Cargo Hold Finds and Modifications

Tfett40

Active Hunter
I am 1 month into my ESB Boba Fett build and building any costume is new to me. When I became serious about this project, I actually got really lucky to find quality used items in the Cargo Hold. I picked up a full set up FettPride Armor and MOW Gaunlets already painted. I was super excited that this new guy didn't have to do the hard work of trimming, assembly and painting. Getting painted goods seemed perfect. Well, not really..there is a down side, sort of.

1st of all, for any new folks considering buying used equipment think about this. Not all bodies are created equal. If you are 6'0 and 215lbs, used armor from someone 5'8 160lbs might not fit you. Remember, used armor was trimmed or fitted to that particular person, not you. Modifications might be needed and hopefully it is to trim down and not make bigger. 2nd, color matching might be a problem. If the armor requires touch-ups, you have to worry about getting the same paint brand to match your armor. Even though, you might have the exact paint the way you apply it can change the shade or overall appearance. I not discouraging cargo hold buys, but just make sure you get a general idea on the person build, paint used etc to help you pick what is best for you.

Although, I have a ESB Build thread, I thought I would share in more detail my process of modifying and changing used pieces which I picked up that might be useful.

One of the first items I purchased from the Cargo Hold are these Man Of War Gaunlets. I was told they had some wear from trooping which could be cleaned up with touching the paint and that they attachments with piano hinges and clips:
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I was thrilled to get one of my first pieces for Fett. I absolutely was amazed by the detail and set up for them. However, the problem I had was that they were tailored for someone with much smaller forearms then me and I had a difficult time closing and opening them around my forearms. One of the first things I did was remove the foam padding. This really opened space in the right gauntlet, but the left gauntlet was a bigger problem.

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I love the set up of the hinge and clip to open and secure the gaunlets.Unfortanely for me, due to the hinge being placed on the left side of the gaunlet, the flamethrower plate stopped it from opening up fully.
As you can see in the picture it would only open a few inches and I had a really hard time placing my forearm in and out.
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This set up was not going to work for me and I needed to flip the set up to the opposite side. Not an easy task, considering the hinge was secured with an epoxy and I could not open the gauntlet fully to work it out.
To open up the gauntlet, I clamped it down to a table and used a nail punch to tap the rod out of the hinge. Slow and steady.
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Due to the length of the nail punch, I was only able to get it out about maybe 3/4 of an inch as you can see below. Not much, but enough.
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I then used needle nose pliers and lubricating oil which I put into the hinges and slowly wiggled and pulled the rod straight out. A slow process, because I did not want to bend it to much and make it more difficult.

Once I got the gauntlet opened, it was time to pull off the hinges. This was an extremely time consuming because it was a delicate process of trying not to damage it. I had read that acetone could help break down certain epoxies, but I did not want to damage the paint. So I used Q-tips to dip into the acetone and then rub onto the epoxy around the hinge to soften it up.
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I next used a set of different size exacto knife blades to cut around and under the hinge and clips.
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Taaaadaaa!
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I used a rotary tool to sand down the existing foam, glue and nylon strapping from clips as best as I could without stripping the existing fiberglass.
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I was able to track down a new hinge from Lowes and then had my buddy cut it to length.
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Do not try this techinque at home boys and girls, probably not the safest
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I found the nylon strapping and clips at Joan's Fabrics & Craft Store
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To attach the hinges to the gauntlets, I opted to go with JB Weld epoxy.
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If you noticed I painted the inside of the gauntlets. I received my first airbrush and decided to practice by painting the inside before I actually do any touch ups on the outer shell. It is ehhhh job, but
at least I have a feel for the airbursh. I also end up sanding the areas that I put down glue to get good contact.

