MS3 Progress thread :)

[Laan]

You're a lucky man Todd, SuperJedi is a master w/ the ESB bucket.

Glad to hear MS is doing well, and still around. He is one of the MOST talented guys on TDH!

Yeah MS is a great guy.

Thank you sir. Eric has the skills, no question.

 

[superjedi]

Well, my brain has started working again, so let's post some ACTUAL progress on this thing!!

UPDATE: July 25th
Got the helmet primered with Duplicolor auto primer. I like Duplicolor sprays. They're really tough when they dry, and they go on nice and smooth.

Then I painted the two rear panels with Floquil Concrete. (Yes, everything else was masked off beforehand. I just don't like leaving the tape on any longer than necessary.)

The Floquil paints are soooooooooo nice to work with. They spray on easy, and dry pretty quickly. I only had to wait a few hours to begin outlining the damage on the back of the bucket.

I use a reverse tracing technique to mark the damaged areas.
First, I measure a known area of the actual helmet, such as the height of the keyslot area. Then, I use one of my reference pics and size it to "actual size" by holding a ruler up to my computer monitor. I take a piece of tracing paper and hold it against the monitor and draw the outlines of the damage areas.
Then I take the tracing paper, flip it over, and re-draw the outline on the reverse. After that, I hold the paper (right side out) against the surface of the helmet and use the back of a small paint brush to draw over all the lines. This transfers the lines to the helmet. It's a bit of work, but it allows me to be very accurate in placing the pencil lines.

Next step: masking fluid over the areas that will remain Concrete, and spray on the dark bluish green!

 

[shabad]

Brilliant stuff, love progress threads by awesome painters.

 

[Laan]

Wow dude!

 

[Mr Fett]

Great idea for your stencils. It should turn out great.

 

[Kashyyyk4ABY]

Its cool to see what these projects were and what they turn into. Great work! Can't wait for more updates.

 

[Wes]

Good work SJ

 

[superjedi]

UPDATE: July 26th
OK, more stuff done on the back of the helmet. I had transferred the pencil lines onto the back panels, and today I painted on some Winsor & Newton's masking fluid. I think this stuff is very easy to work with. It flows easily and it's easy to control the application with a small brush.
This pic shows the areas that are masked. It shows as darker and kinda glossy.

Once the masking fluid was dry, I sprayed on my custom bluish green color. I tried to match this tone as closely as I could to pics of the screen used helmet. I started with a base of Testors Euro I Dk Green, and added some Floquil BAR Blue a few drops at a time until I thought it looked correct. Then my secret blend of 11 herbs and spices, and we're cooking!!
These pics show how different the color can look in different lighting.

After several hours, I took the tape and plastic wrap off, and rubbed off the masking fluid. I've never had any problems with the fluid sticking to my undercoat or anything. To remove the masking fluid, I just use a little scrap of tracing paper and rub it in small circles over the surface. It gives just enough texture to "grab" the fluid without scratching the surface. It basically just rolls off in little dried blobs.

And here's what it looks like now.

I'll go back and pore over my reference pics to see if there are any touch ups needed. Then the next step will be to put on the Panzerolivgrun on the dome and lower cheeks!

 

[Laan]

Dang Eric! You work fast. Look sgreat man.
One question though, just wondering.... Those pics with primer and the light is just washing it out?

 

[superjedi]

The pics with primer? Not sure which ones you mean. :confused
All the pics besides the first 3 in my first post have a coat of gray primer. Maybe the flash is making some of them look different.

 

[Laan]

The last set, sorry. Im still amazed on how much the flash kills it. Hope I didnt come across as rude.

 

[Jangos kid]

Lookin better all the time!!!!! Keep those progress pics coming!! Its shaping up to be a great one!!!
D

 

[superjedi]

UPDATE: July 27th
OK, I think this helmet is starting to look a little more like one of our favorite Mandos! I got the Testors Panzerolivgrun on the dome and lower cheeks.
Again, I masked everything else off first. Not only the back panels, but the mandibles and "hat band" also. I just don't like putting on too many layers of paint whenever I can help it.

Here's another example of how lighting affects the colors. First shot is with flash, the second, without.

And here's the front.

That'll be it for today. I want this to really cure for at least 24 hours before I mask it to paint the mandibles.

 

[Tension113]

Your progress tutorials just get better and better.. As usual, it looks great so far.. Let's see.. It's Friday now, I'll make my 'completion prediction' for Tuesday... or maybe Monday night..

Lookin good Eric

 

[Laan]

Looking good bud!

 

[Kashyyyk4ABY]

That masking really turned out good!

 

[superjedi]

Matt! How's it going? What are you working on these days?
I don't think I'll meet your 'deadline' though.

UPDATE: July 28th
OK, now it's really starting to look like Boba! Got the mandibles/band/keyslot area painted. Everything was masked off first of course.
Again, showing a couple pics in different lighting. Really alters the way the colors can appear.

And the back.

Next will be the dark upper cheek areas, and then all 'major' color application will be complete apart from the ears.

 

[Mercke Lutso]

you're not even half finished, and it already looks fantastic!

 

[Laan]

Youre doing great man!

 

[superjedi]

Glad you like it so far!

UPDATE #2: July 28th
OK, I started adding the damage to the rear left panel. I'm using Floquil Bright Silver and Polly Scale SP Lark Dark Gray. I'm doing the same tracing paper method that I described earlier in the thread.

After all the damage is painted onto the whole helmet, it'll be dull coated and further weathered with pastels. Once that's done, the colors won't look so stark and they'll be brought closer in tone.