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 Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP

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Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« on: Aug 03, 2015, 12:43 AM »
Alright, now that I've actually gotten started let's go ahead and start one of these threads. This build probably won't be too fast or particularly innovative since it's my first, but I've promised to take plenty of WIP photos for some friends of mine so I'll try to have plenty of updates to show you guys. Any feedback or comments you guys might have is greatly appreciated!

7/22 Initial Design Concept:


7/29 Template Test:

The templates I used for my chest set were all pretty much hand-drawn by the very helpful Kal Leo using a set of vacuformed plates as a reference, thanks bud!

7/29 Jumpsuit:


Old cotton duck jumpsuit I picked up from a military surplus store some years ago, it's nice and heavy-and I've gone ahead and cut the chest and butt pockets off. I've got some concern about the elastic inside the waistband since opening up the suit to remove it would compromise the seams the hold the upper and lower portions of the suit together. Furthermore the collar is lined with some brown corduroy I have mixed feelings about, but again, cutting it off would compromise the seams that attach the collar to the suit. I realize the hip pockets are pretty exposed, but I'm planning on attaching my leg plates to a pair of chaps-and I'm expecting that this will cover those-assuming my kama and belts don't. I've been considering riveting some grommets into the underarms for added ventilation since this suit is pretty heavy. Please excuse the barefoot pics, didn't realize those were in the frame. XD

7/29 Gloves:


I've been planning on using my old Oakley SI Factory pilots. I did what I could to scrape off the logo on the top of the wrist, and I'm not sure what to do about the logo on the closure strap, but considering the nature of the gap between my jumpsuit cuffs and the glove cuffs, of adding some wrappings underneath my gauntlet eventually to cover the gap. They've survived numerous trips to the shooting range and a summer working maintenance at a boyscout camp in the Sierras so I'm pretty happy about the weather already on them. I don't love the massive hole split down the side of the left-thumb though, and I don't think I've really got the skill to sew it shut properly.

7/30 Rough Cut:

I've been using 6mm sintra for this build, these a pretty rough and as of now they've been trimmed down past the sharpie lines and I've started sanding the edges down, but I don't have any pictures to share of that quite yet.

« Last Edit: Jan 20, 2016, 09:06 PM by Beacon_Radio » Logged

Havelock


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #1 on: Aug 03, 2015, 02:55 AM »
I'd say this is definitely a good start.  The flight suit fits really well, and I don't think you'll have to take it in at all, so, score!   :)  As for the gloves, if you can get the logos completely off or hidden, I like 'em.  Holes and all.  Natural weathering is always awesome.

Looking forward to seeing more.

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ConDar Ward


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #2 on: Aug 03, 2015, 08:22 AM »
Looking Really good so Far ...  ;)

 The Flight suit should be good , the Elastic waistband is Fine the Way it is ..
  Putting in Venting like you said is a good Idea , especially if it's heavy Weight material.
The pockets you Removed are the Biggest issue so I wouldn't worry about the Slash pockets.
  And the Collar is not too much of an issue either because most likely it Will be Covered.
You Could always add some sort of Closure to it it You feel like it Will be a problem ..

The Gloves will Work too , the Gap will also get Covered by the Gaunts pretty much ... But if the logos
still show either Disguise them , or Blend them in ... not Really a Big Deal .. IMO ..

I'd like to See the plates on you , Taped or Whatever to See the Sizing .... but all in Time ..  ;D

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Valo Tonar


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #3 on: Aug 03, 2015, 08:35 AM »
I concur with Condar on all points. And Have to say. Loving the Natural weathering.

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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #4 on: Aug 03, 2015, 11:02 AM »
Woo! Thanks for the feedback guys! The encouragement is a huge help in overcoming my procrastination, despite my enthusiasm for this project. I'll try to get my roommate to get some more snaps of my plate since her tablet takes better pictures than mine, and maybe I'll even try getting them formed today.

