#clone helmets

Another three buy'cese for the collection!

Thank you to @chocomars for allowing me to add their Oc Watson here.

And thanks to @faemorningstar @romeo-squad is now fully assembled! Rake has joined his Vode.

And for the third and last bucket of this post, I thank @craftycreatureraven for getting a bit more colour into that corner with their Oc Zuzie.

Vor'e guys!

This is the original poll

Mayday

So, weathering involves putting in layers and layers of detailing. I'm using an acrylic "wash" of black paint and rubbing alcohol on this helmet. This is simply brushed on and then wiped off, and then repeated over and over. In the areas where it looks too heavy, it is sanded back.

I painted over my pencil sketch over the Galactic Rondel using Testor's model paint in grey. In photos, Jesse's Rondel looks black, but it is actually dark grey. I may mix the paints to get the grey a little dark. This shade of grey is more of "Wolfpack grey," which is a dark grey, but I think Jesse's grey is even darker. I chose Testor's model paint because it is thick and makes it easy to detail lines without running, (acrylic paint is thinner.) Since I sketched out the original design, and you can erase on the helmet, I had no worries about getting the design wrong. I can also touch up any areas I want to fix with white paint. For example, I'll likely add a little more separation between those two grey lines on the right side, (or just make the ones on the left a little longer.)

Part of creating the weathered look, is sanding the paint back. So, yes, after spending all the time getting the masking perfect, you then sand some of that beautiful paint job back off again. It reveals the undercoat colors, (in this case, primer white, primer grey, and primer black.) All of these colors come back out again with the sanding and creates wonderful dimensions of color adding to the overall weathered effect.

I didn't get a chance to finish the Jesse helmet on Sunday, as I was helping a friend on her Waxer helmet. It's the first clone helmet she's ever done so I was taking her through the whole process. The finishing process depends upon the type of helmet. In this case, it was a vac-formed resin helmet, so it was a lot easier than finishing off a 3D print. We just had to give it a light overall sanding with 240 grit and then fill in the imperfections with Bondo. I prefer using Bondo "glazing spot putty" because it is pre-mixed and you don't have to worry about getting the formulation perfect. (If you add too much hardener to regular Bondo, you will be sanding for hours.) Glazing spot putty is very forgiving. It's stinky stuff, though, so be sure to wear a very good mask and work outdoors. Don't get it on your hands or skin either. This stuff eats through gloves so we used a combination of popsicles sticks and Q-tips to apply it. "It's like spreading frosting!" my friend declared. She's an enthusiastic baker of cakes, so this came naturally to her. After a round of Bondo, sanding it smooth, and then Bondo again, the helmet was ready for painting. (Be sure to wipe off/wash off all of the Bondo dust or it will end up in your final paint job.) I use a spray bottle and a drop cloth to catch all the nasty bits, as I try not to put this stuff down the sink or onto the ground. Waxer then received six coats of matte white primer; it takes that many to fully cover up the Bondo, (which is bright red.) Apply the paint in light, little burst so the paint doesn't run. Allow five minutes between coats. Don't try to get it all in one coat; it will never work.

Hi! Howzer is not one of mine, actually! I don’t know who did that one, but it wasn’t me, and if you look closely the style is different from the others :)

Hmmm I didn’t consider adding him to my collection, it’s been so many years since I worked on those helmets 🤔 They’ve been all over google images and got stolen so many times since then 😩

I do still have the template, so I’ll consider adding Howzer! (No promises)

BEHOLD!

My new stickers got here yesterday