T's ESB Boba Fett Build

[Tfett40]

So over the past month, I have been searching past discussions, reading and viewing tutorials, scavenging the Cargo Hold for buys, commissions jobs and finally items are beginning to arrive and I am ready to start building my ESB Boba Fett. Honestly, I want to first say thank you to alot of the Senior Members here for being so helpful to new folks here through the discussion boards or messages. This process can seem intimidating at first, but you guys made it welcoming and I'm still looking forward to learning more.

The first thing I want to share with you are a few of my soft pieces that I purchased from Man of War: Flightsuit, Gloves and Boots.

The fit on the gloves are great for my hands, the stitching is solid but the color was too dark. So to change the shade I simply threw them into the washer with cold water, medium load with 2 caps full of bleach. After the first wash, I thought the shade was too dark still and repeated. After the second attempt of washing them. I was happy. My next process is weathering them. Maybe I'll just use them around the house or something to make that happen.

 

[Tfett40]

Up next is the Flight Suit from MOW.

I really felt inclined to get the 2 piece, basically because of my coffee addiction and the need to use the restroom alot as a result. So having quick access to the goods was a necessity. I figured the armor, girth and ammo belt will hide the waist seams.

I followed Haribon72's process for dying the flight suit:
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/...-esb-mow-flight-suit-51125/?highlight=haribon

With the addition of Rit Dye Instructions:
https://www.ritstudio.com/techniques/the-basics/sink-or-bucket-technique/

Simple instructions right? Lets say my first attempt didn't go to well. I either A) did not use enough water or B) let it sit in the dye too long because it came out like Papa Smurf or Hospital Scrub Blues

The color is there, but way to bright and looks nothing like Darth Voorhess 501st reference photo:

What to do, what do? I figured if using the bleach wash technique worked for making the gloves lighter, why can't it work for the flight suit? So after 2 attempts with using bleach with the suit, I think I finally got the color shade. What do you guys think?

Interesting is that the above picture of the flight suit is taken outside with my Nikon D700 with natural light and it appears as my eye see it. The picture below was taken with my Iphone indoors and looks
more gray.

Below is just progress shot of how the suit arrived-white, dyed to Papa Smurf Blue, and corrected (I hope) with bleach wash.

If the color needs adjustment to the gloves or suit, please let me know, your advise is appreciated.. If it is good to go, I am going to have it tailored to fit me better.

*On a side note, when I dyed the suit, I also dyed the elastic that I am going to use for the knee pads and cod thong to match the suit better. It did not absorb
the dye the same, but still better then bright white.

 

[Duder777]

I think the color looks really good now.

 

[Darth Voorhees]

wow..it looks perfect! That blue grey color shift is what your after. For years everyone thought the suit was grey, so there ya go

 

[NemesisCustoms]

Color looks great! Move along, move along

 

[Tfett40]

That's great to hear Gentlemen, thank you for your input. That was a bit frustrating for awhile, it took me much longer than expected. Tutorials make it look sooo easy. Time to take it in for some tailoring and move on to the next piece.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Nice recovery on the suit, looks great now. looking forward to seeing more..

 

[Mugatu]

Thank you for including the difficulties encountered. It makes me feel a lot better to know what some of the difficult
parts of a build are, and how you have overcome adversity. Thanks.

 

[Tfett40]

Thank you for including the difficulties encountered. It makes me feel a lot better to know what some of the difficult
parts of a build are, and how you have overcome adversity. Thanks.

Trust me, difficulties already have come up on a few other pieces I have bought and I am currently working on problem solving them. I am new to building and it is going to be a trail and error. Hopefully, I can minimize the damage and costs to fixing the wrong. Realizing what your limitations are and commissioning certain things to save time and sanity I think will greatly help. But definitely looking at old forum posts and what others have done can help. Best of luck on your build as well.

 

[Tfett40]

Below is my commissioned belt by Delta13Mike. I want to express how pleased I was with his communication, speed of delivery and overall craftsmanship of the belt. One thing that surprised me is how incredibly lightweight the belt feels. This is really going to come into play when you are already carrying so much equipment on in the full suit. For those concerned about international delivery, I had no issues receiving my item, no hold up through customs and Mike notified me of the tracking number so I could monitor the delivery.

The best part of the belt is that the pouches are functional. My inner fat boy can use them to stow away snacks or protein bars. Is that screen accurate? Who cares, I'm still doing it!
The only modification I made was darkening the belt and stitching seams. The belt had a reddish brown tint under certain light to them and the seams were too clean and bright.
To fix this, I just grabbed my shoe polish kit. Using black and brown polish, I brushed into the seams and around the entire belt.

I am much happier with this darker look. This process was pretty quick and simple. I am not concerned about any polish rub off on to the suit or equipment, I think it might intentionally help out with the weathering. Now time to go get a snack!!!

 

[RoboTarot]

The belt looks fantastic!

 

[Mugatu]

Yeah good job weathering those pouches.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Yeah they look great! Gotta love Kiwi shoe polish.

 

[merkava74]

The weathering on the belt looks awesome! I'm waiting for my Delta13Mike's belt too, and have been watching your thread closely. Good luck with your build!

 

[Refugee]

Great work weathering the belt! It looks much better after the shoe polish

 

[Tfett40]

I ordered my Man of War Boots from Christian. Luckily, he had the size needed and I got them in the mail a few days later. I was thrilled to get them, then I realized that I have to muddy
them up. To do this I used T5H's post thread as a reference for me to follow:
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/boots-mow-2014-paint-up-weathering-esb-52116/?highlight=boots

I could'nt find the exact paint, but I found these gems at Walmart for 50cents each! Without boring you with exact details, I will just share my progress:

The only thing I did different from T5H was that I used sandpaper to weather not only the boot canvas, but also the outer boot soles and the U-shaped elastic seams. All I am waiting for is toe spikes
to arrive from Mojo Fett.

 

[Mugatu]

Fantastic man. That's look really beaten up and worn.

 

[haribon72]

Awesome dye project and weathering! Definitely cheering you on to the finish line!

 

[The5thHorseman]

Damn, looks very good! A pair of nicely weathered boots makes such a difference.
And i'm glad if my thread i've been of any help to you, that was the point.

 

[TheZeroEffect]

Well seasoned boots :cool