I finally figured out how to upload images to the forum, so I decided to finally start sharing progress here! I'll update this whenever I make substantial progress on my Flo Brin bucket.
This was one of the og pieces of concept art for Flo's helmet. I thought Jaig Eyes would look really cool with the other pattern behind it. The concept pieces have progressively gotten better the further I build on her character, so look out for some more concept art of her!
(Helmet was printed by a fellow Yustapir clan member! Files are by Marko Makaj.)
(A sad sunset setting the mood for hours of torture- I mean sanding.)
Not shown is all of the back and forth I did with the filling and sanding.
I mainly used bondo glazing and spot putty in the beginning; but as the filament lines got shallower, I opted to use wood putty.
I'm using uv resin to smooth out my gauntlets, the wetsanding method a friend showed me killed my poor wrist! Fortunately I have a 3d printing friend nearby and he spotted me some uv resin (I have a uv light). He's also uv printing the rangefinder, back vent, and earcaps for me to sharpen everything and pull it together.
Anyways, there has actually been quite a bit of progress since the last pic shown, it's pretty much ready for paint, just getting nitpicky here and there and am waiting on the uv resin printed parts. For paint I'm using the Montana Black series! I shall share what those colors look like as soon as I swatch them! Stay tuned for more!
Update: 6/17/2021
Finalized some concept art for Flo's bucket! I wanted to add a little bit of Mando'a transcript to the back, it's means "vindicator". I used the 3d model that my bucket was printed from as reference to create this turnaround sheet for her bucket. The model is by Marko Makaj, or mmmmystery on Instagram.
Update: 7/4/2021
I'm unsure if I've mentioned it, but a local 3d print friend saw me struggling with the parts and asked me if they could just resin print them. They said it'd make the end product look all the more cleaner and sharper. And boy were they right!
All of the extra parts were reprinted by a friend who had a resin printer (Mr. Marko Makaj was kind enough to let me purchase the files and have my friend use them to resin print the parts). The reason they were reprinted is because my friend, an absolute detail maniac and fellow Star Wars fanatic, wanted to try uv resin printing them. And who am I to say no? The stalk remains printed in PETG because the resin was too weak and kept snapping.
The backvent did crack from a fall, but it will be easily fixed with a little bit of uv resin and a uv light. Fortunately the backvent is in a spot with no flex, so the risk of it cracking again is lower than if it were a rangefinder piece. The bucket remains as the same bucket printed by the same fellow Yustapir clan member as before!
I really love how this piece came out. Mind you, this has zero prep work done, it is straight off the printer. I only have a little bit of sanding to and maybe a little filling, but not much! I really appreciate my friend, they definitely saved me quite a bit of sanding time! Also, this is ABSOLUTELY optional, you do not need to have resin printed parts in order to have a smooth, beautiful end product.
The back vent also printed really nicely, it's so sharp and smooth! The crack is barely noticeable, but I'd rather be safe than sorry and just fix it while it's small and unnoticeable.
A good example of just how much sanding is reduced with resin printing. There aren't very many "steps" to take care of, mainly just a few lines here and there and some resin drips. I'll share some more progress on my bucket soon! I have a deadline to get most of my Mando fleshed out before the 30th, so there's hopefully gonna be a lot of progress coming up quick.
Update: 7/16/2021
So the stuff of nightmares happened to my bucket tonight. It dropped and it cracked straight through to the inside.
Never fear though! I stayed calm and fixed it! All it took was super glue, patience, sandpaper, patience, filler/primer, and resin!
Fortunately for me, it was a pretty
small crack, one that also happened to match up
really well (i.e. nothing broke off), so there actually wasn't much hiding work for me to do.
I glued it back together with super glue and sanded the front of the ridge down using my filing needle and 220 grit sandpaper. I whipped out my trusty can of filler/primer and gave the problem spot a couple of layers. I went back in with 400 grit sandpaper and gently sanded, contouring the fracture as best as I could. I patiently switched from filler/primer to sanding until finally the crack was no longer visible! The last thing to do is to reinforce the back of where the crack was to make the weak point a little stronger.
Fixed! I try my best to stay with filler/primer and sanding for shallow blemishes. Bondo spot putty is great, but should be used as sparingly as possible when it comes to shallow marks. That's not to say that you
shouldn't ever use it, just use your best judgment when it comes to nitpicking and don't go overboard! It's way easier to add to something rather than take away from it. Now to
NEVER drop it again!
Also... I redesigned my bucket!
AGAIN . Proof of concept, amiright?
Ditched the Jaig Eyes, they're super cool, but I don't feel like Flo has done anything to earn them, ya know? She'll earn them one day though. Character development!
Update: 7/22/2021
After a lot of trial and error , I finally have an earcap attached! The files printed use screws to attach the earcaps for easy travel and cleaning. Now originally the screw size was M4s, but I did not take into account that since the helmet was sized down, so would the screw holes. So I spent a while trying to find screws that would fit, until one day I had the bright idea to purchase a manual drill set. It worked! I was able to make the holes big enough for M4 screws to go through.
