Custom Mandos

thank you, thank you very much. Mine's about 50% finished, her mando's not started yet... I'll be painting up some shoulder plates very soon AND... I'm hoping to get my Flightsuit and Vest sewn up within the next 2 weeks.
 
UPDATES!!! and... PICTURES!!! lol Here's the completed (almost) vest for my custom mando... still working out a few kinks... my wife even said she's impressed with how it turned out. I'm going to be using a cut up old t-shirt and some padding for the lining... will be putting a roll over edge around it in the grey vinyl and probably going to be reworking the shoulder pads a little... and yes, that's a Commander Cody style comlink booster antenna on the right shoulder, gotta talk to our flyboys!

Kal

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Haha, hooah to the antenna! Good work there kal'ika. Kandosii, vod! Glad the vest is working out. I assume you got that figured out without my nonexistent help(sorry about that, I havent been on for a while) and it looks great too! :D
 
Still following your husband/wife build! Nice color choices. A Mando Medic?AwEsOmE....totally kicks bum. As another matter of coincedence..my wife's a nurse too (an RPN at a nursing home)....very cool. Ill keep watching. What are you doing about buckets.....I could buy mine (though Im probably not going to) but my wife has a small melon, so If I go full custom and scuplt my own, the two buckets will be different sizes. Take
care.
Mike
 
Well Ordeyn... I wouldn't say that. I used my issued vest from work for a pattern; laid the vinyl over it and went to cutting in the shape of a mando vest using yours for reference. I'm having to redo my antenna unfortunately... I put it on at the wrong angle and it pegs me in the face when I put my vest on (crazy I know).

Miqt... Thanks for the compliments, yeah it took seeing a young vod named Isabet Reau's mando before I thought of the medic role. As for bu'cuiise I plan on making both, but I may have to buy them due to lack of skill in that department. I will be making my own gauntlets now... I'm planning on doing a few special tricks with those. We wear different sizes too actually, but with her hair braided properly she should be able to fit the same size bucket.

Kal
 
I hope you don't mind if I laugh but I read "...pegs me in the face..." and couldn't help it. ;) Are you going to shorten it or something? Or just tilt it a few degrees?
 
lol thanks a'den, and yeah Ord'ika it's funny I know... I laughed myself when it happened... I don't want to shorten it, I just finished changing the cant and tilt on it, hopefully that will correct the problems.

It's hard finding time to work on it right now... and money! lol I'm working long days right now... and still short on cash. I'm out of blue paint now! lol Once I have my vest finished I'll start my gauntlets and when those are done I'll be starting my Cyar'ika's (Fi's) armor.

Her name is Felicia... I've called her Fi since before Karen published the Republic Commando series and ironically...lol but it fits her well, so that is her mando's name as well.
 
lol thanks a'den, and yeah Ord'ika it's funny I know... I laughed myself when it happened... I don't want to shorten it, I just finished changing the cant and tilt on it, hopefully that will correct the problems.

It's hard finding time to work on it right now... and money! lol I'm working long days right now... and still short on cash. I'm out of blue paint now! lol Once I have my vest finished I'll start my gauntlets and when those are done I'll be starting my Cyar'ika's (Fi's) armor.

Her name is Felicia... I've called her Fi since before Karen published the Republic Commando series and ironically...lol but it fits her well, so that is her mando's name as well.

Money, money, money! If only we were all millionaires. ;)
 
how true! lol on the plus side... I have the stuff to make my gauntlets already so I guess I'll start working on that tonight maybe, I have a fitness test coming up sometime soon so I'm having to really work my butt off trying to max it.
 
Okay vode... I need some help here. I'm working on my gauntlets, but they're not turning out quite the way I want them to. I need suggestions, I think maybe it's the material I'm working with is too think and tough... but I wanted the tougher plastic for the base. Also, I have a design idea I wanted to run by everybody. Instead of the usual "rocket" shaped conical blaster on the left gaunt... I'm wanting to throw on something different. I'm puting a "vibroblade" in a retracable configuration in the front of the left gauntlet since I'm left handed. I was thinking about putting a "tri-shot" wrist blaster like the droids use on SW Battlefront. It'd probably be a three barrel configuration with a slight offset to get some spread. I'm imagining using this as a CQB self defense weapon.
 
