Superjedi's Pre-Pro 1 "Eyes" helmet

[Sixxgunn13]

SJ,
I think the gouge is there already, it just would make more sense to have something to make damage around.

sometimes the simple answer is the right one.

no vibro axe answers here....:rolleyes

 

[superjedi]

UPDATE: Nov 27th

OK, made some more headway before and after a great Thanksgiving feast at my sister-in-law's house. Yum!! :love

Got the mandibles done. Not much damage on the left side, but working with smaller and fuzzier reference pics, I made sure to take several measurements to get the positioning right.

There was a better pic of the right side, and much like the ESB helmet, there was more damage to apply.
Took a while to work through all 3 colors, but I really like the way this came out.

Just a little bit more on the back of the dome, then I'll work the big gouge over the left eye area.

 

[Mojo Fett]

Dude this is nothing short of stunning! still one of my fave lids...
Keep up the good work bro!

 

[Boba Leo]

Good work Bro!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leo

 

[dsonik1]

Man, o man, o man. This is one sick bucket.

 

[superjedi]

Thanks all! Getting real close now.

UPDATE: Nov 28th

*Whew!!* All the "basic" painting is complete. I had enough time today to complete the last area on the back of the dome. There was only one shot from an extreme side angle, so no claims to accuracy as far as the shapes go. Just tried to match the pic as much as possible.

Also had time to work out the big gouge and the damage which surrounds it. I made the gouge using a couple different shapes of jewelers files after marking its position.

I had to extrapolate info from 2 reference pics of this area. Both pics show some curvature based on the angle of the photo, and I tried to "straighten" it to account for the nature of the pictures.

I had to be really careful while filing out the gouge. I used some blue painters tape laid all around it in case the file slipped. :wacko I also had to try to get it to be deeper in the center and sort of "taper" to the surface as it approached either end.

So there she sits!
Next will be a clear coat to seal the paintwork in preparation for some pastel weathering.
The metallic portions of the right ear and the bare metal appearance of the left ear will be done last.

 

[micke]

I´m in awe!!

 

[clonecollector]

This is a beautiful pice of artwork! Excellent work!

 

[superjedi]

Thanks again! Micke, good to see you around here. I still have a ROTJ blaster painted by you. I love it!

UPDATE: Nov 29th

Sooooo close now. . .
Got quite a bit done today. I began by giving the helmet a light spray of Testors Dull Coat. I've used it quite a bit on lots of projects and it's a very versatile product. It dries pretty quickly and is very durable.
While the dull coat was drying I sprayed the RF stalk with Testors Metallizer in Stainless Steel. Once it had dried for about an hour, I buffed it with a piece of paper towel to bring up the shine a little bit. I also like these sprays. They give a good metal appearance as long as you don't clear coat over them.

The fun began after the helmet's clear coat had dried. I ground up a few shades of "chalk" pastels on a big sheet of sandpaper. I used a couple shades of green and mixed them in with some gray, giving me some different tones. I also mixed a brownish gray. I just wanted to break up the stark color of the dome/cheeks. Here are a couple of overall shots.

I used a large stiff bristle brush to "pounce" the pastel shades onto the helmet in random, broken patterns, mostly on the dome and lower cheeks, until the shading just became visible. I didn't really want to overdo it. Once I finished with the pastels, I gave it another quick light coat with the Testors matte spray, just enough to seal the pastels.
Another step I take after dull coating is to go back with my size 000 brush and repaint all the silver chips. This takes a bit of time but the silver dulls down once it's clear coated and this brings back the shine and gives an illusion of depth.
You can see above that I also put in the visor. Gives it a nice finished look.

Here are a couple views of the back.

The shading appears a little washed out in these pics. Once I spray the bare metal on the ears, I'll try to get some better pics.

I also did the silver damage on the RF topper.

Just have the ears left and then it will take its place with my other buckets.

 

[Misfit2]

Very nice man!

 

[dsonik1]

Amazed with every new batch of progress pics. If you ever decide to part w/ this bucket for any reason, I'd love to have first dibs.

 

[superjedi]

Thanks again, and I don't know that I'll ever part with any of my babies!

FINAL UPDATE: Dec 6th

OK, I'm calling this one done.
Got the metallic portions of the ears masked and painted. I used Testors Metalizer Stainless Steel and buffed it once it was dry.
Not so much that it really shined, but enough to give it a good glint.
After that, I just had to drill a small hole in the right upper ear assembly to insert a small machine screw to keep the stalk in place.
I dremeled out a "dish" in the outer ear cap to make room for the screw head. . . and that was it!
Here's the final batch of pics.

Like all of DAZ's other products I've worked on, this is a very high quality kit.
The helmet shell is sturdy without being too thick, and his doing all the prep before shipment is great!
As I've said several times, I'm lazy.

I mentioned at the beginning of this project that Ryan's assistance with colors was invaluable, but I just have to say thanks again!
His willingness to communicate and share info was a huge help in bringing this helmet to life. :cheers

This was a challenging helmet. The reference for the PP1 is much more scarce than it is for the ESB or ROTJ lids.
I've always liked the look of this helmet, and it's cool to be able to use the pictures and make my own 3-D representation.
It now takes its place along with the other members of my still growing Fett family tree.
Top to bottom, left to right:
Fettpride's FPH painted in ESB 'screen used' style.
TerminalFettler's TF bucket painted as PP3.
DAZ's BM painted as PP1 Eyes version.
Skygunbro's McQuarrie 'concept' helmet, weathered.

My aim (one day) is to have a representation of all incarnations of Fett helmets. Maybe it will happen. . . maybe it won't.
But I really get a kick out of looking at these 2 shelves!
Thanks for following along with the project.
Eric

 

[Mojo Fett]

Awesome job bruv... seriously!
Never get tired of watching your threads....

 

[dsonik1]

Jedi, do you do commissioned paint jobs. I may want you to paint my lil boys mini boba when the time comes.

 

[superjedi]

Thanks, Gav!

I do take commissions from time to time.

 

[MandalorFett]

Very nice Eric. Merry Christmas!

 

[dsonik1]

pm sent

 

[Lucksy31]

You should be really proud man, that's amazing work my freind.

And your ROTJ thread will start on.....

 

[BOBA PHAT]

Again, great job, Eric! It's beautiful! For those that want to paint one of these up, here are my color suggestions:

Dome: Polly Scale RLM 78 (Eric misted his with Polly Scale RLM 65)
Dome Scratches: Polly Scale/Floquil Lark Dark Gray
Under Cheeks: Polly Scale/Floquil Brunswick Green
Mandibles: Polly Scale/Floquil Caboose
Under Mandible: Extremely Rare Old Floquil (Eric's mix of Polly Scale PRR Maroon with BAR Blue and PRR Bruns looks great!)
Right Ear/Under Back: Polly Scale Intermediate Blue
Back: Polly Scale/Floquil CNW Green (Add a flat coat if using the Floquil gloss color)
Keyslots: Polly Scale/Floquil Foundation (This was Eric's choice, and I think it worked great. Since there is only ONE vintage picture of it, it's anyone's guess! Polly Scale/Floquil Concrete is another possibility.)
And Silver, of course!

-Ryan

 

[superjedi]

See? The color master!