.
Still have to go back and detail this area, but I won't do all that craziness till tomorrow.

An overall shot:



A closer look at the lower right area.



Gotta give my eyeballs a break!

[SD68]

SJ, your work is exactly what I want to achieve with my paintjob, only you do in a week what takes me a month. One of these threads should be stickied to show the proper way to paint a helmet. You are the man!!!! FP, I think you have provided him the ultimate canvas in which to apply his talent.

[jjv5150]

with envy..awesome job Bro...

[superjedi]

SD68, I'm pretty organized when I'm painting. I have everything I need basically within arm's reach, so I think that's a big time saver right there.

UPDATE: November 15th

Whew!! Man, that right panel is a killer! These 2 pics show several hours work between last night and this afternoon. I did all the detailing in the big silver area, using SP Lark Dark Gray, and some of the blue green color.
I also got the keyslot area done, using those same 2 colors plus PRR Maroon for the darker reddish damage. These are the same 3 colors I'll be using for a while now as I begin to work my way around the 'hatband' toward the areas around the ears, and around the front to the mandibles.





Now I have to go cook a turkey for our squadron's Thanksgiving buffet tomorrow. I wonder what they would say if I used green and red food coloring to make an ESB style turkey.

Thanks again for keeping up with the thread!

[FettFanatic]

Amazing job! Keep up the great work. You are giving me something to shoot for when I get one of these buckets.

[pghfett]

Super nice work Jedi,
Cant wait to get one and paint it up as well !
I can only hope to do such a fine job - and fast as heck with accuracy !!!

Nice work !

[Banzai88]

This is an awesome tutorial. The techniques are well described and can be used on many props. Thanks for posting all your fine work!

[superjedi]

Glad you guys are enjoying the progress. I'm having fun documenting it.

UPDATE: November 16th

Round and round we go. . .
Started working on the band. I began above the keyslots, and have made it to the vertical part behind the right ear. I'm using those same 3 colors described earlier. Next will be the left portion!

[superjedi]

UPDATE: November 17th

OK, been fairly productive today. I've finished the back half of the red band and have done the front section above the visor cutout.
Here's a couple of angles.





Next come the mandibles themselves!

[deadbolt]

Nice work, man! Looks good

[Halo_1]

Bro,

I love your work! i love you...marry me? Seriously, awesome work so far bro!

Stay safe,

Tim.

[MandalorFett]

Bro,

I love your work! i love you...marry me? Seriously, awesome work so far bro!

Stay safe,

Tim.

Serious about the work, or the marriage proposal?

Great work Supes, I wish you lived closer to SoCal so I could see your work in person.

[Rich D.]

fantastic job so far! It's really cool to watch the progress.

[Jimmy BufFETT]

It's always amazing to see the attention to detail you put into painting these. Jaw-dropping as always!

[superjedi]

Wow! I get a marriage proposal out of this deal??
Sheesh. . . how will I break the news to my wife?

UPDATE: November 18th

And so the weekend draws to a close. My goal was to use the past 2 days to work the mandibles, since they're so detail heavy. After a lot of squinting and head tilting and numb fingers, I got 'em done. That right mandible is just cwazy!





The colors still look pretty stark. But after weathering and dullcoating and spattering, everything will tone down quite a bit.
I'll start working on the cheeks during the week!

[Jluck]

:thumbup Y O U :thumbup T H E M A N !!!!



AWESOME eric!

[Banzai88]

Can't wait for the next post! Great inspired work!!

[Chewcy]

absolutely amazing, every helmet you paint gets better each time, top work

[DL44 Blaster]

You sure nobody is there with a gun to your head to get this done ASAP? Just nod if you need us to call for help

Seriously, never have I seen such speed and accuracy....awesome work!

[superjedi]

Hey, thanks guys. Painting and other hobby stuff is like my Zen meditation. I just get into it and let everything else fade away.

UPDATE: November 19th

We have half a face! Got the left cheek areas done. I finally put away that pesky PRR Maroon and went back to gray and silver. For the gray areas on the lower cheeks (and later, the dome) I darken up my Polly Scale SP Lark Dark Gray with a few drops of PRR Brunswick Green until there's a noticeable contrast. The SP Gray by itself is too close in tone to the PO Green. (Not my trick. . . I think that's one of the things Lee mentioned in his color thread.)
I'm also doing my helmet as the screen-used version rather than the exhibit version. So there will actually be less damage on this one. If you're familiar with all the ref pics of the ESB helmet, you'll probably notice a couple of scratches and chips that aren't on my helmet. That's the reason why.
So here she is for tonight.



Tomorrow I hope to get the right cheek done.

[DarthMiller]

AWESOME!!!

I am very impressed!!

[HMPOTC33]

Just a couple of questions, are you using the airbrush for all of this or just the major coats and your trusted friend the "o" brush for a majority of the details?

