My First Boba Fett Helmet Project (Sgt. Fang Bucket; PIC INTENSIVE)

Ponte

Active Hunter
Well, after 3 years of wanting to start up my Boba Fett AOSW impression, I finally decided to save and put down the funds towards a few items to get me started. First being an awesome Sgt. Fang bucket. Throughout the next few weeks I'll be posting pics and progress (hope I don't bore you guys to death :wacko). Also, I believe in helping TDH community as much as I can, so I'll be also posting my little "how-to's" of my bucket, using methods from various members of this board. Well, enough intro, lets get to the bucket:

Here's the Sgt. Fang bucket after I cut out the T-visor and Dremel sanded the extra resin on the bottom rim of the bucket. The two attachments I used for that were the re-inforced fiberglass cutter disk and the mini sand wheel:
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Using the a triangle hobby file that I found in a set at Home Depot, I was able to get into the little slot at the end of the T-visor opening and square it off nice and neat. Be patient, and dont go crazy with the file, or else you'll end up making the opening larger than it should be:
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Next I tackled probably one of the most despised areas of any Boba bucket...the keyholes. I used the cutter disk to put in well placed cuts from the inside of the bucket:
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From there I used the "cutter" bit on the dremel (its a knob like drill bit that pretty much pokes a small hole) to clear out the rest of the keyholes, followed by some hobby file work:
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Once I put some finishing touches on the little areas and cutting in the little nicks that are there on the screen used helmet, I dove into something that almost gave me an aneurysm when it completely backfired on me...fiberglass re-inforcing the inside. I used the Bondo Fiberglass repairkit to coat the inside of the helmet to give it a much more sturdier frame. I left it overnight for 24 hours to dry, and when it was still wet the next day I decided to use a blowdryer on the inside...BIG...BIG mistake :eek::
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As you can see, the L/H mandible COMPLETELY warped on me and raised foward of the visor. I thought I for sure ruined my helmet, but I didn't give up. I read on batninja's bucket thread that he had a similar problem (though probably not as bad as mine). He used a heatgun to set it back to its original form, and I decided to use the same method:
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It doesn't look THAT bad, and I'm hoping that once I install the visor it will form into its proper shape. Might need to use the heat gun again by doing this. Anywho, back to the progression. I decided to use Rustoleum Hammered On Silver for the inside of the helmet after I sanded down some of the fiberglass to give it that metallic look. It doesn't look spectacular, but I feel lit gives it more of a "weighted" look than if it was just the resin untouched. I gray primed the outside of the bucket and sanded it down to catch any imperfections...turns out, the imperfections that I made were with the 80 grit sandpaper I used...it looks like that was a no-no:
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This is AFTER I tried saving it with 320 grit sandpaper, followed by a 400 wet sand. This is the part I'm debating...should I leave those little scratches in there to give it that used bit of "character", and hope that the paint will cover most of it up? Or should I use the ladder method of sanding with 100, then 150, then 220, then 300, then 400, pretty much starting all over again?

It was then off to attach the ear pieces. Unfortunately, I tried using the Forstner bit to sink some t-bolts into them, but when I drilled the holes through the side, the ear caps would leave a noticeable gap between the helmet, and the JB Weld that was holding them in place came off when I tried tightening them form the inside!:
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So, I ended up JB welding them completely to the side and I think that did the trick. I want everyone to keep in mind this IS my first helmet, and although I'd like to make it as accurate as possible (the paintjob especially), I feel I'll have to wait for a "wavy brow" helmet from Bobamaker or such to be messing with correct internals and size correct ear caps in the future. But, I hope that this effort turns into a great production, and any input you guys want to throw in would be greatly appreciated.

I can't thank the members on this board enough for the tutorials and threads that have helped me get my dream project started. I'm really looking foward to being a members of this awesome community. And now, for a pic of some other little nick-nacks I'm working on :D:

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Your helmet looks great so far! Seems like you were having quite a few unlucky troubles along the way, but kudos for not losing hope :D:D
I am a brand new member to these boards and will be starting my helmet soon hopefully, so all of these threads are great help to everyone, so thanks for doing them :p Regarding the scratches left by the sanding process, personally i'd leave them to add some character, but its your helmet so ultimately it's your decision; you could do either and it would look great im sure :)

good luck on the rest of the lid!
 
Great progress! I am very curious how your helmet turns out to look like. Keep us posted with pictures.

