Luke X wing pilot helmet painting help

[matt black]

Hi everyone.
I am just about to start my Bradleyfett helmet build and have a couple of questions that I can't seem to find an answer to by doing any searches.
The cap that goes on the front of the mohawk has two vertical grooves in it. Should there be three grooves fo a Luke helmet. Also, should those be cut out?
Second question, should I paint the helmet white first or just leave it bare plastic. Last question, what is a good red and yellow to use?
I have done many searches but came up short with answers.

Many thanks for any help.

Rob.

 

[Darth Lars]

Yes, there should be three grooves in the mohawk cap, but I think that you should avoid cutting a centre groove if there is too little space in-between the existing ones.

The original helmets were not painted white. If your helmet is styrene that would turn yellow more easily, then you could paint it to make it more resistant to UV, otherwise it is not necessary.

I think that the red and yellow stripes on Luke's helmet were painted, but many of the thinner stripes on the helmets were made with coloured tape. You can find that in stores that sell RC model kits. For the grey stripe from chin to mohawk, I could not find any ready-made coloured tape that wide, so I got adhesive-backed plastic sheet and cut strips from that.

 

[matt black]

Thanks mate. That is all a great help.

 

[Supa troop]

By Not Painting it also makes the weathering much easier and better too :thumbsup

 

[matt black]

Ah, I see. In the pictures I have studied from the movie, they look like they have a bit of a dull shine. Mine is a very flat white. Can I use Novus? I have only worked with ABS before.

 

[Supa troop]

I have a BradleyFett X-Wing Helmet too, although i painited mine (custom) i believe Darth Lars has said to you to be true, there could be a number of reasons for the dull shine studio lighting etc etc

At the end of the day the option to paint or not paint is strictly down to you, as mentioned i personally wouldn't

 

[matt black]

Thanks mate. I won't paint it. I can see how the weathering will look better that way.

 

[Supa troop]

Are you intending to paint everything ? ie rebel insignia etc etc, if not there are some pretty accurate decals for sale in the JY

good luck with the build dont forget to do a progress report :thumbsup

 

[matt black]

I was going to use decals for the insignia's and sliced onions etc but paint the rest. I saw the DeLucks decal's in the JY or was thinking of using Mike Applings decalls.