Rav Bralor progress thread (big build pics)

So I figured I'd post up some progress pics of the Rav Bralor I'm building for my girlfriend. These are some of the first pictures, and admittedly I'm horrible about taking any amount of progress pics. I'm attempting to get this done for WizardWorld Philly in a little over a month. I'm going for my own artistic interpretation of the sum of the reference available. Before you get worried, I'm going to do it justice. I like Mandos, and strive to always do them right. You could say that I'm going for an idealized version of the Action figure the most (shape of some of the armor and cape and other little details)

So enough words from me, on to the giant pics!:)

First the armor- I racked my brain to figure out how to do it, decided it wasn't worth sculpting and casting my own, wasn't completely thrilled with what I saw out there and then had a flash of genius. Bought a plastic mannequin half torso of ebay that wasn't too "realistically sexy" in its sculpt:lol and that would accommodate my girl's form. Drew the armor on the torso, sat down with an xacto and there you have it. Best part: $30 bucks shipped and just a little time with a marker, ruler, and xacto.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1069.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1077.jpg
Cod is one of those cheapo sintra ones I mistakenly got off ebay awhile ago, but its the right size proportionately for her, so a little TLC to sculpt up so it looked more like a fett cod and it was good to go. The Knee and foot armor is .25" sintra cut out and heat bent into a curve. Some PVC tube pieces were blended onto the outside of the knees and will have fett style darts put inside them.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1078.jpg
Flightsuit was a generic flight suit/ coverall she found for cheap at some point. Removed all the pockets and took it in since it was a little baggy. Pocket material will be used to make the arm pouch. Armor vest is made from fabric we found at Wally world for cheap. We decided we wanted to have a Fett style armor vest, since it would look best and fit with the typical mando armor set up. We looked for a fabric that was a similar grey but possibly a little different in material and shade (just like fett in ROTJ). This stuff works great. There is no existing ref for the pattern, but I decided to throw in the fett style shoulder stitch lines, just to add more detail.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1088.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1095.jpg
Here's the armor as it stands taped up to a another mannequin she had. The girth belt is hand made, used cotton clothesline from walmart dyed brownish grey, I dyed some leather and made some ends to it that have buckles with leather straps. The Ammo belt is entirely hand made by me. I made patterns and dyed the leather and hand stitched the pouches together. They're all functional as well. The little back cylinders are just pvc pipe filled with resin, and capped with a snap dome and a resistor sticking out the other end. The large cylinders are R2 ankle cylinders with one tab cut off. I did this for to reasons- 1. I had a Ankle cylinder I had made from PVC pipe so why not mold it and cast a few and 2. It fits in the star wars universe design style. Detail pieces were used in multiple places all the time. So they look like they belong, and there's extra detail with the scribed lines and tabs on the end that isn't in the artwork.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1091.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1092.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1093.jpg
And here's most of the parts laid out on the cape rectangle. It's a wool outside (just an interesting weave that was on the cheap remnants table at Joann's) with a wrinkly cotton lining (same source). You can also see I added some tabs on the cod piece- probably won't be seen but it just brings it more into the reality that Fett's armor existed in, right? Its all about adding in the layers of detail.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1094.jpg
And this is a blank cylinder of polyurethane foam. I shaped two of them into a tapered cylinder and will be sculpting up the gauntlet details on top of them. I'm going to go for an overall Fett style gauntlet like the figure, but with some of the little details worked in from the comic reference images. Plan is to make a mold of the sculpts and cast them in resin (so who know's there may be some for sale in the future);)
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1084.jpg

That's it for now, hope you enjoyed. I'll try to update this thread as I go along. Later:skull

Very nice build! Coming along great!

mannaquin torso...brilliant...why didn't I think of that??? :b I'm liking the spikey boot plate things...spikes are always good...:cheering:thumbsup

great work!!! I want to see more!!!
:cheers
A'den

This looks very cool. Looking forward to more pics! Keep up the great work!

Very nice work so far! I did a Rav inspired set out of aluminum for a friend at DCon last year.

The only part of the armor I would say to think about is the cod armor. I had some complaints that a male type cod can be uncomfortable on a woman, so I made a pattern for a cod directly influenced by the smaller "bikini" style cod of Rav/Vhonte from the Tom Hodges art. If you want a copy let me know and I can email you the PDF pattern.

Using a mannequin for chest plates was just complete genius. =)

I saw that armor build and was impressed with it.
Luckily The cod I'm using was undersized for a guy to begin with. So it actually fits her ok. (In my opinion the regular cod is uncomfortable for guys too) I've never been as big a fan of the 'Bikini' skinny cod piece, just not for me. I think the fett's style cod just looks better with the armor.

Tonight I'm going to finish up the work on the knees and start marking up/ building up the gauntlet sculpts a bit.

Wow, looking good! Keep it up!

amazing work so far... really liked how you used the mannequin, just brilliant

cant wait to see how this comes out... keep up the good work.

That was an inspired idea, nice job.

worked a little on creating the cape neck ropes (again, going for an idealized version of the figure) this weekend while at Steel City Con, but since I was doing an armor panel and helping out didn't get much work done. Planning on gauntlet work this week. Will post pics as I get more done.

looking awesome so far!

using the torso is total genius, I am going to steal that idea. ;)

lonewolf_1183, you continue to amaze and impress me with your style and ability to create these great customs! cant wait to see more!

Do you remember the fleabay item number?

You're getting everything right so far. Keep it up!

any updates?

yeah sorry about that, I'm horrible about doing constant updates.
I have been doing small things with it. I made some progress on the gauntlet sculpts. I'd say they're a third of the way there. The right just needs to be sanded some more, more filler putty, sanded, and coated in primer. I need to finish building up the left gauntlet and then fill it and sand it.

Again, for those just joining us;); I'm not going for any specific piece of reference on this character. I'm sticking closer to the action figure for the most part as it is a constant in its details, whereas the comic illustrations vary. And I like the idea of making things that look like they belong in the same family of form as the Fetts (thus the Boba style armor vest) So you could say I'm doing an idealized version of the action figure, but I am working in some details of the comic art. You may be ably to pick out some of the extra box or panels on the gaunt that are inspired by the comic art. On to the pics!
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1105.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1106.jpg

the gauntlets are coming together nicely. and the rest of your armor is looking good too :)

ya' know what, you should sell these chest pieces, I know the manaquins come in more than 1 size.

Ya, I did that when I first tried to make female chest armor. It is not easy to figure out the actual size, or cup size. And the ones that actully state the size are not so inexpensive. The manequins don't really work for a "real" female chest. The abs end up small as well. Which is why I sculpted my own, because the curves and shape from those don't really fit too well, and you have to account for the undersuit and vest, which adds layers, they do not fit the curves of the chest. But, it is a cheap way of getting female chest armor! I just feel they are too pointy, and no actual size, but a A or B cup, with no definition, it could work. But any way, I like the way female armor is coming along, and all props to those who do what they gotta do! I do like the leatherwork you got going on! And I really like the Rav/Vhonte look, what a fun set of armor to build!

I'm still waitin on yours Rotton, I may try this manaquin version myself to see what I can do for shapes and designs.

Thanks for the, um, encouraging?/ supportive? commentary on my solution for chest armor.

If you notice the torso I got to use is not of the pointy, or super anatomically correct with undercuts variety. I did search to find a torso which would be smoothly curved, and chose the larger size to take into account my girlfriend's chest, the flightsuit and armor vest layers. I also made sure to get one that was pretty much a straight on normal stance, as opposed to one that was more 'posed', which wouldn't allow for nicely symmetrical armor panels. I also made sure to get one that was a sturdy injection molded plastic, not a thin vac form or ridiculous thick fiberglass one. The torso actually ended up being a pretty good match to her and the armor panels cut out couldn't have been sculpted better myself when I hold them up to her.
Yes, if you choose to go the way I did you're only going to really be able to find roughly two sizes. However, you never really find much variety in any other armors out there (stormtrooper, vader, fetts, etc) anyway. You will have to be mindful to pay attention to the pictures and not choose too *ahem* realistic :D of a female form. You want to find one that is smooth shapes and looks like it could be actual armor. Don't get too thin of one and I would advise avoiding the fiberglass ones (they're about 3/8ths of an inch thick!) It took me maybe a half hour of interneting to find what I did on Ebay, and it worked out awesomely.