[fettpride]

Sick, sick, sick <shakes head>


Awesome work my friend. Just awsome !

FP

[superjedi]

Just a couple of questions, are you using the airbrush for all of this or just the major coats and your trusted friend the "o" brush for a majority of the details?

I'm using a roller and a big sea sponge.








I spray on all the "major" colors, and all the detailed damage is done with either a size 0 or a 000 brush, depending on how fine the detail is.

[Jluck]

I'm using a roller and a big sea sponge.<<<<<<<

[Lucksy31]

Seriously Eric, SICK. Nice job....

[webchief]

Coming along AWESOME! Great work!

[superjedi]

Thanks again, guys. The helmet is really starting to shape up now!

UPDATE: November 20th

OK, I'm done with the cheeks and have moved up to the dome!
The right cheek went a little quicker than the left. There's not as much detail. I'll do the Borden connector later once I'm doing my final weathering.



On the dome, I've started at the back above the keyslot area. Still working with my Bright Silver and darkened SP Lark Dark Gray. I'll move around counterclockwise until I reach the dent. I'll stop at that point and do the killstripes.



The killstripes make me more nervous than any other part of the paintjob. . . so being the big chicken that I am, I usually save those for the latter part of the project.

[mrgr8ness]

Looks great, keep it up! It's funny, how we all paint in different sequence. I too, normally do the back first to get it out of the way, but I do the kill stripes first. After the back comes the dent, then the front. I love seeing others doing the sequence different.

[superjedi]

Yeah, it's just a matter of preference.
I do have another reason for saving the killstripes for the end: I use the shapes and positions of the damage on the red band to make sure I'm positioning the stripes in the right place. I measure and tape them off, then judge their position in relation to everything else before I start painting. If it doesn't look right, I readjust. I dunno, for me it helps to keep everything in proportion.

[superjedi]

UPDATE: November 21st

Alright, working slowly around the dome now. To take a break from painting (a short break) I went back and began putting in some of the really fine scratches on the dome. I use a compass point to do this, scratching down to the raw white gelcoat. I try to match their position as closely as I can to my reference pics.



I painted the damage behind the right ear, then went back and did the fine scratches in that section as well.



Barely visible above is the cat scratch section over the right eye. I've done the silver portion already, and later I'll go back and do all the little gray "breaks" in and around the silver portion.

[KidAkira]

SuperJedi, Thanks so much for posting this progress thread! It's been thoroughly enjoyable to see this work of art coming to life. It's also going to help me out so much when I get to start my MSH2 ESB paint job (only 1 more month before I get to move into my renovated house!!.)
So just saying thanks
Cheers
Matt

[GCNgamer128]

Yess!! You are painting it ESB!! No ASOW screw up scratches

[Mojo-Fett]

SJ... This is one totally awesome paint job bro!

Totally insane detail in so little time? Dunno how you do it...but keep it up.

Lovin the ESB (movie) look too

[superjedi]

Once again, thanks for the comments. I can't say enough that this is such a terrific helmet to work on. That's part of the reason I'm so excited to work on it and watch it get closer to completion.

UPDATE: Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone is enjoying some well-deserved holiday time with family and friends today. My wife and I had some delicious brown sugar and honey glazed ham. Nom nom nom. . .

Anyway, just showing the latest stage of the dome painting.
I finished the cat scratch area, plus the small areas around and above it. These have some reeeeeeally fine detail, and I spent a good amount of time with my gray color, trying to get the shapes and proportions correct.



I then moved around to the front of the dome, adding the gray and silver details above and around the forehead triangles. The triangles themselves will be weathered with powdered pigments once final weathering begins. In both of these new areas, I also went back with my compass and added the very fine scratches. I try to work each new section as I go so I don't get overwhelmed with hundreds of tiny scratches at the end of the process.



Finally, THE DENT! I went ahead and painted in the dent to give a guide for placing the damage around it. I won't paint the damage around the dent until after my killstripes are on.



Speaking of killstripes. . . they're next! I go through a pretty thorough process to mask them off and make sure they're in the correct position. Hopefully I'll have something good to show for my next update!

[Jluck]

eric, can say it enough......LOOKS AWESOME!!!!!!

its just soooooooooo perty

[superjedi]

Thanks again!

UPDATE #2: Thanksgiving!

*Whew!* Killstripage!
Several hours later, we have some groovy stripes painted on.
I took some pics as I went, so I'll try to outline the process I use.
I begin by measuring the helmet against the reference pics to try to figure the size and position of the killstripes. For the FPH, these are the measurements I came up with:
-- Distance above the red band: 6 mm
-- Height of each stripe: 24 mm
-- Width of each stripe: 8 mm
-- Space between stripes: 6 mm
Once I determine the size and spacing, I mask off the 'basic' shapes using blue painters tape. I'm very careful to make sure each spacer strip remains vertical in relation to the red band. It's much better to check and reposition before you start painting.
Here's what it looks like at this point.



