MOW Gauntlets for beginners (like me!)

I could not find a start to finish how-to for gauntlets of any kind here, so I'd thought I'd make one. Super-stoked about this, everyone!
I just received Man Of War Studios' ESB gauntlets from Christian today, and I'd thought I would share my build-up of these items for my new Boba costume.
Disclaimer: I am a brand-new costumer. I am hoping to organize and share my experience and what I've found on this site in an easy-to-read and easy-to-find spot. If any veterans have any advice they'd like to share, please feel free!

So, what comes in the box from MOW Studios, anyways?

I found a bunch of well-wrapped and well-protected items. Christian used bubble wrap, big packing bubbles, and cling-wrap to secure everything for shipment from Newark to the Great White North. Awesome!

I got 3 bubble-wrapped packages: 2 pairs of gauntlet halves thoughtfully wrapped separately in left/right packs, a pack of larger parts, and a ziploc baggie of greeblies. Snoogins!

Funnily enough, I'm more interested in what's on the inside of the gaunts. Why? Best practice with resin gaunts is to line the insides with fibreglass, to provide strength and durability. To make sure the fibreglass sticks well, we need a rough inside for the fibreglass to bite into.


Yup, I labelled which is Right and which is Left. By the time we're done, we should know from constantly checking reference pics from the gallery here on TDH which is which, but you can't be too careful.

This is under the calculator keypad... interesting!

You'll find pour plugs on all sorts of parts, and in all sorts of places in this kit. It's a natural part of the resin molding process. No worries, we'll take care of them soon enough!
And now, the rocket...

As far as pretty much everyone is concerned, this is a metal part in the SW Universe. However, look at the texture on it. You'll find the same sort of texture on lots of the larger pieces in this kit. It's like an old melamine countertop.

Unfortunately, it makes me want to shell out for one of the very rare aluminum/copper machined rockets a few of our members here sport on their costumes. But at $200 a pop (I think), we'll make do with this for now. I'll show you how to create that smooth, sharp sheen and surface that only metal has with a few tricks!

I just watched Jedi tonight. I assumed that this part was the whipcord launcher/housing on Boba's right gauntlet, but it looks like the actual whipcord in the movie was launched from somewhere underneath Boba's gauntlet. Just some movie magic? Vets, feel free to correct me...

And, now onto the bag of goodies....

It's pretty overwhelming. Let's look at the gas cylinder things.

And we have our first casualty.

Looks like an air bubble was trapped in the narrow collar of this piece. No worries, though. I'll show you how to pin and fill this so it looks like it was never there in the first place!

On the Casio keypad face, you can see the melamine texture I was talking about earlier. This can be sanded out in a lot of cases, but I'm afraid it'll have to stay here. I don't want to shill out for an authentic keypad, and if I sand this texture off I risk losing all the raised letter/number detail.

I did a quick layout of the parts for the base of the flamethrower unit. Check your references to see how this part gets assembled. You'll find a bunch of trapezoid-shaped blocks that make up the detail here.

I also dry-fit the nozzles for the flamethrower. Christian provided a diagram for me to follow for this assembly. I recommend that you carefully study the drawings, and match up the parts to the drawing. Test-fit (trim any resin flash on the insides with an X-Acto knife). Correct your mistakes. Disassemble and lay out your parts again. Test fit your parts. Disassemble them. Repeat until you are comfortable with the assembly and parts identification.
Personally, I am probably going to replace the tube sleeves with brass or aluminum tubes of similar size from my hobby shop. As for the collars, I will scour my local hardware stores for similar items. Vets, is there any info you can contribute for this step of the build?

The cool part about these nozzles is that the skinny tip assemblies slide into the larger rear assemblies. This should ensure that your parts are straight.

A cool shot of the dry-fitted flamethrower assembly.

The kit also includes 10 of these resin pins. These are for attaching clips to the inside of your gaunts.
The idea is that you buy some mini-clips that lock together, and wrap some metal strip around the ends. Drill or punch a hole in the metal straps attached to the clips. Drill a corresponding hole through your gaunts, using these pins to secure the clips. Use super-glue or epoxy to secure the pin through the clip in place, and trim/sand the excess protruding through the 'show' side of your gauntlets.
There are some different methods for closing your gauntlets. Some use this method. Some use 'piano hinge' epoxied or drilled into the insides of the gauntlets, creating a hinge for the gauntlets to wrap around. They'll then epoxy or glue matching hinges on the other side of their gauntlets. The central pivot wire is removed, and they will use another removable wire to secure the other side of the gauntlets closed. Some will use piano hinge on one side, and clips on the other side. Some use Velcro closures (like on the movie prop costume). What will I use? Piano hinge appeals to me, simply because it squares up the sides and edges of the gauntlets. However, the idea of drilling through the sides of your brand-new gaunts and having to cover the resulting battle scars does not. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

So, how do we put these things together?
Step 1: Cleaning off the mold release residue
When you bake cookies, you need to apply some sort of oil or cooking spray to prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan. Likewise, resin molders also need a way to prevent their parts from sticking to the molds. They need to use some sort of mold-release agent to fre their parts from a mold, just like you need to use some sort of 'cookie-release-agent' like cooking spray, non-stick foil, etc. to free your cookies from the pan easily.
Now, cookie mold-release is no problem for us, since we can eat it. When it comes to resin parts, we DO need to get rid of the mold-release on the surface of our resin parts. This stuff will prevent glue, fibreglass, and paint from sticking properly. Here's how to do it.

All my parts and materials are laid out here. Get yourself a small, soft scrubbing brush (preferably not the one used for food items).