Very well done for a first lid so far.
 
hey man looking good. I have the same lid and was concidering adding fiberglass
re-enforcement. what was it that warped your lid the fiber glass or the heat? so I can avoid that incodent. :) thanks
 
Looking good, looking good, keep up the hard work and it will all come together. I will be keeping my eye on this progress!!
 
hey man looking good. I have the same lid and was concidering adding fiberglass
re-enforcement. what was it that warped your lid the fiber glass or the heat? so I can avoid that incodent. thanks
What I would HIGHLY recommend doing is reinforcing your helmet BEFORE you cut out the visor-area resin. That way, the mandibles can't warp after they're done drying. What made the mandible warp was probably the heat, so take my advice...let it dry naturally, don't speed up the process. Its that time of the year where the weather is quite warm out so you shouldn't have any problems with the resin curing.

I'm glad to see so many positive replies. I really appreciate them. I'm still curious as to see who here thinks I should leave the small scratches done by the 80 grit paper as is, or if I should re-sand to give the entire helmet a smooth finish?
 
Hiya Ponte.Good advise on cutting out visor after fiberglassing.Did it that way on my W.O.F. card build.It came out sweet. I can offer a tip on the interior for an awsome finish after your resin and cloth have dried and you sand down any cloth sticking out.Do another light coat of resin wait till its tacky and then do another resin coat over that. When it dries it'll be smooth as glass.keep at it bro lookin forward to seeing some color on that lid:D
 
as far as sanding goes, i personally start at 220 grit for the gnarliest parts. after that i go with 320 or 400 for the majority of the helmet, then finish off with 800. anything under 200 is going to give you fits. and a neat little trick for getting a more real looking metal finish is to go over the silver paint real gently with 1000 or 1200.

remember wetsanding is your friend. i do most sanding in my sink with the water gently running using hi-grit automotive sandpaper that's made to stand up to being soaked. it does a few things: first, it eliminates dust it just washes down the drain. second, along the same lines as the first, it eliminates extra grit from dust that might bite into your finish. third, the running water cleans the paper and keeps it from getting clogged so you can keep sanding with the same piece for much longer. the only downside to wetsanding i can think of is pruney fingers.
 
looking good so far, I ran into the same problem with using too rough of a grit, left the same kind of scratches, lucky for me Im making a custom bucket so i just fixed it with bondo. cant wait to see more!
 
Well, the Chicago scew method DID NOT work for me at all this time around with the new visor. The biggest factor to that has to be that **** warped mandible...completely threw off how the visor sits in the helmet. On top of that, when I tried heating up the mandible to shift it a bit, it seems the heat also turned the JB weld I used to secure the screws became soft, and I was able to pull them out with my own fingers...no wonder people are saying JB Weld is bad. :(

So, after a good 2 hours, I decided to cave in and go the only viable option: Hot glue it in. Needless to say, it "works", but I can promise you it looks pretty rough:
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As you can see, there's a little bit of space between the visor and helmet:
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I'll need to trim down the visor to get it flush with the helmet.

The helmet didn't quite turn out what I expected it to, and its been extremely frustrating learning something completely new and utterly failing at installing a plastic visor :lol:. But, this IS my first bucket, and I have never truly worked on a detailed hobby project. Its been a great experience so far learning how to use drills, rotary tools, adhesives and epoxys, and sewing machines. I do plan on getting a super accurate helmet down the road (wavy brow and correct ear caps, etc.) and hopefully pull off a great job.

I plan on giving it my all for the paintjob using Terminal Fettler's layered method with my new airbrush. Overall, this will be a great project to practice on, and like I said, I'll be able to work on a better put together bucket once I'm done with the rest of the costume.

I'll be painting soon, so keep an eye on this thread. Comments, suggestions of what I have so far folks?
 
Well, I finally decided to star the airbrushing using terminal fett's Humbrol paint list. When I received the paints, they come in VERY tiny jars. I barely had enough for the base coat of light gray 147, and that's WITH mixing it with Humbrol thinner. Anyhoot, I shaved down the bottom of the visor to line up flush with the helmet and carefully masked the helmet with some maskin tape:

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Next, using my airbrush and propel can :rolleyes (can't wait till I can get a good compressor) I put down a thin coat of the gray 147. It shows up a lot darker in the pics for some reason, but needless to say, all the paint was completely gone by the end of the spray session!
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But of course, this being my first time using an airbrush, I HAD to run into some kind of snag. And that's where we get...this:
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As you can see, this was some paint that decided to run, so I had to use a brush and patch it up and flatten it. It obviously looks like garbage, but hopefully when I layer the greens and such, it'll look a little more decent.

