New Member

Hello TDH Community,

First off, I am totally new to the whole costuming hobby. That being said, I have decided to embark on what I have read is one of the most challenging costume projects there is for Star Wars. I came across these forums a few days ago and have been reading through them non-stop. Even though I feel I have learned quite a bit from reading posts on here and other websites, I feel completely lost. I guess what I am asking is, where do I start? There seems to be so many options out there, what is the best way to start this project? I have seen where people make their own helmet and armor or people buy kits and paint them up, which I think that would be a better option for me. Anyways, any suggestions and advice would be very much appreciated. I look forward to talking with you all on here. Thanks for your time.

Hola, I'm still pretty new here myself but I welcome you in the best traditions of this great community. Welcome.

I'd say start with a lot of research. I made myself a 1:1 Vader a few years back and found that poor research and trying to cut corners was counter productive. I ended up with several incorrect pieces that had to be replaced and where corners were cut I ended up re doing and thus spending more money. There are several different versions of Boba Fett so a good starting point might be to work out which one you like best and go from there as that will have a massive bearing on your direction. I first started lurking here several years ago but only posted with any regularity this year once I was ready to dedicate time. I've reckoned on about three years to get my Fett in order based on my available time and money but it could well be longer. I have a tendency to get bogged down in small details and can easily lose months concentrating on one small element that doesn't really make a great deal of difference to the big picture.

As a general rule of thumb my approach is to work upwards. I've started with soft parts to begin with and then I am working from the feet to the head with the exception that I am about to start painting a helmet. I commisioned a maker to do a lot of the work on the other parts but ended up feeling uninvolved and disconnected from the project. Doing this will enable me to see some progress whilst I await some of my orders and give me a feeling of involvement. Once the commisioned pieces come in I think I'll be doing most of my own painting.

Good luck.

Andy

Andy, Thanks so much for the warm welcome. All of your advice is very much appreciated. This is a project that I am planning on taking seriously and not trying to rush or cut corners. I am currently deployed in Afghanistan and won't be home for a few months still, so I will be using a lot of my down time to research everything I can. So hopefully I will be prepared to start when I get home. Right now I think I am going to go with ROTJ BF. I really like the look more than ESB BF. I definately want to be involved in this project and not feel like someone is doing all the work for me. Though I think some of that might be unavoidable. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your helmet from and what type of parts are you having comissioned for you? Also what do you think about purchasing a pre-made armor kit? Well, thanks again for the welcome.

-Craig

For a lid I would go with an Asok cold cast lid. They are fairly priced and are a good helmet. He is taking some time off from making them but he may have one available. Bobamaker and fettpride make helmets too but they have a long waiting list. They also make armor but with a long wait time. Redkraytdragon makes an entire armor kit for a good price and he has a short wait list.
I am doing an ESB fett and have about 1/4 of the parts and don't expect to have a finished suit for at least another year. This suit takes a long time so be patient.
also stay away from eBay unless the seller is man of war studios. He is a member here and any members have some his stuff. I have his gauntlets and they are nice.

Terminal Fettler and Bobamaker also make helmets. I know on Bobamaker's website it's got the "wavy brow" of the ESB helmet but I've heard he can make them without so It will be more like the ROTJ helmet. Welcome to TDH by the way and good luck!

PS. If you're looking for good sturdy armor, look for Redkraytdragon. He makes awsome armor at an even better price (got a set myself save for the gauntlets); he's a great guy!

Jc27 and Arch, Thanks to both of you for all the advice. All the names you have mentioned for helmets and armor, are those members on here?

Welcome aboard Craig! You've already had some great advice... this is the only website you'll ever need IMO. There's so much knowledge here that has been shared by so many awesome people. Also, I think this site and the people that give there time to so many of us new people, are so helpful and supportive... You will be in very good hands here. So much to explore on here, I myself have spent countless hours researching and just enjoying the many journeys of these consuming and difficult builds. If I can help you in anyway, just ask my friend! I am still relatively new here... and I am well in touch with all the head scratching at the start! Enjoy!

Hobbit, thanks for the welcome. And as you've seen I have been all over your threads. I must say again, amazing job on the armor and helmet. There is a lot on here to research, so much that it's overwhelming. But I still have a few months left to research before heading home and getting started on this build. In the meantime, I hope you don't mind if I bother you with questions.

-Craig

Welcome Craig - its a really fun hobby this Fett-loving one, and it can be time consuming, costly and sometimes downright frustrating, but the end results always make it all well worth it! If you are looking at helmet paint ups, I may be able to answer many of your questions, and I have some threads up showing some paintjobs in detail, but there is numerous wonderful talent on this board, to ask and to research your way to all things Mr. Fett. Good luck my friend, feel free to ask anything you need

Jayvee, thanks for the welcome. Its really cool that everyone is so friendly and willing to help each other out. This Fett thing is bigger than I imagined...lol. I have a question for you, is the paint up of a helmet or even the armor doable for someone that has no experience in anything like this? I have never even attempted anything like this before, and just thinking of painting it up myself makes me nervous, but I really do want to try and do it myself.

-Craig

Totally mate - remember - we all started somewhere. And with all the excellent folks to ask questions, and all the incredible resources such as Rafalfetts amazing templates, there is a wealth of information to get you on your way to a great looking paint job. My bit of advice is simply - don't rush things. Take your time to do some research here, choose the paintjob you like the best, then extend all the resources you can. You will learn along the way, but a quality paintup is absolutely doable with the right research and tools my friend!

