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CableGuy’s TK to TD lid weathering project


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Hi everyone.
 
So, around 1 year ago (June 2017) I started a project to revive my 12 year old Shepperton Design Studios Stunt lid. The years has taken their toll on my once beloved TK lid so I did my research, ended up finding the videos of TK4510/ Mike / Trooperbay and decided to strip down, spray and hand paint my old lid.
 
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Well, this REALLY got me interested in Stormtroopers again and, thanks to doing plenty of research on FISD on how to respray my lid, got me hooked on the whole armour idea.
 
 
Right, back to the subject at hand....
 
I came across Mike’s videos again on YouTube, one of which was weathering a Sandie helmet. Based upon this I ordered some Fullers Earth and a Revell weathering set.
 
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Following Mike’s excellent video, essentially the process is done with hairspray > earth flicked on with paintbrush > brush off excess earth > repeat. This, mixed with brush dabbing, sponge dabbing, sandpaper in places etc hopefully leading to a realistic, dirty/used look.
 
 
Firstly, I started by painting over the vertical black stripes in the traps and tears, then improving the frown paint by extending it beyond the un-drilled 5th hole.
 
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I also took the opportunity to raise the brow. As this isn’t my trooping lid, I simply cut an additional upward curve in the cap.
 
 
Time to throw some dirt at this thing!!
After fogging the front of the lid with hairspray, I started to flick Fullers Earth at the lid to give a general covering.
 
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After letting the hairspray dry for a bit, it was then time to brush of the loose earth.
 
Essentially, the process is then repeated and repeated, mixing in different shades of earth at different times, and focusing in areas where dirt would naturally build up over time.
 

 
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Next round:
 
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Now, at this stage I decided to do another round of hairspray and darker earth, then attempted some wet sponge dabbing..... I went a bit heavy!!!
 
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Well - as it was heavier than I had planned, and my first attempt, I decided to have another go. I took the lid out to the garden and literally washed off all of the weathering with the hose!
 
I started the process again and was a lot more careful with damp paper towels his time.
 
Here’s some picture from along the way.
 
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And now for the finished lid.
 
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Overall, I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I set out to make a naturally dirty looking sandie, hence using Fullers Earth and weathering powder, to get a textured look, and am pleased with the results. Hopefully to photos do it justice.
 
Enough from me - thanks for reading.
 
Dan :-)
 
 

Edited by CableGuy
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26 minutes ago, CableGuy said:

I’m following your sandie build with interest, too. :-)

It`s ready for submission pics but I´m in no hurry so I`ll play more with the weathering :)

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Nice work, Dan. I’m agonizing over the weathering. I’m going the paint route because I have it in my head that the Fullers Earth will rub off and I don’t want that. Especially if I get the pattern right - I don’t want to do it again. I do like the subtle look that the powder gives. Maybe a final coat of powder once I have the pattern right... hmmmm. 

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6 hours ago, wook1138 said:

Nice work, Dan. I’m agonizing over the weathering. I’m going the paint route because I have it in my head that the Fullers Earth will rub off and I don’t want that. Especially if I get the pattern right - I don’t want to do it again. I do like the subtle look that the powder gives. Maybe a final coat of powder once I have the pattern right... hmmmm. 

 

Thanks, Greg. Maybe reach out to Mike (TK4510 on here) and see how that method holds up. He shows his trooping sandie in the video so I’m guessing, if you seal it well enough, it’ll hold up quite well to trooping. 

 

3 hours ago, Harbinger said:

Nice work. Going to build a full TD any time soon?

 

Thanks, Brien. Probably not until my RWA armour is showing signs of yellowing or damage. Whilst I’d love to buy another kit, I have my eye on a different character at the moment so my funds will be going in that direction. 

If anything, I’d probably rather do some light weathering to my TK, like Tino (T-Jay) did with his as I  love, love, love the look of it - however, not sure I could get away with that for trooping. 

 :)

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As always, great work mate. I'm sure I'll be using this as a resource when I go sandy further down the line default_wink.png

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Cheers, Tom. That’s very kind. :-)


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