DeathProof's ROTJ Fett: BH-32794

[DeathProof]

Hey Everyone!!

I finally decided that it's time to post a work in progress thread. I've been hunting since June and pretty much have all the parts I need (on order) minus all the smaller bits (connections, hose, lights, etc.)

Here is my list:

Fettpride:Armor (shoulders, chest, back, knees, cod, kidney); Gauntlets, Helmet (FPH2-ROTJ)
Sidewider: ROTJ EE3 Carbine Blaster Rifle
Man of War Studios: Ammo belt, Gloves, Boots, Jetpack
Cargo Hold Finds: Girth belt, Cape, Shin tools, Spats
Fettronics: Chest display
Woodman: Wookiee scalps (Horsehair)
Arkady: Flight suit, flak vest, pouches, neck seal
Jodokast89 (aluminum): All available aluminum parts and beacon light
HHProps: Jetpack harness
JC27: Fettpride RF lights and servo
Lucky 31: Chest/Shoulder Decals
MRRCSound: Smoke unit
EvilBay: Aker 1506 Voice Amp
TK products: Memorex Wireless Setup
Disney Thermal Detonator (you know...for fun)


Jetpack Harness::

The first part I ended up working on ...which was kind of a strange place to start....was my jetpack harness. I thought if there was one part of the costume I could cut a corner on, this would be it. Since the original harness was based on a scuba set up, I went to my local scuba tackle shop to see what they had lying around for cheap. I picked up this beauty with crusty yellow webbing for $30 (including the buckles). Throw in some black and white nylon webbing, and it came out to about $50. Time will tell if this saved me money and stress in the end when the jetpack comes and I attach it to see if it will work well. I'm quite confident that it will

UPDATE: If you read further down the thread, you'll find out that the plastic plate is way too thick. Good intent, but I later arrived at getting a MOW harness. If I decide to go Level 3, I will grab a more accurate harness. I ended up going for a metal harness from BigDane


Sidewinder EE3::

First item I got in the mail was Simon's ROTJ EE3. I was quite excited as it was the first item, and put it together quite quickly. There are some parts that I may have to attend to a bit better in terms of gluing - it's got a decent weight (better than what I thought) but still feels a bit weak should I knock it while going through a door or something.

After building it, I hit it with black flat primer, then a gun metal misting. Today I spent about 3 or so hours doing all the rust work and weathering. I tried to do it as close to the TDH resource files, but ended up doing my own thing at some parts. For the weathering I used primarily dry brush and sponge techniques with acrylic paints (black, metallic silver, white, burnt sienna, terra cotta, and raw umber). I'm pretty pleased how it turned out - tried to keep it more subtle as opposed to 'out there rusted look'

I should be receiving a package soon with much more stuff from my brother - I had sent many of my items to him to save on shipping. Being in Canada, international shipping + customs, etc. can get ridiculous. Let me know what you think so far!

Cheers
Aaron

 

[pmalfonso]

Nice finally, hurry up and figure this out so I can just follow along.

 

[topcop28]

Blaster looks great buddy

 

[Berry]

Blaster is looking great.
Looking forward to more updates.

 

[DeathProof]

Thanks for the kudos guys!

Update!!

So my box of goodies from my brother came in on Friday and I went straight to work! Included in box:

Girth Belt
Gloves
Flight Suit, Neck Seal, Vest, Pouches, Spats
Shin Tools
Wookiee Scalps
Cape
Chest Display
Boots
Ammo Belt

Couple notes on some of the items I received:

1. Arkady's flight suit and soft parts are AMAZING. I can't believe how well they fit. Only concern I have right now is if my jetpack harness will fit under the vest as it is a bit tight already. I may have to get it loosened a bit. My soggy doggy approves!

2. Girth Belt needs some more TLC as I can still see some white coming through

3. I have to replace the Wookiee Scalps (already ordered from Woodman). The current ones are a bit flimsy. If anyone is doing a budget build and needs a cheap set, I'll send them to you for the cost of shipping.

