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[Sirus the Red]

So, as of right now I'm thinking that I'm going for a very melee heavy build. I want a blastsword in one hand and a pistol (probably with some kind of bayonet attachment) in the other, so I'm going top be very highly optimized for close combat. But I found myself thinking what if I was enaged with targets that have much longer range than I do in an area of minimal cover, or if I was to go up against something with supernatural speed and agility, such as a Force-user? I'd want some kind of augment to give me an edge, to either close the distance or outmaneuver my opponent.

My immediate reaction was "Jetpack!" but those seem better for going up rather than forward, if that makes sense. Also, they seem rather bulky, and after re-watching  the fight between Kenobi and Jango Fett in Episode II, it didn't take much for the jetpack to be rendered inoperable.

So I was thinking, what if I had a collection of small thrusters integrated into key points in my armor? I know Cad Bane-style Jet boots are allowed, but after doing a bit of searching I have yet to find anyone who completely integrated thrusters into their backplates. Is this against the CRLs? Has this been done yet, and I just didn't look hard enough? In any case, I would want this set-up to focus primarily on speed, with only a little bit of lift, and pretty much no hover capability. I would imagine this would include at least two nozzles on the back, and one on the back of each leg.

Thoughts?

[Vos Rugor]

Do you have any sketches of your idea? I like it, just wonder how you see it in your minds eye. I picture the nozzles with little canisters (like co2 looking things, but greeb'd up) on the shoulder plates, shoulder blade area, and maybe the gaunts and boots.

[Sirus the Red]

I plan on having the armor integrated into the armor in such a way so that they kind of poke out from under layers of armor instead of looking slapped on top of them. I'll get some good sketches put together and post them up soon

[Sirus the Red]

Okay, I got some sketches done. They're not really good, and I need to do a bit more research, but they're close to what I see in my mind's eye.

Here is my backplate idea:

Ignore the random crap, this was done on a very used page of my pocket sketch book. I do plan on having fabric wrapped around a shoulder, so the nozzles might be a bit low so as not to light me on fire, but that's fine.

Here's what I was thinking with the leg and gauntlet boosters:

Sorry for the mess, I was also using those as references to how big I should make them once I start cutting them out. But they should get the idea across, does that help you out Vos?

[Vos Rugor]

Yeah, that looks way cooler than what I would have come up with. Cant wait to see you start building.

[Sirus the Red]

Thanks, I'm actually going to an armor party today and will hopefully begin work on it. I'm still not entirely happy with the design though...

Also, if you want to see how the rest of the build is coming along, you can follow it through this link :
http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=52662.0

[Sirus the Red]

Ok, so I actually have something tangible for my back plate integrated thrusters thing. Take a look:



I still have a bit of work I want to do to it. The openings you can see will have nozzles inserted into them, probably angled pvc joints. I don't want them pointed straight down, as I want them to give the look that they propel forward at great speed more than they lift up.

I also plan on shaping it enough so that it appears to conform to my back, but I don't want to shape it too much, for fear of the angles no longer being able to match up. The openings on the side facing up will be close, probably by adding sintra so that it slants down to my back. I'll also be adding some greeblies to it eventually, once I'm satisfied with the base of it. Thoughts?

[Kered Taakure]

This reminds me of the jetpack spartans from Halo Reach

[Sirus the Red]

The Reach jetpacks have a vastly different design, but I'm glad it's reminiscent of other Sci-Fi jet packs!

[TracynSenaar]

So I might need a jetpack now too if I do this flamethrower thing.

[Sirus the Red]

That's fine, we found some PVC joints at Lowes today that would certainly make a good starting point!

[Karvas Dral]

Be careful that it doesn't set fire to your cape! 

[Sirus the Red]

Thanks for the heads up ner'vod, but I made sure to have my nozzles low enough so that any fabric doesn't get lit up! I would also like to imagine that I would be smart enough to use flame-resistant fabric in any potential fire hazard areas.

