Ord Mantell's ESB build
- Thread starter Ord Mantell
- Start date
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
Posting this in my ESB thread because it probably applies to all versions of the costume prior to Return of the Jedi.
Here again is the recreation of Mario's original photo:
And here is a blow-up of just the objects I think are the 4th shin tool from the real photo:
There are two of them standing upside down next to Paterson chemical stirrers laying on the table on the other side of the collar armor. An important detail here is the red paint mist. If you’ve spent any time at all looking at the shin tools done for the Daydream costumes, you know they all have some degree of red paint mist on them. For instance, here is a squeegee that was almost certainly misted with red paint at Daydream…
Of course, misting red on a light colored object means pink, pink, and more pink...
At first I dismissed the objects in the photo from my mind initially thinking they were the hand telescope from the blaster. But that doesn't add up after thinking about it for 5 seconds. They would not have dismantled those blasters. And even if they did, the telescope does not have holes in the sides. Then it dawned on me all at once. 100% they’re gutted microphones. Common dynamic microphones. I thought I'd have the brand and model figured out after a few days of searching but it's been many months of looking at literally thousands of mics and dozens of 1970's catalogs online. Trouble is, it is indeed a very common type of microphone. Specifically, it looks like a karaoke mic. Or at least exhibits the same style of dynamic microphone used ubiquitously with karaoke. Karaoke was invented in the early 70’s and exploded in popularity in the 1980’s. The picture below is of the very first karaoke machine (check out the 8-track tapes!) and has a microphone that looks pretty similar:
Here are a couple nice 80's mics I bought that are close but not correct...
Audio Technica came out with their first mics in 1978 and none looked anything like this. These are from the mid 1980’s I think, but off-brand microphones just like these are still made today. You can find them everywhere. After having looked at so many mics, I'm guessing they would've had to cut the top area since it has threads for the cap piece. I cut the threads on one of mine and the result is actually really nice. I cut it as high up as possible in case something went wrong on the cut, but it’s just a matter of cutting it in the right position to have the correct diameter. The thickness of the tube wall is pretty much perfect.
So it’s this recessed area that made me think 'karaoke' mic:
It looks just like the recessed on/off switch that are so common on karaoke mics. It’s almost as if, starting at some point in the 1980’s, it became the standard switch style for the entire karaoke industry. That said, they do sometimes show up on non-karaoke mics
This switch type has a thin metal sticker hiding two screw holes above and below the rectangular hole for the switch button.
Here are some random examples of this switch type on both karaoke mics and others:
The central problem so far has been that mics with this type of on/off switch didn’t seem to become popular until the 1980’s. I’ve not been able to find solid evidence of one from the 1970’s yet, although their sudden explosion to every corner of the market by the 80’s strongly suggests to me an earlier, smaller start, with just one or two makers in the mid to late 70’s using it. The added problem is, dating microphones is not easy. Almost nobody who sells or talks about microphones online seems interested in dating them much. You have to hunt down catalogs and brochures to get a definitive answer most of the time.
Here is a drawing with dims by RafalFett :
Here is a link to his model:
Jetpack Adjustment Tool Variant (4th shin tool) by rafalworks on Shapeways
I wish I could afford the aluminum print!
The specific proportions of the holes and the length of the tube are unique and I’ve not come across it yet. I’ve been searching for a while with the help of RafalFett and others, but I personally can’t spend much more time at it. I wanted to share this info with everyone so it can be found sooner rather than later. If you do start looking, one brand to completely ignore is Shure brand mics. They never have the correct on/off switch style.
Whoever finds it, just give me a tip before you blow the lid off!
To be honest, any metal mic of the correct size and shape will be good enough for your costume. The one sitting on the table in Mario’s pic might actually be a very rare early version of the now common karaoke mic for all we know. Which would be par for the course with the found parts on this costume.
It’s good to keep in mind they could have used different mics for the costumes that stayed at ILM. Mario’s photo only tells us for sure about what was on the touring costumes, although it does look consistent with the Supertrooper’s shin tool.
It’s also entirely possible it’s not even a mic. I don’t know what, but perhaps with the photographic evidence another more viable candidate can be discovered by others. I do think we can dismiss the “scalpal holder” from the Boba Fett parts sheet as either a mistake, something that was later changed, or there weren't enough of them for all the costumes and they substituted with mics for the rest.
Regardless of what the object actually is, I'm pretty certain it's the mystery shin tool we are looking at in Mario’s photo.
