3. Day, November 10, 2020


Without words...:











Thanks Stepan!

Cheers

Yeah ..well done

4. Day, November 11, 2020


Reward the effort...:








Cheers

Thx Stepan for the pic!!!

First paint the helmet and age. Then check the effect.

And in the end maybe some matt varnish, with a little brown color ...

Well'll see...


Cheers

It looks to me that the original had the text as paper hand printed then stuck on with tape..hard to think of a way to mimic, but maybe a sliver of decal carrier over the painting? Would likely silver on mat helmet paint and look the same as actual? But then I could be all wrong in what I see

5. Day, November 13, 2020


It goes on with the helmet!

But let's take a closer look first.

These things looked like this from the factory - although the color could vary greatly depending on the manufacturer, region and availability ...:



Our friend doesn't wear a brand new helmet, but one that has already had a long "life" behind him, that has been scratched, scuffed and painted over dozens of times, as you can see here ...:



Here are a few more such specimens ...:







Regular rust is rare - unless it is found in the ground!

All of this must now be imitated in a picturesque way!

To do this, I first took these tools ...



... and wildly scratched the little resin helmet ...:





Then it is painted - with these colors ...



... where I don't paint but dab wet on wet, always different mixtures next to and on top of each other.

Incidentally, light and shadow are gradually worked out in this way ...:





Tomorrow the seven rivets and a few scratches and scrapes will be treated with color - but I'm pretty happy with the overall picture ...


Cheers

6. Day, November 14, 2020


Today I finish the helmet - it will age!

My color palette is growing by "Steel" and "Light Flesh ...:



The scratches and other damage to the helmet are initially laid out with a much darker color than their respective surroundings, next I then put a much lighter line in each case to create optical depth.

A few damages that go through to the steel of the helmet are shown with "Steel".

In addition, the most stressed part of the helmet, the beaded edge, has a very thin "steel" coating all around.
This effect is very subtle and only shows up in direct light - but it is absolutely necessary for a realistic representation.

Do the last pass with two thin glazes exclusively with brown tones!

This takes back the very strong effect of the scratches - and creates a little more color confusion on the helmet, giving the impression of an old and heavily used piece that has been repainted many times.

The last thing I do is "age" the two lettering.

For this I use pastel chalk, which is carefully rubbed into the lettering with an old brush. A little lighter in the middle, a little darker towards the outside, in order to also take into account the curve of the helmet.



I am very satisfied with the result - even if the helmet looks much greener in the pictures than it actually is! This is a result of the artificial light I have to take photos with today because the clouds here once again reach down to earth ...









Cheers

Love the way this is coming to life. Such dedication to painting a helmet.

7. and 8. Day, November 16 and 17, 2020


I took a friend's advice to heart, went through the helmet again, and with a piece of foam ...



... dabbed on different color mixtures again.

This takes the scratch effect back a little, but doesn't completely cover it ...:









That looks clearly better than before.

Then I start with the head

First of all, a ridge must be ground away in the forehead area, which will later be in the way of the later good fit of the steel helmet ...:



I do that with the "Proxxon" - no big deal ...:




Then the head is washed ...



... glued to a cork and also primed black ...:



I think that by working on the helmet I restored my painting motor skills, which had rusted from the long break, so that I can start with the eyes.

Let's take a closer look.

Our friend is no longer the youngest, so the "white in the eye" is no longer "white" with him, but goes strongly into the reddish (bloodshot) - in the corner of the eye even into the red ...:



So I took these colors for "the whites of the eye" ...:



The irises have a fairly light gray-blue tone. For me - these colors mean ...:



Actually I should just paint one eye properly, our friend covers the other with his hand at the end ...



... but I felt like painting both eyes.

At the end there is the magical moment - through the small white reflex points on the iris, the eyes begin, the entire miniature begins to "live"!

I love this moment!






If the eyes look too bright für some of you or the color is too "gaudy", please consider:

It all happened on a black primer!
When the face is finished - and our friend has a very pale skin tone! - then nothing will "pop" anymore ...!

So much for today.


Cheers

One day I hope to be able to paint eyes like this

I seem to remember saying on another thread that you were a good painter. I was wrong - you are an extremely good painter I'm on this one.

Phil

I note your remark Martin, about that "moment" when the face comes alive. I find that too - you apply a small touch of colour or shade and suddenly there is a little person looking back at you. That, to me, is one of the highlights of this hobby. Anyone else feel that?

Phil

9. Day, November 18, 2020

Our friend has quite pale skin, the facial expression looks like a mask due to the many wrinkles ...:






I want to reproduce this impression when painting - and now the oil paints are back!

The first thing to do is to find the right colors for the skin mix. For me it has become these ...:



I think I'm right about the color and the mask-like expression - even if you can't see much besides the oil sheen at the moment ...:






Cheers