I use concentrated Simple Green, a cleaner/degreaser commonly found here in Alberta. Super Clean, Purple Power, and oven cleaner are other effective degreasers that are pretty safe for resin parts.
Now, here is where the mixing ratios get technical : A couple quick pours of Simple Green into about a 1/4 sink full of cool water. Why cool water? Warm or hot water will soften resin, making it pliable and possibly deforming or bending your parts out of shape. We'll use this property of resin to our advantage later...
I put all of my really small parts into a separate container. I used a half-and-half mix of Simple Green and water for these greeblies. I don't really feel like scrubbing down all of these parts, so I'll allow the higher concentration of degreaser and time do the work for me. This parts bath will sit overnight before rinsing and drying.
Your bigger parts will need to be cleaned and scrubbed down in the sink. Use your soft scrub brush (soft so it won't scratch your rather expensive parts) to get into all the nooks and crannies, both inside and outside the gauntlets.

Allow your large parts to dry overnight. See y'all soon!

Amazing thread...I don't even have MOW gauntlets and I love this. Great work!!

Wow. This could quickly be an epic thread worthy of a sticky if you keep up like this!

Nice documentation!

Wow, thanks for all of the positive feedback, everyone!

No pics for tonight's little task, since I don't really see the need. Still working on the parts container full of greeblies. They have been sitting in their degreaser bath for a full 24 hours. If your sink plug is like mine, it's one of those stainless steel sieve-things with a rubber grommet around the bottom. Twist it just right in the sink drain, and it seals the sink. Twist it 90 degrees either way from there and it should rest in the drain allowing water to drain out, but catching food bits, etc. Set your drain plug as such. It will catch any parts that accidentally escape your greeblie container in the following step.
I poured off the Simple Green mix, using the container lid to keep the parts in the container. If any escape the container, your sink plug should catch them. If you have a spare food collander with a fine mesh, you might consider using that to rinse the bits instead. I refilled the container with cool water and drained it off about 5 or 6 times to give the parts a decent rinse. However, I am still going to let the parts soak overnight again in clean water, to try and get the degreaser off of them. I'll likely repeat this 2 or 3 times over the weekend. Cheers!

Back at it...
Step 2: Cutting off mold blocks

It's a cold and snow day here in Alberta. Which sucks, because our next step will require some good ventilation. Those of you in warmer climates can do this outside, but that's not going to work for me.

To the school shop area! I don't own a garage, so this will do fine for our next step. A big advantage of working here is that all of the table saws, band saws, sander stations, etc. are connected to a central sawdust evacuator system. Cutting resin generates some very nasty fumes and dust, so proper ventilation is essential.

After unpacking my gauntlets, I set to work at the planer station (you'll see why later).

I'll be using a Dremel with a cutoff wheel (tool #420) to slice off the larger bits of pour residue. I'm also using a respirator with Organic Solvent filters. In addition to filtering out the resin dust, it'll also filter out the nasty fumes created when heating, cutting, or sanding resin.

These little guys are what's going to be sliced off.

Ensure your Dremel or other rotary tool is on its lowest setting. Resin can catch fire if subjected to enough heat.

Let's start slicing! Now, go slowly and allow the Dremel to do the cutting for you. If you try and dig in, you'll risk igniting the resin. Worse, your cutoff wheel will shatter and send shrapnel everywhere.

It's OK to leave a little behind. We'll remove the excess with a grinding bit.

Unfortunately, my grinding bit has disappeared... so I used one of the grinding stones in my kit. Slow work, and I had to stop several times to brush off the debris from the stone. If there was a Canadian Tire 10 minutes from where I live, I would have gone and bought one. Such is not the case, unfortunately. Once again, go slowly and let your tool do the work for you.

That's looking better! I didn't grind off the pour mark completely, since we'll need to do some extensive sanding work anyways once we fibreglass the insides.

All right, here's why I set up at the planer station. I'm going to sand the join areas of the gauntlets flat. This should ensure that when the gauntlets clasp together, their mating edges are as flush as possible. Being a planer (the tool that will sand/grind a wood sheet or plank flat), I think I can safely assume that it's a pretty darn flat and true surface. I taped a sheet of 120 grit sandpaper to the surface with some masking tape, trying to keep it as flat and wrinkle-free as possible. Not too hard with this stuff.

I went to work, grinding off the excess on the edges of the gauntlets. Attempt to keep even and uniform pressure all over the gauntlets when you do this. Every minute or so, I would check the straightness of the sanding/mating surfaces against the metal surface of the table saw. Funny enough, there was a high spot in the centre of the planer surface! I sanded the end areas of the gauntlet surfaces a little more to compensate for this.

Sorry, no pics of this step. I thought that while I was sanding the edges of the gauntlets, I could also sand the insides of the gauntlets a little too. I want to just score and mark up the insides of the gauntlets, so that the fibreglass we'll soon apply to the insides of the gaunts have a surface that it can bite into and stick. I used a coarse grit drywall sanding sponge. It's coarse, because I just want to rough up the insides of the gauntlets. It's a sponge, because it can conform to the irregular surface of the insides of the gauntlets. Done!

Step 3: Reshaping the Gauntlet sides
Something quick and easy for tonight, before we venture into fibreglass territory.

There's an alignment issue with my left gauntlet. Looks like one side of the gauntlet bottom curves in a little too much. Here's how we can correct it.

I have a sink full of cold water and a pot full of hot (not boiling) water. I'll be using the hot water to soften the resin of the gauntlet bottom in order to widen it.

Don't dunk your part completely in the water. I only want to reshape the curvature of the one side of the gauntlet, so that's the only part that's getting immersed. Leave it in for about 45 seconds. That should be enough to make the resin pliable.
Gently work the offending part a little more open. Don't use too much force here. Check your alignment. If you're not satisfied, re-dunk it in to re-soften the resin. It took me 2 tries to get an alignment I was happy with.

Once it's reshaped to your satisfaction, immediately and gently immerse the part in cold water. The shock of the cool water will stiffen the resin, allowing it to hold its new shape.
The alignment on the right gauntlet was already pretty good, but there was one corner of the gauntlet bottom that needed just a little tweaking. That was the only area that was immersed in the hot water. It was reshaped to my liking, and dunked in the cool water immediately after.

Better!

Seeing as these parts were sanded yesterday, creating a lot of resin dust that was probably still on the surface of the gauntlets, I decided to scrub them down again with some Simple Green. When we start fiberglassing tomorrow, I don't want any of that dust interfering with the fiberglass' ability to stick to the insides of the gauntlets.

Back on the dish rack, and we're done for the evening! Cheers!

sounds like the same things I tried, hope yours go better, but I have used the flamethrower and whip cord housing to help close them, they went wide after fibre glassing from the heat of the catalyst reaction, so my advice is to secure them in some way, may be tying some string around when fibre glassing.

Don't worry, I have a plan for that...

Step 4: First Layer of Fiberglass

This is my first time ever laying fiberglass, and I learned a lot today!

Fiberglass will heat up as it reacts and hardens, so my first order of business was to build a simple form for the gauntlets to rest in as they cured. I did not want them to reshape themselves from the heat of the fiberglass curing.

All my supplies are layed out here: stir sticks, disposable Ziploc containers for the fiberglass resin, disposable paint brushes, lots of rubber/latex gloves, and some really good fabric scissors.

I got to work mixing up the resin and hardener. When mixing this, be sure to mix it well but not too vigorously. Otherwise, you'll get air bubbles in it, which is bad.

I used fiberglass mat (randomly oriented strands of fibre held together with a glue that dissolves in the resin you apply). This is better than the cloth because it will easily conform to irregular surfaces. Now I just rough-cut some sheets to size. Don't do this! Take the time to trim these pieces as best as possible to your part. I learned my lesson by the time I got to the last gauntlet half.

Brush some of your freshly mixed resin on the inside surface of your part. Don't be afraid to use lots! I found that more brushed on beforehand helped the initial contact and softened the mat enough for it to conform to the insides easily.

Lay on your mat. Press it into the resin you just layed down. Now, ditch your gloves (they're all covered in the loose fiberglass strands) and put on a fresh set.

Start dabbing on your resin. Don't use a brush-stroke. This will pull fiberglass strands from the mat and before you know it, your brush is all matted up.

As you saturate the mat with your resin, you might notice air pockets forming. My brush had some stiff bristles, and I was able to pop most of them by stabbing at the bubble. The proper way to do it is to gently roll them out to the edge with a small fiberglass roller. They look like paint rollers with super-skinny ridges. Darned if i could find one around here, though.

Here's the inside of my first gauntlet half. Kinda messy. Like I said, trim off the excess mat!

I used some cellophane food wrap over the wood form I made to keep the fresh resin from sticking to the form.

Fingers crossed! Here's hoping this works!

Ok, the post game report...
I probably spent about 15 minutes applying resin and just stabbing at the air pockets on my first gauntlet. A lot of that was caused by having flops of fiberglass mat sticking out the sides. The extra material would constantly pull away from the inside of the gauntlet. When I re-stuck it on, more air bubbles would appear.
I used almost a litre (2 pints) of resin to do these 4 gauntlets, and most of it was wasted. I found that by the time I was finished one gauntlet half, the resin was already gelling up. Tomorrow, I'm going to try smaller resin batches so there's less waste.
My last gauntlet half was the quickest, easiest, least 'bubbly', and the neatest of the 4. A rough cut of the mat really impedes your work. It's nasty stuff to touch, but take the time to do a precisely fitted cut of the mat.
By the time I finished my last gauntlet, my first gauntlet was pretty much all cured up and cooling down. And just the single layer has substantially improved the stiffness of these things!
The forms worked like a charm. The cellophane doesn't stick to the resin I had layed down, and it doesn't melt from the heat, either. My gauntlet halves still line up too!
Cheers!

So awesome!!! Love this thread

This must be Sticky'd!

Yes, vote for sticky! Awesome work !

Words just can't describe how jealous I am of your workshop. Awesome build documentary!

Originally Posted by zihyer

Words just can't describe how jealous I am of your workshop. Awesome build documentary!

Yes, blessed am I to have such an expansive and exhaustive workshop. By the way, this is actually the shop area of the school I teach at.

Thanks for the very kind comments, all of you!
I spent a couple hours there today with a Dremel cutoff wheel and sanding drum, fixing all the errors i made with the fiberglass. The mat lifted at the edges a little when I put the gauntlets into their forms. I sliced away all the curled-up mat and sanded the affected areas back down to resin. I was always planning to lay down 2 sheets of this stuff anyways, though. I'm also going to lay down some fiberglass cloth strip at the edges of the gaunts (where you would put the clasps or piano hinge) for a little extra thickness for screws, should I decide to go that route. No pics, though; it would just be me ejecting massive amounts of fiberglass dust from the Dremel anyways!

So, I layed down another layer of fiberglass on the whole insides of the gauntlets yesterday. I used smaller resin batches and cut the mat to size before starting. It went MUCH smoother! And only 1 or 2 small air bubbles too (for want of a fiberglass roller...). So assembly time is fast approaching for me. Just a couple questions I'd like answered before...

1. Some people mention using magnets to clasp the gauntlets shut. I'll assume that you would use rare-earth magnets. Are they the tiny ones some mini-wargamers use on their armies to swap weapons, embedding several in the mating edges of the gauntlet? Or would you use a couple larger ones flush-fitted on the sides of the gauntlets, with matching magnets on the whipcord launcher and the flamethrower to secure it shut? I'm thinking of using piano hinge on one side of the gauntlet, and magnets embedded in whatever way on the other side.

2. I'm on the hunt for some aluminum gauntlet darts. I'm trying to purchase a set I found in the cargo hold, but no response yet. I also tried messaging Mojo, but no response yet. I also found a site called RB Replicas, who do custom machining of parts for SW and other SciFi subjects. They have close to 100 of these in stock (as listed on their website). Again, no response yet. Any suggestions, members?

