Taking My Best Shot: Robo's ESB Fett

[TD8966]

Pretty amazing build man!!! Can't wait to see it in person!!!

 

[syllander]

Looks outstanding man!
Just the small stuff now man, you got the hard part behind you.
Only critique I'd add is the green looks a little dark on the gauntlets, but nice costume nonetheless.

 

[RoboTarot]

Coming together very well.

Wow! Really impressive work. A great play by play.

It looks great so far! You wear the suit well.

Pretty amazing build man!!! Can't wait to see it in person!!!

Superb! A beautiful boba fett ESB.

Wow, it really came together! That must feel awesome to see it after all that work. You definitely have the right build for it.

Thanks, everyone! Much appreciated!

Looking damn good! Nice grouped darts but now be honest, you used the rangefinder for that didn't you?

Hah, right! It's quite a technologically advanced hunk o' resin

Looks outstanding man!
Just the small stuff now man, you got the hard part behind you.
Only critique I'd add is the green looks a little dark on the gauntlets, but nice costume nonetheless.

Thanks! I believe I will try and smudge in a bit of chalk to lighten them up a little. At least, enough to contrast from the other hard parts!

 

[Kylecanadian]

I was stoked to finally get a helmet! I don't have a ton of cash so I purchased the "Frank's Bargain Bucket" (not sure if that's totally correct) which seemed pretty accurate, but everything is cast in resin. I'm working on getting an aluminum stalk, accurate rangefinder, and, maybe down the line, some metal ears. It's funny how many threads and items I own parts from that start with the word "bargain"...

This was the only photo of the helmet before I started. Please disregard the quality. Or, maybe the quality is fine and you've had a few too many Oatmeal Stouts?

I started spraying the flats with the help of masking fluid and Raf's helmet templates for reference. I'd also like to mention that half of my bookmarked links during this time were paint-up threads by Superjedi. His work is amazing so search for these and check them out, they are so great! I also used the topical method for painting the damage layers because masking fluid didn't feel like actual painting and it would pool up in ways that were hard to contain, much like corralling kittens. I masked the killstripes with tape and used masking fluid for the grungy bits. I found that painting the helmet was quite tedious, but fun to scratch up, layer, and weather!

Were did you get the bargain helmet? I'm on a tight budget so one like 50$ would be perfect for me, even if it didn't come painted and with no range finder

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We're could I get a Bargain helmet?? I'm on a tight budget like you and I don't care if it has a couple more dents then needed,

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We're could I get a Bargain helmet?? I'm on a tight budget like you and I don't care if it has a couple more dents then needed,

 

[RoboTarot]

I believe it was a cast by the 501st forum member named Buck Rogers? The helmet was about $100, if I recall.

 

[Kylecanadian]

I believe it was a cast by the 501st forum member named Buck Rogers? The helmet was about $100, if I recall.

Thanks. Very impressive build! I'm definitely using your design and your idea's to make my boba fett costume. I found the boots and goodwill and a old 90's toaster cover(?) to make the vest arm pads and the glove pieces.

 

[RoboTarot]

Thanks. Very impressive build! I'm definitely using your design and your idea's to make my boba fett costume. I found the boots and goodwill and a old 90's toaster cover(?) to make the vest arm pads and the glove pieces.

Interesting! I can't wait to see how you use those found objects!

 

[Kylecanadian]

Thank you, hopefully it will look half ass nice

 

[Hunter930]

Insane bruv insane.

 

[Silverstalker]

My kind of build, I bet you walk round like I do most days just looking at things around you to see what can be used

 

[RoboTarot]

Thank you, hopefully it will look half ass nice ��

Hopefully, it will look whole ass nice!

Insane bruv insane.

Thank you!

My kind of build, I bet you walk round like I do most days just looking at things around you to see what can be used

I absolutely do that!

 

[RoboTarot]

It has been a very long time since I've had a chance to get some Fettin' done, but it was due to waiting on various parts from various vendors. However, when it rains, it pours, so I received a ton of stuff all at once! Xmas in August for me!

The contents of the boxes were:
- EE3 blaster kit (MLS)
- Sidearm holster (MLS)
- Pulce 40 sidearm (MLS)
- Boots (MOW)
- Badass snacks (Graze-If you haven't tried them, you should!)

The first thing I did was go for the boots. I usually wear a size 9 1/2 US, but Christian (MOW) recommends going a half size larger. I went with a size 10 and couldn't be happier, they fit great! If you haven't seen the boot weathering thread by The5thHorseman, go check it out! Actually, any build/paint thread he has is worth bookmarking. No joke. I laid out the paints I would be using and prepped the boots firstly by wetting them down a bit.

