WIP: Two New Mandos

So my 2 1/2 year old son wanted to be Boba for Halloween. How can you say no right! Well he also wanted his parents to dress up as Mandos as well. I saw the as a prime opportunity to try my hand at making a cool kit for myself and practice ideas on my wife's armor as well.

I have been reading through the forum to get some ideas. For my wife I went with the Hasbro Boba helmet. I am going to keep it basic but bond the seams and glass the inside for strength. I will also be removing the ****** goggles from the inside and add foam padding. I already have her standard issue flight suit (green) given to me by my NCO. She wants to have white armor with a blue green accents on it. Her armor will be made from a mannequin display.

For me I will giving the trashcan armor a go. Already picked up my can from Big Lots and I am trying to figure out the best size armor to print out. I was also going to use a Hasbro bucket but decided that I might want to do a bit more so I have been looking around for an affordable helmet I can paint up. My flight suit is taken care of already as I have one from work that is a little weathered( Also green). For my colors I am going do it similar to my Kevlar that I use for work. It will be a base of tan than a netting is placed over it and sprayed green. It's a cool pattern and I think with some weathering and a few othe proper color choices I will be good. One thing I would love to do is a red hand print on the front of the bucket. I one done with the hand and loved how primal it looked.

I will post photos as I get thing rolling.

Cheers,
Robert

A whole family of Mandos? I can't wait to see the progress on this!

Cool! Everything sounds great. You should make the red handprint from your son's hand.

My son helped me sand down his moms HB Bucket today. It was a light sand before we applied the bondo to the seam and glass the inside of the seam.



He is having fun working on this and my wife is getting a kick out of him helping me.

First coat of bondo. Going to let it dry overnight and sand the heck out of it.

Way to get your kid involved. Looking good! Have fun sanding.

Got a little more done between playing some soccer and throwing the Nerf football around.

My son could not wait to get geared up.

Got some more sanding done last night and I printed out the templates for my trash can armor. A huge thanks to WoF for the great templates.

More progress after work today. (I hope)

Cheers,
Robert

Looks great! Keep it up.

haha i love the idea of a mando family. wish my girlfiend would get into it. cant wait to see the progress on your armor. i went with trashcan armor and found it hard to work with but maybe i can see how its supposed to be done. your sons boba looks great with sandles haha.

Found this at Target and though it would. E a great base for my gauntlets:



What do you all think?

Cheers,
Robert

Here is an in store shot. I must of looked like a weird guy as I put it on to show my wife and started talking about cutting the base off and how it would sit on my arm.

dude thats a great idea. i ended up using two plastic mixing cups from lowes then cutting out the bottom and hot glueing on all the details. how stable are they and how do you plan to make them so they dont wiggle?? im curiouse now haha cause my gauntlets feel like theyre about to take a dive

They were thick and very sturdy. I was thinking of cutting them in half, than adding some padding to the insides, and using either Velcro or hinges to close them around my arm.

You've got the right idea: http://mercs.firespray.net/forum/ind...?topic=43869.0

That's a link to a thread over on the Mandalorian Mercs site. It's a tutorial of exactly what you are doing with the toilet brush holder for gaunts.

Ordeyn that is where I got the idea from. I have been stalking the forums trying to get ideas and than walking around stores looking at the shapes of things not for what they are but what they can be.

looks good man. i finished my set and am really dissapointed with the way the gaunts turned out, expecially after seeing this decently easy way to make em. maybe in the future ill rework them with this kinda material. any new pics?

No new pics yet. I have been busy doing stuff for the military. Darn work getting in the way of fun again.

Good luck man! Loved the toilet brush in target story! bet you got some strange glances

You got a lucky kid..wish my dad would have hooked me up with a fett helm when I was young.

haha likewise. im sorry to say that i saved buying my helmet for last then ran out of funds so...i painted my AOTC clone trooper helmet...still looks sick but i need a mando helm. and ya Darksons, it always seems like work interupts when your in the middle of having fun

Luckiest kid in the world

Originally Posted by DarksonDesigns

Ordeyn that is where I got the idea from. I have been stalking the forums trying to get ideas and than walking around stores looking at the shapes of things not for what they are but what they can be.

LoL, you could have said something! I really like the shape of the ones in the pics -- good find!

does anyone have any cheaper ideas on how to build up the gauntlets after you have thwe basic shape? i used alot of balsa wood and hot glue but it just looks bulky and awkward.

Quick update. Got a chance to do the final prime on the Hasbro Bucket.



Still waiting on the bucket I ordered.

As for the gauntlets build up I have a few different shaped plastic bottles and containers that I am going to cut up and see how they look. Nothing is safe I have a few plastic liquor bottles, some different soap and shampoo bottles, and several different drink bottles. All of which I am going to cut up and play with the shapes. From their I will glass the final up. (I will have questions once I hit this stage as I am not sure of the best way to glass em).

My wife wants me to take my time on these and make em sick so we can have them displayed when I am done with them. So I will throttle back and make sure they rock.

