Custom Mandalorian First costume... No experience, at all...

Fender159 · Apr 8, 2014

Hi, guys

After some time of following The Dented Helmet on facebook and looking at all those amazing suits of mando armor, I though, "Hey, those are pretty badass. I should make one of my own"

And so, I registered here, the official site. The problem is, I have NO experience whatsoever with costumes, or materials, or crafting, so I have a couple of questions for you guys who have some more experience.

First, where can I begin? Where can I find templates? What measurements do I have to take? How do I apply them?

What material can I use for all the hard parts of the armor (Helmet, chestplate, shoulder armor, shins and whatnot)? Where could I get said material and how hard is it to work with this material?

Please remember that I have absolutely no experience with this, I don't know the names of any materials or tools, I need to be guided from the very beginning, step by step.

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advacnce

DeathProof · Apr 8, 2014

Hey there!

First of all, welcome!!

Building any costume can be a daunting, but very rewarding process

Kudos for taking it on!

I have not made a custom mando of my own, but let me help you as best I can in an attempt to put you in the right direction.

I think when it comes to custom work, you might want to get an idea of what 'theme' or 'style' you want to go for first. Take a look at the mando mercs page and start collecting some inspirational images. Suits that you really like. Take a look at all the bits and pieces that people have put together to add a certain 'uniqueness' to their suits. Then, do your own research and see how you can do the same for yourself. Some parts you might want to use yourself, some you might want to make unique for your own suit. If you're into sketching, maybe sketch out all your details, create colour swatches, play with materials and textures to see what works.

Once you have an idea of how you want your suit to look - build it!! ...oh yeah...it's that easy.

You have a few options. If you say you aren't crafty at all (I'm a painter, not a builder), you might be inclined to order a set of armor (or all your hard pieces for that matter) from one of the fine builders here on the forum. Most that I know of are geared towards Boba Fett and the damage that is on his armor, etc. but I'm sure if you look hard enough you might find some flat armor. The cargo hold is a great place to find used pieces for a good deal. The only thing about buying your gear is that it has a steeper up front cost.

If you build, it can be significantly cheaper (depending on your materials and how many mistakes you make along the way). There are templates to all Boba Fett pieces from his helmet to the pouches on here.

For example:

Armor templates: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/all-boba-fett-armor-stencils-templates-23196/
Helmet templates: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/all-boba-fett-helmet-stencils-templates-41929/

You can build these out of many materials (trash cans or any hard plastic), but most have used sintra. It's relatively cheap, and easy to cut and form. Sintra can be found at any hobby store.

Your measurements? Most of the templates are sized according to the suit that they replicate - ESB, ROTJ, etc. For you, it would not be specific. My suggestion would be to print off a template and see how you like the fit. You can always resize it.

Soft parts are another ballpark all together. If you're not into sewing, my suggestion would be to contact Arkady (Carole). She does a lot of soft parts for a decent price....although Man of War (on Ebay) makes all his soft parts WHITE so you can dye them whatever custom colour you want.

Hope this gets you started. Take a look at a lot of threads and get ideas. Look specifically at a lot of threads labelled "Scratch Build" if you're looking to build your own. Then you can follow along and get in contact with people to ask questions about how they created a particular piece you might have a question about.

Good luck. Be sure to post a thread when you start your build so we can help you out further!

Cheers
Aaron

jonsworld · May 12, 2014

Same exact position as me man!! So glad im not the only one!!

jonsworld · May 12, 2014

DeathProof said:
Hey there!

First of all, welcome!!

Building any costume can be a daunting, but very rewarding process Kudos for taking it on!

I have not made a custom mando of my own, but let me help you as best I can in an attempt to put you in the right direction.

I think when it comes to custom work, you might want to get an idea of what 'theme' or 'style' you want to go for first. Take a look at the mando mercs page and start collecting some inspirational images. Suits that you really like. Take a look at all the bits and pieces that people have put together to add a certain 'uniqueness' to their suits. Then, do your own research and see how you can do the same for yourself. Some parts you might want to use yourself, some you might want to make unique for your own suit. If you're into sketching, maybe sketch out all your details, create colour swatches, play with materials and textures to see what works.

