MS3 Progress thread :)

[superjedi]

Dang guys! I'm blushing over here.
I like posting progress on these things. . . it gives my poor fingers and eyes a rest!

And. . .
UPDATE: August 4th
Wow, got a lot more done today than I anticipated. I completed the cheeks, but forgot to take pics of those areas. Oops! :facepalm
After that I started on the dome. One of the things that can make or break the appearance of the helmet is the kill stripes. With each bucket I paint, this is the most nerve wracking part for me. To place the stripes, I measure my reference pics and tape them off using that blue painters tape. I have found this to be an extremely useful tool. I've never had a problem with too much tackiness, and I haven't (yet) had it pull up any underlying paint. I'm very careful to let my base coats dry for at least a couple of days before putting any tape on.
Once I have the basic outlines taped off, I use Winsor & Newton's masking fluid to mask off the chips within the stripes. I usually do this by eye.
Here's a couple shots showing the stripes masked off. I have my camera on the close-up setting, so there's a weird fish eye effect. The masking fluid appears shiny in the pics.

After everything is masked, I apply some UP Armor Yellow with one of those dense little make up sponges. I apply several light coats, letting each one dry for about 15 minutes in between, until no more green shows through. Once the yellow is dry, I brush on some reddish-orange pastel powder, making it heavier on the rear stripes, and kind of fading as I come around toward the front.
Here's how the stripes look once they're unmasked.

After the stripes were done, I began on the damage on the dome. I started from the killstripe area, and worked around the back of the helmet toward the right ear.
Here's the killstripe area. All the tiny tiny thin scratches were made with a compass point, following closely with the reference pics.

Here's the rear view. What a jumble of scratches on this section!

And finally, the area just behind the right ear. This is a good stopping point for today. . . cuz my wrist is cramped!

Tomorrow, the cat scratch and dent!! Woo hoo!

 

[Predatormv]

Wow I didn't check this thread for two whole days, I really expceted to come back to a finished helmet. I can't believe how quickly you are turning this helmet out!

 

[AFettFullofDollars]

Ah yes...Masking tape and Windsor and Newton on the killstripes. It may take a little longer but the results can't be beat. There's no school like the old school!

 

[superjedi]

Well, due to unforseen issues, I lost a big chunk of time today cuz I had to take my wife to the airport. She's going to VA to deal with a family issue. Nothing serious, but she'll be gone for a couple of weeks. She's got the good digicam with her, so I'm using my old 4.0 mp camera. So the colors will look a little different from my previously posted pictures in the following

UPDATE: August 5th:
Cat scratch fever!! Du-du-du! Cat scratch fever!! Du-du-du-duuuu!!

Ah, the famous cat scratch. I've worked pretty much the right front half of the dome. I think this is pretty much as far as I'll get today. I was hoping to do the dent, but like with the "face" area of the mandibles, this area is one of the most important, so I want to be sure I have plenty of time set aside to tackle it!
Here's a couple of angles of the dome so far.

Once I get to the dent, that's pretty much going to be it for major painting on the helmet itself. I still have the ears to paint and apply decals to, then some "spatter" and pastel weathering on the whole bucket!

 

[Wolfi]

Just amazing!!!

 

[Nobody]

Outstanding Work!

 

[MandalorFett]

Looks so good. Love the Nuget refrence too.

 

[Laan]

SWEET! Lookin better and better man.

 

[Kashyyyk4ABY]

Man that is awesome!

 

[Darth Fett]

looks great awesome!

 

[GundamZeppelin]

Beautiful!

 

[superjedi]

UPDATE: August 6th

And finally, the feature without which this board would have a different name: The Dent!
Took my time with this area. There are several good 'head-on' shots of the dent itself, which makes outlining it much easier. But it's harder to find a good angle for that big scuff that trails back from the dent itself. I had to use a couple of different pics and play with the position a little bit to get it placed properly.
This area is complete! I had a discussion with Laan before I got started about whether he wanted a "screen used" paint job, or an "exhibit" paint job. The exhibit helmet through the years has gathered some extra damage, including all those strange black marks between the dent and the kill stripes. So those will not be added. I tend to prefer this look myself, and when I eventually do another helmet for myself, I'm gonna go with this look, too!
I dunno if it's my old camera or what, but the colors are really getting blown out. :facepalm But here are the newest pics.

All that's left now on the bucket itself is the big scrape on the top of the dome. That'll get done tomorrow, and then it's on to the ears! 8)

 

[Laan]

Man, you have me giggling like a little girl. Fantastic work.

 

[superjedi]

Well then, I have reached my goal!
Thanks man.

 

[Mojo Fett]

SJ...that is the dogs danglies... Great job.
Was most of it 'layered' or 'topical' hope mine looks half as good (When I get my new lid that is )

Gavin

 

[superjedi]

Gavin,
Thanks! It's mostly topical. The only section I layer is the back, where I mask off the lighter color before spraying on the bluish-green.
Personally, I just trust my paintbrush more than masking fluid.

 

[tonyrb]

Inspirational work

 

[psberetta]

Dang dude....insane, totaly insane.
Nice job.


-Tim-

 

[MandalorFett]

Great to see a "movie-like" paintjob. That's what I went for with my poor effort to paint an ESB bucket (I'm not a good painter). Such great work, I've got all your paint-ups on my compy at home.

 

[superjedi]

Thanks, Jim. Yeah, after looking at some of the hi-def pics floating around, it's amazing how much "incidental" damage actually happened to the helmet after all these years! Like I said, I talked with Todd about the differences, and I like this version a lot!

UPDATE: August 7th

OK, all the main color application on the helmet is done!! Woo hoo!! Party time!! Excellent!!

Next up will be the ears. I'll be giving them a good primer coat, and that'll show me how much extra prep (if any) will need to be done. I've done a little sanding on them so far, but it's hard to tell how much work will need to be done until you get a coat of primer on. The ear pieces look like they're in nice shape, so I don't expect to have to do much else to them.
More to come!