First ever build of anything, I'd like some advice :)

[Nome]

Hello people! I'm new here and I've been wanting to make a Boba Fett costume for some time, pretty much since I saw the films 10 or so years ago. Seeing as I'm pretty young, I'm on a fairly tight budget BUT I'm willing to spend money to make this look as best as possible. I also would like it to be pretty much ready for wear, regardless of whether or not the weathering is all completed and every scratch is finished, by this coming January.

I have a few questions that I'm curious about:
1. Is this a ridiculous goal, and am I hoping for the impossible?
2. What sort of tools and supplies and things will I need?
3. Where is somewhere I could find a helmet (or who could I contact) and how much can I expect to pay for one (and would the fact that I'm in Australia the land of difficult shipping effect this)?
4. Overall, about how much would this project be expected to cost?

I'm super keen to get onto it, and pretty much once I have bits I'll work on it non-stop. I also want it to look amazing, which is something that I've been seeing on here before I joined, seeing some super amazing projects and being inspired to be equally amazing.

Thanks so very much in advance This is my first time making a good costume of any kind, I've only ever made parts like gauntlets or boots (for other things), so any advice is really appreciated

 

[Nome]

ALSO I forgot to mention but I'm a bit really enjoy making things, so I'm going to see if I can make most of the pieces and parts such as the gauntlets, gloves, boots, shoulder and knee pads, perhaps the jetpack, all electronics I know I can make myself, so when I say low budget I just mean that, really, I only want to have buy the parts that I have no clue how to make, like the helmet and the chest armor.
Thanks again

 

[syllander]

The armor would be easier to make than the gauntlets. Got the rocket and greebs to consider too. Your timeframe is tight, really depends on how much time you have to work on the making aspect. But some here have pulled it off in a few months. Then there's me that's going to take two years or more lol.
best thing I could do was to not put a time limit on myself, but you gotta do what's right for you. Also have to consider what you can make. Can you sew? If not the flight suit and vest would be very challenging.

 

[Armydad]

A dremel tool is a must have. It'll be used for multiple tasks. Time is tight, again depends on your learning curve/ skill set with everything. There are multiple suppliers for helmets, search the cargo hold, thats the buy/ sell area of the dented helmet.

 

[Nome]

Thanks! What I've been thinking is to buy a flightsuit and make a vest as far as sewing goes... I've also seen that apparently papercraft can be used to build off? Would you have any ideas concerning that?
Thanks again so much!

 

[Warpcell]

How much did you budget?


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[redkraytdragon]

You should also check out this thread, really good info in there - http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f22/new-tdh-read-about-how-much-you-will-spend-17421/

Good luck!

 

[Nome]

Warpcell, my budget is essentially just how much money I can afford to spend, seeing as I'm a student with no real job who's saving for a band tour in the mid-distant future (not promising, I realise). At this stage I'm thinking about buying the flightsuit and neckseal as soon as I can work out prices for shipping to Aus, but I'm fairly relaxed on how much I'll spend, especially as this entire build is a project that I'm rewarding myself with for finishing school

 

[Nome]

Also this may be random, but how do you think starting off a skateboard type helmet would go, if I used it as the base for the dome? I'm just brainstorming to think of different ways it could be done.. thanks again for all the help!

 

[kebh020727]

I used a skateboard helmet when sctatch building my first Boba helmet. It's a good alternative to save some cash, but you'll need to spend money on bondo to fill and adjust. You're in a hole with a super tight budget. My recommendation is to be patient and try to do what you can. If you don't have the funds, don't push it. Your young and have plenty of time to build something you'll always appreciate. Who knows, you might join the ranks of some of the respected and admired craftsmen from this site. Good luck!

 

[DeathProof]

Your deadline is tight, with no real budget in mind, no income, and you're trying to save for something else that's pretty massive - I can't imagine a band tour be cheap. Don't mean to be blunt, but it would be smarter to save and create a spending plan, and realize your actual numbers you can afford before jumping in - especially if you are looking for something high quality. Suits can go anywhere from $2000-$5000+ depending on the accuracy and work involved. That's a huuuuge chunk of change to spend on a plastic spaceman costume. I know you say low budget, but when things don't look the way we want them to, especially with a scratch build, we start spending more to make it a higher quality.

When I was a student, no one took the time to properly teach me how to budget and to not spend money I didn't have. I racked up some pretty big student loans and am still paying them off years after I graduated. It may not matter now for you, but when you're spending a few hundred bucks a month to pay off loans for x amount of years, it reeeeeally sucks and limits other purchases you can make.

Like kebh said, you're young and have plenty of time. Be patient and save. Chip away at pieces of the suit slowly if you can afford it. You will be much happier with your end product. It will be worth it!

 

[mcfarlj3]

I started my first scratch build mid June and I'm hoping to have a working costume (probably no jet pack, not accurate flight suit and shoes) by the end of October. Initially, I thought "Four months? No problem." But that was a severe miscalculation of the time it was actually going to take. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with at least another month. If you're willing to sacrifice some accuracy and spend most of your free time working on the costume, then January is plausible. I also plan on updating and refining my build after Halloween to get 501st approved, but I won't have a deadline for that so I can take my time and give a closer eye to detail. It all depends on your overall goals for the costume.

 

[DarthPestilence]

When I built my helmet I used cardboard, fiberglass resin, bondo, model paints, spray paints, limo tint, poster frame (for T-visor), various grits of sanpaper and some random screws. Cost me about $90 total

 

[SPY007]

If you want to scratch build, go to a sign shop and see if you can get scraps of sheet plastic. The place I went gave me a lot of stuff for free. It was too small for signs, but great for armor parts. Took me 8 years to finish mine and I had a lot of experience in fabrication. Rafal Fett has the best templates. Fett Pride sells the best stuff. I may have few parts to pass on.

 

[Warpcell]

I've gotta agree with Deathproof on this one. Buy what you want the first time otherwise you'll build it more than once and that gets pricey. Wait til you have a job and then get started.


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