Thanks for your help, everyone!

Mojo fett has his Darts for sale right now on Ebay.currently has 10 sets
RB replicas ( Russ Brown) makes great stuff , however, only produces items in a run, so you could wait a while for what you are after!

Hi Necronaut,
This is the way i used. If you have any question, i would be happy to answer it

I see Mojo's darts on there, and I also see some darts from 'fenixprops' too. The fenix ones are only about half the price, though. Anyone have any experience with fenixprops? Quality/accuracy, communication, speed of service?

Finally got some Mojo darts in the works ( cheers, Mojo & recon!). In the meantime, I have layed down a couple layers of fiberglass on the entire insides of the gaunts. I have also put down reinforcement strips of fiberglass at the one edge of the gauntlets. I've decided to use piano hinge along the insides of the gaunts (hence the reinforcement/thickening fiberglass strips), and will use rare-earth magnets to secure the outsides of the gaunts. I thought of using piano hinge on the insides because it's less likely to be seen/noticed, while the outsides of the gaunts remain relatively seam-free.

Watch for updates!

Nice!

You already figured out that smaller batches are better, they also don't kick as quickly. Here is a surfboard maker's tip:

Go ahead and leave a little excess. When your glass work has partially kicked but not yet fully cured you can trim quite nicely with a razor blade. While it works best with fiberglass cloth it can work with mat as well and it saves a lot of dremel work.

This thread is very cool

Thanks for the kind words and advice so far, everyone.

I'm ordering the buttons and switches for the gauntlets right now. The silver Alco-switches for the right gauntlet were easy enough to find and order, but I'm having a little trouble with the LED. The found parts wiki says something about a red indicator lamp on the left gauntlet somewhere. After scouring the ESB gallery here, I can't seem to find where it's supposed to go on the gauntlet. Is it something only on the ROTJ gauntlets? Or is it hidden somewhere that the ESB gallery pics don't reveal?

Seeing as those newly discovered 70's Eveready lamps are hard to find, I'm thinking of just grabbing a push-button switch part from my local Source and modifying the casing to fit into the right gauntlet. I'll probably just use an LED coming out of the front of the gauntlet for the light.

Thanks for the help!

The left gauntlet red lamp is specific only for the ROTJ suit.

By the way, you have an excellent thread here!

Quick update for you...

I saw these at the local dollar store. They are 'precision screwdriver sets' for $2 Cdn each and they come with about 8 tiny bits. It's the barrel/body that caught my eye, though...

I have some of the resin bits from the flamethrower assembly sitting above the screwdriver handles, and there's a pretty close match between the knurling and banding on these handles compared to what comes in the gauntlet kit. They are hollow, and almost the right size to receive the fat tube bits that came with the kit. I'm thinking of throwing these on the drill press and going at them with some emery cloth to refine the shape of the tips, and then cutting them up in a mitre box to size to match and outright replace the resin parts. I think it could make for a much sharper-looking flamethrower.
There doesn't seem to be any consistent layout/size of parts on the many flamethrower bodies that have come out for ESB gauntlets (is there?). I think I have a little artistic license here.
What do you think? All replies welcome!

Awesome score! While I don't know much about this ESB attachment (yet ) I don't see why you couldn't make those parts work for you.

those look pretty darn close to me. i love the updates on this thread

Necronaut, this is great!

I first jumped into fiberglassing back in October when reinforcing WOF-templated gauntlets and helmet. I had a really tough time getting the stuff to stick into crevices - it seems to contract, or at least flex from the heat, a bit while curing. That makes it pull out of any tight space it's been wedged into, even if totally flush, wetted with resin, and without air bubbles. I decided the parts didn't need full reinforcement - they're just for show - but if you have the same problem and develop any tricks, let me know!

I did find a few tricks, through experimentation or Google searches, to combat the air bubble & mat overhang issues. I dealt with bubbles by "stabbing" at them with the bristles straight-on, like you suggested. That seemed to force the air out, and not just to the space around the bubble, but out through the mat. On relatively flat surfaces, this worked great - so "brushing" sideways is not just bad because it makes a hairy mess, it also tends to pull the mat and create air bubbles (or at least leave those that are already there).

The mat overhang I actually found useful, as it was a real pain if I tried to trim close to the part's actual size and wound up short after the resin went on. Grinding mat with a Dremel, minus resin, isn't exactly ideal, though - it gets wrapped around the shaft and can be a real pain to remove. So I just applied resin at least 1/2" (~1.5cm) past the edge of the part. After curing, I could Dremel the excess off without worrying about fiber strands getting into my tools. Not ideal if you have a part that is thicker at the very edge than in the middle, but if you're reinforcing a part of uniform thickness, it worked well for me.

And on the note of gauntlet darts, Chewiepal came up with some that are really good approximations for those on a budget: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f25/c...ewiepal-20532/

As a beginner myself, I'll be watching this thread big time. Thanks!

Yeah, I have a feeling it'll be a while before Mojo can get back to knee and gauntlet darts. Sounds like work is taking a lot of his time, and he's in the middle of the GMH aluminum ear run too. Nail rivets will work in a pinch, though. Thanks for the tip!

I actually got a PM about where to find these 'precision screwdriver sets". I got them at Dollarama, a Canadian discount store chain with no online store. With constantly changing stock, it might be tough to find them. I did a quick Google image search and found these, which are kind of close...
USD $ 8.79 - 9-in-1 Portable Precision Screwdriver Set, Free Shipping On All Gadgets!
Precision Screwdriver Set - 9 Pc; Torx, Phillips - Amazon.com
9-in-1 Aluminium Alloy Precision Screwdriver Set
The last link looks like it might be a little short, but it's all about the tips anyways for this part! I think you'd need 4 of these. As for the actual build-up, I couldn't use the drill press in the shop on Sunday (no key to turn on the power to activate the power outlets or heavy machinery in the shop). I'll try again on Saturday or Sunday or over my holiday break.

