Heavy Armor!

So I am comparatively new this in so much that I have only one set of armor under my belt: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f34/finished-39028/ I am going for a midlevel theme… any way, when I started getting into all of this I really wanted to do a heavy armor sort of thing, well NDK is coming and I have decided to give it a go. Posting here will give me motivation to keep working on it. Also, can’t hurt to have feedback. Unlike the helmets there aren’t too many resources as to how to do this so ill be winging it… already tired one thing and it failed worse than a Friends spin off. Now I am mid way through version 2.5… I have pics and will get them up, look forward to TDH communities input.

Have you looked over on the Mandalorian Mercs site? There's quite a bit of information over there.

http://mercs.firespray.net/forum/index.php

Definitely check it out.

Thanks, ill take another look. From what i have seen, what i am thinking of trying hasnt been done. Here is the fiberglassed frame.

There is a hand hammered metal fram under the fiberglass. I didnt think to get a photo of it, opps. Trying to figure out the bells was a bit tricky but here is the rouch bells on the torso with a rough lay out of the armor pattern

Here is the front of the torso with paint and the armor pattern drawn on. The little pink deal is the madallion that will hold the cape in place, ill etch the skull into it.


Thought i would try it on and see if it still fit... yay it does... shoulders not done yet...

So, slowly I am getting there… only two-ish weeks left. So here is what the bells look like attached and propped up by my shoulders.


These are pics with all the chain attached. A little more work to do on the legs and the gun and…. well it seems the list goes on but please comment, ideas are welcome.

thats lookin awesome, is it that thick all over or just around the edges?

Thanks man! the chest piece is that thick all over, i knew i was going to etch the armor pattern into the bondo so it is on there very think. The shoulders arent like that though, they are only thick on the edges, plus i was running out of bondo. As it appears in the last for pics it weighs in at 34lb. There is some padding inside to it isnt too bad to wear.

can't wait to see this painted, are you doing any lower armor?

Yeah therre are two full thigh piece and the shins. I am almost ready the paint...!

Nice concept!

Reminds me of Greek or Roman curiass armor. Good luck!

Thanks! The Roman cuirass was my basis for the design! so missions accomplished. Paint should start this weekend!

lookin good, damage looks nice and deep

Well on the chest i have a little over 1/2 inch of bondo to cut into! glad you like it, i got the rest of it painted but i am working on the decals ill get pics up soon.

Ok here she is, almost done! Please comment, feed back would be great.

Bracers... yeh they are a little cheesy but ill make beefy ones for next year. It is pretty good for being a big gulp cup and a gutted Gatorade bottle.

Both legs

This is the left leg. The legs are cardboard, fiberglass, bondo

This is the Right leg armor, that is a kings mail pattern with a round mail chain attached, the whole leg weighs in at 9.4 lb.

This is the top of the chest, my name tag

This is the right shoulder with the medallion. no cape yet... but soon

This is the left shoulder, ill be hiding the amp for the com system under here.

This is all of it!

paint came out great and i like the sith symbol on the shoulder

Really interesting! I like it a lot. The chain mail is a nice touch. Do the chains get in the way of you moving your arms?

Glad you like it. No the chain doesnt get in the way it wraps under the arm and hugs the body. when i get the clothy parts done ill do a full fitting and git the pics up. Got plenty of how tos sort of photos for later as well.

Awesome. Definitely get those pics up cos they often prove helpful to other people.

So i have another thread up ust for this but here it is again...

I have been busting my butt on my latest costume because the con is approaching. I was planning on competing in the cosplay competition but it would seem there is a hang up. The rules state:
“While we appreciate costumes from other genres, the cosplay contest will be limited to those of Japanese origin. Special exceptions may be made for costumes of other Asian media, but the cosplay area head must approve them”
So here is my question to you, does anyone know of any Japanese/Asian based media that includes Mandalorians? I have come across a few Star Wars based manga, that were only released in Japan but no Mandos. Thoughts?

I think The Empire Strikes Back is in manga, so you have Boba Fett at least... But that's all I can think of right now.

Both TESB and ROTJ mangas have Boba present.

It is finished! So i had this one for about 20 min and i was sweating like crazy... any ideas on how to minimize this would be great.
Here are the pics. Ill have pics from the con up later along with solo shots of the gun. Also, total weight of all the pieces = 60lb.

