Superjedi's Pre-Pro 1 "Eyes" helmet

Hi all!
Man, it's been quite a while since I've started a progress thread. I'm actually kind of nervous. . . is that weird?
With everything going on the past few months I've been amazingly busy learning the ropes in my new unit and setting up our new house, but I've been wanting to tackle a new Fett project for some time now. I've always liked the looks of the PP1 helmet, the version with those cool looking eyes painted on the dome, and for my birthday this year my wife got me a Bobamaker deluxe helmet kit. She rocks! I ordered the "dentless" version from DAZ and it arrived yesterday (2 days from the UK to Virginia!! ) and although I own many of his Boba pieces, this is my first experience with one of his helmets. The kit is just fantastic! As with all the other hard parts I've gotten from him, everything comes cut/sanded/smoothed/finished/trimmed/primed and basically ready to paint right out of the box!
Here's an overall shot of my new soon-to-be PP1 with my TerminalFettler PP3 helmet and my FPH ESB. The sizes are fairly comparable, with the FPH being a bit larger overall.



Just another couple of angles of my 3 boys.





Here are a couple of closer shots of the kit's parts. Again, I have done nothing to the components. . . these are right outta the box.



The RF parts (I have press fit them together for this pic). I had ordered the 'deluxe' RF as part of my order, and it came like this. Fully assembled, painted, with 2 non-functional red LEDs. Very nice satin black finish.



Here's the circuit board part, which fits very nicely behind the keyslots.



To top it all off is a well formed smoked visor.



A very comprehensive kit, eh?
So I hope to have some pics soon as I begin to paint this baby! Watch this thread for more.
Thanks for looking!

Nice to see you back in action Eric. This will be SWEET!!

I know that the ESB does, but Does the original PP1 have the "wavy" brow too?? I never noticed, Just curious...

Yeah, I'm looking forward to painting something that's not a wall for a change.
As far as the wavy brow goes, not sure exactly, but the reference pics show the same 3 gouges in the face (left cheek, left mandible, upper right "brow") as the ESB helmet. If the helmets were pulled from the same mold, I would think they'd share most of the same characteristics.

Can't wait to see this!!!

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!

UPDATE: Nov 12th

OK, off to a good start here. The following pics show the first 2 stages. I first masked off the helmet except for the keyslot area and painted it with Floquil Foundation. It's a similar color to Concrete, like on the ESB helmet. Once I get all the colors on and begin to do some pastel weathering, the tone of this color will shift slightly.

Once the Foundation was dry I masked it off along with the bulk of the helmet, leaving the rear panels and right ear exposed. This was airbrushed with Polly Scale Intermediate Blue.





As you can see in the second pic, I did not mask off my hand.

The next step will be rather time-consuming as I will have to make tracings/templates for the damage on the rear panels. This will be much trickier than working on my usual ESB paint jobs because the reference isn't nearly as comprehensive. I'll have to use what I have and try to extrapolate for the curvature of the helmet. Once I get that done, a dark green will be airbrushed on.

Speaking of colors, I just want to pause here and give a huge thank you to Ryan (Boba Phat aka Mojoday) who took the time through many PMs and emails to give me some invaluable input on the PP1 color scheme. He even went so far as to send me a color chip of an unusual Floquil color.
Thanks, Ryan! :thumbup

Definitely going to be watching this one with a LOT of interest!!! I still have my "ears" helmet sitting here and needing a paint job!

As I think of doing my third helmet (FPH) a PP1 too, I am too watching this thread with extreme interest!

Rock the forum SJ!

:-)

Yeah! More Pre-Pro fans!

UPDATE #2: Nov 12th

Moving right along here. Got the damage areas traced out and applied some W/N masking fluid to the areas to remain Intermediate Blue. Sprayed on some Polly Scale CNW Green. This is a very "rich" looking green compared to what I'm used to on the ESB, but it looks great.
Here it is freshly sprayed. Gotta give it a few more hours to unmask.
Sorry for the picture quality. It's dark here now and I only have one ceiling light in the hobby room. Don't want to use the flash as it will blow everything out.





Hope the masking fluid did its job! I'll post pics later when it's all removed.

