DrToothache's Jango WIP (Kamino)

[DrToothache]

Sometimes I like the Kamino look more, and sometimes I prefer the Geonosis look. Sometimes I prefer a dent and sometimes I want a clean look. I understand that the paint jobs on the two helmets are very different - need to lighten up the visor on the non-dented helmet - but it's nice to have options!

Denuo Novo helmet (left) and Cruzer's helmet (right). Both jetpacks by MoW Studios. The kamino jetpack was painted by myself entirely by hand using acrylic paints and Rub'n Buff (no spray paints or airbrush). The geonosis pack was painted by Christian.

 

[Thebountyhunter]

Wow. That MOW jet pack is killer. Looks so clean. You have the dream set up. Really really great job!

I’m not the biggest kamino guy but I personally hate the dented helmet. Cruzer, minute, wasted, and boba maker make great helmets. I’m not the biggest fan of the Denuo novo helmet. The stock also fixed in place is also super weird. Even tho the actual prop helmet is like that but idk small things like that bug me. They screwed a lot of people out of a lot of money.

 

[DrToothache]

Wow. That MOW jet pack is killer. Looks so clean. You have the dream set up. Really really great job!

I’m not the biggest kamino guy but I personally hate the dented helmet. Cruzer, minute, wasted, and boba maker make great helmets. I’m not the biggest fan of the Denuo novo helmet. The stock also fixed in place is also super weird. Even tho the actual prop helmet is like that but idk small things like that bug me. They screwed a lot of people out of a lot of money.

Thank you for the kind words. Yeah I agree, I much prefer the clean look without the dent. The only reason I got a dented one was too get approved with the JT-12 jetpack with the 501st.

The Denuo Novo helmet isn't bad, but there are definitely better options for the price they were asking for it. It is pretty accurate, just needs a new paint job as their choice of shades of blue are too close to each other (the lighter blue needs to be lighter than it is) and some weathering. I got it back in 2020 and options were pretty limited at the time I was purchasing but it is a really high quality helmet in person. Just needs a little work. The rangefinder not moving is kind of a pain when traveling with it, but otherwise I prefer it in the up position.

I am currently waiting for WF to be open for commissions again to get a new dent-less helmet though.

 

[DrToothache]

A couple photo dumps from a few recent troops:

The first one was at a local Night to Shine event, a prom/party night for special needs individuals.

Then last night we attended Star Wars Night at the Erie Otters game:

And once again I forgot to roll the bottom of my flak vest up so that it doesn't stick out past the girth belt. I really need to just trim it, as during the rush to get dressed in time for these troops it is easy to forget about. Nobody seemed to notice though so its all good.

Another change that I am going to make is adjusting the armor spacing, specifically the belly plate. I think it would look better if I moved it down just a bit. I also need to pay more attention to the alignment of the knees/shins when attaching those while gearing up as my left knee appears to be rotated inward during the hockey troop.

Overall though everything held up really well again and both of these troops were an awesome time!

 

[Thebountyhunter]

Looks like you had a great time! Sweet turn out. You even brought both sets!

How is your Jetpack posture harness holding up? I bought one to try out but not sure how it’ll hold up on a troop.

 

[DrToothache]

Looks like you had a great time! Sweet turn out. You even brought both sets!

How is your Jetpack posture harness holding up? I bought one to try out but not sure how it’ll hold up on a troop.

It was a ton of fun! Its awesome seeing how excited the kids get at these types of events (and adults, sometimes they are even more excited haha). I've come to realize that many kids don't know who Jango Fett is, a lot of them think I am Din Djarin. I guess attack of the clones came out 23 years ago now so it makes sense.

The posture harness is working really well. I added an extra velcro strap that goes across the chest, connecting to both of the shoulder straps. This made it work better as it prevented the harness from being pulled up from the weight of the jetpack and also added an extra support point to take some of the stress off of my shoulder's and back. I thought about making a new harness based on Seeker's design, but after adding the velcro strap it is solid now.

Here's an older picture of the harness, but outlined in red is where I added the nylon straps with velcro:

 

[DrToothache]

Another troop under my belt this weekend (Happy Valley Con). Before this I adjusted chest/belly armor placement, vest length and some slight changes to weathering. My armor placement was a little off during my last troop, I am feeling much better about it now.

These troops are a ton of fun, I am very much looking forward to the next one! After that I think it is time to get my Boba finished up and approved.

 

[DrToothache]

Finally worked on the resin lineage Westar-34 blasters. Almost finished with them, just need to add some metal screws in place of the resin cast mock screws and add a trigger guard on the right blaster.

I first used a dremel to remove the sprues on each blaster followed by sanding (a lot of sanding) and then painted with a gray primer. I then wet sanded with a fine grit and went over each blaster with very fine steel wool.

The grips were painted with a medium gray and all of chrome parts were done with Rub'n Buff. Lastly I drilled the 6 little holes in the "hammer" of each blaster, glued a bronze o-ring at the end of the "flash hider" and added the brass pins.

 

[DrToothache]

This latest troop was my first time participating in the Saint Patrick's Day parade. This event was really fun even with the rain.

 

[Thebountyhunter]

Mad Kamino vibes with the rain

 

[DrToothache]

Some small updates to this build. I am currently waiting on a set of MinuteFett gauntlets, but in the meantime I have been upgrading my DC Props gauntlets (I wasn't happy with the resin cast flare nuts that were provided with the gauntlets, mostly due to them being oversized and not having the proper taper).

I ended up purchasing the accurate metal hardware (hose fittings, flare nuts and copper pipe) and attaching them to the gauntlets.

I then painted the hardware silver and applied weathering as per the reference pictures.