Anyway, I'm sitting here in the Vegas airport at the end of a vacation trip, and I have been itching to get back to working on this build and my own mando designs. My flight has been delayed some more, so by the time I get back to Philly I don't think I'm going to be working on the stuff tonight, but Memorial day is gauntlet sculpt day:lol. I'm gonna tear it up with some epoxy and bondo. Might even get a little work done on holster and pistol work. I've got til June 21st to get it done, so I gotta pull out the stops! I'm just itching to get back to it! Once I get cracking some more on this expect more pics from me (I know I'm a bad updater of threads, lol)

you update yours more than mine :lol

My second bucket is still in limbo, and I havent gotten my flight suits yet.

So over the weekend I drove back home to Cincinnati for Cadet's college graduation party, but Tk-2257 came with me and I brought her armor with me to work on. I got the red main paint coat down on the armor. Here's a little pic:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1750.jpg

Tonight I primered and spread some more spot glaze putty on the gauntlet sculpt.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1751.jpg

I'm working some more on doing another round of sanding on the gauntlet sculpt. I'm also putting some epoxy putty filling on the pistols. I had to take some old earcaps I had sitting around and fit them to the helmet. We had misplaced the earcaps that came with the helmet. So that's some more filling and sanding on the helmet before I can paint the grey on the helmet. I also have to fabricate the rangefinder stalks.

Little update. Got the basic colors painted on most of the armor. Got the black and the gray on the armor parts that get it. Been working some more on the gauntlet sculpt, and I'd say that they have to be sanded one more time, then primered, and they'll be ready for silicone. Started working on the pistols a little more too.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1752.jpg

Looks great!

So, the gauntlets you're building... you said they'd be ready for silicon. Are you sealing them or making molds to cast? Just wondering. Many FemMando's out there would love to have female sized gauntlets they don't have to scratch build. You may have a market for them.

I know I'd be interested in a set for my GF. I just got a set of BradleyFett Jango gauntlets for her and they are going to end up being a tad bulky on her.

I love how the darts on the knees came out

Amazing work lonewolf!
G-Fett

Coolio. Looking good. :D

Nice work!

Kandosii!

good thinking on the mannequin form! I don't know why I never thought of that. great color scheme too.

Thanks for the kind words guys.

I've been a little slacker on the last day or two, but I've needed to get sleep:lol

I am planning on putting the sculpts in silicone to cast them in resin. I'll plan on making them available. I'd say they'll be a tad bit smaller than Bradley Gauntlets, but not extremely smaller.

About time for another update to this build, and its a biggish one. I just got done pulling the maiden set of casts of the gauntlets from their molds tonight. Not too bad overall, will need a little bit of clean up here and there. I modified the one mold a little to make the next casting a little better. I didn't get pics of me making the molds themselves, because my hands were really sticky from the mold rubber, and I did not feel like ruining my camera. But here's a quick description of what I did; I made a mold of the outside of the gauntlet pieces, turned that upside down and spread clay into it the thickness I wanted the gauntlets to be, then made the other side of the mold over this. This left me with a complete mold with a void that was the gauntlet. I didn't feel like slush casting it, so this will give me a consistent thickness in one shot. I also extended my new mold rubber supply by chopping up some old useless molds into itty bitty pieces and mixing that in to it.
Here's the master sculpts in their final clened up form:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1754.jpg
Sawing them in half to be able to mold each piece of them individually:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1755.jpg
The pieces before getting molded:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1758.jpg
And the resin setting up in the completed molds:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1759.jpg
First pieces rough out of the mold:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1760.jpg
The helmet in its initial stages of weathering. The scratches are done, now its just time to do washes over it and the armor to dirty it up. The rest of the armor is currently at the same point as the helmet, I'll try to get pics up in the next day or two.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1761.jpg
And she'll hate me for posting it, but here is the ultimate recipient of this suit in the vest, holding the armor on while I made a template for the shoulder pads, which I will cut out of leather along with the holsters in the next few days:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1753.jpg

Awesome work.