What material are you working with thats so tough? Post a pic? I like to work with 0.080 and 0.125 HIPS PVC is just fine too. My plan for the 4 gauntlets that I'll be into will involve PVC pipe forming the under portion, I think a vinyl hinge, or magnets, or seamless, and a HIPS custom upper. Ill mock it up in cardboard or leftover foamboard (yuck) and then just start building boxes with the HIPS using dremel and guck to round some edges. I like the idea of the tri-shot esp. since I hav'nt seen that yet!
Mike
 
umm... trying to use left over trashcan scraps for the actual gauntlet and the detailing is going to be done up with sintra for sale signs. Those I don't expect problems with... but the trashcan plastic is not forming properly... even though it worked fine for the rest of my armor.
 
How are those gauntlets coming along? Will the FS signs be strong enough? I was thinking 4" or even 6" pvc pipe cut length-wise for the bottom shell and Styrene in .060 for the top....nice and rigid, magnetic closure probably. Can you get Styrene (HIPS) where you are, or have you ever worked with it? Its very forgiving and dead easy to make anything boxy
(like gaunt tops). Once its hot its a pain like any other thermoplastic if its heated unevenly.....or even if its heated evenly its still a pain IMO. Its got that critical few moments to it that metal doesnt have. |-( doh!
Hope you're still clipping along (time for a fresh pic or 2 don't ya think):)
Mike
 
lol ok here's an update for ya... I've stalled on the gauntlets for the moment... I've got all that plastic already cut from the trash cans, so I'm going to try to work that into the shells this week. I've also got the low grade plastic for the detailing, so I'll be working on that later this week too (I Hope). My family is dragging me on yet another trip to disney this weekend, so I don't expect to get too much done, my wife and daughter are a lil weird about me taking my hobby "work" with me on "vacation." As for the why I have not made progress this week... well my mother gave my wife a sewing machine... I learned how to use it... by redoing my vest. I just need to attach velcro to the new vest and It'll be done. I'm also considering redoing my backplate into a segmented overlapping set to provide more flexibility. If I do... I'll use my old backplate to test it for durability against airsoft rounds just incase I decide to wear it one day that I go to play :D. As for pictures, I'll take a few sometime in the next day or two and get them up ASAP.
 
Here's a sketch I did just for the fun of it... It's my squad, Direcat Squad. The entire squad is based on people that are very close friends of mine, and everyone is specialized. Chris is the pilot, Jayce is our "acquisitions" guy, Snips is the martial arts expert, Lexi's our slicer, Fi's the Medic, I'm the leader/Forward Air Controller, and Shannyn is our squad psycho and explosives afficionado.
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Okay, here's an update... since I know I haven't posted recently enough to avoid A'den and Adonian's wrath...lol. Okay, I've got the parts for my gaunts cut and shaped, just need to bond them and glass 'em. I've got my new vest made, plates attached and it looks okay, except... the shoulder plates stick out and don't roll with my shoulders, so... I'm trying to figure out how to solve this problem. Right now my vest is a grey vinyl "Jango" type with velcro side closures... I'm thinking the solution is to go with a cloth "Boba" type, but that'll be a lil while before I can adjust. The flight suit will be done in a few weeks, until then I have a pair of grey fatigues that used to belong to my dad back in the day when he was my age (and size) and just out of the KSP academy. My rifle is still a work in progress as is my sidearm, but... I do have my shemagh now! I found my blue/green/tan one that I used for OPFOR roleplaying for a local training ex back home a couple years ago. Now all I need to do is get a bucket, paint it, glass my gaunts and paint them, rig up my knee pads and groin plate and paint those, and get the rest of my webgear and weapons, then mine will finally be done... and I can start on Fi's! lol

Kal
 
Good!!! glad to see an update...can I be pushy and ask for pics? :p

Your amazing artwork has diverted my wrath until now...so now I need pics!!!:D

:cheers
A'den
 
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