Crumdum's Boba Fett (RoTJ) Build Thread

[crumdum]

your GML must be looking at the wrong version of the helmet, perhaps he's mistaken your ROTJ for SE. ask him if he would post the costume on the GML boards on the 501st. anyway, if your hoses aren't flexible enough you can heat them up in a hot car. put on the flightsuit top and the right gauntlet, attach the warm hoses and let them form to a more comfortable curve and cool.

He disapproved your gloves as well....the GML said they were not weathered enough. Any weathering suggestions for your gloves nasty? I don't want to do anything that would damage your material used.

The hose idea is a cool one...would soaking the hoses in hot water also have the same effect?

 

[Mike M.]

hot water would probably work as well. as for weathering the gloves, most techniques for weathering the other soft parts should work. i'd personally use a few light washes made of really watered down acrylic hobby paint, i like apple barrel paints from walmart for weathering (brown, grey, and black but if you think other types of dirt and grime are appropriate, use other colors accordingly) and apply with a brush.

 

[DeathProof]

You could try trimming the hoses a bit as well. Looks like there might be some excess material. How is it connected to the suit?

if you say the weathering is drowned by the sun, take a quick pick of the flightsuit and vest indoors. My thinking is that you need to layer much more with different shades of browns and blacks.

 

[crumdum]

Guys,

Thanks for all the posts. I am going to work on weathering...but to be honest I think a lot was drowned out by the sunlight. One of the biggest issues I have that I have no clue how to fix involves my hoses on my gauntlet . They want to stay curved all the time and are entirely not flexible. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this. It's jerking my flight suit which you can see in the one rear photo of me.

- - - Updated - - -



My helmet was disapproved GML said the ear colors wear not silver-metalic in color.

You could try trimming the hoses a bit as well. Looks like there might be some excess material. How is it connected to the suit?

if you say the weathering is drowned by the sun, take a quick pick of the flightsuit and vest indoors. My thinking is that you need to layer much more with different shades of browns and blacks.

Its linked in my build thread above. I took quite detailed photos.

 

[DeathProof]

Based on your indoor shots, I'd still have another go at it. I see your hoses are zap strapped, but are they just shoved up your sleeve or are they attached somehow? This will help with how they bend.

 

[crumdum]

Based on your indoor shots, I'd still have another go at it. I see your hoses are zap strapped, but are they just shoved up your sleeve or are they attached somehow? This will help with how they bend.

Thanks, I have a velcro strip sew into the inside sleeve that wraps around the tubes to hold it relatively in place. Movement up and down is possible for the tubes, the velcro was placed there to stop shifting side to side. The problem is the tubes are incredibly stiff. That's what's pulling them out. They want to stay curled as seen in the gauntlet ground picture.

 

[Mullreel]

One thing to always remember on weathering is that heavy weathering shows up in the pictures of the actual suit. It is true that the lighting in pictures will wash out some of the weathering.............but if it showed up on the real suit in pictures then it should show up on our suit in pictures.

but that is just my point of view.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

Looking at the pics again, in my old GML mode lol, it looks like your vest is a tad bit long. Your knees also look very big on you. You may want to look into a smaller set, maybe FP or RKD's newest ones. Pull your armor plates closer together so there is very little vest showing between the chest plates and the diamond. This is one of the reasons i DONT like magnets for the armor. When you shift around they someimes will get stuck to each other. It also mat happen when removing the vest. This is why i personally switched back to bolts. The advatage though, is you CAN slide your chest plates closer together You will also need to shorten the jetpack straps so only and inch or so is visable and it will hold the pack vertical. Then overall weathering like in my reply to your PM and you should be good.

 

[Tfett40]

Thanks Darth,
Good info to know as well when I am putting mine together.

 

[DeathProof]

Good points Lou. I was looking at it again, and there was just something about the fit that seemed off but I couldn't put my finger on it.

 

[crumdum]

Thanks for the feedback guys I will continue working on this over the next week or so time permitting.

 

[Mullreel]

crumdum,

It seems you are taking the critiques in a good spirit, but just to reiterate...I know all of the guys commenting mean everything in positive ways. You really do have a good kit that can become a great kit with some adjustments.

I just thought I would type this out since it is always hard to hear criticism about something you are working hard on.

 

[crumdum]

Okay I have been working through some of my required fixes.

Helmet ears

The ears were too weathered. The base coat of the ears were silver metallic as per the 501st requirements...but the ears were thought to be too dark. Here are the updated pictures of the helmet ears.



I am afraid to take off more of the weathering unless instructed to by my GML rater. Feedback from the community would be greatly appreciated.

As some of you mentioned about the vest I pushed the armor more in towards the center. I haven't weathered the vest /chest armor some more yet due to the fact the vest is being tailored shorter. The vest can be no longer than 1/2 inch lower than the lowest armor plate. What's your thoughts on the spacing...I haven't heard back from my GML yet.



I weathered my knee straps some...here's some pictures (front and back) for comparison.



I weathered my spats some more....



And my legs a LOT more



Thoughts and input would be appreciated. I will post more progress later this week.

 

[DeathProof]

Hey bud,

1) Ears look good. You may have taken off a bit too much, but I don't think it's that noticeable. The scratch marks look great.

2) Good that you moved the chest plates...but it's hard to tell when it's not on you. When the vest is off, it looks different from when it's filled out with your body. From the pic, it looks better, but best to try it on and see the difference.

3) Spats and straps look good.

