another rotj jet pack thread

[stormtrooperguy]

i'm posting this up now to remind me to do more later.

i just got a new jet pack... a ruffkintoys fiberglass one to be specific.

here's what it looked like out of the box. the perspective is a bit off since it was leaning back a bit. the photo makes the rocket look small, but that's not the case.





the first thing i did was cut an access panel in the back of the pack. i left a 1" lip on the recessed area to attach a cover later. this will let me get into the pack to install the LED beacon's batter pack and such.

then i painted it silver. i didn't take any pictures of this step alone because... well... it was silver. i think we've all seen a silver jet pack.

i'll be mixing topical and layered weathering. masked layers for the big areas, and topical for the smaller stuff, with a bit of exacto slicing here and there for good measure.

last night i traced out the major battle damage, and latex masked the areas where i want silver to come through the yellow. in keeping with my tradition, i'm using spray cans for all of the major painting. i will probably resort to airbrush for some weathering, but the bulk will still be rattlecans. i got a pretty nice yellow from home depot the other day:

rustoleum striping yellow #2548
http://rustoleum.com/product.asp?frm...ct_id=52&SBL=1

it's an inverted can with a strange sprayer designed for a floor striping machine. i popped that sprayer nozzle out and replaced it with one from another can. i still had to paint with the can upside down, but i'm really happy with the color. i'll post photos later tonight. i know the color shifts a bit when it dries, so i wanted the final look.

i'll also lay down at least more color tonight... i'm thinking i might try to get the white and the blue done. i don't think i'll have time to get the red on there.

[Jimmy BufFETT]

Just out of curiosity, how much does a fiberglass jet pack weigh? I know it could vary depending on the interior design, but about how much does that one weigh in at?

[stormtrooperguy]

Just out of curiosity, how much does a fiberglass jet pack weigh? I know it could vary depending on the interior design, but about how much does that one weigh in at?

i don't know the exact amount, but not much heavier than the vac formed one i'm replacing. a few pounds, but nothing terrible.

[Laan]

Sounds good! Cant wait to see updated pics.

[Spideyfett]

Why did I not know that Ruffkintoys made a Jet pack???
Sweet pack....and Sweet thread.

[psberetta]

Why did I not know that Ruffkintoys made a Jet pack???

Ya what Spidey said............ can you post more pics ?

[Ripcode]

Hey TK7602!

I see you have ANOTHER project in the works!

I can't wait to see how this turns out. If like everything else, it will be great!

What will you be doing with the old jet pack?

[stormtrooperguy]

here are a few shots of the yellow. i'm pretty happy with the color! it was odd painting with an upside-down can, but it was worth it.







i put the blue on tonight. tomorrow i'll do the white, and friday the red (hopefully - if nothing else comes up, i should have an hour or so before work each day to hit those small areas)

i think i might go out to the garage and get cracking on the rocket and thrusters now

[Rat_Fett]

Please, please, please, please continue to list your spray paints used. Including the place of purchase. I'm about to start work on my JP and armor and am also going the rattlecan route. Can't wait to see your progress.

Well looks like you posted right before I hit submit. Unfortunately, the "yellow" looks more orange in the pictures.

[stormtrooperguy]

Ya what Spidey said............ can you post more pics ?

there will be more coming as i go on. right now all you'd get would be a bunch of pictures of a thing all wrapped up in masking tape

[Makan]

how much did the jet pack cost?

[stormtrooperguy]

how much did the jet pack cost?

i don't remember... i paid back in march, and my memory lasts about 2 weeks

shoot ruffkintoys a PM about it, since i'm sure he'd know!

[Ripcode]

rustoleum striping yellow #2548
http://rustoleum.com/product.asp?frm...ct_id=52&SBL=1

That's a great looking yellow Brian!

How would that look on the knee and shoulder armor?

Please, please, please, please continue to list your spray paints used. Including the place of purchase.

Based on previous paint conversations with TK7602, he loves Home Depot!

[stormtrooperguy]

Please, please, please, please continue to list your spray paints used. Including the place of purchase. I'm about to start work on my JP and armor and am also going the rattlecan route. Can't wait to see your progress.

