My Lifesize Jawa Build - 1st Attempt

azheat01

Active Hunter
I've always wanted to build one to add to my mini theater, thinking it wouldn't be nearly as expensive or complicated as my Boba Fett or HIC. I told my wife I could do it for under $150, lets see how it goes.

The body frame is being built with 1/2 schedule 40 pipe. The head is a styrofoam ball from Walmart.

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After stepping back I noticed the frame was a bit too wide and a bit too broad at the top of the shoulders. I am using my 3 and 5 years old to get some approximate sizing. I decided to take the top of the shoulders in a bit and pulled about 2" out in the body width.

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I am using the same trick for the eyes that I used on my HIC panel. Those 25 cent toy machine dispenser capsules, the small ones. I bought 2, drilled holes on the bottom, and added 2 orange LEDs on a resistor so I could power them with one 9V battery. I then partially filled then with hot glue to help diffuse the light.

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I shaped down the head, added the eyes, and placed a toggle switch at the bottom that can be accessed from under the Jawa's cloak. I also wrapped the head in black duck tape.

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I bought some real cheap fabric, $2.00 a yard, that I'll wrap the head in. It has a pattern that you can see in front of the eyes that I think looks real good.

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I knew the most expensive part would be the bandoliers, I have seen them going easily for over $100.00 each. I am not spending that much, especially since screen accuracy is not something I worry about. I went to my local Army Surplus store and after walking around for about a half hour I found these ammo pouches and straps. I figure I would be able to dye these and use paint to weather / highlight.

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I bought 6 pouches, only 4 of which are the same size, and 2 straps. After dying them and touching them up with some acrylic paint, I think I am satisfied (I will still be weathering these with some tan and brown colored paint as well as some black charcoal). I was going to try and lighten them, but after holding them against the fabric I bought for the cloak, I think I like it darker. Any lighter and it would be too close to the fabric for my liking.

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For the gun, I am requisitioning my son's Disneyland "Pirates of the Caribbean" pistol. Santa was good this year and he is intrigued by this project, so I don't think he minds.

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I disassembled the pistol and removed the electronics.

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After removing the electronics I noticed the gun was very light, and by the time I add the PVC pieces, it will be front heavy. So I hot glued a bunch of nuts and bolts into the handle and near the barrel to help balance it. I bought a 5/8" wooden dowel and used left over schedule 40 to build out the barrel.

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I bought a few more plumbing fixtures of various different sizes and finished out the barrel. I also took a piece of scrap wood and shaped it so I could add it as a magazine.

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The barrel end is just a bit shorter than I would like, but I am about to take a trip to Home Depot / Lowes to see if I can extend it a little. If not, it will have to do. I am also looking to add some other odds and ends to finish out the entire gun.

Although the pistol is something I already had on hand, I need to figure it into the cost. It was about $20.00, and the plumbing fixtures and wooden dowel were another $9.00.

So far here is where I stand on budget:

Pipe and Connectors - $8.00
Head - $10.00
Eye Capsules - $1.00
LEDs and Switch - $8.00
Black Duck Tape - $2.00
Fabric - $2.00
Bandoliers - $32.00
Dye / Paint - $5.00
Pistol - $20.00
Plumbing Fixtures - $9.00

Subtotal -$97.00.
 
Thanks guys.

Took another quick trip to the Depot and picked up a few last pieces for the blaster. I have taken several liberties with the design. I really wanted to replicate the bolt lever of the old Lee Ensfield, so I threw something together with copper wire and two cap nuts. It's OK, I think once I paint this it will come together.

I added a hose clamp to the barrel, a 1/2 inch PVC pipe repair half to the top, some metal Woodruff keys to the right side, and I wanted to do something inside the front barrel so I added 1/2 PVC grooved pipe and a plug.

All I have left on this is the magazine and then it's ready for primer.

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Another $10, puts me at $107.00 thus far.
 
For the hands I am modifying the design that I did for my Stormtrooper. I bought a pair of children's gloves for $1.00 at Target. I took a 1/2" PVC coupler and shortened it. I also bought some lengths of medium gauge copper wire for the fingers. This will make the hand much stronger and will let it hold its shape and the weight of the blaster.

I then cut the wires to length and hot glued rubber nail protectors to the tips. The wire is held into the coupler with 5 minute epoxy putty; they won't budge no matter how many times you re-position them. I still need to fill out the fingers and palm, but you get the point.

When I am done, the 1/2" coupler will slide right onto the arms. These work great if you want pose-able hands.

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Finished up the hands and did some work on the blaster. For the hands, I loosely wrapped each finger with duck tape (if you ever try this, don't wrap them tight, you'll never get them to bend). I then built up the palms and wrists (not pictured). The gloves fit nicely and they feel sturdy.

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Also did a little work on the blaster. I finished up the magazine and a few other touch ups, then hit it with the first coat of primer. I like it, I think it will look much better after final paint and weathering.

