helmet painting. Where do I begin?

[pledford]

I am recieving a primed but unpainted helmey in the mail today and I will need to paint it. The helmet is going into a silent auction for a local charity. I have built me TK but not a Boba Fett helmet before.
I need it completed by mid Sept. Where do I begin with research and resources?
Any helpwould be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Phil Ledford
TK 22710
501st Legion
Carolina Garrison

 

[Fett 4 Real]

if you want a step by step how to paint a helmet go on youtube and one of our members made a series of videos on just that. Welshwarrior....

 

[Mullreel]

The Welshwarrior tutorial is a great resource just as F4R said........I would also say get started right away if you want to be done by mid-September and you have never done one before.

 

[Fett 4 Real]

The Welshwarrior tutorial is a great resource just as F4R said........I would also say get started right away if you want to be done by mid-September and you have never done one before.

I was going to say.... It takes me about a month of painting and I'm kinda experienced...

 

[NikTrooper]

I think this is the full playlist: How to paint a Boba Fett helmet - YouTube

 

[NikTrooper]

One thing he does though which puzzles me is mask, spray, remove the mask, remask, spray next layer. Is it not advisable to leave the bottom mask on? Ie spray silver, mask, spray grey, mask, spray light grey, mask, spray blue, remove all mask layers.

 

[clmayfield]

There are a couple of reasons for removing the mask every time. One of those is that all masks contain a certain amount of ammonia, some more than others, which can damage paint if left in contact for a long time... especially acrylics. I found that the metallic layer gets dulled if I leave the mask on too long.

Second, I don't like applying mask over mask. It tends to stick and then I end up pulling it off and having to reapply anyway.

Finally, unmasking paint that has been fully cured is difficult. I prefer doing it when it is still a little tacky. I have never tried it, but I can't imagine unmasking multiple cured layers at once. I imagine that could lead to some unwanted chipping.

 

[pledford]

I think this is the full playlist: How to paint a Boba Fett helmet - YouTube

So this is a good way to do it?
This is not for trooping or for a complete boba costume. This is mostly for a display piece.

 

[NikTrooper]

So this is a good way to do it?
This is not for trooping or for a complete boba costume. This is mostly for a display piece.

Check Lane Creative Studios on Facebook as well. He's got some good videos as well. He does a lot less masking and spraying, preferring to brush paint some of the damage after tracing it.

 

[pledford]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/OSznV6CAnNauHmk02
This is the kit.
Anything I need to know about these resin parts?

 

[intwenothor]

Is that the actual helmet you have acquired?

 

[pledford]

Yes. I have it now. Did the pic in the last post come through?

 

[intwenothor]

It looks like a lot of work needs to be done to all the pieces and the helmet cast to get it into shape. Filling and sanding etc.

 

[pledford]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AvL8f94VJijF93WJ2
So here is my question. I am sanding and trimming things now however I'm not sure what to do about the back piece. (The last pic) Do I trim it out? What about the back resin piece?
Do I trim it then glue it in?

 

[pledford]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mV3cu6L88lh1bYpg1
I assume this is correct? Nothing permanent yet just placing things

 

[SigSavage]

Wow that thing's in rough shape.....

 

[pledford]

Yeah well it was free. At this point I'm trying to salvage it and use it as a display piece.

 

[Mullreel]

Just remember you want to put in a ton of time for the prep work and getting the helmet ready before the first layer of paint. Fill in the dips and valleys smooth out the edges and rough spots. There is no use in putting a masterpiece of painting on a rough canvas. The better the start the better the finish............

 

[Grimstuff]

The heck were those cast with, oat meal?

Anyway, yeah, you're pretty much gonna want to do the filling/sanding stage like if it were a scratch build.

Usually you'd use bondo and glazing putty for that, but I've never found it to stick too reliably to polyurethane. A really effective alternative I've found recently for cast pieces though is some cyanoacrylate superglue mixed with baby powder. It creates this sort of superglue glue putty that bonds hella well to the poly. Works incredibly fast too. You can see someone use it in this video. That video as a whole should be pretty useful for you actually, check it out.

 

[dreadpyrat]

I think this is the full playlist: How to paint a Boba Fett helmet - YouTube

Thanks - saved me some hunting!