Mirdin (Mir'ika) Tarvos WIP Armor and Helmet

I don't believe I posted a thread for my own WIP armor over here, so here goes...I posted this at Mercs too.

Anyway, I wanted to get a thread started for my own armor progress, starting with pics from the beginning:

DSCI0126.jpg

DSCI0128.jpg

DSCI0141.jpg

DSCI0139.jpg

DSCI0138.jpg

DSCI0137.jpg

DSCI0136.jpg


As you can see, I basically just started out with some trash cans, used WOF's templates, traced them--fitting as many pieces onto one can as I could. I kept in mind the curves of the can in association with what piece went where. I does help down the road when it comes to bending/shaping if necessary.
Got the pieces cut out:
DSCI0674.jpg

DSCI0673.jpg

And started shaping:
1024082139-00.jpg

1024082139-01.jpg

1024082145-00.jpg

1024082148-00.jpg


I basically just used a nice heat gun to soften the plastic a bit, curved it the way I wanted, then held that in place with tape (would have used duct tape, but had clear packing tape on hand, so used that instead).
I also have the "belly" piece cut out and an actual coat of paint on it, but I don't have a pic yet. I don't have every piece of armor from the templates cut out yet, I believe, though I'm not sure what I'll do as far as a full cod piece goes anyway--probably just use what I have cut out so far. I'll hold off on any further progress with the body armor parts until I get my helmet done. I want to try to keep focused on one area at a time . ;)

And here's more updated pics:

After bending the collar and shoulder parts (what is the official name for those, anyway?) This also includes my belly piece with a coat of hammered metallic paint:
1107082141-00.jpg


Close-up of belly part:
1107082141-01.jpg


Right shoulder part after base coat of metallic paint (not the hammered style this time) at the bottom of frame. I found a really cool metallic spray that apparently I bought back with my blue, so I tried it out, and it looks nice! It actually matches the gray parts of my Jango two-piece perfectly.
1107082229-00.jpg


I decided to add some scratches to my right shoulder part--used a trusty dremmel tool! Man, those things are fun!!
1107082238-00.jpg


...and I decided to try my hand at adding a dent to the collar piece. I used a heat gun to soften one place on the plastic (almost too much--nearly melted on me), then used a rounded screwdriver handle to press a dent into it. I wanted to use a ball-peen hammer, but couldn't find one in my stepdad's stuff at the time, so I'll try that on it some other time:
1107082259-00.jpg


Dented Collar (though will make more of a dent before painting):
1107082300-00.jpg


Right shoulder part after top coat of paint and before using a razor blade to scrape away at the existing scratches to make more prominent: (I need to get a pic of the finished piece--thought I had one...
1107082304-00.jpg


I'm going to paint the left shoulder part red, so that's why it isn't in the pics yet. I have to find some Fusion in red, or I had a nice discovery that Rustoleum now has paint for plastic, and it's cheaper! I found an awesome copper metallic (SHINY!! ;D ) that I want to use, and I finally picked up a dark blue to use on my helmet mandibles. I did sand down the edges of the shoulder parts, and will do so with all of the pieces eventually before doing any more painting. (i.e. the collar and belly piece aren't done yet)

Big thanks for FettFullof Dollars and WOF for the trash can info and templates!!! Awesome work, guys!
 
By the way, the name in the title is for my character...

Here's some of my helmet so far:

The day it arrived from eBay. I'm using the Jango Fett Rubies two-piece to start with.
mandome-1.jpg


Here's my pics so far. I worked at my mom's, down in the basement in my late grandfather's official "larky farkin' " area.

helmpic1.jpg


helmpic2.jpg


1024082127-01.jpg


1024082130-00.jpg


Their cat, Scampers, is quite nosy...she kept me company though. :rolleyes: Sorry a couple pics are blurry--taken with cell phone.


I couldn't help it--I wanted to get some paint on my bucket...but I avoided the seal area as I really want to get the visor tinted and put back in before I seal it together. Easier to work on when the helmet's apart, but, I wanted to test the paint and see how it might look when finished:
1107082229-00.jpg


...and what the blue is going to look like:
1107082248-00.jpg

One thing I forgot to do is remove the black striping on the helmet before I got started. OH well, I can still do that as I'm not done painting by far. They seem to be fairly easy to remove--some sort of really thin tape or something. Don't want them peeling off after I'm done! I'm not too worried about the paint layers, scratching, dripping and so forth as it will all add to the weathered look later on.

Why I didn't check out window tint when we stopped at a Menards on the way back from IN, I don't know. I didn't think of it until we were leaving the parking lot, but I did see a cool pair of black and blue work gloves that might be perfect for my Mando, with a little tweaking.

(Yes, all my painting is done on the floor for now--my stepdad is really into R/C model airplanes, so I wanted to make sure I avoided getting any overspray on his planes)

Helmet is pretty much going to be put on hold until I find the tinting I want and get the visor taken care of, then I'll seal the helmet together and be on my way! :D
I'd like to add some vents in the helmet by way of the keyholes and the triangle holes in the front.
 
