Jango Britt: A Project log

Hi guys, I've made a few appearances here asking questions, and looking for stuff to buy. I've almost got everything together, so I thought I'd give it a start. I thought I'd share with you all my progress. Hopefully, this will be quite a picture intensive log, so bear with me.

I know a lot of people don't want you to criticise projects, but in my case, please do. I really want to make this good first time round, and I don't mind a bit of extra work. I love criticism, especially negative criticism, as it helps me to know what I've done wrong, or could do better next time. I honestly think all kinds of criticism help with a project, so flame on.

I started with a pair of Rubies Blasters. I bought them off e-bay for about $20 (£11)

I sanded off all the raised text, sanded off the fake screws and replaced with old screw heads, filled all the gaps and sanded to perfection, removed the battery cover screws and blocks, removed the orange caps, and cut off the ledge that held them, and finally scratch built a trigger guard for the right blaster. I then primed them, and after a few trials, got them how I wanted them.

I sprayed the inside barrel part, and muzzle rim gold, and rub-n-buffed the rest. Just how shiny can you get rub-n-buff?


http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ster_right.jpg

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...rs_outside.jpg

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ers_inside.jpg

Still waiting on my friend's dremel tool so I can start work on the fiberglass JD armour (Thank you, sir)

I'm also still short of a set of gauntlets (trying to get a hold of Man of War), gloves (large) Jet Pack, and jumpsuit(large-XL). If anyone knows of some going, please let me know.

Adam

Working on my boots at the moment. Bought a pair of size 10s from Reinone. Very nice boots, a size too small, but they still fit me.

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...oot_left_1.jpg

I tried rub-n-buffing the sides of the sole, and it ended up looking a bit like bantha poodoo.

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ot_right_1.jpg

You can see from the closeup here, that even though I masked the sides, my clumsy fingers messed it up, and got rub-n-buff all over it.

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ht_detail1.jpg

Anyone have any suggestions for cleaning it off? do white spirits work? Or should I just try to polish black over it?

Adam

nice
They look great!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NOITAIDAR

Working on my boots at the moment. Bought a pair of size 10s from Reinone. Very nice boots, a size too small, but they still fit me.

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...oot_left_1.jpg

I tried rub-n-buffing the sides of the sole, and it ended up looking a bit like bantha poodoo.

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ot_right_1.jpg

You can see from the closeup here, that even though I masked the sides, my clumsy fingers messed it up, and got rub-n-buff all over it.

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ht_detail1.jpg

Anyone have any suggestions for cleaning it off? do white spirits work? Or should I just try to polish black over it?

Adam

---

like any boots....Kiwi / shoe polish should do fine..

I love the blasters....looks like i got to rework mine....

Have you ever thought to trying to use aluminum duct tape? I cant remeber the exact name of it, but Im sure you would find it at any Hardware store. Its an alluminum tape and I think it will achieve the look you are trying to achieve.

yeah...rolls and rolls of masking / duct tape that shines like the regular aluminium foil..should not be hard to get..

but i settled for paint on mine... :lol

possibly Bare Metal Foil?

Anyway, so I touched up the boots using white spirits and a Q-Tip, and they look fantastic. No point posting a pic here, because its not easy to see the difference in a picture.

However... I finished the helmet today, here are some progress pics:
First, light blue coat
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...lm_paint_1.jpg

Second, Dark Blue Coat
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...lm_paint_2.jpg

Third, Rub-n-buff Coat
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...aint_final.jpg

Adam

nice bucket....is that a DP?

No Sir, Its from the Great JD, as with all my armour (still looking for gauntlets) :jango

yikes..sorrie..JD...lol...

Lookin good bro;)

After a rather lengthy break, I've started doing some more work on jango. Finally cut out all my fiberglass pieces, and persuaded my mother to start making the vest for me.

Today I went shopping, and bought a BMX bike helmet, and ripped out all the pads. I also stopped by the local motorcycle shop and picked up some Bob Heath Anti-Fog spray, which works a treat on my visor.

I also found an old headset that had been chewed by my dog, and cast aside into the spares box, so ripped off the ear-pieces, and mic, and fastened to the inside of my bucket. This also helps to secure the helmet to my head so it doesn't fall off when I'm flying upside down on my jet pack :jet pack. I also wired in a cheap n cheerful noise filter, using a 2.2kOhm resistor, and 10v capacitor that I ripped off yet another dead headset.

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album..._interior1.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album..._interior2.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...chip_sound.jpg

The Headphones and pads give the helmet a nice snug, but very comfortable fit. (As approved by Ma Fett)
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...go/Ma_Fett.jpg

I ordered some mini fans from RS, and hopefully those will arrive tomorrow, and I'll then wire those on to the board, with a switch... I've got 2 fans, 2 9v battery holders, but only 1 switch... still deciding how I want to wire those in.

Time to warm up the old elbow grease, and start wet sanding the other plates

Kickin butt bro!!!

Keep it up! :cheers

-X-
:jango

very nice.

