TX-51923 Swampy Build

[BigJasoni[TX]]

Hey all,
The Spec Ops detachment is in my blood now. Thanks to all those who lured me in. So, I'll start with a little story and then request some help. 
A little over a year ago I was thinking about doing a Mandalorian Remnant Scout trooper, but of course I got sidetracked with other projects. But, in March of this year, my garrison squad leader posted this pic and challenged someone to build one for a potential St. Patty's day parade next year.

I'm sure someone can tell me where this came from, because I have no idea.--EDIT-- I just figured out that this is one of the Walt's Trooper Factory stickers. Lol. I must be getting lazy. Regardless, I said "why not?" and agreed to do it. So, here's the beginning of this little project:

Here's where I need some help/ guidance. I challenge anyone to search this forum and come up with a solid paint recommendation; I can't find anything. I found a few people reference the Krylon brand, but no color. Honestly, only one person (Neoakaj) mentioned a color; Krylon Fusion Satin Hunter Green. However, this color looks very dark. The other color someone told me about is Boston by Montana Gold.
I love working with Montana Gold and wouldn't mind using it, but after looking at the CRL and the two Swampys on the Specialist page, it really seems like this should be more of an Apple Green color. Also, I may be a little biased since I'm originally from Oregon, but this is the color I'd like to look for:

Yes! I finally figured out a way to put the Ducks in a 501st thread. Lol. Anyways, I need some help. Can someone please push me towards the right color.
Thanks as always, and I'll keep this WIP updated periodically.
TX-51923

[RAIDER[COTG]]

Im the worst with colors/shades but will tag @Bfknto share the color(s) he used.

Edit: He is the CRL model from the update we did not too long ago

[Bfkn[501st]]

Hi! I used this color.  Meadow Green

[BigJasoni[TX]]

1 hour ago, Bfkn said:

Hi! I used this color.  Meadow Green

Jan,
That's perfect, thanks! I was just looking at your Specialist application earlier. This might actually be a good option for me since I've already been loading it up with Rust-Oleum primer. Is that semi-gloss?

[BigJasoni[TX]]

1 hour ago, RAIDER said:

Im the worst with colors/shades but will tag @Bfknto share the color(s) he used.

Edit: He is the CRL model from the update we did not too long ago

David,
Thanks for the assist. I was looking at @Bfkn's specialist application earlier today and caught that. I am curious why there's not a Pantone "guesstimate" in the CRL though. I know matching from a video game is difficult, but I'm starting to notice a few different takes on color and weathering. My assumption is for a specialist application, there shouldn't be significant weathering. Am I right or does it matter?
Thanks again! 

[Bfkn[501st]]

50 minutes ago, BigJasoni said:

Jan,
That's perfect, thanks! I was just looking at your Specialist application earlier. This might actually be a good option for me since I've already been loading it up with Rust-Oleum primer. Is that semi-gloss?

It’s Gloss. I don’t think they made a semi or matte of this color.

[RAIDER[COTG]]

51 minutes ago, BigJasoni said:

David,
Thanks for the assist. I was looking at @Bfkn's specialist application earlier today and caught that. I am curious why there's not a Pantone "guesstimate" in the CRL though. I know matching from a video game is difficult, but I'm starting to notice a few different takes on color and weathering. My assumption is for a specialist application, there shouldn't be significant weathering. Am I right or does it matter?
Thanks again! 

The original reference is from a low res video game. (see the pinned reference thread).

Being a mudtrooper ur accustomed to the “pantones” but those are only listed in the CRL for that costume because the paint used on set and in production for muddies is known…a person in the paint department shared that information.  im not sure u will find another crl mentioning pantones in the legion…dont think any do.

anyways, If ur trying to achieve the closest-to-reference paint for a swampy, the best we can point you to is that reference thread which has screencaps of the game the character originated from.  Hope that helps answer a bit.

