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[Bel Tay'haai]

A lot has changed since when I first posted a WIP. I turned eighteen, went to college for a semester, developed panic attacks as a new symptom of my anxiety disorder, watched my extended family turn into greedy pod-people after my grandmother died, and moved to Washington DC. So: screw it. I'm throwing out everything but the color concept and starting fresh with motherfrakking everything.



I still want to work my armor in PVC, because I like the idea of that genuine thickness and weight. (On a related note, I'd appreciate if anyone can recommend a makerspace in DC. Working plastic with a heat gun in an apartment with a fussy fire alarm is a bad idea. But I could probably work in the alley out back in spring, if necessary.) Bare silver "metal", except for the turquoise. Dark gray flightsuit; black leather belt, boots, and gloves. Definitely a dark blue kama, maybe (but probably not) a matching cape/cloak.



Blaster image above is the Stellar Protector. Nice small hand-pistol, should be easy to build, and it's a shoutout to SWTOR. Fit a nine-volt battery in the handle for a bit of nice weight and use the trigger to change power running from the green light on the side to a red LED down the barrel for "shooting".

All right. Let the feedback begin.

[Jorad Werde]

First off Welcome to DC!  Come on over to the Kyrimorut Clan boards and introduce yourself.  We've got a great bunch of people all of whom are willing to help out.  Sorry to hear about the family and personal troubles.  I actually work in DC so if you ever want to get together to talk, Mando or otherwise, shoot me a message.  Can't wait to see where you head with this!

[Azrael Stormlighter]

Hi! Your plans are looking great so far! I live in DC, been working with Kyrimorut for a short while now and they are an incredible bunch of people! If you need anything don't hesitate to let me know 

[Jal Korvo]

My first experimentation with armor was with pvc as well. I cut and shaped it all in my room and didn't have a problem with alarms or anything like that. The plastic definitely shouldn't get hot to the point that it's smoking. Just work with it on a baking tray and heat a little area at a time. Takes patience but when you get it right, it'll be that much more rewarding.

[Bel Tay'haai]

Jal: what did you use to cut your PVC? I might be able to use a dremel, but anything louder or larger than that is questionable.

[Jorad Werde]

A dremmel is the best thing for true PVC pipe.  Anything else is going to take too long and be too imprecise.  Just make sure you take proper safety precautions when cutting.  Have you looking into 6MM sintra, it's a bit thicker than the 3MM veriety and gives a good depth to armor.  Also it's a bit easier to cut and can be worked at a lower heat than PVC.  Considering your new living arrangements and available work space it may be something you want to think about.

[Bel Tay'haai]

I haven't looked into Sintra before, but now that I am, it sounds like a good idea considering my situation. Have you worked with it before?

[Mavik]

Sintra is very easy to work with and shape. It also doesn’t have the issue of loosing its shape like a lot of other plastics do. 

[Dar'manda]

PVC pipe is a great material to work with. It's what all my armor is made from.  Easy to heat up and work with a heat gun, or you can use an oven. A couple things if you do use a oven is don't use the one you will cook in, and don't have it any higher then 150-200 any higher and the plastic begins to emit gasses.  Really it's more around the 350 range but I tend to keep it low so I never hit that threshold.  It's also really cheap considering I can get a huge 10 foot piece of pipe for 25 bucks and that will cover most basic kits.

[Bel Tay'haai]

I don't exactly have another oven besides the one in the kitchen. Cheap PVC sounds nice, but the prices I've seen for Sintra are okay, too, and if that's easier to work I'm happy to pay a little more. Plus, I don't really have the room to work with ten feet of pipe.

[Jorad Werde]

I have worked with sintra before, most of Kyrimorut has or has had sintra armor.  As always, if you need help you know where to find us

[Space Matter 13]

Awesome Paint Scheme! Also, love the Kama!  If you need any help starting your build just ask away. We'll be more than happy to help. Good luck!

[Bel Tay'haai]

Although my mom has a sewing machine and I'm a fairly good hand-sewer, I've decided to buy my flight suit. It's been ordered as of ten minutes ago, along with a new pair of boots that will be both daily wear and part of my kit.



Booooots. I adore Chippewa Boots. American made, real leather, great quality and great prices. I have a pair of brown 6-inches in the same style that have lasted me something like 5 years and have probably 10 years more in them (although they need resoled soon). I'll probably make a set of removable spats to use while trooping; that'll cover the laces and logo, and I can still wear the boots as everyday wear.