I would just like to remind everyone that Art Andrews floated the idea of it being a microphone as far back as 2010 that I can recall, though we had nothing to go on back then so no way to judge all the mics being suggested. Maybe we have enough to go on now that this can be finally be found! Go out there and find it. If you do find it, please share. If we can't find it soon, a replica made from RafalFett’s model seems like it would be plenty good, especially if we can get it chrome or nickel plated!
I can’t thank RafalFett enough for making the model and sending me the STL file. It’s been a great tool to help with the search and also was critical in making the video a more effective presentation. And of course, many thanks to Mario for finding the old photo, sharing it, letting us scan it, and giving his permission for the recreation photos and the blow-up from the actual photo.
Okay. Enough research. I have to finish this build and the PP2 this summer or I'll end up in the looney bin.
NEW CLUE TO THE 4th or "MYSTERY" SHIN TOOL
Here again is the recreation of Mario's original photo:
And here is a blow-up of just the objects I think are the 4th shin tool from the real photo:
There are two of them standing upside down next to Paterson chemical stirrers laying on the table on the other side of the collar armor. An important detail here is the red paint mist. If you’ve spent any time at all looking at the shin tools done for the Daydream costumes, you know they all have some degree of red paint mist on them. For instance, here is a squeegee that was almost certainly misted with red paint at Daydream…
Of course, misting red on a light colored object means pink, pink, and more pink...
At first I dismissed the objects in the photo from my mind initially thinking they were the hand telescope from the blaster. But that doesn't add up after thinking about it for 5 seconds. They would not have dismantled those blasters. And even if they did, the telescope does not have holes in the sides. Then it dawned on me all at once. 100% they’re gutted microphones. Common dynamic microphones. I thought I'd have the brand and model figured out after a few days of searching but it's been many months of looking at literally thousands of mics and dozens of 1970's catalogs online. Trouble is, it is indeed a very common type of microphone. Specifically, it looks like a karaoke mic. Or at least exhibits the same style of dynamic microphone used ubiquitously with karaoke. Karaoke was invented in the early 70’s and exploded in popularity in the 1980’s. The picture below is of the very first karaoke machine (check out the 8-track tapes!) and has a microphone that looks pretty similar:
Here are a couple nice 80's mics I bought that are close but not correct...
Audio Technica came out with their first mics in 1978 and none looked anything like this. These are from the mid 1980’s I think, but off-brand microphones just like these are still made today. You can find them everywhere. After having looked at so many mics, I'm guessing they would've had to cut the top area since it has threads for the cap piece. I cut the threads on one of mine and the result is actually really nice. I cut it as high up as possible in case something went wrong on the cut, but it’s just a matter of cutting it in the right position to have the correct diameter. The thickness of the tube wall is pretty much perfect.
So it’s this recessed area that made me think 'karaoke' mic:
It looks just like the recessed on/off switch that are so common on karaoke mics. It’s almost as if, starting at some point in the 1980’s, it became the standard switch style for the entire karaoke industry. That said, they do sometimes show up on non-karaoke mics
This switch type has a thin metal sticker hiding two screw holes above and below the rectangular hole for the switch button.
Here are some random examples of this switch type on both karaoke mics and others:
The central problem so far has been that mics with this type of on/off switch didn’t seem to become popular until the 1980’s. I’ve not been able to find solid evidence of one from the 1970’s yet, although their sudden explosion to every corner of the market by the 80’s strongly suggests to me an earlier, smaller start, with just one or two makers in the mid to late 70’s using it. The added problem is, dating microphones is not easy. Almost nobody who sells or talks about microphones online seems interested in dating them much. You have to hunt down catalogs and brochures to get a definitive answer most of the time.
Here is a drawing with dims by RafalFett :
Here is a link to his model:
Jetpack Adjustment Tool Variant (4th shin tool) by rafalworks on Shapeways
I wish I could afford the aluminum print!
The specific proportions of the holes and the length of the tube are unique and I’ve not come across it yet. I’ve been searching for a while with the help of RafalFett and others, but I personally can’t spend much more time at it. I wanted to share this info with everyone so it can be found sooner rather than later. If you do start looking, one brand to completely ignore is Shure brand mics. They never have the correct on/off switch style.
Whoever finds it, just give me a tip before you blow the lid off!
To be honest, any metal mic of the correct size and shape will be good enough for your costume. The one sitting on the table in Mario’s pic might actually be a very rare early version of the now common karaoke mic for all we know. Which would be par for the course with the found parts on this costume.
