FP Knee Armor Build-up

Hi all,
Got some new parts the other day! (It's been a long time. . . I've been saving $$$ lately ) I got some vac-formed FP knee armor and a cod piece.
Here's some pics of the knee parts being assembled. I didn't take any pics of the pieces in their "raw" form, as I'm sure most everyone is familiar with what vac-pulls look like. Clean up didn't take much time at all. The parts are reeeaaaally nice pulls! Very clean and shaped very well.
There are 3 parts for each knee; the main knee pad, the inner flat rectangle part, and the outer dart housing. I followed FP's tutorial (sent to me by the individual I bought the parts from), making sure to get each part shaped correctly, then assembly was pretty simple! I used some styrene shims to brace the connections a bit, and secured the parts with super glue. They will be reinforced later with some epoxy.
I still have to form the dents. I'm just looking for some type of tool the right shape to press the dents in once I heat up the plastic.
More pics as I start painting!
Eric

Looks good. Do you know if those are still being produced?

I don't know. It would be nice if FP was still doing armor. I had sent a few PMs his way, but never got any response.

Yay You allready knew I was looking forward to another one of your WIP threads.. btw, shouldn't this be called "Superjedi's knees"?

Looking forward to the rest.. I'm sure they'll be perfect..

Nice! I'm looking for some new knee armour myself.

PM sent..

OK, next stage: PAINTING.

I got some Polly Scale Reefer Yellow and airbrushed 2 or 3 light coats over the knee assembly. Here's the result.

After PAINTING comes WEATHERING.

I waited until my base coat was nice and dry, then started applying the damaged areas. I used my trusty Tamiya Chrome Silver, and following my reference pics, painted on the silver chips and dings using a small detail brush.

I just realized that these pics came out a little fuzzy. . . but I'm already beyond this point in the weathering process and don't have any that are more clear. . .
Anyway, here's how the right knee looks with the silver areas painted on.

RIGHT KNEE FINISHED:
OK, not sure what happened to some of my 'in-progress' pics. . . I had taken some after I painted on the lighter yellow around the silver, but before the weathering. But they seem to have been eaten by my computer.
So anyhoo, here's how I completed the knee.

After I did the silver damage as described in my above post, I added the lighter yellow, using ATSF Catwhisker Yellow. I must have gotten a reeeeeaaaally old bottle of it, cuz I had to stir it forever to get it mixed up! But once it was the right consistency, I painted it on using a fine detail brush, then let it dry for a while.

When it was nice and dry, I went back to my reference pics and started dirtying it up. I used pastel powders in a dark orange and reddish brown, and applied them with a fairly large brush. When using pastels, go lightly at first until you determine you have the colors you want. You can remove them with a damp cloth or paper towel, but if your paint finish is dull, the pastel powder can get into the pores in the surface of the paint, and stain it.
I used the pastels to shade the areas around most of the perimeter of the knee pad, and some areas on the 'face' of it, to give the base color a worn, uneven appearance.

I used the back end of a paintbrush to apply the smaller, more concentrated dirty spots. Then, a charcoal pencil to do some of the darker scratches.

After the pastel/pencil was done, I sealed the knee pad with Testors Dullcote. That serves to seal the pastels, as well as dull down any shiny spots.

So that's pretty much it. Left knee, here I come!!
I'd enjoy hearing any feedback.
Eric

P.S. Oh yeah, those are machined aluminum darts, too!

That looks awesome
Wish I had some FP armor
PMed him..........no response

That knee looks really good.

very very nice!!

nice wookie braids as well ;-)

Originally Posted by psberetta

That looks awesome
Wish I had some FP armor
PMed him..........no response

Same here, multiple times over the past year.

Just not in the cards I guess.

Came out great!!

Hey superjedi, First off, very nice paintjob. I have noticed one potential problem however. The outer section of armor which holds the knee darts seems to be sticking out too far. I believe it should be flush with where it joins the front part of the knee armor, but yours seems to stick out about a centimeter or so. Does that make sense? .

