Boba Fett's Empire Strikes Back helmet - Part 2

I decided the next sections to paint would be the dome and cheeks.  So I added a layer of liquid mask in those areas where the silver should show through, and then I sprayed a layer of Rusto Anodized Aluminum with a mist of black.  When it dried, and I removed the liquid mask, we end up with this:

Once more, I added a layer of liquid mask for the places where the silver and gray should show thorugh. There is no Rustoleum paint that is an exact match for the green topcoat. That meant I had to blend a couple of different colors.  After some tests, I decided on a base coat of Rusto Spruce, with a mist of Rusto Oregano.

Before I removed the liquid mask, I dry brushed a little bit of black grime on the dent in the dome and the edge of the cheeks with Testors Flat Black... (You can see my Return of the Jedi helmet in the back there.  I used it for reference while trying to get the green tone just right. The RotJ helmet is a slightly lighter green.)

Then I removed the liquid mask and dry brushed some more grime with the black. Just a smudge here and there. Finally, I used a screwdriver to add some random scratches...

You'll note the helmet is pretty shiny -- I'm going to coat the whole thing with Testors Matte Dullcoat at the end so everything is flat, even, and not reflective.

While I had the masking tape on the non-green areas, I thought I'd go ahead and add the kill stripes on the side of the helmet.  I decided to spray these on. (Some people use vinyl decals, others hand brush them on.  The original prop seems to have been sprayed.)  So I made a complicated and infuriating mask with tape, and then sprayed it with Valspar Hubbel House Golden Maize, (there's a mouthful for you.) Towards the back of the helmet, the kill stripes become a little orange, so I misted back there with Valspar LaFonda Copper.

Once all the tape was removed, and a little more grime added, we end up with this!

More soon!

~N

Boba Fett's Empire Strikes Back helmet - Part 1

So now that I've completed the entire Return of the Jedi Boba Fett armor, (I haven't taken final project photos of it yet -- need to get a decent camera & set up,) I thought I'd move on to painting Boba's Empire Strikes Back helmet.

The two "buckets" have different color schemes, and significantly different battle damage.

I collected about 20 different photos online of the ESB helmet, and printed them for reference.

I'm starting with a "GMH" by FettPride -- recast from an actual film-used Lucasfilm prop.  It's a resin shell with fiberglass reinforcement.  I cleaned it up, trimmed everything, and got it ready for priming:

Next up, I sprayed the whole thing with Rustoleum Aluminum...

...Except for some areas in the back that seemed to have primer showing through the final paint job.  I masked these with Windsor Newton Liquid Mask so the primer would show through. 

Then I masked more battle damage per the photos (you can see my reference sheets on the table there,) and sprayed the dark gray layer.  I used Rusto Anodized Bronze and then a mist of black.  Between each layer, after peeling off the liquid mask, I lightly brushed the surface with 0000 steel wool.

Another layer of liquid mask, and then the off-white layer.  For this, I used Rustoleum Almond, with a mist of Rusto Anodized Bronze.

After that, the last layer of liquid mask, and the top coat of Valspar Peacock House, misted with Black.  Once the top coat was dry, I added "micro-damage" with a screwdriver and some gravel. 

Here we have the completed back panels... Click for a larger view:

More soon!

~N