APPROVED! Evan1701's ESB Boba Fett WIP (BH-81989)

[DeathJedi]

Keep up the good work and like stated above, don't get too discouraged. When I submitted mine, I also had the same issue with the black straps for the girth belt. I sent a bunch of pics of it attached, unattached with the black straps I used, and some that were sized more movie accurate, showing that there was no way I could squeeze my fat behind in it that way. My GML made an exception in this case, because aside from losing 40 lbs, there was literally nothing else I could do. I wish you luck with the same.

 

[Evan1701]

Things are looking nice. Sorry you didn’t get approved first try but that’s not uncommon so no discouragement. Couple things I’ll add that haven’t been talked about much, if you are having issues with the MOW cape I highly recommend the woodman cape. It’s smaller and I actually favor the look over MOW due to the fabric but that’s a preference thing. I have both capes and the MOW is too long while the woodman is perfect.

Your chest plates might look a little nicer if you clean up the lines there. Push the plates together a little more and make sure all the gaps are either exact equal distance or match reference photos where the armor actually touches. I’ll include a photo. It really tightens up the chest and makes things look nicer. Otherwise you are a breath away and Fett is never done anyway. Adjustments for life.

View attachment 162953

I have screwed around with those chest plates so much! Haha. I feel like I can never get them lined up right no matter what I do. Since I did the pin back method, they are pretty easy to move. I plan on doing some "comfort work" this weekend and I may have to add moving those around again to the docket.

 

[Ghost_Fett]

I have screwed around with those chest plates so much! Haha. I feel like I can never get them lined up right no matter what I do. Since I did the pin back method, they are pretty easy to move. I plan on doing some "comfort work" this weekend and I may have to add moving those around again to the docket.

I did pin back as well and boy and am I glad. I moved my chest plates so many times. Once I got it perfect though I haven’t had to touch it since bar fooling with the chest lights.

 

[Evan1701]

My approval has been rejected again until I get my new gloves in. I wish someone would have told me that MoW gloves were not approvable. Does any one know if there is any way to lighten the MoW gloves up any? Soak them in bleach?

 

[deathxcircle]

I never realized that either. At least you have a backup pair of gloves to wear for after your approval goes through.

 

[TK50175]

My approval has been rejected again until I get my new gloves in. I wish someone would have told me that MoW gloves were not approvable. Does any one know if there is any way to lighten the MoW gloves up any? Soak them in bleach?

Made the same mistake. I never bleached them because my new ones came before the approval pics. If you try it please post pics how they came out!

 

[Evan1701]

I never realized that either. At least you have a backup pair of gloves to wear for after your approval goes through.

Yeah definitely. My GML has suggested soaked them in a very dilute mixture of bleach and water, so I'm gonna try that. My troop on the 28th is an LFL event and I really don't want to troop it in an unapproved costume.

 

[Ghost_Fett]

I think the mow gloves are a GML debatable thing. The 501st legion Instagram posted a fett just yesterday with a clear pair of un modded mow gloves. So some GMLs are letting it pass occasionally even if it is inaccurate. To me it is always a little jarring to see fetts gloves be so dark. Ive seen people dye them before yes but I can’t recall the exact method.

 

[shteymetal247]

Looks great! Glad to have been along the ride for the last couple months.

 

[shteymetal247]

and ... Boba Fett Soundboard - Soundboard.com

The reason I'm getting the audio converted and mastered from the VHS tapes is that it's easier to try and eliminate the background noise/music so it's just the voice and cleaner sounding.

 

[Fettology]

For the sidearm, a fellow Serenno member and I had cut all of the nasty flashing off at the end of last year. This weekend, I bondo'd and sanded the whole thing, then rattlecanned it with the gorgeous screen-accurate "Ruddy Brown" primer that was NOT CHEAP ($14 for a can). To get the metallic look, instead of airbrushing the rest of it silver, I used some silver leaf Rub 'n Buff I had leftover from some Jango Fett Westar-34s I was playing around with early last year.

Can I ask where you got the primer? I've seen online Krylon Ruddy Brown primer but some cans look like bright red and some colors look more like the sidearm. Don't want to buy a can and end up being the wrong color.

 

[Evan1701]

Can I ask where you got the primer? I've seen online Krylon Ruddy Brown primer but some cans look like bright red and some colors look more like the sidearm. Don't want to buy a can and end up being the wrong color.

I found that exact brand, Krylon Ruddy Brown primer, on Amazon. It wasn't cheap, like 14 bucks for a can, but it was worth it!

 

[Evan1701]

Decided to do another dress rehearsal today, verified the placement of my cape, shoulder armor, and braids. They are definitely where they need to be. Not 100% happy with where my chest plates are, probably gonna move them down closer to the ab plate and closer together. At this point, the only thing still holding me up from approval are my gloves, and my GML is on vacation for 2 weeks so I'm going rogue and trooping my first few events as not approved, unfortunately.

I also went ahead and ordered a new girth belt that is longer so the straps don't look so long.