Soooo.... any idea on where to find the flared tip for the bottom nozzle? I was thinking of using a couple washers epoxied to a pen tip (like the DIY toe spikes).

Wow this is a great thread! I literally just bought a set of MOW ESB Gauntlets so I'll be keeping a close eye on this.

I spent a couple hours at the school shop today, and I turned out about 6-odd aluminum pieces from the found screwdriver handles as replacements for the knurled resin fittings on the flamethrower. With the proper tools, this went quite well (and I still have all my fingers and limbs intact). Add some parts from a couple pens from Staples, and this is going to look SICK!! I put down one last layer of woven fiberglass strip along the piano-hinge side of the gauntlets too before I do the clamshell thing with them. Sorry, no pics right now, as I forgot the camera at school and it's -20 C out right now. I'll have a big update for everyone after Christmas.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas out there! I just got back from my family and stopped by the school to pick up my camera. I'll share with you the goings-on with the flamethrower and the screwdriver handles. I spent about 4 hours in the school shop on Saturday on these bits...
(Optional) Step 5A: Improving the Flamethrower

I did a rough sizing cut mark on the tip of the screwdriver handle. The tip will go, along with most of the body.

I used a simple hacksaw to slice through the tip of the screwdriver, discarding the tip when done.

The screwdriver handle was secured to a big drill press, which will substitute for a lathe. I turned on the drill press and used a small file to profile the tapering tip to a shape I was happy with. The speed and spinning action of the drill press should ensure a uniform and symmetrical shape.

Next, I put the handle in a vise and used progressively larger drill bit sizes to enlarge the hole. This particular piece will be fitted to the larger 1/4" OD aluminum pipes that come with the gauntlets, so it will need quite a large hole.

The original holes for the bits were a little off-centre, and my drilling hasn't helped that situation at all.

Time to break out the rotary tool! I've got an old Dremel XPS kit with several attachments, a Dremel accessory kit, and a Canadian Tire brand rotary tool kit ($9.00 for 300 pieces!!).

I used a couple different bits to widen and center the hole. Here is a diamond-embedded grinding bit on the Dremel. I also used a carbide cylindrical cutter bit and an aluminum oxide tapered grinding stone bit to shape the hole, until...

...the aluminum tube fits in the hole!

Back to the drill press to smooth out the cuts! I used a honing stone and honing oil (found in the tool aisle of your local Home Depot) to polish the sides...

... and the cut surface tip. Polishing against the stone on the level working surface of the drill press should ensure a square and uniform cut tip. Be careful when doing this step, as the honing stone has a tendency to 'walk' and 'jump' a bit if you apply too much pressure.

Last step is to slice off the portion you want from the rest of the handle. I used a hobby mitre box secured to a vise and a matching coping saw to do this. Aluminum is soft enough that the steel saw will cut through it without losing much tooth or sharpness. Using a mitre box will ensure a smooth 90 degree cut on the other side of the piece we need.

Here's a shot of our finished piece alongside the original resin part.

Another shot of both the aluminum and resin pieces on the 1/4 " aluminum tubing from the gauntlet kit.

This is a pure stroke of luck. rooting through my scale modelling tools at home, I found a ****** old pin vise (definitely not the one I regularly use for scale modelling). Its tip is remarkably similar in shape and size to the resin piece seen above it. With minimal shaping and drilling, it was a perfect replacement to the resin. You might be able to find a similar pin vise in the tool section of a larger hobby shop for about $10. It was just kicking around, so YOINK! On to the flamethrower it goes!

Here's all the pieces I shaped alongside their resin counterparts.

And here's a parting shot of the pieces dry-fitted to assemble the flamethrower. You can see that I'm already working on the tip of the bottom tube. The replacement tip is just a pen tip from Staples (Zebra brand F-701 stainless steel ball point pen). The polished stainless steel will need some sanding/wire brushing to take away the polished look. I'll work on that (along with some other things) tomorrow in the shop. Watch for another update tomorrow night. Until then, Happy Holidays!

totally awesome man! love it!

Bad day at the 'office'. I spent the day weathering my soft parts. Some went really good, some went disastrous. No real progress to speak of on the gauntlets today, though. I will have another report tomorrow.

(Optional) Step 5B: Further Improvements to the Flamethrower
I might be getting a little on the obsessive side now...

Here's the flamethrower tip I'm working on. Like I said in a previous post, I'm using the stainless steel tip of a pen from Staples (Zebra F-701). I roughed it up a bit using a stainless steel brush on the Dremel. It gives it a nicely worn and hi-temp 'bluing' effect on the steel. I might still do that to the two washers on the right. Speaking of which, These are just two 5/16" washers. I bolted them together on a 5/16 nut and bolt, and strapped it into the trusty old drill press. Using a big brand-new file, the taper on both edges was acheived in about 2 minutes.
Digging through a variety bag of brass and aluminum scratchbuilding pipe from my local hobby store (less than $20, and it will come in handy for future armor scale modelling projects), I found a piece of brass that nicely sleeved onto both the screw end of the pen tip and the thinner aluminum flamethrower barrel. A little epoxy or solder, and it'll be done!

Here's a pic of a very hasty dry-fit. I know that the washers and the knurled aluminum part are a little off-centre, but I'll centre them during actual assembly. I'm pretty satisfied with this.

Now, say hello to my new gas cylinders! They're cheap brass darts from a 3-pack (coincidence? ) from a game/dart/billiards shop. They are pretty much the exact length of the resin gas cylinders, but a little on the skinny side. I briefly considered throwing them on the flamethrower as-is, but that just wouldn't be good enough . Just like so many other things, they were thrown on the drill press for a quick 'skinnification' before the next step.

I bought a 1-foot length of brass tube from the old hobby shop that fitted very nicely and tight around the dart barrels. Using some Vernier calipers, I measured the distance between the ends and cut the brass tube to length using my hobby mitre saw set.