I keep seeing the reference to reinone? is that a person or brand of boot?

thanks

i think your helmet falling off would be the least of your worries flying upside down w/ a jetbpack..pretty sure it would shoot u into the ground my man...just stay upright w/ the jet pack...lookin good

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kivas

very nice.

I keep seeing the reference to reinone? is that a person or brand of boot?

thanks

---

Yes. :lol

Reinone is a board member, and he commissioned some custom designed jango boots

Everything's looking nice. Keep up the good work. I have to say, though, that I used rub n' buff on my soles and they turned out great. I think you might have put yours on too thick. I keep seeing people here posting about bad experiences with this stuff. I little tiny bit goes a very long way. And you have to use a lot of friction to seal it in. Those would be my two gospel truths about rub n' buff.

For my soles I taped off the parts so I didn't go over the lines. I opened up the tube of rub n' buff and just barely touched my finger to the opening, just enough to get some color. Then I rubbed it on until it sealed. Presto! If it's not enough, then simply repeat the process. This stuff blends so don't worry about not using enough. Like I've said in other posts, I rub n' buffed all my armor, even the gauntlets.

You can check this thread out if you want to see how some of my stuff turned out. Scroll down to post #33 for a list of all my parts and close-ups, including my boots.

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f28/skalen-fehl-unleashed-7036/

Thanks for the tip, Skalen Fel.

I decided to have another go at the helmet, and with zxwing's constant cheerleading, I managed to get it acceptable

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ango/helm1.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ango/helm2.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ango/helm3.jpg

Its hard to see the shinyness because the room is a little dark, but I can see the TV clearly through it :jango

Here's the completed electronics. Mic and Headphone jacks on the left side, and fan switch on the right.
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album..._interior3.jpg

Next, I rub n buffed my chest pieces. I cut the diamond out completely, and added a plasticard backing, and replacement center square.
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...st_diamond.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ango/chest.jpg

For a Jet Pack Harness, I'm using a British Army PLCE Bergen Daysack Yolk, and I've cut and stitched a few new straps for holding the jet pack in place (through the vest, and back pieces)

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...go/harness.jpg

Hopefully once my shiny new jet pack arrives, It'll hook up nicely.

With the help of Ma Fett, and her magic sewing machine, we completed my vest. Its cut in one piece, with velcro up the left side. Ma Fett decided to stich two Darts up the back (will be covered by back plate), to help form the vest to my size. Also some darts just inside of the armpits, to fit to my uh... man breasts (again, hidden under the chest plates) :lol

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album.../vest_back.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...vest_front.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...t_shoulder.jpg

Anyone got any gauntlets for sale?

-Adam :jango

Comin along quite nicely. I hope we can troop together when its done. :cheers

:jango

Going slowly at the moment, as i'm waiting for my jet pack to arrive. Finally bought some gauntlets from Ruffkintoy, looking forward to their arrival too.

I'm still in need of a Jumpsuit, and Knee darts, but I haven't heard back from Bobamaker yet. Also, still need some gloves. I don't think we have a Nordstrum Rack over here, but I'm keeping my eye out for a set of blueish purplish leather gloves. hehe.

Finally got all my helmet electronics sorted out. After a double catastrophe of my Mic Jack pulling out of the board (happened twice) I got some new jacks with longer legs, and a new board with a more straightforward pattern.

I also wired in a pressel switch that I can have sticking out of my gauntlet.

My audio devices arrived the other day, and I tested them out this morning. perfect sound:

The amp doesn't have any modulation, but I figure it works ok.

Out: VoiceCare Personal Voice Amplifier

In: Bionic Ear

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album..._equipment.jpg

Bionic ear....now that's a sweet idea.

Jet Pack arrived this morning, I'm so excited! Its already painted and weathered, so once I get the clips attached for my harness, I'll post some pics

Looking good! Im looking forward to seeing the finished costume. Cant wait until My Boba armor arrives so I can get started on it. Also looking for JP,boots, gauntlets, ect....:skull

Well its finally time I finished this, before the London ComiCon, so here's the last couple days' work:

With the help of Ma Fett, we dyed the jumpsuit and hoses (graciously sent by zxwing). looks a little purple-er in person, but I think its pretty close

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/jumpsuit.jpg

The biggest issue I've had has been the Gauntlets. They were a lot of work, but once I got into it, I had a lot of fun making them. Got a set of RotJ gauntlets from Ruffkintoy, sliced off the keypad holder and filled the gap with sintra and milliput. I had to scratch build the flamethrower, as the RotJ one was way too long for Jango, turns out mine is a little too short, but I don't mind. Well, since my gauntlets have such nice shiny buttons on them, I just had to use them, so the helmet was completely re-wired, and with the help of some spare cable, I have my batteries, and switches, and controls in the gauntlets.

The Atari switch has 2 sets of poles, so that turns my mic on/off, as well as the red LED next to it. The two toggle switches control my two fans, with a battery for each in each arm. the two momentary push switches on the flamethrower are wired up to my shoulder, but currently aren't attached to anything. It was a PITA to put on through the jumpsuit, the 4-pole stereo jacks I was using kept coming out, so with the canibalism of an old bag, I attached some clips to hold it firmly in place.
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...lectronics.jpg

Finally, the Resin Parts were screwed, and glued, then filled and sanded to look b-e-a-utiful. They primed(again) and sprayed silver. I'll go over some of the bits with rub-n-buff-n-buff-n-buff to make it a bit shinier.
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...ango/gaunt.jpg

BTW, I think the hoses took too much purple, and not enough blue... is it passable?

