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 Aren Vaal's armor

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Aren Vaal's armor
« on: Mar 18, 2015, 04:58 AM »
Su cuy, vode.

This is my first armor build.  That said, I have worked with sheet metal and composites in the past, so I at least have some idea of what I'm getting into.

I started my bucket two weeks ago.  The plan is to make the core out of L200 foam and then fiberglass it for strength and rigidity.  I chose L200 because, while I can't sculpt styrofoam for osik, I can cut and.glue all night long.  Eight layers of fiberglass bonded to the foam will make it an aircraft-grade structure and resistant to damage.

So far, the dome is assembled, and I'm planning out the next step--building and attaching the carcass of the helmet.  I'll post pics later, after work.

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)
Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #1 on: Mar 20, 2015, 08:25 PM »
Ok,, so how the shab to I post an image?  Lol

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)

Vailin Flynn


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #2 on: Mar 20, 2015, 08:31 PM »
Most upload it to Photobucket or Imgur, then use the link above the emoticons. It should show up then.

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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #3 on: Apr 10, 2015, 12:46 AM »
Ok, after 3 failed attempts, here's the inner layer of my bucket:





Next step:  stuff it with newspaper and fiberglass it for strength, bondo the dome smooth, then attach the outer layer.

« Last Edit: Apr 10, 2015, 12:54 AM by Aren Vaal » Logged
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Kurshi BeJahaal


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #4 on: Apr 10, 2015, 12:48 AM »
Ok, after 3 failed attempts, here's the inner layer of my bucket:



Hope it works, I've never used photobucket before LOL

It was a no go, my friend. But I may have fixed it for you.

Next step:  stuff it with newspaper and fiberglass it for strength, then start on the outer layer.

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Kurshi BeJahaal


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #5 on: Apr 10, 2015, 12:49 AM »
Make sure you hit the insert image button. Then just copy and paste the direct link in between the two commands that appear. You shouldn't have a problem then. Hope that helps!

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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #6 on: Apr 10, 2015, 12:55 AM »
Thanks, Kurshi.  I got it working.   :)

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)

Kurshi BeJahaal


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #7 on: Apr 10, 2015, 12:59 AM »
Awesome! We'll be excited to see your progress now!

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Bazii Malric


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #8 on: Apr 18, 2015, 06:47 AM »
Looks like a nice even start to the bucket!  I look forward to seeing you finish it.   ;D

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"Once upon a time there was a mando in green,
He was short and stocky and a little mean!
He carried a BFG and wore heavy armor vest
He liked to make credits, they were the best!
Blasting and hunting were all in good fun,
Especially when the prey did try to run!
Then one day the hutt called him to do a job,
Get a nasty little genosian thief named Bob!
Found and bound fast as a blink that little bug,
He got kriffed on the creds that big fat slug!
So I shot him.  With a proton torpedo." --Bazii
Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #9 on: Apr 19, 2015, 01:51 AM »
Well, I haven't been able to work on my bucket yet, but I DID get this done:

http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=90994.0

I have free access to scrap metal at work, so this didn't cost me anything but time (and sweat).  Waiting for next payday to get fiberglass for my bucket.

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)
Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #10 on: Apr 21, 2015, 08:39 PM »
Okay, here's my concept:


« Last Edit: Apr 22, 2015, 07:12 AM by Aren Vaal » Logged
Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)

Kurshi BeJahaal


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #11 on: Apr 21, 2015, 09:25 PM »
I like it! Remember though, a lot of people won't follow the outside link, so putting the picture in your thread makes things easier. It looks awesome though! I thought I'd put it up so everyone can see it!  :)


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #12 on: Apr 22, 2015, 04:31 AM »
Vor'e, ner vod.  I tried to embed it--must've shab'ed it up.  Thanks for the assist :D

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)
Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #13 on: Apr 22, 2015, 07:32 AM »
Ah, I see what happened:  I clicked the Italics button instead of the IMG button.  Fixed it.

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)

Kurshi BeJahaal


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #14 on: Apr 22, 2015, 03:38 PM »
Haha. No worries! It's easy to fudge things up.

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MMCC #1484¦¦64 Career Invasions¦¦Rancor Clan
Helmet Scratch Build||Beskar||Privateer||Protector

Bazii Malric


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #15 on: Apr 22, 2015, 04:33 PM »
I'm pretty sure computers were invented to make most people look stupid when they screw up.  LOL

Manda knows I screw up enough to know!

Logged
"Once upon a time there was a mando in green,
He was short and stocky and a little mean!
He carried a BFG and wore heavy armor vest
He liked to make credits, they were the best!
Blasting and hunting were all in good fun,
Especially when the prey did try to run!
Then one day the hutt called him to do a job,
Get a nasty little genosian thief named Bob!
Found and bound fast as a blink that little bug,
He got kriffed on the creds that big fat slug!
So I shot him.  With a proton torpedo." --Bazii
Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #16 on: Oct 29, 2015, 03:22 AM »
Ok, well, it has been awhile!  Don't worry, ner vode, I'm still alive.