Yeah, about eight or nine weeks in the woods at a Boyscout camp with daily use on like... 10+ hour days six days a week on maintenance really took their toll. I couldn't tell you what half the stuff that makes up the stains is, that said I'm not so stoked on the 'weathering' all of that work put on the pants I brought to camp. Oh well, gear is meant to be used.

I was thinking about adding a closure to the collar actually, it comes up pretty close to my jaw and I thought like a little buckle or something right on the throat would look pretty flash. Or maybe just like... a gorget plate with some snaps that doubles as a closure? I guess I'll have to think on it.

I'm thinking about ways to weather up my jumpsuit a bit as well. It was bought second hand and over the years it's gotten a few little nicks here and there, but I'd like to get some real grittiness on there by natural means. Was thinking about having my roommate drive over it a bit in his truck but I don't want to damage any of the buttons or zippers.

ConDar Ward


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #5 on: Aug 03, 2015, 11:25 AM »
Coffee and Coffee Grounds Work well Grime ...  ;)

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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #6 on: Aug 04, 2015, 11:48 AM »
Thanks ConDar! I'll take that into consideration. I'd really like to darken the material since it has this sort of... orange-ey caramel color that I'm not hugely a fan of and I think it'd be a lot better if it was a bit darker.

8/3 Trimmed Plates:

Trimmed down through my template-trace lines and started cleaning up all of the edges, and got roughs of my thighs and shoulders cut out.

I spent a chunk of last night doing another session of sanding on all of my chest plates and rounding out the edge-bevels, starting to get pretty happy with how they're turning out so far. I've got some areas that are noticeably wavy that will need more attention, but they're starting to look good to my eye. I also played around doing some superficial surface scoring with some miscellaneous tools on scrap sintra and it seems really easy to make shallow surface marks. Anyone got any idea how a layer of rub n' buff will work with that? Do you guys think it'll fill the scratches or accentuate them as a damage?

« Last Edit: Jan 20, 2016, 09:07 PM by Beacon_Radio » Logged
Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #7 on: Aug 11, 2015, 09:21 AM »
Thus far everything but my shins and back have been cut out, trimmed, and given preliminary sanding. Looking at my chest plates there is an apparent difference in the edges that's been bugging my eyes, particularly the inside and top edges of the left-breast plate. The top edge hsad something of a curve to it and the inside edges don't have as refined of a curve geometry as the opposite plate's edges.

Went a little loose on the boot plates since I figure I'll have to adjust them for whatever boots I end up picking up for this project.

Goal for today is to get some plates formed and attach the pieces of my codpiece together, and hopefully get some more pictures as well.  I'm in talks with a guynrifht now about getting an STG.44/MP-44 airsoft rifle to use as a base to mod a blaster carbine out of.

Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #8 on: Aug 12, 2015, 08:27 AM »
8/11 Leg Plates:


Got most of my legs pieces cut out with the exception of the shins which I don't have complete templates of and the knees which I'm still undecided on. No pictures yet but I also epoxied my groin plates together and started bondoing them. By now most of these plates have been formed as well, but no pictures of that still either.

8/11 Shoulder Bells:


Shoulder bells cut out and rounded, please excuse barefoot heathen shot. Also got these formed somewhat now as well.

8/12 Formed Plates:


The excellent Kal Leo came over today for a bit of barbecue and armor-working session and was a huge help once again in starting on getting my plates formed. My chest pieces still need a bit of forming since the breast plates stick up a bit, you can see that I'm actually holding the bottom down to my torso so everything will sit somewhat more flat. What do you guys think so far?

« Last Edit: Jan 20, 2016, 09:08 PM by Beacon_Radio » Logged

ConDar Ward


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #9 on: Aug 12, 2015, 08:35 AM »
 The Size looks Good Dude ...  8)

 I really like seeing plates in their White form ....  ;D

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Mercy


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #10 on: Aug 12, 2015, 08:30 PM »
I wish that everyone would tape their plates together from the backside like that when they post sizing shots.
Then I could say "LOOKS GREAT!" without having to use my imagination :)
Methinks you're ready to get them mounted on a vest and go for the final "trim and shaping" phase.