Special thanks to all the guys I met at Pittsburgh ComiCon, for giving me the motivation to finish.

-Adam

Looks good so far bro, can't wait to see it soon.

The jumpsuit color looks promising. I would put those hoses in a navy blue bath for about ten minutes. I used R&B on the connectors to get them to look like aluminum. I'm going to do some surgery on my ****** gauntlets to get my switches to work like yours. I need it for my range finder remote.

Keep at it, almost there:thumbsup

I finished R&Bing the armour pieces (except for collar and back) and added the straps to keep them on. Also built new fins for my jet pack rocket, and tested out the harness. Its going to be tricky attaching everything through the vest, but should be ok with someone helping me get dressed

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album... pack_test.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...olour_test.jpg

It turns out that my JD Knee armour pieces are too small for my knees. they hurt like hell, which makes wearing them for long periods a definate negative. Does anyone know the best way to stretch fiberglass...step for step (I don't want to screw it up) Or... does anyone know of someone who makes knee armour that's wider than JD's? Also, my straps are held on by poppers, and hot-glued. They seem to keep coming off, though I suspect this is from the strain of them being too small for me. Anyone have any better suggestions than hot-glue for keeping them attached?

Cheers,

Adam

OK, so I fixxed the knees, and they fit a bit more comfortably now. I also got my chest pieces attached to the vest... though I think they're a bit too high. They're 1 cm from neck line, and each other, but still a large gap at bottom, go figure. Also, I'm hunting for some heavy duty snaps to attach my spats to the boots, and some more heavy duty velcro to attach the shoulder bells. I found a pair of old black British Army Northern Ireland gloves in my closet which will make do until I can find some way to make them purpler. Oh, and for those of you worrying, I finally put the pinstripes on my helmet :jango

Right now, I'm working on cutting holes in the jumpsuit to slide the leg armour straps through... would you suggest reinforcing these by stitching around the holes like a button hole?

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any willing participants to help me put the jet pack on at 4 AM this morning, so this is what I managed to do on my own... thoughts, comments are more than welcome.

Cheers,

Adam

P.S. Anyone selling a Rowing Maching in the UK? I need to get rid of the Jango Fatt!

Lookin good bro. You did a good job fixing those knees. The Gauntlets came together nicely as well.

If that's your V1, then it's a heck of a lot better than mine was. Looking good.:thumbsup Are the knees still uncomfortable?

Cruzer:jango

Wait how did you fix the knees?

Looks great so far.

Basically, I put 5 cuts in the top side of the knee part, then gently wedged bits of sintra into the gaps. It made the diameter of the curve about 1 cm wider, but its still a bit tight. I ended up drilling holes in the fiberglass and screwing the snaps in, and also epoxied. Then filled the holes to cover the screws. On the flat side, I had to make a bulge on the outside with milliput, then sand and paint.

Its still a bit too big, and will probably begin to hurt after a few hours, but at least I can walk in them. No Pain, No Gain, right? I'll be looking for something bigger to fit my knees, its certainly easier than loosing weight. lol. Does anyone know of any knees that are wider than the JD fiberglass knees?

Thanks for all the kind comments, I've had enough experience with building model aircraft to be a stickler for detail, so I wanted to make my V1 my Vn . the 3500 4000 and 12000 grit sanding cloths I had lying around also made the rub n buffing a bit less painful :jango

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NOITAIDAR

Does anyone know of any knees that are wider than the JD fiberglass knees?

---

One option (If you dare! :lol )...

Cut the knee armor in half. Split them distance you need to make them comfortable and then fiberglass them in the back, bondo the front and then you'll have the knees the width you need them.

Very nice work - looks really good !!!!!
Colors look dead on to me....
Nice Job !!

Awesome jango bro! :)

Thanks for all the kind comments everyone. Here are my final pictures

http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/final_01.jpg http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/final_02.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/final_03.jpg http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/final_04.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/final_05.jpg http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/final_06.jpg
http://www.rogueunderworld.com/album...o/final_07.jpg

A few issues I've noticed, which will need to be cleared up... eventually

1. Gauntlet jacks keep coming un-plugged, causing me to loose fans... will replace with 9-pin screw-connectors
2. Double Sleeve is too long, needs trimming
3. Neck seal keeps coming unfastened, need to replace with a hook of some sorts
4. Need to somehow reinforce the holes I cut for my elastic straps
5. Velcro on collar plate keeps unsticking. perhaps replace with heavy duty snaps
6. Velcro on gauntlets keeps ripping open when I try to bend inwards too far... no idea what to do about that
7. Gloves are too hard to put on, and too hot. Perhaps I should cut out the inner liner
8. Affix various darts... once they arrive

Anyone see anything else that needs to be done?

Very nice!
:)

looks nice man! That looks like pretty sophisticated wiring you got there.