Jet Pack ESB Jetpack paint up"How-to" w/color list!

[Darth Voorhees]

UPDATE ON THE COLORS AS OF MAY 2018

I rarely see full how to's with colors n such, similar to helmet paint ups on JP paint ups, so last time i painted an ESB pack i took some pics with posting this in mind. Keep in mind this is just how I do it, and it isnt "perfect", but i feel its a very close match to the ESB Cloud city promo shots that i use for the reference. Thjose photos can be found here on TDH in the gallery.

So we will start with the colors i use. I use both rattle can and airbrush for this paint up

Rustoleum satin spruce green rattle can
Krylon Black primer rattle can
Krylon grey primer rattlecan
Krylon Matt finish rattlecan

Model master Panzer Olive Grun
Model master Lict blau RLM76
Model master silver chrome trim
Humbrol #154 (insignia yellow)
Humbrol #33 (flat black)
Humbrol #100
Humbrol #34 (flat white)
Humbrol #73 (wine)
Humrol #60 (scarlet red)
Humbrol #27
Floquil Up Light Orange
Floquil caboose
Floquil Rock Island Maroon
Floquil Weathered Black
Testors rust
Mineral spirits

You will also need 3 or 4 chip/house painting brushes 1.5"
a couple of fine tip brushes
paper towels
Plastic or paper dishes
Airbrush

1- Give the pack and parts a light sand with 150 sandpaper and then 220
1-a- For ESB, i attach the fuel caps, piano keys, and the rocket flange, and also assemble the thrusters (if need be) except for the greeblies since this pack is mainly all 1 color.

2- Prime with the kryon grey primer. You may want to let this dry fully and give it a light sand with 300-350 sandpaper and prime again. Let fully dry and hit it with 350-400 sandpaper. that should make it smooth but still leave a little for you color to bite to.

3- spray the body thruster and rocket parts with the rustoleum spruce green(this gets the bulk of the green down so you dont need 3 bottles of the MM paint to get good coverage)

4- (this may seem odd, but i always do this! lol) Immediately after you spray the spruce green put on a coat of the matt finish. (this helps tone down the sheen a bit and also speeds up the dry time.) Wait at least 4-5 hrs till fully dry.

5- UPDATED MAY 2018- Airbrush 1 or 2 light coats of the MM Panzer Olive Grun mixed with the RLM76 and a little Humbrol 27 (grey) which is the final green tone. It will be lighter than whats pictured here as this is an update to the colors and more accurate. ihavnet nailed the ratios yet, but just mix em till you get something slightly darker to the reference s it will dry slightly lighter.

6- Mix some of the Humbrol 73 with a touch of the Humbrol 33 to obtain a dark burgundy/red color.

7 - Apply this color to the lower half of the rocket on the "stripe"and then on the slots and below them on the lower part of the thrusters.

8- Put a little of the Rust paint on a plastic or paper dish dab the chip brush in it then brush it on a paper towel a few times and dry brush the lower part of the rectangle section to the right(as your looking at it) of the center cylinder of the pack. Also brush it on both side on top between the fuel tanks and where the piano keys start.

You may need to put a touch of mineral spirits on the brush as well to get it to blend well. be sure you dab/brush it on the paper towel and test it first before going to the pack!

So..this is where we are now...

 

[droidbait]

Thanks for this Lou!! This will help so much!

 

[Darth Voorhees]

9- Now we do the fuel cap "yellow" This is the same yellow i use on the top part of the rocket collar as well. On some kits this may be attached to the bottom of the upper half of the rocket. Use the floquil UP Light Orange mixed with Humbrol #154. Not sure of the exact mix i use because i mix a half bottle of the floquil with one tin of the 154. Thats way more than you will need, but since i do multiple paint ups i mix larger amounts. I brush this on in 2-3 thin coats. I like the look of the slight unevenness and feel it adds to the weathered look. This pic is after 2 coats...it also looks a little more yellow in the pic ..the color does have more of an orange-y tone, similar to the darker shoulder armor color.

