Zero's ROTJ helmet paint up

[TheZeroEffect]

I have been putting the helmet paint up on hold for a while now.
The helmet Im painting is my MS1 which I got way back in 05 if I remember right, so it's been naked for way too long.

One of the first things to tackle on thE MS was its key slots and rounded cheak/mandibles, I did this with my trusty micro dremel and files..


The key slots I had to completely rebuild using plastic card and epoxy ( I don't have any local photos of that build as I did that years ago... Maybe on a hard drive somewhere)

As always with any paint up it starts with lots of prep... And lots of photo research. Oh and some super awesome templates from Rafalfett.

First step past sanding and washing was patching up the first set of damage marks/ scratches that I put on for what was going to be an ESB paint up. Because I'm building a ROTJ and I'm not a great fan of the SE Fett setup the scratches had to go and the correct ones had to be applied, I found the micro dremel great for this.
When I was happy with the amount of damage I set about priming the helmet, for this I used Rustolums red primer


Here is the rattle can color I used

Have to say I really like this color.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Just looking through my old hard drive and I found the original photos that I took years back showing the rear key slots

That was how they looked after I had sanded down the bucket from its original paint job, a lot of the detail was lost.
after I had cut out the old slots and replaced them with plastic card ones, they ended up like this..

I wouldn't call the slots accurate today, i can't remember if i pull a template off TDH back in it's beginnings or if i made my own? it was, as i said over 10years ago now...:wacko

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Oh this was how the helmet use to look whenI purchased it off a fellow kiwi


you can see why I wanted to repaint, as this only had a very basic paint job done.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Oat now that the prep is done and the primer has had time enough to harden, the helmet is ready for its first base color.... Silver.
Im going rattle can for the base color, Rustolum metallics silver

And as always when spraying I wear protection, and have lots of air flow


I start with a light coat of silver, a misting really. I find it helps the paint key better to the surface. I only really wait for 10min before adding a slightly heavier layer ( not too heavy as I don't want run), I will keep this layering up till I'm happy with the results, waiting at lest 20-30min between each layer. It's always better to do multiple light layers than one thick layer, thick layers can cause unsightly runs, heavy spotting, or just hide some of those fine details, I find painting never to be fast and should never be rushed.

After 4-5 layers of silver I'm happy with the depth and coverage is nice and even.

Now to let this sit and cure for 48 hours minimum...

 

[ToEleven]

Get it done! It looks like you've got a good start.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Right where was I....
first area I plan to start on is the back panels. I'll be using one of my airbrushs, a duel action (for extra control) Vega 2000. A middle of the road airbrush that's easy to use and a good workhorse.

Im lucky enough to still have some floquil paints, but where I have gaps I'll be using, model masters, Humbrol, Tamiya and what ever else works best.

Colors are CN grey, Boxcar Red, southern green, Gun Metal, Dark Anodonic Grey, and Humbrol 131 ( could have used Tamiya XF70 but I found this colour to be a good substitute for Floquil CNW green)

The back plates on the Jedi helmet are very different to the ESB, where one has multiple layers the other theoretically only has two masked layers, the base( silver) and the gradient shaded area.
Rafalfett's templates have the colours all split giving the impression of more masked layers.
i spent some time thinking about how I wanted to start this and how I was going to go about doing it...
first part first, Silver mask.. using the first template and carbon paper I traced/transferred the first areas onto the helmet to be masked. I have chosen to use Humbrol masking fluid for most of the masking.

Next is the gradient area.
again I cut out the template from the paper.. I have to say Raf's V2 templates are much better in size they are an almost perfect fit for my MS.
.... Using carbon paper and a mechanical pencil I carefully traced the pattern for the gun metal spray... An almost pointless task but it will give me a rough area to paint to.
once I had applied the gunmetal I again traced the patter back onto the plates, using white carbon paper this time and masked off the hard edges and random spots where it fades into the next color
I repeated the same process for the CN grey


Because the key slots have the same base colors This was the best time to mask and paint up. First base color silver, then the gun metal and grey and finally the caboose Red misted on the 3rd 4th and 5th keys.