[RAIDER[COTG]]

i didnt answer ur other question lol.  weathering…again i would say check the references.  being a low res vid game character there is flexibility BUT the reference pics are your starting point followed by the special notes paragraph below the character pics in the CRL (see pic)

Emphasis is on the words “slightly” and “minor” tho i think if an update ever happened we could examine if those words are accurate 

Anyways here is a link to the reference thread…u should notice that the weathering is indeed white scuffing…not the black spray paint style often seen on ROTJ scouts

 

[BigJasoni[TX]]

9 minutes ago, RAIDER said:

 being a low res vid game character there is flexibility BUT the reference pics are your starting point followed by the special notes paragraph below the character pics in the CRL (see pic)

Emphasis is on the words “slightly” and “minor” tho i think if an update ever happened we could examine if those words are accurate

Again, this is perfect; thanks for the help. I must have overlooked the special notes, but everything sounds good and I'm going to go hunting for paint tomorrow.
Thanks again

[BigJasoni[TX]]

Ok. So I discussed previously that I'm kind of doing this as a fun little thing for St. Patty's day, but now that I've got things going, I'm loving it. Here's my update to finish off the weekend.
So I've mentioned this in other forums, but I'm currently waiting for my new house to be finished, which should happen next month. As a result, my typical costume building routine is really thrown off as I've been left to doing whatever work I can do out on a tiny balcony. It's working out... kind of, but it's also interfering with my ability to get a lot done. Additionally, I've been having to find odd locations to do all my painting. For this little project, I found an old parking lot at the edge of the forest and got to work.

This was after my first full layer of filler sandable. It was really starting to look smooth, so I sanded it down, added some Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty and continued the cycle. At this point, I also decided to spray the inside of the helmet with truck bed liner which has become a little bit of a tradition for my builds. Honestly, this step is probably unnecessary, but I just like how it looks.

After I got it where I wanted it, I threw a layer of white 2X Primer on the bucket and let it cure overnight. I also took the opportunity to try wet-sanding primer which I've never done before. I typically leave wet-sanding for my final gloss coat, but if I'm going to be honest, I simply left the helmet on my balcony for a few hours and it got rained on. I didn't think it would hurt anything, so I just went for it. After the wet-sanding I was left with an incredibly smooth surface which almost made me nervous that I would run into paint adhesion issues.

Regardless, I took it out to the forest with two broomsticks and a piece of aluminum I found next to a dumpster and set up a little paint rack. I laid down 2 thin "dust" coats, and 1 wet coat all separated by 10 minutes. After the first two thin coats, the paint was tacky enough that I didn't get a single run when I laid down the thick wet coat. Here's the shots:

After that final wet coat, I let the paint dry for 30 minutes then moved it back to the apartment to cure for 24 hours. Here's a decent shot of the truck liner interior.

And finally, I cut out a green lens from my left over Mudtrooper grinding shield which fit perfectly into the lens recess. I also dug out my snout greeblies (which I'll paint tomorrow) and taped them into place to see how the almost complete helmet will  look.

The last couple pieces of this build will be the decals and elevator bolts. I have some scout trooper decals, but will have to change out the nose, forehead, rear traps, and squared emblem for black ones. My "bar code" will work fine.

I'll figure out a way to make these work.

So overall, I love this helmet and I'm pretty sure this will be one of my favorite costumes. Also, I want to send a big shout out to @Bfkn for steering me towards the Meadow Green Rust-Oleum 2X. I know people have issues with Rust-Oleum, but I've had pretty good luck with their 2X brand. When I saw how this stuff looked on the helmet, I knew I made the right choice. I also sent these pics to a friend and he immediately bought some for his build, so thanks again for the recommendation.

It'll probably be a while before I update this thread, but if I'm able to do some small pieces while I'm still at the apartment, I'll post the pics.
Thanks for viewing

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Looks good! I think with Rust-Oleum it may be issues with which "plants" they are manufactured or batches is my guess. When I did my R1 tank driver I had the literal same brand and code Rust-Oleum white but one can had a yellow label on it and the other did not and the yellow label stuff was terrible. To this day I have no idea what the issue was because the environment was the same for both types of cans.

I just did a Royal Guard helmet not too long ago with Rust-Oleum again and it worked just fine.

[BigJasoni[TX]]

Ok, I'm running into a decal issue. The CRL for basic approval states that "Helmet has scout detailing in black." Additionally for level 2 it states  "Details are the correct color and placed as shown," and "Scout style details are present, either painted or decals."
The issue I've ran into is that I've got a set of accurate Scout details, but they're different than the CRL picture. Additionally, though one of the specialists is retired, the two approved on the main Specialists page have different crescent moon shaped nose details. Let me show what I'm talking about:

Accurate scout nose decal on top, black "nose stripes" on bottom

Accurate Scout nose detail is gray with 5 black stripes.

