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[Xyco]

Hey all, This is Xyco, I am planning on posting lots of pictures of my build as i progress in the creation of it. I will post concept art and what not of what i am going to do. I have a little experience with pepakura and fiberglass as demonstrated by this picture of a noob saibot mask I made. (pictured below) I will apply the same skills where I can into my armor. I have decided on the color scheme Black, Red, White, and possibly silver. I chose red not for the Mando symbolism, but for the color of my birthstone. Anyway, Without further ado, I begin the thread! It was a little rough, but it was my first fiberglass/bondo/pepakura job ever.

[Niabi]

Thats a nice mask vod looking forward to seeing what you do with your kit

[Reeza]

Not bad vod, looks really good for your first attempt.  8) I look forward to your progress.

[Xyco]

Here is my custom Mando Design. Let me know what you think! I tried to see as many Merc's armor as I could to come up with something unique.

[Jay Krayt]

Nice concept art vod! 
The design is quite unique, but I do have a suggestion. Many kits on here have the colors red and black. If you really want to do those colors it will still look great, but just be warned that it is one of the most common color schemes.
Other than that, I like it.  8)

[Xyco]

Alright. It is time to empty off a load of pictures from my SD card now. There is still more work to be done on the costume, I'm about to head out and do some more. Here is the latest update!
Here is the bin that I am getting the armor pieces from.

Here is me setting the templates where I want them

Here is a cut out piece, it is much more smooth than it appears, some minor sanding of the edges is required. The rotary tool I am using to cut it out tends to melt the plastic and bunch it up, that is what gives it the "Rough" appearance.

Here is a picture of the Bin after cutting out the pieces

and here is my helmet. I am going to replace the ear pieces after I get it fiberglassed for more accuracy. The earpieces currently in place are non-accurate placeholders.

More pics coming soon!

[Reeza]

The helmet is looking solid and the pieces seem great. Keep up the good work vod!

[Xyco]

Here is another small update, I just came in the house to get some info and relieve my memory card of the images on it.  (for some reason it fills up at 3 images), anyway, Here they are.

This is how I am lining up the templates on the storage bin.

This is the center amulet thing for the chest. I made it into two pieces for obvious reasons. I will glue them together before sanding so they line up evenly on the sides.

and here they are together.

Im about to go out and trace the templates onto the bin and cut them out! I hope to be done cutting them out tonight. The rotary tool I use to cut it out has no guts so i can't cut the fastest. Shears would be faster, but they make a mess of the bin. I want to get the minimum waste out of it, and i think that it looks kind of neat with random holes in it.

[Xyco]

Well, It is time for me to rethink my design entirely (for the helmet atleast) I found another mando with a SUPER similar helmet. http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=26392.0 There is a link to it.

[Manbrolorian]

Well, It is time for me to rethink my design entirely (for the helmet atleast) I found another mando with a SUPER similar helmet. http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=26392.0 There is a link to it.

Actually, you don't need to. That pic was posted in 2010, and he's completely re-vamped his kit since then. It's now green and blue.

However, I do agree with Jay (Jyvora); the red and black color scheme is extremely common. I think you should look into finding some new, more original colors.

[Xyco]

Okay, So i have all of the armor cut out except for the codpiece. I am taking a break from cutting it out for a little bit. ANYWAY, I am having a horrible brain stoppy worky thing when it comes to choosing a color scheme. What ever combo of colors I think of it has already been done multiple times anyway, im at a loss for ideas. If you guys could list some color combinations that you have not seen it would be fantastic.

[Manbrolorian]

Neon purple, with gold highlights. Never seen that before. 

[Xyco]

I think that would look pretty awesome actually, However I'm not a fan of the lakers  I will definitely consider that scheme though. Thanks! Keep up the brainstorming ^.^ i appreciate it.

[Reeza]

You could do maybe a green/blue/gray scheme or even green/gold/black scheme. You can change how the colors work drastically by how much black/white/silver you include. By incorporating more white the kit will look lighter versus a more sooty/dark kit. If you want to look highly weathered I would go with a more darker route with emphasis on grays and blacks. Symbols and patterns also add uniqueness so even if you have common colors you can make the combo interesting with a bit of flair. 

[Xyco]

You could do maybe a green/blue/gray scheme or even green/gold/black scheme. You can change how the colors work drastically by how much black/white/silver you include. By incorporating more white the kit will look lighter versus a more sooty/dark kit. If you want to look highly weathered I would go with a more darker route with emphasis on grays and blacks. Symbols and patterns also add uniqueness so even if you have common colors you can make the combo interesting with a bit of flair. 

Yeah that sounds like a stellar idea! I like the green gold black scheme Idea, I think that that is the one I will mostly go with.
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As an update! Here is my armor freshly cut out and laid on the floor.

 As you can see it doesn't require much changing as is. I only need to slightly bend the belt pieces and the ab-plate. other than that the bin was shaped nicely enough that things don't need much altering. I think that if someone is going to make some mando armor, this bin thing is the way to go. There is still the lid and the bottom to be able to cut, plus a bit of one side, so i might actually be making the rest of the leg armor with it, Who knows? anyway, seeing this stuff laid out on the floor rekindles a lot of excitement. it finally feels like my kit is coming closer and closer to becoming reality! I hope to be able to troop with you all this summer! after all, it has just been the first week and i have come this far.

[Reeza]

Lookin good so far and I'm glad you're excited about your kit.
Have you taped on the pieces to your body to see how they fit on? It would help us see if the spacing and sizing is right.

[Xyco]

Lookin good so far and I'm glad you're excited about your kit.
Have you taped on the pieces to your body to see how they fit on? It would help us see if the spacing and sizing is right.

Hey yeah! TAPE! haha i completely skipped the thought of sticking it on with tape *Facepalm* here I am thinking I should lie down on the floor and take a picture hehe yeah, Ill do that right now in fact.

[Xyco]

Here is the armor attached to myself for scale preview purposes. I think it doesn't look too bad 
the pieces are a little bit saggy because the tape was kindof weird to use, and i was taping the pieces on myself

[Reeza]

For attaching it on yourself, it's pretty good. The collar piece is floating a bit but when flattened make sure to lower your chest pieces so the large gap between your cod and ab piece isn't as big. 

[Jay Krayt]

Looking good so far vod!  8)
Because of the odd posture, I can't tell if you should trim the sides of the chest plates. Other than that, I second what Reeza said.

[Xyco]

I think that with a little tweaking of where the bends are, the armor should line up great.

[Xyco]

For attaching it on yourself, it's pretty good. The collar piece is floating a bit but when flattened make sure to lower your chest pieces so the large gap between your cod and ab piece isn't as big. 

I see what you mean. I think that when the pieces are all shaped how they should be it will be fine. The gap should be fine, Boba Fett has his girth belt and pouches in it, like in this picture

[Xyco]

Out of curiosity, How did you all get your helmets? Did you scratch build them? Pepakura them? Sculpt them? I just would like to know, I find this stuff fascinating. ^.^

[Jay Krayt]

A lot of people get theirs here on the supply depot from helmet makers such as Hondo Karr, Saz, to name a few. Others like me buy J2Ps and highly modify them. However, there are some brave souls that scratch build helmets by using templates.

[Xyco]

Some day I would like to scratchbuild a helmet using templates, for now I will just stick to my pepakura helmet. I have a new paint concept incorporating the black green and gold colors, now i just need to draw it out on paper. I am thinking about keeping the same lines I had, just rearranging where the dark colors go vs the light colors. I think this design will look pretty sleek.