General WIP ESB Boba Fett; scratch build progress updates
- Thread starter Gregory
- Start date
lolthatisme
Jr Hunter
i love the ide that you used the keybord keys, saved me alot of time, keep up the good work
XyyyrBlack
New Hunter
Looks awesome so far!
Gregory
Active Hunter
Trooped yesterday at my local Olympia comic book store for Free Comic Book Day. I checked with the owner earlier to see if it would be something they would be ok with of course. The day promised sunny 70ºF plus temps, and it delivered. I was nervous about that, and also about trooping in general with new parts and a sore back.
I literally just finished putting together my back armor/jetpack assembly the night before. I didn't get to add damage and weathering, but the beacon and other parts were functional. I got to show people the moving rangefinder and other parts as well, like the ROTJ style toy blaster that made noise and lit up, popular with kiddos. Lots of people wanted pics with Boba Fett and during a walk to Old School Pizza for lunch it was like I was Elvis or something, very popular, very fun. Total costume trooping time approx. 4-1/2 hours. The only thing that failed was the hot glue holding the washers to the flak vest, done the night before to help with holding the armor on (previously on the backside) but not up to the heat and movement on the left pectoral plate.
Here's pics of the back armor/jetpack assembly. The jetpack is attached to the armor with screws which also attach a belt that hold it tight around my upper abdomen. While the collar armor hold the top in place, I think some tighter curves at the top of the back armor and maybe some shoulder straps would help it feel secure, even though this worked great. Not so great was my magnetic armor attachment, I'm probably going to change to bolts instead so I don't have to worry about it. The keyboard nuts worked great! I was worried they would get loose but they really held well, and allowed be to be worry free about the backarmor/collar plate attachment as well as the cape attachment. With my glasses off, I can slip the whole thing over my head, and slip the belt through slits in the back of my flak vest, it's really easy to put on.
Obviously my jetpack isn't screen accurate yet, missing piano keys and weathering, as well as the proper missile parts. But it worked well and gave the right impression, and only weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz. IIRC. In the above pic you can see the white straps that "hold it on" even though they're cosmetic in this assembly.
Above is the front view showing the collar plate (now illustration board but soon to be sintra) as well as the hidden belt, and the keyboard keys attachment including cape attachment. Attaching the back armor to the jetpack flattened it out a little, so I'll do some more work with my heat gun to re-curve it at the sides and shoulders. But overall I'm really happy with it, and the sintra 3mm in general. If anyone is on the fence about using it I can highly recommend it, easy to cut and shape, and very durable! Especially compared to paper/illustration board. I plan now to remake all my armor with sintra as well as the jetpack, and possibly a rework of my helmet as well. I'm tired of worrying about the illustration board coming apart. I'll do the armor first, apply for 501st approval, then worry about redoing my helmet and jetpack.
I literally just finished putting together my back armor/jetpack assembly the night before. I didn't get to add damage and weathering, but the beacon and other parts were functional. I got to show people the moving rangefinder and other parts as well, like the ROTJ style toy blaster that made noise and lit up, popular with kiddos. Lots of people wanted pics with Boba Fett and during a walk to Old School Pizza for lunch it was like I was Elvis or something, very popular, very fun. Total costume trooping time approx. 4-1/2 hours. The only thing that failed was the hot glue holding the washers to the flak vest, done the night before to help with holding the armor on (previously on the backside) but not up to the heat and movement on the left pectoral plate.
Here's pics of the back armor/jetpack assembly. The jetpack is attached to the armor with screws which also attach a belt that hold it tight around my upper abdomen. While the collar armor hold the top in place, I think some tighter curves at the top of the back armor and maybe some shoulder straps would help it feel secure, even though this worked great. Not so great was my magnetic armor attachment, I'm probably going to change to bolts instead so I don't have to worry about it. The keyboard nuts worked great! I was worried they would get loose but they really held well, and allowed be to be worry free about the backarmor/collar plate attachment as well as the cape attachment. With my glasses off, I can slip the whole thing over my head, and slip the belt through slits in the back of my flak vest, it's really easy to put on.
Obviously my jetpack isn't screen accurate yet, missing piano keys and weathering, as well as the proper missile parts. But it worked well and gave the right impression, and only weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz. IIRC. In the above pic you can see the white straps that "hold it on" even though they're cosmetic in this assembly.