It’s good to keep in mind they could have used different mics for the costumes that stayed at ILM. Mario’s photo only tells us for sure about what was on the touring costumes, although it does look consistent with the Supertrooper’s shin tool.
It’s also entirely possible it’s not even a mic. I don’t know what, but perhaps with the photographic evidence another more viable candidate can be discovered by others. I do think we can dismiss the “scalpal holder” from the Boba Fett parts sheet as either a mistake, something that was later changed, or there weren't enough of them for all the costumes and they substituted with mics for the rest.
Regardless of what the object actually is, I'm pretty certain it's the mystery shin tool we are looking at in Mario’s photo.
I would just like to remind everyone that Art Andrews floated the idea of it being a microphone as far back as 2010 that I can recall, though we had nothing to go on back then so no way to judge all the mics being suggested. Maybe we have enough to go on now that this can be finally be found! Go out there and find it. If you do find it, please share. If we can't find it soon, a replica made from RafalFett’s model seems like it would be plenty good, especially if we can get it chrome or nickel plated!
I can’t thank RafalFett enough for making the model and sending me the STL file. It’s been a great tool to help with the search and also was critical in making the video a more effective presentation. And of course, many thanks to Mario for finding the old photo, sharing it, letting us scan it, and giving his permission for the recreation photos and the blow-up from the actual photo.
Okay. Enough research. I have to finish this build and the PP2 this summer or I'll end up in the looney bin.
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The man, the myth, the legend with the goods as always! Doing wonderful things for the community.
But this does leave me wondering: would a microphone body even fit in the pocket as it’s currently sized on most flight suits? The slot on my Arkady suit is pretty narrow / cylindrical.
I also think for trooping a lighter weight reproduction is probably the way to go, as real microphone bodies can be a bit heavy…
But this does leave me wondering: would a microphone body even fit in the pocket as it’s currently sized on most flight suits? The slot on my Arkady suit is pretty narrow / cylindrical.
I also think for trooping a lighter weight reproduction is probably the way to go, as real microphone bodies can be a bit heavy…
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
I can say with certainty RafalFett's model fits perfectly in the Clothears shin pocket. That's the last picture in the post. Even the one mic I bought and gutted fits fine, even though I sliced it at the top and is a little wider. In fact, I noticed if its a tight fit in the pocket it will make it hold it's place better. On the Supertrooper costume the mic looks like it sticks out quite a bit because it won't go in all the way. On PP2 it sits even with the top, and ESB it sinks in a bit. I'd say the pockets on the real suits were not all the same size from suit to suit, and that's why the mics all sit in there differently. If you print the model yourself, you could scale it to get whatever fit you want for your pockets.
In that case, printing Rafalfett's model in plastic is a good option.
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Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
It's been two years already since I posted that I was going to overhaul my gauntlets, but soon after I started I realized photogrammetry gauntlets were suddenly a real possibility so I stopped until I had the new shells and an answer for a good whipcord housing model. That time is finally here.
I did already build a set of gauntlets from the new photogrammetry shells by MinuteFett last year for my PP2 build, but I didn't document how I put those together.
So I re-started the overhaul by stripping and throwing away the old fettpride gauntlet shells.
Blech!
I'm starting with the right gauntlet, which is the more difficult one IMO. Below are the new shells with the found parts stripped out of the old ones and some other new parts. MinuteFett let me pull these shells myself. First time for me. Thank you, Luis, for these beauties! The best gauntlets we've ever had.
I slightly updated my original michell darts. I used to have a short one, now they are all the same length but two are short tipped and two are long tipped.
The Alco switches are replaced with the correct RS-branded Honeywell version of the same type of switch. I did a comparison between the Alco and Honeywell a while back.
They look pretty much identical on the part that shows. The ones I got are NOS but slightly newer than late 70's judging by the packaging fonts.
I want to thank Cantina Dude and Keegan for the authentic replica whipcord housing greeblie. They didn't make a big deal about this when they announced it, but this model is based directly on the original found part and is highly accurate. You definitely want this for your build. The model is FREE, so they couldn't have made it much easier for the community. A huge gift to us all. Big thanks to you guys!
Also something else I had been wanting to get made for a couple years are accurate metal replicas of the Michell stylus brush rod without the extra hole drilled through. These superb replicas by MachineCraft are pretty much indistinguishable from the two originals I own. Thanks, Dakota.
It takes a community of talented people to be able to have parts like these, and I am so grateful for all of you. We are really blessed to have so many.
