It may sound like a stupid question but I was thinkin' bout when you guys paint a plain steel helmet like the german "coal-scuttle" or the US "steel pot" do you shade and highlight? If so how do you do it?

In 1/35th/54mm scale by the way...

Tjena Fredrik,

Fint att se flera Svenskar har!!

When I paint helmets, I try to paint the lower part of the helmet a little darker then the top, and highlight the top part and the edges. I do this by painting the different tones, then paint a very thin line of dilluted paint that is a mix of the highlight and the shadow color so it kind of gradually gets lighter/darker. This is with Acrylics btw. Hope this is some help

Anders said:

When I paint helmets, I try to paint the lower part of the helmet a little darker then the top, and highlight the top part and the edges. I do this by painting the different tones, then paint a very thin line of dilluted paint that is a mix of the highlight and the shadow color so it kind of gradually gets lighter/darker. This is with Acrylics btw. Hope this is some help

It's a very good explanation, and easy
bye

I would definitely shade a helmet at this scale, just like with any item. Even something thin like a rifle should shaded - a dark underside and a thin highlight along the top of the woodwork really promotes the illusion of reality.

I would generally paint the entire helmet the basic colour and then slowly darken the sides with progressive thin glazes of paint (working in acrylics). You don't want to go too dark on the shadows generally. Then I would highlight with successive highlight colours, working towards a fairly light highlight on the crown. Don't forget the brim of a US helmet catches the light too so you need to subtly highlight this also but don't go as light as on the crown.

With a German helmet the front of the 'brim' (?) catches the light more than the sides because it's closer to horizontal, so I wouldn't highlight it all the same. Remember to get the finish right, early-war helmets are often quite glossy in photos so aim for at least a satin finish if appropriate. Later matt, textured paint was used although I don't know if this was universal.

Also, take the angle of the head into account, don't just highlight and shade automatically: if the head is tipped back the back of the helmet should be a little darker than the front, if it's tipped to the left the left should be darker than the right and so on.

Last thing I would add are scratches and flaked-off paint if you want. In the field helmets tend to get put down on their crowns so you can often see bare metal in these areas, generally I would paint these a dull brownish metallic - umber, black and a bit of silver for example - not a bright steel. For areas of constant wear like the edge of the brim you can sometimes see in photos that they are bright and shiny so steel followed by a bit of silver might be appropriate.

Einion

Thanks guys!

@Anders:

Tack för svaret! Jag är glad att jag har hittat hit. Om jag nu bara fick låna min polares digitalkamera så att jag kunde slänga upp lite bilder också så vore jag ännu gladare!

@Einion:

Thank you for your great response! That really cleared things up a lot! I was getting really confused by the shape of a helmet as opposed to something more simple like a wrinkle in a uniform. It's great to have a place where you can ask more experienced painters for advice (Oh, and that goes for you too, Anders :lol: )!

Once again, Thanks!


Fredrik

In my 1/35 days :lol: . I found that a very sharp silver pencil makes very effective scratches. Also, works a treat on the rims, too.

Keith