To mask the damage on each stripe, I return to my good ol' Winsor & Newton masking fluid and a microbrush. These are fantastic! They come in several sizes, and are sold in packs of 10. They're cheap and disposable, and come in really handy for a lot of different projects.



Following the reference pics carefully, I apply masking fluid within each stripe. It doesn't take long for the fluid to dry. Below, the masked areas look kind of shiny.



One last step I take before I begin painting the stripes is to mask off the rest of the helmet (again) and shoot the stripes with Testors Dullcoat. This serves two purposes: it seals the edges of the tape, preventing my yellow paint from bleeding under, and it gives a nice matte surface for the paint to adhere to.
After the dullcoat dries, I apply Polly Scale UP Armor Yellow with a dense make up sponge. I let it build up slowly, applying 4 to 5 coats, waiting a short time between applications. The sponge is dense enough to prevent any stipple marks, and the Polly Scale paint dries so evenly it really helps the final appearance.
After about 5 light coats of yellow, this is how the stripe area looks.



Once the yellow dries, but before I unmask the stripes, I go back with some reddish orange pastel powder and tone the stripes. It goes on heavier on the rearward ones, and fades to pretty much pure yellow at the front. I use a big, soft brush to do this, being careful to let the color build up slowly.
Not sure how easily you can see, but here's a pic after the pastel is applied.



Finally, once all the above steps are done, I unmask. I use a small piece of tracing paper to rub off the dried masking fluid, then some fine tweezers to remove the tape. I pull the tape off slowly, making sure I don't pull up any of the yellow.
So after all that, here's how the stripes look.



Lots of work for such a relatively small area!
Next will be doing all the damage around the dent, and the damage that streaks back behind the dent over the stripes. Getting close!

[Jluck]

pffftttttt..............and u said u were "scared".

look at that!




~ ya no, with the paint as far as it is.
looking at that shot really shows the what FP was talking about ecxactly with the way he put that slight angle in the mandible nose area.

WOW!!

[HMPOTC33]

I'm using a roller and a big sea sponge.<<<<<<<

After the dullcoat dries, I apply Polly Scale UP Armor Yellow with a dense make up sponge

Ah yes, I see you do use a sponge ha!ha!

This is an incredible job, and thanks for clairfying the technique you are using.

[terminal fettler]

Incredible you do such a detailed job so quickly, looking at it is making me want to paint another helmet!

[Jango's kid]

Looking mighty fine!!! Great job on that kill stripe tutorial!!!! Thanx,
D

[fettpride]

Soooo nice I've been waiting for the dent to get some color on it


So, I gotta ask ... I may be shooting myself in the foot, but here it goes anyway...

When we get into painting these things, we get a good idea for how accurate the shape and size is of any particular helmet by how certain signature scratches and marks line up to any particular detail/area of the piece. In your opinion, since you're the first to paint one, how is everything seeming to line up so far ??? Very soon, there will most definitely be comparisons of the FPH and the MR ) which I'm not too worried about, as I already know how it chalks up ) but given that, I'm just really curious about how it's all falling into place for you. Granted, I know that stencils, and or tracing, or eyeballing (however you're doing it) isn't a definitive measure on how something would transfer from a 2D to a 3D , but in general ... lets have it ? Rock me gently

Terrific job my friend !

FP

[superjedi]

Thanks again, everybody. Hope the techniques I'm using will come in handy for someone.

Chris,
Regarding the overall dimensions and proportions: I haven't found anywhere that's off by more than a couple of millimeters here and there. You're right that it's hard in some areas to translate 2D pics of the real deal to a 3D sculpt, but everything's been lining up extremely well.
When I do my "transfers" I take a known measurement of the helmet, say the width of the keyslot area, and scale the pics on my monitor so they're the same size. Then I trace the damage, and transfer it to the helmet. Doing it this way, the only areas so far I think that have been proportionately a little off are the corners of the T-visor. Like I said, it's only a couple of millimeters, so it's hardly even worth mentioning. Everything else has lined up just about perfectly.

UPDATE: November 23rd

Two steps forward, and one step back. :o
Not sure what happened exactly, but somehow I managed to make a pretty big error in transferring the damage area around the upper left corner of the T-visor. Everything in that section came out compressed somehow. I noticed it when I was painting the damage in and around the killstripes.
Here's the area I'm talking about. It's the mostly silver area just below the most broken killstripe.



It took me a considerable amount of time to figure out how to mask things so I could respray my mandible color without losing all the work I've done so far. I finally managed to get everything masked off, and used some fine sandpaper to smooth out the silver/gray/maroon areas I had painted. Once it was smooth, I crossed my fingers and sprayed the area again with Boxcar Red enamel.
After removing the masking, I was left with a nice undamaged surface to repaint.



