Putting my build stuff in the proper place
First: the gauntlets. They were free from a friend because they were in pretty bad shape.
Cleaned up a bit, edges smoothed with bondo. Breaking up an old DVD remote to use as a control pad on one side and a mini-grapple launcher on the other.
Gluing in the mini-grapple hook (bit blurry). Using JB Water Weld.
Found this old "listening device" toy from when I was a kid, thought it'd look nice in place of the usual flamethrower.
Gaunts and various greeblies ready for their black base coat.
A few layers of black helped smooth things out, and give Rub 'n' Buff a good surface to stick to.
Rub 'n' Buff in progress on accessories and greeblies.
Still needs a touch of cleanup and some weathering, but I think it's turning out pretty well!
A first pass of Rub 'n' Buff on the right gauntlet. Really loving how it's turning out so far.
Grapple and darts glueing, used JB Water Weld. One of the darts turned out funny, so I had to replace it.
Chest armor - I ended up getting my chest plates from Imperial Outpost Armory, rather than cutting my own.
Test fit:
Snaps... the beginning:
So... many... snaps...
Used white paint to mark where the snaps would go. This (mostly) worked; I only had to make a few minor adjustments.
Battle damage! All freehanded with a dremel and files.
Painted up! Base coat of rustoleum 2x black, rub n buff antique bronze, and diluted acrylic black for extra grime, and a bit of blue detailing to match the helmet:
Shoulder plates:
Initial battle damage:
Black base coat, first pass of rub n buff. As you can see, it's a bit splotchy; almost everything on my kit needed multiple layers of rub n buff, which took quite a bit of time but I think the results were well worth it.
I made a separate
thread for my helmet build over on the helmet forum, but here's the final result:
Assorted other bits:
Boot plates, which are now mounted on surplus spats from... Switzerland, I think?
My gunbelt is pretty simple, a standard-width belt on top of a thicker one, kind of similar to a Jedi/Sith belt without the studs and with more guns
My favorite detail are these little cartridges, which I grabbed from a belt-fed Nerf gun:
I sprayed them metallic silver, as the nooks and crannies were a little too tight for rub n buff:
Then mounted to my gun belt in the front:
I didn't document my work on my soft parts nearly as well as my armor. My undersuit is a set of dickies work clothes, with double-sleeves and hidden pass-thrus for knee straps sewn by a friend. My poncho is just a chopped up canvas drop. Both were weathered using an airbrush with a ton of help from my pal Ren, who's a true airbrush wizard.
Thanks for reading! It only took me the better part of three years to go from parts and kits to putting in my application
So if you ever feel like you're taking too long, or you keep having the change stuff, don't sweat it - you're not the only one!
Thanks very much!