Man, what a crazy storm we've been having! Lots of people around the Hampton Roads area have suffered storm damage and are without power. We had our power flicker a couple of times last night, but it never went out.

UPDATE: Nov 13th

I actually did this last night, but it was late and didn't snap the pics till this morning.
Took a handy rubber cement eraser and went over the masking fluid on the rear panels. It rolled off pretty well to reveal the Intermediate Blue. I'm happy with the results.
Here are 2 shots.





Now here's a pic comparing the right panel with one of the only four reference pics I used to lay out the damage patterns. I'm not a huge photography expert, but I tried to match angles as best I could.
Pretty close? Still a little tweaking to do, and I need to add some silver chips, too.



Next up: spraying the base color for the dome and lower cheeks!

Woah, SJ, this is a fantastic start!!! Can you post a list of colors you will use fro this PP1 ?

Hey, uh, are you EVER going to get started on this helmet, or what?.....

j/k I can't believe how much you accomplished just yesterday. Actually just woke Mando_pirate up to show her! lol Looks sick, man!

Yeah, I kinda get all amped up when I have a new project to work on. We were off work yesterday due to the storm so i had some time to work on it, too.

MM, so far the colors I've used are: Floquil Foundation (keyslots), Polly Scale Intermediate Blue (rear panels--light), Polly Scale CNW Green (rear panels--dark).
I always like to post the colors I use, so as I progress they'll be listed in the text.

Looks fantastic so far! I'm glad that my color suggestions are working out. The CNW really makes the Foundation take on yellowish hue that it needs. I think we might have nailed this paint job!

-Ryan

Originally Posted by BOBA PHAT

. . .I think we might have nailed this paint job!

-Ryan

Well, as long as you replace the "we" with "you!" Your color knowledge is really invaluable. :thumbup

UPDATE: Nov 13th

Looking a little more colorful now! Got the dome and lower cheeks done. This was one of those colors I went back and forth with many times. As I just mentioned, Ryan was a tremendous help in narrowing down the choices. What I went with was Polly Scale RLM 78 Lt. Blue. As military modelers may know, RLM colors are Luftwaffe colors.



Since this is by no means a pristine helmet, I decided to slightly tone down the RLM 78 with Polly Scale RLM 65. This is pretty similar to the RLM 78 but with a more grayish cast to it. I just misted it on unevenly. I think it gives a very slight oxidized look to the base color. It's hard to even see in these pics.





It sure was strange airbrushing this color onto the helmet!
More to come.

sooooooo when you wanna paint this BM bucket I got ESB,,Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm???

ohhhh yeah so far the paint job looks ( . Y . )'s,,hee hee

Thanks for the credit, Eric. But all my crazy color ideas are just theory till you actually use them. And I'm still a long way off from having anything ready to paint myself!

-Ryan

Great thread so far...
Great colours too guys!

Great work on the Colors.. and Eric, you're my hero!!

Thanks, guys.

UPDATE: Nov 14th

Well, now it's really starting to look like something! Got a couple more stages done. I got the upper cheeks painted using PRR Brunswick Green. I don't mask anything when I do the dark cheek crescents, I do them by hand. I just make sure I don't have any caffeine for a couple of hours beforehand.
After they had dried for several hours, I masked off everything but the mandibles/band in preparation to airbrush them. I used Floquil Caboose.
A couple of interesting points about the PP1 which I just noticed today. The red area just in front of the left ear isn't painted evenly all the way to the base of the helmet. It sort of fades about 2/3 of the way down. I tried to mimic this as closely as I could.



In front of the right ear, there's no red at all! I'll touch this area up with some of the Intermediate Blue once the Caboose is dry.
I also began some of the silver areas, starting with the Borden connector.



Did the silver chips on the rear panels as well.





That's all the silver visible in my reference pics. If anyone has other shots showing more comprehensive angles of the back of the helmet I'd love to see them!
The only "major" area left to paint is the left ear. It's raw metal so I'll have to test a couple of shades of Model Master metalizers to see which will best match the reference.
After that, it's more measuring and templates for the damage on the mandibles and dome.

I mean this in the best possible way.... I hate you, in your face-thingy.

