Ord Mantell's ESB build

Ord Mantell

Ord Mantell

Well-Known Hunter
I started this ESB build in 2009, but for reasons out of my control, like never getting my original fully paid armor order from some feckless character calling himself 'Fettpride', among others, the project got put on hold.

My motivation for this build is different than my ROTJ. Because the ESB costume simply does not exist anymore, my goal is to try to resurrect that costume as a museum-quality build with as many vintage found parts, original techniques and vintage paints as possible to match the on-screen original as accurately and authentically as possible. The parts list below contains links like an index to the thread posts on those parts.

Parts list ​

lineage parts, vintage found parts, unconfirmed vintage found parts, original maker parts​


Okay, starting with the old Pulce 40 which was in storage for a decade. Going to do the holster while I'm at it.

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Floquil 110601 is hard to come by anymore. Anybody know a good match for that old paint? Or better yet, anybody have any leftovers they don't need?
 
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Floquil Zinc Chromate Primer is the closest match I've been able to find to the original paint. Not sure if there's a new match for it made but I could post a color swatch if ya like
 
KenChan said:
Floquil Zinc Chromate Primer is the closest match I've been able to find to the original paint. Not sure if there's a new match for it made but I could post a color swatch if ya like
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Thanks. I do have a swatch. Just hoping someone knows of a decent out-of-the-bottle match before I go mixing colors.
 
With the local shops all shuttered, I took a chance at selecting paint on Amazon. Had to wait three weeks to get it and it was a fail. To my horror it has a faint metal fleck in it. And not the right color either. Certainly not what it looked like online. Does anyone know a brand/color that is correct or close to correct (besides the extinct floquil)?

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I got tired of the long wait to have paint shipped so I scrapped together tidbits of old paint and was able to mix my own color.

Okay, so don't do what I did and paint the whole tube. The backend fits into the plastic hand grip super snug so too much paint in that area will make it hard to get the tube back into place. I had to sand that part back down. Dangit. Don't do that.

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reassembled...

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weathered and completed. Pulce 40 no longer.


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now I just have to finish the holster.
 
getting out all the bits and pieces in storage. I have no record where I bought any of this (most of it back in 2010). I don't remember the vendors. If you see your handywork in here, let me know. Unfortunately my MQ-1 and borden connector were stolen. Will have to replace those.

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and here is the old Michell sweep arm for some of the doohickies. Is that the technical term? Oh, greeblies. Are these rare? I can't remember.

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Time to break it up for the different destinations. Jetpack thingie, gauntlet dart, knee dart, and HIC control knob...

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comparing the found part knee dart to a nice machined replica. Pretty solid match, but the original has a hollow point. Interestingly, the toe dart replicas I have do have the hollow point.

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Also have this dental expansion screw piece. Unfortunately it's just a replica. It's a metal cast made by a friend who had an original. But still cool. He sent it in a replica box, too. Classy.

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And I managed to get most of the armor trimmed, except for the chest pieces, and got most of the costume up on a temporary mannequin. This mannequin is 6'1", much too tall for Fett. The helmet and jetpack were both done 6 years ago. A lot of metal parts on those. Gaunts are on the way. Next task is to get the right mannequin and then get some paint and color where it's missing. Easy, right?

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So got a little distracted lately. My 70 lbs golden retriever puppy managed to somehow wedge himself behind my existing ROTJ costume display and knocked it over. Several things on it broke, so after my initial shock was over, I took it as an opportunity to fix a bunch of stuff I've been wanting to fix on it anyway. Of course, the list of things to do kept getting longer and it became a major project in it's own right.

Here's a pic of the pre-accident display. It's okay. Not bad.

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Fettpride v2 armor. MoW gauntlets. Chris Bartlett's (aka TK-409) homemade flightsuit he used for trooping until he upgraded to a suit by Daz (aka Bobamaker). The flak vest is by Daz and the neckseal is by Mrs. TK-409. Woodman leather ammo belt. Jango Wes boots, etc.

So I wanted to change out the flightsuit, the flak vest, the neck seal to other versions I already had in storage, repaint the gauntlets because the original paintjob was too dark and purplish and always looked almost black in photos. The girth belt needed a re-dye to be more saturated. The gloves had faded so much over time they now looked all white, so they needed a re-color. The number of wookie braids is a little overboard. I had based those on the exhibits rather than the film, so I'm now more interested in matching the on-screen look, so take out anything not on screen. I also wanted to replace the fettpride shoulders with MinuteFett's new lineage shoulders, but the biggest thing was to change out the 6'1" mannequin with a shorter, proper height manny. Seemed like a manageable list. At first. But, boy, did it end up taking a lot of time.

The helmet is the one painted by Fettpride back in 2004 and was probably the first hyper-detailed ROTJ paintup ever done, and I can't imagine it's not one of the best ROTJ replicas in existence. The detail is just amazing. It must be seen in person to really appreciate it.