Thanks Jayvee. Between you and Hobbit, I am getting really motivated to start this. Still got a few months though.

Great time for some serious research then brother! By the time you get back home, you'll be champing at the bit to get this all going! Best of luck my friend, and again, feel free to ask anything you need

The amount of detail in rafalfett's templates is awesome. Jayvee is one of the best painters on this board, so if you want to know any tricks about painting, he would be a great source of info. I personally don't have RKD armor, but the people that have it have nothing but great things to say about it. If you want to try painting, I would try the armor first, its not as detailed as the bucket. The only thing about RKD armor is that it is for an ROTJ fett, so if you are doing ESB, you will need different gauntlets. I would go with MOW, I have DVHs old ones and they are nice.While fettpride and bobamaker stuff is really nice, they are expensive, and with BM being overseas, the shipping is expensive as well. I bought BM stuff, but that was after i saw some of RKDs armor, and if i had the info I would have gone with RKD. I dont know much about fettprides stuff, i've never seen it up close and I have tried to contact him for some parts and got no reply so I went with BM.

Originally Posted by bigswish21

Jayvee, thanks for the welcome. Its really cool that everyone is so friendly and willing to help each other out. This Fett thing is bigger than I imagined...lol. I have a question for you, is the paint up of a helmet or even the armor doable for someone that has no experience in anything like this? I have never even attempted anything like this before, and just thinking of painting it up myself makes me nervous, but I really do want to try and do it myself.

-Craig

I had no experience in painting before, but because of the amazing sticky threads, templates and stencils... This made it so much easier for me (If you look at my first thread, before I had really studied anything properly. You'll see what I mean, compared to my more recent paint ups.), with so much great advice and so many awesome people you will be less nervous.

So I think I am going to start with the trash bin armor, to practice painting before I attempt painting an armor set from RKD. Defininately going to practice painting the armor before I even think about attempting a helmet. I was checking out Raf's templates, and I have a question about masking. Do you remove the masking after each layer or wait until the end to remove it all? I've been seeing people doing it both ways. Just wondering what the best way is. Also what kind of paints should I use. Is going rattlecan an acceptable option (I've seen some awesome paint jobs on here from rattlecans) or should I get the equipment for airbrush?

Welcome Craig! You already have some idea of what JV and the Hobbit have done, be daring and go the air brush, I have one just got to have the balls to use it properly yet, not saying rattle cans are bad, I still use them, but go the air brush.
good luck
Rob

Robafett, thanks for the welcome. Thanks for the advice as well. I think when it comes time to paint up some actual armor I would go with the air brush. I have no experience in painting, what do I need to look for in getting an air brush setup?

Welshwarrior has a few videos on YouTube that shows him doing an ESB lid, that should help.

With an airbrush set up, while you have to outlay a bit at first, it probably doesnt work out that much more expensive than rattlecans, as they can work out fairly costly per can anyways. But of course, if you get a decent enough set up, it will last for ages if looked after. The prices are far better in the states than here in australia, so you will be looking good there too. What I have, is a compressor designed specifically for airbrushes, so quite a small little unit, which are avail in hobby shops and the like. It comes with an attached extra airtank, moisture trap and regulator. The brand I have is called Delta, which is an australian brand, but is almost exactly the same as an Iwata, which are very avail in the states. This set up, included a basic standard dual action airbrush, and an airhose, and was $250, and it has been awesome. Of course, you may find them at a better price, and you may be able to get a good deal on just the compressor alone, then look into airbrushes.. When looking at the airbrush compressors, the extra tank is very handy, as it automatically switches on and off once the tank is full of air. So even though the compressor is quiet anyway, it keeps any noise to a minimum, and also is great while airbrushing, as there is always constant airflow, so no pulsing and spitting problems.

The airbrushes themselves, I have upgraded. I use two differrent brushes - A Paashe H, which is a single action airbush, and is great for doing areas that require greater coverage (such as the dome). These go for around $50-$60 in the States. The other airbrush I have, is an Iwata Neo, and this is a dual action airbrush, which is far better for delicate and detail work, or smaller coverage areas. I picked one of these up when I was in California earlier in the year for about $45. I found this to be far more durable than the original dual action brush included with my compressor, as all the interior fittings and washers were actually metal compared to rubber. I actually really love this airbrush.

Once you buy the paints, you will need to thin them down - Acrylics and Enamels will differ slightly, but I use Enamels, and find a good place when I mix about 3 parts paint to 1 part thinner ratio. This may differ depending on climate or tools, but the general rule, is to thin the paint for the airbrush to be about the consistency of milk..

Thats just a quick airbrush course 101 for ya bud - keep me posted with any questions

More than welcome mate. I prefer to use enamels, as s I feel they have a really nice colour depth, and nice finsh, but some other excellent painters like Superjedi, prefer acrylics for the ease of clean up. Either way, with a quality paint, you cant go too wrong. I like to use mainly Humbrol enamels, and the other excellent option, and what the real helmets were painted with, are Floquil enamels. Both are great choices, Humbrols full range is simply more available in my area. If you go the acrylic route, you probably cant go past the pollyscale range, which basically is the floquils in an acrylic version. Humbrol do an acrylic line too, but dont have quite the range of colours as thier enamel range.. There of course are other brands such as Tamiya, but these two are the best in my mind.. :-)