Seattle Zam Progress

Hey there Zammers!

Happy to report that the I'm in the backstretch for finishing Zam. I have less than four weeks to get it complete (Emerald City Comic Con is the deadline, first weekend in April).

I'll be posting progress pics soon, next week everything gets dyed/painted/colored and it will look much better. Right now I'm trying to get everything assembled first.

Vest is almost constructed, I'm putting in the side rivets today. Got the shoulder thingies and the zipper in. No darts in the front yet - we'll see if I need them. My leather is too thick. I will use pigskin instead of cow on v2.

Skirt is getting cut out now, and will be assembled after coloring next week. Blaster, helmet and greeblies are all primed and ready for final paint. Shin guards, vanbraces are also ready for final color. Bodysuit done, although I need to make a new shirt - P90x made me too muscley for the one I have, especially in the arms and shoulders.

I also have to take in my pants, thanks to P90x.

I need to assemble my chest armor and pieces, that's the slowest part of the whole thing right now.

Gotta take a moment to thank the incredible people and resources on this website that made this all possible. You guys and gals rock. Super huge thanks to MonCal, JDFett, Fangs, and MaulMaus for specific parts and info.

Pics up soon, I promise. I just hope I can troop in this thing and do the Garrison proud.

Deunan Shiruba
Seattle Zam project
Jedi Knight gone Bounty Hunter

Excellent! Can't wait to see it all done!!

Awesome! Good luck Shiruba!!!

G-Fett

Yeah!! I'm looking forward to seeing the results of all your hard work!!!

Still working hard on it, got lots of progress this weekend. Got the hood/scarf done, learning to distress/paint fiberglass armor bits, and thanks to lots of help from Garrison Titan, got the leather squares cut out and the letters cut out of the chest plates.

Gotta get hose - anyone have a good lead on that?

I noticed that the stretchhouse fabric overheats in warm rooms really fast and lets cold air through like it's not there in cold areas. So you'll either freeze or sweat - but the important note here is that it is lousy in cold temperatures. I'll actually need to wear something warm if there is windchill, etc, say, while waiting for an outdoor cold weather function to start.

Doing color tests tomorrow to start coloring in scraps, then the real parts.

Huge thanks to everybody who is helping! This is truly a group effort.

Deunan Shiruba

Well, most of us are using vacuum hoses ... or drain hoses... But if you look on this thread - you'll see that there is another way to go:

Alternate Zam Hoses

I don't know what became of the hoses mentioned - but it's worth a shot. The hose does have to be 1" diameter so look for that!

Progress report: THe Osbourne punch arrived today, and I punched the first two rows of skirt plates. I now have a newfound respect for those Zammers who have made the skirt.

Ow.

I also had a paint fail on four pieces due to cold temperatures in my shop; the silver undercoat (spray) cracked while drying, and was clumping too. Rats. I will sand them back down and start over. It was toe caps and hand plates. I may have to make a paint booth inside the house to help speed this up. I can't wait for our latest snow storm to go away.

Paint brand recommendations for the silver and black undercoats?? Krylon? Rustoleum? Doesn't make any difference?

Deunan

I think we used silver rub and buff for most of the silver parts. What we did paint we used a silver auto paint we had left over from Trent's clone.

I didn't bother with a silver undercoat. I used I think a Rustolum primer and then just some acrylic paints for a light coat of black in the seams. Then Rub'n'Buff. I used the same acrylic paint in black and brown for the weathering.

I've used Rub-n-Buff on everything so far... then touched up with el-cheapo acrylic for the dirtying up and aging.

Thanks that helps!

Deunan

The advice helped; four small pieces got their Rub n buff silver last night, and today is the big push to get that base silver or base gold coat on the appropriate things. Only three items need more Dremel, then all the "hard" parts are in paint or primer.

Soft bits are done with construction, just need color... and the skirt plates are being punched, about halfway through, then get color. Three weeks to go!

I'll post pics soon. THanks for all the support!!

Deunan

Hey Deunan....lookin' good! I've got a week and a half to finish mine....YIKES. I've got an extra scarf broach thingy if you need one. It's a little sized wrong but not too bad. It would at least do you until/if you got a new one. Just let me know.

Yay! MIssing scarf pin piece found! (it was between newspaper sheets laid out for painting).

Also, I found Fels Naptha soap at Ace hardware (used to pre-wash the white treated leathers prior to painting). Just FYI.

Deunan

Wow that looks like aloot of work!! Keep up the great job

Update: Got the soap from online, Soaps Gone Buy, and the belt is getting "cobbled" today by a really cool shoe repair place. Now all the shoe repair people are coming to the con (they are Star Wars fans).

Got the boots covered in their pieces last night, and painted my toe spikes; I'm working hard on the ankle guards and toe guards, and I'll post the assembled pics tonight. I'm learning about the fun of distress painting (I love it!! This is awesome!). I've started dying leather bits, still searching for my perfect medium purple and medium brown.

The countdown is on.

Deunan

Wow!!! You're working so hard you're making me tired! Great work.

