SGB McQuarrie Concept Helmet (WIP/paint up)

5326Commcando

Jr Hunter
Hi All!

Finally found enough time to start the process of my new bucket. Picked this up a few months ago in the cargo hold, and I've been anxious to start! My last ESB build went great with all of the resources on here (thank you all for the templates and suggestions!). New project is a SGB McQuarrie Helmet. I'm in the prepping phase, and below are the pictures where it stands right now. Great casting, however, my only complaints are where the lenses will go, and a "divot" in the helmet relative to where the dent is in the production versions. I'm doing my best, in an obsessive way, to smooth the deficiencies out of this thing. The cast had some easily correctable flash where the molds came together (although they seemed like a bigger deal at the time). At first glance I wanted to do this with no damage/weathering. After much refinement, it's going to be far better with some moderate weathering/damage (primarily to hide a few very minor details at the brim/visor area). Might as well challenge myself. Hang on for the ride!

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Cool! I have one of these in my collection. SGB produced a really great looking piece.
I love the concept and Pre-pro designs. (y)
 
Primed, sanded, and hit with the first coat of gloss white Krylon. Just finished wetsanding to expose the flaws in the paint, and my prep work. Overall, looks great! Found the areas that needed a few more coats, but nothing that can't be remedied before applying the next coats. Pics to come!

Anyone who's done a Supertrooper, or SGB McQuarrie, did you wetsand between white layers? Or just save it until the end? I've seen some good results on here, just wanted to see where everyone else has been!
 
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A few blemishes, and "thin" paint layers. Nothing unfixable at this point. I actually kind of appreciate the weathering the wetsanding produced! Still trying to decide whether to weather this thing or leave it alone...
 
Hey guys! Long time, no update! Been bouncing between work and other projects, but here's where I'm at. Let me say this, Gloss white is an incredibly difficult color/scheme to work with and perfect on a large domed area! Process has been more or less, paint, wet sand, see exposed areas of primer, lay 3 more layers of white gloss, wet sand, lay more white, wetsand, and finally I have a finish I was looking for. Problem is, rattlecan gloss white needs to be sprayed on, evenly, to the point where it's just about to run (and that goes with the clear coat as well. If you don't get it on relatively thick, and in one layer, you're going to be left with some less glossy areas from the remnants of the focus of the spray of the white! Maybe there are better quality paints out there, but I wanted to accomplish this with just something from the local Lowes.

Also, I recommend using the same brand gloss clear as the paint itself. I first used a Valspar clear enamel over the Krylon white, and it seemed to have not coated well (or reacted with the white base layer.

Following several weeks of on/off progress, I got the desired gloss white, and laid in the black areas on the nose/mouth. Masking turned out good, but the sculpt left some areas where it was tough to differentiate between the contours of the areas masked. I think the addition of the breathing apparatus' will mask most of these areas, and I'll just touch up the rest with some flat enamel later (if need be).

Going to spray in the red on the dome, then knock out the breathing apparatus this weekend. Thanks for looking!

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Quick update!

Nearing completion, just need to slightly modify the stalk, and add a piece or two to the breathing apparatus in order to bring more interest into that area.

I first sprayed the mouth pieces in black, masked some areas, then sprayed again with a valspar silver. However, I just didn't like the silver that resulted, almost too perfect. So I found a different product which worked awesome for achieving a metal finish. I picked up some "Rub and Buff" which is a wax based metal polish that goes on, then can be buffed away to whatever shinyness is desired. I first redid the flat black, then just applied this stuff with my finger and a qtip, buffed with a paper towel, and it turned out awesome! Probably helped that there is actual metal in the product itself, and it left a little bit of the black rub through to achieve a sort of weathering. Highly recommend for this type of use!

On to the stalk!
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Really nice job on this, I have one on order and I'm concerned about how to install the visor, can you describe how you installed yours?
 
Really nice job on this, I have one on order and I'm concerned about how to install the visor, can you describe how you installed yours?

Actually, no visor installed yet! I have it resting atop a clear glass vase which gives the illusion of actually having a visor installed. Going to use one of those visors someone mentioned in another thread from Staples. I think with this one, installing through the front is going to be the preferred technique with a bit of reinforcement from the back. Will be doing that in the next few weeks!
 
I did a visor on mine for my custom merc. I saved the insert piece I trimmed out, and traced it onto paper, then just made any adjustments that were needed for a better fit. A few dabs of hot glue, and I was done!

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It's a REALLY funky shape to work with. But it's just trial and error


As you wish
 
Darth, or anyone else who has any ideas,

What's the best way to make the template to cut the visor for this helmet?

I'm using paper to rough it out, but to no avail on transferring a decent copy over to the visor material.

Darth, did you install this from behind (through the helmet)? Or did you cut to match the outline in from the front?
 
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