That paint is wicked. And if someone told me that helmet had made it that far in 2 days, I'd be callin bs. (if I hadnt been watchin it like a lil kid watchin a puppy through a pet store window the whole time, of course). lol

When I get ready to do my pre pro, I might have to beg you to paint my bucket.

Brother, this helmet is getting better and better! Awesome!!!

I love the PP1 ... can´t wait to get my next FPH to go on with it!

I am curious how you get done the previous and then overpainted "old" eyes on the front part of the dome. have you thought about that yet? Painting them on and spraying over?

Great progress, you´re fast bro!

impressive ... keep this going!

Eric, this is looking great already! Looking forward to seeing the progress on the rest of the helmet. I always love the weathering stages toward the end of your progress threads.

I'm sure you already have it covered, but if not, here's that old thread with sketches of the eyes/ears from multiple folks:

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/boba-fett-pre-pro-eyes-paint-stencils-19594/

Thanks, guys. Yeah, I have an image saved of the different versions of the eyes. I think I've decided which one to use. Now I just have to figure out the best way to transfer them to the dome!

Originally Posted by mmgraphics

I am curious how you get done the previous and then overpainted "old" eyes on the front part of the dome. have you thought about that yet? Painting them on and spraying over?

I'm actually doing the Eyes version, not the 2nd version where the eyes were switched to "ears."

UPDATE: Nov 15th

Beginning the damage! This is my favorite part of any paint job.
I started with the lower right cheek. I'm using Polly Scale Reefer Gray and Bright Silver.

UPDATE #2: Nov 15th

Lower left cheek.

Looking great! I don't remember anyone doing this version (at least not recently) and you are doing a bang up job so far!

Thanks! Yes, the PP1's are relatively few and far between. I just have always been fascinated by the "evolution" of the different paint jobs, and apart from the McQuarrie concept designs, this is the first "direct ancestor" of the screen used ESB.

Minor update: I didn't like how the Reefer Gray was looking on the lower cheeks, so I went back and changed it to SP Lark gray. Much more satisfying contrast. Pics to come!

UPDATE: Nov 16th

More work on the cheeks. I changed the Reefer Gray for SP Lark Dk. Gray and it gives a much closer contrast to the reference pics.
Here's the right side.



Here's the left side. It isn't complete yet. There's another area of damage on the vertical edge in front of the ear, similar to the ESB helmet.



It's coming along!

Very nice!

Really great progress here. I'm anticipating my first build in the next month or so - your approach to putting this together is generating a lot of ideas for my own work! Thanks for the posting!

I probably asked this question in a previous thread of yours, but could you describe which brushes you like to use for the topical parts? Thanks!

nice! the eyes helmet is what made me decide to do a captain rex costume. at some point i want to paint one up myself so that i can show the transition from rex to boba.

Yeah, I noticed Capt. Rex had the same markings on his dome. Definitely a lineage there.

Originally Posted by Rich D.

I probably asked this question in a previous thread of yours, but could you describe which brushes you like to use for the topical parts? Thanks!

Sure, I just use Testors Model Master brushes in sizes 0 and 000. Not sure exactly what type of bristles they have, but they're well made and if you take care of them will last for a long time.

Jedi,

We crave more pics, like old women crave cobbler!

Mmmmmmmm. . . cobbler.

UPDATE: Nov 18th

Cheeks are done. I got that last portion of the left upper cheek completed.



Also began the damage on the dome. I started with the area around the turn signals.



The remainder of the dome will be tricky. There aren't really any good "oblique" shots of the rest of the damage areas (except for just above the left ear) so there will be a large amount of guesswork involved. I think I should be able to place most of it OK, but it'll be like trying to place the damage on the rear panels again.
I wish it stayed light later so the pics wouldn't come out so grainy! Maybe I'll try to take some better ones this weekend.
More to come!

The jealousy rises in me like the stomach acid after a round of atomic buffalo wings from Quaker Steak.... lol

Honestly, vod. Your paintwerk borders on the perverse in it's quality. I really wish I could watch this process in person. Ever think of doing a video WIP?

Mad Skilz. That' all I can say.

What a cool and smooth looking paint job.

Thanks again!

