Arden "Lucky" Fisk

Just wanted to add myself to the list of people that say ur work is amazing. Good Job!

Wow abby, that looks bada$$ ,to be honest with you, in your drawing i wasnt crazy about that big crack,but in pics , its a total other ballpark. that weatering looks great , im finishing my variant helmet very soon, hope looks as good as yours.oh ? what did you use to mask that design whit out taking of paint of with the paint

Very nice work. Looking forward to seeing it all together.

Stormrider: Yeah, weathering location is one of my biggest 'things'. To me, that's one of the most important factors in making a convincing costume. You can read my rant about it in the tutorial that's stickied here in the Variant section.

Also, Sculpey bakes at 275 degrees farenheit, right in your home oven. I've been using it for maquettes for years, I love the stuff. I strongly recommend looking for the firm grey kind as opposed to the soft white; it's a lot more resilient and holds its shape while you work, the white is too pliant and will distort if it gets handled before you bake. Both will harden to the same degree once baked.

Silver n Black: Glad I could convince you of the coolness of the crack. I figured a Mando named 'Lucky' had to have been lucky enough to survive situations that would kill most people... so she's as scarred and filthy as a cockroach.

To mask off areas for painting, I use painter's tape for delicate surfaces. It's purple, you can get it at Wal-Mart for like $3. My pinstripes, lettering and 'eyes' were done by hand, though.

Okay, this is my first foray outside of lurkerdom, but I'm more than happy that it would be such a great thread in which to do so.

First, I'm really looking forward to seeing the entire outfit put together. Everything is really looking nice apart, and I'm sure that helmet is going to look excellent with the armor. You've done a tremendous job.

On the subject of sculpey, I have a suggestion for an alternative that is stronger, nicer to work with and won't find you putting your bucket anywhere near heat. It's a product called Fix It. It's a two part compound that you knead together, sculpt and let set at room temperature. It can take fine enough detail to be used on 3 3/4" figures (I've seen some seriously sick, Hasbro-quality or better customs) and it sets rock hard. I'll never consider using sculpey again, personally.

Linkage: http://www.avesstudio.com/html/fixit_sculpt.html

Is that stuff basically plumber's putty?

I don't actually put my bucket in the oven, heh... I sculpted my sculpey object around the earpiece then removed it from the earpiece to bake. Once cooled, I glued it back on and did all my tweaking with sanding and plumber's putty to fill gaps and make it all seamless.

Personally, I like using Sculpey for custom 3-dimensional objects. I have experience with it, it bakes solid, and it's very easy to sand. Also, the putty just dries too darned fast.

hey thanks for the tape info, ive been using the blue kind. Oh the reason why i think your mando looks great, is because after all you customized you still managed to keep the mando look, specially the ware and tare ,i think all mandos shoul look like they just servive a granade in the face just my opinion

Originally Posted by CuteLucca

Is that stuff basically plumber's putty?

I don't actually put my bucket in the oven, heh... I sculpted my sculpey object around the earpiece then removed it from the earpiece to bake. Once cooled, I glued it back on and did all my tweaking with sanding and plumber's putty to fill gaps and make it all seamless.

Personally, I like using Sculpey for custom 3-dimensional objects. I have experience with it, it bakes solid, and it's very easy to sand. Also, the putty just dries too darned fast.

I don't have any experience with your average tub of plumber's putty that you can find at Wal-Mart, so I can't make a comparison, but I've used both sculpey and Fix It Sculpt, and it's like going from the stone age to the iron age all at once.

I didn't figure you put your helmet in the oven, but if someone were to sculpt something more elaborate that can't hold it's own shape, it would be kind of a bear to do it without doing while it was on the original surface.

The following were done by a guy using Fix It Sculpt:
http://http://threads.rebelscum.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=2193152&page=0&view=colla psed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1#2193152

And as I said, it dries rock hard. Hits that will shatter sculpey don't scratch this stuff.

It's just my opinion, though, of course.

Plumber's putty is also a 2 part mixer that dries rock hard, but it dries in about five minutes, which is too fast for me to do any sculpting; that and it's sticky as hell, so it sticks to your sculpting tools.

I'll have to look into the Fix It, those customs are amazing.

How long does fix it sculpt take to harden and is it sticky?

I tried plumbers putty once, it was way too sticky as lucca states.

