ROTJ Gauntlet Build-Up & Painting

Fetthunter

Well-Known Hunter
Well, it's been 5+ years since I made my last set of gauntlets, and while they've held up to more abuse and troopings than I care to remember, it's time for a new set.

In order to speed up the process, I ordered a set of assembled gauntlets from Ruffkin. They are vac-formed Styrene with several resin detail parts (I ordered them without the calc pad and dental expander, since I make those myself, and without the missile since I bought one from RussRep):

gbuild1a.jpg



These would be great if they were going on a mannequin or being used for occasional trooping, but my garrison does events on an average of 1 every 2 weeks. I'm worried that standard vac-formed Styrene isn't going to take the abuse that I'm (and throngs of crazy little kids are) going to be giving there things... :(

Time to fiberglass them! (y)

This is the first layer of fiberglass resin/mat/resin "sandwiching" (the red stuff is just ink from my red Sharpie that I used to mark the fiberglass mat before cutting it). I ended up with 2-3 layers on all pieces with extra resin in the corners since they take the most abuse.

gbuild2a.jpg







This shows what resin parts I replaced, and the metal parts that I replaced them with. The metal ones will certainly survive for years to come:

gparts1a.jpg



gparts2a.jpg



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This is after replacing the resin connectors with metal ones, smoothing everything with spot putty (the red stuff), and sanding:

gbuild3a.jpg






After priming (at this point I've also installed the "correct" black pushbuttons on the left gauntlet. They were offered on TDH back in 2002 by a board member in The Netherlands):

gbuild4a.jpg






After 1st coat of Plasti-Kote automotive chrome:

gbuild5a.jpg





After wiring up the 12V lamp:

gbuild7a.jpg


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It's an "old school" 12V lamp and toggle switch. All incandescent, for that "glow" that LEDs can't deliver!





Time to apply the liquid masking fluid to the chrome where the scratches will go, and then start airbrushing!

Windsor & Newton masking fluid applied where the "battle damage" will be:

gbuild8a.jpg





Right gauntlet shortly after airbrushing 1st coat of Polyscale "Rock Island Maroon". I first tried the "Wisconsin Central Maroon" paint, but it didn't look right to me. Even though it's what was used on film, my goal was to get that film paint color in real life.:

gbuild9a.jpg






Gauntlets after several more coats of Rock Island Maroon and dried masking fluid has been removed, revealing chrome basecoat scratches and damage. Note how much the color changes with the addition of extra coats of paint.:

gbuild10a.jpg





Close-up of right gauntlet showing addition of RusRep darts:

gbuild11a.jpg






Close-up of left gauntlet showing Fetthunter Designs dental expander & calc pad detail:

gbuild12a.jpg







How do you make metal detail pieces look like they're burned and charred? :confused



You burn and char them!!! ;)

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The laser nozzles after the "heat treatment".:

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Polyscale "Weathered Black" paint applied to the inside of the nozzles.:

gbuild16a.jpg





I applied liquid mask to the rocket, and then painted it by airbrushing Floquil "Weathered Black" on it:

gbuild17a.jpg





The rocket after the iquid mask has been removed and the whole thing has been lightly sanded with a "fine" sanding sponge:

gbuild18a.jpg


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THE FINISHED GAUNTLETS!!! (y)

gbuild20a.jpg





A breakdown of "what's what":

gbuildfinalsml.jpg



I think that's it (for now)! I still have to install the 2 mini toggle switches on the right gauntlet, but that's minor. I'll try and post pics when I get that done.

Thanks for looking, and for your compliments! :cheers

J
 
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Excellent looking gauntlets! Mine are Ruffkin's also, with some "altered" detail pieces like you're using.
Keep posting progress!
 
Hey bro.Those gauntlets look great.can ya help me though?I need to know what you used exactly for the hose brass parts(empty package they came in maybe?, and the flame nozzles.I looked yesterday at some coaxial cable ends and they seemed a bit too small for the flame thrower end.
Need some parts for my metal gauntlets.I'll do a search on the board in the meantime.
Thanks
 
I've already tossed the bags for the brass parts, but I got them at Lowe's in the plumbing/sink section. There's a thread that lists the part numbers, so it should be easy to find. Search "ROTJ gauntlets". I couldn't find the exact air compressor fitting, so I faked it. The look is still pretty close. 8)

The nozzles are Radio Shack part # 278-188. They're PL-259 UHF Coax'es, which is why they're so big. ;) They run close to $6 each.
 
Hopefully the final piece of the project will arrive in the mail today. You guys can already guess what that piece is, I'm sure. ;)

I'm also missing the 2 mini toggles for the right gauntlet, but I'll take care of that the next time I hit Radio Shack. They can be installed any time, really. I'm not worried about those.
 
THE FINAL PIECE IS HERE!!!


that's right....


THE ROCKET HAS LANDED!!!!


rocket1.jpg


It's a thing of beauty, especially if you're into metal parts. It's a lot of aluminum and brass, that's for sure! It's substantial and heavy. I'm now VERY happy that I decided to reinforce my gauntlets with fiberglass! ;)

Stay tuned for the weathering and installation... :cheers
 
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