Heh, you're either very late in posting these, or you're camera needs setting.

Looks good. I love the idea of a trash can costume.
 
Thanks guys! :D I try to work on it 1-2 hours a week--I usually head to my Mom's house to watch Clone Wars, then head down to their basement as I really don't have a spot at home to work. I was there til nearly midnight last time :eek:

Andrew: yeah, this was from the past month or so, but my camera also had date issues at some point :lol: And, like last week, I forget my digital, so I use my cell phone cam--some pics are a tad blurry.

Odran:
Yes, I do have a concept put together. Mirta Gev at Mandalorian Mercs made a MandoMaker template program, so I used that (great for trying out color schemes!), and then commander-13 at DeviantArt made up an awesome character drawing for me.

commander-13's drawing:
Mirdin_Tarvos_by_commander_13.jpg


MandoMaker version, which I also added a few things in Paint:
mtarvosmerc.jpg

At some point in the future, I'd like to put together an electrostaff prop :D I thought that was a pretty cool weapon, and I'll be taking up bo staff in January in TKD, so it'd be a nice addition for my character.

Update pics! These are from this past Friday and the week before:
I cut out the keyholes--will put screening inside. Thought good for ventilation.
DSCI0234.jpg

DSCI0236.jpg


Starting sealing the two halves:
DSCI0237.jpg

DSCI0239.jpg

1128082024-00.jpg

1128081945-00.jpg

I'm probably going to have to sand it down a bit more. My stepdad helped with that part--we used a bondo type stuff made for balsa wood, but it's working well so far. He does a lot of model airplane stuff, so he's got a nice setup for tools, glues, and everything. These last ones are after spraying with a layer of metallic silver as an undercoat.

These are after masking and adding a layer of hammered metallic silver as the color for the visor surround.
1128082150-00.jpg

1128082153-00.jpg


Right shoulder bell before I felt I had to add to it!
DSCI0232.jpg

After adding some copper paint, though I'm going to cover up the big areas, leaving the claw marks as they are. It looked better without the copper. The bottom and side edge where the paint looks burned is actually from just how the paint happened to settle,and I liked the look.
1128082217-00.jpg


Left Shoulder before copper, and effect is from paint reaction. I used Kilz spray on top of Krylon Fusion, and while it is a bad reaction, it looks good for this!
DSCI0228.jpg

DSCI0230.jpg

After adding copper (copper color is Rustoleum for plastics--looked too pretty to pass up!)
Masking
1128082110-00.jpg

1128082215-00.jpg

1128082216-00.jpg

I only had a roll of wide paper tape at the time, so that's what I used, but will use newspaper or plastic bags in the future for larger areas :facepalm

I don't have any soft parts done yet at all, and don't know when I'll get a start on those, but I'm always keeping my eyes open for boots, belts, jumpsuit, cape/kama material...I also need to pick up some mirrored window film for my visor. I loved the mirrored look. (You can't see me, but you can see you! lol)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The shoulder pieces are called "pauldrons" and the neck piece is called a "gorget"... well at least that's what they were called in medieval times... :D
 
The paint job is coming off really well. I believe I am going to get started on a trashcan set in the next week or so: seeing the pics from the initial stages through the shaping are an immense help.
 
"Bells" "Pauldrons" "Parts"...I've heard/seen them called all sorts of things as far as armor costuming like this, but I believe you're correct when referring to medieval wear, Lath. I sometimes switch between pauldron and bell just so long as people know what I'm talking about :cheers

Thank you again, guys! I'm glad this might help someone as this is pretty much how I got started--reading the forums and looking at others' techniques, then just jumping in and getting going. There's a trial and error no matter how you do it, and it helps to see how other people got past the bumps.

Shaping: I think I'll need to shape the pauldrons again as they seem to have flattened out a little, but I'll just see how they work on my shoulders first.

I did finally get a few "For Sale" signs at the store as has been suggested by fellow forum members, played with a piece of one just to see how well it performs when heated and formed, how well it keeps shape, and it looks like I could have a lot of fun with them! oohhhh I have pieces big enough to make my chest armor (y) *I've got to focus on one thing at a time--helmet first! lol* I might get started on the ear pieces this week.
 
A good technique for shaping the pauldrons is to use a large crystal ball, something around six inches or the top half of a three liter soda bottle, just cut the spout off. I work for a leather shop making armor and that's one of the processes that we use for shaping the leather with excellent results.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I might try one of those, Lath. I just heated up the plastic and taped it in the shape I wanted for at least overnight the first time. My mom might actually have a crystal ball ;)

Odran--Thanks! Blue, favorite color, had to go Blue.