After the hinges were secure, all that was left was adding the clips. To do this, I cut a piece of nylon strapping to length. I then attached them with a bit of hot glue. Hot glue is not permanent like epoxy and can be
easily lifted and removed. But it gave me a secure enough hold until I got the alignment perfect. I end up removing and re-positioning the clips around 6x before I got it right.
g19.jpg


Once I secured one end of the clip, I closed the gauntlet to align the second one in a closed position.
Make sure to use enough tension when securing the second strap.
To much slack and it won't close right or it will leave a gap between the 2 shells when closed.
g20.jpg


After a few test runs of opening and closing the gauntlets with the clips and when I became happy with where I placed them, I put a layer of JB Weld Epoxy on the strapping.
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Up next is repainting the left gaunlet
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Well done, that was a lot of hardwork to customize those gauntlets to fit you properly but it looks like it was well worth the effort.
 
Great fixing job. Problem shooting is fun:D Looks like its all coming along well, I enjoyed the breakdown of step by steps(y)
Tell me is it a bit fiddly undoing the clips? I imagine you have to squeeze your finger between your arm and gauntlet to depress the clip, so it can open right.... only asking as Im research a good way for my gaunts to shut and open securely and easily..
 
Great fixing job. Problem shooting is fun:D Looks like its all coming along well, I enjoyed the breakdown of step by steps(y)
Tell me is it a bit fiddly undoing the clips? I imagine you have to squeeze your finger between your arm and gauntlet to depress the clip, so it can open right.... only asking as Im research a good way for my gaunts to shut and open securely and easily..

Magnets work like a charm.

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.... Awesome!!!... Nice to see you trouble shooting and solving all of these problems... Please, keep posting different things you encounter like your doing. I'm a newbie to all this build stuff as well, it's sure is helpful!(y)
 
Magnets work like a charm.
(y)Yeah that was one off my main contenders.
No falling off mid troop I take it with the size of those magnets:lol:

Size of the magnets has little to do with it...its the magnet strength that has everything to do with it. The magnets I have have a 5 lb per inch pulling strength...when combined at three different sections equals 15lbs total. It takes a good amount of force to pull them apart.
 
Great fixing job. Problem shooting is fun:D Looks like its all coming along well, I enjoyed the breakdown of step by steps(y)
Tell me is it a bit fiddly undoing the clips? I imagine you have to squeeze your finger between your arm and gauntlet to depress the clip, so it can open right.... only asking as Im research a good way for my gaunts to shut and open securely and easily..
Thanks all, just taking it apart was an all day affair. A lot of stare downs between me and gauntlets.

Zero. I put the clips as close to the edge as I can to make it easier to get my finger in. Only the clip closet to my wrist is a little awkward on the left gauntlet. But once you get the idea to how the clip works, how to rotate your wrist to get the right angle and best technique to do it, it's not so bad. I think I like the idea of hearing the clips lock in to know they are secure.

crumdum. Magnets look nice and definately easier to undo. My only concern was my chest armor came with magnets already attached and they are super strong. I can't imagine the problems it might present for me walking around and getting my gauntlet and chest stuck.:(

Master E, no problem. Seeing other posts has really helped me. So if I can add something new that could assist anyone, I'll take the time to do it as well. I have a few more pieces to modify, so I'll post those as well.
 
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crumdum. Magnets look nice and definately easier to undo. My only concern was my chest armor came with magnets already attached and they are super strong. I can't imagine the problems it might present for me walking around and getting my gauntlet and chest stuck.:(

Magnets don't work like that. The pull strength only occurs when the magnets are within about 2 inches of each other...and they are directional as well. In addition, the magnets I have are on the outside of the guantlet edge (like yours) so unless you became a contortionist it would be impossible for the chest magnets to affect the ones in your gauntlet. I completely understand where you are coming from regarding magnet strength though...I used three because I was afraid I would be unable to pry them apart if I used 4.
 
One of the easiest changes I made was re-painting the rocket:
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It was painted nicely, but I wanted it to better resemble the screen reference below:
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Finding the aluminum and black metallic paint was easy. Color matching the rocket head was tricky. I had read in previous posts the head was a brass or possibly copper color. But the brass and copper paint I bought were both to light or dark.
Then I stumbled upon Oro Luquido Red Gold and it was near perfect. In addition to repainting the head, I repainted the body in Black Metallic and used Aluminum Metallic for the metal parts you see.
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Here are the changes:

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My only hiccup is the rocket tip. I thought I could trim a nail head, or use a Q-tip stick, but the match is not right. Anyone have any suggestions or if someone sells it?
 

