General WIP ESB Boba Fett; scratch build progress updates

[Gregory]

I realized I haven't posted any images of my individual pieces, so I thought I'd show them here in a different thread.

First the helmet. Illustration board with styrofoam hemisphere from the craft store. Paper and foamcore ears, wooden range finder stalk and paper rangefinder. Visor is sheet styrene with 35% car window tint inside, 2 layers on bottom. Paint is spray paint and brushed scratches, scratches outlined with paint pens.



Armor, made from illustration board. Chest display is a flashing bike light behind a red reflector.



Knees; illustration board, foam filled paper, pen tips.



Shoulders are illustration board, foam core shin tools.



Gauntlets; illustration board, foamcore and paper. LED light kit from auto parts store, automotive bullet connectors for darts. Rocket is BMW clutch alignment tool w/ paper covered foam nose, PVC tube at rear, missing rearmost part.



Jetpack; illustration board and cardboard tube, spray paint can lids, door knob wall bumpers, craft store ornament globes, automotive funnels, misc. metal bits, paper-covered foam missile parts. Works on same LED lights as gauntlet.



Cape; canvas tarp with orange spray dye, black spray paint battle damage, magnets hold to collar plate.



Rifle; plastic toy gun with added cardboard tube and illustration board, pvc scope, foamcore stock.



How it looks together (with a movie fan):



I hope that's enough pics for now.

 

[Gregory]

Found what I hope will be great boots for my costume. Blundstone Men's 1423 Chelsea Boot, in Grey for about $50 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IZ8MCCS/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They'll take some customizing to make look right, but should work well.

 

[01Hawk]

I enjoy looking at scratch builds. Thanks for posting the pics of your hard work!

 

[Gregory]

I enjoy looking at scratch builds. Thanks for posting the pics of your hard work!

You're welcome 01Hawk, it's a lot of fun for me. After Xmas my nephew visited and expressed interest in his own helmet. Being very young he wanted a Jango Fett helmet so I threw this together, in just 2 days. Using the same methods as I did for my ESB helmet but not as carefully, and with more hot glue and less Elmer's. The paint scheme is 100% simplified, but he was happy with it.




Still waiting on my boots and strategizing how I'm going to modify them to better match the movie boots. It will depend somewhat on how they're made and how easily the canvas will take re-contouring.

 

[Gregory]

Not sure of the best way to consolidate threads about my ESB build so I'll add these links to this one. The first link goes to my first build post in November. Originally I built my ESB Fett for halloween and so cut a lot of corners, but will improve it over time to make it more realistic. The second link has some pics of my jetpack when I first built it for trooping at the Episode 7 premier. Lots of improvements planned for that as well.

Here's where I started:
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/my-halloween-cotume-esb-boba-fett-build-53583/#post671421

Here's where I detail some of my jetpack build:
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/...gress-first-public-trooping-53925/#post675116

 

[Gregory]

Blundstone boots arrived today, sunday, via USPS. Didn't know they did that, weird Amazon free shipping contracts. $47.99 via Amazon.

Thoughts?



They're grey canvas, with off-white soles. I didn't notice the contrast stitching when I ordered them, so I hope I can subdue it with weathering etc. Obviously I'll dye/paint the elastic part, and probably paint the sole also. I'll have to add front piping and dye/paint the darker sections as well, and fabricate some toe spikes. I'd like to come up with a soft-ish spike material so I don't trip on them. Have others had trouble with tripping?

 

[Gregory]

Ordered a $27 girth belt off of Amazon yesterday, and will receive it in about a week. For the size I wanted, I got it in natural, so will dye it brown (ESB) after I get it. I briefly considered making one but thought better of it the more I studied the movie one.

Considering the options of PVC sheet, 1/8" vs. 1/4", for my armor version 2. I think I'll go for the 1/8" and round the edges off. From the pics I've seen, the edge curve of the ESB suit is fairly small. Also, this will make them lighter. Does this sound right or am I incorrect in my thinking?

 

[Gregory]

While waiting on my girth belt to be delivered ("free" delivery date pushed back 5 days) I was picking up some lighter green for my costume... I want to lighten the light parts of the helmet, jetpack and gauntlets up a tad toward olive green.

