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ATA ANH helmet paint!


TKfett

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I'm still new to the world of trooper gear, but I recently got a hold of my first ATA helmet. Really love this piece! It was pretty well built by another member (unpainted ABS), but I was itching to paint it to make it look a little bit more "messy" and aged like the original stunt helmets. Pretty fun experience, but now I'm hoping to add to my collection different examples of the stormtrooper helmet (hoping to an RS one someday)  :D!! I also replaced the green lens material with acetate and starfoam from Trooperbay.

 

 

It's been fun scouring through the threads here for tips. Really appreciate how everyone shares their knowledge here.

 

The white paint used is the Rustoleum Pro Enamel (as suggested in various threads); really good stuff and cures well. I was worried at first how it would cure, as I've used Rustoleum paints that never seemed to dry, but this white enamel is real tough. The hand painted details are Testors colors, with the exception of the blue tube stripes which were done with the Humbrol French Blue. 

 

Thanks for looking!  (larger pics below)

 

sbT00wv.jpg

 

 

5MPx59d.jpg

 

RBJ762P.jpg

Edited by TKfett
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Great job! That really came out very nicely. I'll be doing the exact same thing soon to my ANH (RS) bucket, so I'm curious... did you first apply some primer coats? If so which did you go with, I'm thinking of using the Rustoleum flat gray primer (249088), followed by the gloss white (7792) and a coat or two of gloss clear (249117) for a solid seal and "wet" shine. If you could shed some light what you used and the coats that would be great to compare with, thanks and cheers!

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Thanks for the comments; I appreciate it! I've painted other props, but this was a first on the ABS material on a trooper helmet, so in the beginning I was a bit unsure how things would work out.
 

Great job! That really came out very nicely. I'll be doing the exact same thing soon to my ANH (RS) bucket, so I'm curious... did you first apply some primer coats? If so which did you go with, I'm thinking of using the Rustoleum flat gray primer (249088), followed by the gloss white (7792) and a coat or two of gloss clear (249117) for a solid seal and "wet" shine. If you could shed some light what you used and the coats that would be great to compare with, thanks and cheers!

Sure no problem! I had originally wanted to do a "chipped" look, so I bought a can of Krylon khaki type color, but decided to pass on that after I then decided to keep the white paint intact. I did first take some fine steel wool to knock down the shine of that ABS first, because I wasn't sure if it would affect how the primer sprayed on. I used a can of a reddish oxide looking color (Rustoleum flat red primer 249086), mainly because I had read somewhere something similar was used on some of the helmets.

Next was the Rustoleum Pro Enamel white (I used 7592, but others should be fine). Applying it took a few quick experiments. Seeing as it was a bit colder than usual here in Seattle when I sprayed it, I made a few quick thin passes just to get some paint on the helmet, as I didn't want to get too thick of a coat on the first layer. Best thing to do is wait for a warmer day to spray. Waited a few minutes and then started to put on a thicker coat (quick, short passes, but at a closer distance to get a more glossy shine). The can says to spray additional coats within a few minutes of each other, which is a little different than other paints I've used. Waiting to see how the paint would cure was somewhat scary, as I've had issues with some Rustoleum colors in the past (stayed sticky to the touch, mainly metallics). It was reasonably dry to the touch fairly quickly (although soft), and within a day, the paint felt really solid even despite the thicker paint application. I didn't use any clear coat on mine because the natural gloss of the white was actually a lot more shiny than I had thought it would be! But a clear coat could possibly provide a more even gloss all around in case some overspray dulled things down in some areas. I'd be interested in hearing how your painting turns out! The RS helmet is my favorite.

Last thing was chipping very tiny bits of paint to reveal some of the primer color underneath, hand painting the graphics, and then adding some weathering by rubbing newspaper over the surface.

Edited by TKfett
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Thanks for the comments; I appreciate it! I've painted other props, but this was a first on the ABS material on a trooper helmet, so in the beginning I was a bit unsure how things would work out.

 

Sure no problem! I had originally wanted to do a "chipped" look, so I bought a can of Krylon khaki type color, but decided to pass on that after I then decided to keep the white paint intact. I did first take some fine steel wool to knock down the shine of that ABS first, because I wasn't sure if it would affect how the primer sprayed on. I used a can of a reddish oxide looking color (Rustoleum flat red primer 249086), mainly because I had read somewhere something similar was used on some of the helmets.

 

Next was the Rustoleum Pro Enamel white (I used 7592, but others should be fine). Applying it took a few quick experiments. Seeing as it was a bit colder than usual here in Seattle when I sprayed it, I made a few quick thin passes just to get some paint on the helmet, as I didn't want to get too thick of a coat on the first layer. Best thing to do is wait for a warmer day to spray. Waited a few minutes and then started to put on a thicker coat (quick, short passes, but at a closer distance to get a more glossy shine). The can says to spray additional coats within a few minutes of each other, which is a little different than other paints I've used. Waiting to see how the paint would cure was somewhat scary, as I've had issues with some Rustoleum colors in the past (stayed sticky to the touch, mainly metallics). It was reasonably dry to the touch fairly quickly (although soft), and within a day, the paint felt really solid even despite the thicker paint application. I didn't use any clear coat on mine because the natural gloss of the white was actually a lot more shiny than I had thought it would be! But a clear coat could possibly provide a more even gloss all around in case some overspray dulled things down in some areas. I'd be interested in hearing how your painting turns out! The RS helmet is my favorite.

 

Last thing was chipping very tiny bits of paint to reveal some of the primer color underneath, hand painting the graphics, and then adding some weathering by rubbing newspaper over the surface.

 

Great info thanks for sharing, your input is certainly helpful! I'm still waiting on the RS kit to arrive so I've been playing around with some strategies for the finish I'd like to have on some spare materials. Once it arrives and the helmet project is underway I'll certainly start a build thread and will share how it is coming out. Cheers!

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