[TBFKAHG]

So, I found some old Bell Ballistic helmets on closeout ($30) and figured with the lack of graphics they would make great candidates for painting. So I ordered 3 mediums but it turned out they only had 2 left so that's what I got.

In my haste to start painting them apparently I neglected to sand one of them and all my hard work is going ot have to be scrapped.
It's a shame too because the basic design looked quite promising and I would have really liked to see the end resutl:

2 brand new, plain white helmets:

And as soon as Istarted removing tape I quickly realized my error:

All those ugly spots are places where the paint peeled off all the way to the original clear coat

But on the plus side my Green Lantern helmet is off to a good start. Just need to outline the emblen in black and the rest of the white will be outlined in silver:

I don't think i have to worry about anyone else having a helmet that looks like mine.

 

[dogwonder]

That's awesome...what was the third going to be?

 

[sneakysnake]

those are probably the sweetes helmets i've ever seen. did you just use spray paint for them?

 

[Changleen]

The Green Lantern one is pretty cool.

 

[TBFKAHG]

That's awesome...what was the third going to be?

Most likely Batman. I actually had started on another one that was supposed to be Batman but I did some detail work on it first that came out really cool and I thought might detract from the batman theme so I decided to save that for later (not too mention the helmet was actually a bit too large).

 

[TBFKAHG]

those are probably the sweetes helmets i've ever seen. did you just use spray paint for them?

No spraypaint here, using an airbrush and AutoAir Colors. Ant thanks for the kind words, I'm definitely no artist but I seem to have a good instinct for taping out patterns freehand. I have to let Shay do the cutting of the stencils because I definitely don't have the steady hand and patience for that type of work that she does (of course she's been doing paper cuts for years and years now so she has a bit of a head start on me there).

 

[dogwonder]

Most likely Batman. I actually had started on another one that was supposed to be Batman but I did some detail work on it first that came out really cool and I thought might detract from the batman theme so I decided to save that for later (not too mention the helmet was actually a bit too large).

If you get another helmet, you should have a poll to decide who it would be. I would go with Aquaman or the Flash. Or you could go for the Hanna-Barbara superheroes like Space Ghost, Captain Caveman, or my personal favorite, the Blue Falcon.

 

[TBFKAHG]

If you get another helmet, you should have a poll to decide who it would be. I would go with Aquaman or the Flash. Or you could go for the Hanna-Barbara superheroes like Space Ghost, Captain Caveman, or my personal favorite, the Blue Falcon.

Have to finish out the Justice League before I move on to other franchices. The Flash is definitely slated as beign in the next batch (after I redo the superman one of course since I need that one to match my jersey)

 

[dirtydirtysouf]

sweet looking brain buckets

 

[Changleen]

Batman is going to be hard without looking corny.

 

[SBDHrida]

Are you hoping to gain any abilities from your new superhuman helmets? If so, I would have made the Superman one a dirt lid (for enhanced flying powers) and made a Flash helmet for racing.

 

[jaydee]

In brightest day, in darkest night,
no evil shall escape my sight.
Beware the power--Green Lantern's light

Sweet helmet. Now as long as you don't run into anything made of wood like, say, a tree.........

 

[kinghami3]

Most likely Batman. I actually had started on another one that was supposed to be Batman but I did some detail work on it first that came out really cool and I thought might detract from the batman theme so I decided to save that for later (not too mention the helmet was actually a bit too large).

That will be sweet.

 

[Echo]

You should try some liquid masking film like MasterMask or Bob Dively. Stuff is awesome for detail jobs. You can get it at sites like www.towerhobbies.com

 

[DRB]

Where's the wok?

 

[habitatxskate]

there is no way i would have the patience to do that.

 

[TBFKAHG]

Where's the wok?

To the left of the Kettle

 

[TBFKAHG]

You should try some liquid masking film like MasterMask or Bob Dively. Stuff is awesome for detail jobs. You can get it at sites like www.towerhobbies.com

Awesome, thanks for the tip. I will definitely try that out on the next helmet.
One question though, is it transparent enough that if I lay out a pattern with thin tape and spray over that I'll be able to see the tape? I currently use that technique for freehand patterns but use this large roll of masking tape over the thin tape.

 

[TBFKAHG]

there is no way i would have the patience to do that.

I'm usually not the most patient person myself but I'm finding that I really enjoy painting helmets. I wish we had a better environment to work in becausee all the cat/dog hair, and dust definitely make it impossible to get a really professional finish. And it's just too damn hot (and humid) in the garage.

 

[Echo]

Awesome, thanks for the tip. I will definitely try that out on the next helmet.
One question though, is it transparent enough that if I lay out a pattern with thin tape and spray over that I'll be able to see the tape? I currently use that technique for freehand patterns but use this large roll of masking tape over the thin tape.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying there (probably because you're way more talented with this stuff than me).

But you shouldn't need tape with this stuff. It's like a hazy see-through. You can layer it. The main thing is you need a VERY light touch with an exacto knife so you can cut the masking film without scoring the helmet. Might be a good idea to try it on something besides a helmet the first time

 

[TBFKAHG]

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying there (probably because you're way more talented with this stuff than me).

But you shouldn't need tape with this stuff. It's like a hazy see-through. You can layer it. The main thing is you need a VERY light touch with an exacto knife so you can cut the masking film without scoring the helmet. Might be a good idea to try it on something besides a helmet the first time

Ahh, you see, what i do is I take this 1/8" detailing tape and use that to lay out my pattern (be it a pin stripe, flame outline, whatever). THen I lay down masking tape and cut on top of the detailing tape and remove the masking tape over the areas that are to be painted.

I like this technique for a couple of reasons. Once the detailing tape is down I can get a good idea of what it will actually look like when finished (the green lantern helmet was originally going to be white pin stripes but after I laid out the tape I could tell it would look better if I filled in the whole area with white). The other advantage is that it gives some extra protection when cutting since you would have to cut through both the masking tape and the detailing tape to actually damage the surface, and the detail tape is fairly thick so it hasn't been an issue yet.

It sounds like I could use the same technique with liquid mask in lieu of the masking tape which will make things go even that much smoother.

Here is an example of what I'm talking aobut:
Taping out the pattern:

Masking over the pattern:

Cutting away the white space: