My Custom Design

Hey man. i like the way youre oging about this.

only one comment. the SWGalaxies chest armor version youve customized is cool, but i tried taht once and where the chest armor joins in the middle doest work. you lose a TON of mobility and become limited to where your arms can move. think of it like wearing a FX stormtrooper kit on your chest kind of. it LOOKS great but i had issues wearing it, so i cut that part out.

however you can always take away, never add. so i say go for it and if it doesnt work, grap the tin snips and cut the chest plates apart.
 
Ok.....I need to know how you guys do these designs. Is it paper that you glass over? How does it all work? I'm so confused.
 
bh-7603, Thanks for the input and insight buddy. I did think of that but then if loads of people troop as Troopers then I thought that this design would be Ok. It's not always about practicality. I'll see how it goes when I've built it and take it from there.

Though you mentioned "the SWGlaxies chest armor version that you've customised", I don't get what you mean bro. I've not customised anything, I drew this from my head and then modelled it from scratch. I've not seen this sort of armor anywhere before. Could you explain? Is there armor like this somewhere else?

cade', The basic method is this:

The 3D model you see gets "unfolded" to create 2D templates that will be printed to cardstock and assembled. Once done, a few coats of resin will be applied to the outer shell. Then fibreglass will be added to the inner shell to toughen it up greatly. Once set, car body filler is used to smooth the whole thing out and then sanded back to give smooth armor plates. For standard Fett armor it's better to use thick styrene or Sintra or something similar. Though since my armor has more depth to it than that, I'm using this method of fibreglass under card. ;)

UPDATE: My helmet is now all solid and set! I may start smooting out the dome today. I'm tempted to cut out the visor opening just to wear it and get a feel for it but I'll wait until all the smoothing out is done.
 
Yet another double post. :)

I've started smoothing it out this morning. I was gonna wait until later but in the post today was my overall-soon to be flightsuit- and my boots!! So I got all excited and had to get out and do something.

I'm only focusing on the dome for now since it's the area that needs it the most. It's strong, even dropped it this morning my mistake with no damage. Though it's a little bumby due to the card core of it. The filler's just setting now before I go back to sand it down. I'm so happy to be making progress on it.

My overall is pretty good, the online pics of it didn't show me alot but it doesn't need too much work to get it the way I want it. It is rather tight though but not so much so that I couldn't use it. PHEW!!!

I've not tried my boots on yet. I'm too nervous incase they fit as this is the only pair like this I've seen and I didn't want to chose another if they don't fit me. This was also the only size the seller had so hopefully I won't have to go shopping round for a new pair. Hopefully. I'll try them later on.

Wish me luck! :)

EDIT: Just a quick pic update. I'm further along than this now but forgot to take my phone the last time I was out sanding. The pic is just a quick show of the filler on the dome. I'm uploading it mainly to show any new people to the technique how it looks through the various stages.

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I'm tempted to cut out the visor opening just to wear it and get a feel for it but I'll wait until all the smoothing out is done.

Don't do it, bro! Resist the temptation, lol! It's so much easier to work on the helmet, especially to apply fiberglass on the inside, if you leave the visor section in for the duration. I know everyone always wants to cut it out and see what it looks like, but it always makes it harder in the end.
 
LOL! Thanks. :)

Though I haven't done it. Nor will I. I've already fibreglassed it and I'm smoothing it out now. As soon as that's done I'll cut it out.

I knew it'd make life harder but temptation was defenitely there.

I've sanded more of the dome out. It's coming along really well. I'll need another pass over with the filler though, just skimming it really.
 
Woh! Those look pretty! I like them alot. ;) And how would I get me a set? I already have me a plan for my ears but I am interested in those too.

I've sanded the dome back as far as I dare now. I've skimmed it over again too to fill the odd dips and what-not, and to smooth over some uneven bits. I took some pics:

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I've also started to smooth over the face too. I'll be leaving it overnight now and I'll be back at it tomorrow morning.
 
