Where it's at now *May 1, 2015*:
Finally back to the old drawing boards, but this time, I'm changing up quite a few elements to my helmet paint-ups from here on out, this being the first to receive my new take on what's arguably this community's favorite helmet...the Empire Strikes Back Hero/ROTJ Special Edition.
I'll cut to the chase and start with the biggest change: All of the colors.
Folks, this helmet is WAY darker than what we've been attributing the colors to, where most if not all of our paint-ups, including my own, have been using the high resolution Celebration IV and Art of Star Wars photos as our palette. Speaking to a few individuals who have had the grace of seeing the real deal in person, the sentiment is the same: this is a very, very dark helmet, and the photos we've been using in the gallery are completely flash-soaked to the point where many of the colors are off.
So back to square one. Great. So how do we know what it REALLY looks like?
*EDIT*: I believe these are the three of the more accurate photos of the helmet we currently have that aren't soaked in flash. HOWEVER, you can clearly tell lighting/camera settings give the helmet in each photo a bit of variance.
Alright, on to the other details. There are two areas that were once thought to be strictly damage acquired after filming that are prevalent on the “Special Edition” version of this bucket that I firmly believe existed on the ESB bucket at the time of filming. The hairline vertical crack and bulged warping of the mandibles. You can definitely see both in this comparison photo:
You can really see that crack on the ESB, and I think the reason it’s so apparent on the helmet as of recent is due to continual stress over the years making the crack slightly larger, exposing the gelcoat underneath. The hairline is relatively easy to replicate with an exactly knife doing a precise, DEEP gouge, while the warped bulge will most likely have to be built up using Bondo:
Now that I’m done with that spiel, let’s get to work.
Trying to get all these beauties caught up to the same layer. Some existing layers will obviously need some tweaking:
And of course, rnbuda's FPH2:
Stay tuned, folks!
Finally back to the old drawing boards, but this time, I'm changing up quite a few elements to my helmet paint-ups from here on out, this being the first to receive my new take on what's arguably this community's favorite helmet...the Empire Strikes Back Hero/ROTJ Special Edition.
I'll cut to the chase and start with the biggest change: All of the colors.
Folks, this helmet is WAY darker than what we've been attributing the colors to, where most if not all of our paint-ups, including my own, have been using the high resolution Celebration IV and Art of Star Wars photos as our palette. Speaking to a few individuals who have had the grace of seeing the real deal in person, the sentiment is the same: this is a very, very dark helmet, and the photos we've been using in the gallery are completely flash-soaked to the point where many of the colors are off.
So back to square one. Great. So how do we know what it REALLY looks like?
*EDIT*: I believe these are the three of the more accurate photos of the helmet we currently have that aren't soaked in flash. HOWEVER, you can clearly tell lighting/camera settings give the helmet in each photo a bit of variance.
Alright, on to the other details. There are two areas that were once thought to be strictly damage acquired after filming that are prevalent on the “Special Edition” version of this bucket that I firmly believe existed on the ESB bucket at the time of filming. The hairline vertical crack and bulged warping of the mandibles. You can definitely see both in this comparison photo:
You can really see that crack on the ESB, and I think the reason it’s so apparent on the helmet as of recent is due to continual stress over the years making the crack slightly larger, exposing the gelcoat underneath. The hairline is relatively easy to replicate with an exactly knife doing a precise, DEEP gouge, while the warped bulge will most likely have to be built up using Bondo:
Now that I’m done with that spiel, let’s get to work.
Trying to get all these beauties caught up to the same layer. Some existing layers will obviously need some tweaking:
And of course, rnbuda's FPH2:
Stay tuned, folks!
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Very interesting indeed!
