Superjedi's FPH2 for Jbdubz

superjedi

Sr Hunter

• May 28, 2015

• #1

Hi all!
I'm happy to be starting a new ESB commission. This is my first helmet post-Celebration VII, and I'm
rejuvenated, revitalized, renewed, and refreshed! It's another FPH2-ESB and this one is for Jbdubz.

I'm going to call this DAY 2 since I did all the prep work yesterday. Anyone who's seen one of these helmets
up close knows that there isn't really that much prep to do. The casting is just superb, and the only thing that's
really needed on the lid itself is to cut out the visor area. I did that, as well as thinned out the edges. I also
sanded the backs of the ears to make sure they are nice and flat. I drilled some holes in the ear platforms,
and that was pretty much it. Here's the kit.

Not shown are the very nice smoke visor, and a second RF topper by TerminalFettler. I'll be finishing both toppers.
There's also a machined Borden connector on its way to me.

It's pretty stormy here today and the humidity is ridiculous. Since I need to spray some primer, I'll wait until tomorrow
and hope for better weather. There will be a lot more to come!

 

Furious

Active Hunter

• May 28, 2015

• #2

Nice!! subscribed

 

Bounty1138

Active Hunter

• May 28, 2015

• #3

I shall be following along too. I wish it was my FPH2 and my Superjedi commission, but alas, I can afford neither right now. I'll just live vicariously through this thread.

 

bcurtis

Active Hunter

• May 28, 2015

• #4

Awwwwww yeeeaaaaahhh! I've been waiting for this one. Subscribed.

 

D

Duder777

Hunter

• May 28, 2015

• #5

Subscribing once again! I still look at your last one daily.

 

N

nemesis

Jr Hunter

• May 28, 2015

• #6

Definitely subscribing to this one! I stop and stare at mine everyday when I walk by it.

 

K

kuwahero

New Hunter

• May 29, 2015

• #7

Subscribed. Need to learn as much as I can before mine arrives.

 

jbdubz

Active Hunter

• May 29, 2015

• #8

i know I've said this many times E, i will be following this thread!! but for some reason, probably a little closer than any other times before! LOL

 

Matty Matt

Active Hunter

• May 29, 2015

• #9

This is going to be great.

 

Furious

Active Hunter

• May 29, 2015

• #10

I say you save your template resizes and post them so us less patient people can use them

 

superjedi

Sr Hunter

• May 30, 2015

• #11

Thanks, all! Glad to have everyone along for the ride.

UPDATE: DAY 4:

OK, this is the first color stage. It also happens to be the last "easy" stage for the whole helmet.
I got the beige airbrushed on the rear panels. Not a big update visually, but it gives some contrast
from all that gray primer.

I'll let this dry all day then get ready to apply the stencils for the dark green shade.

 

sepulturero52

New Hunter

• May 30, 2015

• #12

Hi! It is exciting to see each new project of yours . Greetings from Argentina.

 

superjedi

Sr Hunter

• May 31, 2015

• #13

Thanks, sepulturero52!

UPDATE: DAY 5

Now we're gettin' somewhere. This update will show several steps involving many hours of work.
First, the rear panels were stenciled. Then I applied liquid mask. I took these pics right after I finished
applying the mask, and it's still wet on the right panel. The wet areas look white.

After the mask was totally dry I airbrushed on the dark green shade. I do this in a couple of stages. First off, I do a medium coat
just to cover the panels, while leaving the color a bit translucent. Then I go back using my reference pics and start to build up the
color in certain areas. I do this with relatively low pressure and low paint flow. I work carefully to make sure there's a good balance
between the coverage on each panel. After the green dries, I remove the masking fluid.

Once the mask is removed, I go back with a small detail brush (size 000 in this case) and tweak the edges of the beige portions.
I start with Rafal's templates to get 90% of the way there. But it's really hard sometimes to get the liquid mask to flow into the
very small nooks and protrusions. So I always do touch ups. Here's how the left panel came out.

A little closer.

After I tweak the beige portions, I go back and add some additional detail with the dark green as well. There's a bit of this
scattered around both panels. The color appears slightly darker because when it's applied with a brush it's much denser
than when it's airbrushed on. Here's the right panel.

Closer again.

There will be some more weathering added toward the end of the project so the beige/green isn't quite in its final configuration.
Next up will be doing the gray and silver damage!

 

D

Duder777

Hunter

• May 31, 2015

• #14

Looking great so far. Your brush detail is amazing. I think some of the points and nooks you paint would still look sharp under a microscope.

 

jbdubz

Active Hunter

• May 31, 2015

• #15

superjedi said:

There will be some more weathering added toward the end of the project so the beige/green isn't quite in its final configuration.
Next up will be doing the gray and silver damage!

Click to expand...

looking great Eric! i can feel the drool glands beginning to activate...


Sent from my R2 unit

 

Viper

Active Hunter

• May 31, 2015

• #16

Hell Yeah!

 

Jayvee

Active Hunter

• Jun 1, 2015

• #17

Awesome E! Is that just the lighting, or is that a different green mix you are using for the back panels this time? Looks sharp..

 

superjedi

Sr Hunter

• Jun 1, 2015

• #18

Thanks a lot, guys!
Jonny, good eye. . . I did change up my rear panel green. After talking with some very knowledgeable folks at C VII, I went back and
pored over the reference pics that I have, and went with RLM 73. I may be a "slow adopter" when it comes to change, but darned if
it doesn't look spot on. The dark green mix that I have been using is really close. . . but now that I gritted my teeth and tried the 73,
it came out great.

UPDATE: DAY 6

OK, got the detailing on the left panel done! Spent several hours doing the gray and silver, then went back with a couple of sharp
tools and added the very fine scratches. The only thing that remains is the contrasting pale gray, which I will do at the end of the
paint up. I like to do it all at once, as there's really not that much altogether. Here are a couple of pics.

More closer upper.

An alternate angle, showing how the silver pops depending on the light.

So now I'm all set to begin the right panel. . . *sigh*. . . crossed eyes, here I come!

 

superjedi

Sr Hunter

• Jun 4, 2015

• #19

UPDATE: DAY 9

My hobby time slows to a trickle during the week, but I'm making progress on the right rear panel.
I got the largest portion done just a few minutes ago. . . whew! Lots of flicking my eyes back and forth
from the reference pics to the helmet. This section and the right mandible have so much detail crammed
into a relatively small area, and it took me several sessions over the past 3 days to get this done.

Here are a couple of different angles.

Again, the pale contrasting gray isn't on there yet. I'll do that at the end of the paint up. I'll be working on
the remaining sections of the panel over the next couple of days.

 

Hunter930

Hunter

• Jun 4, 2015

• #20

Sensational Eric !!!!!!