Hi everyone.
As I'm about to embark on the builds from my latest Yuma/Hero run, I thought I'd get a thread going to demonstrate how I go about doing it.
For anyone unfamiliar with the run, you can read up on it HERE. There's also an active interest thread HERE for anyone that's interested in getting in on the 2nd run.
Here's a shot of the parts that were supplied with the first run:
Although the Yuma and Hero are quite different visually, I'll be working on them in tandem, as the painting process will be quite similar.
Some thoughts on the Yuma:
The Yuma is known to be a solid aluminium hilt that was modelled on the V2. It was a short bladed stunt, initially created for the sail barge scenes. The V2 was present on set along with other resin stunts, but the Yuma was specifically intended for non-duelling fight scenes, where the short blade could appear to slice through Jaba's henchmen and be extended in post production.
It's my belief that when the V2 was repurposed as Luke's replacement saber for ROTJ, the prop department simply continued their long standing tradition of giving the props of the Star Wars universe an aged/used look. One of the things that makes Star Wars so great!
It wasn't until after principal photography that Luke's saber was given a back story of its own and a little more thought was given to it's appearance. When the Yuma was created, it was clearly painted to match the look of the V2.
For that reason, I'm going to be filling in whatever gaps there might be in our knowledge of how the Yuma was painted, by referencing the V2.
For the Yuma, I'm going to be using a combination of masking tape and masking fluid. I won't be masking the rings of the grenade section, as I'll be sanding these back once the paint has cured. This method has always served me well in the past. I'll be masking the transition between the paint and the metal (on the first ring) with fluid.
I'll post more details of how I go about masking the Yuma, once I get started.
Here are the Parts that I'll be using:
Some thoughts on the Hero:
Luke's ROTJ Hero is generally regarded as being the Yuma in it's current form, although it is never actually seen on screen in this configuration. I've already tackled the ISYHCANL in a previous project, so I'll be going about masking and painting the body in the same way. I'll be masking off everything but the grenade section to start with and spraying the whole grenade black. I'll then sand back the rings to reveal the metal. I'll then do the same for the neck.
The neck colour has been a problem in the past due to me being in the UK. The ACE brand isn't available here and finding a suitable colour match seems to prove difficult for most people.
The neck can look quite different under different lighting conditions, and does appear to have been repainted during it's post filming travels too.
I've colour corrected this image by removing/knocking back the environment colour, in the hopes of arriving at the correct albedo colour for the neck paint:
I've stumbled upon a promising option for UK hero builders, which I'll be trying out this time around:
It's about as close to Ace's Antique Gold as anything I've seen so far, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
Anyway, I'll keep this thread up to date with my progress. It's time I made a start while the whether's on my side!
Cheers,
Dave
As I'm about to embark on the builds from my latest Yuma/Hero run, I thought I'd get a thread going to demonstrate how I go about doing it.
For anyone unfamiliar with the run, you can read up on it HERE. There's also an active interest thread HERE for anyone that's interested in getting in on the 2nd run.
Here's a shot of the parts that were supplied with the first run:
Although the Yuma and Hero are quite different visually, I'll be working on them in tandem, as the painting process will be quite similar.
Some thoughts on the Yuma:
The Yuma is known to be a solid aluminium hilt that was modelled on the V2. It was a short bladed stunt, initially created for the sail barge scenes. The V2 was present on set along with other resin stunts, but the Yuma was specifically intended for non-duelling fight scenes, where the short blade could appear to slice through Jaba's henchmen and be extended in post production.
It's my belief that when the V2 was repurposed as Luke's replacement saber for ROTJ, the prop department simply continued their long standing tradition of giving the props of the Star Wars universe an aged/used look. One of the things that makes Star Wars so great!
It wasn't until after principal photography that Luke's saber was given a back story of its own and a little more thought was given to it's appearance. When the Yuma was created, it was clearly painted to match the look of the V2.
For that reason, I'm going to be filling in whatever gaps there might be in our knowledge of how the Yuma was painted, by referencing the V2.
For the Yuma, I'm going to be using a combination of masking tape and masking fluid. I won't be masking the rings of the grenade section, as I'll be sanding these back once the paint has cured. This method has always served me well in the past. I'll be masking the transition between the paint and the metal (on the first ring) with fluid.
I'll post more details of how I go about masking the Yuma, once I get started.
Here are the Parts that I'll be using:
Some thoughts on the Hero:
Luke's ROTJ Hero is generally regarded as being the Yuma in it's current form, although it is never actually seen on screen in this configuration. I've already tackled the ISYHCANL in a previous project, so I'll be going about masking and painting the body in the same way. I'll be masking off everything but the grenade section to start with and spraying the whole grenade black. I'll then sand back the rings to reveal the metal. I'll then do the same for the neck.
The neck colour has been a problem in the past due to me being in the UK. The ACE brand isn't available here and finding a suitable colour match seems to prove difficult for most people.
The neck can look quite different under different lighting conditions, and does appear to have been repainted during it's post filming travels too.
I've colour corrected this image by removing/knocking back the environment colour, in the hopes of arriving at the correct albedo colour for the neck paint:
I've stumbled upon a promising option for UK hero builders, which I'll be trying out this time around:
It's about as close to Ace's Antique Gold as anything I've seen so far, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
Anyway, I'll keep this thread up to date with my progress. It's time I made a start while the whether's on my side!
Cheers,
Dave