Lowberg's ROTJ SE Build
- Thread starter lowberg
- Start date
lowberg
Active Hunter
I got approved w/ the 501 a few weeks back and had my first big troop with them and Mando Mercs at a children's museum for their annual SW weekend. A lot of funny shenanigans occurred. It was really awesome to hang with the Mercs too, as I've been doing a custom build with them and was able to meet the downstate NY guys and gals for the first time. Great crew.
AdenSolu
Active Hunter
Congratulations! This is fantastic news and a great payoff for all the hardwork you've been putting into your build!
lowberg
Active Hunter
I finally got around to doing more work on my original GMH helmet I painted myself. I love my Uhbif helmet, but it was important to me to finish up my first one as it is what started this journey for me! Mine is far from perfect, but I do really like the green tone better on mine and the flatter finish matches my armor better. It's pretty much complete now besides the MQ-1 circut board!
I also got a mannequin to display my build on. It's a super heavy duty department store type mannequin so it was really a pain to get dressed, but I got it so cheap locally it was hard to pass up.
I also got a mannequin to display my build on. It's a super heavy duty department store type mannequin so it was really a pain to get dressed, but I got it so cheap locally it was hard to pass up.
lowberg
Active Hunter
The costume that is never actually finished continues!!
As I've been putting it to use and trooping around I've found some things I want to address and upgrade.
First order of business was to fix my jetpack harness as the straps were sagging wayyy to low.
I moved up the white straps on my DIY harness a few inches and now the top lip of the jetpack is sitting closer to the top of the back armor where it should be.
Before and After:
The next project will be upgrading my knees, my original knees are oversized and made of very thick styrene which had no flexibility to wrap around the leg and very heavy. This caused some floating and sagging that annoyed me. Not to mention the overall shape was not super accurate.
I have a spare set of Minute Fett SE Knees, but they seemed a little too small and wasn't crazy about the shape (they look kinda squished to me).
Neo Fett hooked me up with their new SE knees (Black ones below) and wow the shape and sizing is very accurate.
For comparison
Painted: DHPFX
Black: NeoFett
White: MinuteFett
Neo Fett's sculpt for knees is fantastic. Looking forward to painting these up!!!
Also great news, in addition to 501st I got Boba SE approved with the Mandalorian Mercs a few weeks ago.
They have been equally as helpful as TDH members with this build and a great crew to run with.
As I've been putting it to use and trooping around I've found some things I want to address and upgrade.
First order of business was to fix my jetpack harness as the straps were sagging wayyy to low.
I moved up the white straps on my DIY harness a few inches and now the top lip of the jetpack is sitting closer to the top of the back armor where it should be.
Before and After:
The next project will be upgrading my knees, my original knees are oversized and made of very thick styrene which had no flexibility to wrap around the leg and very heavy. This caused some floating and sagging that annoyed me. Not to mention the overall shape was not super accurate.
I have a spare set of Minute Fett SE Knees, but they seemed a little too small and wasn't crazy about the shape (they look kinda squished to me).
Neo Fett hooked me up with their new SE knees (Black ones below) and wow the shape and sizing is very accurate.
For comparison
Painted: DHPFX
Black: NeoFett
White: MinuteFett
Neo Fett's sculpt for knees is fantastic. Looking forward to painting these up!!!
Also great news, in addition to 501st I got Boba SE approved with the Mandalorian Mercs a few weeks ago.
They have been equally as helpful as TDH members with this build and a great crew to run with.
lowberg
Active Hunter
So I've been trooping with the costume for about 8 months now and my 2 point (top hooks only) soft harness I made has been serving me well for shorter troops. No real concerns about it getting bumped off and there has been not really any jetpack sway side to side like I thought there might be...
...but my last troop was a longer convention one where I was in the suit for about 6hrs and by the end my shoulders were just toast from the downward weight (I was hurting for about a week after lol) So I've been thinking about going to a proper 4 point harness to distribute the load better between my shoulders and lower back.
Problem is the traditional scuba harness would be tough for me, as I'm a larger guy and I don't think I would have room for it under the vest and back armor. Plus I've heard varying things about the overall comfort of them.
