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 Blue Mandible's WIP

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #25 on: Jul 04, 2015, 01:30 PM »
Thanks guys, progress is slow due to real life stuff (cash/work/family), but rest assured it is moving along (I just ordered some coveralls for my flight suit and a length of red twine to make a girth belt from). I may be sporadic with updates, but updated ye shall be  :)

Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #26 on: Jul 05, 2015, 01:29 PM »
I asked my daughter to take some pictures of me to test how the scope looks:





I didn't realise my son was taking pictures with my wife's phone at the same time. Sneaky little Mando  ;)




I think the off-centre position looks good and swarzy  ;D

Havelock


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #27 on: Jul 05, 2015, 02:43 PM »
Definitely!

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #28 on: Aug 06, 2015, 08:54 AM »
Been a while - but I did say it was a slow moving, long term project (due to work/family obligations mostly). Anyway, I finally got around to trimming down that fibre glass armour and tried it out for size.

I don't like it. It's too ... flat. I don't feel it fits the shape of my body properly - the collar piece for example sticks up at the front if it's snug to my shoulders or pokes up at the back if I press it down to my chest. Likewise the sides of the chest pieces stick out too much. Here's a picture:



I know it's a bit wonky, but I was losing my temper with one side sticking out when I pressed down on the other so we just took a picture then opened a beer instead  ;)

So I'm gonna cut my own plates out of Sintra so I can shape them to fit my body better.

In other news, I got some coveralls for my flight suit. You know the standard navy blue ones? Well I don't want navy blue so I decided to bleach them to see how they'd turn out. Light blue, right?



Yeah, right  :o

Korran Orainn


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #29 on: Aug 06, 2015, 11:03 AM »
Y'know what? I'd be tempted to keep it like that. It looks like it would weather epically :L

Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #30 on: Aug 06, 2015, 01:47 PM »
The colour has grown on me - I can't help but wonder if that's what happened to Jango to get that odd shade of purple he has  ;)

Talos Kot


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #31 on: Oct 29, 2015, 08:58 PM »
ello Blue ;) late to the party ..  welcome to the mercs and the good ship Vok' Chi ;)  you will never find a more wretched hive of helpful knowledge, experience and camaraderie in the galaxy !

best advice : read, research take your time ;)     post pic's of your concept, build, WIP, to help us help you ;)  and most importantly Have Fun !! ;)

You are off to a great start and have collected some nice gear ... few tips : bostic is not a great adhesive solution for costuming.. its best to fix something like a barrel with a more permanent method / actually i would recommend strong fixings for all costume parts as kits need to stand up to trooping at events and making sure things are constructed securely  avoids embarrassment / things getting knocked of or falling apart is not a good look  when trooping ;)
re :  helmet sizing, when trying a helmet its better if it looks big on you when your not in kit, you must take in consideration the addition of shoulder plates etc will bulk you up and compensate .....   the helmet you tried was far too small ..... keep up the good work !


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quick referance membership guide :
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Mandalorian Mercs Handbook  .. Very Important read ! :
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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #32 on: Oct 30, 2015, 09:32 AM »
You are off to a great start and have collected some nice gear ... few tips : bostic is not a great adhesive solution for costuming.. its best to fix something like a barrel with a more permanent method / actually i would recommend strong fixings for all costume parts as kits need to stand up to trooping
Thanks - I've had to take a bit of a break due to finances, but I've been playing with spare parts and came to the same conclusion about the Bostik. I was planning on bulking up around the 'barrel' - to give the glue more to grip to - but the metal refuses to stick to anything (and I don't have an industrial drill to make screw-holes in metal etc). So I plan to strip out all the metal components and replace them with wood, which I can securely fasten with screws (then fill-in, smooth out and paint metallic afterwards). This will also make it lighter to carry, so trooping with it will be more comfortable.

For the helmet I remembered I had an old hard-hat in the shed, so the plan will be to use that as the base and (attempt to) build my own - and that way I can make sure it's big enough for my melon.

Also, I don't think I've mentioned it, but my wife wants a Mando kit too - so mine's like a prototype then I can make hers properly  ;)  I think she's already claimed the big gun for herself  :o

jett drexel


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #33 on: Oct 30, 2015, 09:43 AM »
hi blue, couple of good strong glues for you E6000, takes 12-24 to cure fully but it's super strong and araldite 2 part epoxy, mix the two parts together takes 6 mins to cure and is super strong I recommend both. both are available on e-bay.

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #34 on: Oct 30, 2015, 05:34 PM »
Thanks for the tip, I'll bear that in mind  :)

As this is a WIP log, recording my progress and workings along the way, here's the hardhat I dug out of the shed:




And me wearing it - to give an idea of size/fit:




Is it sitting a little high? Do people using this method normally keep the existing fitting on the inside or replace it with padding? Any tips welcome  :)

I don't really want the raised ridge on top (I always wanted a classic Boba style), but I'll go with it for now. I've got a feeling this project is gonna be a case of playing around and seeing what I end up with anyway - like the pink flight suit  ;D

That's how my projects usually go anyway - plan and plan and have it all worked out in my head, then go off and make something else  :P

Kavryn Falco


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #35 on: Oct 30, 2015, 07:14 PM »
You won't be able to use the internals as they are. In most helmets there's only about an inch or so of clearance between the top of your head and the dome. When you attach the skirt you'll have to attach it pretty high up the sides of the hat, and when you cut out the T-visor you'll most likely wind up cutting through the hat as well. Mando domes are actually pretty shallow, all things considered.

