General DrToothache's ESB Boba Fett

[Krewkid82]

Thank you man! It's the part that I enjoy doing the most actually. Just added the weathering/bunny ears to the helmet tonight.

For the soft parts I am a huge fan of powders! They are so much easier to apply (I use makeup pads and brushes).

I first applied light coats of dirty down (black, brown, yellow in specific areas). I then use acrylic paints with a brush to accentuate lines/seams or darker spots as seen in the reference photos. For the acrylic paints I mostly used the dry-brushing technique.

The last step that I do is apply powders. I just dab the makeup pad to apply it and scrub it in a little bit, especially around the shins. Powder's aren't permanent, so it is very forgiving. One downside could be that they need reapplied over time, but they do leave a slight permanent stain.

Thanks dude!!

 

[DrToothache]

Jetpack repair from the "mannequin incident" is now complete! I also added the necessary decals. The repair isn't perfect, (I was able to color match the damage on the right side much better than the left) however it looks much better. I will probably dry brush some white onto the left repaired area to get a better color-match.

Before and After:

The wanted criminal has been acquitted of all charges by the way

I also worked on my helmet some more. Mostly added missing details in the visor, cheeks and around the kill stripes as well as adding paint splatter around the ears. Touched up the missing weathering that I added a few days ago. Afterwards, I realized that I got carried away and added a few details specific to the ROTJ SE version - but oh well...I am just going to keep them there for now!

 

[viewoptic]

The ol' mannequin incident of 1979, I remember it well.

 

[BudaFett]

Repairs look great!

I’m glad puppy has been acquitted! Charges should have never been filed!

 

[DrToothache]

Some small updates tonight

• Finished/weathered the new girth belt that is a more accurate color. Opted to use black elastic straps instead of nylon so that I can slide the girth belt on as opposed to having to mess with the buckles each time. This belt looks much better and doesn't stand out in photographs like the other one did.
• Added the "boba thong" to my cod / kidney armor. Been putting this one off for as long as possible haha
• Added the hose attachment to finish up my MinuteFett gauntlets.
• Added blue and red wraps to the wookie scalps
• Hemmed the bottom of my flak vest so that it is shorter and has less excess below the torso armor. Looks much better and less bunched up.

I also got everything back onto the mannequin...again. I feel kind of silly putting everything onto the mannequin each time, as it is kind of a pain to dress/undress it after every troop. I like having it setup in my living room though....might be a good excuse to just build yet another fett!

 

[DrToothache]

Another small update - purchased some new wookie braids/scalps. I have been using the latest version of Katarra8's braids from eBay until now. They worked just fine but didn't quite look right with the acrylic fiber and wraps that were used, as well as them being too thin overall.

I am currently waiting on Woodman's braids, but in the meantime found a new option on eBay who goes by 2015mxbolla. I liked the pictures when reviewing the listing and they were only ~$50 so I figured that it was worth a shot....and I think it was! They are not 100% accurate but are really good for the price if you are waiting on woodman's braids.

Before and After:

Reference vs New Braids:

Reference vs Katarra Braids:

I am not sure the exact material but I confirmed that they are handmade by the seller himself, and they feel and lay so much better. They are much softer and the thickness of the blond and black braid appears more accurate. The only thing sticking out to me is that the gray braid is wayy too thick...however I really like how the end of it looks! It has that twirly action going on like the screen used gray braid.

I am going to use them for now. I think that I will substitute the gray Katarra braid from my old set for the new gray one, as long as I can get the end of it to twirl like the screen used one. Overall I am happy to have some options now.

 

[BudaFett]

I kinda like the first set of braids better to be honest.

Also, get yourself some black cable cord to put inside your hose!

 

[DrToothache]

I kinda like the first set of braids better to be honest.

Also, get yourself some black cable cord to put inside your hose!

Yeah I’m thinking the same the more I am looking at them now, especially next to the reference photo. I think that the gray one has to go - it is way too thick. Not even close!

The blonde and black braids have potential but they do look a little off in the photos. I kind of just threw them onto the mannequin for some quick photos. I am going to try messing with them tomorrow and swapping out the gray one to see how it looks.

And about the hose wire - I will get right to it! Thanks for the reminder.

 

[DrToothache]

Some more updates tonight.

I put together a recently acquired EE-3 kit - mostly a sidewinder kit but I did add some components such as a real Milbro scope and a replica MPP flash from Roman Props. I painted all of the parts this morning, did the initial coats of paint in the afternoon and then applied weathering, painted/attached greebles this evening.

I have an Andy Meyer's EE-3 that I am waiting on, but acquired this kit for a great price and was itching to do more prop work, so I figured that this would be a nice stand-in for trooping until Andy's blaster arrives.

I took a few pictures throughout the process.

Test fitting parts after painting:

Stained the wooden stock with a walnut wood stain and attached greebles. I had to make the disk greeble that goes under the connecting rod as it was missing from the kit that I acquired. Luckily it was a pretty easy part to make out of sintra!

Comparison to my other 3D printed EE-3's prior to weathering:

For the final finish I used acrylic paints to add rust and silver damage. I also dry brushed with black and burnt sienna to try and get the patina finish from some of the reference photographs. Lastly, I used some steel wool to polish the cold casted handgrip.

Here is the "final" product after weathering. I still have to do a few things such as add the front scope mount wire, attach the sling and also attach the disk/Revel V8 connecting rod greebles on the one side of the blaster (ordered on a second connecting rod since the kit was missing 1). I also ordered a bunch properly sized screws for all of the area's that are missing them.

Final vs old 3D print:

Overall I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I will be selling this once Andy's blaster arrives, but it was fun to put together. The only thing that I don't like is that the hammer that came with my kit attaches in the open position, whereas the hammer seems to always be closed on the actual prop. I will probably remove it and sand it down so that I can re-attach it in the closed position.

I also messed with my braids again...I ended up swapping out the new gray braid from 2015mxbolla with my old katarra braid. I kept the black and blonde 2015mxbolla braids though. I think that it looks better, as the gray braid was way too thick! I will probably try this setup for a while.

And lastly...I added a black wire to my right gauntlet. (This one was for you BudaFett !).

 

[DrToothache]

Some more updates on the new EE-3.

• Attached the sling
• Adjusted the weathering
• Added some phillips head screws until the correct screws arrive.
• Added wire under front scope mount

 

[DrToothache]

Did some weathering on the stock today and adjusted the red color on the center greeble. Sanded back the walnut finish to better match the screen used prop.

 

[DrToothache]

Did a suit up by myself today to see how things are looking after altering the flak vest / cape, swapping the girth belt and to see how the new blaster looks with everything. The cape is still a little too long but I am much happier with everything else.

I didn't have a helper today so no jetpack / harness / backplate in these photos, which caused the collar armor to be a little floppy...and some of the photos to be a little blurry.

I also have a new MinuteFett helmet in the works to finally replace my EFX. I really like the EFX, don't get me wrong...but it is time!

 

[BudaFett]

Looks great! A real fiberglass helmet will really bring it all together!