Helmet fans will help circulate the air and cool it. How form fitting is the body armor Nd what's the inside of it like?

I have helmet fans, its the suit that is hard to keep cool. It is very form fitted with a few pockets of here and there.. Did you mean "and whats the outside of it like"? All the armor is bondo about 1/2'' thick

I apologize for that. I was posting using my phone and didn't pay close enough attention. What I was wondering is how is the inside of the torso armor? Do you have padding or does it all sit directly on your shoulders and hug your body.

That armor looks very impressive. Great work with everything. I love the detailing and the chains. This suit almost (almost) makes Boba look like a wimp. A very tough looking suit of armor!
Keeping cool is going to be tough. I don't know how to keep cool under the armor but those Cool downz wraps that go around your neck might help give some relief. Just make sure you drink plenty of Gatorade and water cause if you get into hot areas your might sweat like crazy. Best of luck with the con.

everything looks great man but from what i saw of your main chest armor you might be stuck with the heat. thats the price for looking awesome. it would be nice if the had some conventions inOctober - April though! Hopefully it'll cool off before DragonCon

Yeah the heat isnt so much the problem as is the sweat. Dragon Con, sounds like fun one of these days ill have to make it there not this year though

Almost huh, that is better then what i could have hoped. Glad you like it. Ill have to check into those cool down thigns, any help would do wonders.

No padding, sits right up, pretty tight, there are a few pockets, so i might play around with cooling pads, i have two weeks to futz with it.

Ok. first, sorry about the tons of posts didnt know thats how it would work. second i have been looking at different variations on ice pack vests. There isnt much room on the inside but there are some places i could squeeze in an ice pack or two. also they make dry ice packs that are pretty cheap. so i might toy with the cooling vests and or make my own and see what comes out of it. Thanks for the feed back everyone!

Whoa, that's one wicked armour! I love the colours and the chains! Hope you get that heat-thing sorted out, though. Don't want you fainting while wearing it.

Glad you like it, so far it has been well received by TDH community. I am so happy with the way it turned out especially with winging the design/engineering part of it. Tried to tell people i was doing something that hadn't been done yet.

You should try the shirts from Underarmour. Their Heat Gear line isnt bad. I used to wear it under my body armor in Iraq and it did a decent job helping with sweat and it wont be visible.

UnderArmour in conjucntion with some sort of ice pack is sort of what im thinking. I ordered some Techni-ICE sheets. a type of dry ice. cant mod it to fit what size you need, think it will do the trick.... we will see.

When you do troop in that make sure you drink plenty of water. The armor is wicked sweet, you did a fantastic job!

Well, I like the style with the Chains and Color but i dislike the epical inflexability of the Ab-section.

Seriously, Heavy Body-armor mustn't limit you ability to bend, flex, croutch, etc. But i think you will note that after a few troops.

i see your point, but i don’t mind it really. Honestly, my ability to bend and what not arent hindered really anymore then when i had the standard clothy armor. I can sit, kneel, walk, and all just fine. I would think that by definition heavy armor, especially the roman cuirass, that i modeled mine after have the epical inflexibility as you called it. Is it the most comfortable thing... no, but most armor isnt, most bulky cosplay are annoying.

Any type of armor is always a balancing act between mobility and better protection. Having worn many different types of bullet resistant vest myself, including vests rated for stopping rifle rounds, I can say that the heavy armor that you created here would not hinder movement any more than real world body armor. Having said that. THIS IS THE COOLEST ARMOR EVER!

Here is the gun. Masking this off took forever. Decided that i had enough gloss with the armor so i went flat with the gun. Although i used a flat primer on the chest and have to admit if i could do it over again i would have gone flat black throughout. I would love to add more belts to the ammo belt but they dont sell them seperate of the gun...

thats some pretty beefy armor, man... looks great.. well done....

Made it back from the con in one piece, a little worse for wear but the suit went over great! Ill have pics up soon enough. So i had one issue, i designed the chest piece to be tight... and when i found the heating issue i added ice packs, which worked like a charm! was able to wear the suit for a whole day, never had to get out of it! The ice pack pushed the frame around a bit and with that the frame sat weird on my hip and sternum. ended up with a few pretty deep cuts. live and learn, the chest piece has a date with a grinder. Getting badges for a few more Denver cons... will be good.