That's all for now folks. Later tonight, I'll be working on the L/H ear cap, so stay tuned!
 
Hang in there bro! The first bucket can be a real challenge. I almost tossed mine in the imperial trash compacter twice along the way. If something doesn't work, start over. Sand it off, fill it with bondo, etc. If it bothers you, fix it. If you are like me it will nag at you everytime you look at it. I HATED how the cat scratch turned out on my bucket. I finally went back and masked part of the dome off and re-did it. I am much happier. I had trouble with my visor too. I ended up heating it in the oven at 200 degrees until it got flexable and was able to get a closer fit. I glued it in using 3M window ribbon sealer. (Black gasket that holds in your windshield)

The main thing is have fun. You are wise to practice on a less expensive helmet too. Although the Sarge helmet is pretty nice. Keep posting pics and other will chime in with help as well.
 
... gray 147. It shows up a lot darker in the pics for some reason, but needless to say, all the paint was completely gone by the end of the spray session!
As you can see, this was some paint that decided to run, so I had to use a brush and patch it up and flatten it. It obviously looks like garbage, but hopefully when I layer the greens and such, it'll look a little more decent.

Ponte, if the color runs, it means that you used too much color at once. Maybe you just sprayed too much at the time. That´s the reason why the tins are completely empty ... :D (when airbrushing, one of those tins is enough for the complete helmet)

I normally use several thin layers. First a thin layer, then let it dry ... then the next layer ... all with gray 147 ... until the helmet has a nice and smooth color.

It´s just what most of us experience while painting the helmet:
Patience is a virtue. :rolleyes:thumbsup:

Take your time to get the color on in several steps and you´ll see, the results will get better and better.

Cheers bro!

:cheers
 
Ponte, if the color runs, it means that you used too much color at once. Maybe you just sprayed too much at the time. That´s the reason why the tins are completely empty ... :D (when airbrushing, one of those tins is enough for the complete helmet)

I normally use several thin layers. First a thin layer, then let it dry ... then the next layer ... all with gray 147 ... until the helmet has a nice and smooth color.

It´s just what most of us experience while painting the helmet:
Patience is a virtue. :rolleyes:thumbsup:

Take your time to get the color on in several steps and you´ll see, the results will get better and better.

Cheers bro!

:cheers

Thanks for the tip. I have a question though. I was using the 1:1 ratio of paint to thinner that Humbrol suggests, is that what you used? And as for the runny paint on the back, it wasn't because there was too much being splattered on one spot (I know what you mean by that), but no matter what distance and no matter how very little I let out of the brush it was coming up as really thin and washy, almost as if it was mostly the thinner and not any paint. Maybe the ratio should be 2:1?
 
Here's a rather large update. I think I found the "secret" to airbrushing with Humbrol paints...(I think:D). 2 parts thinner/1 part paint ratio. Not only do I not have to worry about too much paint coming out, but the color has a nice even tone to it and I'm using much less paint as before. Anywho, lets get started with today's update:

First of all, remember: SAFETY FIRST. This 30 dollar respirator from Home Depot is something everyone airbrushing/sanding should invest in. Not only does it block out the harmful particles that come out of your airbrush, but it keeps out the HORRIBLE fumes from the thinners/cleaners you'll use. Your neighbors will look at you like you're the next Hannibal Lecter, but they're not the ones breathing in the junk, so carry on:
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Here we have the light gray areas masked off. I'm using Count Dookie's awesome ESB helmet stencils, and the Humbrol Maskol is going to make the precise layering SO much easier:
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The next day I sprayed on a coat of metallic silver 11. I went over it a few times to make sure I had a shiny, solid base:
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After letting the metallic layer dry for a few hours, I peeled off the maskol to reveal the light gray layer. Any little details that I needed to etch back was used with the tip of a mechanial pencil. This isn't THE most detailed stencil work, but this is my first time, and practice makes perfect:
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You'll notice that the printed stencil is taped to a cutting board with tracing paper over it. By tracing the outlines, I can flip the paper over and retrace the lines on the other side. *Make sure you go over them a few times so there's enough graphite residue to transfer to the helmet*. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to spend all that time tracing only for it NOT to show up on the helmet:
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Just a bit ago I applied the maskol to those areas:
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Tomorrow when I pick up a Badger Cyclone compressor (woot woot) I'll be able to add on the gray 79. Stay tuned!
 
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