My Custom Design

Morning guys,

I started work on my custom design lastnight. Not building it, just designing it, getting a look for him. I'm using the templates I did a few days ago and drawing my idea onto that. I've done one or two sketches on paper but now I'm drawing it in Paintshop. It just makes it easier for me to try out color schemes and ensure that it's all balanced from left to right.

The reason for getting the even left/right and eventually front/back is beause I plan to model my armor in 3D and build it out of card, then fibreglass it. See, the armor for my upper body will be bulkier than standard Mando armor because my idea is that this is heavy armor built for war over the more lightweight armor panelling which better suit a bouny hunters life. So, area like the chest will be bulky as if it were dsigned to protect the body from heavy attack.

Also, the panels won't fix to the vest like most Mando gear. I plan to have like a webbing system from nylon straps that fix to each panel to hold them together. Then 6 buckles will be used to attch the front to the back. 2 at the shoulders, one each side, then 4 at the sides of the body, 2 each side.

The design is still in early stages but it's all in my head so I just need to get it down before something pops into my head and erases this design in the process! LOL!

Anyway, here's a pic of where I am at the moment. It's not a great deal but should give an idea of where I'm going.


Any feedback is more than welcome.

Great start Skip...
What are you gonna design around the cod and butt plates?

Looking good - I like the different approach (and I really like the way you're actually drawing it on your template).

On a side note - I'm beginning to think there are more custom Mando's in Wales than the rest of the UK!!

Thanks guys. I'm trying to keep it very Mando and SW, yet break away from tradition a little. I'm almost afraid to say this but I don't want it to look like a Fett but with different color scheme. Not knocking other customs at all, I think they're great. I just want to go a little more out of the box.

Mojo - I'm not sure about the waist yet. That's why it's blank. My thinking is that this guy is more heavily armed but I've not given too much thought to weapons and accesories yet. Just getting the actual armor down.

See, I'm a big guy. In build anyway, plus I carry some excess weight. So the other reason for the heavier armor and gear is tht it will hopefully mask my weight and balance me out. LOL!

The other thing I can't decide is weather to go for the flightsuit underclothes, or something more figure hugging. I'll probably go the for flightsuit but maybe tailor it a little.

It's early days anyway.

Thanks for the comments guys.

What a post! Thanks buddy! And there was me thinking I was totally original! LOL!

It's good to see another trying to go a slightly different direction!! I haven't quite come up with a back story yet but I have some rough ideas.
Feel free to PM me if you want to bounce ideas off me buddy!

Cool start!
I remember having a magazine some years ago (Cinescape, I think) that had SW prequel speculation, and the cover of it had an army of grey Mandalorian Warriors... it was just one cloned picture of a pristine Boba Fett, but it really got my mind racing about the possibilities of an army of these guys.
That's what seeing your WIP made me think of... how cool some of those guys could be.

INDEED! I think Mandalorians are probably the coolest of the SW characters. I mean look at the following Boba has. The dude looked bad ***, for a character who didn't really feature that much in the original trilogy, he certainly picked up a massive fan base.

There are certainly a lot of very impressive customs out there now too.

I've been giving some thought to my helmet. I've been looking around here as well as Mandalorian Mercs and have seen a helmet that I fell in love with! Well, the helmet looks great but it was the eyes/visor that got me! The helmet of Novall Talon is amazing! For so many reasons really, it looks awesome, is painted beautifully(great color scheme) and is jam crammed with real working gadgets!



Though the visor on that particular helmet is what I liked the most. So much so that I'm going to incorperate that into my own. I quickly modified my existing model this morning to alter the visor. I'm not going for a total copy of this helmet, just the visor really. I have some ideas for the rest of it.

Looking awesome Skip!!! Great stuff as always!

G-Fett

you could contact marrow sun and see if he could churn one up for you? i've got one of those and it's real pretty. now we just have to talk him into making a custom helmet with more of a "girly" look, so i can get my girl into a custom mando some day.

