Thanks fellas.
Biggish update today.
UPDATE: June 6, 2013
Killstripes!
I've taken a little extra time with the killstripe stage to show the complete method I use
to apply them. So this post is a little pic heavy.
First off, measurements. I've come to a "standard" group of measurements for putting the
ESB killstripes onto a GMH helmet. These are absolutely not cast in stone, I just think they
give the best looking result. I space the bottom of the killstripes 6.5 mm above the red band.
Each stripe is 27 mm tall by 8 mm wide, and there's a 6 mm space between each stripe.
To position them on the dome, it's just a matter of carefully checking the reference pics.
I cut a strip of blue painter's tape 6.5 mm wide and apply it to the dome.
After checking and rechecking the positions of the stripes, I begin to lay out some tape
to mark the spaces between the stripes. I use Tamiya masking tape for this, and it just
so happens that it's exactly 6 mm wide!
Then, I make a pencil mark on each piece of Tamiya tape, and lay a strip of blue painter's tape
across the top so that each stripe comes out to 27 mm tall.
Then using the reference pics, I apply some masking fluid to mark out the chips within the
stripes. I use Winsor & Newton and a Microbrush.
After that, I mask the entire helmet off with plastic wrap and tape. I don't take any chances
at this stage. I've done too much work on the helmet to risk any yellow spatter!
The last thing I do before airbrushing is to burnish all the edges of the tape. This really helps
to get those corners down nice and tight. I've forgotten to do this step before and usually wind
up with yellow paint that has bled thru a little bit, leading to some tedious touchups afterwards.
I use a small burnishing tool that I picked up from Michael's. Not sure what its intended purpose
is, but it works great for Fett helmets!
Now it's on to airbrush time. I use Polly Scale UP Armor Yellow to do the stripes. I always do
a couple of light coats rather than try to get solid coverage with a single coat. This also helps
prevent bleed through. Today, I did 3 light coats for these stripes.
After putting the basic yellow down, I go back with an orangey-red color (I've used different
ones in the past, depending on what I have on hand) and tone the back half of the killstripe run.
Once that's done, the helmet looks like this.
When everything's nice and dry, I unmask the helmet in reverse order. I begin by removing
the plastic wrap.
Then I use a rubber cement pickup to rub the masking fluid off, and finally, carefully peel
up the tape between and around the stripes. Here's the final result!
Now I'll be able to do the gray and silver damage that is mingled in between the stripes, and
make sure the position is really accurate. Here are another couple of views of the killstripes.
Still a tiny bit of yellow to add in the "voids" in a couple of the stripes, and I'll do that
with my 000 brush.
So it's getting there now.
Next up will be the damage areas within the stripes, the odd
faded color beneath the stripes, and finally. . . some red for those crazy mandibles!
Thanks for following along so far.