Hey Abby,
WOW!!! You kick *** on a cosmic level!! Your work is just amazing! Hey, Once I finish building my armor is there any chance I could trek to Bangor, buy you lunch and have you help me out with weathering and painting my gear? please...maybe?

Originally Posted by CuteLucca

Plumber's putty is also a 2 part mixer that dries rock hard, but it dries in about five minutes, which is too fast for me to do any sculpting; that and it's sticky as hell, so it sticks to your sculpting tools.

Then this stuff is completely different. You have about four hours to work with it before it begins to get too hard to work with. Prior to that, you can work it just like clay just with a little water on your fingers or sculpting tools. And you can tell from the link I provided that it takes detail very nicely, nice hard edges and everything.

DestructoLad: Sure, sounds like fun! But then you have to promise to join the custom Mando crew at Portcon this year!

Wow thats good work on the weathering. Good job

im preety sure loctite makes an epoxy putty now and ive heard you can use it to sculpt "dont quote me on this ive never tried it" i just fab everything by hand out of plastic and lots of bondo..

sweet *** costume bitchin colors

if you wanna cover the laces you could also do a jango style boot plate.

looks great though ill have to slap you if i ever see you at a convention for being too creative though j/k id buy ya a beer.

keep it up can wait to see tha blade!

Another productive Sunday!

Got the Jumpsuit all modded-- fairly simple stuff, actually, just the orange ribbed stripes down the back of the arms, shortening of the torso so it fits me better, and more velcro closures around the wrists to keep them from bunching wierdly under the gauntlets. All I have to do now is weather it.



I also finished the pistol. I forgot to take any progress shots, unfortunately, but it's a modified Nerf night sight pistol. I chopped off the air pressure plunger and the spare dart holder, then sanded off all the copyright and production info. I added a bunch of little doodads, namely the buttons over the 'Nerf' logo, a 'sensor array' (which is actually the end of a male A/V plug) and a few little doohickies I found in my junk drawer.

Just gotta weather it with a bit of paint chipping!

Awesome job on modding the pistol!! This is a really great thread; I can't wait to see everything put together!

Charlie

Oops. Guess I gotta use something different for my pistol now.
That's the great thing about nerf, always more models to choose from.

Ok CuteLucca I hate to say it but I think your pistol choice was poor. It just still looks way to much like a nerf gun still, which is sadly common in customs. You really do something light box and the old barrel. Any way thats my two cents. I make a lot of guns for fun. I will be waiting to see what you do with the paint, to put in my final word.

Well, not every Mando has a custom gun! Some of us have to buy one that came out of a factory somewhere, hahaha. Every stormtrooper has the same gun, too.

The gun is actually the least of my worries. I have it mostly just to sit in the holster; I'll have the sword out for photos and stuff, so for the most part the gun only has to look good on the grip. I'm *considering* wrapping the barrel with some sort of fabric, but I can't think of a good reason for my Mando to want to do that. I know it's to cut glare but heck, Arden is one giant glaring traffic cone of yellow and orange and shiny metal, so wrapping a tiny pistol would be too little, too late.

Do you have any other suggestions for modding it?

Nock the original barrel housing off and rebuild it with CPVC or PVC. Go here www.nerfhaven.com and look at some of the modded night-finders to get an idea what I mean. Also paint some of the pices different colors, right now it looks like the gun is built out of one pice of metal. The grip could stand from some contrasting colors too.

One side note that I did on my blasters: fill the screw holes. I used Bondo glazing putty filler, but I think it adds a lot to the weapon if there are no visible screws holding it together. (although, to make it more realistic, I added a few metal pins going through to make it look like the weapon oculd still be broken.) It might not be worth it to you since you've already started painting.

Charlie

Just wanna say I'm very impressed.

A easier way to fill the holes is to use large shank short screws. Just screw them into the hole and then presto filled hole and a way to get it apart if you need to.

looks great , keep it up!!!!

i like the look of the gun, and with your weathering skills, im shure it will look great, in my custom im thinking of just ading a han solo lookin mouser, and i my self wont be taking it out .

i'm a little suprised at your decision to go with a jumpsuit. i've always thought that it would be a better idea (in general) for female mando's to have a seperate top and bottom to facilitate easier bathroom access. guys still have a bit of a dilemma when it comes time to show number two who it works for; but for lower maintenance relief men have it fairly easy in a full jumpsuit.

