JSmails semi-accurate ROTJ Boba WIP

[JSmails]

Hello,

I'm making a Boba Fett for my son. He's 13. No rush, he just needs an awesome costume he can actually walk in for Halloween next year.

This year he wore the ATA ANH TK helmet I got for him with my ROTJ armor. While he looked great, walking up and down stairs in TK armor trick or treating is not easy to do.

Last year he was the Sith Apprentice from Force Unleashed. It was mobile, for sure, but the slit on that eyepiece is minimal at best. Lots of stumbling.

The year before that I made him a giant cardboard "Lego Deadpool" costume. Lego Legs aren't easy to walk in and had to be scrapped during the trick or treating.

The year before that he was Clone Wars Darth Maul. I made his prosthetic legs out of PVC and other plastics. It didn't turn out well and the legs got scrapped that night again.

Finally, the year before that he was Pre Vizla. I made him a cardboard helmet, and put trash can armor over the armor of the costume suit. I also made him a jet pack. He was able to walk just fine that year, but it was incredibly cold. He trick or treated 1 block and quit. I wasn't the most happy person after putting 40+ hours into a costume and having him wear it for 1 block.

Anyway, so I'm doing a Boba on a budget for him this time around. Let me know the cheapest ways of doing everything "semi-right". The flight suit is my main concern right now. I'm making the helmet out of card board, WOF pattern, and planning on doing trash can armor again. Cost is paramount.

Anyone have any suggestions or old parts they won't use for one reason or another, post here or shoot me a PM.

Here's my start.

I made the helmet out of cardboard.

I then resined it and am waiting for it to harden to probably glass it before bondo.

So far I've had everything lying around, so I've spent zero. I doubt I can keep it that way, but all-told, I'd like to keep it under $500.

I doubt he'll be up to 501 standards when I'm done, but it should be a mobile trick or treating outfit, and if done good enough, he should be able to wear it for a few more years to come.

Thanks for reading.

First question: how do I do cheap ears and a movable folding stock/rangefinder? Any suggestions are great.

 

[JSmails]

So after a whole lot of bondo and sanding I'm here with the helmet.

It really is a ridiculous amount of sanding.

If I were to scrap this at this point, who should I buy a resin/epoxy/fiberglass cast from around here? I see a few on eBay, but in my experience on the SLD, you really shouldn't buy almost anything off eBay. That is almost universally true for a Vader build.

For Fett I'm still a novice. Any suggestions on items appreciated. Like, where can I get good/decent cast ears for cheap? I really don't feel like building them and I'd like a working range finder.

Thanks for looking.

 

[JSmails]

I'm getting closer. Too much sanding and messing the bondo up, I eventually just say to heck with it and move on.

I put in the arrows and the bump and primed the helmet:

Then I painted it a nice shiny silver:

Lastly, I painted the back and the top. The toothpaste is still on there until the paint hardens except for the spot where the stupid masking tape caught it and pulled it off.

I don't think I'm sold on these Krylon colors. I bought them one day when I was at WalMart as they didn't have the rust oleum colors I wanted there. But then I didn't paint anything for a week and saw at Home Depot they have all the rust oleum colors I wanted. So I went to return the Krylon stuff and I seem to have thrown my receipt away. I'm not going to take a $20 bath on the paints, so I'm making due with the Krylon stuff. I don't think their Hunter Green is dark enough, even with a black paint base.

So, as I asked before, where do I buy ears and range finder around here? I can't figure out WOF's template for the ears. Unless I did them in wood, which I may have to. But I'd really like a RF that folded down and up.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for looking.

 

[Artakha]

Looking good considering! Check out RafalFett's helmet's ears template: Rafal Works Helmet (RWH) v2 Helmet Templates and Build

Also I have my own helmet build rolling which, while going a different route with many things, may prove to be helpful: Le1120's Second Cardboard Helmet Scratch Build -- WIP

Moreover Antman has a longstanding build thread which many have referenced as incredibly useful (including myself): AntMan's Second Cardboard Scratch Build

 

[JSmails]

Thanks for the links! I've looked through those plenty.

I see you are 3D printing ears. I need something like that. Anyone sell them besides Shapeways? I imagine buying resin ears from a mold has to cost less than a Shapeways 3D print.

I can never seem to get the bondo to work for me. Too many air bubbles? Too thick a coat? No idea.

On this build, even after having the shaping of the helmet done by a career body man, I still got down to the cardboard structure on the dome and those look furry. I've tried these helmet multiple times and I just don't get bondo.

So I'm still hunting for ears. I'll check Rafal's build.

 

[Artakha]

Bondo can be tricky, and its rare you get it perfect the first time, but I sand it with my palm sander and then add a little more to fill the bubbles and such. Also I use polyurethane to seal the cardboard to eliminate the furriness for the most part, although I've found that reapplication can be necessary where you've sanded the cardboard. You just have to bondo and sand, bondo and sand, that's how it works with these helmets.

 

[JSmails]

How I've always seen done is to resin the outside, then fiber the inside. Then bondo.

Unfortunately, I've sanded so much in places it went through the bondo, through the resin, to the cardboard. Not nice.

But, it is what it is. I'm almost done painting it. Boba's helmet is supposed to look beat to heck anyway.