Thanks Studio! I'm just off to read your PM!!

I like the MS bucket, though the reason I'm doing my own is so that I can corperate things I like and not be restricted to one particular design. Like I said the helmet is great but for mine I just wanted the eyes.

Hay skupil, heres a link to the thread with the 3d vairant helmet I told you about.

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f34/dented-variant-helmet-ideas-22309/

The image near the bottom is a close .3ds file. I dont know if its something your interested in or not, if you are, i can look for it and send it to you.

Nice ideas, Cant wait to see more. I justr saw your pic with the eye slots changed thought you would like this.

I like your thinking there budy. Very much! Keeping the Mando look and feel but totally bringing something new.

I even saved the pics for later pondering.

That cod peice looks.....dangerous. I realy like your chest armor though, I can't wait to see more, thats for certain!

LOL! It's a boxy design. Few curves. So I guess it does look a little nasty. Though the 3D version should illustrate it better.

Morning guys,

I printed out my custom helmet templates this morning. I've ordered lots of fibreglass cloth, resin and some clear styrene for my visor too!

I'll start building today and hopefully get it done for when my supplies arrive. I'm busy as hell with everything I've taken on but I need to have something to do when my backside is aching from all the PC time I've been spending. LOL!

For my visor, I'm opting for a kind of Halo look. Not by shape, but by color and reflective finish. I've not chosen my color scheme yet but when I do I hope to use some colored mirror film(the stuff for car windows and motorbike helmets) and apply that to the clear styrene. I want something mirror but with a color to it, kinda like Commander Gree in ROTS. Remember he had a green mirror visor? I like that look but just need to pick a color.

Anyway, I need to get building first!

I built most of my bucket yesterday. It's shaping up well I think. Though to give it a stong base to work on, I opted to laminate my cardstock sheets to thicker 1mm cardboard. Parts like the dome I left as is because I wanted the flexability when I put it together and the flat areas inside the cheeks/mandables I laminated twice to make them strong.

I've got the whole helmet asembled now, as in the dome and then the rest of the helmet. Though I'm going to redo the dome as I didn't like the way it looked after building it. It didn't turn out as smooth as my RG dome. As a result, I've altered I've re-unfoled the dome to rebuild it the same way I did the RG dome.

Hopefully I'll have that done tonight and attach it to the rest of the helmet just in time for the arrival of my fibreglass and resin tomorrow!!

I've decided what colour my visor will be too. I've opted for a mirrored visor, no colour, just simple chrome!! That should look pretty good with the colour scheme I'm thinking of going for.

Sounds very cool!

Can't wait to see it Skip, you're designs are Genius!!!

G-Fett

Originally Posted by Skupilkinson

I built most of my bucket yesterday. It's shaping up well I think. Though to give it a stong base to work on, I opted to laminate my cardstock sheets to thicker 1mm cardboard. Parts like the dome I left as is because I wanted the flexability when I put it together and the flat areas inside the cheeks/mandables I laminated twice to make them strong.

I've got the whole helmet asembled now, as in the dome and then the rest of the helmet. Though I'm going to redo the dome as I didn't like the way it looked after building it. It didn't turn out as smooth as my RG dome. As a result, I've altered I've re-unfoled the dome to rebuild it the same way I did the RG dome.

Hopefully I'll have that done tonight and attach it to the rest of the helmet just in time for the arrival of my fibreglass and resin tomorrow!!

I've decided what colour my visor will be too. I've opted for a mirrored visor, no colour, just simple chrome!! That should look pretty good with the colour scheme I'm thinking of going for.

Thanks guys.

I didn't get to finish my dome yesterday so I'll have to get it done today.

I've also started modelling a visor attachment for it. Similar to Commander Thire from ROTS, it'll hopefully pivot up and over the dome when not in use, and them come down over the existing visor when needed.

Supplies arrive today hopefully so I need to get this dome done so I can get into the garage to fibreglass it!

Well, I still have to get my dome fixed into place but I have been making progress!

I've bought some great boots, an overall and some fabric for my flightsuit. I've got a sewing machine on the way to customise the overall to make it more Mando and less industrial estate. LOL!


I've also bought supplies for a scratch built weapon an the things I need for my visor!


On top of all that there's my armor! I've posted about it before but I've started to model it tonight and above is my progress! I love how it came across in 3D and hope it'll look just as awesome when I come to built it all.

I have loads more to do and more ideas for it so this one should be fun!!

To anyone who may be interested in the armor when it's finished. Sorry guys, but this set is just for me. Us customs have gotta stand out in the crowd right?

Here's the start of my armor:


And my boots:


I really like these as they have a square toe on the sole but a round toe on the boot! I thought they'd be prefect for adding toe spikes to after adding some armor plating to the top of the boot.

Those boots look wicked mate - you'll just need some spats or boot armour to cover the laces. Love the idea of the squared off end though

Thanks buddy. I'd never seen boots like that before. They're steel toe so they'll keep they shape and not end up looking flat and daft in time. Though they're unusual because I've never seen square soles on a round boot before. I thought it made them look more kinda spacey! LOL!

And what a bargain at £12.99 delivered!! It could mean they're rubbish but I'm hopeful.

"Spats" was the word I couldn't think of when I typed "armor plating" LOL Yeah, that's what I'll be doing there.

Here's another update on my armor model. I've added butt plate, back plate, cod, and collar.

I've yet to add a lower back plate the the rest of the limb armor though.

The back plate has a flat area on the upper portion, this is to fasten my backpack to. It won't be a jet pack. Though I have ideas for it I've not decided on that bit yet.

That's about it really, I'll post more when I have it. Hope you guys like it.

That's looking amazing mate! Can't wait to see it made

Thanks alot Synn. I love it! Not to blow my own trumpet, I just wasn't expecting it to come across so well in 3D. I've stopped the armor for now to get my helmet moving again. Still need to attach that **** dome! LOL!

As soon as that's done and drying, I'll carry on with this some more. Though I've already done my lower back plate since my last post. He he!

Got some pics of my lids now that the dome is on. Figured I'd show it to prove tht I don't just sit at my PC and model things! LOL!





Don't be fooled by the poking out tongue, this man is still a cold merc'! LOL!



Now, I just have to let all the glue set, and then get int the garage to fibreglass it tomorrow. In the meantime I can model some more armor!

NICE!

The rest of this is fodder for the post limit.

Nice work! Looking good I hope everything comes out the way you want it.

Really excited to see how this comes out, I like the new take on the armor design! And I see there is another fan of the butt-plate idea

Looks great!!! I'm just wondering...isn't it going to be hard to bend over with the plates over your abs? I was going to do a plate like that, but when I did a paper rough, I couldn't bend without bending the paper. Just a thought.

Thanks very much guys, all the comments are great and encourage me to keep going.

A'den, I've thought about that ya know. My ab plates are meant to sit about my waist, so any bending would be done from the waist, it'll probably limit my range of movement but not much more than than the Fett ab plate I think.

Remember my armor will have a webbing system to hold it all together like a vest so HOPEFULLY it'll give me some room to move too.

I've made yet more progress this morning.

I'm modelling more of the armor since it's the only thing I can do while glue dries or supplies arrive.

I've started to work my way down the legs now and I've done the upper arm armor. I know that Boba or Jango doesn't have this but since my guy is my design and I like upper arm armor, I'M GONNA HAVE IT!

Besides it makes more sense since the idea behind my custom is that he's a heavy weapons specialist, infiltration, demolition type dude! So the armor fits the profile.

My knees are different than Fett knees too. I wanted them to fit in with my design so the Fett knees had to go. Though I've kept things like knee darts in my design. The shape may be different but the basic principles are still there.

Anyway, here's a pic:

Reminds me of legos, everythign will fit togeather some how.

Looks great, good luck.

I'm not sure I follow. Are you referring to the honeycomb type look to the torso?

I've started glassing the helmet now! It's just setting while I have a quick smoke. I know it's bad, I know it's practically illegal but I'm weak when it comes to quitting. LOL! Sorry.

Anyway, it's coming along well.

It just looks like all the pieces could lock togeather.

Like say the chest was all one piece and a part gets damages and needs to be replaced you culd pop it out and replace it with another. That is if you were going for a non mando design type thing.

Just a very cool idea and reminded me of legos somehow.

dude! a pep-mando! why did i never think of that! it would make things like the knees and gauntlets SOOOOOOOOO much easier!

I guess it just takes a special kind of person to think of it. LOL!

I really like the look of the ab plates. Reminds me of the new batman costume.

I think if your going to make it such a heavy mando, you should add kidney plates and a tank/boxish housing on the back plate, like a trooper of sorts.

If you manage to pull this off as pictured, I think it will look great.

Thanks Storm'.

There already is a box on the back plate, though it doesn't stick out as much as a Troopers. I'm going slightly Republic Commando for the back. There'll be a pack that fits to it. Not a jet pack but more a survival pack or weapons rack of sorts.

I have thought about some more plates on the torso but I think I'll just see how this concept goes for now. I can always add to it later.

Me too! I love the 3D version, I just hope that it crosses over to the real world as well.

Thanks for the input buddy, that's always good!

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.

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.

Hay skup let me know if you want to try my new earcaps on it

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:









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.

No worries mate, I'm always around.

I'll look forward to more pics too. It's a little hard to make out the design or greebles on them ATM.

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.







I've also started to model my custom gauntlets this evening. Nothing to show just yet but I will when they're ready.

Hey Stormrider, I'm interested in a set of those custom earcaps. Are you planning to make those available for sale?

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.



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.

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!

Got some more updates guys.

The knees have been partially fibreglassed the strengthen them for more fibreglass today. The first one was starting to get get a little floppy when I tried to 'glass the whole thing so I used some objects to hold it in shape while it set. For the secong one I just opted to lay a few strips across the main ring and left it to harden. No they won't get floppy when I go back to finish them off later.

I still haven't sewn my vest together. My mum used to be a seamstress so I'm hoping that she may pop ound and do it for me. I'm 29 but still call on mummy for help every now and then. LOL!

My helmet has come a long way I think. I gave it a coat of primer to see just how near the end I was. There was still filling and sanding to do back to it! I've opted to fill the vent at the back in favour of something more unique or customised, I've also started to add dents and dings to it. The biggest thing is that I've now cut out my visor area! That needs sanding back to the guidelines today along with sandint back the left mandable. Then it should be done and ready for ear pieces.

Here are some pics:




Feel free to somment or offer feedback guys. It's a little quiet here. LOL

WOW!
it's really starting to take shape Skip? that visor area looks cool...

Thanks alot buddy! I'm really pleased with it so far. I've put a lot of time into this one. Considering it's a firly simple design, it's taking alot to get it right. Still, I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Looking good mate. Really good work. I can't wait to see it finished!

That's looking Great Skip, Can't wait for the Finish product!

Me too! It's fun but I just want the sanding to end! LOL! I decided to surprise the wife yesterday by NOT toucing the helmet or going out into the garage. So no progress but a big smile on the wifes face.

Today though I have nothing planned BUT being in the garage so I hop to have the sanding done AND my visor installed for test fits.

Originally Posted by Skupilkinson

So no progress but a big smile on the wifes face.

Been there bro!

Massive progress today!!

I've finished sanding the helmet down and everything is now smooth, except for the dents I've added. LOL! It's primered and I've even had time to make and install the visor!!

I love it! Got quite the kick out of wearing it too with the visor in. I do need to recover the visor though as the film I used has a few bubbls in it. I should have taken my time with it.

Some pics:




And here's the visor!!

That looks simply amazing, bro! I really really like mirrored visor, and the almost halo-esque shape to the visor opening. If I could ask, and I'm sure alot of people would love to see this as well, if you could do at least a brief tutorial on your method of fiberglassing, because yours turned out GREAT. Do you have any pictures of the glassing process?