So now we have the fuel cap tops done, both on the top and bottom of the pack

 

[Darth Voorhees]

10- i now do the piano keys. They should only be painted on the front face of each key. I do these with the floquil caboose and do some highlights with the floquil rock island maroon. the farthest 2 keys on either end i also go over them with Humbrol #60. Red is a transparent color so if you put it on sparingly it will just brighten up the key just enough.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Now i do the flat black near the piano keys and the stripe on the lower right. I also do the "directional" details on the thrusters.This is literally just flat black so its pretty straight forward lol

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Now i do the red stripe on the lower right. I do this with the Humbrol #100 The stripes from what i can see look to be rough on the edge towards the center of the pack so i do that by just dabbing with a small brush on that edge and just cleanly shaping the rest of them.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Now i do the faded scratches seen on the ESB Cloud City promo shots seen here:

i mix some panzer olive grun with white to get a fairly light shade of the green. You could even add a touch of MM RLM 76 light blue to it rather than the white to make it slightly more blueish. Its hard to tell what color it REALLY is. I just added white this time and by eye just added the main damage i could see. I also use one of the chip brushes and dab it on a paper towel and tap the brush on the upper back panels and the tops of the fuel tanks to match reference best i can. I also added the little backwards "F" mark above the stripes as well. In hindsight i should have done that before the rust. But i just dabbed some more of the rust color over it to match reference best i could.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

I forgot to take a pic but i also did this on the tops of the thrusters to match the promo shots.

Now i take the Krylon black primer and mist it lightly over the entire pack. i then concentrate the mist more on the center strip and the top flat panels i had previously added the "light green damage" to, as well as where the rust ara is where the stripes are. I also did this on the thrusters to match the reference.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Now we move on to the silver damage. I do this like i did the rust. I put a little silver on a plastic plate dab in a chip brush, brush it on a paper towel and dry brush all the silver areas on the pack, rocket and thrusters. I also go over most of the edges once there is very little paint left on the brush just to get a slight worn look. I also add floquil weathered black for the small little dark grey areas that look like chips.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Thats pretty much it! Just add the decal, and the greeblies in the thrusters...you can mist it with more of the krylon black primer if you want it more dirty. Just remember to seal the entire pack with the krylon Matt finish! I do a few light coats so it doesnt get too much sheen!

Oh yea, the top of the rocket i just mist the black primer on it over the MM panzer olive Grun/RLM76/H27 mix base coat..it doesnt have much detail paint wise on it. but here is the pack completed. Customer has metal collar, beacon, stabilizer and thruster greeblies so thats why they arent there.

 

[droidbait]

This gives me hope to paint my jetty.

 

[SharkForge]

Looks fantastic man!!!

 

[Artakha]

Thank you for the insights!

 

[hvacdon]

Super Nice Work !! Thanks for the info and education !!!

 

[Evan1701]

Omg... this is why I paid extra to have you paint my jetpack. This is the work of a true master. Those colors blends, those techniques... phenomenal. I can't wait to see mine in a few weeks.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Omg... this is why I paid extra to have you paint my jetpack. This is the work of a true master. Those colors blends, those techniques... phenomenal. I can't wait to see mine in a few weeks.

Thanks Evan

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Since a few people mentioned it to me, I will be doing one of these for a ROTJ pack as well in the very near future when i finish up the final 3 ROTJ packs for clients

 

[Artakha]

I will look forward to that thread as well!

 

[clmayfield]

3 things kept me from doing this on my own:
1) Not knowing the colors to use
2) No templates
3) I have not developed a "dry brush" technique

This tutorial knocks out #1 and helps a little with #2. Some day, I will develop #3.

Until then I have a DVH finished pack

 

[Evan1701]

3 things kept me from doing this on my own:
1) Not knowing the colors to use
2) No templates
3) I have not developed a "dry brush" technique

This tutorial knocks out #1 and helps a little with #2. Some day, I will develop #3.

Until then I have a DVH finished pack

Yep that was why I chose to have DVH paint up my pack. The helmet and armor is one thing, since there are readily available stencils and color lists and the techniques are pretty simple once you understand the scope. The jetpack is a whole different animal that I think takes a higher level of artistry to get "right".