*UPDATE 2013* WIP : Jayvee's 'lil' chunk of ROTJ love' paint up

Righto ROTJ Fett experts (and anyone else for that matter:)) - DISCUSSION TIME!
What im concerned with here, and something that has been discussed and debated a bit, is upper cheek colour for ROTJ. Now, ill give my 2 cents, and everyone feel free to chime in - Don't take what I say as gospel, i'm very open to be swayed by those with good colour knowledge, or indeed those that may have been lucky enough to see the helmet in person at exhibits etc...

Now, it seems everyone agrees that we are looking at a blue/green, that has shifts to black even in differrent lighting. Where it seems its open for debate, is, is it more blue base; or more a green base? The first group shot I added shows it is hard to choose - you would say blue in the first 2 pics, until you see a shift in light in the last 2, where it seems more green based. Now, dont get me wrong - if its got green in it, it has to have blue in it - the question is how much?

So I try some colour tests. Two of the colours always recommended are - Pollyscale enchantment blue, and model masters schwartzgrun rlm 70 (documented by spideyfett). Now I have problems with both of these colours. I really like enchantment blue, but I personally still feel it is too blue. This is evident in the sunlight and when photographing it with a flash - it essentially comes out bright blue. The real lid doesnt actually act this way. Flash definately brings out the blue value, but it seems a little too much with enchantment blue. Greens with a bluer base also have the blue value brought out when photographed - which is how the real lid seems to act, and one of the reasons I tend to be leaning this way. Schwartzgrun is more of a black/green, and I think spidey is more on the right track - the main problem I had with this colour, is there is not a big enough jump from the dome and cheek colour, hence it looks too light. I have been experimenting comprehensively, and come up with some good mixes, but want to know peoples thoughts on more blue/green, or more green/blue if that makes sense...

The second pic is taken from a screencap on the skiff in the sunlight. Here, with the sun shining off, the cheek looks a fair way away from the bright blue enchantment blue gives off in similar conditions. Not to mention, that with the greener blue, when photographing it, I can bring out the blue value making it appear more blue; but the bluer I go, I cant do anything to make it appear more green - something that happens significantly with the real lid in diferring conditions. So due to this thought process, my mixes that I am currently liking seem to be on the more green/blue side - Im definately swaying toward a ultramarine green/blue, and quite a dark shade at that - it still looks quite a dark colour, almost with grey tones in the sunlight, which are making me think the colour overall is quite a bit darker than we are giving it credit for.. Of course though, these are only observations - nothing is set in stone. ideas and thoughts, post them here, and lets see what we can come up with. Discuss my fellow Fett-lovers!...

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I think the upper cheeks are black. Then there are various shades of grey and green misted over this colour. The real problem with this area of the helmet is the compound curve of the upper cheeks which just refracts odd colours in different lighting conditions. That's just how I see it, taking into account how much shading and colour layering goes into the rest of the helmet... makes sense to me.
By the way Jayvee, your work is truly inspirational, just starting another ESB!
 
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Firstly TF - thankyou kindly. Its your paintups that initially inspired me to push the boundaries as much as I could, and I still feel your work is some of the very best around, and truly professional. Cant wait to see the brilliance of your new ESB lid :)

Now, with the cheeks, you have kinda nailed what ive been hinting at - im actually thinking the cheeks are more of a black/green/grey shade, and the blue is coming from the cheek curvature and lighting conditions, bringing out some of the blue within the green. This particularly happens with the flash, and under heavy lghting, which many of the exhibit shots have. Its also why I stated I think the colour is much darker than we give it credit for. Raf liking the fourth image is in line with the overall darker tone too. Its also why I like spideys effort with the schwartzgrun - while that colour seems overall too light for my liking, I think the shade is right if darkened up - but what I do know, is that the schwartzgrun is definately more a green, and not as much blue base. Hmm, more experimenting methinks - I actually think ive found a really good colour in the revell line of paints..
 
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Okie-dokie peeps... just a little bit of colour testing info - not nearly as exciting as painted up sections, but all part of the process my fine specimens. This is just an addition to the thoughts on the upper cheeks. Now, I've done a heap of colour tests, and more and more I am leaning toward a shade of green/blue that is more toward the green than the blue - many people see it as more blue, but I tend to go with Terminal Fettlers line of thinking that it could indeed even be black with some green and grey or even blue mists added. But im still leaning toward a greener blue..