Then I started applying washes of brown, straw, and purple. The photos show them fairly light, but I can assure you, they are a bit darker.

Even still, I took a bit of Flat Flack and Ruddy Brown primer from a rattlecan to them, although, I didn't get to snap a photo yet.

 

[RoboTarot]

Next up is blaster assembly. I was so excited to get started on building that I forgot to take progress pics! Doh! The kit was from MLS and is an awesome quality cast! Hardly any filler was needed and some of my parts were coldcast. I found a template for drilling holes in the chrome tube and started modifying the scope with accurate pieces that were supplied in my kit. I have to say, this blaster build was leaps and bounds easier to put together than my E-11! Not much to this weapon. After glueing and screwing, it was sprayed with some Flat Black. Once again, T5H has a great write-up about blaster assembly, although, he has a working trigger and pin setup to wear the thing opens up like the original.

Next step was to weather the stock greeblies. Nothing fancy here, just white and red paint.

 

[RoboTarot]

I thought, for sure, I would want to make a wood stock for my EE3. It would be more accurate to the original and I know exactly how to approach staining and sealing the wood. I also thought that the resin stock would've been too light and I wanted a little bit of weight to the blaster. Well, I was completely wrong about the weight (I'd venture to say the resin stock may actually be HEAVIER than a wood one) and I had a nicely cast, perfectly shaped stock that I wanted to use instead.

I tried my hand at painting it to look like wood. Firstly, I spray the entire thing with a light beige and then started in with some browns. I used very wet washes (brown and red) and let the brush strokes slightly dry. It created a look of veins within wood. I would go back in with more washes and darker colors to give variation and depth. I would do 2 layers of wash, use the hair dryer to dry everything, then back in with washes. Wash, dry, veins, dry, wash, dry, etc. I added very dark areas in the usual "weathered" areas to mimic stain and use.

I'll coat it with polyurethane and finish the metal weathering on the rest of the blaster tonight!

 

[The5thHorseman]

Like a boss!
And your resin stock is superb. Congrats!

 

[RoboTarot]

I finished my boots off with some more grunge and sealed them with some Dullcote.

 

[Jesuit24]

Nice wood. I have a similar method to painting wood grain. Thick paintbrushes saturated with thinned paint brushed constantly in one direction until dry, leaving the brush strokes intact. The same process with several different shades later and it looks pretty convincing.

 

[RoboTarot]

Like a boss!
And your resin stock is superb. Congrats!

Thanks! I doubt I would've tackled the stock painting if your thread didn't exist!

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Nice wood. I have a similar method to painting wood grain. Thick paintbrushes saturated with thinned paint brushed constantly in one direction until dry, leaving the brush strokes intact. The same process with several different shades later and it looks pretty convincing.

Yup! That's pretty much my method as well. I let the brush do all the hard work!

 

[RoboTarot]

Once again, I was too excited, jumped right into assembly, and forgot to post pics of my process for the sidearm! The Pulce needed a little sanding and very minor filling, but MLS got all the important details on this one! The logos read clear and the trigger is split. It was an aluminum coldcast so my job was fairly easy! I masked off the silver I needed to stay on the firearm and then sprayed the rest with Ruddy Brown primer. I finished it off with some weathering (a bit of silver, but mostly dark brown and black) and sealed it with Dullcote. The holster looks and feels great! The Nemrod logo looks fantastic and the straps are heavy duty and close with a magnet.

I totally underestimated the size and weight of the sidearm & holster! I thought it was a puny little afterthought used to busy up the backside, but this thing isn't kidding around! It's heavy and way bigger than I thought it was going to be. MLS did a great job with it and he is a recommended seller, for sure! It took my stuff a while to get to me, but his communication and product are top notch!

 

[RoboTarot]

I was able to finish off the stock with a few more coats of polyurethane, glue on the stock greeblies, and put the entire thing together. I will most likely upgrade to steel rings for the leather strap attachment, but am fairly happy with how things turned out! At first, I was worried that it wouldn't be heavy enough to feel like a substantial weapon, but that is definitely not the case. Actually, I'm a bit worried about the D bracket flexing between the grip and the stock. Has anyone reinforced this piece? Is there a way to harden or strengthen the material (in this case, resin) to prevent cracking? I don't plan on handing off this blaster to kids while trooping like I can my E-11, but I still feel the need to be very careful with it!

I tried to create a bit more weathering in spots I felt a lot of wear would be happening. Dirt on the grip and black paint worn away on the back side of the handle were obvious choices, I thought.