After doing a rough trim of the shells, I start mapping out where greeblies get installed by printing 1:1 scale images like below from ESB references. Same idea as placing stencil printouts on armor.
At the front where the light bulb for the flashlight sits, be sure to just drill out the hole for the bulb instead of cutting out the whole window.
Here is how it looks on the PP2... they just drilled a hole through the plastic. The good news is MinuteFett left the impression of the hole still visible on the photogrammetry version and you can drill the precise location and size as seen here:
For the greeblie on the very top of the gauntlet, I wanted it to be made of white plastic, so I molded and recast the part provided by MinuteFett with smooth-on.
I'm also 100% sure this is a found part and it'll probably be discovered someday, so I glued it on with E-6000. My favorite non-destructive adhesive that will allow me to remove it without much fuss when the day comes.
For shaving down the Michell brush rod, I found that placing it in the real gas lighter shell found by RafalFett made it super easy to sand down to the correct depth and angle.
The solid aluminum gets pretty hot while sanding, so this is only possible because the plastic of the gas lighter is pretty strong and resistant to the heat. You wouldn't want to have it in a resin print like this and sand it. It'll probably melt the resin pretty quick. I had to dip the rod in cold water a couple of times to cool it down, but I was able to sand it down in about 20 minutes with a power sander.
To paint the whipcord housing, the references on ESB are not exactly ideal. Although it does look fairly similar to the PP1, it definitely has it's own unique masking quirks.
I basically took the best references we have and put them in photoshop, along with orthographic views of Cantina_Dude's model and aligned them best I could and printed out at 1:1, again like a stencil.
The new 20 image limit per post is a bummer... I might have to cut back a bit on these posts... to be continued later....
I did already build a set of gauntlets from the new photogrammetry shells by MinuteFett last year for my PP2 build, but I didn't document how I put those together.
So I re-started the overhaul by stripping and throwing away the old fettpride gauntlet shells.
Blech!
I'm starting with the right gauntlet, which is the more difficult one IMO. Below are the new shells with the found parts stripped out of the old ones and some other new parts. MinuteFett let me pull these shells myself. First time for me. Thank you, Luis, for these beauties! The best gauntlets we've ever had.
I slightly updated my original michell darts. I used to have a short one, now they are all the same length but two are short tipped and two are long tipped.
The Alco switches are replaced with the correct RS-branded Honeywell version of the same type of switch. I did a comparison between the Alco and Honeywell a while back.
They look pretty much identical on the part that shows. The ones I got are NOS but slightly newer than late 70's judging by the packaging fonts.
I want to thank Cantina Dude and Keegan for the authentic replica whipcord housing greeblie. They didn't make a big deal about this when they announced it, but this model is based directly on the original found part and is highly accurate. You definitely want this for your build. The model is FREE, so they couldn't have made it much easier for the community. A huge gift to us all. Big thanks to you guys!
Also something else I had been wanting to get made for a couple years are accurate metal replicas of the Michell stylus brush rod without the extra hole drilled through. These superb replicas by MachineCraft are pretty much indistinguishable from the two originals I own. Thanks, Dakota.
It takes a community of talented people to be able to have parts like these, and I am so grateful for all of you. We are really blessed to have so many.
After doing a rough trim of the shells, I start mapping out where greeblies get installed by printing 1:1 scale images like below from ESB references. Same idea as placing stencil printouts on armor.
At the front where the light bulb for the flashlight sits, be sure to just drill out the hole for the bulb instead of cutting out the whole window.
Here is how it looks on the PP2... they just drilled a hole through the plastic. The good news is MinuteFett left the impression of the hole still visible on the photogrammetry version and you can drill the precise location and size as seen here:
For the greeblie on the very top of the gauntlet, I wanted it to be made of white plastic, so I molded and recast the part provided by MinuteFett with smooth-on.
I'm also 100% sure this is a found part and it'll probably be discovered someday, so I glued it on with E-6000. My favorite non-destructive adhesive that will allow me to remove it without much fuss when the day comes.
For shaving down the Michell brush rod, I found that placing it in the real gas lighter shell found by RafalFett made it super easy to sand down to the correct depth and angle.
The solid aluminum gets pretty hot while sanding, so this is only possible because the plastic of the gas lighter is pretty strong and resistant to the heat. You wouldn't want to have it in a resin print like this and sand it. It'll probably melt the resin pretty quick. I had to dip the rod in cold water a couple of times to cool it down, but I was able to sand it down in about 20 minutes with a power sander.
