Hasbro ESB Fett to ROTJ conversion.
- Thread starter jhfagan
- Start date
jhfagan
Active Hunter
Nope.
The only physical modifications I made to the helm, was sanding down the original surface, then dremmelling the damage marks, removing the X brace between the bottom of the mandibles, and tinting the visor.
jhfagan
Active Hunter
Thanks!Gotcha.! I'm debating if I should use some epoxy to close up the gap myself.
All in all, well done and the paintjob is very nice.!
Of course, I'm interested in your final product as well.
For me, I decided to just make the Hasbro piece look as good as it could, not change it from what it was, because they are never going to be able to be made 100% screen accurate.
So now I've got my Hasbro versions, and so far, their EFX counterparts, although I don't have the EFX Vader yet.
Working on acquiring one for a good price hopefully sometime soon.
jhfagan
Active Hunter
Now she's completely completed completely.
Got my circuit board and LED's installed.
Noticed some smudge on the corner of the processor, but eh, like Fetts helm should always be pristine clean.
I may setup a full turn around set of HD shots to post in the MEDIA section later.
Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions, and any comments or constructive critiques is always welcome!
Now that my Don Post Std is all but done being restored, do I tackle another full on ROTJ Fett again? Lol
Got my circuit board and LED's installed.
Noticed some smudge on the corner of the processor, but eh, like Fetts helm should always be pristine clean.
I may setup a full turn around set of HD shots to post in the MEDIA section later.
Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions, and any comments or constructive critiques is always welcome!
Now that my Don Post Std is all but done being restored, do I tackle another full on ROTJ Fett again? Lol
jhfagan
Active Hunter
Finally took some better controlled and lit shots.
Compiled full list of colors and techniques used throughout the thread :
BASE HELMET COLORS:
All base colors are using standard readily available satin finish Rustoleum rattlecan paints, exception of the Tamiya NATO Green sourced from local hobby store.
Lightly sanded the original helmet surface with 800g sandpaper, then again with 1000. to even and smooth out the surface areas.
Tried adding some dremel damage areas, but most of them ended up not lining up exactly with the respective surface paint details, so they're just sitting there looking pretty , just in the wrong place. Noob mistake #1.
Covered entire helmet ( except ear pieces ) with Rustoleum Gray primer.
After primer dried, removed tape from ear pieces and stalk, but not range finder.
Covered helm with a layer of Rustoleum Metallic Aluminum.
Back panels with Rustoleum Hunter Green ( the only gloss base color used ).
Dome and cheeks with Tamiya NATO Green, then lightly misted with Rustoleum Moss Green enough to bring the green up to correct shade.
(Acceptable alternative to NATO Green, is Rustoleum Hunt Club Green ( used on my Don Post Std helmet restore).
Finally got around to removing the internal component details and visor.
Tape masked upper cheeks, then hit with Rustoleum Classic Navy, and VERY lightly misted with Rustoleum B-B-Q Black to correct shade.
Tape masked out visor band and mandibles, then hit them with Rustoleum Claret Wine Red, and VERY lightly misted ( literally one pass from about 3 feet away) with Rustoleum (flat) Brown just enough to suggest barely aged color.
Killstripes with Rustoleum Rustic Orange.
Keyslots are from first layer Gray Primer.
Earpieces are from initial Silver layer.
Internal details hit with a light layer of Rustoleum Gun Metal.
X brace behind visor, connecting lower mandible points together, removed.
Once visor reinstalled, helmet had structure again.
Visor was enhanced with standard window tint to give darkness, and glossy shine the original plastic one didn't have.
If I come across a pre-made visor that fits, I may swap them out at some point.
SURFACE DETAILS :
Killstripes detail was the only area that I used the maskout liquid process.
All other surface area details, damage, etc, were topographically applied with bottle model paints, using various size brushes.
Being first timer on this, I tried best I could to follow RafalFett's stencils, screen shots from the movie, pics from the Magic/Myth exhibit, and although I got most of it pretty good and respectably close, some just got away from me and are incorrectly positioned very slightly in some places, but still properly represented.
That said...if I tackle another one, I am much more confident I'll nail it.
We'll see...
