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[suriel]

Finally decided to work on my second armor. My first was made from Rubber sheets and held together by bag straps, side release and some velcro. It was somewhat passable for cosplaying and for going to your local Cons but its not very durable and I often have to repair much of it after every use.  Im going to be using sintra for this new build since I recently got a hold of some but will still be using the same pattern I used for my first kit.  The basic jango-ish pattern. Ill probably need a bigger basin and a bigger heat source for me to work on the other plates and part but this is a start



Im no expert on EVA Foam and sintra but I find using sintra a lot easier in comparison. The cuts are easier to do and much cleaner and precise specially when you got clumsy fingers like I do.



I went ahead and bend the shoulder pads already since they are a fix size and the least that need much adjustment.



And so begins my second mandalorian kit.

[JiriadAlor Marek]

Great start Vod

[suriel]

Great start Vod

Thanks vod.
Feeling really inspired. 

[suriel]

Got to use the induction cooker in the kitchen and I found an aluminum basin I could use to dip the bigger parts of the sintra too. Lucky! Funny how I forgot we use to have that basin at home and it would come in handy for projects like this.
 
Time to get to work into tracing, cutting and bending the rest of the armor.

[suriel]

With the induction cooker heating water like crazy I was able to bend a lot of the sintra quicker. Was basically be able to bend the entire kit save for the arm guards in one day. Plus I got the entire day off so i had lots of time to concentrate on building the kit 



Finally got around to bending the shoulder plates this time along with the chest and the new belly plate.



The hip guards are looking hip



And the shin guards looking...shin? 



And the last photo of the day with the pieces lined up together.
Still contemplating if I should include some knee guards on this kit.

[suriel]

After sanding its time to lay the paint. My first armor was a dark brown color so I went with something brighter and a base color not really used often as Mandalorian cosplay goes. Emerald Green. Its also readily available at the local paint shop here so I am almost guarantee to have the paint available should I need more.





Ill probably let this thing sit overnight and let it bake in the sun for most of the day tomorrow so it dries faster and do a about two or three more coats.

[Darth_Vemon]

Looking good so far.

[suriel]

Looking good so far.

Thanks vod.

I already got some leather and got my measurement taken by the local tailor here.
Thankfully its not that hard to do and the tailor shop isnt busy this time of the year around here so Ill probably get the finish vest in a few days.

Its nice to have a tailoring shop two streets from home. 
So excited.

[Jenga]

Love the color of those plates!!

[suriel]

Love the color of those plates!!

Thanks vod.

[suriel]

With the third layer of base paint dry its time to add the details. U originally planed on a plain standard looking kit but I got inspired by some awesome mandalorian kits in the forum that I wanted to try my own take on the armor. So I got my hand on some scrap sintra (never throw them away) and got an inspiration. This is from a shoulder plate I over bend that U was originally going to throw away. You can tell by the way it curves.



The result is surprisingly good I think



I also made this part from scrap sintra I got lying around the house for the belly.



Now the chest and belly armor looks like one entire set

[suriel]

Its time to mask the plates and paint it with my secondary color. White. The leather I got bought was black so white will make the plates stand out more.
Also seeing how the white sintra looks on the base color convinced me more to go with this color. Gray and silver is good too but since Im weathering these later id stick with this color.





If Im lucky these plates will be dry enough

[Darth_Vemon]

I dig the secondary layer on the chest and ab plates.  Turned out very nice.

[suriel]

I dig the secondary layer on the chest and ab plates.  Turned out very nice.

Thanks vod.
I like how that turned out as well.

[suriel]

Time to add more paint detail on the plates with some black as highlights and what not. Design wise I think it resembles much of my first armor in terms of color layout.



Masking tape out the areas I dont want to get covered with unnecessary paint.



I also got out a small brush and hand painted a mandalorian skull in one of the shoulder plates and the center of mandalorian diamond.



So far so good. All I need is the vest and its time to align the plates which I think is one of the hardest part.

[suriel]

Now its time to move to weathering the plates to make it looked used. I saw a tutorial on the net that I used for this. I forgot what its called but it involves some small amount of black paint then wiping the surface of the plate with a wet cloth before it dries to give it the effect that the plates have been through a lot of battles.







The hip guards doesnt seem to look right to me since they have different color patterns in them so I changed the color of the hip guards so they are now a matching pair.

[Sto-Las Amari]

Looking great so far Aran, could you possibly post some pics of the armor taped to you so we can see sizing and shape?