To paint the whipcord housing, the references on ESB are not exactly ideal. Although it does look fairly similar to the PP1, it definitely has it's own unique masking quirks.
I basically took the best references we have and put them in photoshop, along with orthographic views of Cantina_Dude's model and aligned them best I could and printed out at 1:1, again like a stencil.
The new 20 image limit per post is a bummer... I might have to cut back a bit on these posts... to be continued later....
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Slave1Pirate117
Hunter
I'll admit I saw "Ord Mantell replied to...." and immediately went "whaaaattttt? Gotta check this out" haha.
You did what with eh old shells!? Dang....could've grabbed them up for reference.
Looking amazing man.
You did what with eh old shells!? Dang....could've grabbed them up for reference.
Looking amazing man.
RamSkirata
Active Hunter
Amazing as always, Ord Mantell ! Thank you for the update!
ShortFuse
Well-Known Hunter
Motivate me to finish my whipcord housing!
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
Thank, you gentlemen. So to finish off the whipcord greeblie... sticking with ESB references for the white sections and making stencils for it...
again with orthographic view of the model for alignment in photoshop...
printed on paper to 1:1 scale:
oh, btw, I'm using these for painting the whipcord:
They are worth the extra price.
And then to finish this greeblie... just install the stylus brush, stripboard, and dental drills.
Thanks again to Keegan for the guidance on the interior build of this piece. The screw and two shims on the rod really make a big difference. Thanks to MachineCraft for the NOS brass screw.
again with orthographic view of the model for alignment in photoshop...
printed on paper to 1:1 scale:
oh, btw, I'm using these for painting the whipcord:
They are worth the extra price.
And then to finish this greeblie... just install the stylus brush, stripboard, and dental drills.
Thanks again to Keegan for the guidance on the interior build of this piece. The screw and two shims on the rod really make a big difference. Thanks to MachineCraft for the NOS brass screw.
Slave1Pirate117
Hunter
Is looking noiiice
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
Quick correction... I came to the realization I had gotten the idea years ago the fat silver dental file fell out of the right gauntlet and got replaced by a skinny silver mid-production. I don't remember anymore where I got that idea. It did fall out later in the production but was never replaced. I don't see evidence scene 371 had a skinny silver, so I swapped out the skinny for the original fat silver.
ConvergenceProp
Active Hunter
Welcome back to the chubby side
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
A real quick thing I needed to do on the bottom shells was to carve out more space for the velcro area. The bottom shells on these gauntlets are not photogrammetry, they are modified from earlier Fettpride sculpts and therefore still have some issues. I find it necessary to make the carve out area for the velcro a little deeper so the top and bottom shells have a more streamlined seam. I did this on my PP2 as well.
Want the seam to look something like this:
My PP2:
Just want to avoid the velcro sandwich effect, where the velcro is clearly visible in the seam and there is noticeable separation between the top and bottom shells.
This is what I did to fix the issue. First, bend the velcro area inward where the seam is going to be.
Then take a wrench and pin down the edge where the seam will be and just force the rest of it straight again.
This creates a deeper trough for the velcro to sit.
I understand this issue will be fixed in future versions so hopefully this tip will be outdated soon. I'm using white velcro without glue backing. The sticky-backed stuff is pretty thick, so I prefer to use regular velcro meant for fabric and just superglue it in place.
Again, since the bottoms are not photogrammetry, the bottoms don't match exactly with the wonkiness of the top.
I needed to make some mods to the plug block as well. This is largely based on the photogrammetry, but the underside is not because that info was not present in the data. Instead, that had to be filled in from photos. There were a few versions made. I have the early version which is closer to the original than the current version. This is the difference from the early and current. To make things easier, a curved surface was added to match with the curve of the gauntlet shell, making placement easier and the connection more secure.
But I prefer the slightly more accurate early version, however it also needs a slight tweak to the angle of the bottom surface.
sanded, painted...
I decided to go fully Supertrooper with the initial paintjob. I have no idea if the ESB was fully painted Supertrooper before it was painted ESB, and since the originals went missing in the 80's we'll probably never know. Either way, they were probably fully assembled before being painted, so masking everything in place should lead to a more accurate method of painting in ESB colors, replicating the masking errors on the originals if possible.
To glue the whipcord to the outboard side of the gauntlet I made an outline in painters tape that I then cut the space out and used the border of it as a placement guide. I tried to keep the amount of glue along the edges to the minimum to avoid anything spilling out and getting messy. The tape guide helps a lot to avoid a messy placement. Then clamped it for 24 hours, using E6000.
