Realistic 332nd Clone Helmet Build

[Jinx667]

Recently finished this 332nd Clone helmet using a ROTS style bucket cast from Wasted Fett.

I went for a post Siege of Mandalore look, but not quite as destroyed as the one you see Vader find at the end of season 7.

If anyone is interested, I can post up step by step pics of the process.

 

[T K]

I really like this paint scheme and it looks very good on a RotS helmet. The weathering is done really well too, great job!

 

[Reel Fakes]

I agree - Very nice indeed!

 

[Jinx667]

I really like this paint scheme and it looks very good on a RotS helmet. The weathering is done really well too, great job!

I agree - Very nice indeed!

Thank you!

 

[Alcadude]

That looks absolutely amazing! How did you do the weathering? It looks really cool.

 

[Jinx667]

That looks absolutely amazing! How did you do the weathering? It looks really cool.

Thank you. I’ll post up some in-progress pics. The weathering involved a Dremel, liquid latex, exacto knife scraping, airbrushing and acrylic washes.

 

[Jinx667]

Ok, so let's start showing the build log for this one!

The raw cast looked like this:

After removing the visor area, teeth holes and cleaning up the neck, it was time to start in on the carving for this build. I used a Dremel with a couple different sized engraving bits. For cracks... PLAN them out. You cannot put it back once you carve it out, without having to fill and sand. So, use a pencil and plan it. Carve about 1/16" to 1/8" based on your material. You want it to look substantial without actually weakening your helmet. The weathering will sell it. In my mind, the brow ring and mohawk are separate pieces so the cracks do not continue onto them (they go under).

Now on this build the thing I get asked about the most is the blaster mark. I decided to do this off the cuff and made up as I went... Another case of plan your move in pencil. Think about the direction the blaster bolt is coming from, and the direction of any shrapnel. This is a brave member of the 332nd who would be facing the enemy, so the bolt hit a glancing blow and spread back, wider. Don't go too crazy here, Start small and expand as needed. The paint and weathering will really sell this. I carved mostly around 1/16" deep, with a little variation. I used the same Dremel bit as the cracks. Be wary of a heavy hand here as too gouged will look fake (or faker than a sci-fi blaster bolt...).

All of this was done before an ounce of paint. Speaking of paint...

 

[Jinx667]

Ok, now to start paining and get the main color blocks in place.

Started with a grey sandable primer followed by a flat white Rustoleum.

Next was taping off for the orange. 3M curve tape is your friend here. Cuts a smooth line and curves with no bumps.

Also added the liquid latex for paint chips.

Then time to lay down the orange and really make this a 332nd bucket!

 

[Jinx667]

Now, on to the tube stripes. I originally bought a stencil... but that went horribly and bled like crazy, so old school it is.

I used a combo of 1/4" and 1/8" tape. I cut a pice 3/16" wide to use to easily measure the width of the strips as 1/4" was too wide.

Double checked that I had the correct 9 stripes for a RoTS bucket, added a little latex for weathering, then airbrushed the blue.

Both sides done!

Now on to the greys...

 

[Alcadude]

Thats great. I love the blaster mark expecially. Thanks for the write up.

 

[Jinx667]

Blocked in the greys. I did not get pics of painting the teeth and back darker stripe.

I swear taping off this section was almost as big a pain as the orange... Also took care of the ear details. Those later got finishe off with black paint by hand.

 

[Jinx667]

Now, the REALLY fun stuff! Weathering!

First thing was to vary some of the harsh edges from the latex lines. This was done with a light hand and a very sharp Exacto blade.

Next was a first pass with some airbrush shading grey to start laying in the darker areas and grime, as well as carbon scoring (more on that later).

Used black acrylic was to darken the cracks. This to me looks more realistic than trying to had paint them.

This after another round or two of shading grey and an overall acrylic wash. Important to layer the weathering and sneak up on the right level. Easy to add, but harder to subtract...

 

[Jinx667]

Ok so let's talk about layering weathering. While time consuming, it is super important for a deep realistic look.

Warm color grime and rust are the next few layers, both done with airbrush.

For the grime, I added a couple drops of sepia to the transparent shading grey. This make sit look more than sooty and much more grimy and oily.

Also, added some rust on the ear caps. Just went for a look like something in there has rusted and the rust has run down over time.

Did more wases and a little sanding on the blaster mark.

Next, added the aerators. There are printed hollow aerators (that are hard to find...) and I just colored the grill with the chrome pen and airbrished the grime, then CA glued in place.

 

[Jinx667]

A couple fo final details to go over.

I wanted to reinforce the carbon scoring on the blaster mark and used Tamiya flat black through the airbrush to carefully add more black.

Also, I did not like how blobby the chipping looked on the tube stripes, so I carefully used the edge of a sharp Exacto to sharpen the lines.

 

[Jinx667]

And here we go, this was the painting before adding the visor and mesh.

Let me know here or in a PM if you want any more details on techniques or specific materials that I used.

 

[T K]

Simply sublime. I just love the weathering, a little goes a long way, especially when it is done this well. And the paint job besides is very clean.
Thanks for sharing your process! Very inspiring.

 

[Alcadude]

That looks great. Everything just came together so well to make a great piece. Thanks for the build write up.

 

[Jinx667]

Simply sublime. I just love the weathering, a little goes a long way, especially when it is done this well. And the paint job besides is very clean.
Thanks for sharing your process! Very inspiring.

That looks great. Everything just came together so well to make a great piece. Thanks for the build write up.

Thank you both very much! I was definitely building the plane as I was flying it here and learned a ton in the process.

 

[Gapa]

Witam hełm świetny bardzo mi się podoba jestem fanem Star Wars chciałem zapytać czy potrzebować możliwości wykonania podobnego hełmu dla mnie? jeśli tak podać cenę i czas oczekiwania. z góry dziękuje za odpowiedź pozdrawiam Dawid Gapiński