Another day, another day of painting. As I said earlier, I had some Krylon colors. It was time to do the red. I put on the first coat and it didn't seem very shiny. Cool. Put on coat 2, same kind of rusty red look. 3rd coat, the wet coat, it just isn't looking correct and I read the can. It's a rust red primer. Ugh. So I was off to Home Depot to pick up the Claret Wine by rustoleum. Here it is now.

and the back:

Some of the toothpaste has come off while pulling tape from masking. I think it's going to look pretty cool.

The hunter green on the back panels is also the green on the upper cheeks right? This green doesn't seem dark enough. I bought the rustoleum hunter green on my trip just in case I need to redo it.

 

[JSmails]

I also got the Hasbro toy EE-3 in yesterday off eBay. That thing is so small. It looks like I'll have to scratch build it. The only thing I'll save from the Hasbro is the electronics and the trigger most likely.

I took it apart today but didn't take any pics of that. I printed WOF's EE3 template at full size and gave the stock blueprints to my father in law. He likes to mess around with wood so I figured he could do it for me way easier, and nicer, than I could do it myself.

So I'll have a scratch build plus electronics coming up.

Any my idea what flight suit to get? Cheapest and what color? I see a few links to some mechanics suits etc. What is the most cost effective way? I saw WOF's templates for pockets. While I'm a horrible sewer, they seem totally doable.

I just have to find that WIP where the dude was like $27 in and had most everything.

 

[JSmails]

Finished the painting and took off some toothpaste. Just need a black wash and some ears. Anyone sell ears around here? I'm surprised there isn't an ongoing run in the cargo hold. Some pics:

I suppose I'll try to make the ears with Rafal's design. I can't figure out the WOF ears.

 

[Silverstalker]

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/antmans-second-cardboard-scratch-build-24821/index2.html

Try Antman - page 2 at the bottom all will be explained.

 

[JSmails]

Okay, so I am following AntMans WoF tutorial for the ears. Fantastic btw.

Unfortunately I suck at this. The first ear, the easy one, has taken me over 2 hours start to finish and it looks awful. It seems bondo is in my future.

Just st starting the other ear. Yikes.

Certainly someone must have cast the ears in resin and sell them here. The ears are the worst part of the build.

I I see on eBay there are some for $28. I'd ask in the cargo hold for a WTB, but I don't have enough posts yet.

Let me know if anyone here has some for sale. Thanks!

 

[JSmails]

So, since nobody wanted to sell me any ears, I completed mine they aren't much good, but I made molds of them anyway as I never want to do that again. The molds took me extra time, but at least I never have to worry about ears again.

Anyway, I'm just about done with the helmet. A Borden connector, some dental files, a visor and some dull coat and I think I'm done. Here it is now:

Next up is the blaster build. Then gauntlets. Hopefully someone can help out with the WOF templates for the gauntlets. I don't get it. I may just pep them. I have to put this on hold for a little bit as I am trying to make my daughter a season 2 Sabine at the same time. The masking on that helmet is ridiculous.

 

[Artakha]

Nice job on the helmet! I have a gauntlet scratch-building thread going if that helps: Le1120's Boba Fett RotJ gauntlets scratch build

 

[JSmails]

Nice job on the helmet! I have a gauntlet scratch-building thread going if that helps: Le1120's Boba Fett RotJ gauntlets scratch build

Thanks for the link!

The spacial relations part of my brain seems to be gone. I look at the WOF template and just say WTF? Lol.

I'll have to take a closer look at your build once I get the blaster built.

 

[JSmails]

I've still been working at it every day for the most part. I'm just about to a point where I can say "good enough" and move on. I'm just waiting for the kill stripe decals to get here, then I can dull coat it and be about done.

Yesterday I made a Borden connector out of cardboard and the results weren't very good. Last night I saw this thread: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/...n-connector-53673/?highlight=Borden+connector

And I said "I can do that." Here's that process. It certainly wasn't as easy as in the link.

First mistake is I bought a 6" bolt instead of 8". It's more than enough, obviously, but it's way less to hold onto when turning it. Buy the 8". Also, I'm cutting the bolt with my chop saw metal cutting blade. 1/2" thick steel was not the target thickness for this blade. Took forever, got extremely hot etc. it worked, but I wouldn't do it again on here.

Next step is grinding. For a Borden to peak through the face, you don't need to go into the grind very deep. I was going about a wheel, which was an inch wide. WAY too wide. Do about 1/2 a wheel of turning. Goes very quickly.

and here it is after grinding.

No pics of the drilling, but here it is. Only broke one 1/16" bit.

I then had to cut it off again, which was horrible. I had to grind it way way down as it was way too long to go into the helmet. Finally I wooled, sanded, and primed. Then painted and weathered.

Here it is installed and the second pic is with a that is installed. #5 darkness visors are way too dark. Time to try something else.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Artakha]

I like your borden very much! Great job.

 

[LB66679]

Wow , great start !

 

[JSmails]

Thanks very much.

Today I only had a little time so I spent it trying to get the mask to sit better and trying to pad out the inside to sit on the head correctly. There really isn't a lot of room in there for a fan system.

My father in law has been dragging his feet on starting a stock. I'd hoped he'd be done with it by now so I could swing straight into building the EE3 next. That just HAS to go faster than this helmet build.

 

[Fettastic]

Your Borden came out great! Nice scratch build by the way!

 

[JSmails]

Thanks very much!

It's taking a LONG time because I'm also making that Sabine season 2 you see on the table also. That paint job of the maroon was a 3-hour mask.

I need to learn how to airbrush.