JSmails Holiday Special Boba Build

[JSmails]

Hello.

Every year we have a Star Wars Holiday Special event at a small theater that is a toys for tots fundraiser. They play the special 3 times that evening and we have a lot of cosplay characters from that special. Acrobats, Wookiees in robes, etc. But we currently don’t have a holiday Fett. So I thought I’d take a shot at it. I don’t want to spend a lot of cash on the costume, so I’m scratchbuilding. Nobody makes the holiday Fett parts anyway.

I’m starting with the helmet. Progress:

https://imgur.com/ULxvqpW

https://imgur.com/E7XZX9P

Next to the other scratch built Fett helmet I made 3 years ago.

https://imgur.com/ZTuMaPr

Custom cut visor area.

https://imgur.com/u5ze0sE

Resin.

https://imgur.com/cVleSr2

https://imgur.com/GVbKQQl

Custom ear piece.

https://imgur.com/bYNtr3L

https://imgur.com/A1s4Wtn

Start of bondo/sand process. I’m no good at this at all.

https://imgur.com/YgE7021

https://imgur.com/T6bfKYG

https://imgur.com/zAP08Pi

https://imgur.com/HxU5b2p

https://i.imgur.com/QtI1WQY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nEACCcJ.jpg

The white stuff is spackle. I gave up on bondo. It’s hard enough. I have my friend, Bodyman Bill, or Bondo Billy, coming over to skim coat the entire helmet and smooth any rough stuff. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be good enough for my purposes.

More updates to come.

 

[JSmails]

Here the helmet is after more bondo and sanding today. I’ve gotten to the point with this that I’m about to declare good enough and finish the helmet.

https://imgur.com/3LBao3a

If I’m lucky, ears go on tomorrow.

 

[JSmails]

Back with an update. The helmet has made it to “good enough for me” stage.

Today I cut in the arrows and the dent and then later, after this pic, the squares on the mandibles. I sprayed it and cooked it. Tomorrow I hope to sand it, then spray it with the blue. If everything goes REALLY well, I’ll hope to choose a mandible 2nd color and spray that also. But I’m trying not to get ahead of myself. Here was the helmet.

https://imgur.com/eiPVKcL

I have also made a pattern for the chest armor and cut it out of a trash can. Not bad for a first try!

https://imgur.com/sIWRARq

Anyone have any suggestions on the 2nd color for the helmet? Or how to make the shoulder armor? If I have time, I’ll be trying to make a pattern for it, and the bells, later tonight.

Thanks for looking!

 

[BudaFett]

Always impressed with these types of builds!

 

[JSmails]

I made the mistake of painting the helmet today. -5 outside, about 15 in the garage. Lots of problems even with my “heat booth”. A large cardboard box with a heater in it. Works great when it’s 20-30 outside. So my helmet looks a bit “shaggy”. I’m hoping it’ll be sandable to semi-smooth once it dries.

But because it’s so cold, heat forming the trash can armor took about 5 minutes. Heat, bend, instafreeze. Heat, bend, instafreeze.

I have to finish the rangefinder, but there’s just not very many pics of it.

 

[JSmails]

The helmet sanded up really well. Surprisingly well actually. 1000/1500/2000 grit and it’s smooth enough for my purposes. These photos taken about 2 feet away. From 5-6 feet it’ll look surprisingly good.

https://imgur.com/av2yEGZ

https://imgur.com/LKtdgMT

https://imgur.com/cegL1GK

https://imgur.com/NCGWg4c

 

[JSmails]

For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what the problem with my armor was. It just looked way too tall. So I wanted to redo it. Turns out, I had the proportions correct too to bottom, but I was constraining it left to right.

After figuring it out, and going through the show to find a great reference image, I think I’m happy and can move forward.

Old armor:

https://imgur.com/sIWRARq

New reference image:

https://imgur.com/eDmDwfy

New armor:

https://imgur.com/ocFisU2

Have to do some sanding and it’ll be ready for paint. Just have to make the shoulder armor first.

