Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper [WIP - Assembly and Painting of the Head, Body & Waist]

Sometimes it's refreshing to work on a scale model kit that doesn't demand much from you. And the Bandai Star Wars 1/12 scale First Order Stormtrooper is just such a kit. So far it has been a real pleasure putting the head, body and waist together. The fit has been excellent and with minimal painting the figurine already looks pretty darn good. As such, this project is off to a great start. 

Bandai Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper work-in-progress: Head, Body & Waist

Back view of the First Order Stormtrooper's head, body and waist after assembly and paint

Painting on bare plastic isn't recommended for good reason. Without a primer coat, it's hard for paint to find purchase on glossy, slippery surfaces. But black acrylic paint (Citadel) from Games Workshop has traditionally provided great coverage and acted as a pseudo-primer and/or basecoat upon which additional layers of paint were applied. Previously, this black acrylic paint was know as Chaos Black. Now its name has been changed to Abbadon Black. Because it's not a primer, the paint will come off if you scratch at it hard enough. But for minor paint work as is the case here, it works well enough. 

Assembly instructions for the First Order Stormtrooper's head, body and waist

Paints and washes used on the black and metallic parts of the head, body and waist

More often than not, Bandai's Star Wars scale model kit line hasn't disappointed in terms of how closely and realistically it mimics its subject matter. And at this early stage of its assembly and painting process, the First Order Stormtrooper is living up to my expectations.

Bandai First Order Stormtrooper with its head, body and waist assembled

Glossy white armor looks like the real thing hence it was left as is i.e. unpainted

Not all black parts were painted e.g. the female/male joints for attaching the arms and legs

Black areas on the tube-like equipment on his lower back were painted with Citadel Abbadon Black

For now at least, the painted blacks have been fairly straight forward without any need for tonal variation. What matters most is the differentiation between glossy blacks of the eye lens and the flat blacks of almost every other black part. It might seem trivial but these subtle differences of the black surfaces greatly reduces the plasticky look of the scale model. That's critical for achieving realism.

Another black part left unpainted was the round spot on his back as the original texture looked matte enough

Black belt was actually painted with an old spray can of Citadel Chaos Black

Seam lines on the armor were almost unnoticeable after being glued together by Mr.Cement S

Eye lenses were left untouched in their original out-of-the-box clear glossy black state

 
To further differentiate among the black hues, a black wash was added to the honeycombed strip on the helmet (stretching from the corner of the lenses, downwards and across the cheeks/upper lip). This gave it a slightly different look from the rest of the black sections, at least texture wise. The mixture of clear, glossy, matte and washed black surfaces should provide subtle visual differentiation to an otherwise straightforward and boring two tone color scheme of black and white.

Tube stripes were 'painted' using the Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color

Down the line, the blacks that need to be painted will largely fall under the same categorizations as above namely clear gloss, gloss, matte, and finally matte with wash. Simple yes, but hopefully it results in a monotone color that's differentiated enough to makes things interesting. Coming up are the stormtrooper's appendages and waist equipment. Until then have a great weekend!