weathering helmet

[welsh hunter]

My bobamaker helmet has been gathering dust for well over a year so I recently plucked up the courage to start painting it.

I decided to do a white pre-pro/custom mandalorian helmet coz it would give me freedom to make mistakes and learn painting techniques etc. I wanted to do an ESB but I havent painted props or models before so i was intimidated by the challenge.




The look Im going for with this project is a rusting, heavily scarred and damaged helmet, taking inspiration from photographs of old WW2 german winter camo helmets.

Ive began painting the front right portion of the helmet to develop my technique and find the look Im going for and I was hoping for some feedback from you guys. Im fairly happy with how its looking but I think I've overdone it a tad on the mandibles. I still havent detailed the temple scarring yet in these pictures and I will be applying fine scrathes and washes at the very end of the project.

Your feedback and suggestions would be much appreciated guys

P.S. I will be filling in the dent as well before Im finished with it I know it annoys some people to see the dent on a custom.

 

[Kantis Nolef]

Im fairly happy with how its looking but I think I've overdone it a tad on the mandibles.

I think it looks great, really well done. That's the good thing about customs, it's only too much if you think it is, you can have as much or as little damage as you want. Keep up the good work and I look forward to more pics.

 

[NikNak aka]

Looks pretty good. I like the rusty look of the damage.

 

[OrtharRrith]

Nice bucket, I look forward to seeing more. Are you planning on making the rest of the armour to go with it?

 

[Michigan Jaster]

I like the look of your custom, it's very well executed and looks very well used. What technique are you using to create your bare spots and rust?

 

[flatspunout]

Man that's awesome...give us the dish on your technique...mebbe a few pics of the reference material? C'mon show n tell!

-rocky b

 

[Dha Syntir]

To be honest, that's some of the best weathering I've seen so far on a helmet. Not that I'm the expert or anything on the subject...I would love to see some close-up pics of your work. A detailed tutorial would be a gods-send to many of us-that is if you were to have time to do so, and were willing...Again, extremely well done. Keep those photo's etc coming!

 

[Ronin677]

That looks really nice. I am over on Snowdon at the end of March / early April, i would love to see this bucket in the flesh man.

 

[welsh hunter]

Edit: hey Ronin, it would be great to meet up and see the helmet. I probably wont have finished it even by then though knowing me haha. I was on the summit of Snowdon just last week before the heavy snow came down.

Wow thanks for the words of encouragment guys! Im not sure about making full armor at the moment but I have a couple of ideas Id like to explore. A white leather flack jacket with the armor bolted on would be cool or maybe a "Man With No Name" style poncho.

Heres a breakdown of my method for painting the main damage on the mandible.



1. Draw outline pattern of damage with a sharp pencil.

2. Paint on solid base colour grey

3. Within base grey, draw and paint bare metal pattern (aluminium colour).

4. Texture grey/metal area with black paint lightly dabbed on with sponge. Note that the sponge must be almost completely dry, build up in stages if neccessary.

5. Trace outline of damage with redish/brown paint. Also with a very fine brush, draw in crack lines moving outwards from damaged area.

6. Drybrush darker brown outward from damage outline. Dont try to get the effect in one go, build it up gradually in stages.

7. With a fine brush again, gently drybrush around the small cracks you painted earlier with the dark brown to soften them slightly.

8. Using fine brush and very little paint, trace outline of the damage with black paint. As you do this, blend the paint outwards a little with the dry brush tip.

My main advice is . . .

find the smallest brushes you can to get maximum detail.

take your time, the slower you paint, the better the results.

Allow plenty of time for paint to dry between stages.

Drybrushing (wiping off most of the paint off the brush before applying) is really simple and extremely effective for blending and weathering effects.

Sponges are great for creating texture, especially rust. Use lots of different colours subtlely for more depth.

I have never painted models or props before but having researched techniques used by others and just taking my time I am really having fun with this project.

Later I'l post a closeup of the damage Im refering to above but at the moment imageshack is painfully slow. Unfortunatley I didnt take progress pics of my painting so far but I'l do so for the next major scar I'l be working

 

[pghfett]

That weathering effect looks stunning ! Very nice work and innovative technique as well

 

[GCNgamer128]

I love the look with the rust, very well done!

 

[welsh hunter]

I've now rusted up the temple scar whose shape I had previously blocked out in a grey base.



As the pic above shows, I masked around the damaged area with tape and fluid then sponged and drybrushed a number of colours in stages. When it was dry I removed the mask and drybrushed the outline of the scar in a redish/brown colour. It looks more natural in the flesh than it does in the pic.