Above is the front view showing the collar plate (now illustration board but soon to be sintra) as well as the hidden belt, and the keyboard keys attachment including cape attachment. Attaching the back armor to the jetpack flattened it out a little, so I'll do some more work with my heat gun to re-curve it at the sides and shoulders. But overall I'm really happy with it, and the sintra 3mm in general. If anyone is on the fence about using it I can highly recommend it, easy to cut and shape, and very durable! Especially compared to paper/illustration board. I plan now to remake all my armor with sintra as well as the jetpack, and possibly a rework of my helmet as well. I'm tired of worrying about the illustration board coming apart. I'll do the armor first, apply for 501st approval, then worry about redoing my helmet and jetpack.
Gregory
Active Hunter
Been working on my replacement PVC sheet armor. Got most of the pieces cut and edged, and shaped mostly. I'm really enjoying working with this material.
I was struggling to find a form to shape my knee armor on, finally found the ideal shape; a boccé ball.
I'm using 3mm PVC sheet, cut on a scrollsaw, edges routed with a 1/8" roundover bit (a PITA frankly) and then a heat gun over various shapes to form as needed. Layers are glued using clear heavy duty PVC cement from the plumbing department of my local big-box hardware store.
I was struggling to find a form to shape my knee armor on, finally found the ideal shape; a boccé ball.
I'm using 3mm PVC sheet, cut on a scrollsaw, edges routed with a 1/8" roundover bit (a PITA frankly) and then a heat gun over various shapes to form as needed. Layers are glued using clear heavy duty PVC cement from the plumbing department of my local big-box hardware store.
Gregory
Active Hunter
More 3mm PVC armor v2.0 progress... My Mother had a stroke and my spare time is less plentiful than previously enjoyed. Helping my Dad cope with her care and other life stuff. So I get an hour or two every few nights to pick away at my Boba Fett to-do list. I recently started re-making my armor in PVC to replace the illustration board versions. Also adjusted the size down a little.
Building up layers of PVC for the knee dart blocks.
After drying and shaping.
Codpiece build-up.
Some filler added to smooth and fill.
Knee armor after sanding and priming, I did this a few times.
All armor shaped and in sanding primer.
After base coats, next up is paint damage (silver and other color edges), emblems, weathering, etc.
Building up layers of PVC for the knee dart blocks.
After drying and shaping.
Codpiece build-up.
Some filler added to smooth and fill.
Knee armor after sanding and priming, I did this a few times.
All armor shaped and in sanding primer.
After base coats, next up is paint damage (silver and other color edges), emblems, weathering, etc.
Gregory
Active Hunter
A little more progress! Almost but not quite feel like I'm on the downhill side.
Fabricated a Borden connector to replace the placeholder nut that I used on my helmet ever since Halloween. Looks so much better! I used RF's template and some 3/8" dia. aluminum rod. Drilled some holes; 1/16", 3/32", 9/64". Chucked in my drill to sand and cut off a slice. Glued on, weathered slightly.
Armor decals, and digital display opening covered with red gel from a music store. Now I can add paint damage and weathering.
A member of my local 501st, Garrison Titan, printed me a Pulse 40, a very kind gift! ABS, can't wait to prep and paint it. And, now that I have the sidearm I can make the holster. Planning on 3mm PVC and bumper paint, rubber straps, rivets etc. Might swap the muzzle out for an aluminum rod or metal tube for strength, I appreciate any advice on this.
Fabricated a Borden connector to replace the placeholder nut that I used on my helmet ever since Halloween. Looks so much better! I used RF's template and some 3/8" dia. aluminum rod. Drilled some holes; 1/16", 3/32", 9/64". Chucked in my drill to sand and cut off a slice. Glued on, weathered slightly.
Armor decals, and digital display opening covered with red gel from a music store. Now I can add paint damage and weathering.
A member of my local 501st, Garrison Titan, printed me a Pulse 40, a very kind gift! ABS, can't wait to prep and paint it. And, now that I have the sidearm I can make the holster. Planning on 3mm PVC and bumper paint, rubber straps, rivets etc. Might swap the muzzle out for an aluminum rod or metal tube for strength, I appreciate any advice on this.
