Kyr'am Galaar custom armour atempt 3(ish)

So bit of a long time since i last posted anything in here, and unfortunately i have almost nothing of value to any of you to report. Life has been one occurance after another and unfortunately my armour has taken a bit of a step in the backwards direction. It has laid on my bedroom floor for the past few months with nothing changing, and it has been almost mocking me with its lack of progress.
With things as they are, there will probably be no progress for a few weeks as i have a couple of sponsored run to do:
on the 8th september i and two of my friends will be walking 30 miles in full medieval armour to raise money for diabetesUK and on the 21st october my fience and i will be running a half marathon for Birmingham's children's hospital.
If you want to sponsor us, please feel free to give anything you can spare. i know money is tight at the moment, and anything you can spare would be appreciated
Ardudwy Knights Marchogion Ardudwy is fundraising for Diabetes UK
Dafydd Williams is fundraising for Birmingham Children's Hospital Charities

However, once these are over, i will hopfully be able to get back to some armour making. My plan is to get the back place and chest plate finished by the new year.
With regards to the helmet though, i want to motorize the rangefinder assembly, but i have absolutely no idea how to go about it. i know kits are available, but they are expensive and was hoping someone would have any suggestions for cheep solutions.

And finally, i hope you all enjoyed the stories that i wrote about my custom mando. i have ideas for more stories about his adventures, and i fthings pick up, i may even write them. Let me know what you think.
 
PROGRESS!!!
its not a lot, but at least it is something worth mentioning. The backplate is nearly finished. a bit more fiberglassing on the inside and a touch more filler to smooth out the outside and it should be done. I have also been able to get a bit of help with the placing of the plates. Turns out they dont match up as well as i had hoped, but its easily fixed. Ive got two strips of leather that will join the front and back plate like a soft hinge on the shoulder, and will allow me to take the plates off easily. the first of my custom dc-15s's is almost finished. it looks a lot different to the others i have seen because i wanted something bulkier, and i'm using the excuse that it was modified after it was damaged.
So all in all, not a lot to say, and no pictures as yet. things have gone a little quiet on this thread, and hope you are all ok.

p.s. if anyone can think of a cheap and easy way to motorize the rangefinder, please comment. it is really starting to get to me as i would really like to have a fully mobile rangefinder.

Many thanks again.
 
things have gone a little quiet on the armour front yet again, things have been cropping up all over the place and its forced my to shelve the armour again. The weather is closing in as well and with the shorter days, its making it difficult to find time to do any of the build.
I could really use some help with the rangefinder issues ive been having, and if anyone can help, please comment.

as a side line though, i have started writing the third installment of the "Dead Squad" fanfictions stories. If anyone would be interested in reading the third part, please post here, or maybe i should start another thread just for the stories. If anyone would like me to write a story about their characters, feel free to get in touch, and i would be happy to give it a go.

Thank you for your patience. really hope someone out there can help me
 
Okay, about time, but i finally have some progress to report.
Found myself at a bit of a lose end this evening - rarity for me - but i seized the opportunity to work on my chest plate/back plate. I connected the front and back with leather tabs on the shoulders laced through the fiberglass plates, and tried it for a fit, only to find that it was a little tight and there were gaps where the plates did not sit flush.
Ive added spacers into the gaps, and taped both front and back together with the plan to fibreglass and filler over the join and then run a saw up both to give a clean straight join where they can be parted for wearing.
I'm really happy with the way it looks so far, and its really picking up on the clone commando vibe i was going for.
Will try and get some pics up soon, but i hope you will all be patient. I know its gone a little quiet on this thread lately, so please dont abandon me. I'M NOT A LOST HOPE YET!
 
okay, here's the pictures as promised.
hopefully i will be able to get into my shed at some point over the next week and fibreglass the sides and get it sorted.
DSC_0183.JPGDSC_0181.JPGDSC_0180.JPG
 
so i have some progress to report again.
I have fillered over the new join on the right hand side, and sanded it down and given it a coat of primer. I need to do the left side, but i have run out of filler for now, so thats been put on hold for a few days. I took the opertunity to add a little more detail to the dent on the chest (it was looking a little bit too neat for my liking, so ive roughed up the edges a little and added a few more dings and dents around it to make it look a bit more real - pictures of that to come)
Ive mocked up the right side shoulder bell, and given it a first coat of fibreglass, so its all going well.
The thing i wanted to share with you all now though was the new insignia that i have designed for the right shoulder plate. As some of you may be aware if you have read the stories that i have written, you will know that my Mando was adopted by Kyr'am Galaar, an old mando member of the Blood Reek clan. The first version of the emblem was rubbish, i know that now. The second one was a lot better, but it was still missing something, so over the weekend i did a little bit of tinkering with it, and came up with this:
DSC_0184.JPG
Let me know what you think
 
progress report:
The fibreglass on the shoulder set and i gave it a layer of filler after to start smoothing it out. It will probably take another layer, but im not going to be too picky with it. I want it to still look like it has been cast, so not going all out for smoothness. Going to leave a few bits to look like the metal has pitted and worn. i think it will look better that way.
Im going to carve the clan emblem into the actual shoulder though, instead of having it painted. Once the rest of the paint is on, i will give it a wash of black and wipe it off, hopefully just leaving the black in the grooves and making it stand out a little more.
The hastle ive been having with the rangefinder has finally made me scrap any idea i have for motorising it (for now anyway) but i have noticed that the stalk is a little short. So in cutting it and lengthening it, i have also decided to modify it and make it a little more interesting. a mix of the classic with the clone trooper style.
Will post pics asap.
 
