Word of advice. Don't plan to paint it all at once. Stretch things out. At least give it 1 or 2 days when you have primed it before considering laying down the gloss black.

Carsten just wondering why you think this is the best route?
I would assume so I can make sure everything is the way I want it to look and the dome mount is all right etc etc. before I paint right?

I was planning on priming it and taking pix and really looking it over for a long spell, but still trying to paint it the same day. IF everything looks right.
If this sounds like a bad idea, and it may be, then I won't though.

Thee is of course a very good chance once primed I wlll see holes and/or imperfections that need the be addressed.

Yes, it is mostly to get ALL imperfections dealt with before painting. You cannot be sure to find them all on the same day you spray it and pictures may help highlight some you haven't seen when just handling the helmet. The best route is always to not rush things. Rushing means mistakes and they can sometimes be quite costly.

Yea you are right Carsten. That is probably what i will end up doing. I will say though that the pics I have posted make the pieces look much more rough than they are. I have been extremely meticulous in cleaning these pieces up, but I am sure there is stuff I have missed. Priming I may be able to do sooner then.

I also went ahead and cut holes on the forehead of the face mask to install fans, butI don't have the fans yet, so that will delay things. I also need to find the grill stuff too as I want to have all pieces fitted to the helmet before I start painting it. This is another hurdle that I will have to jump.

My paint area (my shed lol) is a mess right now and that is where all of the halloween deco stuff is so the family is gonna want that stuff before I get to start on another Vader project out there. lol.

Hey there people sorry for the delay in any updates, been very busy and completed a few other projects since I last posted here.
Anyways got some serious prep work done, and got the primer down today. Painting will be tomorrow, and I should have it fully cleared etc., before the day is done. I have been trying to stick closely to Paul's mounting advice ( again cant begin to explain how help it has been, Thanks Paul!). Anyways here are some pics of the primed lid in its fixed position as of now.
It I dont like the position I can of course change it later so advice is always appreciated:

If you can, show a bit more of the eyebrows for the ESB look.

UPDATE: ok so several things have happened:

1) all pieces have been sprayed and cleared etc ( yes I chose to go with clear)

2) suffered severe allergic reaction to something in the base coat color layers and had to go to urgent care and get a shot in my a$$ for it lol. I thought it was funny.

3) Good results: Helmet and dome look pretty good except for a few minor flaws that I think I will be able to live with.

4) THE BAD: Armor and shoulder bells look great, EXCEPT a small amount of metallic flakes remained trapped in the gun after I cleaned it from the gunmetal so they are evident in the clear coat. The black areas look like they have been peppered with traces of glitter in direct light.

I plan to COMPLETELY STRIP these and start over . . . . . UGGGHHHHH. . . . .


OK this is where i need help:

I have a set of lenses from SPFX which I have taken extra time and care to be sure fit into my facemask, BUT they has several small scratches, so I went to sand the down with some 1500 and the hit them with some scratch remover polish and I noticed the sandpaper seemed to take off a layer of coloring on the lens?
The one i sanded is now more of a dark yellow-orange than a dark amber.

What can I do to fix this?

I really dont want to buy more as I am afraid they wont fit the helmet properly any help would be awesome!! Thanks guys!!

Mac, also thanks so much for the comparison shots. You are very right my friend. I will definitely be using your advice once I am a bit further along and will post pics! It is much appreciated

Any more updates?

UPDATE: ok so several things have happened:

1) all pieces have been sprayed and cleared etc ( yes I chose to go with clear)

2) suffered severe allergic reaction to something in the base coat color layers and had to go to urgent care and get a shot in my a$$ for it lol. I thought it was funny.

3) Good results: Helmet and dome look pretty good except for a few minor flaws that I think I will be able to live with.

4) THE BAD: Armor and shoulder bells look great, EXCEPT a small amount of metallic flakes remained trapped in the gun after I cleaned it from the gunmetal so they are evident in the clear coat. The black areas look like they have been peppered with traces of glitter in direct light.

I plan to COMPLETELY STRIP these and start over . . . . . UGGGHHHHH. . . . .


OK this is where i need help:

I have a set of lenses from SPFX which I have taken extra time and care to be sure fit into my facemask, BUT they has several small scratches, so I went to sand the down with some 1500 and the hit them with some scratch remover polish and I noticed the sandpaper seemed to take off a layer of coloring on the lens?
The one i sanded is now more of a dark yellow-orange than a dark amber.

What can I do to fix this?

I really dont want to buy more as I am afraid they wont fit the helmet properly any help would be awesome!! Thanks guys!!

ALSO . . . .

While prepping a small run in the clear on the face mask ( which otherwise looked great!) I accidentally went all the way throught to the gunmetal paint and damaged that.

So I spent 6 hours yesterday stripping the facemask . . . fun fun!

Any more updates?

Yea guys sorry for the sporadic updates. I have so much other stuff going on right now! the helmet is calling my name, but so many other things have to come first! lol
The helmet is fully painted now, after stripping and repainting everything again!!! It looks pretty good, but I think the gunmetal is too light. I have a bit of finishing work to do, and then I will add the final stuff like lenses, tusks, etc.

In this way, you can see the lack of maintenance - if any - you may want to fill out a little more. It is too difficult to decipher so busy working on the surface of what needs to be done.

Hey there guys and gals. It has been a while since I finished these but I got around to taking a few pictures and putting them up. Lots of hard work, modifications and doctor bills for this setup! Enjoy!