Flight suit yaah. I saw the color and loved it; my vest will be homemade and at least a few shades darker. I imagine the neckline will be okay once the vest is on- if not, I'll make a larger neck seal than usual to go over or make some kind of turtleneck crop top to wear under. And I'm happy with the cuffs; it'll be easy to put on gloves/gaunts over those.

Question for you guys: Will the pockets be okay? I won't be using them for anything, so if they go against CRLs I can probably remove them.

[Jorad Werde]

they should probably be removed, and good call on the scrubs

[Serim Merec]

I think I was following your old thread, so I'll jump in on this one too!

Boots look great, and I've heard scrubs make nice flightsuits (though, yes, you will likely have to remove the pockets).

Lookin' forward to seeing how this develops! 8)

[Kitala-Enby]

i don't think the pockets will be a problem, they don't look like standard jean/trouser pockets, to me they jut look like a slight variation on boba or tie fighter leg pockets, don't look out of place for star wars. Where did you get the scrubs? I'm forever looking for better flight options.

[Bel Tay'haai]

I sourced my scrubs from Uniform Advantage. The Butter Soft Scrubs brand is their generic, I think. I'll let you know if they live up to the name when they get here.

[Bel Tay'haai]

My flightsuit pants came today. I had a lot of running around to do, so I'm tired out, but I'll try them on and post pictures tomorrow. I have a bit of cardboard laying around from some unpacking, so I might be able to test out leg plate sizes, too.

[Bel Tay'haai]

Small update now, bigger update later this weekend. I have my pants and my boots; flightsuit top is in the mail. I've also found a spare pillowcase in a great color that I can use as my kama. I'll post pictures as soon as I find the camera and someone to take them.

I'm going to get my paper template printed off Monday or Wednesday, when I get to borrow the capabilities of my mother's printer at work. Then I'll spend Tues/Thurs cutting prototypes out of cardboard.

[Bel Tay'haai]

Back with two big questions. I have made progress, but I'm also fighting a flu, so I don't have enough energy to work up a real progress post.

1) I know there are guidelines about using plumber's knee protection as knee armor, but I can't find it anywhere. Can somebody help me out? For clarification, I mean like these:



I know I'd need to fill in or cover up the holes and make them look right for the setting, but what else?

2) I wear glasses and seriously need them to see without walking into a hole in the ground, Bugs Bunny-style. What do you think the possibilities are of integrating the padding and/or structure from a pair of goggles to allow me to wear my glasses under my bucket? These are the kind of goggles I'm thinking of:

[Drek'ar Ventress]

Hey Bel, I'm not on the uniform board, but if I'm reading this thread correctly, the knee pads would fall into this post...

http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=56431.0

Making them not usable.  Other than that looks good from what i can see.

[Jorad Werde]

Stang is right, there's nothing that specifically mentions construction knee pads in the CRLs, but they do fall under the sports/swat/other clause.  there are a few easier to make sets of knees out there, and if you don't have the ability to fabricate someone in the clan may have an extra set or be able to help.  As for the glasses, there is a way to get the glasses to work in a bucket, it involved breaking down an old pair and essentially gluing the lenses in place.  I don't know exactly how its done, but I do know there are some people on here that have done it.  post something up in the helmets board and I'm sure someone will find you.

[Havelock]

The vode in Kyrimorut seem to have things well in hand as far as getting you sorted out, but I wanted to put a couple of links up here for you.  I found some maker spaces in the DC area you might want to look into.

http://www.techshop.ws/arlington.html
http://www.nova-labs.org/about/
http://make125.org/about/
http://www.fablabdc.org/

Just from my brief look through all this, I think your best bet is probably going to be the Greenbelt, depending on travel times, etc.  It's the only one I found that doesn't have a membership cost (always an important consideration, especially for college students), but the downside is the more limited hours.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

[Naasad Tal]

LOVE the color scheme on this one! As has been said Sintra is VERY easy to work with & you should have no problem using your oven to heat it as that's what I use & have very good luck with. When im shaping armor I run cool water in my kitchen sink & after the plate is shaped, I douse it to shock it into shape.

Good luck on the new build & the new life!

[Bel Tay'haai]

All right, so that's a no to the kneepads. Thanks for the clarification.

I appreciate the tips about makerspaces and working with Sintra. It looks like I'm going to make a deal with Fettski or someone else in my clan; they'll do the shaping and I'll make up some 3D printed gaunts or maybe do some sewing work in return.

Latest post on progress is here on my Soft Parts post. The cold is just starting to trail off, and the canning is all done, so work on the vest and alterations will probably take place this weekend.