4) You're gonna hate me.... The shin area looks better, but try layering with different colours and shades. There is a noticeable difference for sure...but to give you an idea, this is my suit with indoor lighting:

Now, that suit might look stupidly dirty, but the lighting changes EVERYTHING. Here is the finished suit under fluorescents:

And here in daylight:

So even though it might look like a LOT to throw down....the light will definitely change it. It still will look too clean I think with what you currently have.

Try using a wider mix of browns and greys. Remember that you've got some dark boots, and there should be some continuity in colour between the boots and the shins (minus the spats of course). Maybe lighten the boots a bit? You're on the right track for sure.

 

[crumdum]

Hey bud,

1) Ears look good. You may have taken off a bit too much, but I don't think it's that noticeable. The scratch marks look great.

2) Good that you moved the chest plates...but it's hard to tell when it's not on you. When the vest is off, it looks different from when it's filled out with your body. From the pic, it looks better, but best to try it on and see the difference.

3) Spats and straps look good.

4) You're gonna hate me.... The shin area looks better, but try layering with different colours and shades. There is a noticeable difference for sure...but to give you an idea, this is my suit with indoor lighting:

Now, that suit might look stupidly dirty, but the lighting changes EVERYTHING. Here is the finished suit under fluorescents:

And here in daylight:

So even though it might look like a LOT to throw down....the light will definitely change it. It still will look too clean I think with what you currently have.

Try using a wider mix of browns and greys. Remember that you've got some dark boots, and there should be some continuity in colour between the boots and the shins (minus the spats of course). Maybe lighten the boots a bit? You're on the right track for sure.

DeathProof,

Lou suggested I use some Krylon black Primer which is what I was misting over for the layered effect. Are you suggesting I get a brown and gray can (I don't own an airbrush)?

 

[DeathProof]

I didn't weather with just spray paint, but with watered down acrylics (these were the different browns and greys). Because you want to fade the weathering, acrylics work well so that you can layer it - adding water will lighten the colour. Spray paint, which I did use some krylon black, is good for getting some misting, but doesn't go that extra step. I think I used more charcoal than I did spray paint actually.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

I agree with everything Deathproof said. You can definitely add browns and greys in there, probably with acrylics watered down in a spray bottle..that does lend itself better to ROTJ , and Deathproofs ROTJ looks fanjazzmical lol! (ESB looks more sooty black and less brown/grey) But it does look much better already!

- - - Updated - - -

haha and deathproof posted while i was typing... there ya go! lol

 

[Tfett40]

Deathproof. Awesome photo examples of the weathering under different lighting. Thanks for sharing. The suit fits you great as well, nice work

 

[crumdum]

Okay I went to a con over the weekend to try out my gear I had some bad things happen which I will chalk up to lessons learned that I now need to repair. Responses/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Problems/Issues

1) I lost a toe spike to my boot in the river when walking across a bridge to the con.



The toe spikes were only secured via the screws on the side. Is there some suggestions anyone has for better securing the toe spikes to the boot because frankly I wasn't expecting it to fall off like that?

2) My hoses are way too strong for my gauntlet. Moving my arms caused one of the resin connectors to snap. See pictures.



Any ideas on how to fix this and what hoses I need to get that are more flexible...frankly I wasn't expecting this.

3) The little part that sticks out just near the darts broke off and fell to the ground without me noticing. Any ideas on where I could buy this part or any suggestions for manufacturing it myself? (see above left picture...its the black spot on the silver section near the darts.

4) I think I fixed my jetpack placement. How does it look?



With my jetpack on now my neck plate literally feels like its choking me. I remember Deathproof talking about this but I am wondering what people suggest to fix it. I put a whole bunch of magnets under the front to try and force the neck to stay forward more. Any other suggestions for fixing this would be awesome as it would make me much more comfortable.



5) Is my thong good enough in the back picture posted above with my jetpack on or do I need it wider?

Lessons learned

1) Get some Dr Schols for the boots....Ohh my gosh my feet hurt walking around only 3.5 hours.

2) EvilBoy Airconditioning test - PASSED and is AWESOME...however plan for a battery swap at about the 3 hour mark. I immediately felt a difference without the fans going and left shortly thereafter.

3) Jc27 Remote Test - PASSED and is awesome to use. The effect I had touching my gauntlet making the stalk come down really got some peoples attention. The batteries lasted at least the entire time I was walking around...but you might want to bring spare batteries.

4) Dakota's Premium light kit - PASSED and is AWESOME. The 9 volt battery was enough to power it the entire time and was awesome to look at. For cannon stuff being able to switch to the constant on is really useful. If you are on the fence about this item...get it.

5) Don't walk to your event over any real distances. I was dropped off fairly close to the event but walked to the event about 1/2 of a mile to meet up with what would be my ride home from the event. This was done to minimize having my family deal with the traffic in the area I was going to in the city. The local city police, however, thought I was "causing a commotion" when I was trying to walk the 5 city blocks to the event and was stopped, frisked, and forced to provide ID to a local police officer. That brings me to point six.

6) Bring ID...have it in a spot easy to reach. Luckily I did.

7) If you are doing the magnet attach approach make sure you reinforce the magnets that are close to each other with metal strips on the vests back to not allow the armor to overlap. Mine did during the event and caused all kinds of problems for me.

 

[Mullreel]

insoles are a must for me at any troop.

The jet pack looks tons better up higher on the back.

I used some E6000 glue on my toe spikes in addition to the screws

Take your hoses and work them around a lot.......put them in hot water to soften them then just roll them up and bend them a ton to get them more pliable.


as far as the choking collar..........what jet pack harness do you use. If the harness is attached to your body really well it shouldn't pull on the vest too much. If it is basically hanging on the armor then it will pull like crazy no matter what you do.