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

[sleepalot]

Pollyscale US Medium Green (the bottle that I'm holding in this picture) was an old color that a lot of us used for the main green on the armor that was a little off the mark, and WAY off the mark for the helmet. I can say with confidence US Medium Green isn't even close to Humbrol 78, or my custom mix.

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I have about 5 bottles I can crack open if you wish and show you if you'd like that it is close. But I see where this is going. I can do a video on that too if you'd like and that's not an insult to your work, it's just something that might help someone else.

 

[Ponte]

I have about 5 bottles I can crack open if you wish and show you if you'd like that it is close. But I see where this is going. I can do a video on that too if you'd like and that's not an insult to your work, it's just something that might help someone else.

I'll see your 5 bottles and raise you 1. 6 bottles of US Med Green purchased from multiple vendors (online and in hobby shop). I'd HIGHLY advise against ANYONE using US Med Green for a Boba Fett helmet. For an Endor Rebel helmet, then yes, US Med Green would work well for that, but Boba, unfortunately not.

 

[sleepalot]

I'll see your 5 bottles and raise you 1. 6 bottles of US Med Green purchased from multiple vendors (online and in hobby shop). I'd HIGHLY advise against ANYONE using US Med Green for a Boba Fett helmet. For an Endor Rebel helmet, then yes, US Med Green would work well for that, but Boba, unfortunately not.

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The way you act reflects a lot on your personality. It's not that big of a deal to me, so whatever. If being right is that important to you then that's cool. I'm just showing others there are other options and paints that they could use on their own helmets. No ego trippin here. We can talk about this through messaging if you'd like also.

 

[Ponte]

The way you act reflects a lot on your personality. It's not that big of a deal to me, so whatever. If being right is that important to you then that's cool. I'm just showing others there are other options and paints that they could use on their own helmets. No ego trippin here.

Just wanna make sure I provide the people reading this thread a more accurate listing of colors for our beloved ESB/Special Edition. I don't think too many people would be too pleased if they sprayed their helmet with dark green for their bucket. . Just saving some headaches is all.

Anyhoot, front visor trim is done! I used Tamiya Dull Red (spray can, not airbrushed). I was using Boxcar Red/Caboose/Rock Island Maroon before, which I thought were great colors since they have that "off-red" look to them, but a few years back I had Gino take a look at my older FPH and one of the first things he commented on was that the visor trim "wasn't red enough"..and he was right. Looking at those photos of Art and Gino with the helmet in hand definitely shows a much purer "red" as the main color. I think what gives the visor trim murkiness in certain areas are subtle weathering with either dark gray, or in the front of the helmet's case: brown spattering.

I used some Model Master "Grimy Black" to darken up a few of the areas on the visor trim (especially the keyslot area, which has it relatively heavy) and some VERY sparse white pigment to replicate variations in color (from brushing up against stuff most likely). I can't wait to use the toothbrush method with the brown spatter to really dull out the front of the helmet; this weekend is Weathering Weekend for sure.

 

[MasterEdi]

Love this thread, for newbies like me, it's great to get all the details, and thought process as well. Looks so Awesome!

 

[Jayvee]

The Tamiya dull red is a colour I tested quite a bit, as Tamiya is readily available in just about every hobby shop you walk in to over here. I always found it to just have a little too much 'orange' tinge to it for my liking. I absolutely love what you're doing with this paint up, and completely agree that the splatters give it the browny hue, but I still feel the underlying main colour should be a little more deeper red than the Tamiya dull red. Just what my ageing is can see, so I am more than likely completely wrong..

 

[Ponte]

The Tamiya dull red is a colour I tested quite a bit, as Tamiya is readily available in just about every hobby shop you walk in to over here. I always found it to just have a little too much 'orange' tinge to it for my liking. I absolutely love what you're doing with this paint up, and completely agree that the splatters give it the browny hue, but I still feel the underlying main colour should be a little more deeper red than the Tamiya dull red. Just what my ageing is can see, so I am more than likely completely wrong..