Well looks like you posted right before I hit submit. Unfortunately, the "yellow" looks more orange in the pictures.

yeah, it does a bit... this is basically the color of the lines on most streets. it is an orangey-yellow, but to me at least, that's how the pack looks too.

i'm really curious to see how it all works out. i'm experimenting a lot with this one. worst case, i repaint it

[stormtrooperguy]

i fell victim to the dreaded "tape pulls up the paint underneath it" and re-painted about 25% of my blue.

ugh.

no pictures yet... i was too busy sobbing

that and i'm really not convinced on my choice of blues. i *think* it's going to work, but no photos until i know it does. no sense in saying "here's what color NOT to use!"

[Jimmy BufFETT]

Was the paint completely dry when you put the tape on? Can't use you the latex masking fluid instead of the tape or does that not work with a jet pack?

[stormtrooperguy]

Was the paint completely dry when you put the tape on? Can't use you the latex masking fluid instead of the tape or does that not work with a jet pack?

the paint was dry... unfortnately, when i did the silver base coat, there was apparently a lot of silver paint in the air that settled down on it as it dried. i wiped it down before i did the blue, but missed some spots.

in those places, the blue didn't bond to the silver at all.

i use the latex for damage... the last jet pack i painted, i used the latex for everything. it worked well, but used a LOT of the stuff. i figured i'd use tape for large areas this time.

that'll teach me!

i fixed it up last night though. this puts me a day behind, but i've got time... i don't need it 'til dragoncon

[stonerook]

here's a tip using tape.

lay it on you pant leg, press it down, then apply it to your surface.

The tape will pick up small fibers, which makes it less tacky, and allows the tape to be pulled up with "less" force.

(just make sure you don't have large stray hairs on you clothes )

I have never suffered a "lift" doing this.


also - i use plastic wrap to cover large areas that I want to cover, and use tape on the edges only -

it's cheap and easy to work with.

[stormtrooperguy]

well, my progress thread ended up missing a lot...

i had "issues" with my blue paint, resulting in a lot of re-painting and airbrushing over things with various colors to recover from the bad color / peeled paint.

at the end of the evening, this is what i came out with:



not totally accurate color-wise, but close enough for me. the jet pack is the part i'm least interested in, since most people are looking at the suit from the front. it's very shiny right now, since all of the paint is new and un-dirt-washed.

you can see the older pack next to it...

i used rustoleum royal blue (as often seen on jango helmets) for the blue, thinking it would work out well. it ended up not really being what i hoped. so i misted it with indigo and black airbrush paint until i got the color where i wanted.

from there i started in on the browns and blacks on the rest of the pack, also with the airbrush. while i normally like the challenge of the spraycans, if i was already there i was just going to do it.

the spots in the photo that look like drips are actually the latex underneat the paint. once it's all dry i'll peel things back to expose the silver underneath.

the final washes will be done with the silver exposed so that it looks shiner than it would if i had unmasked it right away, but not super-shiny.

so yeah, sorry for not doing the progress pics.

i could... um... do progress pics on the thrusters. i haven't touched them yet.

and for a sense of scale:



it's quite a bit bigger than the older ruffkin pack.

[Ripcode]

well, my progress thread ended up missing a lot...

Good grief you work quick!! Do you ever sleep???

I think it's turning out great!

[stormtrooperguy]

this morning before work i peeled back a bit of the weathering:



and yes, i do sleep. i slept from 2:30 AM until 8 AM!

oh, and i also painted a tusken raider rifle and a firefly replica last night too!

[Jimmy BufFETT]

Do you have any specific patterns or a certain reference for the weathering? That looks really good right there! Oh yeah ... have ya done any work with the rocket yet?

and yes, i do sleep. i slept from 2:30 AM until 8 AM!

Please tell me you at least take a nap during the day. If I was runnin' off 5.5 hours of sleep, I'd darn near pass out at some point in the day.

[TK4356]

Try taking 13 units of Summer School over a 6 week period, working a part time job and having to watch 2 little sisters in between, I go to bed at 2-3am after homework and get up at 6am to go to school. These 6 weeks couldn't end soon enough....thank god for insomnia and Monster Lo-Carb energy drinks...

[Jimmy BufFETT]

Try taking 13 units of Summer School over a 6 week period, working a part time job and having to watch 2 little sisters in between, I go to bed at 2-3am after homework and get up at 6am to go to school. These 6 weeks couldn't end soon enough....thank god for insomnia and Monster Lo-Carb energy drinks...

