Superjedi's MF-ESB for RPF member Al May

DAY 15:

Got the base color down on the dome and cheeks. The first weathering pass has also been applied. I mix a slightly lightened
shade of the base green and airbrush it on in cloudy, diffuse patterns to break up the starkness and give it a bit of an oxidized
appearance. When this is dry, I'll begin applying the gray and silver topical damage patterns.

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As usual I'll be starting the damage on the rear of the dome. (y)
 
Thanks guys!

DAY 16:

The dome damage is coming along. I got a couple of the areas on the back done. I add the very fine scratches using a combination of
a scribing tool and using a fine liner brush with silver paint.

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Next I'll continue around the dome toward the RF ear where the "stacked" damage is.
 
DAY 17:

Trying to use the weekend as much as possible.
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I got a couple more areas complete on the dome. First is the area just behind the RF ear.
A handful of physical scratches are scattered around this part of the helmet.

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I also completed the first series of damage areas in front of the RF ear. I like to do these three areas together
as the space between them is important for the overall look. I love painting the cat scratch. It's one of my
favorite features of the ESB helmet.

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I'll see if I have time to do any more work this afternoon.
 
DAY 19:

Here's the latest. I did the small area above and between the turn signals on the front of the dome and. . .
the dent!
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Probably the most recognizable feature of Fett's helmet, and my favorite to paint. There are some
flecks of pale contrasting gray that are found inside the dent and those will be added at the end of the project.

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I love the "comet's tail" that leads back from the dent. That must have been some ricochet that caused that! ;)

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Next up will be the large scrape across the top of the dome.
 
Looking V nice. How does the dentist compare to others, in your opinion, for definition, size and shape? I know you've seen a few helmets in your time so your opinion on that and the helmet as a whole would be invaluable; not many of these exist and most of us will never get to see one. I'd love to have one but the comparatively recent sales were well out of my range.

Enjoying your thread massively. I'm glad you could share.

Andy

Edit: dent not dentist. Obviously.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks, all. I'm having fun with this project. :)

Looking V nice. How does the dentist compare to others, in your opinion, for definition, size and shape? I know you've seen a few helmets in your time so your opinion on that and the helmet as a whole would be invaluable; not many of these exist and most of us will never get to see one. I'd love to have one but the comparatively recent sales were well out of my range.

Enjoying your thread massively. I'm glad you could share.

Andy

Edit: dent not dentist. Obviously.

Ah, glad you edited that. I was a little confused on the first reading. :)
I think the helmet overall is very nice. A little. . . rougher maybe? than other recent offerings. More wonky for sure.
Maybe just slightly less crisp on some of the edges. But I think that gives it character and a signature Fett look.
Size wise it's comparable to a GMH. But I suppose that's to be expected as they're fairly close on the family tree.

I make sets of painting templates for my ESB helmets. They're done on tracing paper so I can reuse them for more than
one helmet. When I said that the MF is comparable to the GMH, I mean on most areas (that I've gotten to so far), the
variance isn't more than a couple of millimeters. I think the dent shape is really close to other helmets, especially the GMH.

Keep in mind though that this one was partially prepped before I received it. The visor was already cut out and mostly
trimmed, and there was a considerable amount of putty work done, mainly on the left side of the dome, but other places too.
So I don't know how the one I'm working on compares to one straight out of the mold.
 
Do you mean left rear?

The original repair?

No, the left side of the dome. If you look at the very first pic in post #1 you can see the helmet as I received it.
The "bruised" area on the left side is actually a couple of different types of filler or putty. There's nothing on the
inside to indicate that there was any damage though.
 
DAY 21:

Happy Thanksgiving.
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I managed to get some work done on the helmet earlier before a great meal (and subsequent food coma, LOL).
Killstripes! Finally, something other than gray and silver. . . at least for a moment.

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Everything was masked, then liquid masked, then airbrushed. The orangey misting was airbrushed onto the
rear part of the stripes as well. It's a subtle color shift.

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Having the killstripes on the helmet gives me landmarks to complete the remaining damage on the
left side of the dome. The damage in this area is closely related to the positions of the stripes.
 
DAY 22:

I have a nice long weekend and I'm rolling along with the helmet. I completed the remaining damage on the dome.
Lots of little flecks and chips between and around the killstripes, plus what I like to call the "Scottie dog" area just
above the stripes.
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As with a lot of the smaller chips, they fade or brighten depending on the lighting angle.
Here are two shots to show what I mean.

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As you may have noticed in the shots above, I also blocked in the dark outer cheeks. I do these using a wide
flat brush. Polly Scale acrylics are some of the best self-leveling paints I've ever used and brush strokes pretty
much disappear with only a couple of coats. When the dark color was dry I began the detailing on the right cheek.
There's not as much going on in this area as on the left cheek. That will be next.

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DAY 23:

The left cheek is complete. This is another area where a custom color is used. The part that runs down
the outer edge of the inner cheek has some damage that is a little darker/greener than the standard gray.
This is the only place on the ESB helmet where this contrasting gray appears. I just mix up a shade by
eye until it provides a good contrast. It lies somewhere between the standard gray and the darker shade
on the outer cheek.

The white chip on the mandible is where I carved in the physical damage. There's another narrower spot
within the silver scrape on the dark outer cheek.

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All of the damage on the green areas is done now. This sets me up for masking and airbrushing the base
red on the mandibles. Once the red is on, it will really start to look like Fett.
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DAY 23, PART 2:

Red. . . woo hoo! Lots of masking for a relatively small amount of work, but everything has to be
protected, otherwise there's much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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I actually timed it this time around. It was one hour and 5 minutes of masking, and 12 minutes of airbrushing.

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Here's the back view. The keyslots appear filled in because the inside of the helmet is still taped off.

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This will dry overnight and then I'll begin the damage on the keyslot area and band on the rear of the helmet.
 
Looking great as always SJ....do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares involving paint?

Seems like the screen used had a tad more blue on the rear panels?
 
....do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares involving paint?

No, but sometimes I still get sad that Floquil and Polly Scale have been discontinued. :(

As far as the rear panel color goes, it took me a long time to shift from my custom mix to RLM 73. Under the lighting
that's seen in the AoSW and MoM exhibits, the rear panels do seem to be shifted slightly to the blue side. But I've
examined a lot of other reference pics too, and this color is extremely close to what's actually on the helmet.

Color temperature can really impact how the colors are seen. All of my pics are taken under incandescent light with
indirect sunlight, which is quite different from the lighting conditions at the exhibits.
 
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