WIP: Scratchbuilt Jetpack!

Ok, so after being inspired by awesome threads like Jango72's, I decided to try my hand at one of these. I don't have a lot of money right now and I enjoy making things, so I thought why the hell not. It's actually been a lot easier than I thought, just time consuming. The entire thing is going to be made from foamboard, thin plastic, and some pvc. Total cost so far is a little over $20 I think. You could definitely save money by just using things from around the house, like cardboard.

And yes, I am using WOF's templates. Never would have gotten started without them. They're totally awesome and require very little modification.

Please feel free to ask questions or to offer suggestions. I was hoping this thread could be informative to others. I should have more pics up soon.

Very nice start.

WOW great start, and keep up the good work.

Looks great! The wizard has helped my an awful lot too, he's my new hero! ALL hail the wizard! Keep on pluggin the jetpack looks great so far!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Here are a couple pics I snapped this morning.
Still trying to figure out how I'm going to make the piano keys...

Wow! That's looking great. What'd you use for the "caps" on the side canister-dealies? The dark gray pieces.

That is awesome! I think I'll use this method when I get to the jetpack phase.

The endcaps were made using the templates. I just got some thin plastic sheeting (you could use something like a for sale sign), cut out the shapes and glued them together. I used some epoxy putty on the inside for reinforcement and just painted them with some gray primer.

could you use erasers for the piano keys???? they have that slant and you could always trim them if you need to. just an idea

Great work for 20 dollars. What could you do for a few dollars more??? Sorry about the Clint Eastwood joke, anyway you've inspired me to have a go at my own jetpack.Keep up the good work can't wait to see the finished product!!!

Wow man ! Nice job. Keep it going. Can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks everyone. I hadn't thought about using erasers for the piano keys...I just don't know how well the paint will stick to them...hmmm, something to think about. I might just end up making them out of wood.

I've been working a lot lately, so I haven't had a lot of time to work on this. But I have made some progress. Got the piano keys on and did some more finishing/detailing work. By the way, I'm using vinyl spackle and Elmer's glue as a filler. It works great. Fill with your spackle, let it dry, sand it smooth, and then cover it with a layer of Elmer's glue. The glue soaks into the spackle and makes it hard and smooth. No chalkiness or cracking.

And here's how I made the piano keys, if anyone is interested...



I got a paint stick, split it down the middle longways, angled one entire edge, and cut it into evenly sized pieces. The best part? Paint sticks are free.

Ingenious... and probably just what ILM did, too. lol!
Great work.

That paint stick idea is genius. I might have to do the same thing when I make my jetpack.

This is a fantastic build up! Super clean!

i like your way of the piano keys. it definitely has less potential to mess up in comparison to using erasers.

Thank you all for the compliments! I've started work on the rocket and I'm pretty pleased with the way everything is turning out. If anyone has any questions, please fire away.





The rocket is going to be detachable at the base and I'm thinking of using rare earth magnets to hold it in place.

I love following the progress of this pack. It's looking super slick. What have you been using to make the rocket?

Originally Posted by elusivesolution

I love following the progress of this pack. It's looking super slick. What have you been using to make the rocket?

Thanks a lot man. The rocket's made out of the same stuff as the endcaps and other bits. It's called Mighty Board and it's basically plastic posterboard. It's about $3 for an 18 x 24 sheet.

Very nice work. I have to say this is very inspiring.
You planning to make gauntlets this way?

Wow man, VERY nice!

Very professional work...jetpack looks amazing

Yep, gauntlets are going to be next. Thanks everyone.

Update: Almost have the rocket done. Will be moving on to the thrusters next.

Here's a couple pics of the completed rocket. I decided to use a threaded rod to attach it to the pack.

Looks great! Amazing work, just like my BFUK pack how much $ have you spent on this thing if you dont mind?

That certainly looks good does not look scracth built at all. Very professional looking

I think I have around $30 put into this thing now. I used cheap or free materials whenever I could. I would have just bought a MOW, but the $300 is out of the question for me, haha. Thanks for the encouragement!

amazing for $30

When you get done I will give you a cool 50 bucks for it, thats a solid Jefferson right in your pocket. Come on, What do you say?

Originally Posted by Mullreel

When you get done I will give you a cool 50 bucks for it, thats a solid Jefferson right in your pocket. Come on, What do you say?

haha...I think I'll have to take a pass on that, but thanks for the offer!

This is an awesome buildup!... I want to redo mine now! Keep showing us pics!

All primered up and sanded. Still have to make the thrusters and the vent thing that goes on the bottom.