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Continuing with my modifications, up next is my cod piece:
co1.jpg


This piece was purchased used. The problem I ran into was that former owner was a size 32 waist. I am a size 35. Luckily, there was enough excess trim to still expand and still allow for an overlap. However, this exposed an
extra hole which was previously drilled to connect the kidney armor and cod piece with functional square studs. As seen below:
Co2.jpg


To fix this, I picked up some bondo putty filler, taped over the front of extra hole and applied a thin layer of putty on the inner part of the kidney armor.
co3.jpg


Once it dried, I peeled of the tape and it left me with a pretty flat surface and filled in hole. I lightly sanded the outer and inner portions of the bondo area.
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I painted over the repaired hole with a similar paint pattern as the cod piece.
Co5.jpg


I opted not to drill a second hole and use the square studs as the method to attached the two pieces for 2 reasons:
1) It does not give. If you loose or gain weight, those holes stay the same. It will either get too loose or too tight around your waist. I would need to fix it again.
2) I did not like the floating feeling it gave by using only the square studs to fasten or attach to your waist. It felt as if it had to much freedom to move around.

I decided to use Velcro as a means to connecting the front and back cod pieces and making the square studs not functional.

First thing I did was place velcro at the end of each piece to make a secure fit around my waist.
Co8.jpg


Next thing I did was buy an inner duty belt from Amazon for $15. Some Police Officers use this inner velcro belt to assist in holding their outer duty belt up and at waist level. If this inner belt is strong enough to help hold up an outer belt with a gun, bullets, handcuffs etc. It should be able to handle a light cod piece. I lined the inner portion of the kidney armor and cod piece with the opposite velcro of the belt.
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The great thing about the velco belt is that I can tighten it firmly around my waist for a secure fit and the kidney piece sticks without moving!
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I just place the cod piece over kidney armor and the belt is thin enough that the armor hides it, so it appears the square studs are still functional.
co10.jpg


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Up next. the back armor plate:
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I was told the armor had a few cracks near the arm cut outs. When it arrived, I observed 2 small stress cracks on both sides near the outer armpit/shoulder blade area. The cracks were nearly opposite from each other.

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After trying to put the back piece on and off, it is clear this area of the armor wants to bend alot due to the angle, weight and pressure of attaching the neck armor. I contemplated using JB Weld to fix it or fiber-glassing it to reinforce the backplate. But I figured it would eventually crack again and this area needs to be flexible. So I opted to go with E6000. E6000 is a great adhesive, strong and flexible. I think flexibility is needed here and not rigidity. A thin layer was applied over the cracks to seal it. A second layer was then applied to cover the curve surrounding the cracks as additional support. Lets hope this works.

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Finally, I am done with the left gauntlet. Previously, I posted about the modifications I had to make to the hinges and the repainting of the rocket. Here is the final result.

This is how the left gauntlet looked when I received it:
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I decided to paint it to look more accurate to the reference photo. Thanks to Darth Voorhess for the stencil, it was a huge help.
I used graphite paper to transfer the stencil.
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Sorry, I got so involved into painting the gauntlet, I forgot to photograph the process :facepalm
Basically, I used a mix of dark gray and black paint for the gray area. Aluminum silver for the silver. I used light brush strokes and brush taps for the silver. Next, I used Humbrol maskol to cover those parts as I airbrushed a coat of green to make the gauntlet a shade darker. Lastly, I peeled off the maskol and did a windex/flat black wash to give a weathered appearance.
Here is my final product:
IMG_7370a.jpg

I used the below reference photo to help guide me in painting:

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Rocket looks way better! Didn't get there in time but you could've found the correct size drill, drilled a shallow hole, then cut a small piece off of the shank and epoxied it into place.
 
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