If you don't like the crest you can try to find a smooth-topped skate helmet.  They can be fairly inexpensive, and they're nearly the perfect shape with few modifications.

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #36 on: Oct 31, 2015, 06:21 AM »
Yeah, I thought it looked like it was sitting high. I'm using the hardhat because I can't afford to splash out on materials right now. Further down the line a nice smooth dome will definitely be on the upgrade list!

Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #37 on: Oct 31, 2015, 08:54 AM »
Yeah, I thought it looked like it was sitting high. I'm using the hardhat because I can't afford to splash out on materials right now. Further down the line a nice smooth dome will definitely be on the upgrade list!

I've seen lots of folks use cheap skateboard helmets found at goodwills or some discount stores for less than 5$ with great success. Might want to look into that before starting with the hardhat that'll probably give you a hardtime.

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #38 on: Oct 31, 2015, 11:37 AM »
Oh definitely, if I see a bargain I'll snap it up  :)

For now I took the innards out of the helmet to see how it sits - this is it with no padding at all, just sat on my nogging:




With a bit of foam in there it should fit quite nicely - and I'm kinda getting used to the idea of having the crest now. I'm not gonna attempt cutting it until I've decided for sure though.

I have felt a little motivated to do a bit more work on the weapons though. As mentioned previously, I'm donating the rifle to my wife (when we make her kit), and decided a sniper style would suit her best. We have an old broom handle that was used to mix some paint, so I screwed that into the rifle stock:





Then tested to make sure it was secure  ;D









Yep, that works. Just need to fit the scope and other gubbins, cover the screws and paint it up, but I'm happy with that for the base.

I also did some work on the sidearm. First off I wanted to get rid of the screw that holds the front in place. I need to be able to open it up to change the batteries etc, so I can't just secure it and cover the screws like I'm gonna the rest, so I came up with this latch/pin idea:






If you remember earlier, the plan is to put some lights inside the clear chamber at the back - here's a recap of the test assembly:



But I don't want those lights to be visible, obvious lights. The idea is to make the chamber 'cloudy' so the lights just emit a glow from within. I tried coating the inside with PVA glue, but that took forever to dry and didn't really obscure the inside:



So I got some silicon (the stuff you use to put a seal around your bath/sink) that dries transparent and coated the inside with that. Hopefully that'll set with a nice 'frosty' appearance:




I'll let you know in a couple of days how it went  ;D

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #39 on: Nov 03, 2015, 11:19 AM »
Looking good.  Keep it up!

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Kris Jasra


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #40 on: Nov 04, 2015, 05:30 AM »
Now that's a novel idea, I hope it works.

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #41 on: Nov 04, 2015, 08:27 AM »
4 days later and the silicon still hasn't dried - it's supposed to set in 24 hours! I'll give it until the weekend then if it hasn't cured it's obviously reacting to the plastic or something and I'll have to rethink it. Maybe there's a lack of air in the tube? It's not sealed, but the silicon's own fumes might be preventing it from curing. I dunno, I'm not a scientist...

Plan B: roll up some thin paper (greaseproof paper?) to line the inside of the tube.

Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #42 on: Nov 05, 2015, 12:42 PM »
4 days later and the silicon still hasn't dried - it's supposed to set in 24 hours! I'll give it until the weekend then if it hasn't cured it's obviously reacting to the plastic or something and I'll have to rethink it. Maybe there's a lack of air in the tube? It's not sealed, but the silicon's own fumes might be preventing it from curing. I dunno, I'm not a scientist...

Plan B: roll up some thin paper (greaseproof paper?) to line the inside of the tube.

Did you goop it in and filled the tube like in a jar or did you apply a thin coat on the inside surface of the tube? If you did the former, that's why it won't cure, if you did the latter then yes, that's odd. You could always get some frosted/matte mactac (or whatever the name of that stickyback plastic paper you use to cover books is) and coat the inside. It works on windows, should work on your project too.

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #43 on: Nov 05, 2015, 01:38 PM »
Did you goop it in and filled the tube like in a jar or did you apply a thin coat on the inside surface of the tube? If you did the former, that's why it won't cure, if you did the latter then yes, that's odd. You could always get some frosted/matte mactac (or whatever the name of that stickyback plastic paper you use to cover books is) and coat the inside. It works on windows, should work on your project too.

It's just a thin layer on the inside (or as thin as I could get in the fiddly space!). It's firmed up now, but is still white. I think they made a mistake in the factory and put the wrong batch label on the package  ??? I know it should work because we used the same technique to cover the clear glass panes on our front door - here's a picture I snapped at the time, which gives you an idea of the effect I was going for (it might not be posh, but it gives us the privacy to walk around in our underwear  ;D ).