My wife has locked down her final color scheme and I am excited to get ready to start painting her bucket. Her armor is is going to look similar to a Clone trooper. She wants it a base of white with green markings. So I plan to do her shoulders and colar in green as well as some markings down the chest and stomach.

All of her soft gear will be black so I will also pick out some parts of her bucket in black as well. Most likely the cheaks and the ear pieces.

For the trash can plates when you cut them out I have seen people post that they "snap the armor to get a clean line"? What does this mean? Do you score the entire out line and than bend it till it snaps or do you do some thing else?

Anyone know the best way to get a blue tint on the visor?

Cheers,
Robert

Thanks for all of the encouragement.

i think that is what they mean by snapping, atleast thats what it sounds like to me haha. thanks for the help on the gauntlets, how much does fiberglassing them cost/whats the difficulty level with that?

Originally Posted by DarksonDesigns

No new pics yet. I have been busy doing stuff for the military. Darn work getting in the way of fun again.

I know the feeling! Working for Uncle Sam has dragged my kit out to the 2 year mark... and my wife's kit too since she won't work on it if I don't! lol You're going along the right route dude and it looks like you're pretty squared away. I did the trashcan plates as well, and the biggest thing I found to help out was to actually trace the plates, cut 'em out a little bit outside of the stencil and then I used a dremel with a sander bit on low power to trim the edges. The heat generated by the sander actually caused the edges to round instead of flatten, giving it a bit of a thicker appearance. add to that multiple layers of paint and my plates actually look REALLY thick and they're light as a feather.

What are the feelings about Flat/Mat paint vs Satin paint? One better than the other for a final look?

Small update. I got a chance to do the silver base on the bucket as well as some mask battle damage and black.

Silver base:


Mask and Black layer:


Cheers,
Robert

Got a bit more done tonight. Added more mask to some areas and taped off areas that will stay black. Than did a round of white.

More mask and taped:


White layer:


Need to find the green in my airbrush colors and than tape it some more.

Cheers,
Robert

For the most part, whether or not your paint is shiny or flat (or in between) is really personal preference. I went shiny.

The bucket is looking great, keep up the good work.

is that helmet for your son's fett or your own costume? kinda dumb question i know but your putting alot of work into a kids possible bucket so i wasnt sure

It is for my wife but I will make the padding so I can pull it out and put some in so my son can use it as well.

Eh... as far as paint goes like Ord'ika said, it's all about what the individual wants. I used satin paints to give it a military look, but still retain some sheen. Because while flat paint is better for real military, the costuming world seems to run better with sheen and shine.

I hit it with a satin white, than did a final (I hope) light sand, followed b more satin white. I will mask off the green in the morning and get out the air brush for the final go. Than I will weather the hell out of it.

Masked off this morning for my final assualt with the rattle can.

Here is a quick teaser pic to see how the colors are working together.

Tape has been removed and it is time to start weathering.

LoL, I love how "fancy" those last two photos are, coolio frame and all. Nicely done on the paint job. Can't wait for weathering!

I like the pinstripping ya got there, never seen it doen before, good work!

not bad at all. Looks pretty good actually, u have a talent for paint.

Thanks everyone. This is a lot of fun and good practice for when my bucket arrives.

I picked up one of the above toilet brush holders and am going to dive into my first gauntlet. If it seems to be working out I will go pick up a second one to finish off the pair.

I have also been doing a bit of looking around as to what I should do for the interiors of the family's buckets? I am thinking of making a paper template, than doing some electronics and pads, and than casting them in a rubber or a foam material.

Anyone have any ideas about what type of material that foam/rubber is called? I have some rubber to make a mold I just don't know what would be good for the final cast that would be soft?

Cheers,
Robert

Very excited today my bucket showed up on my door step.

Here is a pic on it with its new best friend Bondo. I think they are going to be spending a lot of time together.


It's going to be some serious work to get this into shap. I plan on adding sone strength to the inside and cleaning up the tops as it is a bit on the lumpy side.

Cheers,
Robert

hey so i can planely see that you used car bondo to cover the helmet but im wondering what sorta stuff you use to strengthen the
inside. o and what company did you get your bucket from cause the only one iv seen thats in my price range is from rubies or a private seller.

I am going to use fiberglass and cloth on the inside. This bucket is going to take a bit of work but I am very excited to dive in and get dirty.

Glassing is pretty fun as long as you don't get any on your arms, LoL (I speak from painful experience). That's a really good looking bucket!

The top was a bit bumpy so I am going to have some fun filling and sanding. But it's ok I need the pratice on blending what I fix with the actual helmet.

I'm getting ready to break out the hair dryer for some reshaping.


Cheers,
Robert

Got a chance to reshape the back a bit and did my first pass of bondo so it can dry over night. I will attack it in the morning with some sand paper and work on more clean up with the dremal.

Cheers,
Robert

I wanted to do a plate check to make sure they are the proper size for me?

Looks all right from here. To be sure, get a straight on shot -- it's hard to tell at an angle.

how you plannin on attaching them?

