Clone Commando Helmet part 01

Before I start painting the Darth Vader armour I want to have a look around and see if i could find a local car painting place that might be able to help paint the helmet. No I will admit i did not look overly hard but I did look and could not find any place local to me. So thinking about what to do I decide to just go for it and paint it myself......

Small problem though I have never done something like this so i needed to do a test. Not something as simple as paint a small bit of wood or anything but i wanted to do a proper test. After all i learn more from doing than reading about it in a book.

A few years ago i brought a fan made Clone Commando helmet from ebay. It was a mat white not a nice shiny white like I had hoped. But it looked good on the shelf. The idea of repainting the helmet has crossed my mind on a few occasions but never had the opportunity to go ahead and paint it untill now.

On Thursday i popped in to Halfords on the way home and picked up some paint. 

Grey Primer

Red

Gloss Black

Clear Lacquer

I decided that once the weather was go enough I would go out and prime the helmet. But first there was a little filling that needed doing.

There was a small gap where the little light is so that was filled and I knew I had to cover bulb before i painted anything. I tried everything i could think of. I eventually thought to use wax. I lit a candle and waited a few minutes then place some hot wax over the bulb using a cotton bud then waited till Saturday. The thinking behind the wax is that it would be easy to take off once the helmet is fully painted. Well i hope it is. 

Saturday came and the weather cleared up the sun came out and I started priming. I will painting this over the course of two weekends. This weekend priming next Saturday painting the Red then Sunday the Black. That's the plan anyway and depending on what time i get home from work I might try and do something during the week and get this done quicker.

  

All primed and ready for painting. An updated will be done once I have finished the first colour. This should take 3 steps nothing to complicated.   

Darth Vader, Rouge One and a Retro Gaming Market

Star Wars Celebration is fast approaching and with roughly less than 100 days to go I still have a lot of work to do. Things are moving in the right direction but i am facing some parts of the build that I am very nervous about. This being the painting.... 

I have some ideas but i really don't want to screw that up. Nothing worse than a poor paint job after all the hard work that has gone in to this project. I have gone ahead and brought the two upgrades that I wanted. 

The Red Lenses look a little bright but I am hoping that once they are in the face mask with the with the mesh behind they will look darker (well fingers crossed anyway!).   

The month and chin grill and mesh look great and I am happy with how they look in the helmet. Again remember I am not going for a screen accurate look from the Movies or the Rebels TV show. It is more an mix of all the Vader's from the movies/tv and from the 70/80's Marvel comic books. 

That was not all I got. I was luck enough to get my hands on this ....

The Neck Seal for the Helmet is very cool and will be awesome edtion to the Vader Armour. It is a kit so I will have to put it together soon. You can see the difference it makes to the costume when you see guys at a Con in full armour and are missing it. Now I understand that It is not the most essential 

 thing to have as the back of the neck is normally hidden by the back of the dome. But I have always wanted one. The last few bit I have done to the armour is the last bit of filling to the Chest Box and Face Mask. 

Now that this is done I can do the final sanding and then cut out a small amount of wood to act as a lift to the dome so it sits a little higher in the mask.  

 I have a plan to get the sanding done by the beginning of May and painting should be done around the last full week of May. 

On Thursday the Rouge One: A Star Wars Story trailer was released and if you have not seen then go watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wji-BZ0oCwg&nohtml5=False&ab_channel=StarWars

Rouge One looks amazing. It looks and feels like the 1977 Star Wars and that is a good thing. It will be the icing on the cake of 2016.

July - Star Wars Celebration

September-ish -  Rebels Season 3

December - Rouge One.

So that covers the Star Wars stuff....

Last Sunday was the London Retro Gaming Market once again held at the Royal National Hotel. This was a lot better than the last one in February. This was mostly due to the fact that I got there a little late. I had hoped to get there at 11:00 when the doors open but ended getting there at around 12:30/13:00. The good thing was this meant that there was less people there and I was able to have a good look around. I picked up a few games that I was happy to get. So next time I will have to go there at the same time. 

And that was everything that has been happening. Hopefully I can do some more work on the armour over the coming weekend and once I have done that i will update here. 

Darth Vader, Star Trek and Two Cons.

So i missed all of February I do need to say sorry about that, I was ill for some of it and really busy for the rest of it. But lets get down to the important stuff. In February we had the London Super Comic Con (LSCC) and then two weeks later the London Film and Comic Con Spring (LFCC). Two Cons in one month and just after Christmas... Most people don't have the spare cash around this time of year. (I know i sure don't). So having two cons was a bit much.