Once I felt happy with the back plates it was time to make sure it was all masked off correctly for the final
layer, the green mix. I roughly followed Jayvee's tutorial/ guide. Mixing the two greens 1:1 ratio I applied two even coats, while still wet I misted the back panels with grey and red primer, Tamiya OD and forest green and then a final misting of the original two green mix to blend in all the misted colours, this has helped give the plates a bit more depth and an aged weathered look....


Letting it all dry for most of the day I decided to attack the masking with a pointy dental tool and pointy wooden dowel.


Have to say I do like the end results.
it will get a polish with synthetic steel wool which will tidy the edges and get rid of any carbon tracings.
At this point I should mention I want this to end up with a more realistic ( non film prop) look... Hopefully it works out

Next I'll start in the cheeks....

 

[TheZeroEffect]

W
Next up, the cheeks...
i have decided to go about this a bit differently than some of the other paint ups I've read, instead of splitting upper and lower cheeks I'm going to paint as a whole and then mask off the upper and finish off the lower
All masked, marked and liquid masked, ready for the first layer
Floquil SP Lark grey ( luckily I still have a full bottle)
This layer is only really on the upper cheek and does not show on the lower, but it will help add a bit of depth to the final layers.... And I do like the paint to have that feel of thickness to give the damage more texture.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Next up after the grey is that fun color that likes to change depending on the light...
i have decided to follow Jayvee's paint choice as this seems more correct to me, and I really like how dark this looks indoors
from Jayvee's list:
- Tamiya XF-17 (Sea Blue); Misted over with Model Masters Schwartzgrun RLM 70.
instead of MM SCHWARTZGRUN I used Humbrol 241
i only sprayed the two colors onto the upper cheek, I have applied a very basic mask for the lower cheeks as I'm not too worried about spray over.

First layer is Tamiya XF-17. I have applied 3 coats as I want it to have a good deep color. Next is the misting of Humbrol 241, I had to mist back and forth with the two colors before I felt happy with the results.... The first mist of the Humbrol was a bit too heavy for my liking, so misting the Tamiya back over was a easy fix
next up was the masking off of the upper cheeks to add all the final layers.
using the cheek cut outs I masked over the edges using Tamiya masking tape ( I like that I doesn't usually grab the paint and pull it off like standard masking tape)
was it was masked I cut out the paper cutout and masked the rest of the upper off

 

[Major]

That's looking really good......

 

[TheZeroEffect]

That's looking really good......

Thanks

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Next up is paying the lower cheeks. i started with 'fern green' which for me was Pactra "flat Jungle Green" which is made by Plasti-kote and it was the only close colour I had at hand.
Before I went any further I need to add a new Bordon connector, as the original one on the helmet had be cut off long ago, as I didn't like the look of it.\I had to make a new connector from scratch so i took some 10mm aluminium rod and cut 10mm off and drilled the holes in to get the desired effect I needed. once I drilled out a new 10mm hole in the cheek, I simply pushed the new connector in/ spun it around to it was facing the correct way and epoxied the back to hold it in place ( i didn't cover up the holes I wanted open)

Since I had painted the whole cheek section in one hit I do not need to worry about doing a layer of Model Masters Schwartzgrun RLM 70
so once I have masked off, the fern green ( jungle green for me) is applied.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Next up the final layer on the cheeks. I'm agin using Jayvee's color choice Humbrol 31 + Humbrol 78 (approx. 2 ½: 1 ratio mix).
before this is done the right ( or left cheek when wearing) needs a layer of gun metal.
once done and dry it's masked off with the ever faithful liquid mask is applied.
when the mask is dry, the mixed Green is applied, I have given the cheeks two coats to make sure the layer has good depth. Now before the second layer has time to dry, I have misted over each cheek with Tamya rattlecan forest green,olive drab, primer grey and USAF olive drab.And then to top it all off and help blend the Tamiya a final MISTED layer of the green mixed Humbrol is applied.
Last off Caboose Red is misted on the left ( right is your wearing the helmet) across the top of the Borden connector.


