Oh hay thur! Long time no... update. Well things are a little less hectic around here, just got through the college year and have a stable well paying job headed my way, so I figured... time for my mando again!
I went to work and one of the more difficult aspects is nearly complete. Though I think I went a little too small on the size of the curvature, but it'll do fine for my first chest pieces.
Please please pleas, excuse the bits of tape (I still have a bit of shaping to do) and the dirty mirror (hobbing < cleaning).
I do have a bit of a request though. I'd like some hints to a place for cheap cheap flight suits? (The army surplus here in the Vail valley is wanting $70 a piece, ouch.) Or appropriately, a place I kind find a pattern for a flight suit, I've looked everywhere with no luck.
Here's some resources on softp arts at Mando Mercs. There's a flight suit source for $40 and cheaper. and it's the same flight suits that sell on eBay for $70 and up. Includes stuff on girth belts, belt pouches, boots, ect...
Good to see your project is back up and running, really looking forward to seeing how this turns out. The chest plates look great, natural shape, realistic. Great stuff.
(sorry to hear about your loss).
but i've said this before in another femando's thread that a one piece flight suit may not be the best, logistically speaking, for a woman. bathroom breaks for a guy just involve moving the cod piece out of the way and hoping to have had the foresite to install a double zipper. for a girl, you might want to start planning to go pee about 20 minutes before you actually have to go, because you're pretty much going to have to take off most of your armor to be able to get the flightsuit to the point that you can use the toilet.
but back on topic, on successfully creating boobie armor.
I really like your designs. You have a really good feel for the character and colors you choose work nicely together.
I haven't done much in way of original mando designs myself. But i did come up with my interpertation of Kal Skirata.
I'm saving it till i get extra helmet to try it on.
Looking at your first drawing i would go with a jumpsuit. Your design would work better with a form fitting shirt, maybe thicker material and maybe a cargo style pants??
Experiment with different clothes matching your colors in your design. I say formfitting shirt because of your chest armor. Think about Zam Wessel form fitting outfit. The chest armor is not laying on a baggy top.
Theres no rule saying you have to wear a jumpsuit.
Actually I was thinking about this, I was thinking of installing a flap or actually splitting the suit in two, but installing a snap system to keep it "whole".
Thanks for the sewing pattern link! I've been looking all over something like that, modifying patterns is alot easier then modifying a larger men's premade.
What I have planned for the over all material, is, kind of like a stretch denim or a similar material and making it a little tight fitting, but towards the chest area, changing the material over to some sort of stretch knit blend. (Kind of a band around the chest, like a boob tube.)
Then for the flak "vest" I'll be using a pattern for a woman's "lined vest" that'll fit pretty tight (the curvatures), kind of like a corset.
great to see this on the road again...i cant wait to see this come to fruition! looks great so far...i may have missed this but what did you make those chaest pieces out of?...cause im working on some femme armour for a friend of mine and so far all of my attempts have been terable
This is exactly what i was suggesting to Hydra. This 2 piece formfiting top/bottom will bring out the female look i was picturing. But at the same time it maintains that dangerous mando edge.
The coolest thing about this 2 piece is that she's pulling it off to make it look JUST like a 1 piece. Like another poster above stated, lets face it...ladies just can't drop and go any time in a 1 piece, and there is just no way to make mando armor that accessible and keep it looking fierce like it should.
Women doing custom armor really should think about this as an alternative to the full flight suit. With a girth and ammo belt, nobody would know the difference.
Got the rough draft of my flack vest done! Spent the last couple of nights tailoring it, which was considerably hard (not having a dressform sucks). It's sleeveless because of "shawl" type piece that'll go over the shoulders.
Now to transfer the pattern to some faux leather!
Looking great! Nice to see you can get back on to your project! Try JoAnns or Hancock Fabrics for patterns. You could also PM SEEKER. His Jango is a 2-piece. You could also check some of the Dance Costuming companies, Curtain Call is a good one, they have alot of generic costumes that can be used as a base.