Gregory
Active Hunter
My armor is painted and I installed chicago screw style nuts on the back, to accept matching bolts through grommets in my vest. No pics of the armor, I'll have to remedy that.
Tonight I finished the knee darts, I used a variety of methods to make them. Originally I planned to use my drill as a sort of lathe and file/cut them from 3/4" aluminum stock. I managed to sand the pointy one easily enough, but quickly realized my 1/2" drill couldn't hold the 3/4" stock. So I opted for a slice method and cut sections from both the 1/2" and 3/4" rod, and after matching them up on my belt sander glued them together. That was yesterday, tonight I drilled the knee armor to accept the darts and mounted them up using E6000 glue. I think I'll add some set screws for good measure. One more thing off the to-do list!
Machined 1/2" rod for the pointy one, before cutting off:
Other 3 darts glued together but not sanded smooth:
After some sanding:
And installed into the knee armor:
Tonight I finished the knee darts, I used a variety of methods to make them. Originally I planned to use my drill as a sort of lathe and file/cut them from 3/4" aluminum stock. I managed to sand the pointy one easily enough, but quickly realized my 1/2" drill couldn't hold the 3/4" stock. So I opted for a slice method and cut sections from both the 1/2" and 3/4" rod, and after matching them up on my belt sander glued them together. That was yesterday, tonight I drilled the knee armor to accept the darts and mounted them up using E6000 glue. I think I'll add some set screws for good measure. One more thing off the to-do list!
Machined 1/2" rod for the pointy one, before cutting off:
Other 3 darts glued together but not sanded smooth:
After some sanding:
And installed into the knee armor:
Gregory
Active Hunter
Sidearm finished... now I need to make a holster!
I used body filler putty, red filler-primer, rattle-can colors: High heat silver (a nice dull silver), red sanding primer. Gray etching primer, high heat black and dark gray bumper paint for weathering. Finished with a matte clear.
I used body filler putty, red filler-primer, rattle-can colors: High heat silver (a nice dull silver), red sanding primer. Gray etching primer, high heat black and dark gray bumper paint for weathering. Finished with a matte clear.
Gregory
Active Hunter
Latest work completed: Sidearm holster and new armor hanging. I made my holster from 1/8" craft foam patterned after a pep file I found here somewhere and mocked up in paper. Took a few tries to get the size right, then a lot of careful cutting after laying the paper pattern out flat again. I used some snaps and grommets to mount straps, added a strap on the back of the one that holds the sidearm in to help the holster hold its shape, it wanted to fall open since the foam is pretty soft and flexible.
Tossed my old illustration board armor since I finally mounted the new PVC armor I made. I retrieved the shoulder bell with the Mando emblem and gave it to a kid I know who's a big Star Wars fan.
I used aluminum and brass grommets in the vest and screw posts on the armor. Finding short enough screw posts was a hassle, but it paid off. Here's a pic of me trooping for 3 hours at a local car museum for a drive-in showing of TFA last night, the '77 Lancia Scorpion is my hobby car. My wife actually agreed to join me and helped with the picnic dinner, and some fussing with my costume. Overall the trooping went great, nothing broke and I didn't die of heat stroke. The fans old and young really loved the costume. 3 members of my local Garrison Titan were there and we posed together for a few pics, I'm not approved yet so I didn't want to crash their party. I have a few things to finish before I apply for approval and membership. The toy gun is obviously inaccurate but made pew-pew noises that the kids loved. Got asked out on a date by an attractive mom, lots of approval from some local teens thanks to my remote rangefinder, and mobbed by lots of kids excited to tell me about their games, things they know about Star Wars etc.
Tossed my old illustration board armor since I finally mounted the new PVC armor I made. I retrieved the shoulder bell with the Mando emblem and gave it to a kid I know who's a big Star Wars fan.
I used aluminum and brass grommets in the vest and screw posts on the armor. Finding short enough screw posts was a hassle, but it paid off. Here's a pic of me trooping for 3 hours at a local car museum for a drive-in showing of TFA last night, the '77 Lancia Scorpion is my hobby car. My wife actually agreed to join me and helped with the picnic dinner, and some fussing with my costume. Overall the trooping went great, nothing broke and I didn't die of heat stroke. The fans old and young really loved the costume. 3 members of my local Garrison Titan were there and we posed together for a few pics, I'm not approved yet so I didn't want to crash their party. I have a few things to finish before I apply for approval and membership. The toy gun is obviously inaccurate but made pew-pew noises that the kids loved. Got asked out on a date by an attractive mom, lots of approval from some local teens thanks to my remote rangefinder, and mobbed by lots of kids excited to tell me about their games, things they know about Star Wars etc.
