Lazerjock's ROTJ Hero Fett Build

[ShortFuse]

I received my gauntlets today, which means I was able to get the correct size of braided vinyl hose from Home Depot and begin soaking them in coffee.
It will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to take the stain.

Something else I learned while test fitting the hoses to the gauntlets. The hose is slightly too small to fit over the tube coming out of the gauntlet. So, I used a heat gun to soften up about 3" of the vinyl to make it easier to install.
What I didn't expect was once the vinyl cooled, it remained very flexible. There must be some sort of breakdown that occurs by heating it.

I plan to do to this the entire hose once the coffee staining is done.

When I stained my hoses with coffee, the water was boiling and it had the same results. The hose came out much softer than it went in.

 

[ShortFuse]

The hoses just a standard size?

I think my hose is 7/16 ID and 5/8 OD if I remember correctly, and fits my MOW gauntlet attachment points nice and tight. Being in the UK, those measurements may mean nothing to you. The way they fit also depends on what gauntlets you have and the size of their respective attachment points.

 

[Lazerjock]

The hoses just a standard size?

I bought 1/2" O.D. 1/4" I.D. based on this thread Post #7:

ROTJ Gauntlet Hose

Hi, I'm at the point in my build where I need to get me some Gauntlet hose. I've been doing a bit of searching over the last couple of hours or so and from the various threads, I see lots of members using either 5/8" or 3/8". Now I'm no expert on these sizes and to be honest I just want to...

www.thedentedhelmet.com

.

 

[Lazerjock]

When I stained my hoses with coffee, the water was boiling and it had the same results. The hose came out much softer than it went in.

That's good to know, but how did the coffee taste?

 

[ShortFuse]

That's good to know, but how did the coffee taste?

Don’t know, I poured it out. Can’t stand to drink the stuff.

 

[hvacdon]

Here's Sean's link to dyeing his hoses, in case you want to give it a try, it looks like it's quick and effective...

 

[Lazerjock]

Here's Sean's link to dyeing his hoses, in case you want to give it a try, it looks like it's quick and effective...

Thanks!!

 

[Lazerjock]

Today I weathered my boots & gloves. Both are from Imperial Boots. I also added Velcro to the wrists of the gloves.

Before

After

Gloves

 

[Lazerjock]

I downloaded RafalFett's MQ-1 Helmet Circuit Board, Borden Connector & Dental Files and 3D printed them to use in the Animefan MR Premium Helmet I bought today.

Now I need to download RafalFett's helmet stencil's and attempt a paint job.
I can't thank him enough for all of his hard work and generosity.

 

[RafalFett]

Those prints came out great! Can't wait to see the helmet paint job!

 

[Lazerjock]

Those prints came out great! Can't wait to see the helmet paint job!

Thank you!
I will keep updating as I go.

 

[Lazerjock]

After soaking the hoses in coffee for 6 days with no results other than the clear section turning milky, I decided to try the leather dye method from the video hvacdon linked.
I was able to find the same brand at Michael's crafts locally. I started out following his recommendations and only used about 1/6th of the bottle. After 1 hour of soaking there was no change. Note Sean in the video only soaked for about 1 min.
I then pored the whole bottle in the bucket let it soak for about 30 mins more. Still no change. Not sure what the difference was but I was not having any success.

I decided to go a different route.

I used primer brown spray paint and shot a little bit inside the hose. It ran about 1/2 way through. Then I turned around the hose and did the same thing to the other side. The goal is not to coat the whole hose only sections.
Then I used a straight piece of rigid wire (think straightened clothes hangar) to push a small piece of paper towel soaked in Xylene through the hose. This will remove most of the paint.
I had to repeat it a few times to get the right look.
Then I rinsed with water thoroughly.

Here are the results.

 

[ShortFuse]

Those hoses must be impervious to dying. I wonder what other powers they possess.

 

[Lazerjock]

Hoses installed.

 

[Jimmy2guns]

Great thread Lazerjock!!! Looks like it's coming along GREAT! Thanks for all the info and help to the TDH Community.

On another note...PM'ing you about some of your 3d Printed ROTJ greeblies I saw on another thread.

 

[Irongladiator]

After soaking the hoses in coffee for 6 days with no results other than the clear section turning milky.

Lazerjock - Milky huh? Remember, my hoses took their coffee black. Did you use sugar and creamer?
Your method seems to have had them hoses come out ok though. But still it's pretty strange that the hoses didn't change color while soaked in the coffee. If you recall I bought my coffee (Traveler) from Starbucks and used their "Pike Place Roast" blend.

and my end result....

But again, nice job on yours too!

-Iron

 

[Lazerjock]

Lazerjock - Milky huh? Remember, my hoses took their coffee black. Did you use sugar and creamer?
Your method seems to have had them hoses come out ok though. But still it's pretty strange that the hoses didn't change color while soaked in the coffee. If you recall I bought my coffee (Traveler) from Starbucks and used their "Pike Place Roast" blend.
View attachment 195684

and my end result....
View attachment 195685

But again, nice job on yours too!

-Iron

Thank you for the info and kind words. No sugar or cream here. Lol
I'm really stumped as to why it didn't work for me, but I'm happy with the results.

 

[SolarFett]

I forgot to mention that the boots came with a free gift.....Toe Spikes!
I won't be needing to 3D print them now (even though I already did). Face palm.

The spikes that came with the boots are stainless steel which is good, but they are glued to the plate. It looks like JB weld to me. No other hardware holding them.
While adding a slight bend to the plate to make them fit the boots better 3 of the 4 spikes popped off. I have JB weld, but foresee them falling off during a troop and being lost. I decided to drill a hole in the plate and tap the spikes so I can bolt them on.

During the modification I slipped with a the Phillips screw driver and stabbed myself leaving a perfect + in my hand. A few cuss works later and some liquid bandage and I'm back to it.

View attachment 194626

That Phillips head slip-scar, is called the "star of approval" in the construction circles I used to work in - no fun!

 

[Irongladiator]

That Phillips head slip-scar, is called the "star of approval" in the construction circles I used to work in - no fun!

I had a few of those myself growing up in the trades in the late 90's as a low voltage cable tech pulling in CAT3 Voice and CAT5 network infrastructures. Hanging Caddy J-Hooks in the ceilings and having the Phillips slip a few times....I can attest that what SolarFett said is accurate. It makes for NOT a fun rest of the day.

-Iron

 

[Lazerjock]

I never heard of the star of approval. That's great!
Pretty much healed up now.