Im doing test pours tonight. They will need a little cleaning up. Is the side height of your helm standard? Once I mock them up and take pictures, we will figure out how to get you a set to try.
 
Ok......so if I want to try this....where would one acquire such a "schematic" made for paper? To make so easy that is.
 
By "schematic" do you mean templates? For making your own Mando helmet?

There are two sets of templates on this forum. Just go to the helmet section and search for "templates". You'll find mine, and WoF's, both are pretty similar since they're for the same helmet. ;)
 
Update on my helmet again. I had a wee problem this morning, the filler hadn't set as it should when I left it lastnight. It was still really soft, I'd failed to mix the hardener in thoroughly so I had to scrape it all off and start over. :(

Still, it's all done now and looking pretty good IMO. I spent alot of the time sanding the dome, it's getting there but still needs more work tomorrow. The face is good now, nice and smooth and I finished off by filling in the cheek plates and the rear. Tomorrow I'll be sanding that back too.

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I've also started to model my custom gauntlets this evening. Nothing to show just yet but I will when they're ready. ;)
 
Here's a screen cap of my Gauntlet design. I just modelled this as I went, I didn't draw a rough sketch or anything before hand.

Image8.jpg

I like them, and last night I was thinking about using them for both arms but now I'm not so sure. The cylinders you see are just to represent some sort of launcher tube or barrel. and the block on the outer side of each gaunt will be a mounting bracket of sorts for various weapons. I've not designed those yet.

I was wondering if I might get some opinions as to whether I should use them for both armos or just one? OR even if they just don't fit in with the SW look? That thought has crossed my mind a few times now.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated guys. :
 
Morning Skip...
The gauntlets look really nice, as for 'fitting-in' with the SW scheme it's totally a persoanl choice? With Boba / Jango we're pretty set on the gauntlets and what they look like.
With a custom it's pretty much what is in your imagination...

'Personally' I'd probably go for 2 different types for diff ranges of weapon attachements? ;)
 
I'm thinking that too. Though maybe the same base gaunt, with two different attachments on the mounting block? That's why it's there to mount different weapons.

The other idea I had was to have a different gaunt on the opposite side that would hold a small survival pack kinda like the Predator?? I know he's not SW but the concept makes sense. Emergency gear within easy reach? Though in reality I thought it'd make a good place to store my wallet or phone or something when I'm wearing this?

Oops, shouldn't have said that. Now people will know where I'd be storing my cash!!!! LOL :)
 
Updates guys.

I've started to build my armor today. Just the knees but I wanted test my scaling to make sure the rest would fit me. Luckily I got it right the first time and it should all fit me. :)

I'll be glassing and smoothing tomorrow.

I've not touched the helmet in two days because of the armor build and because I've been drawing up my plans for the flack vest. I'll be sewing that together later hopefully. I can't wait but at the same time I'm nervous incase I mess it up.

Anyway, I left the helmet with the mandables filled and half sanded. It's nearing the end now but looking pretty decent I think. I've now got some T-nuts for fixing in the visor. I'm going to alter the design for the shape of the visor too to fit my charcters look more than the previous visor I had in mind.

Here are some pics.
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Ive seen mando art work with a hypo injector on the fist./gaunt for a medic.

Makes sense, instead of carefully injecting people, a mando would just sock the person they wanted to 'treat'.

I like the gauntlets but I dont like the symmetrical aspect. I like the wrist end though, maybe make the elbow ends slightly different.
 
Yeah, I've stopped work on the gauntlet models. I liked them but I'm not sure if I liked them enough. I may rework them.

I've cut out all of the fabric for my vest. It's all ready to be sewn together now. The machine I have is old and I think I may need to get it serviced before I try to sew anything. I really don't wanna start and then something go wrong and ruin what I've done so far. Plus, it's been a long time since I've used one so I'm hesitant. LOL!
 
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