One question though... what do you need the soap for though? You already sewed your vest and cummerbund right? (That is the leather you would need the soap for - nothing else).

Looking forward to seeing the completed costume!

Hey MaulMaus,

I need the soap to wash the chrome-tan white finish of the vest, cummerbund, and gloves. Right now they repel water because they were professionally tanned white. If I wash them, I can strip some of that repellent off, which will improve dye penetration and the color.

If I dyed them right now, the dark purple I'd use would look like easter egg light blue.

And since the last posting, I finished weathering on half the silver armor pieces. I'll post pics later tonight.

11 days and counting.

Deunan

Erm... okay... not sure how that will turn out though. I did the washing with the naptha soap before I cut and sewed because of the shrinkage issue. When it came out of the washing machine it looked and felt pretty ... well... disgusting. I had to stretch out the skin again on a board and staple it down. I don't think the skin really "shrank" but it needed to be stretched out after washing it.

Just for fun, I did try dyeing some scraps of the leather that hadn't been washed, and it did work... sorta. I also tried it after putting some of that finish remover on the leather (that stinky stuff) and it worked a lot better, almost as well as after I washed the leather.

Ah. Good point. Okay, I'll try some finish remover first then.

Hey, MaulMaus and anyone else who wants to comment, how did you attach your hoses to the black connectors, and how did you attach the black connectors to the vest? Did you fashion a male/female connection, magnets, or what?

And what hose did you use? I got mine and it's a bit big. Thanks!

Deunan

lookin good

Hey Fangs,

I added resolene to the shin guards tonight and it took them from dark purple to dark purple with black appearance to it, just like the pictures. Do a test patch! It might get that last bit o' color you're trying to get.

I decided to resolene them so they would be waterproof. Doing the boots next as I covered them in colored leather.

Thanks Skirata! And thanks for your help on the gun, too. It's going to be assembled tomorrow.

Deunan

how did you attach your hoses to the black connectors, and how did you attach the black connectors to the vest? Did you fashion a male/female connection, magnets, or what?

I went to Home Depot and found some connectors in the plumbing section that fit inside the hose and epoxied the connectors on the pieces they attach to. It seems to work well with the hoses.

Do your black connectors screw apart? I just made a large button hole in the vest and screwed the black connector apart, put it through the vest, and screwed it back together.

The hoses I used were from a Black and Decker snake light extension, the original ones I had gotten were so stiff I was having trouble getting them to stay where they were supposed to.

Thanks Blue, that helps. I got my shins/ankles/boots together last night and found a few more glitches.

The screws and bolts in the shins/ankles connection press right into the ankle bones on me (which are prominent on me). Anyone else having this problem? After I sheared the extra screw off (like the tutorial), it was better, but it still bites in a bit. I'm worried about long parades and stuff.

And then the snap on the bottom right refuses to stay snapped. It broke the cap from the inner bit once already, but it just won't stay snapped.

Did your ankle guards float up as you walk? How did you fix that, and where did you put any fixes? I am betting velcro or magnets on the inside sides of the ankle guard, but that's my bet...

Thanks!

Deunan

I know that Jamie never got her snaps to stay done up for long and ended up just using velcro. I was just going to put the snaps on for show and go straight to velcro. As for the screw digging in......perhaps if you cover it with some craft foam that might be thin enough to not add bulk but just enough padding to keep it from digging a hole.

Oh good thought, thanks.

I also mapped out the relative hues of purple on every plate in the skirt, would people want the "map"? I can post it somewhere, I suppose. Got a good back view of Zam in the Prequel Chronicles book. This "map" isn't the authority, of course, affected by hidden plates, my opinion, and flash, but it does give you a starting point.

Working on the skirt to finish it up today so I can move on to the helmet and chest assembly; gotta finish dying stuff this weekend, then paint greeblies and start tuning the thing while it's on.

I already noticed that freshly resolened leather against resolened leather squeeks like a duck in heat. Talcum powder or baby powder or corn starch powder will stop that.

6 days to go.

Deunan

Originally Posted by Shiruba

I already noticed that freshly resolened leather against resolened leather squeeks like a duck in heat. Talcum powder or baby powder or corn starch powder will stop that.

I hadn't thought of the talcum powder!! Thanks for that!

Hey gang...

Just got back from the con. Happy to say, I got it done enough to wear. Embarassed to say that I had troubles with greeblies falling off, gloves reading the wrong color on camera, etc, but hey - it's at least to a point where fixes are a little easier.

I'll post pics as soon as they come in, I couldn't carry my camera on me and wear this at the same time.

And to all you other zammers out there - whoa. My respect for you has just gone up even higher, if that's possible. That skirt, I don't care what thickness leather you make it out of, it gets heavy!! I lasted about 7 hours the first day and only 3 hours the second.

And by all means, break in your boots before you put all the stuff on them. Good graces.

Pics coming!

Deunan

Hahaha......congrats on your first troop in it!

Woo Hoo!!! Congrats... Now you're a real trooper! ERm... Bounty Hunter! Yep.. gotta have some sorta mishaps

Looking forward to those pictures !!!!