Gregory
Active Hunter
I did and it works great! Thanks for the suggestion. I've also used it for my armor screw posts, and for holding the 5mm bolts at the back/collar and cod/butt armor spots. I used it to assemble and install my knee darts as well. Very useful stuff, I wish I'd started with it instead. For whatever reason no one around here sells good hot glue sticks anymore, just the almost clear flexible stuff which seems to break down and come loose after a while.
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mainst69
Active Hunter
Man this build is epic! Your back plate turned out great. I had intentions of doing the same thing but I woosed out and bought one from RKD!
I wish I'd have given it a go.
Gregory, one bit of advice, your flight suit looks a little ROTJ (off white/tan) but I think you're building ESB. That suit is a little bit of a light blue color.
Other than that looks great so far, keep it up.
I wish I'd have given it a go.
Gregory, one bit of advice, your flight suit looks a little ROTJ (off white/tan) but I think you're building ESB. That suit is a little bit of a light blue color.
Other than that looks great so far, keep it up.
Gregory
Active Hunter
Thanks for the encouragement. In person the suit is definitely blueish with an almost purple tint. In the sunset lighting I think it comes across more tan than it really is.
My latest project is the left gauntlet flame thrower, I've not had one until now, er, soon. I'm building it from sintra plate, blocks, and an embarrassingly expensive array of aluminum tubes and rods. Will post pics soon.
Gregory
Active Hunter
Some progress pics of my work on my left gauntlet flamethrower. I began with Alan Sinclair's blueprints and first laminated layers of sintra to make the two block sections. Actually the first thing was to cut out the backplate. Then I started machining the parts on my tablesaw.
Then I set to work with an embarrassingly expensive array of aluminum tube; cutting, sanding and gluing until I ended up with these:
Now to finish I have a couple of small parts to make then paint and assemble, and attach to my gauntlet!
Then I set to work with an embarrassingly expensive array of aluminum tube; cutting, sanding and gluing until I ended up with these:
Now to finish I have a couple of small parts to make then paint and assemble, and attach to my gauntlet!
Gregory
Active Hunter
Thanks, I cut the various size and lengths of tubing and glued them in place. I cheated on the diameter of the longer tubes so I could make the main shaft go through so they could be one long piece instead of two pieces each. Some of the tubing is not a tight fit on the next smaller tube but the super glue I used still worked, it's just that some the parts aren't perfectly hub-centric. Next some machining and painting...
Gregory
Active Hunter
I didn't see the red squares before, sorry. I made the tapers by sanding the tubing down.
Gregory
Active Hunter
Took a few tries to make that stepped center block in a way that worked with my shafts. Originally I was trying to drill into the block after cutting it to size which was a disaster. Eventually I figured out on my 3rd try to drill the holes, especially the 1/2" end of the bottom one, before cutting the block to size/shape. I ended up getting a 1/2" Forstner bit to cut a clean 1/2" hole, the smaller 5/16" etc. I used standard drill bits on.
Anyway some progress pics:
My makeshift drill press:
The parts but not the stepped center block:
The finished result prior to more weathering. The paint was easy to scratch off and sand off for a really beat up appearance. Mounted with screws from the inside, and some help from E6000 and superglue. I'm please with the results but what a chore! It would have been cheaper $$ and time wise to have bought someone's machined or printed version. But, I made this and it's very light and strong. And I can make it or a part of it again if something breaks.
Anyway some progress pics:
My makeshift drill press:
The parts but not the stepped center block:
The finished result prior to more weathering. The paint was easy to scratch off and sand off for a really beat up appearance. Mounted with screws from the inside, and some help from E6000 and superglue. I'm please with the results but what a chore! It would have been cheaper $$ and time wise to have bought someone's machined or printed version. But, I made this and it's very light and strong. And I can make it or a part of it again if something breaks.
mainst69
Active Hunter
Thanks for posting this up. I'm contemplating buying a printed version just to save time. My deadline looms nearer!