Wow! really cool Skip.... really cool!

I must admit I'd not thought of a mirrored visor but that looks just right?

*the pic of you in it tho* not very flattering bruv?

Believe me bro, that's an improvement! LOL Kiddin' of course!

Thanks both, I'm glad you like it! As for fibreglassing pics, I'm afraid I have none, though I could photo the inside later for ya. I started glassing the dome first as that had to be reinforced the most. Then just spiralling around and down to the bottom. Though I paid alot of attention the the mandables and just the face area in general as I knew this would become very bendy when the visor was cut out. That part of my lid is around 5mm thick give or take.

I posted pics of the filler stage though, you'll see I worked in sections. Dome, face, ears and trim, cheeks, back, and then the mandables. Touchine up the prvious area as I went.

Can't wait for some ears to arrive to slap on this sucker! Then I can paint!

Originally Posted by Skupilkinson

Believe me bro, that's an improvement!

At least we have the same hairline....

Originally Posted by Skupilkinson

Can't wait for some ears to arrive to slap on this sucker! Then I can paint!

Patience is a virtue... got ya back!

I know buddy.

Email reply aint working at the mo so I nearly missed this!

Skip - that is simply AMAZING. The shape of the visor area and brow really look well! Much better than I imagined and I imagined them being very good!

Fair play to you mate - wonderful Mando!

Dave

Outstanding mate!! Love the visor, just like back at 405th...But Silver! I might have to use Gold for mine..since you've already used silver.

What colours are you planning on using for your Bucket?

Originally Posted by Skupilkinson

I gotta say - I would have left this and darkened/shaded these rough areas as weathering - looks really cool!

Dave

Originally Posted by Skupilkinson

@ Mckenic, The darkest areas you see on the dome are where I used my remmel to gring out filler to make dents along with a sort of gash or slash sort of mark. The grey is just primer.

So the helmet hasn't been built to look new, I'll add to this with pait effects when I get to that stage.

SWEET! Although it would look good new - the dark areas look DANGEROUS!



Dave

Very sweet bucket! You did a great job fiberglassing that bucket, and the visor is awesome. =)

Thanks very much guys. Noval, coming from you it means alot. I love your lid and armor buddy!

I didn't want to make it new as to me, the new looking lids just don't seem real to me. How can a Mando look like he's seen action if his helmet doesn't have a single dent or scratch on it?? Like Jango for instance, I love his look and what not but he was just too clean.

Looks Great!!!

Sorry it's been so long guys. I've been rather busy with this and that so haven't had too much time for this.

Thankfully though the last two days have given me enough time to start building armor!!

Like my lid, I laminated the templates onto thicker 1mm card for strength. I'm relieved to report that the fit has been good throughout! So I've not had to rebuild anything. Phew!!

Here's some pics for you guys to see:







That's my knees, chest, back, butt, lumber, and those little bits that go in the center of the torso. I haven't thought of a name for those yet. LOL!

Still more to build AND design but it's getting there. I finally got my mum to take away my vest for sewing together! Got some cool ideas for that too.

WOW!

Looking good Skip! Really impressive and sharp edge build.
If I can be so bold... could you briefly describe the lamination process??? Do you laminate the card in a standard Laminator? How do you join the edges if so?

Thanks mate - these look really well!
Dave

Thanks buddy.

I say "laminated" but basically, I glue the printed templates to thicker card. 1mm mounting board. For standard corner joins I keep the glue tabs on and glue them together like a papermodel. For more curved surfaces like the chest, I cut the tabs off and use small strips of card to glue the two edges together for a cleaner finish.

Any gaps, or slightly ill fitting seams can be sanded back a little and then coated with some resin to seal the card, then filled over to smooth it all out.

Thanks Skip!

This makes perfect sense now - I had pictured you with a hotglue gun and an infinate amount of patience

This must make the model uber-strong... interesting...