Can't wait to see pictures of your costume.

I'm waiting to see it finished as well. I want to show my wife as I think she'd go for a Zam.

Looking forward to the pics

Having seen it at the con Saturday, I can honestly say that you should be DROOLING to see pics!:thumbup
The costume looked fantastic, and the work involved showed through like a beacon.
Excellent work

Okay, okay. Pics. But let's state this for the record, I am very disappointed with how parts of this turned out, and I want to replace some parts immediately. I also think I look as fat as a whale in this thing, and I'm changing the belt's position before the next troop (and that's in two days).

It also ate into my ankle bones, made huge divots where the bolts have the locking nuts inside the shins. Ideas? The leather around the back of the neck held up the chest armor, but cut my neck open (it's a real troop if you're bleeding, right?). I also got cut by one of the gauntlets somehow, I'm still not sure how that happened (prob the plastic black stuff inside the arm cuff).

Thanks to all my garrison peeps and other artists who assisted on this. Women: Be warned, this kit is heavy and uncomfortable to wear!! Try clone or TK first, it's worse!!

Deunan

More pics coming, they are still processing them. And we're trooping again in a few days, so we'll have more after Nowescon this weekend.

Happy moment: Learning to holster my gun without looking.

Even happier moment: Getting my pic with the three Battlestar Galactica actors who play the characters Helo, Sol, and Galen (Chief). Whoo hoo!!! I de-armored for that.

Deunan

Hurra' !! Very well done , Girl !!!

Looks awesome!!! Yay tall Zam!

Wow! You did an AMAZING job! Congrats! And as is typical for any Bounty Hunter....they are never ending in upgrades and tweaks.

How'd you do with all the greeblies on your leg and arm? Did they stay up okay? I was thinking of adding snaps so the attached right to the neoprene and the straps were only for show.

I think you did a fantastic Job! And yes... the upgrades and fixes are never ending... (or so they say! )

Awesome about the BSG actors... Helo? Dang.. I'm jealous!

Hey crew, thanks. Couldn't have got this far without all the excellent help here at TDH and from my local Garrison.

The leg and arm greebs don't stay on their own. The leg one fell off once, the arm one three times. The leg one has velcro on the straps on the inner leg, and it was just being super tight (and I never sat down).

This isn't working... even the Lara Croft leg straps for her holsters have a bit o' elastic on the inside thighs so she can crouch and sit (check out the pics on the web).

I made them at 3 am the day before the con, including coloring and everything. So I'm coating them in matte or gloss fixative now, to help the paint stay on. I'm also putting an earth magnet into the back of the greeb and another on the pants, same thing for the arm. I have to use ties on the arm straps though, can't glue those to a permanent position, because with working out and summer stuff, my arms change size.

I'm not that tall, just 5'7". I guess the original actress was 5'6"? I have longer legs, we had to change things around, and the leather ab plate was shortened to accomodate my shorter torso.

Deunan

Fantastic!

Nice Job!

Definitely drooling :thumbup

Okay... I'm thinking snaps or velcro then... (I can just imagine my greeblies flying all over the place! )

Yep....I started putting snaps on mine. AND....I'm going to put little thread loops in the inside of my thigh and arm to run the straps though. The straps will be for show but I want them to stay in place.

Hey gang,

Update, fixed more things on the costume. I was in the costume contest at Norwescon, won Best Novice (had to be in Novice, never won anything in costume contests before), and Best Workmanship Novice.

I fixed the greeblie on the arm with tiny earth magnets. I love these things. I used liquid stitch to put a patch on the inside of the sleeve with the magnet in it. Then I cut a hole in the leather backing of the greeblie (which is holding the straps to it), and used goop to glue a magnet in there.

Now it stays put, no problemo. I'm going to do the same thing to my leg greeblie. I made the patch have one side open so magnets can be removed for the wash of the neoprene (which is by hand, but in a metal bucket).

More pics to post, they are coming in now. I hope to find one here of the improved suit, it's looking better already.

I lost so much weight from two cons in a row that the belt is falling off of me (and thus, the entire skirt). I am working on an ADJUSTABLE Zam belt design, and I will get back to you all on that when I get further along. This "lace it only in one spot" thing is for the birds.

I have bone bruises on my ankles from the shin bolts, so open to suggestions there... and I'm replacing the entire vest and belt in the next month. I am not happy, the tape marks stayed on (don't use masking tape on leather!!). I'm switching from cow to pig, it should be thinner and easier to sew.

The binocs are now glued in place, as are my ear cups. I should shoot a pic of the inside of the helmet to show... I'll do that.

Hugs, Zammers!!

Oh, and I'm officially BH 4245, a member of Garrison Titan now!!! Yay!!

Deunan

Pics for you!! (You can track all the excitement on Myspace, on my page for Deunanshiruba.)





Those are from Emerald City Comic Con 2009, the first of the two cons (back to back). We're still getting pics back from Norwescon last weekend.

Deunan

nice costume congrats on being done ( except for the upgrades of course). Wish we could have been there as I have my TIE pilot almost done