EFX Boba Fett PCR Helmet Paint Upgrade

[clown3y]

I‘m a big fan of the EFX Fett helmet, but I got sick of looking at the glaringly obvious flaws it has.

I‘m now in the process of upgrading the helmet in terms of paint job and finish.

What I’ve done already:

• Removed the awful glue stains with 99.9% alcohol, rubbing it away carefully and making sure the alcohol isn’t on the paint for too long. I always rubbed a little away with a soaked paper towel and had a clean paper towel in hand, immediately removing the evaporating alcohol. That way I avoided any damage to the paint job.
• Added in some detailing by brush
• Added the white smudges on and below the kill stripes
• Added the tape pull detailing
• Removed weathering from RF stalk and borden connector using 99.9% alcohol
• Disassembled RF and repainted lens housing to remove the weird silver weathering

Next up:

• RF and borden weathering
• All airbrush weathering like on the bottom of the cheeks and around the dent, yellow misting over the kill stripe
• Reinforce the inside behind the ears with fibreglass for more stability
• Washes with black and brown
• Tamiya matte varnish

I’m not sure if I’ll attempt to close the seams.

Do I miss anything on my list?

 

[BudaFett]

Besides the seams (which I know some people have used chalk) everything looks great. It's so crisp seeing an undamaged rangefinder and stalk...I low key love it.

 

[clown3y]

Besides the seams (which I know some people have used chalk) everything looks great. It's so crisp seeing an undamaged rangefinder and stalk...I low key love it.

Agreed. I remember that someone used Tamiya Plastic Putty to fill in the seams, but I’m not sure if that sticks well enough and is durable enough to withstand some trooping.

 

[BudaFett]

I don't mind the seams as it's hard to match the green/grey/silver to make it look correct. I think after you weather the range finder and stalk you'll be set.

 

[clown3y]

A little update for the evening! I did the airbrush weathering and modified the borden connector a little, so it doesn’t stick out as much.

 

[BudaFett]

Looking good, I wanna see that range finder weathered!

 

[clown3y]

Looking good, I wanna see that range finder weathered!

There you go! SE stalk as reference.

Borden stays clean, the ESB Bespin Hallway shots make it look like it’s not weathered at all.

 

[TheSwede]

Agreed. I remember that someone used Tamiya Plastic Putty to fill in the seams, but I’m not sure if that sticks well enough and is durable enough to withstand some trooping.

It sure does Didn’t use Tamiya though, the brand I used is called Perfect plastic putty filler.

 

[BudaFett]

That's range finder and stalk are looking great!

 

[clown3y]

Thank you both!

Today it was time for some finer splatter-weathering as well as redoing the fine scratches on the helmet‘s forehead.

 

[clown3y]

Some proper images of the helmet. The last steps were strengthening the connections of both helmet halves internally with some ABS strips to strengthen them.

I hate working with fibreglass, so I rather didn’t. Might reinforce some more with Epoxy Resin, but we’ll see.

Next step is some Tamiya matte clearcoat. I‘m still unsure about filling in the seam, might be a bit too much effort on this piece honestly.

The yellow misting comes across as much harsher on these images than in real life, but I might still just tone it down a little.

 

[BudaFett]

Looks great! Even with the seams these minor improvements make a big difference.

 

[clown3y]

Looks great! Even with the seams these minor improvements make a big difference.

Thank you! I agree, I'm really glad I did these changes. Reinforcing alone made such a bit difference to the feel of the helmet and then all the other stuff wasn't all that much effort too.