WIP : An Irishmans' scratch-build ESB Boba Fett

[steoconnor]

And here are the results of some of the (purposeful) damage I managed to do to the aluminium at this point.
I'm not entirely satisfied but with the tools I have, I think it will do for now (the more I look at reference pictures, the more issues I see with my damage so I'll return to them before long...)




Stomach armour, I hand-filed the edges away to create the damage (I need to take better pics, sorry)




I might fill these stomach armour holes in and try again... not sure they go all the way through in the ESB armour... doh. Maybe I'll just fill them in a little.

I'll do heavier damage to them overall, I just wanted to test what I could do for now.


That's all for now. I hope to give the damage a second pass and work on the back armour panels later this week too.

Phew... this is nerve wrecking...

 

[steoconnor]

Really impressed by your job dude. Keep it up!

Thanks for the encouragement. I think I'm more stressed about making mistakes with this than actually doing it now

 

[alienbuilder]

nice progress. do you already know how you will attach the two cod plates to each other?

 

[steoconnor]

nice progress. do you already know how you will attach the two cod plates to each other?

Yeah I was thinking of using a metal epoxy glue for this as alas I've no welding equipment. Looks like JB Weld is the one to use but I might have to use an alternative if I can't get my hands on it.
Will let you know how it works out. I should have some time this weekend to throw into the build...

 

[alienbuilder]

epoxy glue works well. if you cant get JB Weld, you should be able do have good results with any other epoxy glue. I made some good experience with UHU black. here s a link.

UHU-profishop: UHU PLUS BLACK viscous Dual-Barrel cartridge, 50ml

pretty cool stuff which is normally used in car industry.

 

[cyberpyrot]

Yeah I was thinking of using a metal epoxy glue for this as alas I've no welding equipment. Looks like JB Weld is the one to use but I might have to use an alternative if I can't get my hands on it.
Will let you know how it works out. I should have some time this weekend to throw into the build...

Braze it I used jb weld the slightest vibration fractured the two pieces

 

[steoconnor]

Braze it I used jb weld the slightest vibration fractured the two pieces

Thanks for the tip cyber. I might have to make do with epoxy I'm afraid (did I mention my budget was small) :cry but I will think about also drilling a few holes in the main cod plate and using JB Weld to attach some bolts to the top cod plate and then use a nut on the inside of the main cod plate to keep them together. Along with the metal epoxy glue, I hope this will hold it long term. If not then I'll have to invest in some more serious hardware... Much appreciated though mate.

 

[cyberpyrot]

Brazing torch is very cheap about $20 at home depot.. also another option is rivets you can sand those down I used those to hold the hinged on my gauntlets. I will show you when I get home.

 

[steoconnor]

epoxy glue works well. if you cant get JB Weld, you should be able do have good results with any other epoxy glue. I made some good experience with UHU black. here s a link.

UHU-profishop: UHU PLUS BLACK viscous Dual-Barrel cartridge, 50ml

pretty cool stuff which is normally used in car industry.

Excellent. Thanks for the tip alienbuilder. I looked on youtube at different epoxy metal tests and JB Weld was the best but I'll use what I can get in my local DIY shop and post results at the weekend.

- - - Updated - - -

Brazing torch is very cheap about $20 at home depot.. also another option is rivets you can sand those down I used those to hold the hinged on my gauntlets. I will show you when I get home.

Actually I do have a rivet gun and didn't think of using it. Can you sand the rivet head all the way down or maybe I will just counter sink them a little. Yeah would love to see what you did. Thanks so much

 

[cyberpyrot]

Excellent. Thanks for the tip alienbuilder. I looked on youtube at different epoxy metal tests and JB Weld was the best but I'll use what I can get in my local DIY shop and post results at the weekend.

- - - Updated - - -



Actually I do have a rivet gun and didn't think of using it. Can you sand the rivet head all the way down or maybe I will just counter sink them a little. Yeah would love to see what you did. Thanks so much

I counter sunk the rivets on the inside and sanded the other side flush since the rivet expands inside the hole it was like a pressure fit

 

[Battrooper]

Great work. I thought working with plastic was bad.

Nice to see another Fettist on this Island of ours. Best of luck with the rest of it...

 

[steoconnor]

Great work. I thought working with plastic was bad.

Nice to see another Fettist on this Island of ours. Best of luck with the rest of it...

Thanks a lot pal. Are you working on a build too?
Nice to hear from another fan in this part of the world!

 

[Battrooper]

Yes. I have a Supertrooper that needs a lot of work to meat club standards.

I'm in Co. Down. there are a few of us up North that are working on or thinking of building Mandalorian costumes. Custom rather than Boba Fett...

 

[steoconnor]

Yes. I have a Supertrooper that needs a lot of work to meat club standards.

I'm in Co. Down. there are a few of us up North that are working on or thinking of building Mandalorian costumes. Custom rather than Boba Fett...

I've just seen your Supertrooper. It looks incredible. I'll be honest, I didn't know of the Supertrooper until I saw him on this forum. Dare I say it, he's even better than Boba himself (he was meant to be the original Darth Vader as far as I know but he became Boba in the end. At least I thought I read that from a quote about Ralph Mc Quarries' early work on him).
I'm in Kildare myself but I must make an excuse to visit sometime - maybe when I've finished the build perhaps. I do find it hard, even with all the printouts and reference pics, to get the right shape/curve/damage etc. into this build but I'm enjoying the challenge, and learning a bit about my skills (or lack of, compared to most here).

 

[mainst69]

Cyberpyrot's legacy lives on!

 

[steoconnor]

Cyberpyrot's legacy lives on!

Cheers. I just hope I'll be able to "Finish...what he started"
"Kylo"

 

[steoconnor]

Ok so because my workshop is essentially my back garden, and I live in Ireland (famous for its fantastic weather) I only got a couple of hours work done this weekend.
Here is the fruit of that.

Created the rear butt armour and rounded the front base-cod-plate.
I did get some more supplies to fix the top cod plate onto the main base plate but I didn't get time to try that.
The base cod plate is a bit rough so it will be smoothed where it meets the top plate and I need to add more damage to the top cod plate also.





Then I had a go at making the rear armour piece. I'm not that happy with it TBH.
1: I shouldn't have cut the straps holes with a wide U shape (it would have looked better with just a line-cut and then hammered out from the inside).
2: The shoulders are too wide for me at the top so I'll have to trim them in a bit
3: The back curve into the side of the back armour doesn't look correct. It pops out at the side so I might re-shape it as it looks more like Iron Man than Boba Fett.
Ah well lesson learned...for my next one HAHA!

 

[djaidan]

fellow meath man here. this looks incredible. ive never seen anyone work with metal before. im in the final stages of buying what i need before i take on the painting of mine. ive 3d printed some of mine to save on costs

 

[steoconnor]

fellow meath man here. this looks incredible. ive never seen anyone work with metal before. im in the final stages of buying what i need before i take on the painting of mine. ive 3d printed some of mine to save on costs

Can't believe I missed this comment. Thanks a lot for the kind words. Sure I'm only a relative stone's throw away in Kildare
3D printing is where I want to be sometime late next year. I'd love to be able to print a set of gauntlets instead of attempt to hand craft them (yep you do detect some laziness there)
Have you got a build thread mate?
I'm still working in the background on the jetpack at the moment and might have some updates in the next few weeks.
Cheers and good luck with your own build - might have to pick your brains on the painting piece if you don't mind

 

[steoconnor]

I'll try to post some updates in the coming week or 2 on the jetpack build...