After leaving it it for a day it's finally time to remove all that masking and expose the cheek in all its glory.

Next up the dome...

 

[Greedo10360]

Wow, that's coming along very nicely!

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Wow, that's coming along very nicely!

Cheers Greedo...

 

[TheZeroEffect]

WRight dome time.
First off transfer of scratches to the dome, this would have gone a lot smoother if I didn't keep putting the transfer paper around the wrong way, ending up with carbon Scratches on the paper and not the helmet:unsure very easy to do when your concentrating more on alignment than the carbon paper.
Lots of scratches to draw.... A few times over ��View attachment 106549
First layer, one all the scratches are masked out, Model mMasters Gun Then more masking for a layer of SP Lark Grey.
View attachment 106554View attachment 106555
Yet more masking,of course making sure that the carbon paper is around the right way...
and im ready for the final layer, the Humbrol green mixed used on the lower cheeks.
like the cheeks I have misted over the dome with the Tamiya rattlecan colors and a final light mist of the Humbrol green mix.
View attachment 106556View attachment 106557View attachment 106558So much glorious green
so now there is the wait for the the paint to harden/ dry completely( here in New Zealand it's summertime and the perfect time for painting so I have no problem with the paint drying quickly) I always like to wait a good 24hours.. Just a swell I'm patient.

The next day, and a lot of de-masking later and the dome is starting tolook the part.
Arrows are painted one Humbrol black33 and caboose Red



And the money shot


Getting there, still lots more scratches to add to the dome...

 

[TheZeroEffect]

It's odd when I add the photos they are the right way round.... Guess you have to turn your head sideways...:wacko

next up up the Mandibles....

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Mandible time, well before that I'll do the kill stripes first.
I have masked off almost all of the helmet except where the stripes will be.
Using Tamiya masking tape 5mm I have masked out stripes and then add the scratch detail with Humbrol liquid mask.
The stripes are airbrushed with Humbrol orange ...
Once dry, all the masking is removed and a quick rub with synthetic steel wool evens the edges.
Masking out the silver

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[TheZeroEffect]

Mandible time. First layer will be gun metal, followed by SP Lark gray and then onto the Red.
After completely masking off all but the mandibles, using the Tamiya tape as a base and using plastic bags to cover the dome I use standard masking tape to seal it all off. If your wondering why two tapes, I find the Tamiya tape seals well but doesn't pull the paint off like some their masking tapes can. I could have done the Jean trick and take some off the strength from the tapes stickiness, but I find it doesn't seal as well and you have to use a clear coat before painting to stop any leaking under the tape.
As with the rest of the paint up first thing is the marking oft he scratches and liquid masking before the painting. There is only a touch of Base metal ( gunmetal) on one mandible, so that get sprayed on in in just that area and allowed to dry for a few hours before I follow up with masking off the rest for the SP Lark gray.

After the SP Lark has dried fully, masking for the Red is done.
At this point I'm getting a little excited, so close to looking like Fett...

The mandible red is a mixture of Boxcar Red and Caboose Red, done in misting layers till I have gotten a color I like that matches the reference material.

I like this misted/ mixed Reds I have given a slight mottling to the spray pattern to give a bit of added weathering..
Now to dry


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[TheZeroEffect]

I decided to paint my he ears while I wait.
Base layer is silver, for both.
Then I roughly mask out some scratch using a few reference photos that had the best details.
First layer for both is gunmetal, followed buy more masking, then field grey, masking then gold for both ( even though the left ear really gets the gold look more than the right I felt they both should, though the right ( left when on) only gets a slight hint of gold)
Then they are both misted alternatively with black and dark grey

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[TheZeroEffect]

Demasking time.[emoji3]

Right all the colors are there, which is a good place to be...
Now to remove all that latex....I mean liquid mask...


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