What I have done, is I have added a montage pic of a shade I really like and think I may well end up going with (thas not set in stone just yet though). Now, while this colour is a marine/sea blue, under the sunlight, it has a very green tinge to it - while under other lights, it has a dark, almost midnight blue, and can look charcoal in other lights. It is also a very deep shade overall. The montage I have added is my exact same colour swatch, simply taken with differrent lighting conditions and differrent camera settings. You can see just how much it 'chameleons'.. Looks a very green shade in the first pics, very blue toward the end, a cross in some and quite grey and neutral through the middle. This is why i'm leaning toward this shade - if a little greener, I can bring out either colour in photos, as it must contain blue to be green in the first place; yet, if I go bluer, or use the enchantment blue, as blue is a primary colour, I cannot bring out a green value in photos. But, when looking at pics of the real helmet, there are some pretty obvious greener looking cheeks as well as the blue in some shots, so it must have this green value. My colour swatch seems to act this way, and looks good when I try it against the other colours on my lid, so this is where my brain is sitting with it all at the minute! Any and all opinions appreciated! Peace :)

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Morning Fett-lovers! Just a small update here - I have made some good progress on the lid, with the base colours for both the upper cheeks and mandibles and trim done - but with all the oodles of fine detail work to go on those areas, i'll wait until they are completed for full shots of those areas... Now, what I have in this lil' update, is a small showing of how the upper cheek colour I was concerned with came out. Again, its one of those things that may not interest many, but for those of you that like the accuracy and fine details - this one's for you! ;)

Now, I am very pleased with how this colour came out. Lots of colour testing, but it really has allowed me to find a really happy place for this area. Upon futher inspection, more and more, I liked Garrets (Terminal Fettlers) idea that the cheeks were black, with misted shades over the black. Makes sense with the amount of misting elsewhere on the helmet, and explains many of the colour shifts when the light refracts off the cheek curves. I also really liked the shade of Scwartzgrun rlm 70 that spidey nailed - so, bottom line, I ended up using both ideas - with a slight twist...

I did indeed go dark underneath, but instead of black, I used a colour in the tamiya enamel line of paint called Sea Blue (XF-17). This colour is a lovely green/blue shade, but the more coats you spray, the darker it gets, almost looking black, but with hits of the green/blue when under light. Then, to tone this back, and to add the appropriate misting, I used the Schwartzgrun, which acted beautifully over the dark shade. If needed, I was easily able to mist a little more XF-17 where needed..

What this left me with, was a colour I was very happy with, and in the two montage photos, shows by simply adding a flash, or differrent lighting, just how much this colour moves from an almost charcoal, to greenish, to bluish. As the real lid seems to act this way under similar lighting conditions, i'm once again happy I seem to be in a similar range.. Don't pay too much attention to the damage - still A LOT more fine detail work to come, but enjoy, and let me know what you think. Till the next sizable update, Peace peeps.. :)

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You nailed that color, Jayvee! Looking at each image I feel like I'm seeing images from the MoM Gallery. Your attention to every and each detail is almost obsessive (here at TDH this is a normal behavior) and is very appreciated and applauded.
 
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Um, wow. That is seriously awesome work. Many will take what you have done here and make beautiful helmets with colors that act the way they seem to on the original. You've put some serious effort into this. :cheers
 
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Um, wow. That is seriously awesome work. Many will take what you have done here and make beautiful helmets with colors that act the way they seem to on the original. You've put some serious effort into this. :cheers

He has done amazing job! Definitely a master painter!
 
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Howdy Fett Rockstars! Been going at it nicely on this paint up – still working my way around the back and sides of the trim, hence no rear helmet shots at this stage, but done enough to update with some front piccys… Now I have done a bit since the last update, so I will break it into a couple sections to make it an easier read. I will apologize now for the duct taped visor and no ears – while these areas currently look a little crude, the visor just gives me an idea of overall colour, and the ears just don’t look right unweathered, so I’ll wait for those to be done to add them. So, with that, away we go!