That looks great, you are demonstrating some skillz

I can't wait to see how you do the thrusters, especially the "ball" part.

very nice work

Originally Posted by elusivesolution

I can't wait to see how you do the thrusters, especially the "ball" part.

Yes, let us see... This is absolutely amazing really. I looked at mine today, and then your pics... I have to redo it definitely!

wow man that is seriously awesome

Wow, that looks amazing! Well done.

Figured I'd slap a little paint on while I work out the thruster issue. I'm going to have a lot of weathering to do!



I also drilled holes in the sides for the thrusters.

This jet pack is turning out great! I take it that you're taking a topical approach to the weathering?

Originally Posted by elusivesolution

This jet pack is turning out great! I take it that you're taking a topical approach to the weathering?

Yep, topical all the way. I did a layered/topical paintjob on my helmet and while the layered method is cool, it's just not worth the aggravation to me.

Originally Posted by Matty Matt

Yep, topical all the way. I did a layered/topical paintjob on my helmet and while the layered method is cool, it's just not worth the aggravation to me.

It's funny that you say that, because that's pretty much the exact same story with me. I was thinking of doing a layered paint job on my pack but I just don't think I'll have the time to be meticulous once school starts.

Not a big update but I got a little more painting done. All the main colors are on and I've started to lightly distress the paint.
Next I'll hit it with some dull coat and start on the damage.

Where can i find these templates can anyone help me?

Nice work on this one, man. Looking very good. Any new developments? I haven't heard the terms "topical" or "layering" for the painting approaches before. Does topical mean that you go back and just add the metal color in the spots where it shows through instead of undercoating the whole thing in that color? MM

This is 1337. Very excellent work my man.

I haven't seen this thread in a while... WOW! That's an amazing looking jetpack you have there. Its nice and crisp... I like your fuel tank caps. They are well defined. (Mine didn't turn out so well )

Wow, this is the third scratchbuild jetpack I've seen on here, and this has given me inspiration to give it a go and build one myself. TDH is awesome! Great job on your pack dude, from one Matt to another!

Just to echo everyone else, this is incredible. You have inspired many of us, and myself, to try and do the same thing. Keep up the good work, hope to see how the rest of it turns out!

Gonna start mine tonight!! Great work!

Wow ... amazing work !!!

Holy.......

You should make a mold and fabricate some copies. You'd definitely be able to make some people very happy, same with your wallet.

This is an amazing thread and a HUGE money saver! Nice work!!

Hi,

at first amazing work, inspired by Jango72 jetpack i´ve started also my jetpack. But since some Month it don´t get forward. The fuel canister don´t work. What for diameter is right? And did you used a tube or did you made ist on your own. The Piano Keys are an great idea. The key i´ve made are not really great. Because they are a litle too thick. Here some pics of my jetpack. I´m thinking of do a complete new Jetpack.

ideas are welcome.

Regards

Awsome! hope mine gets to that standard quality, you have inspired me again on my work.

Hi,

what pipes do you used for the canister and what diameter are them?

Any good ideas for the Fuel tank caps?

Wow. Thank you everyone for all the compliments! It's been a while since I've worked on this or checked this thread. I bought a house and had a baby so working on Fett stuff took a back seat for a while. I've started to do a little more painting and hope to get this thing reasonably finished in the near future.





The rocket is actually a lot more weathered. The photos didn't pick it up so well...

Great!!

Awesome work ! Congratulations for this realization!

Okay I finally got working on the thrusters. These seem to be tricky but I think I'm off to a pretty good start.

These inset pieces are made from 7/8" od nylon washers. I shaped them by hand using dremel bits and a file. The inside curve was made with a rounded grinding bit.
Before and after!




The balls are plastic Christmas ornaments and the cones are air fresheners. The ornaments were covered in glitter and I made a hell of a mess sanding it all off. The air fresheners are actually a really good size once you cut a little off the top and bottom.
I'm pretty much making this up as I go along so wish me luck!

you sir are an inspiration

Nice work , most impressive

I got a little more painting and weathering done. This is all done with rattlecans and by hand. It's funny, you'd think something like a white dot would be easy right? Took quite a few tries...The white symbol on the other hand wasn't too bad. I can provide colors if anyone is interested. I'll try to take some really nice pictures once it's all done.

Out friggin standing!!

Beautiful!

Great idea of using nylon washers for the thruster details!

Duuudee! You should so do a tutorial on this i got sheets of sintra sitting around and was hoping this could be done! Just not sure where to start!! I got like a million questions!

Love your build man!! If I may make a suggestion, the x-mas ornaments seem like they may be a bit to fragile, have you thought of racket balls? Easy to work with and you dont have to worry about shattering them if you hit something. Just an idea, keep up the awesome work man!!!

