Stalk weathering?

[e3kehoe]

well my GMH is all but done except that I’m having a hard time finding good pictures of the ESB range finder stalk. The MR one just looks over sprayed with paint. And I haven’t found any close up photos of other builders stalks.
I’m curious about how people here are applying weathering to there stalks or not.
I don’t want to over do it but it seem odd to have a lid that looks worn and torn and a shiny new stalk on it.
All input welcomed

 

[Evan1701]

It might seem really stupid, but I got a wooden stick (like the one you put marshmallows on for campfires) and dipped it in super super super thinned "leather" paint (like a reddish-brown that looks like rust). Then I just dabbed the point all over the stalk to make it look like flecks of rust. I took it one step further and ran the stick along all the edges of the stalk, since that is realistically the areas that would get more rusty.

 

[BudaFett]

I've seen people use a toothbrush to get the specks of paint to look like weathering on the stalk.

 

[Fett 4 Real]

Its semi heavily and lightly weathered.... hard to find good pics of it in the gallery here. But If you look at C4 and the AOSW pics you can find some pics. Its got more then just flecks of weathering on it. as does the RF topper

 

[e3kehoe]

Great ideas! What other techniques? Should I just go and throw it around in the dirt a few times and tap it with a hammer lol. And speckle it with paint.

 

[Fett 4 Real]

Nothing special just paint.... I cant really explain it better then paint it on there. If I were Bob Ross Id say something like take your brush and dab it in the paint and take it to the stalk and paint happy rust....but I mean that's not very helpful is it? seriously just find reference pics and replicate the look. Experiment, on the stalk its easy to undo and repaint....nothing to worry about. Since its metal and all you can sand it off easy with a steel wool.... or use thinner.

 

[RafalFett]

Some reference images from the C-IV exhibit gallery:

 

[e3kehoe]

Some reference images from the C-IV exhibit gallery:

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Great pictures !! I was having a hell of a time finding this quality of reference!!

 

[Grimstuff]

Few more detail shots from the same gallery too

It's worth keeping in mind though that it always looks a bit more muted in most all the set photos of the time; more dim and less noticeable, vs the super high-res flash photography of the Ceb-IV photos. You might wanna apply it a bit more conservatively if you're goin for the 'in the movies' look.

 

[e3kehoe]

That thing is dirtier than I thought!

 

[Fett 4 Real]

That thing is dirtier than I thought!

you have no idea, the pics do it no justice. they used the same weathering on the falcon model

 

[clmayfield]

Here's a thread I started a while back that might also be helpful, although I think it has mostly been covered here:
ESB: Weathering the Stalk

 

[e3kehoe]

Great stuff!! Thanks

 

[pigelectric]

Woah, thanks for the close ups - I never realized that level of detail was on the stalk!

 

[Builder]

This is the extent of the weathering that I did. Just washed on a combination of rust and brown until it felt right to me.
Because I use enamel paints I just worked slow and let it dry a little between coats. Enamel wash over silver slides around a bit. The darker spots give you a basic pattern to start with. Remember that there is a balance of values in the colors in the different areas of the helmet.For instance,how much lighter in value is the stalk and its weathering than the dome colors? You have to make that judgement for your helmet colors. Make it look good to your eye. To me it's a moderate amount of weathering so the stalk isn't too dark. Value balance is almost more important than color in art. There are some close ups of my approach to the paint on pg. 2 of our costume thread. Hope this helps.

 

[clmayfield]

The big takeaway for me from my research is that the stalk is heavily weathered, but in the lighting for all of the scenes in ESB, you just can't see it very well. So the key is to weather it in a way that is is heavily weathered and yet washed out in the proper light. The spots that don't wash out in the light are leather colored paint. For the other colors, I used a mix of rust and earth colored Humbrol weathering powders.

 

[Builder]

I just want to mention another point of view about the weathering of our costumes. Just as we,my son and I, were starting this build we saw a Boba trooping at an event.To us his costume was extremely weathered and upon looking at ESB on blu-ray
I couldn't understand ,at the time ,why? The reason,I believe,is that in movies the artists and director paint and design makeup to compensate for film lighting so the result will look real and natural.If we're not going to be seen in "harsh movie lighting" then we should weather to be
seen as the director intended.Too much weathering is only part way there. I've been in art for years. That doesn't make me anywhere an expert, but I believe film is art. In art the end result is all that matters,not how you get there. So with that in mind, we tried to weather Boba to look the way he looks on the screen in ESB....at least to us.
No argument, just trying to think of Boba beyond process... to art.

There has been an incredible amount said on the forums about how to do weathering.All good advice.Not near as much said about what was the intended look in the movie and why. My two cents worth.

 

[Builder]

Here are a few more shots of our helmet just to show how, just as in the movie, light angle makes a lot of difference in the amount of weathering that you see.

 

[GeekdadX7]

Man.... you'd think that considering that he was the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy.. that Boba would have gotten his gear cleaned up so he'd look more impressive to potential clients, and less like left his gear out in the rain for a few years. But that's just me. You'd think he'd have a grinder and a washing machine on slave 1.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

I always consider the stalk weathering to be part rust/dirt and steel oxidation. Which is funny because the stalk is aluminium which only dulls on oxidation
I have done the same to my stalk (though ROTJ) I did a multi layer weather; letting each layer dry, and then lightly rubbing with steel wool before adding the next... I’m happy with it, but looking at the above images maybe, just maybe I might re-visit it