NidofTyranid
New Hunter
Hola all. First time poster, long time observer. I have an absolutely wonderful bucket that I got from Animefan that I'm painting up as a ROTJ Boba Helmet. This is definitely outside of my comfort zone (I do paint, but generally with brushes - not spray paint or airbrushes). I'm utilizing spray paint and humbrol maskol in topographical layering, and all things considered it seems to be going moderately well so far. I also have been using Rafalfett's ROTJ template and Stormtrooperguy's rotj spraypaint thread as references while making this. I've deviated from some paint choices based on difficulty finding a good silver (Satin nickel was all anyone near me had in terms of lighter silvers, but it does the job.)
As much as it feels like a horrible crime, the first thing I chose to do with this helmet after receiving it was add the appropriate physical damage based on what I could see in the MoM pictures and Rubio95's pictures of the damage on the FP2H Rotj helmet from his review. Afterwards, I re-primed it in granite gray, and then added satin nickel metallic paint.
I decided to continue the tradition I've seen most paint up threads do on here and start with the back panels. They are more than a little bit intimidating. I tried to stick to the stencil as much as I could (Size was off a bit, and I'm still getting the hang of successfully spreading the maskol just how I want it). I also messed up some by adding a few extra silver areas on the right panel, but overall although its not perfectly accurate, it honestly turned out better than I thought it would, especially given how it looked during the middle layer. I started with masking the appropriate silver areas, then chose to go with a darker metallic I had found called weathered steel instead of reusing the grey primer (I felt the grey was too close to the silver in hue.). After that I went back in with flat black to darken some areas. Its not blended so it looks more dramatic in contrast than the templates. Also should of just reapplied maskol instead of using masking tape for some areas of the silver
.
Once I got through the cringing, I waited for everything to dry and then went through with maskol, and then applied Hunt Club Green. Like I said, it didn't look perfect, but it still has a weathered look even if it isn't an exact replicate in terms of shape and color shading in some areas. I like the right panel a lot more than the left, feels like it came out better.
Tomorrow I'll be taping up the panels and applying maskol and then grey to the back vent to give it a more dulled and scratched up look. Also just wanted to add that I've been doing two coats per layer, and fine steel wool sanding before each new coat (It seriously makes a huge difference). Very excited to be working on this!
As much as it feels like a horrible crime, the first thing I chose to do with this helmet after receiving it was add the appropriate physical damage based on what I could see in the MoM pictures and Rubio95's pictures of the damage on the FP2H Rotj helmet from his review. Afterwards, I re-primed it in granite gray, and then added satin nickel metallic paint.
I decided to continue the tradition I've seen most paint up threads do on here and start with the back panels. They are more than a little bit intimidating. I tried to stick to the stencil as much as I could (Size was off a bit, and I'm still getting the hang of successfully spreading the maskol just how I want it). I also messed up some by adding a few extra silver areas on the right panel, but overall although its not perfectly accurate, it honestly turned out better than I thought it would, especially given how it looked during the middle layer. I started with masking the appropriate silver areas, then chose to go with a darker metallic I had found called weathered steel instead of reusing the grey primer (I felt the grey was too close to the silver in hue.). After that I went back in with flat black to darken some areas. Its not blended so it looks more dramatic in contrast than the templates. Also should of just reapplied maskol instead of using masking tape for some areas of the silver
.
Once I got through the cringing, I waited for everything to dry and then went through with maskol, and then applied Hunt Club Green. Like I said, it didn't look perfect, but it still has a weathered look even if it isn't an exact replicate in terms of shape and color shading in some areas. I like the right panel a lot more than the left, feels like it came out better.
Tomorrow I'll be taping up the panels and applying maskol and then grey to the back vent to give it a more dulled and scratched up look. Also just wanted to add that I've been doing two coats per layer, and fine steel wool sanding before each new coat (It seriously makes a huge difference). Very excited to be working on this!