Another little item to deal with on this right gauntlet bottom shell is a little corner missing on the outboard side. The originals have an edge that continues from the top shell to the bottom shell along the seamline....
Without that, there will be a gap between the shells.
The new gauntlets do have this feature, but the trouble is right now it's mostly in the area that gets trimmed...
There won't be enough of it left to prevent a gap when the shells are glued together....
So I make a vertical cut in that spot, then, when gluing the shells together, make sure each side of the split is in contact with the top shell. This will leave a little gap which I then fill with sprue glue (the same white abs melted in acetone)...
This fix is not ideal, bit it's also an item I understand will be fixed in a later version. For me, though, if I keep waiting around for things to be improved, I won't ever get this build finished. I'm giving myself to the end of September to finish this build so I'm pushing to just get this done as best as can be done for this moment in time. Fett costume parts will always get better and more improved as time goes by. There will always be better upgrades coming. That's how it's been now for decades. I just have to complete the build for the time in which I actually live.
Right gauntlet assembled and ready for muted green paint per request of director Irwin Kershner:
Want the seam to look something like this:
My PP2:
Just want to avoid the velcro sandwich effect, where the velcro is clearly visible in the seam and there is noticeable separation between the top and bottom shells.
This is what I did to fix the issue. First, bend the velcro area inward where the seam is going to be.
Then take a wrench and pin down the edge where the seam will be and just force the rest of it straight again.
This creates a deeper trough for the velcro to sit.
I understand this issue will be fixed in future versions so hopefully this tip will be outdated soon. I'm using white velcro without glue backing. The sticky-backed stuff is pretty thick, so I prefer to use regular velcro meant for fabric and just superglue it in place.
Again, since the bottoms are not photogrammetry, the bottoms don't match exactly with the wonkiness of the top.
I needed to make some mods to the plug block as well. This is largely based on the photogrammetry, but the underside is not because that info was not present in the data. Instead, that had to be filled in from photos. There were a few versions made. I have the early version which is closer to the original than the current version. This is the difference from the early and current. To make things easier, a curved surface was added to match with the curve of the gauntlet shell, making placement easier and the connection more secure.
But I prefer the slightly more accurate early version, however it also needs a slight tweak to the angle of the bottom surface.
sanded, painted...
I decided to go fully Supertrooper with the initial paintjob. I have no idea if the ESB was fully painted Supertrooper before it was painted ESB, and since the originals went missing in the 80's we'll probably never know. Either way, they were probably fully assembled before being painted, so masking everything in place should lead to a more accurate method of painting in ESB colors, replicating the masking errors on the originals if possible.
To glue the whipcord to the outboard side of the gauntlet I made an outline in painters tape that I then cut the space out and used the border of it as a placement guide. I tried to keep the amount of glue along the edges to the minimum to avoid anything spilling out and getting messy. The tape guide helps a lot to avoid a messy placement. Then clamped it for 24 hours, using E6000.
Another little item to deal with on this right gauntlet bottom shell is a little corner missing on the outboard side. The originals have an edge that continues from the top shell to the bottom shell along the seamline....
Without that, there will be a gap between the shells.
The new gauntlets do have this feature, but the trouble is right now it's mostly in the area that gets trimmed...
There won't be enough of it left to prevent a gap when the shells are glued together....
So I make a vertical cut in that spot, then, when gluing the shells together, make sure each side of the split is in contact with the top shell. This will leave a little gap which I then fill with sprue glue (the same white abs melted in acetone)...
This fix is not ideal, bit it's also an item I understand will be fixed in a later version. For me, though, if I keep waiting around for things to be improved, I won't ever get this build finished. I'm giving myself to the end of September to finish this build so I'm pushing to just get this done as best as can be done for this moment in time. Fett costume parts will always get better and more improved as time goes by. There will always be better upgrades coming. That's how it's been now for decades. I just have to complete the build for the time in which I actually live.
Right gauntlet assembled and ready for muted green paint per request of director Irwin Kershner:
Slave1Pirate117
Hunter
You're putting in that WORK. The seam looks great.
Ord Mantell
Well-Known Hunter
Decided some time ago that I needed to go back to .06" armor. The .04" turned out much too flimsy. You live and learn. One more trim party.
Also, a new vest means doing the hole punch thing again.
Ready for the final ESB paint job...
Also, a new vest means doing the hole punch thing again.
Ready for the final ESB paint job...
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