Super fine silver scratches, specks, by scraping surface base paint away with X-acto knife to reveal Metallic Aluminum below.
All applied silver areas are Testors Metallic Silver enamel.
All white areas are Testors Gloss White enamel.
All gray areas are Testors Flat Gray enamel.
Lighter gray areas are Tamiya Light Gull Gray acrylic.
All dark gray areas are Testors Gun Metal enamel, slightly thinned for just a little transparency.
All black specks/streaks are Sharpie Fine Point Black paint pen.
Yellow smudges with Testors Gloss Yellow enamel, thinned to opaque.
All rust areas with Mission Models Standard Rust acrylic.
Light green weathering using Rustoleum Moss Green, collected in a container, and dipped in with detail brush.
Weathering on ear pieces by dipping small rounded end of crumpled up paper towel in Testors Gun Metal, and then dipped in paint thinner, then lightly applied by patting on surface, the lightly stroking down or up to achieve proper coverage.
Red turn signal is Testors Gloss Red enamel, slightly thinned.
Blue turn signal is Sharpie Fine Point Blue paint pen.
Circuit board is custom made styrene board, and the processor from an old circuit board from an unknown source found in a box of random junk in my basement, that just happened to fit - truth.
LEDs are sourced from local hobby store, and painted red with Testors Gloss Red.
Entire circuit board fit in the removable "fan" cover piece in the back of the internal detail components.
When all painting was completed, entire helm was given 2 layers of Rustoleum Satin Clear, then lightly sanded with 1000g to smooth out surfaces.
Compiled full list of colors and techniques used throughout the thread :
BASE HELMET COLORS:
All base colors are using standard readily available satin finish Rustoleum rattlecan paints, exception of the Tamiya NATO Green sourced from local hobby store.
Lightly sanded the original helmet surface with 800g sandpaper, then again with 1000. to even and smooth out the surface areas.
Tried adding some dremel damage areas, but most of them ended up not lining up exactly with the respective surface paint details, so they're just sitting there looking pretty , just in the wrong place. Noob mistake #1.
Covered entire helmet ( except ear pieces ) with Rustoleum Gray primer.
After primer dried, removed tape from ear pieces and stalk, but not range finder.
Covered helm with a layer of Rustoleum Metallic Aluminum.
Back panels with Rustoleum Hunter Green ( the only gloss base color used ).
Dome and cheeks with Tamiya NATO Green, then lightly misted with Rustoleum Moss Green enough to bring the green up to correct shade.
(Acceptable alternative to NATO Green, is Rustoleum Hunt Club Green ( used on my Don Post Std helmet restore).
Finally got around to removing the internal component details and visor.
Tape masked upper cheeks, then hit with Rustoleum Classic Navy, and VERY lightly misted with Rustoleum B-B-Q Black to correct shade.
Tape masked out visor band and mandibles, then hit them with Rustoleum Claret Wine Red, and VERY lightly misted ( literally one pass from about 3 feet away) with Rustoleum (flat) Brown just enough to suggest barely aged color.
Killstripes with Rustoleum Rustic Orange.
Keyslots are from first layer Gray Primer.
Earpieces are from initial Silver layer.
Internal details hit with a light layer of Rustoleum Gun Metal.
X brace behind visor, connecting lower mandible points together, removed.
Once visor reinstalled, helmet had structure again.
Visor was enhanced with standard window tint to give darkness, and glossy shine the original plastic one didn't have.
If I come across a pre-made visor that fits, I may swap them out at some point.
SURFACE DETAILS :
Killstripes detail was the only area that I used the maskout liquid process.
All other surface area details, damage, etc, were topographically applied with bottle model paints, using various size brushes.
Being first timer on this, I tried best I could to follow RafalFett's stencils, screen shots from the movie, pics from the Magic/Myth exhibit, and although I got most of it pretty good and respectably close, some just got away from me and are incorrectly positioned very slightly in some places, but still properly represented.
That said...if I tackle another one, I am much more confident I'll nail it.
We'll see...
Super fine silver scratches, specks, by scraping surface base paint away with X-acto knife to reveal Metallic Aluminum below.
All applied silver areas are Testors Metallic Silver enamel.
All white areas are Testors Gloss White enamel.
All gray areas are Testors Flat Gray enamel.