I'm also cutting some rings from yet another 1-foot brass tube length that sleeved perfectly around the previous brass tube. Yeah, I have lots more cutting to do. Catcha later!

This...is...amazing!!!

Awesome metal upgrades to the flamethrower! I love all the little detail you're putting into this!

Ok kiddo's, kind of a mish-mash last couple of days in the workshops...
(optional) Step 5C: More Flamethrower Work
All the tubes and rings are cut (finally!) for the gas cartridges. Time to glue them in place.

I'm using a JB Weld-type 2 part epoxy for this (it claims to bond any metals together). Should work fine for a brass to brass connection. Just a little is all you need. I mixed well, and used a toothpick to smear it on the brass dart parts. I then twisted on the brass sleeve, only to ensure even spreading of the epoxy between the brass tube and the dart.

Any excess epoxy that was pushed out was cleaned up with an acetone soaked cotton bud. Nail polish remover works in a pinch.

To create a more 'seamless' join between the tube and the dart, I filled it with some Bondo spot filler putty. Before applying, I mixed in a few drops of acetone to thin down the spot filler. Excess was cleaned off with an acetone-soaked paper towel and a cotton bud. After looking at my handiwork about 6 hours later, another application may be necessary to ensure all those little gaps are filled.

(Optional) Step 6: Improving the ESB Whipcord Launcher
Lots of stuff here on TDH on the hose attachment schematics for the ROTJ whipcord launcher, but nothing so far on the ESB version. Now to me, this thing sort of reminds me of a barbecue lighter... so I picked one up at random.

My intention is to replace the molded tube in the launcher with something a little different. Time to slice it out!

Here's a shot of the cut-out tube and its eventual replacement. I'll use the tip of the lighter and leave some of the vent holes exposed, just for a little interest.

I wanted a look that said that there is most certainly some sort of tube in this housing. I cut a channel for the lighter tube to sit inside with the dremel.

I sliced off the tip of the lighter (no explosions or fire, so we'll count ourselves lucky ) with the dremel cutoff wheel.

This pic doesn't really show it too well, but the lighter tube is a little too tall for the narrow end of the launcher. I had to grind the bottom down a wee bit.

That wee bit ended up being almost an hour of me working it against a file and test-fitting.

Here's the piece sitting in its new home.

And I finally got it to sit flush inside.
I am seriously considering grinding off the white parts of the top of the whipcord launcher and replacing it with some plasticard cut to shape. Looking at the ESB gallery, they seem a little out-of-shape. However, I think I'll leave the dental file nubs at the back of the launcher as they are. According to Darth Voorhees, he always seems to be snagging and losing his during troops.

Step 7: Drilling holes for the Darts, Switches, and Light
I don't recall who it was, but someone long ago started a thread here called "ESB Gauntlet Greeblie Help". The interested party was asking about the button/switch on the right gauntlet. It turned out to be part of a 1970's era Eveready pocket flashlight. Looking at the Super Trooper B/W footage, the light was still operational, and in fact the intact flashlight body may actually be a part of the right gauntlet. I'm going to try and at least replicate that functionality using an LED and a slider switch capped with the button that comes with the MOW gauntlet kit.

The detail in this section is really 'soft'. I'm going to cut out that section and replace it with a piece of plasticard with an LED bulb embedded in it. I started by drilling out the corners.

Hate to jump from start to finish, but I forgot to take pics. I spent a long time grinding out the resin and fiberglass behind it to get to this stage. I used small files and fingernail emery boards to square off and sand out this section.

Yes, a long time grinding out this section. I need to make room for the backing plasticard plate, the LED itself, the resistor, and the slide switch. Somewhere inside of this, I'll need to fit a 9V battery for a power source too.

Looks like I got a little too excited with the dremel. A little Bondo ought to fix that right up.

I drilled out recesses for the darts to slide into (MojoFett, could you hook me up with some please?). The gauntlet sits pretty straight-up and a drill press did the trick very nicely. What size bit was it? Something about the same size as the rivets I picked up as dart replacements. I carefully measured where to drill, but it seems I still mucked it up a bit. If you look, you might see where I'm currently carving out the button recess so it has room to slide back and forth.
I picked myself up a couple Alco 'tyco-switches' (is that what they are?) for the right gauntlet. I searched high and low for measurements or locations where to drill out for these switches on the right gauntlet, but to no avail. Since every gauntlet out there is a little bit different, the best it seems we can do is 'right around there'. Check your picture references, and use the old Mark 1 eyeball to find a nice spot for them.

Here's where mine are. I at least used a straight edge to get them relatively centered up-down. However, I just used the dremel grinding bit until the switches fit in the hole. I probably should have found the drill bit size and cut proper holes, but whatever. They fit, and most of the battle scars will be covered up with the washers and nuts.

It was quite a battle to get these to fit. I'd be willing to bet that I have about 5 mm of fiberglass and resin slapped on the insides of these things. As well, there was quite a thick layer of original resin to grind through. The bases of these switches are massive, and I don't think they would fit perfectly perpendicular unless you got some old Ruffkin Toys vac-formed styrene gauntlets.

In terms of spacing the switches out, I referred to reference pics as best as I could. However, I ended up putting them a little too close together. I had to grind the edges of the switches down in order for them to fit next to each other and not look cross-eyed.
I'm hoping that the switches are still functional. I'd like to use them as helmet rangefinder servo switches; one brings it down, and the other brings it up again. Hopefully there's still room for an RF board in the gauntlets.

Another update:
(Optional) Step 5D: Finishing the Flamethrower Scratchbuilding

I used a set of Vernier Calipers to centre the wide middle ring that goes around the cartridge.

Once I got the same measurement on both sides, I marked the edges of the ring with a pencil.