Holy lord! This build is AWESOME! I had planned to do one the same way...since i work at an art store i got a crapload of foamboard for free that we were gonna throw out cuz its navy blue on one side...and then i never got to printing out the templates. This sir, is truly inspiring and making me think maybe i should do a scratch build to go with the helmet scratch build i did. Excellent work bro...just outstanding! If you sold these i would by one!

Originally Posted by Armydad

Love your build man!! If I may make a suggestion, the x-mas ornaments seem like they may be a bit to fragile, have you thought of racket balls? Easy to work with and you dont have to worry about shattering them if you hit something. Just an idea, keep up the awesome work man!!!

The ornaments are actually plastic and pretty thick, so no worries there. I was actually going to use two solid wood balls I picked up from the craft store but they turned out to be hard as rock. The ornaments are actually working out very well...very easy to cut and shape but still sturdy.

You can fill em with foam to sturdy them up further, or even with resin, but then they will be a bit heavier. I wanted to ask how you did the ring where the rocket attches with the slots in it. It looks so perfect, i cant quite figure out how you did that so well.

Pure genius.................I just stumbled onto this build and wow .

Originally Posted by joshsurf

Duuudee! You should so do a tutorial on this i got sheets of sintra sitting around and was hoping this could be done! Just not sure where to start!! I got like a million questions!

Unfortunately I didn't take a whole lot of photos when I was making stuff. I think I've posted just about everything I took. The first step is printing out the templates and getting them glued onto the sintra. Then start cutting away! The forums are filled with tips and great ideas. This kind of stuff can seem overwhelming at first but you just have to give it a shot. It's been a lot of fun.

Originally Posted by Darth Voorhees

You can fill em with foam to sturdy them up further, or even with resin, but then they will be a bit heavier. I wanted to ask how you did the ring where the rocket attches with the slots in it. It looks so perfect, i cant quite figure out how you did that so well.

I did think about filling them with foam but I think they'll be fine as is. This is just going to be displayed so it really shouldn't see any kind of action. I spent a long time making that rocket collar ring. The outside part was cut out of one piece of plastic (kind of looked like a giant toothed lock washer). The inside was just a few layers of foamboard cut into circles and then covered in plastic. The tricky part was cutting about 50 tiny triangles to go underneath and give it the proper shape. I painstakingly cut them by hand and then glued them all into place. My wife thought I was nuts.

Once again, thank you everyone for the encouragement. More updates coming soon!

Fantastic work! congrats!

Thrusters!!!



Almost there...I just have to stay on target

Scratchbuilt?

dude that is bloody amazing work!

exellent work

that jetpack is legit!

That is Petty impressive

Awesome thread, inspiring would be a better word really. You've done an excellent job on your JP. I've been wanting to play with WOF templates for a while and its great to see someone with talent do them justice.

good god man...unbelievable

Very nice, cant wait to see those puppies mounted on the pack

What sort of glue did you use to glue it all together? Pvc cement?

Originally Posted by joshsurf

What sort of glue did you use to glue it all together? Pvc cement?

Super glue for a lot of the small detail stuff, GOOP for most of the big stuff, and construction adhesive (liquid nails) for the thrusters.

Im still in awe of this build. I MUST do one of these!

One thruster done. I messed up a piece on the other one pretty bad and had to redo it. Not a total loss just a setback luckily.

okay that look cool

Whipped up some hooks and got them screwed onto the back. Messed up the other thruster AGAIN and had to redo it but I think I got it this time.

Excellent job on the hooks!

Matt,

What did you use for the silver "ridged" piece directly below the finned portion of the rocket?
See close up picture in Reply #62 above.

Originally Posted by dechels

Matt,

What did you use for the silver "ridged" piece directly below the finned portion of the rocket?
See close up picture in Reply #62 above.

That was a cap from a plastic bottle. Some kind of cleaner in a gallon I think. I looked at a lot of different caps until I found one with really well defined knurls.

AWESOME build, Matt. I had so much fun building mine. Now have to do the painting... :/

EXCELLENT build Matt!!

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Originally Posted by tk1450

AWESOME build, Matt. I had so much fun building mine. Now have to do the painting... :/

I remember your build!! That thing was awesome!

Well I think this is basically finished. Here it is on the mannequin I'm building.



Here I'm just holding up the helmet because I thought it would look cool. The mannequin doesn't have any arms yet so things might look kind of goofy.

Every time i look at this i want to make my own Jetpack. This is so inspiring man. I love it, looks great on the mannequin too!