 

[JSmails]

Today I found a color I wanted to try on the helmet for the mandibles. It took me about 40 minutes to draw the mandibles then mask it. What a PITA. Here it is masked:

https://imgur.com/1guZvOP

Of course I was rushing, I want the helmet to be done so I can move on. Anyway, I skipped the step of spraying it with the light blue first to get into anywhere I missed. Turns out, I missed a lot. Ugh. Then when I tried to “fix” it, I made it worse. In the end, I’m going to have to spray the original color, wait, mask, then the mandible color again. I’d never had a mask job go so badly using the green 1/8” tape as a base. Really weird. Here are the pics before I tried to “fix” it. Good grief.

https://imgur.com/aXY3Fd3

https://imgur.com/Tlk3tal

https://imgur.com/DVAkwQL

In other words...I don’t think my costume will be ready by Wednesday. Lol.

I got my coveralls in today. I ordered what I thought was a light grey. Turns out. It’s just grey. It fit nice though.

Looking at the pictures, I should have gone with my first instinct which was a white jumpsuit. So I ordered white and am returning this one. Delays, delays.

I made a prototype of the shoulder armor out of cardboard. But I can’t find a trash can to tear up that is big enough. More looking tonight.

https://imgur.com/pr7iDsD

I ran out of 2mm cardboard, so the gauntlets will have to wait until I can get to hobby lobby. I wonder how big a PITA making them out of trash can would be? Anyone tried making them out of plastic then bending them to shape? Hmmmm....maybe I’ll give that a shot.

 

[mattman1138]

Always admire scratch builds. Good stuff

 

[JSmails]

So I had to respray the mandibles. It was a lot of work but I arrived at “good enough”. I also made the range finder and painted it. I was working on custom gauntlets yesterday and that’ll be something. I have to find a big enough flat piece of plastic to make the shoulder armor. Here are the helmet pics.

https://imgur.com/9AwwWFI

https://imgur.com/yQ5VECK

https://imgur.com/zK0Cq4H

 

[JSmails]

Okay. I think I’m finally done with painting the helmet. I just have to get a visor in there and some padding and be done.

My resin/fiberglass still feels soft in some spots. And it reeks. Can I brush on some hardener on the inside or should I make a whole small batch of resin with TOO MUCH hardener and recoat the inside? Or should I just paint the inside and that’ll make the resin smell go away when the paint hardens? What paint have you guys used in the past for the inside?

Pics. It took a LONG time to hand draw all the lines on the front. I think it gives the helmet a cartoony “drawn” look. Eh. I like it and that’s good enough for me.

https://imgur.com/27rmCJY

https://imgur.com/C1bzVOJ

https://imgur.com/U6QoDJs

https://imgur.com/TOuW1ra

 

[JSmails]

Any suggestions on what/how to paint the inside of the helmet? I’m trying to kill the resin smell.

So today, I finally got fed up and cut out some “bad spots” in the fiberglass then glassed over nearly the entire interior. Then I painted resin with LOTS of hardened all over the interior. It seems to have worked pretty well. I still have a couple of “sticky” spots I must have missed near the edge. Anything to do about that? Any help is appreciated.

Moving along. I dull-coated the entire helmet. Everything is locked in now. I also cut the hole in the chest armor and painted the 3 chest armor pieces I have. Here are those pics.

https://imgur.com/ZK9nnyL

https://imgur.com/G4nyJHS

https://imgur.com/66by99Q

It’s starting to come together. Anyone know a cheaper, easier way to make the jet pack? I saw a build in here where someone pepped a jet pack. That sounds WAY easier than following WOF’s templates again. The last time I did it, well, let’s just say I’m still not completely finished. It’s been 3 years.

If anyone has the pep file for a jet pack I’d appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[JSmails]

It’s been a weird year. Because of COVID, everyone is here at my house all the time. So I never really have time alone to work on projects. I am hoping to continue this build soon. Right after I get my Tusken approved.

I never did find a plastic piece to cut and mold to shape for the armor. So today, I resined the outside of the cardboard armor and am going to go from there. I hope to glass it sometime next week, then bondo, sand and paint. Then I’ll finish the gauntlets and it’ll be on to the jet pack. I really hope I can work on this a few days per week.

More pictures and progress to come. Hopefully.