Please remember that if you scale down and your print requires hardware to assemble, that the hardware holes will also scale down. Either modify the hole to be bigger or find hardware that's suitable!
I'm actually working on the rangfinder side of the earcaps right now. Trying to figure out how to modify the holes to also house some small magnets so that the rangefinder can't randomly fall down. I'll definitely share how I did it if I succeed!
I promised paint swatches a while back, didn't I? Better late than never.
My choice of colors are from Montana, specifically the Black line of paints (with an exception of a Metallic Effects can of paint). They're labeled in the picture so I don't want to be redundant and label them again.
(Ignore the blemishes, I may or may not have absolutely dropped them on the floor while they were still tacky.)
I also can't really decide whether I like Beast instead of Punk Pink. (The darker shade seen in both pics is Imperator)
This is the base pallete using Punk Pink instead of Beast.
I actually prefer the Punk Pink over Beast, but my main problem is that I'm gonna lose a LOT of saturation when I weather it, and Punk Pink is actually a little desaturated as is. But Imperator is already so dark and the bucket now has a lot of that secondary color going down the middle now. So Punk Pink might actually balance out that color shift a bit and make it less jarring. The grey is also gonna be Metallic Effects instead of a matte grey, so that might make it more eye catching. I'll do some more tests
This is a little gif of how wetsanded Metallic Effects silver looks with a light coat of silver Rub 'n Buff on it. It's spotty and speckly, but that's because I didn't warm my can before using it.
I'm spending some time experimenting with the Montana paints before I hit my kit with color because I originally was not confident at all with the paints. You can't really just spray it on like Krylon or Rustoleum, it's a super pigmented paint so the pigments settle and make the paint clunky if you don't prep the can really well first.
I have found that the best way to lay down Montana paints smooth is warm up the cans in warm (not hot) water for 5 minutes, then shake for a minute or so, put it back into the water for another 5 minutes, and shake it for another 2 minutes. Usually you warm a can for like 10 minutes then shake for like 3, but for me doing it like this helped the paint mix super well. Also, turn the can upside down and prime (clear) the cap before you paint. I'd suggest priming a Montana can between layers. Just shake it for a minute, no need to do the whole prep ritual all over again if it's only been sitting for ten minutes. Just make sure you prime that cap between layers!
(Also, buying new spray caps. I was told that the standard ones you get with the can actually suck, and that the custom tips you can purchase make a HUGE difference. Boy were they right!
Level 4 soft fat cap . Buy 10, then they're 39 cents each. Trust me. You'll thank me later!
I'll share the process on how I actually prepped my surfaces and got it smooth later on if I'm happy enough with my outcomes!
Update: 7/25/2021
I officially have just 5 days left to finish this helmet, it's just a little bit terrifying! But with all of the major work done, I think I can do it! It won't be the end of the world it I can't get it done; Above all, I want to take my time and put my best work in. It would just
really suck and
really bum me out.
So here's what the helmet looks like right now. My Ruus says I'm ready for paint after I sent a full turnaround. There are a few spots that will bug me for all of eternity if I don't fix them, so I'll just nitpick those and give it a final layer of primer and wetsanding. Also gonna work on the interior and get everything all ready for the hardware to be installed. I finally got up the courage to coat the interior in resin to protect the weak spots (cheeks, the crack, top of the dome, the point of the visor).
I used the same resin I used on my chest armor, it was the 20 dollar kit from Bondo found in most hardware stores, auto shops, and in Walmart. Fortunately since it's the interior, I don't have to sell my soul to sanding for another eternity. You'll notice that the back of the helmet doesn't have any resin, that would be because I ran out mixed resin and it started it to rain.
The top of the dome was filled with body filler because the raw print was really rough and I found that I'd rather just fill it in and not have to sand away more filament than I have to. Imagine how horrible it would be to drop your bucket only to have the whole top of the dome split because you sanded too much and made it too thin.
Anyways, after I'm done with the resin I'll probably paint the interior a uniform color because this is just too jarring for my eyes.
Also gonna line the parts that make contact with skin in neoprene fabric that can be removed via velcro. Neoprene is a synthetic rubber commonly used to make wetsuits, it's also highly insulative making it great for regulating temperature, warm or cool. Combined with the helmet fans, neoprene, and cool compresses (not ice, mind you), I'm confident I won't die because I wore my helmet for more than 5 minutes.
I'll be explaining how I plan on keeping cool for cheap in another thread, but it does have a medical explanation and is used to prevent and treat heat exhaustion.
Next time I update I'll hopefully have the interior ready to go! Excited to share more soon!
Update: 7/27/2021
I finally did it! I have officially begun painting my bucket! The long and grueling process of filling and sanding is
finally over; atleast it is for this bucket.
I built up a final 2 layers of filler/primer:
And
wetsanded it with 600, 800, and 1000 grit wetordry sandpaper:
Then finally it happened! The weather was compliant and everything with a humidity hovering right between the reccomended 40%-50%.