I did the same with the left gauntlet (minus the flare nuts) and attached my newly dyed hoses. These hoses are much more accurate and were from the same vendor that Cruzer used when selling his gauntlet kits. The hoses were dyed using his method with the old version of Rit denim blue dye (powder).

Before and after:

I also made adjustments to my armor and girth belt placement. I moved the girth belt and cod armor down a few inches to give my torso armor some more space. I think that it looks better now. Before and after:

Also received a giant box of these to hand out at our next event :

 

[DrToothache]

Attended Steel City Con with my Jango and made some more minor adjustments to girth belt placement and armor. I think this will be Jango's final form, at least for now. Might make some minor adjustments to the thigh armor/holster placement, but I am really happy with how everything fits now.

Wore Jango Friday and Saturday, switched to Boba on Sunday (refer to my Boba post if you're interested). Friday night we had the opportunity to stand in front of the stage while Hayden did his panel which was a cool experience. Overall, thisvwas a GREAT time! Probably the best con yet

 

[DrToothache]

Another small troop this weekend. Attended the Lung Force Walk with my garrison. Sometimes the smaller events are more fun.

 

[Thebountyhunter]

Sometimes I like the Kamino look more, and sometimes I prefer the Geonosis look. Sometimes I prefer a dent and sometimes I want a clean look. I understand that the paint jobs on the two helmets are very different - need to lighten up the visor on the non-dented helmet - but it's nice to have options!

View attachment 246072
View attachment 246073

Denuo Novo helmet (left) and Cruzer's helmet (right). Both jetpacks by MoW Studios. The kamino jetpack was painted by myself entirely by hand using acrylic paints and Rub'n Buff (no spray paints or airbrush). The geonosis pack was painted by Christian.

Did you end up buying the DC props dented helmet too? Cruzers paint colors look more accurate but the helmet looks like it has a lot of anatomical issues. The dent looks very inaccurate. Did he say it was lineage?

 

[DrToothache]

Did you end up buying the DC props dented helmet too? Cruzers paint colors look more accurate but the helmet looks like it has a lot of anatomical issues. The dent looks very inaccurate. Did he say it was lineage?

Cruzers is lineage, however most of them in existence today now have anatomical issues. They suffer from the same issue that the Master Replicas boba fett helmet did since he casted them with only resin and no fiberglass. Because of this they are very prone to deforming over time, especially in warmer climates. If you look at recent pictures of Cruzer or MR boba helmets - they will usually have a really “squinty” visor. This is from setting on a shelf and the mandibles collapsing due to the pressure of the helmet on the resin.

My cruzer helmet had the same issue, and I fixed the squinty visor with a heat gun- but it’s impossible to get it back to its original lineage state. Therefore I don’t wear the dented cruzer helmet anymore, even with the JT-12 Jetpack. oops: I know, I’m breaking the rules. Literally nobody notices the missing dent anyway lol).

Also I am in the process of repainting the visor on my denuo novo helmet so that the colors are accurate. I honestly really like this helmet, it’s anatomically very good.

 

[Thebountyhunter]

Cruzers is lineage, however most of them in existence today now have anatomical issues. They suffer from the same issue that the Master Replicas boba fett helmet did since he casted them with only resin and no fiberglass. Because of this they are very prone to deforming over time, especially in warmer climates. If you look at recent pictures of Cruzer or MR boba helmets - they will usually have a really “squinty” visor. This is from setting on a shelf and the mandibles collapsing due to the pressure of the helmet on the resin.

My cruzer helmet had the same issue, and I fixed the squinty visor with a heat gun- but it’s impossible to get it back to its original lineage state. Therefore I don’t wear the dented cruzer helmet anymore, even with the JT-12 Jetpack. oops: I know, I’m breaking the rules. Literally nobody notices the missing dent anyway lol).

Also I am in the process of repainting the visor on my denuo novo helmet so that the colors are accurate. I honestly really like this helmet, it’s anatomically very good.

Honestly, I prefer the non dent as well for several reasons. I ran across a thread on some forum before with several photos from parades, promos and more about Lucas film running the non dent with the arena jet pack. Also, the Star Wars bounty hunter game shows jango use the non dented helmet with the arena jetpack.

It is safe to assume, if jango had this Jetpack, he wore it long before he got his dent on his helmet. It would be comical for someone to criticize you on it. You built that whole kit so wear it how you want cause honestly that combo looks the best lol.

As far as Cruzers helmet goes, I’ve seen people pick that thing apart not just for the visor, ears, dent but way more. Honestly, none would bother me too much except the dent not being correct. It’s even supposed to have scratches there as well.

 

[DrToothache]

Honestly, I prefer the non dent as well for several reasons. I ran across a thread on some forum before with several photos from parades, promos and more about Lucas film running the non dent with the arena jet pack. Also, the Star Wars bounty hunter game shows jango use the non dented helmet with the arena jetpack.

It is safe to assume, if jango had this Jetpack, he wore it long before he got his dent on his helmet. It would be comical for someone to criticize you on it. You built that whole kit so wear it how you want cause honestly that combo looks the best lol.

As far as Cruzers helmet goes, I’ve seen people pick that thing apart not just for the visor, ears, dent but way more. Honestly, none would bother me too much except the dent not being correct. It’s even supposed to have scratches there as well.

Same, I prefer the non-dented helmet as well. Jango Fett is probably the most ridiculous 501st CRL out there simply for the fact that they added the requirement to separate dent/undented helmets with a specific jetpack. Doesn't make sense to me either.

 

[DrToothache]

Repainted the blue on my Z-6 jetpack today to a more accurate shade.

Before:

After: