Eli Jinn's 3D Printed & Spray Painted ESB Helmet
- Thread starter Eli Jinn
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Eli Jinn
Hunter
Ok, I was just worried about coverage because I haven't found a silver paint that covers the way I want with a brush
PinkFlamingos6
Active Hunter
I agree with robotzo
Testors enamel is great for applying topically and can be found easily at hobby lobby or a local hobby shop and is very cheap! Maybe a buck or two a bottle... and a bottle goes a looongg way!
I used testors flat aluminum topically on my ROTJ gauntlets, helmet, and jetpack and still have some leftover from the 1 bottle.
Testors enamel is great for applying topically and can be found easily at hobby lobby or a local hobby shop and is very cheap! Maybe a buck or two a bottle... and a bottle goes a looongg way!
I used testors flat aluminum topically on my ROTJ gauntlets, helmet, and jetpack and still have some leftover from the 1 bottle.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
So it turns out the Vallejo Model Air Silver I already had covers just fine. I guess I assumed it wouldn't because it's thinned out airbrush paint.
Anyway, I finished the dome and did the right mandible.
I still have to repaint that right cheek, but you can see I sanded it down.
I decided against stenciling the silver. I've lost the time and patience to stencil the silver with how detailed it is. Plus, (I think at least) it holds up from a few feet back. I'm actually having a lot of fun painting the silver.
Anyway, I finished the dome and did the right mandible.
I still have to repaint that right cheek, but you can see I sanded it down.
I decided against stenciling the silver. I've lost the time and patience to stencil the silver with how detailed it is. Plus, (I think at least) it holds up from a few feet back. I'm actually having a lot of fun painting the silver.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Thank you so much! I'm running out of time, so I'll save the primer spots and weathering for after Halloween, but all that's left to do is repaint the right cheek, add the accessories, and add the visor!
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Okay, well after a couple months working on and off on the helmet, mostly just weathering and adding those primer spots, I've thrown a clear coat on it and the helmet is done!
It's been a total of 15 months and over 80 hours of work. 90 percent of that I'd have to say was spent just stenciling. What a journey this has been. I can't wait to do it a few dozen more times. This will be the last Boba Fett helmet that I paint without the aid of my airbrush or my new collection of AX paints, so expect future buckets to be even higher quality.
During my talks with Jurassic_Fett as well as the process of reference gathering, I've noticed that the weathering on the ESB helmet is much more nuanced, subtle, and complex than I had originally thought, and I'd like to endeavor to create a visual weathering guide, similar to paint stencils, that details all the little spots and subtle areas of weathering that make up this complex paintjob.
It's been a total of 15 months and over 80 hours of work. 90 percent of that I'd have to say was spent just stenciling. What a journey this has been. I can't wait to do it a few dozen more times. This will be the last Boba Fett helmet that I paint without the aid of my airbrush or my new collection of AX paints, so expect future buckets to be even higher quality.
During my talks with Jurassic_Fett as well as the process of reference gathering, I've noticed that the weathering on the ESB helmet is much more nuanced, subtle, and complex than I had originally thought, and I'd like to endeavor to create a visual weathering guide, similar to paint stencils, that details all the little spots and subtle areas of weathering that make up this complex paintjob.
spicy fett
Active Hunter
Weathering is the key. The helmet looks great though especially for being spray painted and I’m surprised you didn’t get a reaction with the paints especially doing a layered paint job lol believe it or not weathering is the one thing that separates the good painters from the excellent painters so keep it up!
spicy fett
Active Hunter
Also another tip would be to mask off your silver before adding a clear coat to anything you paint because it’s always going to dull out that silver and if you look at the reference pics the Floquil bright silver they used is definitely shiny
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Maybe the silver doesn't show up well in the pictures. The silver looks plenty bright to me when I have it in hand, but I do see a noticeable drop in brightness after the clear coat. I will keep that in mind.
Eli Jinn
Hunter
Yes I did, although in the time since I posted this thread I did repaint the armor with Archive-X acrylics
does the helmet set they sell work with the armor or is that different? thanks for the fast response btw!
Eli Jinn
Hunter
It's been a while since I repainted my armor plates but I'm pretty sure I had to get one or two separate colors to do the armor paintjob, couldn't tell you which ones. Sorry