4. Cape needs more weathering - it actually looks more weathered in the pictures, strangely enough.

5. Chest Display is AWESOME. Can't go wrong with Fettronics!

6. MOW boots look good - not sure what year they are though. Are these the 2013 versions? If not, will 2013 toe spikes work on them?

7. My MOW ammo belt came looking a lot more tan than I had hoped. (Sorry, didn't take a before shot - here's a link to it on his ebay site!)

Now I have the fun job of weathering


MOW Ammo Belt :: Weathering

It's a torrential downpour here in the pacific northwest...and that only means one thing - stay inside and paint! Yesterday I took to work at my ammo belt from MOW. Like I mentioned early, it came to me a bit more tan in colour than I was hoping. So, first thing I did was mask all the white stitching, and then hit it with a spray of dark brown leather stain. I removed the masking and then touched up the edges with a brush. After all was dried, I used 1500 sandpaper to rub away at the stain to expose some of the tan to make it look 'worn.' I then took my model knife and ran it along the stitching to make it look frayed. Then I had some real fun and started slashing the belt pouches in all different directions. I'm really happy with how this turned out. For $100 and a little elbow grease, it's pretty sweet. Only comment is that while the pouches are functional, the velcro does not stick very well - I had to hot glue it back on a few times.

Today, I will work on my boots using SpideyFett's tutorial!!

 

[Berry]

I'm having the same issue with the thumbnails for photos not working, so it's not you're fault. I think it's something else, not anything we can fix.

I got those same type of boots, I'm pretty sure the toe spikes can fit. And if not, just a little modification for them to work.

And nice job on the belt! Mine came a bit tan too, so I'll probably look to your method of weathering it. I haven't really focused on it too much yet. The velcro came off of mine as well, but nothing hot glue can't fix. I might change them out with snaps eventually though.

Awesome touch with the dog

 

[DeathProof]

MOW Boots :: Paint/Weathering

I love the fact that these boots are canvas. Leaves a lot more room for blending and experimenting.

I tried my best to follow SpideyFett's tutorial, but I found myself venturing off again. Ah well...it happens In the end, I'm pretty happy with what I've got. Just a bit disappointed about the straw streaks on the sole. They ended up blotching and then just blended into the sole without defined shape. The purple he recommends really brought it all together - so while he says it's optional, I think it's quite important! I also added some straight raw umber for dirt stains

I also made mine quite dark (I was following the ROTJ hero promo shot - Boba Fett Return of the Jedi Costume - The Dented Helmet Gallery) - I didn't have straight charcoal, so I was continually mixing white and black - I actually think this worked nicer because some areas are naturally highlighted or shadowed based on the mix I made. A block of sandpaper worked really well in bringing out the base colour as well as chewing up the piping a bit.

Just gotta add jodokast89's toe spikes!

Let me know what you think!!

 

[DeathProof]

Soft Parts :: Test Fitting

Gotta say that the soft parts from Arkady are just downright amazing. The quality of the fabric is perfect - I'm not looking forward to weathering these

I need an opinion though on the fitting of the vest in regards to my jetpack harness. I didn't give Carole my measurements including the harness because I didn't have it yet, so I didn't know. Now because it's this plastic backplate, it's a bit tight. I'm writing her right now to see what we can do about fitting.

The question I have for YOU guys is:

Seeing this backplate attached (there is a slight 'hunch' from the harness), will it be hidden by the back armor? If the armor is going to bulk out because of the harness, I will have to source another harness.

Photos are of how the vest would fit comfortably...

 

[topcop28]

Boot and belt look really good buddy, you did a nice job.

 

[Berry]

I have a feeling your back piece isn't going to like that harness.
The original is more of a frame, is there a way to grab one of those up, or maybe build one?