[Sirus the Red]

So I know we were all excited for that integrated jetpack/backplate design I was working on, but for right now that current design is being shelved. I just had too many mixed feelings on it, and I'll probably use it for my next kit after some more work on it, but for now I've moved on to a different design that I wanted to get some opinions on.

The inspiration for my new design struck in my parent's bathroom when I noticed one of these sitting in a corner:



I picked it up, turned it over, and thought about what it would like after I had trimmed some of it down. So I ran to the store and bought two, did some trimming, and taped them together to see what I had:



BAM! Sleek design, no bulk, and it would require minimum shaping to fit to my back. Now I just had to design a backplate to go with it...



So I decided to go with a segmented look to my back plates, and thought it would be cool to go with a "spine" design for the rest of my back armor, similar to what's seen on the N7 armor in Mass Effect 2 and 3. Here's a picture of what I mean:



Thoughts?

[Kelan Ord]

Awesome! The thrusters idea is great!!!

[Gel'ren Drask]

Interesting.  I had an idea of integrated thrusters for my kit but didn't have a clue where to start.  Looking forward to see how this goes.

[Sirus the Red]

Awesome! The thrusters idea is great!!!

Interesting.  I had an idea of integrated thrusters for my kit but didn't have a clue where to start.  Looking forward to see how this goes.

Thanks guys! I'm also looking forward to seeing how this turns out  . I have a pretty good idea of what I want out of it, but that will probably evolve over time as I work on it.

What did you guys think of the spine plates idea? I'm trying to gather opinions before I actually start working on it, so any input would be extremely appreciated!

[Kelan Ord]

Well, having spine plates on my kit... I would be lying if I told you it wasn't a good idea...!!! 

[Sirus the Red]

Excellent, that looks great! Thanks Kelan, I appreciate the picture,a nd you put some of my fears to bed as well! I'm assuming that's much more flexible than a standard plate. So how much of the back are we required to have covered? Because my spine design would leave a good portion of the lower sides of my back uncovered.

[Niabi]

Cool Idea Vod looks very cool

[Sirus the Red]

Thanks Niabi! Now for spine plates, does the "rule of thumb" for spacing still have to be followed? Or can they be layered? Or perhaps layed end to end, so it looks like one piece that's segmented? Any answers I get to this will really help narrow down my design process. I have a good idea of what I want, I just need to know if I'm allowed to execute it before I start really getting into it.

[Kelan Ord]

Thanks Niabi! Now for spine plates, does the "rule of thumb" for spacing still have to be followed? Or can they be layered? Or perhaps layed end to end, so it looks like one piece that's segmented? Any answers I get to this will really help narrow down my design process. I have a good idea of what I want, I just need to know if I'm allowed to execute it before I start really getting into it.

I'd say do what you like the "rule of thumb" applies only to the chest/ab/collar/diamond plates... So yeah they can be layered... Or laid end to end... No problem there.

[Ronin Tavic]

New thruster idea is boss. I love it. I had a similar thought with my armor, but never got off the ground with it. I was thinking of adding boosters to the hands to deliver a faster punch... Sadly flamethrowers and missile took the place on my gaunts instead.. But I like how this is going 

[Sirus the Red]

I'd say do what you like the "rule of thumb" applies only to the chest/ab/collar/diamond plates... So yeah they can be layered... Or laid end to end... No problem there.

Are you absolutely sure about this Kelan? Because I think I recently saw a kit that had a segmented back plate that had to be covered up because of the rule of thumb. Just making sure!

New thruster idea is boss. I love it. I had a similar thought with my armor, but never got off the ground with it. I was thinking of adding boosters to the hands to deliver a faster punch... Sadly flamethrowers and missile took the place on my gaunts instead.. But I like how this is going 

Thanks Ronin, glad you like it! My gaunts may not include the boosters immediately due to time constraints, but they will be there eventually!

[Kelan Ord]

Are you absolutely sure about this Kelan? Because I think I recently saw a kit that had a segmented back plate that had to be covered up because of the rule of thumb. Just making sure!

You can't have more space than what's allowed in the front, but I'm pretty sure you can have less... After all the back plate is supposed to be one piece.