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ConDar Ward


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #11 on: Aug 12, 2015, 08:40 PM »
I wish that everyone would tape their plates together from the backside like that when they post sizing shots.
Then I could say "LOOKS GREAT!" without having to use my imagination :)
Methinks you're ready to get them mounted on a vest and go for the final "trim and shaping" phase.

I really think your on to Something There .....  :rolleyes:  That Should be a Must , and I'm Going to Start Recommending
 that EVERYONE Do that Type of Taping Job on any Kit I Review ... Your Doing it Right ! ! ;)


 More please ....  ;D

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Mercy


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #12 on: Aug 12, 2015, 08:57 PM »
Lol just recommended it to someone else a few seconds ago  :)

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Havelock


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #13 on: Aug 13, 2015, 12:19 AM »
Note taken.  Now, just don't lose the note, Havelock, for when you have plates to check several months from now.   :laugh:

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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #14 on: Aug 14, 2015, 03:00 PM »
Yay! I did a good thing! Woohoo!

Finished getting the nasty spots out of my chest plates this morning and forming them a little bit better to me, as well as doing a 220 grit sanding over all of my chest pieces and doing a second bondo layer on my codpiece. I decided to do a sort of blend-in between the top plate and base plate for my codpiece by pretty much lacquering the whole outside of it in layers of bondo and sanding until I get a smooth, acceptable result. I am having some trouble with the bondo cracking along the edge of the top-plate in some places where I think it might be trying to come up, which I think means I didn't hit it with enough epoxy when I first attached them. Pretty sure I've got a fix for this in the works, but I'm letting it rest before I take another layer of bondo to the thing. The end result I'm expecting will be a little bit heavy, but not so much so that it'll be an issue.

Other than that I still need to get my shin and knee templates, and get my back piece cut out! Procrastination!

Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #15 on: Aug 29, 2015, 11:16 AM »
Still here, kinda in between phases right now as I'm finishing up my plates, but also trying to figure out cash between an anniversary next month and rent this month right around the corner to start picking up more elements of my design. Despite living in the west sourcing cowboy boots, chaps, and spurs in the area has proven a much harder task than expected so I may just end up ordering all of the junk online.

Teilyr Farsel


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #16 on: Aug 29, 2015, 11:25 AM »
Everything's looking good! Those plates are nicely shaped and fitted. Darth Real Life makes it hard on us sometimes, but stick with it! I look forward to seeing your finished product.

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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #17 on: Dec 02, 2015, 10:54 AM »
Quick update; project still ongoing but on the back burner, and the holiday season has left me... pretty much broke for getting a hold of supplies but I suspect someone elected to get me something for this so maybe I'll have something to share soon. Also in helping a friend of mine get started on his costume, my roommates got all of our plates mixed up moving some of my stuff around so that'll be something I'll have to sort through later. Shouldn't be too hard, since I'm an armor size or two smaller than him.

Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #18 on: Jan 20, 2016, 09:12 PM »
Still alive everybody! And with something of substance to share! Christmas was good to me, and as I predicted...

1/20/16 Spursss!:


Shin and back plates still not done, and I don't foresee picking up anything in the way of parts (Helmet, gauntlets, chaps, vest, belt, etc.) Until I'm through my dreaded gift-giving season which leaves me broke from December through March. At the very least I should be able to finish up those plates by then but well... winter and all that.

EDIT: I also got a new camera finally, so I can actually... take decent pictures of stuff myself. Woo.

Havelock


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #19 on: Jan 20, 2016, 09:24 PM »
Sweet.  Congrats.  Now use that camera to take some more pics!   :laugh:

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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #20 on: Feb 04, 2016, 11:05 AM »
2/4/16 Null Progress Update:

Forcing myself into progress I went ahead and ordered a visor tint sample from coloredfilms.com. They have a pretty wide variety of tint colors and offer 8x10 sample swatches for like $2.00, and didn't even charge me shipping.