It's the Blue Mandies!
(if you've seen The Yellow Submarine and it's Blue Meanies...LOL):lol:
 
It really looks nice. I like the colors and the strong fem look. I look forward to seeing more. BTW, I have read people mention under armor from sports stores for soft parts.
 
Looking good! Is your daughter going to make her own as well? I can put the idea in her head the next time I see her. :D
 
Looking good! Is your daughter going to make her own as well? I can put the idea in her head the next time I see her. :D

Thank you, Asok!
Oh yeah! She's told me she wants her own set and has even pointed out the paint colors she wants the last time I was checking out some Krylon: pink and purple.:)
eh, she's kinda coming off her Princess stage (though she still loves Ariel) and full-blown into Hannah Montana-dom, on top of a steady interest in Star Wars, thankfully LOL I take her with me to watch Clone Wars every week and sometimes she watches me work on my costume. Any nudges, especially from Jango himself, would surely help get her going on the idea even more :D

Thanks, Bren! On COPS tonight, I saw some UnderArmor gloves on an officer that looked pretty cool...watching them raid a drug dealing business at a house, and I'm staring at interesting parts of their uniforms. :p I'll have to check out Dick's next time I go and see what they have. I'm also planning on hitting up a military surplus store just north of me for a few things. I'm thinking they'll have ammo pouches/belts and a few other doodads I can add to my costume. Also, hunting season just started last week (well, shotgun anyway), so stores around here should have some outdoors-y items as well.

*I'm heading over to Evansville, IN tomorrow to stay for a few days as my great uncle just passed away this morning.
 
Here's some more pics of my helmet WIP. I did some more painting, though still a ways to go. Now that the holidays are over and a new year has begun, I'll hopefully get this done soon.


Helmet interior before I sealed it up a bit more. The outside seemed to tighten up a bit too (didn't get a pic of that), and looks better than it did before. Not pretty, but it's inside--won't be seen. This was a stinky operation--melting plastic... :-X I do usually wear a mask and safety glasses when working on this stuff.
DSCI0296.jpg

After
DSCI0297.jpg


Right side/Left side exterior--you can see the difference between the two silver colors I used. I sealed the sides up a bit, but they won't show much anyway after the ear pieces are on.
DSCI0299.jpg

DSCI0300.jpg


Masking took most of the time. I covered the band that wraps around the back as I wanted that to stay silver, so I used the tape for the small stuff, paper for the larger areas. Looking at detailed pics, I think I'll go back in to smooth out the keyholes as there's still a few rough parts.
DSCI0301.jpg

DSCI0303.jpg


It's alive!!!...uh...blue!!
DSCI0309.jpg

And as my record is going, I neglected to mask any weathering, so I'll be using the same technique as I used on the shoulders. It seemed to work well anyway. I might use some steel wool to add scratches to show silver and mask to add copper. I did something similar when I painted my daughter's clone blaster for her costume. It looks like the blue will not stick to the balsa wood filler, so I'll try to paint that in with some acrylics when I'm at a touch-up stage.

Grabbed the range finder to get started on at least one more part. I just painted part of the base coat.
DSCI0304.jpg

DSCI0305.jpg

DSCI0313.jpg


I can't wait to peel the masking off and see how the blue turned out.

Next set:
Worked on my helmet just a tad during the busy holiday time. This I did just on Saturday after a couple weeks' hiatus from working on it:

Helmet front after tape masking taken off:
DSCI0556.jpg


Right side:
DSCI0555.jpg


Left side:
DSCI0557.jpg


Back:
DSCI0554.jpg


There's a few spots I need to touch up, (like the top of the "ear" on the right side) but overall it's coming together nicely. I still need to paint the "cheeks" the dark blue, and then the majority of the painting will pretty much be done--the rest is pretty much just detailng.

Here's the ears and RF. I painted the other side of the RF and finally started on the ears. The copper paint is not for plastics, and I forgot that, so not sure if it will stick--we'll see. I meant to do the silver first, THEN copper, but I'll get it to work.
DSCI0566.jpg

And doesn't the protecting paper underneath make it all seem like a work of abstract art? lol
(My stepdad's big xmas gift was a Real Flight Simulator for his computer in the basement, and the box made a nice display perch)

Masked the cheeks then painted the blue
helmchk1.jpg

helmchk2.jpg

helmchk3.jpg


I need to do some touchups, but I'll be painting a dark blue on the mandibles, so that'll cover any of the other blue that might have oversprayed, and I'll be more detailed with the masking.
helmfrnt1.jpg

hlmfrnt2.jpg


The blue paint looks like it might work okay after all! Here's the latest pics I have from when I did some work on the ear pieces:

got a tad more worked on this past weekend---

The "ears". I found some interesting wire remnant that was blue and silver in color, so I thought it'd be a nice little addition to the ear piece.
ears1.jpg

ears2.jpg


I still haven't done anything on the inside nor finished the visor, still still plenty to do!
 
This thread is more than 12 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top