New Rebel pilot helmet :)

superjedi

Sr Hunter
Hi gang,
During the past few days, I was kind of on hold for a member's armor project (waiting for a new piece to arrive) and I took the opportunity to finish an X-Wing pilot helmet I recently bought.
I already have a couple of these in my collection and I wanted to do a paint scheme that I hadn't seen attempted before. This is the helmet of Red 9 from ANH, who is only listed in EU info as "Lt. Naytaan." He was one of the many pilots who died in the Battle of Yavin.
I always thought his helmet was wicked looking. Sort of a futuristic tiger design. :)
Here's a screen cap from the film to see what I was going for.

PDVD_196.jpg


The kit was from Wilco Models and it arrived as a plain white styrene helmet. Wilco's products are really nice, but I've had 2 separate "ordeals" with them taking a reeeeeeeeeeeally long time sending kits. I don't know if I'd order from them again, which is a shame because it's hard to find a nice X-Wing helmet kit! :facepalm

For the main color, I chose Floquil Zinc Chromate Primer, which gave a really nice red-brown tone. The overall paint scheme on this helmet was pretty simple (compared to some of the other pilots!) and I simply masked the areas to remain white, and spray bombed the whole helmet.
The "V" markings, the "sliced onions" on the Mohawk portion, and the "flying ball" on the cheeks were decals from Lucksy31. Thanks Scott! I finally got to use them! :lol:

IMG_1625.jpg


IMG_1628.jpg


For the "tiger stripes" on either side of the Mohawk, I masked and painted them with Floquil Engine Black. These were trickier than I thought they would be to mask off, with a couple of shallow angles.

IMG_1632.jpg


The eyes on the lower cheeks were also masked and painted. I had to do this in 3 stages; first masking and painting the main black portion, then masking that off and painting the gray outer portion, then masking it all off again the painting the yellow pupil. I hate waiting for paint to dry, so this was really tedious for me! :lol: The eyelash details were hand painted with a 3 0 brush. (Yes, there are eyelashes on the screen caps, so I added them! ;))

IMG_1629.jpg


After everything was nice a dry, I went back and did a heavy black wash over the entire helmet. I don't usually do washes, and I worked quickly to keep it even over the whole surface. I dabbed it away in certain areas to leave a little more of the base tone, but basically the whole thing was "slopped" with thinned flat black acrylic paint. Gives it a really nice, grungy appearance. (y)

IMG_1631.jpg


IMG_1634.jpg


IMG_1635.jpg


So now I have another Red Squadron helmet to add to my collection! (y)
Thanks for looking!
Eric
 
That looks great!

From the screen cap it looks like his helmet is shiny and not a matte finish. So you plan to do a thin clear coat to gloss it up?
 
Nice paintjob Eric! That helmet always sort of stood out to me as being the different one. Tiger striped helmets must be bad luck, at least for this guy and the Cincinnati Bengals
 
Thanks guys. :) TK, I mentioned above that the kit came from Wilco Models. I have mixed feelings about them because both times I ordered from them, it did take several months to receive my kit.
The first time it took close to 7 months (!!!!!), and this time it took just over 3 months. The guy who does the vac-forming/assembling is an Air Force guy, and being that I'm in the Air Force myself, I can understand stuff happening that can delay orders. But in my 2 experiences, the wait was excessive. (*shrug*)
 
Eric,
My god, do you even sleep?? Tremendous work yet again man!!! It really does look nice...
 
Great looking Helmet! I'd love to have at least one full-size rebel pilot helmet for display. Does look like the screen cap helmet has a slight satin finish. Cool choice for paint scheme!
Geo
 
Thanks guys. :) TK, I mentioned above that the kit came from Wilco Models. I have mixed feelings about them because both times I ordered from them, it did take several months to receive my kit.


doh! i forgot all about the RPF thread on that very subject!

yeah, i've dealt with bill and had the same experience... that's why i'm trying to find someone else ;)

i REALLY don't want to be buying a vintage helmet and modding it!!
 
This thread is more than 16 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top