Fettastic
Well-Known Member
This one is a personal project that will take some time as I work on it in between commission work. I figured I can start a thread though and document the process.
Here is where I'm at...
The Helmet is a Fettpride helmet that stopped being produced sometime after the FPHII became so popular. I really liked this helmet because it came pretty much as a blank slate as far as physical damage goes. I wanted to be able to add these myself using references and try and dial that in as accurately as possible to the damage seen in ESB. Plus I just really loved the size and and overall shape of it. It's a bit romanticized I think but with the right modifications I think it can be made to resemble what was seen on screen almost to the T (imho).
Raw Cast
Modifications:
The right side cheek crack - This took me two or three reiterations using bondo along with a ton of filing, sanding and elbow grease.
The upper right cheek buldge - This part turned out perfect first go around fortunately.
Left Side Check damage - I misplaced the damage by about half a centimeter so I had to bondo that up and try again.
Dent resizing - I made the dent larger and deeper while sharpening some of the inner contours.
Jaw line damage - This damage is very very small and subtle so I was careful not to overdo it.
Mandibles - These were just about 3/16" too tall in my opinion which doesn't sound like much but it really makes a difference.
Jaw line - Because the mandibles were too long the angle of the jaw line was too steep so redoing this was necessary. In addition the left side below the ear needed to be squared off and curved/blended into the jawline which is a contrast to the right side which angle into each other and blend as almost one line.
The dome - This part was not so subtle but needed to be blended to maintain the right geometrical shape. This took a lot of time and elbow grease.
Here are a couple illustrations that show the areas I modified...
(This image is before any modifications but I drew in some damage marks)
This image illustrates a side view of where I made my cuts to the mandibles, jaws and cheek area along with the flattened dome area...(this image is post dome flattening, first try left cheek damage, but pre mandible change and second try cheek damage.
Fortunately I have had two Vintage Casio MQ-1 Calculators just waiting to be used.
I've been experimenting with actual borden connectors and replicas made of aluminum and stainless steel.
From Left to Right...
Stainless Steel Borden by Machinecraft Replicas, Unknown Aluminum Borden Replica, 2 Hole Actual Borden (3rd hole drilled, edges beveled), 3 Hole Actual Borden (cut, flipped, edges beveled and painted to hide brass finish).
So far, in my eyes the best representation for this greeblie is a two hole borden with the smallest hole meticulously positioned and filed or drilled out. To use an actual 3 hole borden would be ideal but wrong in my opinion. Mainly because you have to cut and flip it, exposing the brass, and the holes are still not quite in the right location. So using a 2 hole borden and drilling out the 3rd hole maintains it's shiny nickel plating. Then all you gotta do is file the edges just a bit.
Here are the results...
Alright, so now I've added the MQ-1, and the borden greeblie. I've also installed a wireless servo with an accurate hollow aluminum stock for the rangefinder and have the visor install in place...
Now it's all installed (minus the light kit for the rangefinder, helmet cradle, and chinstrap) It's primered and ready for paint!!
Here are a ton of pictures of the work thus far...
And we are ready for paint!!!
Here is where I'm at...
The Helmet is a Fettpride helmet that stopped being produced sometime after the FPHII became so popular. I really liked this helmet because it came pretty much as a blank slate as far as physical damage goes. I wanted to be able to add these myself using references and try and dial that in as accurately as possible to the damage seen in ESB. Plus I just really loved the size and and overall shape of it. It's a bit romanticized I think but with the right modifications I think it can be made to resemble what was seen on screen almost to the T (imho).
Raw Cast
Modifications:
The right side cheek crack - This took me two or three reiterations using bondo along with a ton of filing, sanding and elbow grease.
The upper right cheek buldge - This part turned out perfect first go around fortunately.
Left Side Check damage - I misplaced the damage by about half a centimeter so I had to bondo that up and try again.
Dent resizing - I made the dent larger and deeper while sharpening some of the inner contours.
Jaw line damage - This damage is very very small and subtle so I was careful not to overdo it.
Mandibles - These were just about 3/16" too tall in my opinion which doesn't sound like much but it really makes a difference.
Jaw line - Because the mandibles were too long the angle of the jaw line was too steep so redoing this was necessary. In addition the left side below the ear needed to be squared off and curved/blended into the jawline which is a contrast to the right side which angle into each other and blend as almost one line.
The dome - This part was not so subtle but needed to be blended to maintain the right geometrical shape. This took a lot of time and elbow grease.
Here are a couple illustrations that show the areas I modified...
(This image is before any modifications but I drew in some damage marks)
This image illustrates a side view of where I made my cuts to the mandibles, jaws and cheek area along with the flattened dome area...(this image is post dome flattening, first try left cheek damage, but pre mandible change and second try cheek damage.
Fortunately I have had two Vintage Casio MQ-1 Calculators just waiting to be used.
I've been experimenting with actual borden connectors and replicas made of aluminum and stainless steel.
From Left to Right...
Stainless Steel Borden by Machinecraft Replicas, Unknown Aluminum Borden Replica, 2 Hole Actual Borden (3rd hole drilled, edges beveled), 3 Hole Actual Borden (cut, flipped, edges beveled and painted to hide brass finish).
So far, in my eyes the best representation for this greeblie is a two hole borden with the smallest hole meticulously positioned and filed or drilled out. To use an actual 3 hole borden would be ideal but wrong in my opinion. Mainly because you have to cut and flip it, exposing the brass, and the holes are still not quite in the right location. So using a 2 hole borden and drilling out the 3rd hole maintains it's shiny nickel plating. Then all you gotta do is file the edges just a bit.
Here are the results...
Alright, so now I've added the MQ-1, and the borden greeblie. I've also installed a wireless servo with an accurate hollow aluminum stock for the rangefinder and have the visor install in place...
Now it's all installed (minus the light kit for the rangefinder, helmet cradle, and chinstrap) It's primered and ready for paint!!
Here are a ton of pictures of the work thus far...
And we are ready for paint!!!
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