DUDE WHHAAAATTT? I was ever in your position, I guarantee I'd be keepin' Starbucks mighty busy!

[stormtrooperguy]

Do you have any specific patterns or a certain reference for the weathering? That looks really good right there! Oh yeah ... have ya done any work with the rocket yet?

the damage is from reference photos here and the star wars visual dictionary. my plan is/was to use the masking fluid for the major areas, and then scratch with a knife / use a paint marker to get the little stuff.

Please tell me you at least take a nap during the day. If I was runnin' off 5.5 hours of sleep, I'd darn near pass out at some point in the day.

nope... i average around 5-6 a night, and can get by on as little as 3-4. after a few days of that i start to get fuzzy around the edges though.

[stormtrooperguy]

the weathering marches on. this is from a couple of days ago:



last night i spent a couple of hours doing the small detail scratches and chips (both with misc sharp things and some silver paint)

i'm pretty much done with the body now, and have moved on to the thrusters and rocket. i'm hoping to have this wrapped up for the weekend, when the NEG takes a costumed duck boat tour of boston

[stormtrooperguy]

here's the latest:



the upper right part of the JP body needs to be re-weathered. i f'd it up and had to repaint that section. the thrusters still need weathering. the thrusters and rocket are not attached yet. i still need to paint the assorted black symbols on there. and lastly, it needs to have attachments added so i can wear it.

colors used so far:
- rustoleum silver for the base
- rustoleum royal blue for the main blue parts
- rustoleum navy blue misted over the royal until i liked it
- rustoleum line striping yellow (upside down can) for the yellow
- rustoleum flat white for the white parts
- rustoleum "american accents" claret wine for the red on the pack and the mist on the rocket
- rustoleum flat black mist over most of the body
- createx sepia airbrush paint for brown weathering on the white parts of the body

[Ripcode]

tk7602,

Your paintjob turned out awesome (as usual)!!

I really like it!

[stormtrooperguy]

repainted the thrusters, did a bit of detail painting, and attached the beacon and stabilizer.



gotta do a couple of red spots in the thrusters, dirty up the whole thing a bit, and strap it on

[Jimmy BufFETT]

Wow ... nice paint job there. Question: the silver on the right side looks more weathered than it does on the left side (notable on the thruster.) Is this how the final version should turn out to be or is it just the way the light is hitting the jet pack?

[stormtrooperguy]

Wow ... nice paint job there. Question: the silver on the right side looks more weathered than it does on the left side (notable on the thruster.) Is this how the final version should turn out to be or is it just the way the light is hitting the jet pack?

that's just the light... there are 4 60 watt bulbs up over it to the right.

[mrgr8ness]

I just found this thread and its great. I have a Ruffkin jet pack still sitting with the factory primer This is good motivation for me to get working. Will this thread eventually include a harness build

[mrgr8ness]

Oh, and can we have a pic of the backside of the pack, or isn't it painted? Looking to see how far the blue goes. I bought a can of royal blue already.

[stormtrooperguy]

Oh, and can we have a pic of the backside of the pack, or isn't it painted? Looking to see how far the blue goes. I bought a can of royal blue already.

the back side is pretty uninteresting... when i start on the harness, pics of that will come up by default

the whole thing is the royal blue misted with black and navy blue.

the more i thought about it, the more i liked using "jango colors" for the base and then weathering it to boba style. it gives a nice feeling of continuity

on the harness note... i'm hoping to pick up supplies this weekend. i tried using a modified backpack, but it was too bulky for my tastes. i'm going to use the pattern on tk409.com as a base, but change up a few things...

http://www.tk409.com/images/fett/harness/diagram.gif

[stormtrooperguy]

here's the pack being worn for the first time. i noticed in my photos that the extra weight of the heavier pack was bleeping up my posture again, so i have to re-learn how to stand up straight with it on!

but anyway:

[stonerook]

Looks great!

[Jimmy BufFETT]

i noticed in my photos that the extra weight of the heavier pack was bleeping up my posture again, so i have to re-learn how to stand up straight with it on!

I hear ya there ... and ya probably darn near fall forward after you're done troopin' when somebody takes it off ... at least I do.

Looks really great! Nice work!

[Ripcode]

That looks great!!