Upper cheeks –

I won’t go too much into these, as I’ve already had discussions and colour swatches earlier in this thread, but real happy with the colour on these. I’ve put a few shots in of both sides which show how the colour shifts, but as I’ve previously documented how they act under different lighting conditions, these shots are more about showing you all the added fine detail. There were a couple of mists which were important, such as the darker section at the bottom of the right hand upper cheek (Right as in looking at the helmet, so the non rangefinder side). Studying the pics, this darker section is evident in all the shots, so it seems is an actual mist, and not a lighting trick. You may also spot a shot or two here and there missing some fine detail on the Mandibles – just some earlier shots , but all the weathering is there now, as is evidenced in most of the new shots. Not too much more to add, other than I hope you enjoy kiddies! :)

Colour list: Humbrol 147 (light grey) basecoat; Humbrol Silver (11); Tamiya XF-17 (Sea Blue); Misted over with Model Masters Schwartzgrun RLM 70.

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Mandibles –

Holy moly - these bad boys were seriously time consuming!!! At the time of writing this, I’m still not done, and have the entire back and sides yet to detail. Probably an even bigger task than the dome, and that was monster... In any case, other than the Caboose colour used, there are some major details – the big grey mist on the left hand mandible near the front, some sand coloured mists, most noticeably up in the top corner of the left hand mandible, and the Pinkish bondo’d fix on the crack in the upper right. This area was really fun to do, and I even put a tiny bit of bondo on there with a toothpick before the paint for added texture. Interestingly, with this colour, I may have actually stumbled across a colour which may work well for the pinkish sections on the Pre Pro Helmet – it is a humbrol colour 250 (Desert Sand). I haven’t looked too much into those paint ups, but it seems like it could be a good match, or at least a good base for a mix… The rest of the mandibles had oodles and oodles of fine detail throughout. This included more mists, scratches, dirt marks, various coloured marks – basically everything but the kitchen sink! But so far I’m really pleased with this section, so I hope you enjoy too :)

Pic 1 in this lot show a pic I really like of the lid starting to come together as a whole. Most of the other pics are designed to be close ups to show fine detail. On the fourth picture in, you can see the sand coloured mists in the upper left hand corner of the mandible, that I previously mentioned. This was a nice little detail I really wanted to get right, and really adds to the overall weathering. Of course, there is a signature comparison pic at the end as I like to do. I always like to put these comparison pics cropped where needed, but with no colour editing, as it gives me a truer representation. But again, I think I’ve shown enough evidence of my colour shifts for the upper cheeks without boring you with too many more ‘technical photos’.

So there we are up till now. Clearly the rear side of the helmet will be next, then onto the ears. Once the major paint work is completed, we will move to the interior, visor, RF etc. Still a bit to go, but light at the end of the tunnel my fine friends! Hope you enjoy the update, as always, feedback, thoughts or comments hugely welcome. Peace my peeps! :)

Colour list : Humbrol 147 (light grey) basecoat; Humbrol Silver (11); Mists over silver using Humbrol Gunmetal (53) and Humbrol Tank Grey (67). Humbrol Ocean Grey (106) light spray to even colour out before applying Caboose. Floquil Caboose (Main Mandible colour). Fine details, using a variety of Humbrols depending on section, including Humbrol light grey (147), Humbrol Silver (11), Humbrol Desert Yellow (93), Humbrol Desert Sand (250), Humbrol Tank Grey (67) and various browns, blacks and yellows.

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Jayvee, Thanks for setting the bar as to what painting should be. The attention to detail is phenomenal.
 
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Oh my!... First ESB. Then the perfect ESB. And now the perfect ROTJ! You are a paint god!
 
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Agreed with all of the praise thus far. Truly outstanding and inspirational work, Jayvee.
 
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OK, I looked at this update and went and threw all my painting supplies out the window.

Anybody have any ideas for a new hobby??? :p

Can't wait to see this thing finished, Jonny! You are killin' it!
 
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OK, I looked at this update and went and threw all my painting supplies out the window.

Anybody have any ideas for a new hobby??? :p

Can't wait to see this thing finished, Jonny! You are killin' it!

I'm taking up knitting, anyone need a scarf? Check the cargo hold...:D
 
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There isn't a high demand for hello kitty pink vests

I should have guessed you would be first in line for my new TF woolen products! Pink PP2 scarf is it Dave? ;)

But seriously, great work Jonny! The finshed surface just needs a slight satin sheen to it...(y)
 
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