Painting a 1:32 TIE Pilot?

[Millenniumf]

I've been working on my big Round 2 TIE Fighter, and I'm painting the pilot at the moment. Apart from the decals on the helmet substituting the Imperial logo with simple gray circles in my copy, it's a beautiful kit so far! However, I'm struggling to figure out a decent way to paint the pilot, specifically the helmet. I have found dozens of examples of fighter pilot painting tutorials online, and I already know how to paint dark matte surfaces in a way that calls out the details, but the glossy black helmet is stumping me. I can't give it a wash, drybrushing will just make it look weathered and old, and I don't think painting highlights on it will look right in natural lighting, so I'm at a loss as to how to call out the details on it. I didn't expect such a small area of the model to flummox me quite like this, lol! How did you paint yours?

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I haven't done one that large, usually 1/48 or 1/72. I just paint them gloss black. I couldn't think of any way to make it look better. I think some of the helmets have the vents(?) around the nose of the mask painted gray or silver

 

[Analyzer]

You can try the technique of painting in the "reflections" similar to this look

Darth Vader PDF Painting Guide

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sorastro.com

Me personally I would probably go with something similar to using a blue mixed into the black to pick out raised areas, then do some white mixed in for certain "edge' highlighting, then gloss it

 

[Millenniumf]

That sounds like a good plan. I'll give it a shot and see how it works.

In the meantime though, I'm not a fan of the decals in this set. They're *really* thick and don't want to lay down at all. Solv-a-set somehow makes them curl up, and pressing down on them basically destroyed the one on the pilot's chest. I used both chest panel decals and both of them did this. Grrr... There needs to just always be an aftermarket version of every Round 2 release. They're the most hit-or-miss part of every one of their kits. I've had decals split, be too thick, have too much contrast, disintegrate when dipped in water, etc. When they're good, they're really good! But when they're bad, they make for a really poor building experience. They also had the aforementioned problem with the Imperial logos, which is such a misstep that I wonder how it happened. I don't know why they'd be gray at all, since the logos are supposed to be white. I inquired about getting new decals with the correct print, and I hope they send me a new sheet with the right logos.

 

[Analyzer]

That sounds like a good plan. I'll give it a shot and see how it works.

In the meantime though, I'm not a fan of the decals in this set. They're *really* thick and don't want to lay down at all. Solv-a-set somehow makes them curl up, and pressing down on them basically destroyed the one on the pilot's chest. I used both chest panel decals and both of them did this. Grrr... There needs to just always be an aftermarket version of every Round 2 release. They're the most hit-or-miss part of every one of their kits. I've had decals split, be too thick, have too much contrast, disintegrate when dipped in water, etc. When they're good, they're really good! But when they're bad, they make for a really poor building experience. They also had the aforementioned problem with the Imperial logos, which is such a misstep that I wonder how it happened. I don't know why they'd be gray at all, since the logos are supposed to be white. I inquired about getting new decals with the correct print, and I hope they send me a new sheet with the right logos.

Yeah, not sure about the source for AMT decals, but they are similar to Tamiya decals in that they are usually thicker and micro sol does not help much. I find for raised detail areas like that, if you want to go the decal route, you either have to sand off the detail so it is flat, or at least mostly flat, or you cut the decal up into areas that fit better. For example that real high area on the right with the red button at the top, you would cut out that square area and apply separately from the area on the left

 

[modelerdave]

You could paint the helmet NATO black then use gloss black on the lenses. Maybe then cover the lenses with a gloss clear coat or actual drops of clear UV resin to make them more glass-like. There isn't a lot of variation to these guys.

 

[mcusanelli]

Black on black can be tricky to paint, but you can use several shades of charcoal gray, and shade with straight black. You can also mix a color into the black to change the value a bit. For instance, mixing a bit of red into black will give it a warmer tone, say for a uniform, and for leather gloves or belting, try some dioxazine purple. Try it on an old figure first. Olive green works too. You only need a little bit of the colors to change the tone so the figure doesn’t look like one solid color. Black clothes are seldom straight black, especially clothes that are washed frequently, they tend to be more charcoal colored over time. What ever color you mix in, just use that same color to highlight folds and details. Hope this helps!

 

[Antsnest]

I feel your pain with the decals. After numerous attempts I gave up and just painted the details by hand. I used a very fine micron marker pen to draw the emblem details. Didn't look great, but once he's inside you can't really tell...