Absolutely Outstanding Work!! Just some stunning creativity!!:thumbsup:thumbsup

Nicely done!

the use of a mannequin was a great idea

I'm still very tempted to do this, but I think I will put a layer of glass over it to give it a little heft.
I was waiting for Rotton, like a lot of us are, but for $30.00 from fleabay, I can do that.

not bad, gauntlets look pretty nice

Figured I'd put up another little progress pic. Yesterday was actually sunny for the first time in a few days! So I sprayed a clearcoat over the armor to protect the main layer of silver scratches and the black acrylic paint I used for the black areas. I'll be doing washes over the armor and further weathering it, this was just to seal up the main paint. It's obviously not going to be this shiny once I'm all done with the weathering.
I also got the gauntlet casts cleaned up, got the right arm hose connection piece mounted to the gauntlet, and started cutting the hinge pieces to use for closing the gauntlets. I also got the raw pieces of leather cut out for the shoulder pads. Today I'll build the flame projector box for the left gauntlet and get the final sanding done on the pistols. I'll also get a belt mounted to the cod piece, and raw pieces cut out for the holsters.

Anyway, onto the pics! The helmet as it stands:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1763.jpg
The armor laid out:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1762.jpg
And the pistols laying on the ground. They're covered in gap filling putty all over the place and obviously haven't been sanded or primered yet:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1764.jpg

looking awesome, great job so far

Are those old Nintendo Zappers??? That's sweet!

You know it:lol

I got a bunch of work done over the weekend, I was just working so hard I didn't stop to take pics. But the armor is all painted and weathered. Final leather parts are stitched together. Now its just time to start mounting armor to softgoods, and getting everything fitted and attached. Its into the home stretch! I'll try to get pictures up if I think about it. There will definitely be pictures after this upcoming weekend, there's a convention that I'm supposed to finish it for.:D

i was thinking of tweaking an old dreamcast light gun, Any pics of how your blasters have turned out?

Couldn't go to sleep until I posted these pics taken about a half hour ago. With the exception of a little fit and finish and a little softgoods weathering that will be don weds night, this build is done!!! Not much to say, I'll let the pics do the talking. These were taken at night in my front entranceway, so obviously not the best. There will be better pics after this weekend at Wizard World Philly. She's happy with it, hope you guys are too!
Picture time!
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1765.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1767.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1768.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1769.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1770.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1771.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1766.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1777.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1779.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1773.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1774.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1775.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1782.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1772.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_1766.jpg

That's some darn fine work my friend, really well done. If only I could find a girl who loves Star Wars as much as I do, like a lot of you guys have.

Kandosii! Great work wolf!

Wicked good job!

G-Fett

Awesome job! :thumbsup:)

Mighty fine build mate:cheers

that's awesome! like you stated, aside from a bit of tightening up it's looks stellar!

Thats an outstanding Rav!

Wow Amesome job. We're going to have to step up our game to match that one nice one bro.

Thanks for all the kind words guys

I got the last little tweaks done tonight- weathered the flightsuit and armor vest, shortened and weathered the cape, dry brushed the pistols, shortened the shin armor by an inch, weathered the gloves, and adjusted the padding in the helmet.

The girlfriend is extremely excited to wear this outfit this weekend. We'll definitely make sure to get some pictures of it in action and post em up.