Accurate Shadow Scout nose detail is 5 black stripes

Swamptrooper CRL shows 8 black stripes

Here's the other issue I'm having. Every other scout has black detailing around the snout including the retired specialist which is shown below:

Again, basic approval states "Snout is gray with black details," and specialist states "Accurate snout detail and aerator with accurate parts, mounted onto a plate and painted gray with black details." Now, one could assume this means the aerator is black, but from looking at other build threads, it seems like others are interpreting this as the area around the snout is black as well which would meet the level 2 requirement that "Scout style details are present."

I chose to emulate the CRL paint and love how it looks. Thanks again for the tips! But, I'm thinking that the decals should closer resemble the Scout Trooper CRL, but in black. Basically, from reading the CRL, it sounds that for level 2 I should be using Shadow Scout decals and outlining the snout area. Am I wrong? Here's my helmet with the unpainted snout. This shows the areas I'm requesting help with:

Thanks in advance for the help

[Bfkn[501st]]

@BigJasoni that looks awesome!

When we were discussing about the specialist CRL for the helmet, the gray areas of the snout was left off to show the green.  I used my Cricut to cut out the gray areas but kept the shape of the snout arch. Your helmet looks more streamlined , smooth and symmetrical so it’s probably not the number of stripes but the symmetry of the snout arch stripes. Looking at my helmet snout stripes, it does look wonky.

 

i also used the Cricut to make the hook symbol.

 

 

I think we need clarification for the outline of the snout. @RAIDER

[RAIDER[COTG]]

Since the CRL update I believe @Bfkn may be the only build that’s been approved at Specialist and would be your best example. (there is one other swampy specialist…the one you pictured…retired and approved back in 2016 i believe…outdated for sure)

Indeed, there should be NO gray in between the nose bridge stripes. That is what the original game references show…black stripes ONLY and so a standard ROTJ scout decal would not be what you need.

The snout greeblie would be gray with a black outline.

EDIT: The amount of lines is flexible (hence no count in the CRL text) BUT if u examine the reference it appears to be more than 5.

 

[Bfkn[501st]]

19 minutes ago, RAIDER said:

The snout greeblie would be gray with a black outline.

 

I should get my black sharpie. ?

[RAIDER[COTG]]

4 minutes ago, Bfkn said:

I should get my black sharpie. ?

Its not black around the greeblie?  In pics , it looked like it 

[nanotek[CMD-DWM]]

@RAIDERis ?. So for your two questions the answer is “yes”

Looking great so far!

[RAIDER[COTG]]

To be fair @Bfkn the black outline is pretty thin in reference…much less than the ROTJ exmaple shown above.

[Bfkn[501st]]

43 minutes ago, RAIDER said:

To be fair @Bfkn the black outline is pretty thin in reference…much less than the ROTJ exmaple shown above.

It does look like a “shadow” around that snout instead of a “rubber gasket look” from rotj scout.

[BigJasoni[TX]]

Ok guys, thanks for clearing some of this up. Going off of the game pic, I don't think any of us are ready for a swampy with a full "grill" for the nose detail. Lol. I'll stick to the smaller one with 5 stripes. Of course, I'll only be using the black lines, I put the gray one up as reference. @Bfkn, I've been trying to decide whether I need a Cricket or not, this is another one for the "pro" column. My mother-in-law actually made me a sheet of scout decals, but I may have to ask nicely for a few more black ones.

So it sounds like black nose details, number of stripes is up to me... make it look good. And yes to outlining the snout. ONWARD!!!
 

[BigJasoni[TX]]

Lol. I just noticed in the game pic that there appears to be a black outline around the elevator bolts. Hmmmmm...

[Bfkn[501st]]

10 minutes ago, BigJasoni said:

Lol. I just noticed in the game pic that there appears to be a black outline around the elevator bolts. Hmmmmm...

Speaking of elevator bolts, they look blue-gray to me. 

[BigJasoni[TX]]

4 minutes ago, Bfkn said:

Speaking of elevator bolts, they look blue-gray to me. 

I must have missed that one. Was there a discussion about the bolts. I wasn't even planning on painting mine.

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Here is the latest discussion thread with the updates:

I don't think that we specifically discussed the bolts, but it is in the L1 details as "blue-gray" on the current CRL.

[BigJasoni[TX]]

Thanks. I did notice in that one that it says "blue-grey." Also, now that I look at them, the standard color of the bolts is more of a grey-grey, so I'll figure something out. However, it also just dawned on me that I still have some Pantone 433U from my Mudtrooper build. That'll probably work as a nice blue-grey.