Got pretty close to pulling the trigger on some leather pouches and stuff, but I'm holding off until I get a word back on some blaster-related stuff. The proximity to Valentine's Day and followed shortly by my girlfriend's birthday, rent, and saving up for a SERE/E&E course next month, then a roommate's birthday, and then rent again has me pretty cleaned out but I'd love to get this kit serviceable by March, so I gotta get moving now.

Also talking to a friend's parent who is getting into leatherworking about doing my flak vest, so as soon as I have spare cash for the materials and time to get down to my hometown for measurements I'll have that going for me as well.

I wanted to get some work done on my weekend but as it comes to a close I didn't really find time to start getting my last plates cut out. That said, I've been looking at Cad Bane's rocket boots and I'm seriously tempted to add them to my design. As much as I like jetpacks these seem like a much lighter alternative.


Bonus! I thought the spurs were the only present from that particular holiday benefactor, but apparently she got me a cowboy style gunbelt that's still on the way as well! So I'm excited to get my hands on that!

Oh, and I almost forgot! Junk! I've amassed a little bit of junk between searching through my own things and thrift shops, including a pretty neat... leather strap. I don't really know a lot about leather, but does anyone have any idea on stripping out dye? Or re-dying? I think this strap could be purposed into a decent... pilot-style boot flare holder.

Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #21 on: Feb 12, 2016, 09:07 PM »
2/12/16 The Thaw!:

Now that things are less sucky here I feel like I can finally start work again. Spent too much of the day up trying to get back into it and I definitely need some sleep before work tonight but here's where things are.



Repaired my slightly damaged back template and got that cut out, and started trimming it up, but it's gonna take a little personal time getting that thing in order. Turns out I never went and printed out the rest of the template pieces I needed so I was stuck with... 2/6 pieces for the shins in the size I'm using, so I put together the templates for a smaller size and extrapolated the measurements and got a left shin, and both shin plates cut out. Still gotta flip that guy over and cut out the right shin, but that's no biggie. From here these all need to be trimmed, beveled, and formed-and my boot plates need to be formed but I'm holding off until I have the right boots I want to form them for. Additionally I may end up making a new groin plate since I dunno how I feel about mine at this point.

Unfortunately for everyone I offered to help out in doing their own Mandos, I'm pretty much down to just scrap chunks of sintra and I'll have to order more if anyone else comes up to start on their kit.

As well, that tint I mentioned previously showed up and... Not quite what I was hoping;





While it's really-really cool I don't even think it's exactly the right sort of tint, and even double layered (They sent me two sheets, pretty cool), it's still really transluscent, so I guess I'll have to go elsewhere for my tinting needs.

Still no conclusive word on that holster, but I did jump on a pair of scoped DE-10s from ConDar that I'm very excited to get my hands on.

EDIT: Knees! I totally forgot I still gotta do knees too. I've got templates for either Boba or Jango knees but... the more I look at 'em, the less confidence I have in them. Gotta figure something out there.

2/13/16 Update:


Put in another couple hours of work today on the balcony, including a lot of one-on-one time with the palm sander.


Cleaned by back plate waaaaaay up, rounded out the corners, and started in on the bevels.


Knocked out the rest of my shins and started shaping them after a quick trim. I gotta confess, not entirely sure what I'm during here. I'm perplexed about how these are supposed to be shaped.


Went back with a chisel-shaped exacto blade, bit of sandpaper, and a narrow grinding wheel and cored out a notch in my chest diamond. Did my best to clean it up for the time being, but despite being perhaps a smidgen lopsided I think it looks a lot better.

Also accidentally kinda-sorta won an eBay bid for an old school Swedish mauser cartridge belt ala ANH's Tusken Raiders, so that should be showing up later this month and knocking another item off of my list.