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I have no idea what type of helmet it is. Fettpride remained coy about that. He never told me. I'm sure someone here knows. Best guess is Marrow Sun. It's big. Close to the correct movie helmet size. Thankfully the helmet was not damaged in the puppy disaster....

so I did a quick test-fit of on the new 5'10" manny to see if I could get a decent pose. I used a mannequin that had several busted joints that I ended up having to repair, so it gave me some issues getting the exact pose I wanted. At some point I will probably replace it, but for now it works.
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I like the shorter stature. The proportions just feel better. Nothing else new yet except the tk-409 flak vest.

So now all the work. I had to add 're-color the flak vest and neck seal' to the list. I didn't really take any photos of the process, but the end results are a much better representation of the character than what it was before I think. I have to say I really like the lineage shoulders from MinuteFett. They are way better than the fan sculpts I've seen. Except there is a problem in the left shoulder, where on the middle corner on the front side is very soft and curled in. That's not exactly accurate. You have to heat gun it back into shape if you want it to look correct. I did an okay job. Probably could be better.

So DONE! Until the next disaster....

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Now I can get back to the ESB display...
 

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One more thing before I go back to posting ESB build progress. I had to create a new decal for the MinuteFett lineage shoulders. Since the decal outline is actually part of the cast, you can get the exact correct size the decal should be, which I did using evan4218's files from ages ago (Fett Chest and Shoulder Art Files).

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For anybody interested in printing their own decals for their lineage shoulders, I've uploaded my adjusted file. You just have to print it out on vinyl inkjet printer paper and cut inside the solid black line. I made two versions in the same document 1) a clean version with white field and 2) a weathered version using exhibit photos of the emblem. I used the weathered version for the decal on my shoulders (above).
 
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I feel pretty lucky to come back to this project at this magical time when all these amazing things are happening with lineage items. It's exciting. Finally! An ESB helmet that's the correct size and shape.

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Trying to figure out a pose. My original inspiration for the pose was my favorite shot of Fett in ESB, outside the torture room:

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I'll have to make updates to the wookie braids which are wrong. still need the gauntlets. several things to work on, but will get painting soon. I don't plan to use this new lid on this display. I want this to be strictly ESB so I'll be going with a cleaned up version that has only ESB production-era damage. Also the girth belt on this is too long. I need to find a shorter one. I'll put this one in the cargo hold soon for sale or trade.

Here's my ESB helmet journey:
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On the left is my Don Post purchased in 1996, which I painted based on a single reference photo. In the middle is a 2014 FPH1 painted by Fettpride, and on the right is the new helmet of all helmets. It's HUGE, especially next to the pathetic DP. Absolutely beautiful. Like I said, it's an exciting time. They kind of look like Matryoshka dolls here. :D

Speaking of helmets, if you get one of the new lineage helmets, you should get one of these helmets, too:

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*** edit - I must correct my earlier statement about the chincup in this helmet. My info was outdated. I had not seen intwenothor's exhaustive research thread on the ESB helmet interior until just now (intwenothor's accurate ESB interior thread.). The chin cup in the ski-doo has four holes where there should be three. But the interior attachments are still good if you are able to get a chin cup replacement.
 
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Ord Mantell said:
I feel pretty lucky to come back to this project at this magical time when all these amazing things are happening with lineage items. It's exciting. Finally! An ESB helmet that's the correct size and shape.

View attachment 192820

Trying to figure out a pose. My original inspiration for the pose was my favorite shot of Fett in ESB, outside the torture room:

View attachment 192821

View attachment 192822


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I'll have to make updates to the wookie braids which are wrong. still need the gauntlets. several things to work on, but will get painting soon. I don't plan to use this new lid on this display. I want this to be strictly ESB so I'll be going with a cleaned up version that has only ESB production-era damage. Also the girth belt on this is too long. I need to find a shorter one. I'll put this one in the cargo hold soon for sale or trade.

Here's my ESB helmet journey:
View attachment 192824

On the left is my Don Post purchased in 1996, which I painted based on a single reference photo. In the middle is a 2014 FPH1 painted by Fettpride, and on the right is the new helmet of all helmets. It's HUGE, especially next to the pathetic DP. Absolutely beautiful. Like I said, it's an exciting time. I look forward to getting paint in this thing.

Speaking of helmets, if you get one of these new lineage helmets, you should get one of these helmets, too:

View attachment 192825

The vast majority of ppl here already know about this of course, but since I see that there still seems to be a market for replicas, thought I'd just mention that you can have a genuine one if you're patient. This one cost me $50 shipped on ebay. You get the chin cup, the strap and the leather covered attachments that go right into your new fett helmet without much trouble. vintage ski-doo.

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Very nice! it also has the correct leather straps!
 

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