Now that this outfit is out of the way, I'm free to work on my mando:lol

whats happening this weekend? (Today tomorrow) Will you get outdoor pics? Scenery, industrial? Dude, I cant wait to see this AWESOME suit in real world pics. IT LOOKS GREAT!! Now I can make a set for the wifey (she said she'd only wear it once for pics, but thats better than not).

That looks fantastic. Your level of attention to detail is impressive. I like the weathering, too.

Nice kit!! Wish I could get mine finished... Ugh...

I think you can do it LadySythe, your custom Sith work is exceptional, and you attention to detail... wow.

Thanks adonian, but one must have money in order to work such a feat ;) In time it will be done. Most definitely before Comic Con '10!

maybe I will see you then.

Anything is possible, if Force wills it ;)

It looked great at the troop today! You're gonna have to help me with mine down the road. ;)

PICS PICS PICS, gotta see some pics ;)

Here are a couple I've found:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garriso...7620242721516/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garriso...7620242721516/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garriso...7620242721516/

I'm downloading the few pics I took this weekend right now.

The coolest thing was that Tom Hodges was there this weekend and he absolutely LOVED the suit! He sent his assistant running to chase Kristi down and bring her back to his table. He signed the inside of her helmet and got a few pictures with her, which he said he was going to try to get up on StarWars.com. Great stuff! He complimented me on my work, complimented her on it, and even put forth his proclamation that it should be approved in the 501st (We're both already in the 501st, so she doesn't really need it approved)

Cadet, where you been? Any work on your skeleton armor lately? I'm still subscribed to that thread, you and your bro here gotta show me more, I LOVE THAT ARMOR.

Picture Time!
I got some pics of her with our local ESB fett here in Carida. Just a couple of shots in various places around the convention.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1791.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1792.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1787.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1789.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1797.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1799.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1802.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1796.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1801.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMG_1786.jpg

LOL SPACEBALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH $Hi7 there goes the planet.

Very nicely done. The only critique I could give is a problem I see on virtually every costume, Boba, Jango, or custom.... I would try to tighten up the bottom of your girl's armor vest and make it more form fitting. Doing so will make her look more tall and lean and will show off her feminine form better, plus is just looks sharper! Congrats on having a girl who will troop with you.

It means a lot to me to have a positive review by you, Art.

And on the armor vest- yeah I knew it wasn't very tight. There just wasn't time before WizardWorld to get it tweaked. I wanted my sleep once the costume was complete, lol. I knew it was a little loose. I also need to add the left upper arm pocket. Those mods will be done before the next time she wears it;)

i love it! Perfect amount of weathering and the plates really seems to be scaled right. great job

Wolf it looks good man... I wouldn't change a thing except for fit.

Here's a quick pic of Kristi with Tom Hodges himself at WizardWorld Philly
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...70_cropped.jpg

I got to see this suit in person, and those pics don't do it justice!! The detail that was put into this was amazing. Easily one of the best Fem's i've ever seen bro. NICELY done man!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lucksy31

I got to see this suit in person, and those pics don't do it justice!! The detail that was put into this was amazing. Easily one of the best Fem's i've ever seen bro. NICELY done man!!!

---

I also saw the armor this past weekend at Wizard World Philly, and I have to agree with Scott 100%! John's work is fantastic! I feel honored that he asked me to pose in the shots with Rav!:cheers

great job, i am not a big fan of mandos. but that one is nice. you did an excellent job on the whole costume.

Hi everyone!

Alas, I am John's girlfriend & I have to say he did a wonderful job on my costume - you can't get me out of it when I wear it! We were able to get some professional photos taken of my suit & I was able to post a handful of them to my flickr account. Here you go:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1101092...7621935773143/

Thanks!
TK-2257

WOW y'all did a GREAT JOB on that armor!! love the boot spikes and the knee armor! also love the leather work!! that is amazing!!!

p.s. also love the pic of R2 checking out the manikin :lol

Your kit is awsome. Your idea with the clothing bust is geneious(spelling). You armor is fitted perfectly in my opinion. i like the pistols you made out of the zappers