My Boba (FettHam WIP)

[FettHam]

Aim: to build a Fett suit without (hopefully) breaking the bank.
Experience: none
Confidence level: too high

I'll add more 'pro' purchases over the months from the Cargo Hold etc, but the aim was to get him suited on the cheap.

So I chose 5mm Palfoam, a mix of foam/sintra from what I gather. Really hard after shaping, I was surprised how tough it is. £20

So here's the day 1:



Using templates from TDH:


Heat gun (existing purchase), to shape all the parts. Difficult on your own but still possible. I used my thighs to get these started, then gradually heated them up again multiple times to get the final shape

Spray putty (£4) on the edges, after sanding them for what seemed for ever! See below for pre/post versions.

Same below, you can see the rough cuts but these sand out (I also used a metal rasp to shape the edges). But once sanded and putty, they look fine. Rasp set £5









Priming & painting next. What could go wrong? :|

 

[FettHam]

So here's the next junction for fellow budget builders. Paint
I've had a very mixed experience with rattle cans... mostly disasters. But they are easily found and relatively cheap, so go that route for savings maybe.

So why not buy an Airbrush I thought drunk one night!
I bought the Sparmax ARISM Mini Airbrush Kit for a discounted £120. Comes with cleaning stuff/gun/compressor. As I plan to do further projects this will be a sound buy for me personally.

Here is my budget spray booth! Used old boxes (cost: free)
Mask £9

 

[FettHam]

So after watching 48,000 "how to Airbrush" YouTube videos I set away...
I used Alclad II 60ml Grey Primer & Micro Filler

Base coat Silver No.11 paint added

Showing the various stages of raw, primer and filler

 

[droidbait]

Very nice man! Looking forward to more pics!

 

[Funkyred]

Looking good

 

[FettHam]

Wanted share share the latest pics. Slightly embarrassed, compared to the quality that is shown on this forum. But here we go.

Started layers using Humbrol masking:

Added some weathering

 

[FettHam]

I wanted to paint the decals, and also add my own signature 'thumbprint' in blood
I've ordered a chest decal as my skills have run out

And this is where I'm at today. Need to do some small weathering and add some missing decal spots. But I'm really happy with the outcome.

 

[Tom Walker]

That paint job is nothing to be embarrassed about... Great work!

 

[FettHam]

That paint job is nothing to be embarrassed about... Great work!

Thanks, really appreciate that

 

[MinaFett]

Looking really sharp. Lovely paintwork.

 

[droidbait]

Nice paintwork man!

 

[RamSkirata]

This is especially interesting for me since I am debating getting started in Fett painting myself.
Not with the goal of a full build but for the challenge actually... I love learning new skills + knowing how to airbrush will always come in handy.

So it is super cool to see your results and you have a good hand to describe your build.

If you were willing to spend the time, I'd like to read what your experience was, doing airbrush for the first time. Learning curve, etc.

 

[FettHam]

RamSkirata Yeah no problem. Me too, I love learning new skills and thought this build would help me with future builds. It 100% has, I dare say within 2 weeks I'd have a go at a helmet now. Might look like a potato, but I'd have a go!

I'm still 100% noob at this, so this is just my experience views so far and by no means correct.

My main concerns were thinners, PSI, and cleaning/taking the gun apart.
Thinners (and cleaning): I totally blocked my gun on first use, as I was told it could shoot this paint without thinners. Nope.
I spent most of the evening cleaning it. So within the first day I did learn how to strip & clean a gun to an inch of it's life! I now use just plain White Spirit for enamel thinner, works great and cheap. I have Vallejo Model Air thinner for acrylics, I didn't even know there was different types Lesson 2 that lead to even more cleaning.
Thinning, I probably overly thin now due to the bad experience. So I'm gradually adding less and I think I'm there now without much thought. It's a bit like adding milk to your coffee, you just know how much to add for you taste.

