Ponte and rnbuda's SE/ESB Paint-up: May 1 UPDATE *Main Helmet Done!*

Ponte

Active Hunter
Where it's at now *May 1, 2015*:

11165079_10152744291280025_35171641833114421_o.jpg


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.

Gino Fett.jpgArt Helmet.pngArt Fett.jpg



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:

ESB Compare.png

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:

ESB Helmet 5.PNGCheek Compare.png

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:

DSC_1708.jpg

And of course, rnbuda's FPH2:

DSC_1709.jpg

Stay tuned, folks!
 
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Ah, really looking forward to seeing this one! (y)

Although I'm not entirely sold on what you're describing as the "warped bulge" on the right outer cheek.
I think this is attributed to fading/weathering of that dark black-green base color. I'll have to study some
of my reference pics on this one.
 
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100% agreed on what you're calling the bulge. Though I believe it to be a combination of sink hole and bulge. It's something I've been attributing to a casting flaw. Most likely the gelcoat layer kicked a little to soon in that area and started to distort a bit before it was laid up with it's laminate layer. At least, that's been my theory since I first saw it. Hard to explain something like that in many other ways. Fiberglass won't warp like that even with a heat gun. Not without destroying the casting anyway.


Sent from my iPhone
 
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Ponte's ESB Helmet Paint-up For rnbuda: Tweaking What We Know

Not sure they'd be 100% at fault, not without completely blowing that area out. I think the casting is still at least partly to blame there. They might have installed them while the helmet was still green(ish). Glass won't stretch or bend if fully cured. Not without a heat gun. And even then it's very very little give. It does show some signs of cracking there. So maybe they installed the brackets before it was fully cured. Glass can stay in a semi rigid/rubbery state for a few hours and still feel like it's cured solid. If they did do that, it would have stretched juuust enough to create a bulge and begin to crack. Then it could have set that way. And they reinforced the inside with whatever epoxy that is they used around and about inside the helmet.
 
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Interesting. I like the darker look for sure, accurate or other-wise.
Are you going to post up some part numbers for the paint you use to recreate this, when you get to that point?
 
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Interesting. I like the darker look for sure, accurate or other-wise.
Are you going to post up some part numbers for the paint you use to recreate this, when you get to that point?
I'm really, really going to try. I can tell you right now, a lot of this is going to be trial and error. I'll mix up maybe a 50/50 ratio, won't be satisfied, and then tip in a few more drops to get the color closer. I'm keeping a record of all my incremental changes, but I can't promise it'll be an exact measurement of the color I used.
 
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And obviously Ponte is right about the colors being skewed... Art Andrews posted about this on Facebook last week regarding the pcd (?) Files and how the color has been off for decades...
 
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Great points your bringing up Mr. Looking forward to this build as well. Subscribed!!
 
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The other thing that occurred to me on this is we don't know the conditions this helmet was stored in and how that affected the paints.

I agree that the colors are most likely darker than we all have thought over the years, I just wonder how much custom mixing vs off the shelf they would have done. Custom mixing every color for the helmet would have been a chore to say the least......

Some food for thought......
 
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Major even if you were to get a bottle of the paint they used back then...it would NOT be the same color now...oxidation of the paint would have occured and changed it a bit.

With that said they also did washes on the helmet so that also changes the appearance of the color. Not sure how much info Gino can give but I know he has held it and can tell more about colors then anyone else that can remember anything about the thing Sandy and Joe Johnston have long forgotten what they did back then
 
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Dom,

That's part of my point as well. How has the paint reacted over the years since it was done? And how much of it is just a wash?

Again, things to keep in mind as we have this discussion.


Major even if you were to get a bottle of the paint they used back then...it would NOT be the same color now...oxidation of the paint would have occured and changed it a bit.

With that said they also did washes on the helmet so that also changes the appearance of the color. Not sure how much info Gino can give but I know he has held it and can tell more about colors then anyone else that can remember anything about the thing Sandy and Joe Johnston have long forgotten what they did back then
 
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