 

[DeathProof]

I've had that feeling too, Berry. I may switch over to man of wars vest harness. That should save some space. ****. Really thought it could work.

 

[Berry]

Man of War's jetpack harness is nice. I mean no, it's not diver's accurate. But it's comfortable, I really like mine. A few adjustments here and there, it's a lot better than having to struggle with a frame. And it just goes right under the vest.

 

[DeathProof]

Sweet. The divers accurate doesn't matter as much as comfort and practicality.

I will still have the two inch black webbing around my waist with the metal divers buckle.

 

[RichardJones]

the mow boots are the older version, i have the 2013 and the soles are flat. Everything looks great, keep it up!

 

[DeathProof]

Thanks man!

 

[pmalfonso]

Love the belt, what stain did you use on that? With BooBoo MIA, I might need a plan B.

 

[DeathProof]

I used a pretty basic leather stain (russet colour) from a cobbler in town. It's a spray, and gets good coverage. Once it's dry (it dries fast), I hit it with sandpaper and then the model knife.

Here's a picture of the can:

 

[DeathProof]

Soft Parts :: Weathering

This weekend I got to weathering my soft parts. Overall, it was not as hard as I thought it would be. In general, I used the following colours:

Spray Paints
Matt Black
Russet (Stain)
Mahogany (Stain)

Acrylic
Mix of the straw I used on the boots with a burnt sienna/terra cotta


Sorry for the ****** phone pics...was kind of a spur of the moment deal


The cape was straight forward. It came to me slightly weathered, so I just started to peel back some of the canvas a bit more, sprayed some 'blaster holes' and took a cheese grater to it. Also darkened the bottom quite a bit.

The pouches were a mix of the three spray paints, being sprayed with a bottle of water in between to feather out hard edges and blend tones.

*** Is there a correct side for the pouches? which angled pouch goes on which side? ***

Edit - I figured it out. Yay reference pics.


The gloves I went very light with the acrylic mix, and grabbed some dry dirt to rub in. I'm considering going darker. Quite possibly the worst picture I've ever taken.

The flight suit was the big deal of the weekend. Here are my main reference pics:

(Notice the shins being a lot darker than some of the other reference shots I've seen...Also, there is a nice blend to the boots, which too are darker - might have to revisit the boots again.



The issue I had with the flight suit was to find a happy medium between what was 'dark' but not 'too dark.' I am a huge fan of weathering - I think it adds another dimension to the costume - where has this character been? It tells a story of its own.

A huge challenge while weathering was the lighting because what looks fine in one location looks totally different in another. And then of course...what it looks like in the pictures is seldom what it looks like in reality.

I made the clothes damp first to absorb all the paints and create an even blend. My paint goal was to get the gradient near the shin tools. After that, I took some liberties of spraying general grime dust around the seams, etc.

What do you think? I'm debating taking back a little of the straw dust colour as it may be too distracting. Maybe keep it to the darker tones?

Also, even though this is still drying/curing, is there a solid way to seal the colours? I've read that heat sealing (using an iron) is one way. Could I just toss it in the dryer? Or should I use a spray sealant?

 

[Berry]

You could always try washing it a few times. The weathering may fade, so apply it again, wash, etc. Could add more dimension. Plus you could see how much of the weathering would actually come out if you washed it. I wouldn't recommend using detergent though haha

 

[DeathProof]

I ended up taking an iron to it.

Worked fairly well. Not as good near the shin tools (still a bit crusty down there), but that's a lot of paint to go through. I don't think it's going anywhere though

I did another test fit, and comparing the reference pics I was using to what I had on, my flight suit legs are a bit long. The knees are supposed to be where the shin tools start. I may have to fold the fabric in, velcro it, and then cover the seam with the knee armor. A pretty easy fix.

Also worked on the girth belt today, changing around the buckling from the previous owner. Things are coming along!

All I need now are my hard parts from FettPride to really kick this project into high gear!