Lighter gray areas are Tamiya Light Gull Gray acrylic.
All dark gray areas are Testors Gun Metal enamel, slightly thinned for just a little transparency.
All black specks/streaks are Sharpie Fine Point Black paint pen.
Yellow smudges with Testors Gloss Yellow enamel, thinned to opaque.
All rust areas with Mission Models Standard Rust acrylic.
Light green weathering using Rustoleum Moss Green, collected in a container, and dipped in with detail brush.
Weathering on ear pieces by dipping small rounded end of crumpled up paper towel in Testors Gun Metal, and then dipped in paint thinner, then lightly applied by patting on surface, the lightly stroking down or up to achieve proper coverage.
Red turn signal is Testors Gloss Red enamel, slightly thinned.
Blue turn signal is Sharpie Fine Point Blue paint pen.
Circuit board is custom made styrene board, and the processor from an old circuit board from an unknown source found in a box of random junk in my basement, that just happened to fit - truth.
LEDs are sourced from local hobby store, and painted red with Testors Gloss Red.
Entire circuit board fit in the removable "fan" cover piece in the back of the internal detail components.
When all painting was completed, entire helm was given 2 layers of Rustoleum Satin Clear, then lightly sanded with 1000g to smooth out surfaces.
Last edited:
jhfagan
Active Hunter
Yes. Except for the dent. I kept that taped up until all the base colors were done.
But I layered satin clear on the base color first, so the applied colors had something to sit on.
jhfagan
Active Hunter
jhfagan
Active Hunter
And finally, made a nice, simple solid, classic beauty stand to go with the ROTJ Fett.
(build thread here : Make your own basic helmet stands for under $10. )
While we're talking stands, just tossing in my more elaborate stand I made for my Hasbro Vader conversion.
Turned out pretty sweet. ( that build thread located over at the RPF - Black Series Darth Vader Helmet Mod Thread! )
(build thread here : Make your own basic helmet stands for under $10. )
While we're talking stands, just tossing in my more elaborate stand I made for my Hasbro Vader conversion.
Turned out pretty sweet. ( that build thread located over at the RPF - Black Series Darth Vader Helmet Mod Thread! )
RafalFett
Well-Known Hunter
You beautifully elevated the value of that HBS helmet, which honestly I don't like that much, especially that they had an original helmet to work with and they did lots of wrong decisions to the final product. As always, a great paint job can salvage a mediocre/above mediocre product.
jhfagan
Active Hunter
One last, 11th hour update...
The damage detailing on the upper right visor has been corrected.
It had been bothering me ever since putting this all together, in that I made an original mistake in applying the physical damage in the wrong place, and painted to THAT, rather than just put it on the right place on the helmet.
It just never looked or felt right.
I hesitated for a long time, not wanting to get myself into a possibly cascading series of events that I have to cover one correction with another, and another, etc.
But I sucked it up, took a breath....
It was surprisingly easily corrected by a quick tape up, spray over with Claret Red, misted with flat Brown ( like before ), then painted the detail by hand again, but now in the correct location, quick satin clear shot, then 1000g sand paper lightly over the area to smooth out, and it is no longer rubbing my subconscious the wrong way. It feels right now.
Everything else , truthfully, is as good as this helm is going to be now.
No turning back.
Thanks for putting up with my million posts of every micronic detail. : )
Before / After
The damage detailing on the upper right visor has been corrected.
It had been bothering me ever since putting this all together, in that I made an original mistake in applying the physical damage in the wrong place, and painted to THAT, rather than just put it on the right place on the helmet.
It just never looked or felt right.
I hesitated for a long time, not wanting to get myself into a possibly cascading series of events that I have to cover one correction with another, and another, etc.
But I sucked it up, took a breath....
It was surprisingly easily corrected by a quick tape up, spray over with Claret Red, misted with flat Brown ( like before ), then painted the detail by hand again, but now in the correct location, quick satin clear shot, then 1000g sand paper lightly over the area to smooth out, and it is no longer rubbing my subconscious the wrong way. It feels right now.
Everything else , truthfully, is as good as this helm is going to be now.
No turning back.
Thanks for putting up with my million posts of every micronic detail. : )
Before / After
