Gaunt Tutorial for Cintra (non vac forming)?

I did a search of the forums, but didn't come up with much definitive.

Is there a good tutorial out there on teh Wacky World Web that explains how to construct Gauntlets (either Jango or Boba) from Cintra (sp), and doesn't require vacu-forming? (while I would love a vac rig, its not a reasonable possibility right now..)

Any help would be appreciated..

badger

Try entering "sintra" into the search engine and you should find a wealth of topics on this material.

thanks..

Im making sintra gaunlets right now. Its incredibly hard to get them accurate. Im almost done with the right gauntlet, would u like me to write up how i am doing mine?

I have been wanting to take pictures of different ways to do the process for about two years now, but I just keep doing other things. It helps a lot to have full-sized pictures of the gauntlets. Print them out on a good printer (Kinkos will do it for you). That will help with trying to copy them and getting the size right when you're using sintra.

Yes, please I would love a write up..

I found the Boba Fett reference CD site, and have been studying the guants in my spare time..

Parts needed
One sheet of syntra
Elmers wood glue
Epoxy bonding glue
Triple coat crystal clear glass finish
Paint (car paints recommended)
Pine wood 1 inch thick and .5 inch thick

Tools needed
Jig saw
Table saw (optional)
Power sander (rough and smooth grit sand paper)
Heat gun (optional)



This requires the use of syntra, if you are unfamiliar with working with syntra I recommend you experiment on a piece to learn how it moves and how much heat it can take before it burns. Always wear a pair of heavy gloves while working with the syntra, keep all parts of the body well covered that the syntra will be molding to.

First you will need to make measurements. Because gauntlets require a somewhat custom fit there is no point in saying the dimensions I used. First get yourself several good reference pics of the gauntlets. From there u can see how far up the forearm they go and how close to the wrist they go. Determine the desired length of the gauntlets. Measure it out on a sheet of poster board. This will be the green marking that is seen on the blue print. Next measure the length of your wrist (measurement around wrist). This measures out the red line. Do the same for your forearm, this is the blue line. Now you will have a square shape, the two parallel sides are different lengths, the non parallel sides are the same length. Cut the piece out of the poster board and wrap it around your wrist, this will ensure that it fits. Don’t worry that it doesn’t go all the way around your wrist, it shouldn’t. When the fact that you will be wearing clothing under your gauntlets and that there wont be an air tight fit around your wrist comes in you will understand that it should not fit, even though you used the measurements of your forearm.
Now trace the poster board piece onto your syntra. Make four of these piece. When cutting the syntra cut it very slowly and use a fine saw blade, one that would be used to cut PVC. Once the pieces are cut out sand down the edges so they are smooth and there are no jagged marks.
Now comes the trickey part. It is best to do this with another person because two hands just aren’t enough. On the top piece of the syntra you will need to creat a very flat surface that will allow you to build up pieces of wood for the detailed part of the gaunt. Take a .25 inch piece of pine wood and cut it the length of the gaunt and in a regtangular shape. Be sure the it is wide enough to build upon. Place it in the center of the sheet of syntra. Be sure that it fits.
Now begin heating the syntra, whether it be by heat gun or boiling water. Take all proper safety measures. Heat up the syntra so that it can be worked well (practice makes perfect). Now fold the syntra into the shape seen in the blue prints. The piece of wood will ensure that the platform base is flat. Once the syntra has cooled place the piece over your wrist, be sure it fits easily over your arm.
The bottom piece is much easier. Simply take one of the remaining two piece of syntra that have been cut and mold them so that they warp around your forearm. That’s it….I told you it was easy.

Now what u should have is two top halves of gauntlets that are flat on all sides and almost form a box, they are missing one side. You should also have two clamshell halves. These can be seen in the blueprints.

Now it is time add the detail to the gauntlets. Depending on the style of gauntlets you want you must cut out the pine in the shapes desired. I recommend that you cut out a piece of the .5 inch pine and lay it on the top platform, this will add size to the gauntlets…but don’t make your gauntlets too big or people will think you’re compensating for something else. I recommend heavily sanding down all the pieces of your pine, get as much of the grain out of the wood. Once they have been glued together connect the wood to you syntra top. Use the epoxy bonding liquid to connect the two pieces. Once you have them connected be sure to remove all dust and clean off the wood and syntra very well. It is now time for the most important part of this. In order to get a solid look to you gauntlets and get the grooves of the grain out you will need to use serious amounts of triple thick crystal clear. I recommend about one can per gauntlet. Don’t spray on too much at once or else it will drip (the drips can be sanded). Once a nice uniform/vacuuform look has been created it is time to paint. Paint however you desire. I used car paints in a spray can and they worked fine.
To connect the gauntlets slide the top piece over the bottom piece. Use Velcro to secure them. Addition parts such as hoses can also be added. This is just how to get the basic look of your gauntlets, how you customize them is up to you.

this will be edited later, pics and blue prints will also be added...i just finished the write up...im tired.

Excellent!!!

thank you.

there u go, sorry it took a while. the blueprints are of the body of the gauntlet and the top half, then: the bottom half. THose are pics of both sides of the right gauntlet after a coating of chrome paint, also an entire can of krylon triple coat enamel. If you have any questions at all dont hesitate to ask me. I hope these help and good luck.

Wow.

that is great, wonderful information. I had about given up and was thinking of just buying a set..

But now I might try to do my own..

plus it gives me an excuse to go buy that disc/belt sander I have been wanting.. "but, Honey, I need this tool for my Jango costume.. "

Now if I could work in a reason for it for one of her costumes, then I would be in like flynn.

badger

your pictures are no longer up of the gauntlets. Do you have a website?