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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 6:49 pm 
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Are you shooting these with an airbrush?

I compared a BMW pearlescent gray to the Duplicolor T-177, and I found that the BMW paintjob was of a much, much finer granularity of metallic particles, while the Duplicolor spray can produced very grainy particles.

Your photos seem to show a very fine grain. Could you post an outdoor shot and zoom in tight to show the granularity?

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:57 pm 
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By all accounts I did a crap job, I got out the can of spray and just gave a couple of quick coats to see if it was the correct colour. It's far from a pro job. As I said if you have the right equipment and are experienced with spraying then the results are pretty good. As for the grain it looks heavy as I sprayed heavy coats but on the masks which were done professionally the grain is somewhere in the middle, not really that fine and not over heavy, definately nothing compared to what I had done.


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:43 am 
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... If you want to get the real ANH movie-look ... forget all your spraypaints
and airbrush stuff ... use brushes and do it by hand - :wink:


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:50 am 
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I'm going to ressurect this thread seeing as i have an ANH helmet to paint :lol
Now you may or may not be aware paint brands here in the UK are limited and i don't really want to go through the hassle of ordering paint from overseas.
Also bear in mind it's about 5am and i haven't been to bed yet i suddenly remembered i had a bunch of old humbrol enamel paints sitting in the spare room so dug them out and went through them.
All i could find that was metallic was silver No11 and alluminium No56 the silver was way too bright i could tell straight off so i had a go with the alluminium on some spare black ABS i had sitting about i thinned it down a little and used a softish brush to paint it onto the plastic in thin coats with an almost dry brush.
It looks quite ok to me but this is where i need you fellas to chime in because as far as i know it could be way off i don't have any Vader helmets to use as comparison all i have is pictures also i cannot really take any decent kind of photos which really represent the true colour of the paint properly that i have used with my camera.
So i was hoping that either someone here has tried this paint before or could test it themselves or even just tell me if it is anywhere near close

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:50 am 
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Gary, I used Tamiya Gun Metal acrylic paint on my SPFX ANH, product code is X-10 I think. It matches the paint on my Portumac very well.


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:03 am 
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Thanks Kal Tamiya is something i can get hold of here i shall give that a bash :cool:

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 10:12 am 
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The Humbrol gunmetal could be a good bet too, but it may be too dark for ANH... but you could always spark it up a little with some silver or chrome silver.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:00 pm 
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Yes, I've tried the gunmetal on the ANH for a replica sci-fi blaster project, and my goodness it's one of the nicest paints I've ever used. Once it's dried, you can use a kitchen towel to buff it up.

Tamiya's X-10 isn't bad either. It's a touch darker, if I recall correctly, than the DupliColor Gun Metal T-177.

I've also test-shot with some Kustom Kolor Black Pearl (Valspar) and it's basically black with some very fine metallic particles, but you almost don't see the metallic grains. I'm going to try again. They suggest to use a black undercoat first. I would not use Black Pearl against gloss black, but possibly to replace a gloss black. So by process of elimination, the Galaxy Gray might be better for highlights. However, it so far seems to only come in an airbrush container instead of an aerosol can.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:02 pm 
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JRX wrote:
... If you want to get the real ANH movie-look ... forget all your spraypaints
and airbrush stuff ... use brushes and do it by hand - :wink:


I'm a firm believer of that now. :salut

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 6:49 pm 
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What size of brush gives the best result for ANH armor.

chris


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:01 am 
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chris1748 wrote:
What size of brush gives the best result for ANH armor.

chris


I used the sizes 8 and 10 on my armor ... (good and expensive brushes :rolleyes )

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:06 am 
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Hi Chris and welcome to the forum! :thumbsup

Hope you find what you're looking for.

Have fun.

NOW... back to topic... :cheers

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:43 am 
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Some comments about the ANH 'two-tone' paint scheme...(Personally, I feel there are a few more than 2 tone's on Vader.)

anyway - in the late 1970's in Britain the following paints (both 'trade'
and 'domestic') were available: Humbrol, Airfix (branded), Revell, Dulux, Crown, ICI, Leyland. Remember also that 'true' metallic paints were a premium / luxury item.

I am quite confident that the lighter area's on the facemask are not strictly
gunmetal or silver for that matter (I have seen many fan painted ANH Vader's that just look silly with silver on). As is well known and documented
now the blackness of the mask was causing some issues photographicly in
camera tests. Therefore some area's of the facemask needed some highlighting in order to better define and separate the 'landscape' as it were.

Now, anyone who has ever tried to light or photograph very light or dark objects (on their own - let alone side by side) will tell you that it is near impossible to expose a very light area next to a dark one and have them
expose equally.

There is no way the mask had silver applied as once it was in front of the
camera with the studio lights on it there would have been a glow from the silver areas which would only have made the black area's darker.

Gunmetal spread thinly is a possibility.

But...in order to have a subtle break up of the mask area's the most
effective way would have been a color just off black (90% grey maybe).
Im not saying they may not have mixed in some gunmetal.

Once you have any studio lighting on a costume / prop or set the colors
are immediately changed due to the color temperature of the lamps,
any filters on the camera or gel's on the lamps. Additionaly, the quality of
the lenses on the camera and finally the substrate of the filmstock - which was CNR in the case of ANH.

Don't forget as well that Gil Taylor and Carol Ballard both used tons of lens
diffusion on the Camera's. If you don't believe that watch how anything metallic (r2, 3po etc) 'glows'. Now see if Vader's mask 'glows'


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 Post subject: Re: Gunmetal paint for ANH Vader?
PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:24 am 
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I'm resurrecting this mummified thread just to see if there is any greater consensus now two years later. I'm looking at paints for my SPFX ANH helmet and I just don't see anything that captures the look as well as I'd like. Maybe the problem's in my mind (or my mind's eye) but I'm afraid I'll have to resort to a custom mix. Any new developments? Has anyone seen any pre-mixed paints that look like the graphite that Jez mentioned seeing on the ANH Tie helmet he photographed?

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 Post subject: Re: Gunmetal paint for ANH Vader?
PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:22 am 
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The problem with the ANH is that it's a crappy, uneven application, BY BRUSH, that throws people off. The black shining through, making the gunmetal look darker than it actually is, and if not mixed properly, stirred, it will paint on less metallic shiny and turn out more grey - which could explain that graphite look. Also... old metallic paints fade in luster over time, so you cannot be certain the look of the paint you see on the prop now is as it was on screen.

And seeing as metallic paints weren't really so abundant back then, it'll make sense to look for brands that had metallic paints available back then that also the most minimal amount of prep and finishing work and are easy to get anywhere.

Regardless of whether it's the actual paints used or not, I'm going to experiment with Hammerite paints this summer and will most likely paint my helmets with that.

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