UPDATE: Nov 21st

Well, this will about do it for all the "clear" reference for the dome. After this it will be guesswork and lots of sketching.
I began with a small damage area on the crown. Still just using the SP Lark and Bright Silver.



That was pretty quick, so I moved on to the area above the left ear. There's one great reference shot of this area so the positioning wasn't too difficult to do.



The reference pic shows this area after the helmet had been redone from the "Eyes" to the "Ears" version, so kill stripes were added, but it's interesting to see that the stripes were painted on to mesh with the existing damage. Here's a slightly closer view.



A bit more work on the dome, then it's on to the mandibles and "hat band."
I'm still working up my courage to paint the Eyes!

UPDATE: Nov 22nd

Whew! This was pretty nerve-wracking. . . but the helmet has eyes!!



This took a while to do. I was really careful, double checking measurements and trying not to breathe too hard while painting.
I used Floquil Grimy Black to paint them on using a template found here on TDH a while back. It gave several versions of the eyes, and I picked the one I felt most closely matched the reference pics.



I also began some of the small chips on the upper band of the mandible area. Still using the same gray/silver as on the dome, along with a custom color based on PRR Maroon. I added some BAR Blue and PRR Bruns. Green to give it a deeper tone.



I can't shake the feeling that this helmet is staring at me. . .

Me too.... Its saying, come find me, take me to your home, together we will rule them alllllll. Muwahaaha.

Bro, your helmet, it is nefarious. LOL

It looks like a frog with a wide evil grin in that last picture.

What a beautiful way to honor the evolution of the Fett helmet! I'm sure many of us will imitate your handiwork!

Originally Posted by Too Much Garlic

It looks like a frog with a wide evil grin in that last picture.

Holy ****, it does!!!!

thank you for doing this helmet justice SJ!

Thanks again, all. This is certainly a challenging paint up!

Now, a question for people with (hopefully) better eyesight than me.
This helmet which us detail-obsessed nutjobs commonly call the Pre-Pro version 1 was itself changed early in the production process. The version I'm painting, strictly because of personal preference, is the one we call the "Eyes" version. Of course, somewhere along the line in the process the "Eyes" were changed to "Ears," with the Eyes being erased (by subtle weathering) and replaced by other markings higher on the dome.
From the precious little available reference that exists on this helmet, every other detail appearing on both the Eyes and Ears version seems to be identical. Which leads me to my question.
The Ears version has an obvious and well documented gouge on the upper left part of the dome. There are 2 good quality reference pics that show this feature. Here's what I mean.



On the Eyes version, there are no clear shots depicting this feature. There is one shot, taken in an outdoor setting where this angle of the helmet is visible, but the details are obscured by a reflection. Here's a portion of that shot.



My question is, if all other damage remained the same between the 2 versions of the PP1, would it logically follow that the long gouge was there the whole time? I originally didn't think so, but after studying the pics, I think it must have been. In the shot above, there certainly seems to be something within that reflection, but it's difficult to make out. Some blurry outlines seem to follow the silver part of the damage around that long gouge.
I'd love to hear any thoughts on this! Or if someone has any other reference shots just floating around I'd love to see them!
Persuade me!

I just looked at this reference picture where both versions are side by side:

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/galle...2_itemId=16269

And I would say, the silver based chipped off color is the same. Now, if there is the same color damage, what´s the possibility to get hit at the exact place twice?
the silver damage is thin and long and you can see that on both pictures. And I say this damage is one and the same! Maybe a hit with a vibro axe or any other sharp blade, it´s definately no blaster-damage.
The thin and long silver scratch results from the hit with a blade.

How big is the chance to get hit there twice? Exactly at the same position?

On the left picture you can hardly see the scratch, but if you look from one pic to the other you can see that the position is exactly the same.

I say the blade-damage with it´s chipped off color has been on both helmets.

A blade damage also not always has to have a gouge. It depends on the viewing angle.

I think its there on both helmets, i can just make out the front edge and back of the silver damage around the 'scratch' on the second image...

