Superjedi's PP3 paintjob (TerminalFettler helmet)

[superjedi]

Headlesshunter, good guess! Yeah, it would be nearly impossible to paint all those tiny thin scratches on with any consistency, so I use my compass to scratch them on there.

OK, been getting some more done now that my algebra class is over. I've finished the rest of the red area behind the right ear, as well as the ear itself. I've also painted the removable portion, it's just not shown here. The silver portions won't be painted/detailed till the very end of my paint job, after the clear coats have been applied.

Here's an angle of the bottom wedge of the ear piece. Another slight variation from the 'standard' ESB paint job is that this one incorporates some black into the damage.

After the ear was painted, I began working on the red above the visor. I used several different reference pics to do this, tracing and stenciling a section at a time.

Another shot showing the completed left mandible. Again, the final scuffs aren't on there yet. They'll be done with pastels once I begin the final weathering.

On to the right mandible next!

 

[KaanE]

You aren't a superjedi, you're a superpainter 8)

 

[Bubba Fett]

Very nicely done, as usual. Really interesting to see the differences between this and the ESB lids.

 

[superjedi]

Thanks! Bubba, that was the primary reason I wanted to do this version. It's easy to see these 2 helmets were made to look like each other. But for what purpose? Final approval prior to filming? Was one meant to be a stunt helmet and the other a hero?
The details of both are so similar. It's really cool to see this one nearing completion and sitting it next to my ESB FPH helmet and comparing them.

Speaking of nearing completion. . .

Got almost all the basic paint work done! I finished the right mandible earlier (finally), so now Boba has a complete face. Man, that right mandible just kills my wrist and fingers! Here it is.

The above shot also shows the black arch on the RF ear. It was masked and sprayed with plain ol' flat black. Still need to do the white portion, and finish the fine scratches.

Here's a close up of the right mand.

And another front shot just for fun.

I anticipate having the right ear finished by tomorrow, then I can begin the final dirtying and pastel weathering! Almost there. . .

 

[987654321a]

Wow, you captured the detail well!


Nice job bud.

 

[superjedi]

Alright! It's finished. Lots of pics follow.
I finished the detail painting on the RF ear, then began weathering with pastels in several shades. I used everything from charcoal, to sandy brown, to medium brown. Once the pastels were applied, I went back with some pastel sticks and applied some of the larger scuffs. These are mostly white, with some black scattered here and there.
I sealed the pastels with a couple of light coats of Polly Scale Clear Flat, then did the exposed silver portions of the right ear. The very last step was to do the 'spatter' all over the helmet. I used Tamiya Khaki for the spatter, which is the same color I use on my ESB paint-ups. On this helmet there's just more of it! I think the rusty tone MR used on their helmet is just too vivid.
So here are the final pics! Several shots just moving all around the helmet.

On the dome and back panels I got the variations in tone by going back over it after the pastels/clear coat were applied with some wire wool and rubbing away some of the weathering in random patterns. (I did this all over the bucket, but it's most noticeable on the back and dome.)

Here are some closer shots of some of my favorite details.

The right ear. This shows the 15 small black stripes as opposed to 14 on the ESB helmet. These are dry transfer letters, which I scraped with an X-acto blade after application. (Yes, the small black "smudge" above the stripes is present on the reference pics!)

Front of the right ear with more dry transfer letters.

Here's the right mandible with the infamous "white line."

The left mandible, showing some subtle contrasting red.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this project, the main reason I decided to do this was to have a "3-D" representation of the differences between the ESB screen used helmet and the Pre-pro 3. So here's a side-by-side look at the 2 styles.
The completed helmet in the following pics is my FPH, and of course the one without a visor is my newly completed Terminal Fettler PP3 style helmet.

The below 2 pics show some of the detailing differences around the dent/killstripe area. The biggest difference is the number of stripes: 14 on ESB, 15 on PP3.

Here are a couple of shots of the back panels. More differences are visible here with regard to the overall shapes and placement of the damage. Interesting.

"Cat scratch" comparison. This is one of the most easily recognizable features of the ESB helmet, and you can see this detail is quite different between the 2 helmets.

So the helmets are fairly similar overall. Before I started this paint job I thought they were much more different than they are! So I've learned something from this project as well as got more practice painting.
Thanks to everyone for following along! :cheers Sorry if this last post slows anyone's computer down! :wacko I just had a lot of pics I wanted to share.

Eric

 

[987654321a]

I dont see a difference between your helmet and the prepro 3. Thats amazing. Great job buddy!

 

[terminal fettler]

Amazing paint work Eric!! I'm not familiar with pastels, is it this process that washes out the colours?

 

[MandalorFett]

Wow Eric, you're just getting better and better.

 

[superjedi]

Thanks a lot, guys!
Garrett, the pastels tend to "muddy up" the colors some and make them more uneven.
But surprisingly, the step that really faded them was airbrushing on the Polly Scale flat coat. I don't know why it's different than the Testors dull coat I usually use, but it really does add a more dusty/oxidized look to the surface. I like it!

 

[MADDMUDDER]

you made some great progress throughout your thread that is awesome

 

[Boba Leo]

Wau, you are the Super Paintingman, friend!!!!

 

[suspect86]

droooool.....


Friggin awesome.

 

[maycol]

Really nice painting you did.... you guys wont stop surprising me ^_^

 

[superjedi]

Thanks again. This was a lot of fun to paint.

I went back to tweak some of the scrapes/smudges as the final clear coat had absorbed some of the pastel. Used my white pastel, a bit of black pastel, and a black artist's pencil.
I also added a temp visor. It's just a thin smoked transparent "report cover" like you can get about anywhere. Since this helmet is just a display piece, I don't see myself adding a thick visor anytime soon.

Two overall angles of the front.

Closer view of the turn signal area.

Area surrounding the kill stripes. Lots of little dark/light scrapes.

Left ear section.

Finally, the back of the dome. Some more very subtle small scrapes/mars.

So that's REALLY it this time. . Now to figure out what to do for my next project. . . whenever I have time.

 

[SEEKER]

DDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

 

[Mojo Fett]

DDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

Couldn't agree more!!

 

[aero]

AMAZING WORK !!!!:love

How many hours did this one take you?
I've finally started my paintjob.
custom mixed my colours using liquitex with the aid of the ref's you sent me all those months ago.
thanks again for the colour Ref's. :cheers

Jason