More progress.
Shoulder piece is fillered, sanded, and the clan logo is carved into the plate. It has been fitted with a popper and it now attaches to the chest plate which looks awesome.
The other bit of news is that I've been watching lots of videos of the old republic game, and though I dont want to make that style of armour, it has given me a few more ideas. I've got some mods to my original design which I shall post later when I get home.
 
as promised, here are the concept doodles i have been working on. it shows the mods im hoping to make to the kit. nothing structural, just some additions to make it look bulkier (which is the look im going for... a walking TANK)
Ive added the weapons belt across the chest because it was looking a little bare. I know i had the paint work there and the raised panels but it still felt like it needed something. And the hood has two uses: one, it looks really good, and two, it hides the neck. it looked too open before.
I have also reinstated the thigh plates, but i still dont like the cod piece.
IMAG0434.jpgIMAG0435.jpg

your thoughts would be appreciated.
 
okay, long time no posting and very little progress. the armour as it stands now (chest plate, back plate, right shoulder and helmet) has been sat at the end of my bed for nearly three months with no actual sign of work. it sucks and it is totally disheartening to be faced with it every day.

but today, i felt like i made some kind of progress, and tomorrow i hope to put the plan into action.
The chest plate and back plate hinge, and i needed a way to secure them together. i found some old roller blades and the clasps on them would work great. so tomorrow i am going to dismantle them and see what i can do with them.

As for now, i do have more concept pictures of other mandos (on another thread i think) and i have a few pictures of how my armour stands now.
DSC_0557.JPGDSC_0556.JPG

any comments/feedback/input always welcome :)
 
heres something for you all!!! managed to get a few hours in the shed these past two days and made some progress.
the issue with closing the chest plate and back plate together has been solved using some catches from some old roller blades i had. nabbed the catches and installed them to the sides.
Also started work on the left side shoulder plate. its a bit rough and ready and need smoothing out, but im happy with the shape.
so here it is, test fitted!!
DSC_0558.JPGDSC_0560.JPG

hope you like it! feedback welcome
 
so after a few days of grabbing whatever time i can to work on my armour, i have some incredible news!!!
catches worked a treat on the chest and back plate, and after a bit of a rushed paint job followed by the classic weathering technique of acrylic paint and window cleaner brushed on and wiped off (to both helmet and chest plate) i would like to show you all this....

IMAG0471.jpg
This is the updated and final plan for the armour, which i drew a few months ago and made a decision to not change it ever again!!! (already had 7 versions previous to this one)

IMAG0678.jpg
Me wearing the armour...
IMAG0680.jpg
side by side views.

would have painted the shoulders as well, but unfortunately i ran out of red spray paint.
Hope you all like it Vod!!!!
 
so another update... things are going apace, though i am dreading the imminent slow-down!
i have managed to paint the shoulder plates, both left and right and have even managed to scrounge some really cool looking pots for the thermal dets on the left shoulder. i will try and put up some pictures soon (assuming anyone wants to see) and i have started work on the jetpack.
I know initially i said it was not going to be a jet pack, just a back mounted missile launcher, but i changed my mind a little, and making a custom one that some of you may recognize. it is based on the jetpack from halo, but i have altered it to suit my needs, and also i have changed enough so that it does not look exactly like it. some of you may not be happy with mixing franchises, but as i said, its not an exact copy of a halo jetpack. its based on it!

so anyway.... yeah!
 
so had a bit more of a progress spurt, and have a few more pictures to share with you all.
i have managed to find an old plastic bin to make the belly plates out of, have riveted them to some old seat belts and installed them on the chest plate. it all clips together brilliantly thanks to the salvaged roller blade clips, and ive been trying it out whenever i can to make sure its not too uncomfortable. its a snug fit, but it feels great.
also managed to get the "explosives" done for the left shoulder. still need to paint them up properly with grey spraypaint, but thats more an aquisition of paint issue!
anyway, heres the pictures.
DSC_0602.JPGDSC_0601.JPGDSC_0600.JPGDSC_0599.JPG

hope you like them
 
Okay, just so everyone knows, this thread is not dead. I have been working on the kit slowly, though there has been not much progress! but i have a perfectly good reason for that. IN september i made the decision to go back to University and try to get a degree. A good career is needed now more than ever because in april this year, I became a Dad!!! my gorgeous little girl was born and me and the missus have moved into our first home together. its only a small flat, with no room for a workshop, so a lot of the kit has had to be left at my parents house.

However, this is not the end of the armour!
I still plan on finishing it, making the most of some visits back to see the parents.
I have plans to build new jets for the side of the backpack, i have already built the missiles that will stick out from the top, and i have started work on collecting the belts needed for the soft parts. Still a long way to go, but i have been given a target by the missus. She is amazing, encouraging me to get it done by next next July so i can enter the cosplay competition at Birmingham Comicon.

Whether it will be completed is another question, the life of a student father is a bit rough when you include a part time job as well, and finding time to do this is tough. But i will get it done and will hopefully update you all soon, if there are any still interested. This thread has become a bit bigger than i thought, but hopefully you guys are still with me.
 
My first ever post on DH ;). Been looking through the forums for ideas and info to get started. Loved seeing your progression and updates. Don't stop now!
 
Long time no post I know but hey. Work has kinda ground to a halt with the armour though the ideas are still there in my mind (even if I can't get any actual work done)
I have been super busy with being a dad and loving every minute of it, but the usual pining for progress on the armour is rearing is had again. I've got a few ideas to work on but hope to get some actual work done soon.
Hope youre all still with me
 
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