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I remember seeing a Jawa blaster kit on eBay for around $75.00, but not in a while. I'd love to eventually get a more accurate one, but for the money, I can live with this for now.
 
Finished up the hands and did some work on the blaster. For the hands, I loosely wrapped each finger with duck tape (if you ever try this, don't wrap them tight, you'll never get them to bend). I then built up the palms and wrists (not pictured). The gloves fit nicely and they feel sturdy.

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Also did a little work on the blaster. I finished up the magazine and a few other touch ups, then hit it with the first coat of primer. I like it, I think it will look much better after final paint and weathering.

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I remember seeing a Jawa blaster kit on eBay for around $75.00, but not in a while. I'd love to eventually get a more accurate one, but for the money, I can live with this for now.


That blaster looks AMAZING. I don't have any idea how screen accurate it is, but it sure does look cool, I'll be following this thread with close interest.
 
My camera died so bear with me on the photos.

Today I had to do a quick fix with the height. After placing my frame next to my Stormtrooper, I realized the Jawa was too short for my liking (about 36.5"). So I added about 3.5" to the body (2.25" inches to the body and 1.25" to the neck). This is the final result, which I am happy with. Now it puts him at just above 40". His neck may look a bit long in the first photo, but by the time I add padding to the shoulders and body, it will fill in. I did a quick test with the robe material and I can live with this. I also wrapped his head in the black mesh fabric, but decided to leave the eyes uncovered.

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Next I finalized the hand position for the blaster. These came out great; holds the blaster perfectly. I'm real happy with how this turned out. I used pliers to bend the fingers to the right position, that's how thick the copper wire is I used. They won't move a bit.

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It's getting there. I need to do some final tweaking on the blaster (removing some of the PVC markings and covering some of the ornate detail) before I move onto the final coat and weathering.

I'll try and work on the robe next.
 
Thats great!!! The hands are spot on man!
B

Thanks, I really like how the hands turned out.

Tried my hand at sewing the robe since my wife was working. Despite my grandfather being a tailor for 40+ years, it's a skill I need to work on! :) This is just a preliminary fit, which I am happy with. This was placed right over the frame, so I still need to add the batting to give it some shape. I have seen robes that open in the front and some that are one piece. Since this will be a static display, I opted for the one piece. This was the most nerve-racking part. When I bought this fabric it was on sale and they only had about 2 yards, so I had one crack at it.

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Here's the blaster with the first coat of black. (I'll have better pictures shortly).

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That's awesome!
I had robes made for my two boys but they are rapidly growing out of them so I had the Jawa in mind for them. I think I'll be following your thread to do mine in a few months!

Cheers,

W B)
 
That's awesome!

Thanks!

I started to work with the foam batting. I glued pieces to the PVC to bulk up the body a bit. This stuff was on sale for about $4.00 a yard at Joanns, I picked up a yard and a quarter.

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I then wrapped the body in some cheap black felt material, cost about $2.00 a yard.

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I took the robe outside and dragged it through the gravel just to dirty it a little. It's kinda hard to see in the photo. The rest of the weathering will be done with paint.

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One thing I did do is narrow the structure at the top and midsection by removing about 3 inches of pipe. I then adjusted the foam batting, put on the robe, and finished the hood. Instead of using a hanger, I bought 2 feet of solid core coated wire, I believe it was 12 gauge, and sewed that into the front of the hood to keep the shape.

I'll probably adjust the opening, not sure how open I want it.

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I decided to take the extra PVC pipe, cut it into small pieces, wrap in black duck tape, and place in the bandolier to give it some shape and weight. For the left side pouch, I just stuffed it with craft paper.

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From here I think I'll finish up the blaster and start weathering. The only other thing I wanted to do is make a droid caller. I know you can get them one line for about $20 - $30, but I decided to build my version using these pieces, which ran me about $7.00.

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Thanks guys!

A little work on my improvised droid caller. The top piece will be a faucet aerator which I just painted, should have this caller put together tonight.

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Finished the weathering with the spray cans. I used black, tan, and a brown; it's hard to see in the photos, but it came out real nice. I was heavier with the black around the feet, wrists, and hood rim.

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I'll add a little bit here and there with the acrylic paints when I finish the blaster and weather the bandolier.
 
Finished the droid caller so I am calling it a night. I used a 1.5" male PVC adapter, 1.5" female PVC connector, replacement faucet aerator, a rubber washer, generic plastic plug, 2 knurl knobs, and a retaining clip. I painted the aerator and top PVC piece satin nickel.

This is just small enough to fit perfectly in the Jawa's left hand. This was a fun piece to build, very inexpensive and easy.

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About to finish this guy up, just need to work on the blaster.

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Here is the base coat of brown that I mixed. I know there are some great tutorials out there on how to paint a wood grain pattern, but I won't be getting that detailed. I am using a combination of acrylic, enamel, and spray paint to finish this.

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I then put on a scattered second coat of darker, redish brown. I also did a bit of weathering, which is not one of my strong points.

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Just a little more and I can call this done.
 
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