You could be absolutely right about the main color being deeper; I'm excited to see how it all looks once the final weathering/ear caps are placed. This helmet is definitely the guinea pig for these new colors, and whatever corrections need to be made will transfer over to my customers. Appreciate the input brother!

 

[superjedi]

Looking killer! Can't wait to see the final weathered product.

 

[SharkForge]

Lookin awesome man! As always, your work blows me away!

 

[Darth Voorhees]

This is absolutely awesome Rick! That final back panel color looks spot on! LOVE it!

 

[Hunter930]

Flippin brilliant Rick !!

 

[Kuma40]

Hands down amazing paint job!

 

[SEEKER]

And this is the guy who's gonna paint my pre-pro helmet? WOW!

 

[Misfit2]

Looking awesome!


Sent from my iPhone

 

[Ponte]

Ahhh, I'm sooooo close! The main bucket for my Special Edition is 99.2% done (have a few grease stains flecks of paint to add)! The earcaps were a quick color test and will most likely be replaced my metal ones in the near future. The details that make up the SE are incredibly tedious and a giant pain, but once it's all over, you're left with a lot of subtle weathering and character that really brings the helmet together:



I used highly-diluted mixtures of brown and black to create the blemishes seen throughout the helmet. Some were darker than others, and you absolutely need to view multiple photos of the screen-used to really see their placement. You'll also notice some subtle "dark wash" streaking replicated; if you look at some well-lit photos of the helmet, you can absolutely see the same brush-like wash found on the cheek on the dome of the helmet. I used a wide-fan brush with near-dry dark-gray paint to replicate the wash:



The damage the SE endured through the years has been brutal...major cracks and splits plague it, and if you go SE, you HAVE to include 'em. These were created with either an exacto knife or compass needle, depending on thickness required. The black marks will get a treatment of epoxy to give them a three-dimensional look since they're actually raised off the surface on the real helmet. A few of the scrapes and scuffs were replicated with white, brown and black pencils:





Lot's of fine scratches on the back. I'm still working on adding some more grease stains. Basically, I mixed some diluted yellow/burnt umber acrylics until I was happy with the consistency needed. After applying the stain, I hand painted a gloss coat over the areas to replicate the sheen they're supposed to have:




I couldn't have been happier with the custom colors used. Once I'm 100% finished with the earcaps and rangefinder, I'll take some better lit photos. I'm also convinced that I need to go over the helmet with a satin coat in a few areas to bring out some of the shine that's seen in quite a few photos of the real deal.

 

[Misfit2]

It's ok I guess. If you like helmets that were stolen from archives and passed on as paint ups.

 

[Necronaut]

The red looks so dulled down, compared to the fresh coat of Dull Red it had a couple weeks ago. An absolute masterpiece!

Im going to be using Humbrol 79 for the gray paint chipping on the dome, cheeks, and mandibles of my helmet. Thoughts?

 

[Ponte]

The red looks so dulled down, compared to the fresh coat of Dull Red it had a couple weeks ago. An absolute masterpiece!

Im going to be using Humbrol 79 for the gray paint chipping on the dome, cheeks, and mandibles of my helmet. Thoughts?

A lot of that has to do with additional weathering, and the final step: brown spattering.

When you're done with the spattering (and believe me....there's A LOT), and take that first step back to look at the visor trim again, it's got that dulled down look that just looks "right".

The Humbrol 79 is actually a TOUCH darker than what I use as the "main gray" for the helmet, but you'll be able to use some #0000 steel wool to lighten up the gray to your desired color. I use Testors acrylic Euro 1 Gray.

 

[Major]

Looking amazing Rick......

So do you think the base green is overall darker as you intended?

It looks spot on to the photos from CIV, but lighter than the pics Art took when they did the casting.

 

[BudaFett]

You're going to have to pry my helmet once Rick's done with it from my cold, dead hands.