Best way to paint a helmet without using a template?

[Whiteley.m]

Does anybody have any suggestions to painting the traps with the black detailing lines on a TK helmet without the use of a template?

 

If not could you suggest somewhere I can get a template such as a PDF or a UK based store?

 

Thanks.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Whiteley.m

[Sonnenschein]

A fine brush and a steady hand?

[gazmosis[501st]]

Hey Michael: Kudos to you for going after this!! Awesome!! The black outlines are daunting for anyone. Karin hit in on the head when it comes to a fine brush but not all fine brushes are created equal. I have been handpainting my details since I started and I have found that short bristled brushes fan out and you end up with a very uneven line. Long bristled brushes(20mm or so) are the ticket. Like these.A good quality brush is also beneficial. Add a drop or so of thinner to your gloss black paint to help it flow better. Not too much, though!

When you dip the brush into the paint, you will have a drop of paint settle to the tip. make sure to dab that off. Grab a scrap of ABS and draw some straight lines with a pencil and practice until you can retain the width of the line with a single stroke. Then go for it on the helmet. NO COFFEE OR CAFFEINATED DRINKS!!!

[Whiteley.m]

Thank you for the advice. I'm going to paint the grey base layer on the helmet tonight then give the black outlines a go tomorrow. I have all the correct paints Already but I'm unsure about the quality of my brushes, I'll probably do some test lines like you suggested tonight.

 

Would you suggest using anything as a ruler to help keep a straight line or would you just free hand all of it?

[Chills[TK]]

I wouldn't use a ruler, just free-hand it. But I do suggest you outline where you want to paint in pencil, first.

 

Good luck!

[Whiteley.m]

Ok free hand it is then. If it looks any good I may post a picture on here.

 

Thanks for the advice!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You have some really good advice here, Michael..  Like Steve said, use the longer bristle brushes, as seen in his photo.  I found that cutting the very tip off the bristles will help you get a more flat look to the top and bottom of the lines, but like Steve and Chris said, draw the lines in pencil first, and practice a bit beforehand.  The good thing is, if you are not pleased with the outcome, it's only paint.  You can hit the area with gray again and start over!

[Whiteley.m]

Update to the painting: I've done the first layer of grey on all the traps and tears and I'm now waiting for it to dry before doing a second coat. I'd say it's a satisfactory job for my first attempt so far. I'm hoping to make a start on the black detailing tomorrow evening, I'll let you know how it goes.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Whiteley.m

[russellr2d2[TK]]

paint in the black first. Just worry about the outside edge is smooth. Then the gray fill leaving a thin black outline. This way you only have to worry about the outside edge of your painted line. Painting the black last forces you to paint a smooth edge on both sides of the black line.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Whiteley.m]

Oh, probably a little late for that advice now as the grey is done. Thanks anyway.

[Sonnenschein]

On my first helmet, I painted the Grey parts first, and then used a black sharpie for the outlines.

 

Worked pretty well

[Whiteley.m]

That's quite an interesting technique, I could do some test pieces on some scrap ABS and see how it comes out.

[Whiteley.m]

paint in the black first. Just worry about the outside edge is smooth. Then the gray fill leaving a thin black outline. This way you only have to worry about the outside edge of your painted line. Painting the black last forces you to paint a smooth edge on both sides of the black line.

 

I kind of used this technique tonight even though I'd already painted the grey areas. I painted the black lines quite thick making sure the outside edge was as smooth as possible, once dry I switched back to a very fine brush and the grey paint gradually thinning and smoothing out the black until I had a satisfying result. I must say I'm fairly happy with myself right now. Thanks for the help.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chills[TK]]

Also, if you over paint an area it's easy to remove the paint without damaging the plastic. Use the Testors paint thinner and a cotton-swap. Just dab the swap, with the thinner on it, on the paint you want to remove, then you can use a toothpick to gently scrape the paint off. I used this technique doing my tube stripes, and it worked well to get the curve and corners just right.

[Whiteley.m]

I finished painting my helmet last night, overall I'm very happy with it. Now I'm on to the problem of filling in a hole that was foolishly drilled by the armours previous owner!

Edited August 14, 2015 by Whiteley.m

[Chills[TK]]

Post some pics. 

 

As for the hole, mix up some ABS paste, apply, let dry, sand, repeat.

[Whiteley.m]

Hello, sorry for the slow reply. I'm still finishing off the helmet due to the ears being quite difficult to get flush. There's a small gap but i think it's almost acceptable after comparing it to the original helmets. I will post some pictures soon. when I'm done. I'm currently looking into a way of painting the tube stripes too, at the moment they're still decals but I'd like to go fully ANH authentic.

[Whiteley.m]

Oh and the ABS paste worked really well! The colour is maybe slightly different but it's patched the hole brilliantly. I need to completely sand it smooth next.

[AthenaIII[TK]]

Wow that looks amazing! Any tips from your experience?

[Whiteley.m]

I suppose I just used some of the advice from this thread coupled with lots of patience and time. It's far from perfect but I'm fairly happy with my first attempt at painting a lid.