My boss is a former Marine and told me to tuck that elbow in

 

[Evan1701]

I've had to make a bunch of changes to my costume to get it approved. Several of them are still in process but I want to keep y'all updated with my progress.

1. Gloves- those are painted and stitched up. I'll post them up here tonight. My Mike M. replacements that I'm going to use for approval should be here sometime mid May.

2. Girth belt- my straps were about 6 inches too long so I ordered a 40" belt to replace the 34" one I have now. I think the straps were right at 12". Should also be here mid May.

3. Toe spikes needed to be weathered. I figured they'd eventually get weathered naturally, but I had to add some artificial to get it going

4. I'm still struggling to rearrange my armor in a satisfying fashion. That should hopefully be taken care of tomorrow. I may need to take an inch off my flak vest or pin it back so it looks shorter for the time being.

5. I need to trim back my sidearm holster so you can see the trigger guard of the sidearm.

6. I need to paint my sidearm snaps and rivets black.

7. I had to order a replacement pouch for my ammo belt, the CRL went from 3 snaps to 2 so it is currently unapprovable.

8. I need to take steel wool to my jetpack and tone down the darkness of the green. It is currently too dark to be approved but I think the steel wool should work its magic. Should more or less match the gauntlets and helmet and be lighter than the armor.

9. The vertical crack on my helmet shows up too much, I'm just going to get rid of the silver on it entirely and paint the whole thing black

10. I need to adjust my collar plate location, since where it is it's pressed up against my neck and makes the studs too low on my shoulder, my cape too low, and my back plate visible. It's caused by the jetpack harness straps tugging on the backplate just enough to cause a sag, so I'm going to move my collar plate down to account for the slight sag.

Based on Jeremy's feedback I think that's everything that needs to change for basic approval. Thankfully I'm still on track to be approved before the Solo premiere, which was my original goal.

Anyone reading my thread who is going to go for approval soon, just be aware that the requirements are much, much stricter than they've been in the past. Don't assume that just because it's how people have done it for years, it will still fly. I followed paint up threads till my eyes bled, researched day and night for every piece of my costume, and there is still something incorrect about probably 60-75% of it, and probably 30% incorrect enough that it is unapprovable as-is. The 3 snaps vs 2 snaps is a big one, people have had 3 snaps on their ammo belt as far as I can remember. MoW gloves as well, I know many people who have been approved with MoW gloves throughout the years and they will no longer fly for approval.

Stay tuned!!!

 

[deathxcircle]

Edit from my original post. I have a Delta belt too and I got mine recently in the last couple months. It only has snaps on the 2nd and 4th pouches. I am thankful I dont need a replacement pouch!

 

[Drax]

Is your cod and kidney armor not connected in those photos? Looks like on your left side under the girth belt there is a gap.

 

[Evan1701]

Is your cod and kidney armor not connected in those photos? Looks like on your left side under the girth belt there is a gap.

Yep, not connected. Normally the girth belt goes over it so you can't see it, it was riding a little high in that picture. I got RKD armor that only have the flashing cut off, but it still wasn't long enough to go around my fat self. So my ROTJ Fett buddy told me to connect them with elastic, that's what he did. If I get down to the weight I want to be at they should overlap, but there is about a 2 inch gap on either side.

 

[Drax]

Ah ok. I was wondering how it was staying up being unconnected. Your suit looks really good though it just always comes down to the little details. Good luck with the approval!

 

[Evan1701]

Ah ok. I was wondering how it was staying up being unconnected. Your suit looks really good though it just always comes down to the little details. Good luck with the approval!

True that. Yeah the elastic is a really good solution and really easy to do. Since the girth belt really should be covering it it shouldn't be an issue for approval, but if I had a nickel for every time I thought that...

 

[Evan1701]

Alright so I painted my snaps tonight, black for the sidearm holster and brown for the ammo belt. Technically the latter isn't in the CRL, but Jeremy requires it and he's approving me, so I gotta do it. I already had my paint brush out so I figured why not. I also trimmed the part of the sidearm holster that goes over the trigger guard of the sidearm. I never would have even realized that's a thing, but it is I guess.

Next up on the list, I'll be taking steel wool to my jetpack this weekend to tone down the dark weathering and make it look a little closer in green to my gauntlets. I need to put a little more orange on my right knee as well.

Sorry for the lack of pics. I'm absolutely demoralized at this point and it's taking everything in me to not put the whole costume in a box and forget about it. But I'm not just doing this for me. I'm doing it for the kids at troops who freak out when they see the really cool named characters. I'm doing it for Ryan Hubbard, fellow squad mate who died suddenly last year, who helped talk me into doing Fett in the first place. I'm doing it for my wife, who troops as Bo Katan, so we can be Bo & Boba. I'm doing it for my friend Eric who just got his Vader approved and who is going to troop with me everywhere- Fett and Vader, like on the Star Destroyer.

More updates soon, and maybe some pics from this weekend's troop where I'm breaking all the rules and trooping before being approved.

Much love to you all, and thanks for continuing with me on this journey that has had so many ups and downs.