I threw a piece of masking tape down and squeezed out a little CA superglue (I used the medium thickness stuff). With a toothpick, I smeared a little between my pencil marks. The gap between the two brass sleeves is pretty tiny, so too much glue will ooze out the edges.

With a twisting motion, I put the middle ring in place. A twist as you fit it should ensure that the glue evenly coats the insides and ensures a secure bond, and will pull any excess glue into the gap between the brass ring and the body.

Simply repeat until all your rings are attached. Here's one of the finished gas cylinders.

The dart bodies are just a touch too short, compared to the spacing from the original resin cylinders. I would have to add a little length, so I sleeved some aluminum tubing onto the dart points. Before I just cut and slapped them on, I grooved and rounded out the ends of the aluminum tube, so it would sit nice and flush against the round cylinder head with no gap.

Using a drill bit of sufficient size, I cut out the insides by hand. It's an aluminum tube, so it's a soft and easy-to-cut metal. Once the groove was cut, I sliced off the necessary length. Here are all 3 'nubs' for the dart ends.

I used some JB Weld metal epoxy to secure the nubs to the dart points. You can wipe away any excess with an acetone-soaked cotton bud.

Here's all three darts with the nubs attached to the ends. I cut them long enough so that they would sit inside the front cylinder block and used tube that was just thick enough to sit inside the recesses with almost no wiggle room. I sliced off the point of one of the dart bodies with a cutting disc and a dremel. It'll be the top gas cylinder. At the top of the pic, you can see that I drilled through the resin recesses of the front cylinder block to accommodate the other two dart points that will sit inside the flamethrower tubes.

The back ends of the gas cylinders are too wide to sit inside the recesses of the rear block. So I made some pins for them to sit inside the recesses. The copper tube will sit inside the brass dart bodies, while the aluminum rings at the end will fit nice and snug inside the rear block recesses.

The pins are fitted and JB Welded into place.

Here are the cylinders dry-fitted into their respective blocks.

And a final parting shot of the entire flamethrower assembly. Once again, it's only a dry-fit. I want to keep the parts separate for ease of painting. I could probably do a little more work replacing the resin tubes and that resin 'washer' at the back end of the bottom tube... but for now, I'm calling this step DONE!! Thoughts?

I like how you 'replaced' some of the flamethrower parts with bits and pieces and now it looks professional and clean. You did amazing prep work and adjustments to the gauntlets. I think you cut a bit too wide the opening for the torch on the right gauntlet, but that's an easy fix if you decide that you want to correct it.



(Note that the second image is an original Pre-Pro #2 right gauntlet modified by LFL for the ROTJ needs and had the working torch, but they filled and painted the button side and removed the minilight inner parts)

Keep up the great job!

WOW, fantastic thread! Good Job...

Your workshop is magical, man! And it's so cool to see someone else assemble these gauntlets

I love to see creative minds at work. Nice job!

I repeated the above step with the other gauntlet half, and voila! Hand-tightening the screws should prevent the resin and fiberglass from cracking, splitting, or stripping in the screw the holes.

Now to slice off the screw ends sticking out of the show side. Don your protective gear!

Working slowly and allowing the cutting disc to do the work, slice off the ends. You may gouge into the resin, but we're going to need to putty and smooth these bits anyways. No big deal.

The screw ends are now cut roughly flush with the gauntlet surface. I used a grinding bit on the dremel to further smooth and actually dish out the screws themselves.

Back at home, I started working on the magnet side of these gauntlets. I picked up some rare earth magnet bars from an online store and roughed up one side of them. This gives the epoxy something to stick and bite into.

After roughing up the gauntlet insides where the magnets would be glued, I mixed up some JB Weld and applied it to these spots.

I then glued and placed the magnets so they would overlap the edge of the gauntlet slightly. This side of the gauntlet was sticking out just a little bit too much, so i used the magnets themselves as closing tabs to achieve a better closing alignment. The magnets were clamped in place and allowed to dry overnight.
It should be noted that JB Weld contains iron or steel powder. Combined with magnets, it makes for a rather interesting sight when the JB Weld starts creeping out and flowing toward the edges of the magnets. I had to repack the JB Weld under and around the magnets a few times as it started to set up.

Despite my better judgement, I still used JB Weld on the other side to secure the other magnets. I purposely set them back about 1 mm from where the magnets on the other half would be when shut. They have about 12 lbs of pull each so when closing, they tend to really snap shut! I didn't want them constantly hitting themselves when clasping in case they cracked.
I've heard stormtrooper costumers talk about 'armor bite'. It's when you move and a flap of skin gets pinched between two of your armor plates. This clasping technique has the potential for such an occurence (as my right forearm can attest to).
I've also found that some are a little skeptical of clasping gauntlets using the magnet technique. Believe me, these are NOT coming apart without an extreme amount of effort.

You really need to rename your thread. You're building gauntlets like a pro!

Now it's time to start puttying the screws. I used Bondo glazing putty to do this. I laid down some on a few strips of masking tape for easy disposal when finished. I also mixed in some nail polish remover to thin it out a bit.

I used a metal spatula to spread it on like peanut butter. Cleanup is as easy as wiping off the excess with a paper towel moistened with the nail polish remover.

When finished, simply peel up your masking tape 'palette' and toss it in the garbage. Easy!

I used 300 grit sandpaper to sand off the excess. It took me a few applications (this isn't the last one) to cover up the scars from the cutting disc. By dishing into the screws a little when grinding them down a few posts back, it should create a nice bowl for the putty to sit inside and completely cover the screws.