Two words:

Butt Flap.

just wow.

So yeah, I finished my chainsword today. It's mostly made from sheets of plastic I cut from a rubbermaid tub, but the 'engine block' is wood and the handle is PVC pipe. The buttons and other greeblies are just odds and ends I found in the junk drawer, including a picture hanger and a key ring.

The teeth on the blade are covered with silver leaf, so they shine like crazy. The handle is wrapped with canvas, and the lettering is all painted by hand. It says 'train your sons to be strong' on one side 'and your daughters to be stronger' on the other.

I have a couple of progress pics on my camera, but they kinda suck-- I'll add them later on.

that is one mean looking sword! great work!

Ooooh. Great stuff as always!
I was really looking forward to seeing this, and it was all we could have expected...Yay!

I reall like your sword. It came out nicely.

Abby,


Fantastic work.


Its coming together quite nicely.

Keep the progress pics coming.

love the chain sword but over all fantastic job so far keep up the awsomeness

Are those LEGO gears on one side of it?

And I might have to have you just do my armor for me... I'm completely in awe...

Great work so far! The sword is wicked!

As for the pistol...there's nothing wrong with using the same model. We've actually named that version the "Tenandro Arms PM series" pistols.

*clap clap clap* Outstanding job on the sword.

Charlie

Ceric-- not Lego, no. They're bits I found in a container full of washers my dad had in his basement. As far as I can tell, they're meant to grip into a surface when you screw them in, since the teeth are aligned to dig downwards into whatever you're working on. I'm not sure what they are beyond that!

They are a type of lock-washer. I have a few of that kind, you don't see them as much as the other two types.

Outstanding work.

As promised, a couple of shots of the sword in production. I was dumb and forgot to bring my camera to the shop the day I put it all together, so all I have is a photo of the parts before assembly and one of the rough painting after I got it back home.

The five layers in the first shot are what make up the blade-- facing layer, filler layer, tooth layer, filler layer, facing layer. I sandwiched them together with epoxy for a super bond, then sanded all the edges flush, hence the not-so-careful initial cutting job. I epoxied a bit of PVC pipe on as a handle, reinforced with screws, and the end of the handle is just a normal PVC endcap found at every hardware store ever.

The engine blocks were made from oak blocks, then put in place with glue and dowels, then all the greeblies got stuck on.

dude yiou rock!

about time someone started to challenge my ego on its high throne for mando of the cool!

just kidding.

really nice work, and nice 40k chainsword you have there!

That is really turning out great. Keep up the good work.

wow abby, that sword is vicious! well done!

of course, the weapons-seller, swordhandler in me screams "full tang, make it full tang or it'll fall apart the first time you hit something!". though i doubt you'll be beating on much with that.

WOW! This thread has been amazing to come back and see again and again. Everything you've done looks so tight and as you've said can stand close up inspection. Each piece you've produced just looks so right and I think (without taking anything away from your building skills) it comes down to your fantastic weathering, making everything look so real world. You really need to tell us how you do it, as that's one thing I always have bother with and the more hints and tips the better. This costume is gonna look so cool in so many ways when it's all together. 10 outta 10

Dak- Yeah I'd have loved full tang, but I had a design change halfway through (basically was planning to do batteries in the handle as I was intending to wire some lights through it but decided not to) It is pretty tough though, as the handle protrudes another inch into the 'engine block' as well as being slotted into the blade, and it's all held strong with dowels, so it should take general wear and tear alright. The teeth are a good flexible plastic, so they should be alright, but even still I wouldn't want to go whacking things with it.

SinisterFett- Thanks, I really do love doing weathering! You can check my tutorial, it's a sticky up at the top of the Variant forum. Hopefully sometime soon I'll get off my butt and finish it, it's about 2/3 done.

wow, everything from the concept art to the actual mando is...
very impressive, can't wait to see the concept art come to life...more pictures please!
:thumbup

Your wish is my command.

These are the gauntlets. I like the Fett standard gauntlets, but I wanted something a bit lighter and with less bulk around the forearms, as I imagine they might get in the way a bit while swordfighting and skulking, which Arden specializes in.

The base is some pretty generic, but high-quality, leather medieval-style bracers I bought online. They're easy as pie to slip on, and don't move around once they are on. A plus!