Wow, not a lot of reference material. I agree with others that it looks like the gouge was there on the eyes version. It looks to me like the ears were done by either a) applying a sticker and cutting away parts of it to reveal existing damage, or b) some kind of frisket stencil was applied, and was cut out/around existing damage while on the helmet, and that one chunk of paint peeled up to reveal silver with the cuts of the pattern. Just wild speculation, but it looks like that whole section was already there.

Loving this paint up bruv.... one of my fave looks! :thumbup

The silver scratch detail looks to be on both, but the cut and gold markings to cover up the grinding work was added later on the ears version. I would just paint the silver scratch and not worry about the cut.

Definitely the same helmet.

Oh, no question that's it the same bucket, and on a couple of folks' photo analysis, it seems certain that area is present on both the Eyes and Ears versions.
That's how I plan to move forward with this anyway.

Thanks for all the thoughts!

UPDATE: Nov 24th

OK, disregarding the gouge for now, I made some more progress on the opposite side of the helmet.
Here's a long scratch just above the right eye. This was placed using 2 separate pics.



Here is a small area on the upper portion of the dome, along with the beginnings of the "hat band" area.



More of the area behind the right ear.



Things will slow down significantly after this. . . the reference becomes fuzzier and more scarce.

your work is amazing

Originally Posted by superjedi

Things will slow down significantly after this. . . the reference becomes fuzzier and more scarce.

Don´t worry SJ! Your work always knows to amaze the people and so it is here again.

Fantastic job!

SJ,
I think the gouge is there already, it just would make more sense to have something to make damage around.

sometimes the simple answer is the right one.

no vibro axe answers here....

UPDATE: Nov 27th

OK, made some more headway before and after a great Thanksgiving feast at my sister-in-law's house. Yum!!

Got the mandibles done. Not much damage on the left side, but working with smaller and fuzzier reference pics, I made sure to take several measurements to get the positioning right.



There was a better pic of the right side, and much like the ESB helmet, there was more damage to apply.
Took a while to work through all 3 colors, but I really like the way this came out.



Just a little bit more on the back of the dome, then I'll work the big gouge over the left eye area.

Dude this is nothing short of stunning! still one of my fave lids...
Keep up the good work bro!

Good work Bro!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leo

Man, o man, o man. This is one sick bucket.

Thanks all! Getting real close now.

UPDATE: Nov 28th

*Whew!!* All the "basic" painting is complete. I had enough time today to complete the last area on the back of the dome. There was only one shot from an extreme side angle, so no claims to accuracy as far as the shapes go. Just tried to match the pic as much as possible.



Also had time to work out the big gouge and the damage which surrounds it. I made the gouge using a couple different shapes of jewelers files after marking its position.



I had to extrapolate info from 2 reference pics of this area. Both pics show some curvature based on the angle of the photo, and I tried to "straighten" it to account for the nature of the pictures.



I had to be really careful while filing out the gouge. I used some blue painters tape laid all around it in case the file slipped. I also had to try to get it to be deeper in the center and sort of "taper" to the surface as it approached either end.



So there she sits!
Next will be a clear coat to seal the paintwork in preparation for some pastel weathering.
The metallic portions of the right ear and the bare metal appearance of the left ear will be done last.

I´m in awe!!

This is a beautiful pice of artwork! Excellent work!

Thanks again! Micke, good to see you around here. I still have a ROTJ blaster painted by you. I love it!

UPDATE: Nov 29th

Sooooo close now. . .
Got quite a bit done today. I began by giving the helmet a light spray of Testors Dull Coat. I've used it quite a bit on lots of projects and it's a very versatile product. It dries pretty quickly and is very durable.
While the dull coat was drying I sprayed the RF stalk with Testors Metallizer in Stainless Steel. Once it had dried for about an hour, I buffed it with a piece of paper towel to bring up the shine a little bit. I also like these sprays. They give a good metal appearance as long as you don't clear coat over them.

The fun began after the helmet's clear coat had dried. I ground up a few shades of "chalk" pastels on a big sheet of sandpaper. I used a couple shades of green and mixed them in with some gray, giving me some different tones. I also mixed a brownish gray. I just wanted to break up the stark color of the dome/cheeks. Here are a couple of overall shots.