Anyway found a large (54 gallon) Rubbermaid tub to hold my entire costume, jetpack ,helmet, suit, boots, all of it. It's kind of big, 42"x18"x20", but I wanted to make sure it could hold everything I have so far and anything I add. Really the only thing to add is a couple of belts, the longer rifle once I extend the stock, and sidearm.



I notice that many others have a mannequin they use, which is kind of cool. Something to consider for when my costume is more accurate.

 

[Gregory]

Starting on my boots this evening. Step one, dye the elastic parts. Easily enough with a sharpie Magnum.

Before:



After:



Despite how it appears, the boot color is unaltered, the change affected the camera exposure.

 

[Gregory]

Happy to get my girth belt in the mail today, now to get it the right color!



Ovation brand, "centaur non-slip mohair girth", B002HUR090, $35 on Amazon.

I can handle the staining part. What's the best method to make the straps that go between the buckles? Looks like in the film, one side was sewn, the other buckled. Is that correct? Thanks for any help.

 

[Gregory]

First girth belt stain attempt. Maybe needs more red, and darker. What do folks think? I did this with "espresso" paint and thinner.

 

[Matty Matt]

Definitely needs to be redder and darker.

 

[Gregory]

Definitely needs to be redder and darker.

Thanks for your discerning eye. I stained it tonight with red mahogany. It's darker, but not red enough?

 

[Matty Matt]

Yeah, that's looking good now. It could maybe use a little more red. Hard to say how much without more pics. Definitely better. Nice work.

 

[Gregory]

Yeah, that's looking good now. It could maybe use a little more red. Hard to say how much without more pics. Definitely better. Nice work.

Thanks! I'm going for a subdued ESB look, so I'll see how it looks with everything else. I thought some of the realley red versions look too red, so I'm going for a less-red, but definitely brown look. I use minwax stain this go-around, since the spray paint and thinner mix was not working. Funny how different materials affect the belt material. After a few days of drying I'll see how it looks as part of the whole thing.

 

[Gregory]

Now stained with Varathane brand Cabernet over the others. I'll have to see it during the day outside to really know how it looks. And it needs more dry time.

 

[Gregory]

A couple of grith belt questions. I searched here and in the prop building forum without success. How do the rear straps connect? Are both ends buckled or is the left side sewn (how it looks) and the other buckled? Also, guessing by the buckle size that 1" strap (black nylon ok?) is what to use. Thanks for any help with this, finally happy with belt color.

 

[Gregory]

Made my toe spikes today with some help from Bcarp100's pencil sharpener tutorial Cheap and Easy 5 Minute Toe Spikes and general craftiness.

I got some 5/16 aluminum rod and fashioned points using the pencil sharpener method as well as my belt sander. In the end I found the belt sander more consistent and easier. Cutting the tips from the rod stock was tricky, some of my tips got caught in my miter saw. In the end I had a set of decent toe spikes.


I used 1/2" x1/8" aluminum for the brackets, bent to fit my boots. I drilled holes for mounting screws, using metric phillips head machine screws in counter-sunk holes from the back to hold them on. I broke a couple of screws in the spikes so had to resort to seconds for two of the spikes, luckily I made extras. Now I have to figure out how to mount them to my boots. When that's done, I'll add the piping and weather the boots.



You may notice that I made them so the spikes don't stick out past the toe, this is so I don't trip and make a fool of myself or get hurt. I'm open to mounting advice as to nail/screw type and I will use a white polyurethane adhesive.

 

[Bcarp100]

WIP ESB Boba Fett costume build; detail pics

Hey looking good! I'm glad my tutorial was able to help! Thanks for the shout out! For attaching them I used nails with the spirals in them, as well as a bit of goop on the back of the plate. Since the toes of your shoes are rounded you could fill the gap with white latex for showers and baths. I say latex because it will take paint/weathering but if you don't care about it taking paint or weathering I think silicone could work too.

These are the nails I used.

 

[Gregory]

Hey http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/members/bcarp100/Bcarp100, thanks for the advice. I installed them tonight and filled the gaps/glued them with a white caulking I use in my design/build work for exterior caulking. I'll clean it up in a day or so after it dries. Right now I have them pinned with small brads but will likely change them to larger nails like your example.