EDIT: Nevermind! I am dumb! I just realized I had my shins right the first time. Herp-derp. Still gotta form 'em right, but this makes more sense.

2/14/16 I Hate Backplates:

Spent hours today trying to get my backplate right. I believed everyone when they complained about it, but damn! Now I understand.



Went through all this and still couldn't manage;






The black dots were an attempt to create a guide for myself to somewhat maintain the flat backplate arch. Didn't... quite work.






Quick matchup just to check how the fit will end up. I'm expecting to have to trim them, but I don't want to bother until I can get the back sorted away.

When I tired of spending my whole day doing that, I moved on to fixing my shins from yesterday and started in on a kneepad despite my apprehension.




Still need to trim, epoxy, fill, and sand the whole thing-but I wanted to see how they'd look put together. Thinking of adding an additional sintra plate to the front just to... toughen the whole build up, and then maybe inserting some foam into the inside so I can actually take a knee and not fear for my sintra. I've decided against the chin plate in favor of the aforementioned applique panel, and I think I'll try something a little different in place of the knee darts as well.


That would be one of my roommates, and possibly a future fellow unofficial Vornskr Clan member. When I can pull him away from working on our growing Gunpla collection.

Also working on some more detailed ideas for my soft parts; namely a kama and a poncho.


« Last Edit: Feb 14, 2016, 09:02 PM by Beacon_Radio » Logged
Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #22 on: Feb 23, 2016, 09:47 PM »
2/23/16 Big Delivery:

I leave for a week to visit my girlfriend and my hometown, take a little trip down to Yosemite and I get back to...



So, what did we get? Blasters from ConDar! Awesome! These things are /awesome/, I've already starting attacking the mold seams and imperfections.





The scopes are I guess B-pulls but I shouldn't have too much trouble ironing that out;





What else did I get? Bandoleers! Ignore the top one, it's a Martini-Henry replica for a different project.





Still need a waist sash or a girth hitch to go underneath, but you get the idea.


« Last Edit: Mar 02, 2016, 12:27 AM by Beacon_Radio » Logged

ConDar Ward


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Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #23 on: Feb 24, 2016, 08:00 AM »
 I'm Glad The Pair made it To you intact ...  ;)

I look forward to seeing your Build Come together ...   8)

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 Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum - Remo Jadd - 0267
Re: Kaide Sunstrider Armor WIP
« Reply #24 on: Mar 02, 2016, 12:13 AM »
Thanks once again ConDar, they're fantastic and working with them is huge blast. No... uh, no pun intended.

I'm so very much in love with these things that I've been getting pretty deep into working on them. I've really been enjoying spinning them so I've gone ahead and filled in the trigger guards a little bit and then rounded them back out. I'm probably also going to take in the face of the trigger just a little bit to make it a little smoother as well.


I've also decided to round out the corners on the grip to make it a little more comfortable and change the balance some. I think I prefer it this way was well-it feels less like a brick of LEGO in my fist and more like a gun.


More filling and sanding on the scopes, got the bubbles in the ends works out.


As well as straightening out some of the faces on the scope mounts to make them look a little bit more convincing.


Also! The excellent Kal Leo came by again to lend me another huge helping hand in getting my back plate figured out. It think it's come a long way from how I had it, and his solution of cutting little notches to make a spine-guard make the bends a lot easier to put in. He did an awesome job and he's another fellow I just can't thank enough. There are actually a lot of small surface imperfections, little warps from all of the heat and bending and re-bending, but I'm working on reducing those.



Here are some shots of the thing actually on me;





Oh, and here's where we're at with this. I found a couple of suspicious, spent CO2 cartridges along the tracks back in my home town on a walk with a good friend of mine which is something I was looking for as it so happens, so I pocketed them. Turns out, they fit almost perfectly in these loops;

« Last Edit: Mar 02, 2016, 12:31 AM by Beacon_Radio » Logged
 


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