Clonecollector's Scratchbuilt Jet Pack (minor update 2/24/09)

looking good vod hope it goes well

that is great work, brother! cant wait to see more on this progress...

hey man what's the "rent" gonna be on that thing! LOL!
Looking good keep it up.

Awesome! looks really good More pictures!!

Thanks for the replies! If the weather is better this afternoon (its rainy now) I will fill in some of the seams with Bondo. There is still a small gap up near the top. I don't want to close it just yet because I think I want to add some type of reinforcement for the jet pack hooks. I may place a metal bar in there... maybe screwing it into the 4" PVC pipe... then mark out where the hooks will go on the back of the jet pack. I think this will be pretty heavy when all is said and done... but hey, you live and learn. I'm not too concerned because I would only wear this a few times a year anyway.

Take care guys!

I have a minor update today... I worked on some of the rocket cone shaped parts this weekend. They are filled with pipe insulation to give some rigidity. I also applied some bondo to the seams but I have not sanded them yet. I am going to line these up on a threaded rod I bough at Home Depot and secure them together with some wing nuts so I can take the rocket off the base for storage. I am beginning to cut and shape the tip of the rocket tonight... its not easy to maintain the curve and the round shape as well... oh boy...

Thanks for looking!

Just another little update here. I know the missle part is not the right height yet and more smoothing is needed. I did get to Fiberglass the back... now on to the front!

Looks great keep up the good work!!

WOW! Simply amazing! Great job so far!

that looks great so far man! I planned on doing mine this way,and then taking a mold from it and casting it in fiberglass, but.....i wussed out and just ordered a MOW pack. i could never be a Jedi...i have no patience LOL

Keep it up, looks awesome!

Originally Posted by Darth Voorhees

that looks great so far man! I planned on doing mine this way,and then taking a mold from it and casting it in fiberglass, but.....i wussed out and just ordered a MOW pack. i could never be a Jedi...i have no patience LOL

Keep it up, looks awesome!

I wish I could just get a MOW pack Good luck with yours!

I have to admit it does take a lot of patience. The pack is progressing but I have not taken any pics recently because I've misplaced the memory stick to my camera. Once I find it I will post some more pics. Until then I'll be sanding... sanding... sanding.... and more sanding....

Hello all! I have not updated here in a long time but I have been busy in recent months. The push is on with Halloween comming up soon and the opportunity to troop as Fett once this and my armor is complete. Anyway... here is where I am now.

I did lose my patience with this. I know its not completely accurate but I had to get it to a point where its acceptable to troop with. I've coated it with a high gloss topcoat to some of the uneveness will not show up once the pack is painted up and weathered. Maybe I can even use some of the indentations as evidence of reapeated wear.

Eventually I may redo this using other lighter materials I've seen other members here use... or I may save up and just buy a MOW pack. Still, once you've built one of these yourself you get a better appreciation for the prop and understanding of what some of the prop makers here have to go through to get things perfect. Anyway... here are the pics. Let me know what you think!

Buehller ?... Buehller ?...

...um... hello?...

I get it... your all speechless!

I have done most of the painting and weathering now. I will post pics tomorrow. Thanks!

I know the tank caps are wrong... I took the pics already. I will repaint them tonight and repost later. This one's almost ready to roll! I just have to finish the thrusters this weekend.

i definitely find that scratch building stuff is the best way to appreciate the effort that the well known prop makers go through.

i think it looks great!

Thank you stormtrooperguy!

Nice job man. Looks good!

These are just some close ups of the pack from Halloween. I need to purchase a beacon.

Sorry to resurrect an old post but I want to scratch build my own jetpack as well, clonecollector here has a great thread but where do I get the templates and where do I start????

Wizard of Flight has templates posted right here on this site.

If you have questions let me know. I can help out. I may redo this WAY WAY WAY in the future and I would do some things differently.

I would use a thinner plastic sign for the round rocket parts. This would probably show less of a seam and it would mean less work sanding.

I learned too late... but some of the smaller pieces were tough to cut and keep their shape to match up properly. I eventually printed out the templates and used spray on craft glue to attatch the template to the plastic. I cut more precisely this way... after a while the paper either fell off the plastic or bonded to it with all the layers of primer and paint applied.

I would look into using round precut wood "thingys" that are sold at Michaels for the tops and bottoms of the cannisters. Again the shapes are already there and it would require less sanding. I'm not too happy about they way they look now.

Definitely use a thick piece of foamboard for the back of the pack instead of the sign plastic. I had to add to it afterwards... it was a pain in the neck to fill, sand, re-glass, etc.

I would also use a thick piece of foam board for the top deck of the jetpack. (just over the keys) I only used sign plastic and it was not enough. I had to thicken it by using a strip of wood from Michaels... and sand, sand, sand...

It can be done nicely and with the right motivation quickly too!... It took me so long because I had so many things going on at once.

Hope this helps a bit!

Originally Posted by Splat762

Sorry to resurrect an old post but I want to scratch build my own jetpack as well, clonecollector here has a great thread but where do I get the templates and where do I start????

Cool thanks for the info and I'll start doing some research. Probably use some sort of cardstock type cardboard and some foam parts...epoxy and fiberglass as well. I have time and patience to make one so we'll see....

heh since we are chattin abt scratch building JPs - how did you do the details cut into the coned thrusters at the bottom mate?

I have built most of the parts and am scrathcin my head as to how to go abt this bit. its that crossed shaped detail in the centre I am talking abt?>

cheers in advance CC

Originally Posted by Heatshock

heh since we are chattin abt scratch building JPs - how did you do the details cut into the coned thrusters at the bottom mate?

I have built most of the parts and am scrathcin my head as to how to go abt this bit. its that crossed shaped detail in the centre I am talking abt?>

cheers in advance CC

I started with a plastic Christmas ball that comes in two halves. You can find these in a craft store. I chose the smallest one I could find. Buy at least 4 in case you mess up.

I cut out the template for the cutout on ball and used craft glue to temprarily paste it to the ball. It takes a while to get it centered. You just have to eyeball it. I then used a Dremel to cut out the shape little by little. use a small sanding bit. When you are done all you should have left is the half ball with the correct shape cut out.

In retrospect I would only cut out the 4 points of the cross shape. I would then cut out the round hole in the middle of the cross and insert the round detail. I glued some flexible foam behind it to close up the holes. I just used the spray craft glue.

Now about the round detail... it took a while for that too... look at some reference pics of the detail. I used some pics of Manowar's thrusters. You have to build those round cross cut details little by little. Stacking them. Again I used craft glue on the paper templates and stuck them to the sign plastic I used. Must make a few copies of the details so you can cut out each one and leyer them on top of each other until you get a three dimensional piece. Then I precisely cut out a circle for the bottom layer... then the first layer of the quarter pieces... and so on..

I should have took pictures of this part of the buildup but it was close to Halloween and I needed to move fast. If I can get around to it I will take some close up pics of the thrusters. You should be able to tell what I did to them.

Hope this helps for now. Thanks!

I really need to do this, My jetpack has always been the part of my costume I hated, plus it weights a ton.

it looks so amazing..im getting information overload.. must get some sleep and continue later..

Originally Posted by Gothchick76

it looks so amazing..im getting information overload.. must get some sleep and continue later..

Yeah... it gets that way when you begin a Fett. There are a few scratchbuilds here that came after mine and they are amazing. Some members had different ways to tackle to the thrusters and other details. I don't own this pack anymore but feel free to ask any questions.