London Super Comic Con

Once again the LSCC was held at the ExCel Center. I always liked the LSCC as it was no where near as full and over crowded as the London Expo but this time round it felt like there was nobody around. I was surprised at how few dealers had turned up and the talks just didn't seem very interesting this year. It was a petty but i do think that with it being so early in the year that it does have an negative effect on the Con. Also I found it odd that EVERY dealer or what it felt like EVERY dealer there was selling Funko POP figures and not just a couple but the majority of the stuff there at the con was Funko Pops. Tables and tables of them..... Soon the LSCC will be a Funko POP convention. Now don't get me wrong i like Pops as much as the next guy and I own a few myself but this was crazy.

It also didn't help with having two other trade shows on at the same time. A Baby show ( Can't remember the name of it) and The London Classic Car show. This all meant that the ExCel Center was very busy and it was amusing to see all the people attending the  other two shows reactions to all the cosplayers and geeks. This meant that there was less space so the LSCC felt a little small this time round. But an enjoyable day none the less. And i of course i will be going next year.  

London Film and Comic Con

This was the first Spring convention for the LFCC. This was because they were unable to hold the Winter LFCC in 2015 so it was moved a few months to 2016. And this was a odd Con. Again not a massive turn out and i put that down to it being so early in the year. But it was more than that, There was The National Wedding Show there at the same time and i got the feeling of being pushed to one side and kept out of the way. We entered by a side door in to an open and empty hall. Me and my friend did get there late but only by 30 minuets so there should of been a queue??? But nope we walked in and straight to the door of the Con and we were disappointed with what we saw. There was not many people there and not many dealers as we walked round it felt like half a Con or we were missing something. Every So often we would over hear people say something about seeing stuff that was not in the same place we were. We didn't think anything of it and went to lunch. came back walked round again and decided to go to the toilet before we left. We couldn't find it so we asked and was told they had them upstairs. So we went up the stairs and as we turned the corner a WHOLE OTHER FLOOR! of the Con opened up...... We had no idea it was here. There was nothing posted saying to go upstairs for more. It was a lot better than I am making it out to be and i did have fun there and i am looking forward to he Summer Con.

So that was the first two Cons of the year. Not the best start to the year but the main event is happening in July with Star Wars Celebration Europe. Which brings me to the Destination Star Trek London 3. I really wanted to go to this but with the Star Wars Celebration Europe i am unable to go. Also unlike the last two this one is going to be held at the Birmingham NEC. If it was held at the ExCel Center in London like last two i would of gone but if it's in Birmingham then i would need to book a hotel and i can't afford two Cons with hotels in one year. I will try to go to the next one though. But if you are going let me know in the comments below.

Now on to Darth Vader. I have gotten quite far with it and am very near it being ready for painting. i am off work for the Easter Long weekend so i am hoping to get a lot of work done on the helmet and chest box.  

Star Treks back in the UK 2016....

So I get home from work and i'm going through my email. Nothing stands out then I get an email  titled 50 years in the making from Destination Star Trek... I opened it and it was an advert for the next Destination Star Trek convention. I didn't think anything of it until I saw it was in the UK. It had an image saying Destination Star Trek Europe and the the last con was in London, so thinking it would be in Germany or France or somewhere like that. No big deal I would have to miss it but and it is a big BUT under that it said UK Convention Announcement. What could this mean... is the next DST con going to be in London again or in one of the other major cities in the UK??? 

Ok so what does this mean for me and my line up of Con for 2016. 

London Super Comic Con 20-21 Feb

London Film and Comic Con Spring 27-28 Feb

London MCM Expo 27-29 May

 Star Wars Celebration Europe 15-17 July

London Film and Comic Con Summer 29-31 July

London MCM Expo Winter ???

Now I know i am no longer going to Hyper Japan. For the only reason that for me it has gotten worse very year and the event at the O2 was the breaking point for me and that left a space in my con calendar. So how does DST fit in. I don't know I want to go i am a massive Star Trek fan and I was looking forward to the new movie Star Trek Beyond hell i really liked the 2009 reboot movie and Into Darkness was ok not great but i still enjoyed it for the most part.... Then i saw the trailer... I did not like the trailer. I pretty much hated the trailer but i will wait till i have seen the movie before I discount it all together. And it is the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek So this is a big year for Trekkies/Trekkers... 

I think i read there was a big 50th con in Las Vegas and/or New York SO the idea of a UK convention never crossed my mind. From what i understand the UK is the third biggest consumer of Star Trek with America being 1st and Germany 2nd. I guess it would not be the first time back in 1996 it was the 30th Anniversary and there was a big convention at the Royal Albert Hall in London. So why not the 50th at the Excel Center again in London or the NEC in Birmingham. 

And yet here we are with a possible UK con i will find out on the 2nd of Feb when i think the tickets go on sale. The good thing is that it is in October so there is plenty of time to get ready for it. Here is the link to the site http://www.destinationstartrek.com/

Let me know what you think or if you're planning on going.