Dave

Pretty strong yeah. The fibreglass just boosts that even further, though the card itself is pretty durable. Not good enough for trooping in or anything though.

The backplate is my favorite piece. Nicely done.

Thanks, it's a little RC but my guy won't have the usual Mando jet pack. It'll be more RC pack to carry supplies and ordinance(sp?), though it won't be an RC copy.

So, the square plate on the back is for mounting the pack.

Hey Skip, I see you gots the chest printed out and ready for some Resin and Bondo...NICE!!

Can't wait to see what else you are gonna add on this...

As for me, I just started glassing the gauntlets for my Fett suit and also started doing some small ideas for my Guants on my Custom...I plan on doing the Left gauntlets for both arms, just flipping the patterns for the right side...I gots some ideas for the shoulders...(ODST parts)

Well when I get to it, I will show it but other than that, I can't wait to see what you do for the rest of your Custom!! Keep it up

Hey thanks bro!

I'm building my biceps and shoulders today.

Hey guys,

Just another quick one to show off my shoulder and bicep armor. So far I only have one of each but I'm doing the others today.

Coming along great guns Skip!

Thanks alot buddy. I really feel like I'm getting somewhere now.

The bicep was a little tight but after a little trimming it fits great!

Originally Posted by Skupilkinson

The bicep was a little tight but after a little trimming it fits great!

Your gonna have to stop working out bruv!

LOL! Rather a good thing I didn't start!

Good day today!! Most of my pouches and belts have arrived! I have two triple pouch pieces for one of my belts along with a triple pouch for the belt that also straps to my leg.

Then a wider belt with cardridge loops to sit on above the other belt. It's made of webbing and nylon but that's what I wanted from the start since my armor plates will have a webbing system for them too so it'll all be co-ordinated. Fit is good and I'm really pleased!!

Here's some pics:







Makes me want to go and do some more work on my armor now!!!

I like the direction your armor is heading. It's very original and unique! Not many people do the bicep armor thing, so it's good to see some work done on that to.

Thanks again buddy! I'm going for something a little more "present day" I guess but I like the more practical look of modern day combat gear in tandem with my armor. I think it keeps it a little down to earth. That and I couldn't afford leather gear that suited my picture of what I wanted to look like.

I like the bicep, although not the most original idea maybe(Stormtroopers, Clone Troopers etc.) it makes sense for my guy as he's more heavily armored so it'd make sense for him to have more coverage. I've still got alot to do on this armor but I'm hoping to have enough done soon to go to an event in.

Morning guys,

I made two more purchases yesterday for my custom. Though now that I have I'm not sure about them.

They're my weapons!

I've been thinking long and hard about what my Mando should carry, from a Boba style blaster rifle, to an RC DC-17(thinking my character could have been one of the unmentioned Mandos that trained Clones at Kamino, took a fancy to the deece and got one for himself).

I also remember seeing a member here modify and repaint a Nerf N-Stike Longshot!! That looked great so I started looking into more Nerf blasters. There were loads of kids toy looking ones but a fair few that looked more the part for this kind of thing so long as you look past the bright color schemes. My favourite of all was the Vulcan as it was defenitely the heavier looking weapon of them all, it even had a tripod!! Though it was far too pricey for me, ebay not even offering a cheap one.

So, I've opted for one N-Strike Maverick with it's 6 shot rotating barrel and one Night Finder pistol. Both I think will look great after some mods and some weathered paint.





Though I can't help but feel like I've cheated or something. I'll wait for them to arrive and see how they look after some paint.

Any feedback on these would be great. I really want to be accepted into the Mercs when I'm done so if anyone knows if these would be accepted, I'd appreciate hearing from them.

Nice job so far Skip - really like how it's coming along.

As for your NERF guns... I've seen a lot of people over at Mercs using the Maverick repainted as one of their Mando's weapon - so you shouldn't have any trouble with this one. As for the night finder - I don't know. My opinion, it will require some modding - but then you're already planning on doing some, should be OK too .