I will be making a vest and than I am going the Velcro route. That way if I want to do different plates I can switch them out and get the most out of my vest. I will be doing a black vest.

i havnt seen many people use the velcro. for mine i striped off the plastic from abunch of twist ties then micro trilled through each plate in specific areas, then looped the twist ties through and clipped em. kinda tough for thicker material but it can be done. hopefully yours stays on better. cant wait to see. lemme know how you attached the velcro to the plates. when you get there

I have been doing a ton of reading between this forum and the Mando Mercs forum and Velcro seems the way to go. As soon as I am to the point of mounting the armor I will make sure to post images.

Cheers,
Robert

alright sick. you thought about weapons yet?

I have a few ideas for weapons. I was going to try to scratch build an E-11 and do some minor changes to it to make it more Merc looking.

We went over to a friends house last night for dinner and I started to tell them about the projects I am working on. She is sick with a sewing machine and she is going to help me with all of the soft parts for the Mandos I am working on. So parts we are going to do will be a vest, gloves, spats, a neck seal, and a helmet skirt. I an super excited to enlist the help of a pro with the machine as I did not want to fumble around and try to mess up mine learning.

As we progress through the different soft parts I will post images to see what you all think.

Cheers,
Robert

Awesome! Can't wait to see.

All of your work looks great. I just finished a scratch build helmet based on WoF's templates. I will post the pics I took during the build soon. I am really intrigued about the idea you mentioned to use toilet brush buckets for the gaunlets. I have been thinking of PVC pipe, but wondered if it would be too thick. I like the placement of the vents on the HB helmet. I am sure they did it for safety reasons. However, I still like the idea and how they concealed them in the cheeks. Can't wait to see how the armor and gauntlets turn out.

Originally Posted by DarksonDesigns

Tape has been removed and it is time to start weathering.

What the..?!

Ah good, a Racing Stripe... Puh, i always get a shock when i got those Mirror-Moments when its about Helmet-colors.

Never, never, ever start a sentence with 'So'...

The helmets look good tho

Originally Posted by TD-4608

Never, never, ever start a sentence with 'So'...

The helmets look good tho

Thanks mom it was a miss type it should have been "soft parts". (please note the smile).

I am going to try and get some work done in the next few weeks before I get my RNLT orders. I want to get my SO to also work on some stuff to get her kit progressed further as well.

Cheers,
Robert

I have been a bit to busy lately to work on my kit but I have been doing a lot of looking around for ideas on what to do for a blaster. What I found was a very sick tutorial on how to build a blaster.

Here is the link:
David J. Syczylo www.djsyczylo.net

I am going to use an Airsoft revolver instead of a plastic toy as I want a good weight. I will also be using this tutorial as a base of concepts to build my blaster. I was thinking instead of a scope cap for the end I was looking for some sort of chrome tube.

On to Craigslist to find the Airsoft revolver.

Merry Christmas,
Robert

Wow, looking awesome! I like your painting method, may steal that for my Boba helm build

Keep up the awesome work!

Happy Holidays!

Love the work you have done so far. I can't wait to see the finished product and the Mando family picture

I await pictures of the family, this is too cute.

We just PCS to JB Charleston, SC and will be moving into our house on April 13. So not much to report till after that date. One good thing though is I have solved my blaster issue. I am on the list to get a Woodchuck Verp. I Should be able to get some plastic card and add some other details to the Verp to make it mine.

Dose anyone know of some good electronics to add to the Verp to get good sound and lights from it?

Cheers,
Robert

Originally Posted by DarksonDesigns

We just PCS to JB Charleston, SC and will be moving into our house on April 13. So not much to report till after that date. One good thing though is I have solved my blaster issue. I am on the list to get a Woodchuck Verp. I Should be able to get some plastic card and add some other details to the Verp to make it mine.

Dose anyone know of some good electronics to add to the Verp to get good sound and lights from it?

Cheers,
Robert

I saw one guy mount a shotgun shell on his weapon and he had installed an LED where the firing pin hits it, it was really cool I thought.

well... technically the Verpine is a silent, flash-free weapon according to the RC novels. No sound, barely a twitch when it fires and no muzzle flash. That's what makes it the perfect sniper rifle.

I'm probably going to borrow some of your ideas. I've been doing a lot of searching and studying on how to build up my own armor. A few years back I ordered a rubies boba fett. Total waste of money. Yet, I will probably use some of the pieces as templates. Would be nice to integrate some work related items into the suit.

I'm thinking of using a motorcycle helmet skirt on mine. Should work with a few mods for the cheek pieces.

I don't know of any templates, but I made a helmet skirt myself. Check out my thread -- I'm pretty sure I put it up. If not, PM me and I'll do my best to help. (Although, I'll warn you now, my helmet skirt is not the prettiest thing in the world so results may vary, LoL). Congrats on moving in!

the most feared mandalorian mercenaries in the making. Looking good man

How are you going to do the helmet skirt? Same color or change it up? Lookin good!!!