I primed my can of Montana Metallic Silver and laid down a first coat of paint!
Ugh, it's just so pretty! I'm very happy with how the silver went down. If anyone has problems with the pigment separating and being patchy, turn it upside down and shake suuupppeeerrrr often. I found that the pigment settles uber fast. Honestly you might be playing with the can like it's a maraca more often than actually getting to spray any paint.
I also got to sand and paint the parts! The earcaps will remain silver, because I like silver and it looked good on Katan's bucket.
Everything got two total coats of metallic paint. Tomorrow morning, when the paint is cured, I will wetsand it and go on to adding a new color and blocking out my weathering with masking fluid!
Update: 8/12/2021
Oya! I did it! I finished my bucket by my 7/30/2021 deadline! I've been taking a short break from my mando because that spurt of con crunch style creating burned me out. It was a Star Wars event at a baseball game (not associated with the MMCC) that I had been really excited to attend.
I did what I was talking about and let the metallic paint finish curing before I wetsanded it with 1000-2500 grit wetordry sandpaper. So shiny in person, this photo does not do the irl shine justice!
It was masked off with Delicate Surface Painter's Tape by
Frog Tape and 3mm masking tape by
Tamiya . I color blocked the weathering in with
Maskol , I used 2 layers of it and sponged+brushed it on. I decided to stray from my concept art just a little but and made the bottom part of the cheeks silver instead of dark magenta.
I did the can prep routine and put down a layer of Punk Pink. After about 15 minutes, I unmasked it. As you can see, the paint didn't go down as smoothly as the metallic paint did.
However, it proved to be an easy fix with wetsanding. I wetsanded through 800-2000 grit wetordry sandpaper, thoroughly rinsing the extra pigment off with a wet paper towel, then finally polishing it with a soft cloth.
Bam! No more texture!
The back of it at this point in the process.
After all of that it was tine to remask it and lay down the final color, the dark magenta, aka Imperator. THIS took forever, like two hours of masking? Eugh...
It is also worth noting that where possible, I put paper towel underneath the tape to minimize the tape's contact with the paint. It worked well!
Unmasked! (Don't mind me prematurely trying the visor on, haha.)
I used Maskol again btw! This time I sponged+brushed it on leaving a noticeable gap between the two paints. Paint is layered, so going for a layered look with the paint chipping adds some realism.
This is the final product of the back of my bucket. It is weathered using the Maskol method and blackwashes until I was satisfied. To get the Beskar shiny again, I used Rub 'n Buff in Silver Leaf, using the same method I shared above when I showed my paint tests.
The Mando'a on my bucket seen in my concept pictures will be added when I add the Mando'a to the rest of the kit. A voice amp will eventually be added, I decided to save that for last seeing as though I hate the sound of my own voice. Will also be using some neoprene to pad some parts and will coat the interior with
PlastiDip , a rubber coating used to coat things like tire rims. It is also useful for some added insulation, albeit not much, but everything counts when you want the temperature to not be extreme in your bucket.
Speaking of helmet interiors, this is what
mine looks like so far.
The interior hardware links:
Fans:
TrooperTronix My fans came with a rechargeable battery pack that has an auto shutoff timer. On/off switch for fans:
TrooperTronix I reccomend getting the on/off switch, it is REALLY useful during troopings! Visor:
KalevalaVisors Prism effect in "plum" Visor installation:
LToyCreations I really like these because it makes taking the visor on and off super easy and convenient. Suspension:
Hardhat suspension I reccomend getting one WITHOUT the rachet, it saves space. Update: 6/10/2023
Take note from past me and don't use superglue to fix cracks in high contact, or structurally weaker areas. It is too brittle for that. Using something, like exoxy, which has a much greater pull force, is much more preferable. I did this repair a few weeks ago, but I only startef updating the forums again as of a few days ago.
This recracked only a week after completion when it took a very light knock at that Star Wars event. I was so disheartened, and at this point feeling the effects of a diseased gallbladder, so I didn't actually fix it until a few weeks ago. I used JB Weld to fix the crack again, which I should have done from the start. I also neglected to properly fiberglass the back of the crack the first time, so I went back and did more.
After stabilizing the crack for good, I partially sanded back the paint and used spot putty to blend it back to seamless.
It took a few passes of spot putty and blending, but it came out pretty good!
Masked off for a paint patch! It's a little tricky to blend it together with the surrounding, but I much prefer this method to sanding down the whole thing. I've used it before with great results!
Here's the finished patchwork job all weathered to match! I didn't care so much about light dimples as the weathering blended that in like it was always supposed to be there! The way I patch broken props and costume pieces nowadays is very much so inspired by how autobody shops fix dents and cracks on cars.
So here we go with a new turnaround. I did another blackwash to blend in the repair more.
Side view!
Back view!
A final comparison of my repair job to the crack! Really happy with how it came out. My helmet is once again up to standards per the CRLs, particularly the quality clause.