[Hik'aari]

Looking great so far Aran, could you possibly post some pics of the armor taped to you so we can see sizing and shape?

Strongly echoing this. Currently a major concern that your armor looks very flat. Typically the armor is heat-shaped and trimmed to your size before paint. This is because there is now a risk that you will burn the paint when heating to shape now, I would strongly urge you seek out your local ruus'alor for advice/assistance.

The term you are looking for is "Blackwashing"

[suriel]

Looking great so far Aran, could you possibly post some pics of the armor taped to you so we can see sizing and shape?

Got it.

Strongly echoing this. Currently a major concern that your armor looks very flat. Typically the armor is heat-shaped and trimmed to your size before paint. This is because there is now a risk that you will burn the paint when heating to shape now, I would strongly urge you seek out your local ruus'alor for advice/assistance.

The term you are looking for is "Blackwashing"

Thanks for the warning vod

Heating it through water doesnt seem to effect the paint. I know someone who has tried it before.  A cosplayer friend of mine who also uses sintra for his props. I guess Just dont over boil the water too much. Not sure if this applies to heat guns since we only tested it via water.

[suriel]

Finally got to use the induction cooker again so I can heat bend the plates. namely the chest plates which I feel is sort of flat. So while I was waiting I added battle damage and what not on the plates to give them a feel that they had been lived and been through a number of battles.



Like those dents from projectiles, scorch mark from laser fire and shrapnel.



Or those nasty lightsaber burns from those close quarter encounters



The scars make the plates feel more like a complete set



Anyways heres the pic of the chest plates now with the corners a bit more bend and form fitting

[

And heres the pic of the plates taped to my body.

[Hik'aari]

How far above your naval are those plates finishing? Trying to guess from your clothes underneath but perhaps 2" or so? Instinct is telling me the overall length may be too short, but it could be your t-shirt making you look far longer bodied than you are. It may be a simple case of slightly increasing the spacing between the plates to add length. Your actual chest plate parts do look like they are mounted very high though.

You are going to need more shaping on your plates though, even without a side profile photo I can see the sides of the ab plate are floating away from your body, which look to match the bottom of the fangs. Do you have any clan members who are within a reasonable distance that could help if needed?

[suriel]

How far above your naval are those plates finishing? Trying to guess from your clothes underneath but perhaps 2" or so? Instinct is telling me the overall length may be too short, but it could be your t-shirt making you look far longer bodied than you are. It may be a simple case of slightly increasing the spacing between the plates to add length. Your actual chest plate parts do look like they are mounted very high though.

You are going to need more shaping on your plates though, even without a side profile photo I can see the sides of the ab plate are floating away from your body, which look to match the bottom of the fangs. Do you have any clan members who are within a reasonable distance that could help if needed?

Its probably the spacing between the plates since with the thumb rule the length of the ab plate lower edge should be at my navel.

Hmm...one of the side of the ab plate do seem a bit extended. Will trimming and sanding it off help?
Clan member in the Philippines? Not that I know of.

[Ty'renn Argos]

Good work on those plates Aran. Loving the paint scheme!

However, I agree that the ab plate does look to be sticking out. Trimming and some forming should do the trick, but be mindful that you might have to trim the rest of the chest plates lightly to keep it even.

The downside is that it may ruin a bit the paint, so for future kits, I'd recommend doing a test fit with the plates BEFORE painting to ensure everything is in order.

Keep up the good work, man!

[suriel]

Good work on those plates Aran. Loving the paint scheme!

However, I agree that the ab plate does look to be sticking out. Trimming and some forming should do the trick, but be mindful that you might have to trim the rest of the chest plates lightly to keep it even.

The downside is that it may ruin a bit the paint, so for future kits, I'd recommend doing a test fit with the plates BEFORE painting to ensure everything is in order.

Keep up the good work, man!

Thanks vod.

Ill probably do the trimming once I have them attached to my vest since there could be additional trimming issues with the plates when I put them on the vest. Better do the trimming when Im sure there wont be any more alignment issues when they are put on the vest itself and worn.

Yes id probably repaint the ab plate again...mostly the sides so it will be proportionally painted but its a minor thing compared to actually making an entire new ab plate altogether.

[suriel]

Finally got the vest from the tailor at last.
So happy. 



I think its a bit too long but its nothing an ammo belt, a girth belt and a holster belt wouldnt fix.