Custom Mando :D (Pic Heavy)

Ordeyn

Active Hunter
Okay, well, I rather poorly introduced myself on the introduction forums so...HI! My name's Caroline(Yes, I'm a girl). Call me whatever you like, but Ordeyn or CAN would be fine. I live in the USA and speak English (...I only know how to say "I don't speak English" in English :lol: )

Anyways, more important things like armor! :D I decided to do a custom before I did a Jango or Boba so I could make some mistakes and get the hang of things on the not-so-professional armor. Though, I hope it does turn out nice and I'm sure it will. My plan is to sorta go for a FemMando but not really. But that's more because my templates are for Jango (I think) and not a girl. It'll be interesting.
I cut my armor from a oval trash can (yay for tin snips!). :D Kudos to the genius who thought up that one! Here it is, all sanded and prettied up...sorry its so big...


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And that's as far as I've gotten. Question time! Other than getting more materials for more armor, what should I do with what I have? Can I do anything? What else do I need? Any and all advice would be amazing! And helpful forums I haven't stumbled across yet. :D

Thank you!
 
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Well I would say that a custom mandolorian armour is just that, so when it comes to what you can do, well, the sky's the limit.

I have a few suggestions and please forgive me if I am teaching you to suck eggs :)

You may want to look into modifying the chest plate if you are a lady, as the plates may move due to the different design of the female form. But that's only if you intend to wear it, unless of course you are intending the princess leia bra method! :D

First things first, You may want to make your dents, damages and marks first, as you are using plastic (I think) you can use a soldering iron for welding type scratches and holes, a craft knife to make marks. The best tool for the job though is a dremel, though you might not want to buy it, though it is absolutely invaluable, I wouldn't have been able to build my stormtrooper kit without it.

You will need to prime your armour, to ensure that you have a good base to start your painting. So get yourself some from a DIY or car shop and spray it down. I like to smooth out the primer between coats with wet and dry paper to iron out any knicks and dents.

There are also two styles to painting, layered and topical, so it is your choice how you approach it.

Layered starts off with a silver paint base layer (after priming) then you mask off areas with tape, latex masking fluid (copydex works by the way) and sometimes even mustard! You build up the layers of paint and then remove the masking and you get a nice finish.

The topical part is where you go the opposite way, you paint the helmet in the colours you want and build the damage into it by painting silver scratches etc.

You can mix layered and topical methods.

But before that, design, design, design! Make sure you have the concept of what your armour will look like before you start all the shennannigans of painting it as you will have fixed goals to aim for and it will take you less time to work out how to do things.

Hope that helps you and good luck, will be eager to see your progress :)
 
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Thank you, Saz, that answers a lot of my questions. :D Do you(or anybody) know if the armor from the can be heated in some way and bent? I forgot to ask 'bout that.
 
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Hi Caroline, welcome aboard!!!

You can heat the plastic with a heat gun, then mold it to fit the shape you want. OR, my favorite way, is to pop it into the oven and heat it that way. The heat gun is easy to use, but the oven gives better heat distrabution. Hope this helps!!!

Best O' Luck,
A'den
 
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...Unless you like perfect grill marks on your armour...:lol:lol::lol:

:lol: Always! Fear my roasting wrath...

Oven sounds like a good idea. I'd actually thought about it 'cos I was experimenting with milk jugs to see if I could somehow layer it to make armor. Crazy I know, but that's what I'm for! :D I will definitely test the oven out with scraps and see how that goes. Thanks!

CAN
 
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:lol: Always! Fear my roasting wrath...

Oven sounds like a good idea. I'd actually thought about it 'cos I was experimenting with milk jugs to see if I could somehow layer it to make armor. Crazy I know, but that's what I'm for! :D I will definitely test the oven out with scraps and see how that goes. Thanks!

CAN


:lol:lol::lol:

milk jugs...hmmm...how does that work? Interesting idea...keep us updated!!!

:cheers
A'den
 
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just an idea here. i tore my dad's shop apart lookin for a heat gun, to no avail. then I considered the oven method, but finally what I did was sit a 6 gallon pot full of water on the stove top and brought it to a low boil. I then dropped the plates in one at a time, waited for 3 mins, pulled them out with tongs, and formed the soft plastic by hand. it wasnt very soft, so 5-10 mins might better. I still have to form my leg and shoudler pieces, so im going to try longer times.

i just like the boiling water technique cuz its very simple and theres minimal chance of melting the armor or burning it up. the oven idea would probably work great if you kept your eye on it.

good luck! keep us posted!
 
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I thought about boiling it but I didn't know what would happen to it or how long I would have to work with it before it cooled. I'll definitely try that too and compare it with the oven. Thanks!

Update soon...

CAN
 
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I personally like a good heat gun. You will have temp control to prevent overheating, and it is fast, and direct heat source. I think everyone can have different results with different methods, so I would try a few and see which one works best for you. Welcome to TDH.
 
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Okay, I kinda sorta have an update. I just completed my experiments with trash can and milk jug scraps. I'm pretty happy with the results and I think I'll just boil my armor cos it's easiest for me atm.

Hehe, it's mostly pics. :D

1st pic: the pieces, stove, and meatloaf there in the corner that my brother managed to drop in the sink :confused Quite skillful.
2nd pic: better shot of scaps.
3rd pic: I put notes there, I promise :rolleyes ...I'm so technical, LoL.
4th pic: my amazing cow oven mit! :D :D :D
5th pic: boiling water and first test on trash can scrap. That one was in for 5 min.
6th pic: the 5 min scrap.
7th pic: milk jug scrap that softened immediately.
8th pic: (wow this is a lot) shows how soft that jug scrap got.
9th pic: Hehe...I got hungry. :D
10th pic: (last one, I promise) a trash can piece boiled for 10 min. I had to cool it with water to make it hold its shape.

That was exciting! :D Probably one of the most random things I've done this month.

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looking good!

im doing a mix. some of my parts are too big to fit my oven so i had to use a heat gun.

any ways, keep it up!

P.S
have you decided on a color scheme?
 
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Theres a couple of femmemando topics here that you might want to check out too, just to see what they did for the armor. Good luck and keep at it!
 
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Thanks! I'll be sure to go scout out some femmando stuff.

Hehe, color scheme... :rolleyes
 
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Well, maybe like dark blue, black and white. I'm really not sure yet and have been enjoying myself with colored pencils for a while :p But blue, black and white is the general idea for now.
 
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