Now, I have jumped forward a little with the right gauntlet. It's been primed with a 'filling' automotive primer already and I'm in the process of filling all the little pinholes in the resin. I'm using a scale modelling product called Mr Surfacer. It's kind of like a paintable putty. It's acrylic resin powder mixed into a lacquer paint. You brush it into small cracks and gaps, let it dry, and sand it smooth. I haven't sanded it off yet, but I think that it's just covering up the pinholes, rather than filling them up. I'll be going at this gauntlet on Sunday with an orbital sander and some sanding sticks to see how my pinhole filling job went. If Mr Surfacer doesn't do the trick, I've heard that you can also thin down some PVA (white school glue) with water and use that to fill pinholes in resin. It sands smooth too.
My left gauntlet is not going so smoothly. I applied two layers of fiberglass mat to the insides of these things, and the heat ended up warping the left bottom gauntlet half too much. I tried correcting it with heat, but it just won't stay in the shape I need it to close flush with the upper gauntlet half. I got Christian from MOW to send me another gauntlet half, and it came in last week. Right now, it's at school setting up after its first fiberglassing. I made sure that it will cure up in its proper contour using a form. It's only going to get a single layer of mat on the inside and a few strips of cloth on the edge where it will be hinged.

Question: I'm trying to find a suitable green paint for the gauntlets, and I have picked up a couple local possibilities: Testors Field Green (through an airbrush) or Krylon Italian Olive spraybomb. I haven't gotten to my last (and furthest away) hobby shop (which carries Humbrol/Pollyscale paints as well as Testors). I really want an enamel paint for my hard parts. Are either of these color of any use, or should I hold out for or order the Testors RLM62?

When i get around to doing my gaunts i may paint them with humbrol green 78 , I've seen a thread or two on this gauntlet color matter, sorry i dont have a link for you, but they came out pretty nice with 78 plus some weathering and they grey details, hope this helps. Nice job on this gaunts build BTW

I've seen model master 1943 panzer olivegrun on gauntlets before.

I use humbrol 78. I have also used Rustoleum satin spruce green in the past, but i liked the Humbrol color better, so thats what i use for the gaunts now. Italian olive is too brownish. IMO it is only good for the ROTJ bucket top. You really shouldnt use it on any ESB parts unless its for weathering purposes.

This is a GREAT thread..........

I'll be getting back on the gauntlet horse soon here, folks. I've been getting a little carried away with assembling and painting up my new RKD armor. As well, I wanted to make sure my sanding and filling job on the right gantlet was acceptable before blabbing about how I did it. I'll post a WIP on the filling and 'body work' on the left gauntlet in a couple weeks, using the same process.

This thread is one of the best I've seen. Do you strap down the tops of the gauntlets when you fiberglassed them so they wouldn't pop up out of the jig you made ?

Before I wrapped the fiberglass around the insides, I heat-molded the gauntlet halves with some hot water so that they lined up. After building the jig at the proper angles, I placed the gauntlet halves in the jig and marked how far to push them into the jig front-to-back.
After the fiberglass was laid I pushed them into the jig, lining them up with the marks I had made. They stayed in the jig just fine as the resin set without me having to strap them down.

Once again, the armor thing's been consuming my life. I've been on a seemingly neverending quest to find the right color out-of-the-jar for my armor. I've settled on MM euro dark green. It seems to have that mint green tone with a hint of blue to it, unlike the yellow or olive-tinted medium and field greens I've been experimenting with.

Now that my metal gauntlet rocket's arrived, this may be the kick in the butt I need to just get on and finish them!

Hey gang, a little update on some work I did tonight. I kinda lost my mojo on this over the spring when my armor arrived. It's almost done, and it'll be a while before I see my CC GMH, so I thought I'd finish these gauntlets off....

These resin parts are pitted with tiny micro-bubbles and pinholes. I spent a couple weeks sanding, filling, sanding, filling, etc. until the surfaces were smooth and the bubbles were filled. I started with a coat of DupliColor Adhesion Promoter on all the resin parts. It's a product used in auto-body shops to make sure that paint will stick to plastic. After that, I sprayed several coats of automotive filler primer. It's used to fill small imperfections and prime the surface of your work for finish sanding or paint. I sanded the parts flat, gave them a good scrub, then set out to fill any remaining micro-bubbles & pinholes. I use a product called Mr Surfacer for the pinholes and small gouges. It's a semi-thin, paintable liquid filler for tiny gaps and imperfections. It still took a couple weeks to find and fill all the remaining surface imperfections that will show for all the resin bits of the flamethrower. Once I was satisfied that I had caught them all, they got another round of primer.
As you can see, I've went ahead and sprayed a few coats of white on these parts. I'm in the process of masking them off for black paint.

I use Tamiya Tape for all of my masking. I was big into plastic model kits before I started this project (I needed the break from models anyways ). I used a sharp hobby knife with a brand-new blade to trim all of the panels on the whipcord launcher. As for the sides...

I sanded off the sides of the whipcord launcher and am using styrene sheet to remake them. It's thin enough that I can trim the styrene with scissors for a rough cut.

Once the pieces were cut out, I trimmed them to fit the whipcord launcher sides, with about a 1 mm gap between the edge of the launcher and the plastic trim. These pieces are going to get a coat of white paint to match the white paint on all the other pieces.

Everything's ready for some more white paint! But why did I bother masking off the white panels and parts, you ask? Paint bleed. It might be a symptom of my own sloppiness, but if I mask off a part for painting a new color what inevitably happens is that the new color always runs under the tape here and there. By spraying the underlying color after masking, whatever bleeding potential there might be gets blocked by this final application of the original color. I may still get paint bleed, but it will be the original underlying color. It makes it so much easier to deal with.

I am using Humbrol paints through a Paasche Talon airbrush. My little workstation could use some cleanup, but whatever . I much prefer using Testors MM enamels (I find them more durable once dry), but I am committed to using Humbrol paint schemes for when I paint my helmet this summer. Better get used to them. I am thinning the Humbrol enamel at about a 2:1 ratio of paint to thinner. I started with a 1:1 ratio, but it always came out too 'wet', thin, and runny.

Here's some of the flamethrower parts with their white paint. This is about 4 or 5 coats of Humbrol gloss white.
Seeya soon!