Paint or Decals?

[Daetrin[Admin]]

So for the TE2 helmet if I want to be an accuracy freak, should I have the traps painted or use decals?

 

For a sandtrooper this is easy - go with paint as on the original helmets they were hand painted and it helps give that primitive look that sandtroopers should have, considering that it was the TD version of the armor that they did first, and the TK really was created after that.

 

For a TK I'm kinda on the fence. Weren't those helmets hand painted too? Decals look nice and crisp with keeping with the clean motiff of the TK, but if you go TE2 for accuracy, why not go all the way?

 

What do you guys think?

[Exodus[TK]]

First off, I defer to the experts (example: Troopermaster).

 

If memory serves I believe I have read that stickers are more accurate for ANH helmets. If memory serves.

 

Now, if you are a skilled painter (I'm not) I think the paint would look better long term. Keeping the black lines straight and clean on the front vents could be tricky. That's my opinion.

[troopermaster]

Well if you are going for accuracy then you have to paint EVERYTHING Just look at the originals and they are not perfect so don't worry about trying to make them look like decals.If you are half decent with a paint brush you will be fine.

 

What I do is paint the black outlines first in the traps,tears and ear caps,then when that's dry fill in with the grey and making a neat line.I make the black line thicker than I want it so I can go over it with the grey to a nice thin line.

 

For the mouth and vocoder,I free hand them both and have reference pics printed out to help me.I start off with the basic shape and work outwards making the the area's wider until I'm happy with the shapes.

 

For the tube stripes these are more tricky.I place two strips of masking tape down each tube about 16mm apart and then mark out the stripes on each piece of tape.It's a fiddley,time consuming job but the end results are worth it.Once marked all 13 (or however many you intend) I use a 2 pence piece and draw around it making a nice curve.Then I free hand the blue paint into these lines/stripes.Once dry remove the tape and you have a nice set of hand painted stripes.None of the original stripes are even spaced or even thickness,so don't worry about them being perfect!

 

Take you time and let the paint fully dry or you'll ruin it.Use Humbrol paints or equivelent.

 

-Paul.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Thanks Paul - how many stripes should there really be? The reason I ask is that I've seen between 11 and 13 on various screen caps.

[dorsk88]

Thanks Paul - how many stripes should there really be? The reason I ask is that I've seen between 11 and 13 on various screen caps.

 

and atleast one with none

[troopermaster]

I think the average is 13,but I've seen as little as 11 and as much as 15 so far.Some have more on one side and less on the other,usually just one stripe difference

[Daetrin[Admin]]

So would it be safe to say that as long as you're in that range, you should choose what looks aesthetically best for the size helmet you have?

[troopermaster]

Yes I would say so.You could try drawing a tube stripe decal first with 15 stripes on and then trim it down (if neccesary) to what fits on your tubes.When I paint mine on,I think I mark the stripes at 4mm thick with a 5mm space,but you can experiment (as I do) with different sizes

[bobby fletcher]

I hear keth on the RPF is the man to talk to if you want your helmet painted.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

For folks not on RPF - any shots of his work?

[bobby fletcher]

--------------

there was one of his ROTJ lids he did

 

he also makes mic tips

Edited June 1, 2021 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Nice! And here I thought he just did hovis. =:-0

[bobby fletcher]

I only hear good things about him

[TK4205]

I go with paint.

[bobby fletcher]

I have been doing alot of paint but 2 of my buckets have decals