Black Series Darth Vader Helmet Mod Thread!

did it rain there? It rained here!

It certainly did!

Stupidly I fell into the trap of trying to rush the painting yesterday while the weather was good. The end result is that I got the black paint on perfectly then mucked up the clear coat and got a run down the front of the dome. I was furious. :mad:

Now I'll have to wait for it completely harden before I can rub down that area and recoat it. That'll be a week at least. More haste, less speed. :(
 
It certainly did!

Stupidly I fell into the trap of trying to rush the painting yesterday while the weather was good. The end result is that I got the black paint on perfectly then mucked up the clear coat and got a run down the front of the dome. I was furious. :mad:

Now I'll have to wait for it completely harden before I can rub down that area and recoat it. That'll be a week at least. More haste, less speed. :(
You get any thing done yet or is still hardening?
 
Got the paint run sorted at last and have started to polish the dome. I need to get some filler on the inside of the dome to smooth out and disguise the edge of my extension piece but I'm pleased with how this has turned out so far. I still plan to have a bash at thermo-forming some red lenses at some point, but that's for another day!

You'll have to excuse the unnecessarily elaborate stand. It's a tall candlestick and doesn't really suit a Sith Lord, but it was the only thing I could find big enough to support the helmet for the photos!

BS-2.jpg
BS-1.jpg
BS-3.jpg
 
I know I'm late to the party, but I've scanned all the posts and I see people using Duplicolor paint—I was always under the impression that enamels and lacquers won't dry properly on plastic. Am I missing a paint type?
 
Got the paint run sorted at last and have started to polish the dome. I need to get some filler on the inside of the dome to smooth out and disguise the edge of my extension piece but I'm pleased with how this has turned out so far. I still plan to have a bash at thermo-forming some red lenses at some point, but that's for another day!

You'll have to excuse the unnecessarily elaborate stand. It's a tall candlestick and doesn't really suit a Sith Lord, but it was the only thing I could find big enough to support the helmet for the photos!

View attachment 1017518 View attachment 1017519 View attachment 1017520

Absolutely AMAZING job!!! I was on the fence about wanting to get into modding the dome on my helmet but damnit I think this convinced me to go for it. Seriously excellent work!
 
I know I'm late to the party, but I've scanned all the posts and I see people using Duplicolor paint—I was always under the impression that enamels and lacquers won't dry properly on plastic. Am I missing a paint type?

Yep, I used Duplicolor on mine and had no issues with the paint adhering to the raw plastic. I just wiped everything down really well with rubbing alcohol and a microfiber towel before applying the paint.
 
Absolutely AMAZING job!!! I was on the fence about wanting to get into modding the dome on my helmet but damnit I think this convinced me to go for it. Seriously excellent work!

Thank you DarkLyte! Having seen the quality of your work that means a lot coming from you. Much appreciated.

I too was unsure whether to leave the dome well alone, but I'm glad I didn't, it's made a massive difference.

I know I'm late to the party, but I've scanned all the posts and I see people using Duplicolor paint—I was always under the impression that enamels and lacquers won't dry properly on plastic. Am I missing a paint type?

Can't say I've heard of that problem. I used an acrylic car paint on my helmet (Hycote) over both bare plastic and primed surfaces and it worked beautifully. Speaking of which, if a surface is primed properly then you should be able to use almost and type of paint over it.
 
Got the paint run sorted at last and have started to polish the dome. I need to get some filler on the inside of the dome to smooth out and disguise the edge of my extension piece but I'm pleased with how this has turned out so far. I still plan to have a bash at thermo-forming some red lenses at some point, but that's for another day!

You'll have to excuse the unnecessarily elaborate stand. It's a tall candlestick and doesn't really suit a Sith Lord, but it was the only thing I could find big enough to support the helmet for the photos!

View attachment 1017518 View attachment 1017519 View attachment 1017520
any new Updates?
 
No. Calling this done for now. I'll come back and slap some filler around the inside to disguise my extension piece at some point but, for now, I've had enough! :D
 
Hello
I am very impressed with the job I have seen here.


I am a beginner but I have bought a Black series Vader helmet, and I
want to try to improve it as you have done. However, I have some questions.

I understand that when gluing plastic it is very important with the right glue.

Which plastic is the helmet made of?

What kind of plastic sheet do you recommend that I use?

Which glue do you recommend?

Regards
 
Sorry for the late reply, I'm away on holiday at the moment. I used ordinary styrene sheet (also known as plasticard here in the UK) and EMA Plastic Weld glue. This is the type of glue that's water thin so you hold the two parts together then run the glue in by capillary action using a brush. It works by melting and 'welding' the two items together. Other plastic model glues like Revell Contacta will also work fine but will dry slower.
 
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Stephen, In addition to using the Plastruct to welding the pieces together, what brand filler did you use to fill in and sand down the seems? I'm in the U.S. -- thanks!
 
Stephen, In addition to using the Plastruct to welding the pieces together, what brand filler did you use to fill in and sand down the seems? I'm in the U.S. -- thanks!
Hi VaderFan,

I'm in the UK so not sure what your equivalent would be but I used a combination of Holts car spot filler Holts Cataloy Knifing Putty | Car Scratch Solution for 'bulk' filling and Humbrol model filler for finer finishing. Both are the type of filler that melt the surface of styrene very slightly - that's how they stick. Not sure what's in them, toluene maybe?

I was concerned with the dome skirt that completely rigid filler could crack with the flex of the plastic, but this seems pretty robust so far.

Sorry, I don't know if those brands are available in the US but hopefully that helpful.
 
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