I used a large stiff bristle brush to "pounce" the pastel shades onto the helmet in random, broken patterns, mostly on the dome and lower cheeks, until the shading just became visible. I didn't really want to overdo it. Once I finished with the pastels, I gave it another quick light coat with the Testors matte spray, just enough to seal the pastels.
Another step I take after dull coating is to go back with my size 000 brush and repaint all the silver chips. This takes a bit of time but the silver dulls down once it's clear coated and this brings back the shine and gives an illusion of depth.
You can see above that I also put in the visor. Gives it a nice finished look.

Here are a couple views of the back.



The shading appears a little washed out in these pics. Once I spray the bare metal on the ears, I'll try to get some better pics.



I also did the silver damage on the RF topper.



Just have the ears left and then it will take its place with my other buckets.

Very nice man!

Amazed with every new batch of progress pics. If you ever decide to part w/ this bucket for any reason, I'd love to have first dibs.

Thanks again, and I don't know that I'll ever part with any of my babies!

FINAL UPDATE: Dec 6th

OK, I'm calling this one done.
Got the metallic portions of the ears masked and painted. I used Testors Metalizer Stainless Steel and buffed it once it was dry.
Not so much that it really shined, but enough to give it a good glint.
After that, I just had to drill a small hole in the right upper ear assembly to insert a small machine screw to keep the stalk in place.
I dremeled out a "dish" in the outer ear cap to make room for the screw head. . . and that was it!
Here's the final batch of pics.







Like all of DAZ's other products I've worked on, this is a very high quality kit.
The helmet shell is sturdy without being too thick, and his doing all the prep before shipment is great!
As I've said several times, I'm lazy.





I mentioned at the beginning of this project that Ryan's assistance with colors was invaluable, but I just have to say thanks again!
His willingness to communicate and share info was a huge help in bringing this helmet to life.







This was a challenging helmet. The reference for the PP1 is much more scarce than it is for the ESB or ROTJ lids.
I've always liked the look of this helmet, and it's cool to be able to use the pictures and make my own 3-D representation.
It now takes its place along with the other members of my still growing Fett family tree.
Top to bottom, left to right:
Fettpride's FPH painted in ESB 'screen used' style.
TerminalFettler's TF bucket painted as PP3.
DAZ's BM painted as PP1 Eyes version.
Skygunbro's McQuarrie 'concept' helmet, weathered.





My aim (one day) is to have a representation of all incarnations of Fett helmets. Maybe it will happen. . . maybe it won't.
But I really get a kick out of looking at these 2 shelves!
Thanks for following along with the project.
Eric

Awesome job bruv... seriously!
Never get tired of watching your threads.... :thumbup

Jedi, do you do commissioned paint jobs. I may want you to paint my lil boys mini boba when the time comes.

Thanks, Gav!

I do take commissions from time to time.

Very nice Eric. Merry Christmas!

pm sent

You should be really proud man, that's amazing work my freind.

And your ROTJ thread will start on.....

Again, great job, Eric! It's beautiful! For those that want to paint one of these up, here are my color suggestions:

Dome: Polly Scale RLM 78 (Eric misted his with Polly Scale RLM 65)
Dome Scratches: Polly Scale/Floquil Lark Dark Gray
Under Cheeks: Polly Scale/Floquil Brunswick Green
Mandibles: Polly Scale/Floquil Caboose
Under Mandible: Extremely Rare Old Floquil (Eric's mix of Polly Scale PRR Maroon with BAR Blue and PRR Bruns looks great!)
Right Ear/Under Back: Polly Scale Intermediate Blue
Back: Polly Scale/Floquil CNW Green (Add a flat coat if using the Floquil gloss color)
Keyslots: Polly Scale/Floquil Foundation (This was Eric's choice, and I think it worked great. Since there is only ONE vintage picture of it, it's anyone's guess! Polly Scale/Floquil Concrete is another possibility.)
And Silver, of course!

-Ryan

See? The color master! :thumbup

Ok, I'm sending my helmet for you to paint.

Fantastic attention to detail and a truly masterful job!

LOL. Just put a couple of stamps on the dome and mail to:
Superjedi
Hobby Room
Earth

It will get here just fine.

Thanks for the kind words.

Oh, I'm just sure it would. LOL!.