PSI. My compressor doesn't have a gauge, just a knob with numbers. I googled the number -> psi ratio and put them on the side. To be honest, I never look now and mostly have it set at what would be around 20 psi ish. For weathering I just dialed it down until I felt it wasn't as strong. I guess each gun setup is different to a degree and you just get a feel to what you like. I found it's more about controlling the dual action air to paint amount, doing test sprays on card is still my method prior to hitting the parts.

Application. So easy, unlike cans the airbrush doesn't spurt out at 1000mph with no control. So you have so much control and rarely get wet spots. Made painting an joy.

Things to buy:

• Face mask is a sound purchase, as the fumes and dust quickly build up. The one I got is a 28 day disposable one and should see me through this build, not expensive and works great.
• Cleaning pot, excellent purchase. Put a small bit of water in it before, makes cleaning that pot easy.
• Cotton buds, lots as they are perfect for cleaning. The needle is the only thing you need to treat with care obviously. The rest you just get in there with cleaner or Turps. You mostly just clean the front end of the gun (unless you block it like me)
• Masking fluid and Tracedown paper. These are great and essential for the Fett. I also used a tooth pick for really awkward spots with the masking fluid, lets you really get in close spots. The brushes do harden up in warm climates, so a quick swish in turps cleans them up nicely.

Thoughts so far:
I plan to buy a few small models, just to practice doing more detail work. And I'll have some cool looking monsters as a result
Paints. I do find myself now leaning towards acrylics. They are easier to thin, clean, and if you balls up like I did on the decal... it's easy to wipe away and fix.
Overall it's been really good fun and way better than cans. Also cheap after initial purchase, as the pots cost nothing on Amazon.

Hope I didn't bore you to death. I'll add another bonus pic of "what not to do" below. Hopefully people can learn from my lazy ass approach to one part

 

[FettHam]

Ok, so here's my 3rd mistake... seems obvious now but hopefully it'll help others.

During layering, I thought I'd shortcut and only add paint mostly around the masked areas.
You can see the shoulders I done correctly aka non-lazy method.
The chest plates are the lazy method.

This however, makes your final coat uneven and darker in areas. So yes, even coat The belly plate (not shown) was most affected.
In my defence, this was during the whole thinning nightmare and I wasn't mixing up enough paint to cover. luckily this armour is well worn, and with further coats and weathering my blunder was saved.

 

[ShortFuse]

Your doing great. Look forward to more progress.

 

[FettHam]

Ok budget fans and broke ass people. Chest display.
This is by no means a good replacement for Fettronics... at all. But kinda looks cool if you ran past people at 23mph.

So take an acetate sheet from Amazooon. £2


I found 4 layers of this was enough to give a nice look. Cut them out x4
Tip, they have more static than Nikola Tesla, so wash them and dry in the glorious sun

Once dry, remove remaining dust. Slap a little super glue on each layer, make one fat panel.
Hot glue this baby onto the back as such.


Let it harden and here's your result

 

[RamSkirata]

Thats surprisingly good looking! Even at running-past-speeds of only 10 mph.

Seriously though, one could always upgrade later, but what youve got looks cool.

 

[FettHam]

... you didn't think the budget fun ended there!

So go to ebay and buy some bike lights. I got these for £7:

Stick a small screwdriver in the back and pop it off.

You end up with a cool circuit board, I've shown a biro pen for scale. These have a USB charge port, and a micro switch on the front, so you can just press the plate and they activate. 4 modes included. But wait... there's more!


Make another acetate square. Paint it with 4 acrylic layers, any less and you see light. Just slap it on, no fancy method.
Once dry, etch out any sequence you wish. (Nothing rude)


After a bit of moving about so they line up, I masking taped them into position. Grab a glue gun and bolt those suckers down.


See next post for light action!

 

[FettHam]

Here is your final (cheap as chips) display

 

[FettHam]

Sunday update. Knees & experience so far.

Keeping with my budget, I bought some 3D print knees and gauntlets. I'd have made the knees but got a deal on both.
However, after doing these knees I'll not be doing the gauntlets (I can't face the pain). I have 100% admiration for guys who do, but I found it a total nightmare. Lost count of the hours sanding/filling/sanding... little more sanding. More holes... sanding filling. Nah, not for me.

Here's 6 hrs in