After allowing time for it to dry, I remeasured the damage and redrew my transfer, double checking as I went to make sure it would look correct this time.
Now that it's repainted, it looks MUCH better. Here's a side-by-side of the before and after.



Prior to working on the repainted area, I had finished detailing around the dent and the damage all around the killstripes.





I still have to go back and do the very fine scratches in these areas and then the big streak coming back from the dent. After that, I'll paint the big weird scrape on the top of the helmet, and then all the main painting will be pretty much done! I'll still have the ears to do, so that'll keep me busy for a few more days.

[SoulAssassin]

That looks truly amazing! Good job

[Cruzer]

Amazing!

[Kripps]

Awesome work!
.......and thanks for that kill stripe tutorial, that looks amazing!
Can't wait to see this done.

Josh

[Rabid Bantha]

I'm just floored by how wonderful this is looking and your posts are going to be invaluable to anyone painting this helmet. Thank you very much for sharing this.

[Spideyfett]

Superb!!:thumbup

[superjedi]

Thanks muchly! I get more and more tickled looking at this helmet the closer it gets to completion.

UPDATE: November 24th

Almost there. . . almost there!
Got just about all of the major painting done on the helmet. I finished the streak coming back from the dent, and also did the small scratches all around that area. I think I sprained my eyeballs looking at ESB screen caps trying to figure out what was there in the movie compared to what happened over the years as the helmet traveled to all the exhibits.



I also did that big scrape across the crown of the dome. I had to use several reference pics and really study the shape of this area, cuz it really changes shape depending on perspective.



Added some more of the fine scratches around the front area and behind the killstripes. Not sure how visible it is, but I also added the slight fade below the killstripes. I hope this will still show up after my clearcoat!





So now, all that remains on the helmet itself is the molded-in arch for the upper RF earcap. I usually save that till I'm ready to paint the ears. That way I only have to mess with my airbrush once.
I did some very minor sanding on the ear parts today and gave them a coat of Tamiya gray primer. So tomorrow I'll be able to do the color coats!

[Lucksy31]

Eric....speechless man.....

[FettOfficer]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaang!!
Now thats quick dude!
Looking good bro!8)

[evan4218]

take some shots farther away from the bucket to show it from top to bottom!

[superjedi]

I definitely will take some overall shots in natural light.

[superjedi]

UPDATE: November 25th

OK, all major painting on the helmet is done! I masked and sprayed the RF ear arch when I painted the other ear pieces today. Just a little touch up along the masked edge, and that was it.
Still have the clearcoat and pastel weathering to do, and then the very last things I'll add will be the white 'thumbprints.'

I took a whole bunch of pics out on my balcony in indirect sunlight. These are much closer to how the colors look in real life. (Huh? What's real life? )
Here's a selection of today's pics.









And a close up of the back just above the keyslot area. For some reason, I just love this part!



If anyone's interested in seeing the rest of the pics, here's my Photobucket FPH page:
http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b2...Fett%20Helmet/

More to come this week as I work on the ears!

[Jluck]

:thumbup:thumbup :thumbup :thumbup

[DarthMiller]

incredible!! and FAST....man how do you do these so FAST??????

[Darth Fetty]

Beautifull!

[Bountyone]

exellent work as always Eric and thanks again for the "how to" tutorals.

B1

[superjedi]

As to my working fast, I found a way to alter time.
Now I just need to figure out how to speed up the harvest and teleport myself off this rock.
Glad to provide tutorials. Lord knows I've borrowed enough info from other members. Such as this:

UPDATE: November 26th

Well, it was back to work today. . . real work, not working on the helmet. So of course, I didn't have as much time to devote to Boba. But this little project was started last night, and finished today.
Using JLuck's excellent circuit board bracket idea, I built one for my helmet! It's not as pretty as his, but it does work very well!
I cut out a piece of .060" styrene just slightly larger than the MQ-1 piece. The circuit board is just slightly narrower than the keyslot openings, and I didn't want any hollow space to show on the sides. I drilled holes just like JLuck describes in his thread, and put the hardware in place. I'm not using T-nuts like him, but some small aluminum screw posts instead. I held the whole assembly in place inside the helmet, and marked where I wanted the screw posts to go. I then put some JB Weld onto the base of each one and epoxied them into the back of the helmet.



Due to a very slight asymetrical shape on the inside of the helmet, one of the screw posts didn't quite touch. I super glued 2 very thin washers to the screw post (before JB Welding the bracket) to get that 4th "leg" to touch.
The whole assembly holds the MQ-1 part very close to the keyslots.



And here's how it looks from the outside.



This afternoon I also sprayed some Testors Dullcoat onto the helmet to seal my paint work prior to weathering. Depending on how much time I have the rest of this week, the weathering will probably be spread over a few days.