New bucket pics!

  Front view, two layers of fiberglass.
  Right profile, showing dent from blaster hit.
  Only decent pic from the other night; added two more layers of glass to the body of the helmet.
  Got the visor cut out (left the bit at the bottom for strength while I'm working on it), cut the openings for the cheekplates and glued them in (no fiberglass yet, just foam)
  Four layers of glass on the cheekplates, another layer on the dome, and into the vacuum bag it goes!

Next step:  a shabload of sanding, then bondo, then more sanding, then fabricate and attach earcaps and rangefinder/antenna (not sure which I'm gonna use yet--I have an old broken antenna from an aviation liferaft ELT transponder that would look sweet as hell, but I might go with a rangefinder just for old times' sake).

By the way, if you can't tell, I work in an aircraft maintenance shop--got all the toys here!  :)

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Kavryn Falco


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #17 on: Oct 29, 2015, 11:24 AM »
Looks like it's shaping up pretty well! Keep up the good work ;D

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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #18 on: Oct 30, 2015, 03:57 AM »
For anyone considering making fiberglass armor parts:

Do not use fiberglass mat!  You'll go through resin like Mel Gibson on a bender, is prone to voids in the structure, and it's a pain in the shebs to sand smooth!

Fiberglass cloth is cheaper, uses far, far less resin, and far fewer voids.  Also, pay the 99 bucks for a harbor freight vacuum pump, and don't use waxed paper for release film; it sucks.  LOL

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)
Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #19 on: Nov 01, 2015, 02:52 AM »


Bondo applied, getting ready to sand (it's not strawberry icing, I swear!)

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Niyic


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #20 on: Nov 09, 2015, 02:46 PM »
Nice progress! I bet that's going to weigh quite a bit when done :P

I'm familiar with composites but have not done as much work with them as you have. Is this going to be the actual helmet, or are you going to make a mold of this and make a lighter one out of carbon or Kevlar?


Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #21 on: Nov 10, 2015, 01:06 AM »
Weighs about a pound right now, not too bad.  The core is L200 foam, so it's rather lightweight.  This is going to be my helmet, or at least, my FIRST helmet.  Kevlar and Carbon Fiber are a bit pricey for right now, and I don't have access to the epoxy resins to do those two correctly (it's about $100-$150 a gallon, depending on where you get it).

My eventual goal is to make one out of aluminum, because hell yeah, but that's a while down the road yet.

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)

Kris Jasra


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #22 on: Nov 15, 2015, 07:27 PM »
That's a lot of layers of fibreglass! :o
I use one layer mat, one layer cloth, both applied with pure resin and applied on the inside of a cardstock layer that has been coated in duct tape. When its dry I can just peel away the card as duct tape does on adhere to resin. Then a layer of rondo (bondo and resin mix) on the outside, then when that's dry lightly applied bondo so I don't need to keep applying it get it all even and end up with an inch thick bondo layer. End result is solid and very lightweight.
I've always done the fibreglassing from the inside, but doing it on the outside over foam is intriguing in the, having premade padding in the helmet. Might be something to experiment with at some point.

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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #23 on: Nov 17, 2015, 07:29 PM »
The way I was taught to do it, you use a lightweight  structure made of something like styrofoam, and bond several layers of fiberglass to that.  I used mat because that's what I had access to at the time, but it soaks up resin like a shabla sponge, and is a pain in the shebs to sand smooth.  It DOES stiffen and bulk up the structure much quicker than fabric, but doesn't lend itself well to details like edges.

Incidentally, in the aviation world, the MINIMUM acceptable structure is EIGHT layers of fiberglass cloth--not matt--, rotating the warp 45 degrees in between.  Fewer layers aren't stiff enough, and too many layers eventually gets too heavy.  Don't know about marine structures; my training was for aviation.

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Meh n'kar'tayl, k'pirimmur ger tebec an!!  (Loosely, When in doubt, empty the magazine!)

Kris Jasra


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Re: Aren Vaal's armor
« Reply #24 on: Nov 18, 2015, 05:00 AM »
The stuff I use is rock solid after 2 layers. Not solid enough to stand up to being dropped admittedly, but i try to avoid that. Eight layers would make sure that isn't a problem, however the weight of that for 8 plus hours while trooping would not be a good pay off for me at least - overheating in summer is not fun.
And not keeping my cardstock in means they come out feeling more like casts in weight as casts don't have the card/foam etc in them either and they do just fine.
Think it just comes down to whether you want the surety of it not breaking if its knocked or of having less weight. Nothing wrong with either option.

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Vi ram'or te'prudiise. Gotal par akaan, vi jatnese be te jatnese. Bal cuun kote o'r gar tal.

Quote
The only safe way to take out Kris would be with an orbital bombardment.... and even then your chances of surviving are only 50:50
 


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