Superjedi's SE for Mandomiggs

[superjedi]

How about a splash of color!
I got the killstripes on this afternoon. Now I can finish the rest of the damage on the left side of the dome.

 

[superjedi]

Ok, the dome is pretty much complete. There are just a handful of details that I'll do with artist's pencils right before the clear coat.

 

[superjedi]

Time to get cheeky! I finished the right cheek this evening. I'll start on the left side tomorrow.

 

[drokkul]

When you mask off for your kill stripes do you make them all the same size? If so what size do you make them?
The Rafal templates seem that the first couple of stripes are slightly slimmer (1mm or so) than the other stripes when measured, but I don't know if I'm seeing that correctly or if it is a product of printing the templates.

 

[superjedi]

On these helmets cast from the original, a lot of the paint layers and little chips and stuff are captured in the surface. I just use those marks to define the edges of the stripes. They're not all a consistent width though.

 

[superjedi]

The left cheek is finished now. I have always liked the damage on this part of the helmet.

 

[BobaFettAZ]

50th helmet is an amazing accomplishment. I painted my jet pack and boots but commissioned the painting of my gauntlets and paid for the painted armor from boba maker. I am nowhere near ready to tackle a helmet. Someday perhaps.

 

[superjedi]

The helmet is certainly one of the more complex paint jobs.

Red time! The addition of the red really changes the look of the helmet.

 

[BobaFettAZ]

I never realized how impactful that red is.

 

[superjedi]

Yeah, it's like it pulls the other colors into focus, so to speak.

I finished the keyslot area and I'll begin working on the red band next. I also hit the MQ-1 board while I was at it.

 

[superjedi]

Here's the center section of the red band.



So much of the red is actually covered up!

 

[superjedi]

The left side of the band is done, including the white thumbprints.

 

[superjedi]

The right side of the band is also finished. So everything behind the ears is done.

 

[superjedi]

Started on the front with the corner of the visor. I finally got to paint the crack repair!

 

[superjedi]

I'm working across the brow area now. Here's the left side.

 

[superjedi]

The entire brow is finished now.
On to the mandibles!

 

[superjedi]

As I do with a few other sections of the helmet, I break each mandible into upper and lower areas. It's just my preference. I feel like doing it this way allows me to focus on each area.
Here's the lower portion of the left mandible.

 

[superjedi]

Here's the finished left mandible. On to the right side!

 

[superjedi]

Before really getting into the crazy right mandible, I took a little time to work on the metal ears. This is a set from RS Props and they're very nicely made.
I scuffed up the portions that will receive paint, masked off the parts to remain bare metal, and hit the ears with some self-etching primer.



I'll let the primer dry for about 48 hours before hitting the ears with the base colors.

 

[superjedi]

As I mentioned before, I like to break up the mandibles into upper and lower areas. I got the upper area done on the right mandible. Whew! There are a whole lot of scratches and tiny chips in this section!



Here's a collage showing how the detail is built using the topical technique.