Once you have an idea of how you want your suit to look - build it!! ...oh yeah...it's that easy.

You have a few options. If you say you aren't crafty at all (I'm a painter, not a builder), you might be inclined to order a set of armor (or all your hard pieces for that matter) from one of the fine builders here on the forum. Most that I know of are geared towards Boba Fett and the damage that is on his armor, etc. but I'm sure if you look hard enough you might find some flat armor. The cargo hold is a great place to find used pieces for a good deal. The only thing about buying your gear is that it has a steeper up front cost.

If you build, it can be significantly cheaper (depending on your materials and how many mistakes you make along the way). There are templates to all Boba Fett pieces from his helmet to the pouches on here.

For example:

Armor templates: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/all-boba-fett-armor-stencils-templates-23196/
Helmet templates: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/all-boba-fett-helmet-stencils-templates-41929/

You can build these out of many materials (trash cans or any hard plastic), but most have used sintra. It's relatively cheap, and easy to cut and form. Sintra can be found at any hobby store.

Your measurements? Most of the templates are sized according to the suit that they replicate - ESB, ROTJ, etc. For you, it would not be specific. My suggestion would be to print off a template and see how you like the fit. You can always resize it.

Soft parts are another ballpark all together. If you're not into sewing, my suggestion would be to contact Arkady (Carole). She does a lot of soft parts for a decent price....although Man of War (on Ebay) makes all his soft parts WHITE so you can dye them whatever custom colour you want.

Hope this gets you started. Take a look at a lot of threads and get ideas. Look specifically at a lot of threads labelled "Scratch Build" if you're looking to build your own. Then you can follow along and get in contact with people to ask questions about how they created a particular piece you might have a question about.

Good luck. Be sure to post a thread when you start your build so we can help you out further!

Cheers
Aaron

Thanks man you dont know how many people you help by posting that!!

talibandaid · Jul 4, 2020

Same here, just started building mine with absolutely no experience and a lot of imagination.

My path and my plan so far.
I am working on several blasters that I plan to give the appearance of modified existing blaster pistols - like the DL44, Mersonn [sic], EE 3 snubnose/large caliber, a couple of holdout/drop blasters, and making a modified wookie bowcaster (or two depending on how the first comes out).
I have a good portion of the soft pieces purchased, flight suit, gun belt, leather ammo pouches, girth belt, gloves, boots that don't look like they're make do, but cheap -just in case they look stupid.
I also got taken by a couple of online sellers for helmets. so I have two resin(?) cast helmets that I can play with and likely ruin until I know what I want and colors...
I got a newer beskar chest and plain pauldrons. shin guards, gauntlets and handguards.

a lot of work so far, but fun. always looking for advice and ideas.

Ren Dasyk - did a name generator and like it.

RamSkirata · Jul 4, 2020

DeathProof said:
Hey there!

First of all, welcome!!

Building any costume can be a daunting, but very rewarding process Kudos for taking it on!

I have not made a custom mando of my own, but let me help you as best I can in an attempt to put you in the right direction.

I think when it comes to custom work, you might want to get an idea of what 'theme' or 'style' you want to go for first. Take a look at the mando mercs page and start collecting some inspirational images. Suits that you really like. Take a look at all the bits and pieces that people have put together to add a certain 'uniqueness' to their suits. Then, do your own research and see how you can do the same for yourself. Some parts you might want to use yourself, some you might want to make unique for your own suit. If you're into sketching, maybe sketch out all your details, create colour swatches, play with materials and textures to see what works.

Once you have an idea of how you want your suit to look - build it!! ...oh yeah...it's that easy.

You have a few options. If you say you aren't crafty at all (I'm a painter, not a builder), you might be inclined to order a set of armor (or all your hard pieces for that matter) from one of the fine builders here on the forum. Most that I know of are geared towards Boba Fett and the damage that is on his armor, etc. but I'm sure if you look hard enough you might find some flat armor. The cargo hold is a great place to find used pieces for a good deal. The only thing about buying your gear is that it has a steeper up front cost.