The 'machinery' doohickies on top are just carved from a bit of pine, with a few little greeblies from the junk drawer added on. I greatly admire all you Mandos with the working parts in your gauntlets, that's so cool... I, on the other hand, know nothing about wiring, so the best I'd be able to do is mount a flashlight or laser pointer to the outside, which I may actually end up doing. We'll see.

I guess the most interesting thing with these gauntlets is the writing all over them. I wanted to convey that Arden is a girl who relies heavily on tradition (or superstition, however you want to look at it ) and so she has meaningful texts written on her armor, much like many of history's great warriors have done. I'd translate for you, but it's a personal thing.

Those are nice. I hadn't really thought about useing bracers for the gauntlets. Thats a good idea.

Heheh any one want me to translate them? I can read that rather easily if I want to take the time... Man I am a geek.

A great new take on the Mandalorian gauntlets.

Goodness.. This entire thread is awe inspiring.

First you start with a really cool concept, and the drawing is really nice as well. Then you go on to make better and better renderings, which I have to say are works of art on their own.

On top of it all your armor is ridiculously awesome, both in concept and execution. Great job painting. shoot.. great job on EVERYTHING

Looks nice. It looks like your using a grinder or something to shape your pieces.
One trick I use is glue sintra or a plastic together like plywood, and then grind it, and it doesnt have a woodgrain texture.

Or you could whipe some bondo cream on it, to fill in the woodgrain.

As always though, looks great.

Stormrider, after you pointed out the woodgrain, I couldn't unsee it! Don't know how I didn't even really register it when I looked at the pieces in the first place, but I'm only human I guess! Anyways, I've since sealed up the wood parts with a few more coats of paint to smooth them out and get rid of the grain. I also installed some (non working) LEDs to them, so they at least LOOK like they can light up!

Duuude, nice gauntlets Arden, Naas approves 8-)

-Naas

Originally Posted by Stormrider

Looks nice. It looks like your using a grinder or something to shape your pieces.
One trick I use is glue sintra or a plastic together like plywood, and then grind it, and it doesnt have a woodgrain texture.

Or you could whipe some bondo cream on it, to fill in the woodgrain.

As always though, looks great.

Cream or white Latex paint covered brushed on with wood stain works the best for that situation.

Sorry if I made you focus too intently on it, its just one of the things that my eye is always drawn too. I truely love your work though.

The LED's you can do some cool stuff with it.

If you go to radio shack, you can buy LED's and Resistors. You literally hook a resister to one wire of the led and then to the battery. The other wire straight to the battery, and it will light up. Without the resistor you will pop the LED.

Its simple and safe, and youll enjoy it. You can buy LED's that are wired to blink also. Hook them the same way.

Soldering (the basics) is easy also.

The basic is take two wires. Touch the solder and iron to one wire and get some solder on it (called tinning it). Then hold the two wires together, touch the soldering iron to both, if you have enough tin they will bond. You may need to touch the solder to the gun/wire, itwill drop and harden instantly.

Get a $7 soldering gun, comes with a roll of solder, and just play with two wires from your stereo. Just dont breath the smoke. Its not good for you

More updates pls
Mason

I'm absolutely stunned by your creation!! Jaw-dropping awesomeness!!

Originally Posted by Bountys Hunted

I'm absolutely stunned by your creation!! Jaw-dropping awesomeness!!

Here here, great work Abby!! can't wait to see it in person. love the Tatt's as well

this is looking great i cant wait to see this completed

Abby, this is coming out so awesome. I can't wait to see it all together. Are you wearing it on St. Patty's Day for the parade?

Now that came out lovely. *two thumbs way way up*
Maby I will see it in person one day, at least I hope so.

that came together very very well beautiful job

great job! definitely one of the better customs I've seen

Your hard work and patience paid off. You look great!

Let's see some more pictures!!!

great work deserves more pics hehe! great job, wish i had you on my prop team!

Looks amazing!
=)

Abby,

That came out fantastic!!!

Great job on it!!!

JK3

i want closer pics of the chainsword please!

I like your kit... and your buy'cy looks awesome!

Kal

I will need to add you to my list of thing NOT to run into in a dark alley

Very cool MORE PICS!!!!!!!!

Dang! That looks outstanding!! I love the battle damage

guys, did you see the dates on this thread? it's over a year old.