So I've created a prototype solution that I think is going to work for me!
I'm essentially making low profile mount for the lower cross bar that can be attached to my soft harness.
I mocked up the idea with styrene for now but it looks promising so I'll probably 3D model something more elegant.
The mount attaches to the soft vest with a long strip of 2" wide industrial velcro and is re-positionable for crossbar height adjustment.
I'm not able to close the vest around it until I add the extra button holes for the cross bar, but we tested it out with the vest open, and it feels very stable AND 100% takes some of the weight off my shoulders.
...but my last troop was a longer convention one where I was in the suit for about 6hrs and by the end my shoulders were just toast from the downward weight (I was hurting for about a week after lol) So I've been thinking about going to a proper 4 point harness to distribute the load better between my shoulders and lower back.
Problem is the traditional scuba harness would be tough for me, as I'm a larger guy and I don't think I would have room for it under the vest and back armor. Plus I've heard varying things about the overall comfort of them.
So I've created a prototype solution that I think is going to work for me!
I'm essentially making low profile mount for the lower cross bar that can be attached to my soft harness.
I mocked up the idea with styrene for now but it looks promising so I'll probably 3D model something more elegant.
The mount attaches to the soft vest with a long strip of 2" wide industrial velcro and is re-positionable for crossbar height adjustment.
I'm not able to close the vest around it until I add the extra button holes for the cross bar, but we tested it out with the vest open, and it feels very stable AND 100% takes some of the weight off my shoulders.
lowberg
Yeah, I have the same issue with my MoW Soft Harness....
Just murders my Shoulders after about 3 hours of use. I wore it for a 10 Hours during a Con Troop (Served with the 501st and then just walking around the con) When I got it off, I was a hurting unit for about 2 days. Just a dopin' up on Advil.
I do have an Older Gen Big Dane Harness. Was waiting to lose some weight (Which I've done/accomplished
) before I begin sewing mine together.....
I was wondering how well the weight distribution is wearing this rig. It sounds as if it is fantastic! Gotta get a moving on mine!
Oh also, I like how you have that green wire hanging there. I presume that it is to connect to the other ring, yeah? As a way to prevent the rings from retracting back into the back armor - prior to Jetpack hookup? I have a similar setup using a tie wrap and carabiners holding the rings together. I usually drive in my Fett Costume to wherever I'm going, then just have to put on my Gauntlets and Jetpack.
Best,
-Iron
Yeah, I have the same issue with my MoW Soft Harness....
Just murders my Shoulders after about 3 hours of use. I wore it for a 10 Hours during a Con Troop (Served with the 501st and then just walking around the con) When I got it off, I was a hurting unit for about 2 days. Just a dopin' up on Advil.
I do have an Older Gen Big Dane Harness. Was waiting to lose some weight (Which I've done/accomplished
) before I begin sewing mine together.....I was wondering how well the weight distribution is wearing this rig. It sounds as if it is fantastic! Gotta get a moving on mine!
Oh also, I like how you have that green wire hanging there. I presume that it is to connect to the other ring, yeah? As a way to prevent the rings from retracting back into the back armor - prior to Jetpack hookup? I have a similar setup using a tie wrap and carabiners holding the rings together. I usually drive in my Fett Costume to wherever I'm going, then just have to put on my Gauntlets and Jetpack.
Best,
-Iron
lowberg
Active Hunter
Yea green wire was an idea to help my handler (Often Mrs. Lowberg) fish the straps through the vest and armor slits during suit up prior to the jetpack being put on. I have plans to replace them with some sort of removable lanyard hook so they can be taken off after the straps have been fished through.
also that's absolutely insane man hahahaha
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Yeah, I think it is just the 'High' you get from being in such a bad ass costume, and the people that smile, point, gawk and engage with you.
(Yeah, I get off on it.)Glad I'm not the only one who was looking for a viable solution to that problem. Here is my setup. (Tie Wrap and two S-Carabiners)
Again this keeps the rings out and from retracting back into the back armor while I travel in the vehicle. I have the person helping me, tug the white straps down then remove my 'Ring Keeper' doo-hickey and then place my jetpack.
-Iron