I think I'm gonna scrape it out and try again with a ... less economic brand of sealant. I'll have a look into that 'mactac' stuff too, thanks for the idea  :)

Back on the topic of the helmet, I think I really want the smooth/round dome of the classic Boba/Jango helmet, so I might make the hardhat version as a test-run to work out the bugs, then see if I can get a cheap skate helmet to make my 'proper' helmet.

Kris Jasra


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #44 on: Nov 05, 2015, 01:53 PM »
And also remember, there is no such thing as 'too many helmets'

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #45 on: Jan 11, 2016, 08:52 AM »
Well, it's been a long time - to be honest money has been too tight to spend a penny on the project (especially with the Christmas tax!), so no progress on the helmet - but I've finally managed to get some decent transparent silicone sealant for my sidearm/blaster.





Success! that's the effect I was after, and within a couple of hours it was completely set so I could have a play around with the lights.






I saw one of my kids returning from the sweet shop with this squirty-drink thing. Basically sugar water in a tube with a spray nozzle - but I had the idea to use that inside the tube to add a little colour and subdue the brightness of the lights, so I snatched it out of the child's hand (hey, I'm doing them a favour and protecting their teeth!) for a test fit.

Pictures don't do the colour justice, but here it is for the log.






I have some hammered metal effect spray paint in the cupboard, so I just need to tidy up/cover the screws etc and hopefully this will be complete by the end of the week. Now I just need to make the rest of the suit to go with it...


I have my list of what to do and what I need, I'm just slowly working down it and getting bits here and there when I can steal some money out of my wife's purse  ;)

Kavryn Falco


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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #46 on: Jan 11, 2016, 09:18 AM »
That is so cool, I love the effect! And nice work on the repurposed bits   :P

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Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #47 on: Jan 11, 2016, 03:04 PM »
That is so cool, I love the effect! And nice work on the repurposed bits   :P
Thanks, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out myself  :) The other cool thing is I can swap the lights out for different colours depending on my mood (or if I change my armour paint job down the line - but nobody ever does that, right? ;) )

Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #48 on: Jan 30, 2016, 11:06 AM »
Okay, so I've been working on the blaster some more in my spare time. First I wanted to come up with a way to attach the front section without having to have that bit screwed in place at the bottom. So I did a think and came up with this: a "hook" that slots into a hole on the inside (it's an old wire coat-hanger, BTW) and will also be the base for the trigger.




Perfect.

Then I filled the screw-holes, hot-glued and tidied up the 'muzzle' with 'green-stuff' (I don't know what that is, but it's used in model-making to sculpt miniatures (toy soldiers) and sets like plastic - I think I've mentioned that earlier in the thread).




Then I wanted to paint it. I got some 'hammered metal' effect spray paint some time back and wanted to use that (masking off the clear tube section) - but how do you spray such an object without holding it? Well I did another think and came up with another use for old wire hangers (taped to an up-turned plaster hawk).



Still need to weather it a bit, build a trigger and paint the muzzle section, but finally have it assembled looking something like it should (it's gonna be holstered a lot of the time, but it's all about the details) :)





Oya!


Now, vode, I need a bit of advice. I need to do something with the grip, but I'm not sure what. The two obvious choices are (1) wrap it with fabric/leather or (2) cover it with some Bondo type substance and sculpt it up/file it down. Or the lazy third option of just painting it a different colour  ;) So, any suggestions? Bear in mind I have only a few pennies to spend, so exotic materials are out, but stuff that I'll need to get anyway (like Sintra and Bondo etc) are fine  :)

Re: Blue Mandible's WIP
« Reply #49 on: Feb 09, 2016, 02:57 PM »
Paint job finished on the blaster (lots of dry-brushing) and trigger 95% built.


Still looking for suggestions for the grip - ideas anyone?

I'm thinking of building up the inner section to look like bone/ivory and keeping the metallic surround, but I'd really like to hear of other people's experiences and ideas for materials etc :) Gonna make final decision on the trigger once I know for sure what I'm doing with the handle.




(The glow isn't as bright as that in real life - that's just how it photographs :) )


In other news, I got some plastic duct-piping to use as a base for my gauntlets. I thought I'd ordered a pack of four tubes, but I'd mis-read the details and it was actually just the one (I thought it was cheap  :-[ ). So I'm gonna order some more of that to make the pair - and start on my wife's kit (yay!). Hopefully have some progress shots of the first one soon.

I've been in two minds about the leg armour too - whether to go for shin-and-knee armour or shnees? I want to have knee-darts, and I'm not sure they'd look right on shnees, but if you look back at the boots I'm planning of using you'll see they're quite tall (and I need to cover the laces), so separate pieces might be a tight squeeze. Anyway, been playing with a few ideas based on the foamex/sintra I have at the moment - again, any suggestions based on peoples experience welcome :)

 


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