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[Naakoya Naast]

you are both welcome in my shop in Acworth to work on armor any time

Thank you so much! I really want to go to some kind of mercs event sometime soon...Lok Carid and his brother went down to Atlanta this weekend for the parade, but I had already committed to something else.  If we could all meet up one weekend to work on armor that would make my year.

You may find it helpful to know that if you are going for hammered plates, increase the size of your arm stuff by 1-3" of leeway because from start to finish the armour will change you...(asuming you put enough hammering in with the addition of planishing)

^truth.

You know, I'm trying to convince my crew coach to let me count my plate-shaping sessions toward my weight training workouts, but he's just not buying it!

[Dresdon Acacin]

Maybe he will make it count retroactively

[Naakoya Naast]

Ok, I promised pictures and here they are!



and BOOM



Engraved chest diamond! Not quite done yet.

[Dresdon Acacin]

Youll have to hammer the edges at the very least so they have a little bit of contour, it looks way better thanflat bent plates.

[Naakoya Naast]

Youll have to hammer the edges at the very least so they have a little bit of contour, it looks way better thanflat bent plates.

Oh yeah, that's definitely in the plan.  Thin, flat plates look bad and unrealistic. Or I could avoid that problem by using 1/4" steel plates! 

For real though, your new beskar' is going to be all kinds of kandosii.

[Dresdon Acacin]

I'd us 3/8" Titanium if I could afford it the material and welding supplies  , it's basically like ultra-light stainless steel-but since this isn't fantasy land and there are monetary limits I just used 7075 alloy so for now I'm happy with it 

[Naakoya Naast]

Had a great time at BerryCon yesterday with Lok Carid and Lucas McCoy, y'all are awesome! My motivation is back up to 100%, now if only college would just work with me...

[Naakoya Naast]

Also...couldn't help but notice how much taller than me Lucas is. Are any of y'all around 5'3" or am I just gonna be The Baby Mando over here? Any special armoring tips for short people?

[mishakitty]

I'm 5 ft 4. If you happen to make it down to Florida, there are a few shorties down here

[Naakoya Naast]

I'm 5 ft 4. If you happen to make it down to Florida, there are a few shorties down here

In that case, I'll send the ewok costume back 

Happy April fools day everyone!

[Ronin Tavic]

There's actually a social society just for those of less imposing statures... M5. Mando Mercs mighty mini mandos. 

[Naakoya Naast]

Oh look, Naakoya's being indecisive again.

Been feeling a little homesick lately and it's making me lean back toward my Florida-sky-blue and sand-tan color scheme. 

Also, I got to thinking about it and I figure I should probably go for a simpler helmet design the first time around and hold off on the more elaborate Wolffe-inspired one until I have more experience (not to mention a workspace that isn't a 3-person dorm room).  New plan: make simpler, more traditional first helmet- possibly with elements from my original design (the mandibles or horsehair braid trophies) to make it interesting.

Just so it's clear, I'm very new to costuming, so I'm probably going to go through multiple materials trying to figure out what's going to work with my tastes and styles the best.  I'm playing with the steel, and I'll probably do the same thing with aluminum and sintra until I find what works. I'll post everything, because I desperately need feedback and advice, and you'll probably see some pretty cringe-worthy stuff before it's all said and done.  I'm here to try new things and learn how to do it right, not fast, and I spend a lot of time thinking things over and changing my mind.  I can tell you for sure that I'll come up with a lot of elaborate designs and ideas, but in the end I really prefer subtlety and minimalism- little details done the right way that give your kit character and life while maintaining clean lines that draw the eye and keep it from looking "busy." That's what I want to do.  It's just going to take awhile, and I'll need all the help I can get from you.

_{please don't throw pointy sticks at me when I come up with 5 more color schemes and change my mind 20 times.}

UPDATE: everything I own is covered in bondo dust and the dorm room smells like chemicals.

[Solus Raam]

So much double posting my friend. Please try to update your posts if nobody else has posted. 

[Naakoya Naast]

So much double posting my friend. Please try to update your posts if nobody else has posted. 

So now that I know what "double posting" means... sorry Solus...

Update: Learning how to bondo.

Send help.

[Solus Raam]

Thank you! No worries we all had to learn at some point. Good luck with the bondo. Bondo is my enemy.

[Yutah]

Mix as directed and  make thin coats. I also suggest a mouse sander.

[Naakoya Naast]

I've gotten it fairly smooth, but the edges are being hard to deal with... I'm hoping that my dark paint scheme and shadowing will hide them a bit.

[Yutah]

Pics would help...

[Dresdon Acacin]

Noes dont bondo your hammering marks!

[Naakoya Naast]

Noes dont bondo your hammering marks!

Don't worry dear, I'm talking about the poor rubies 1pc that's been sitting in my room for six years warping away.  James/Lucas said to replace the cheek pieces and glue in a craft ring to help it keep its shape so that's what I've been working on this week.

Still can't find that confounded craft ring though...

[Ronin Tavic]

I used some epoxy putty around the bottom of mine. What did you use for the cheeks? I put a 4sale sign, and it was real thin, so I doubled them by putting a second piece of plastic on em.

[Naakoya Naast]

I used some epoxy putty around the bottom of mine. What did you use for the cheeks? I put a 4sale sign, and it was real thin, so I doubled them by putting a second piece of plastic on em.

I found a box in my dorm room made of that really thick, solid cardboard and used that...we'll see if it holds up, but it seems to be doing fine for now.

[Ronin Tavic]

cardboard as the outside? or the reinforcer? cardboard on the outside wont paint very well...

[Naakoya Naast]

cardboard as the outside? or the reinforcer? cardboard on the outside wont paint very well...

As reinforcement. Bondo on the outside, hence my complaining. ><

[Ronin Tavic]

cut up trashcan is a good alternative... just saying (i hate bondo, and will do anything i can to avoid it as much as possible. my first j2p helmet had no bondo at all. still looked boss  )