If you build, it can be significantly cheaper (depending on your materials and how many mistakes you make along the way). There are templates to all Boba Fett pieces from his helmet to the pouches on here.

For example:

Armor templates: All Boba Fett Armor Stencils and Templates
Helmet templates: All Boba Fett Helmet Stencils and Templates

You can build these out of many materials (trash cans or any hard plastic), but most have used sintra. It's relatively cheap, and easy to cut and form. Sintra can be found at any hobby store.

Your measurements? Most of the templates are sized according to the suit that they replicate - ESB, ROTJ, etc. For you, it would not be specific. My suggestion would be to print off a template and see how you like the fit. You can always resize it.

Soft parts are another ballpark all together. If you're not into sewing, my suggestion would be to contact Arkady (Carole). She does a lot of soft parts for a decent price....although Man of War (on Ebay) makes all his soft parts WHITE so you can dye them whatever custom colour you want.

Hope this gets you started. Take a look at a lot of threads and get ideas. Look specifically at a lot of threads labelled "Scratch Build" if you're looking to build your own. Then you can follow along and get in contact with people to ask questions about how they created a particular piece you might have a question about.

Good luck. Be sure to post a thread when you start your build so we can help you out further!

Cheers
Aaron

DeathProof s introduction is very good, I can only add a few things...

Maybe first determine, what level of quality you are going for. What degree of movie-screen realism (even though you are building a custom Mando, you could do it with the exact same techniques that tdh mambers use for Boba).
If you are going for the high End level though, be prepared to spend a lot of money. I'm talking 3k to 6k Dollars, Euros, whatever.
Luckily, you are planning a custom Mando and that can be a lot lot cheaper!

Also be sure to know what you are planning to do with your costume when you are done. Joining the 501st? Thats not gonna be able with a custom Mando. The Mandalorian Mercs? Sure! And there are other costume clubs around. Only be sure what you are going for as each club may have different requirements.

Then, as Mr. DeathProof has layed out, plan your build, the colors, what "tools" and stuff you want etc. etc. etc. He layed that out very well so I am not going to say any more regarding this.

If you know how you want it to look, you can start to plan the physical aspect of the build.
An important first question I would solve is, what material you want your armor to be.
The movie used Boba suit was ABS plastic. The Jango suit was fiberglass. Most high level Boba and Jango costumes copy that. Other materials, as Mr. DeathProof hast already suggested, is Sintra. I personally dont have any experience with Sintra but from what I have heard, I would stay away from it.

You could simply get Jango plates, as these dont have the Boba specific dents and go from there. You could also get "Supertrooper" Boba plates. (Boba 1:1 but without any dents. This was the very first version of the costume before it became the unique charackter of Boba.)

I think Bobamaker offers at least his helmet in an undamaged form for cusom Mandos. This is what I got btw.

BUT
you building a custom Mando, that leaves another option: METAL.

I like metal

Working with Aluminum has the benefit, that it "forgives" a lot of mistakes. You of course need more effort to do anything with it but that also means that you are less prone to accidentally ruining a piece of your armor in the process. Another benefit is that the costume will be very rugged and not prone to breakage when you are trooping.

Regardless of what you end up choosing... get a quality helmet! This is the "face" of the costume. In my estimate, unless you are a master craftsman, it is not worth trying to build your own helmet. Getting a quality helmet will not be that pricy either, 200 to 400 bucks depending what you will choose.

Regarding any of the Boba or Jango parts that you could repurpose or the helmets in General, here is a list of vendors you could contact:
ToEleven Wasted Fett MinuteFett bobamaker Asok; Darth Voorhees Quest Design Canada ... I know there are more but these are the first ones coming to my mind.

Custom Mandalorian First costume... No experience, at all...

Fender159

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DeathProof

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jonsworld

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jonsworld

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talibandaid

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RamSkirata

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