Originally Posted by hansoloway

Hey superjedi, First off, very nice paintjob. I have noticed one potential problem however. The outer section of armor which holds the knee darts seems to be sticking out too far. I believe it should be flush with where it joins the front part of the knee armor, but yours seems to stick out about a centimeter or so. Does that make sense? .

Yes, it makes sense. I only realized this after everything was assembled. :o
Oh well!
My second knee is now complete. I'll have more pics up soon.

awesome job!! can I have them back now?? LOL

Originally Posted by DarthMiller

awesome job!! can I have them back now?? LOL

Well, I'm kinda thinking I'll keep 'em.

That looks great, you did a fantastic job!
My FP armor is still sitting in its box! Maybe one day I'll accually get around to trimming it.

Originally Posted by MARROW SUN

That looks great, you did a fantastic job!
My FP armor is still sitting in its box! Maybe one day I'll accually get around to trimming it.

Thanks!
And regarding your FP armor. . . ya know. . . if it's just taking up space in your home, I'd be glad to work out an alternate storage plan with you.

Outstanding job!

awesome!!!

UPDATE: Knees complete!
Hi all, I've attached some pics of the completed left knee. Same technique was used to do it, including pastels used for shading.

I've also attached a pic of my attachment method. I glued a strip of velcro into the center part of the knee pad using "Shoe Goo", and attached a matching piece onto the knee area of my jumpsuit. I also used Shoe Goo to glue on the elastic straps. The velcro supports the knee armor and keeps it from slipping, so the elastic is basically there just for show.

If you notice, the elastic is glued onto the center knee pad portion, NOT the side parts. So during wear, there is no stress whatsoever placed on the side parts of my knees. I did a wear test the other day when everything was dry (much to my wife's amusement ) and it worked like a champ!
Anyway, enjoy the pics!
Eric

wow that looks great. how big are the FP knees? ineeda get some but wanna make sure they are relitivley on the large side. better yet whats the distance from side to side on those puppys?

Where do you get the vac-formed knee pieces?

I am making a set - not in this manner - that I am just not too thrilled with...

Originally Posted by SarlaccBits

Where do you get the vac-formed knee pieces?

I am making a set - not in this manner - that I am just not too thrilled with...

SB,
There's a member here who does vacc'ed armor sets. He's had some health problems lately and he's kind of hard to get hold of, so it's hard to say whether he's still in the armor-making biz.
He does tremendous work, though, and I feel really lucky that someone else was selling theirs.

oh, ok...
maybe I can hunt him down...
:p
thanks!

Outstanding job Superjedi, right down to the correct red and black rings on the left darts. Love your detailed weathering technique of using the pastel powders and the charcoal pencil. Outstanding bro, FP would be proud.

Originally Posted by LionsPride

Outstanding job Superjedi, right down to the correct red and black rings on the left darts. Love your detailed weathering technique of using the pastel powders and the charcoal pencil. Outstanding bro, FP would be proud.

Thanks!
I love weathering! It's one of my favorite things about the whole 'look' of the Star Wars universe. . . it's dirty!

Can you imagine Boba Fett's (hypothetical) mom sending him out to play?

"Now, Boba, don't get your Sunday armor all scuffed up!"

Originally Posted by superjedi

Thanks!
Can you imagine Boba Fett's (hypothetical) mom sending him out to play?

"Now, Boba, don't get your Sunday armor all scuffed up!"

but, but ??!! awwwww Mom, cmon we wanted to play kick the Ewok again



Ya painting is fun but it's deffinatly the finer details that you come up with along the way that really make your suit "your own". I mean even with you sharing this, 10 of us could have FP knees, use the same exact methods, paints, blahblahblah and still everyones will look personalized and unique.

It deffinatly adds to that Pride factor when your wearing it that you know you've created something special.

Again, great job bro. I love seeing progress threads like this.

Those look great! Yeah, hasnt FP had surgery or something? Thats probably why he hasnt been doing much.....

nice work man!

Originally Posted by Fett prop artist

Those look great! Yeah, hasnt FP had surgery or something? Thats probably why he hasnt been doing much.....

Indeed. FP has been through some medical issues that have keept him ocupied. so Hunting him down isnt prolly the best idea