Mannequin Madness

Lots going on in the last few days.  Most bizarre of which, is this guy, who now stands naked from the neck down...

I had no idea how hard it would be to find a mannequin to match my height and build. (BTW, I kind of lucked out, I'm pretty close in size and build to Jeremy Bulloch who played Boba in the movies.) This mannequin came closest to matching me and Jeremy. He's just an inch shorter, and has the exact same waist measurement as I do.

And just for fun, I gave him a little ink...

Meanwhile, I finished the final paint on this piece of the gauntlet...

And discovered that the liquid mask I'm using sucks. I'm having a hell of a time peeling away the top layers and leaving the bottom layers of paint. Lots of touch up work. But I've discovered a couple of great ways to add some grunge: Rub the piece in the gravel outside, and then go over it lightly with Testor's flat black paint on a paper towel, wiping off the majority of it as I go. That way the black paint gets inside all the micro abrasions and gives them some nice depth.

Unfortunately, I had already painted a coat of the masking fluid on the gauntlets themselves before I found out how lousy it was.  Oh well... I've ordered some Windsor Newton masking fluid. Hopefully that's better going forward. Here is the primer red with the masking fluid peeled off, and then re-applied but slightly overlapping some of the primer...

And just this morning, I applied the final topcoat of Rustoleum Cabernet red.  Most people use Rustoleum Claret Wine, but I did a side by side test, and the Cabernet is less purple, so I went with that...

Once this dries, I'll hit them with a light dusting of flat black just to give it some dirt, and then peel off the liquid mask to reveal the primer and silver in the "damaged" areas.  Then I'll add scratches and scuffs, and finally hit it will a clear coat when I'm happy.

I also received these awesome custom made "wookie braids" for the right shoulder.

The next couple of days is going to be hot and humid, so I probably won't be painting. Next update will most likely be over the weekend.

Thanks for tuning in!

~N