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[Laaran Dala]

Hello everyone!  I've been working on my armor for a couple months, and just realized that I hadn't started an official WIP thread for it.  This is Aaray Bladesinger, the assassin.  The plates are 3mm Sintra, and I'm using Krylon for my paint.  So here we go, start to...now.  If you have any feedback/advice/questions, please let me know!

The Beginning


I used the Jango templates for most of the plates, and actually free-handed the shoulder bells. 

Knees!


I did these much later than the rest of the plates, and free-handed the design - I just wanted them to be simple, and do the job!

Fit Test!


I couldn't get the top parts of my armor to stay on with tape, so I only have a picture of the bottom half so far.  And don't worry, I have a method for covering the laces on my boots!

And that's everything pre-paint!

[Laaran Dala]

Nothing too exciting here, just primer!

[corriban]

Looking good vod! The scale looks really good. Do you have a color concept yet?

[Laaran Dala]

Thanks!  The color scheme is black, red, and silver.  The flight suit, vest, boots, and gloves are black.  One shoulder bell will stay metal, with the Suumpir'ade clan sigil in black and red, and the other will be solid red, with tally marks for kills "scratched" into the paint.  Most of the plates will be black with a red and silver stripe here and there (haven't planned the exact layout of the stripes yet).  The knees will be red...and I really don't know what I'm doing with my boot plates yet.

[Laaran Dala]

Now we're in more recent territory - METAL  !  I had to scrap my original shoulder bells - they just weren't large enough for the "sleeves" on my flak vest.  I also had to trim down the chest plates as they were stabbing me in the arm.  I used a dremel to round off the edges of the plates for a more finished look.

Overview




Just a little closer...



Detail shot!



I used a hammer-finish paint, and I really like the way it looks. 


Hopefully I'll be able to finish ALL my paint this weekend, so there should be updated pics on Monday, if not sooner!

[Havelock]

It's looking really nice, vod.  Any chance we can get pictures of the plates on you to check sizing and spacing?

[Kavryn Falco]

A fit check would be super helpful. Also, do you have a collar plate?  It's one of the required plates, and is actually pretty important as far as spacing goes.

[Laaran Dala]

Doing a fit / spacing check is high on my priority list for this weekend.  And for some odd reason, I completely forgot about a neck plate  , so I'll knock one of those out as well.  Thanks guys!

[Havelock]

Sure thing.  And how did I miss that you didn't have a collar?  Sheesh.  Anyway, we'll be looking forward to the new pics.  Good work.   

[Mavik]

Looks like you are making great progress. Do you have plans for a back plate?

[Laaran Dala]

Since this is my first kit, and I've heard that backplates can be kind of a pain, I've opted for a full-coverage cape instead. 

[Vailin Flynn]

Kudos for making the hammered metal look work. I tried that on some test plates, never worked out. Keep up the good work

[Laaran Dala]

I really like the hammered finish - so much so, I almost don't want to paint over it!  I went ahead and made a collar/neck plate last night, and also did an upper-body fit test.  Please keep in mind that the plates are taped on, and if I look awkward, it's because I was try to move as little as possible for fear that they would fall off.

Also, I'm planning on doing some better-quality pictures this weekend, hopefully in full kit (minus helmet and gaunts).  Fire away!

[Havelock]

The spacing is looking really good.  Your collar looks like it's sitting in exactly the right place.  I'm not sure if the chest plates are too wide for the collar or not.  Since sizing matters differ somewhat for ladies.  You'll want someone with much more experience than me, preferably and App Team member, to weigh in on the collar/chest plates issue. 

Overall, I think this is looking great! 

And incidentally, I love your Mando name.  My first ever tabletop RPG character I named Airik Bladesinger.  heh  So, long lost vod.   

[Laaran Dala]

I was told by a clan member that the neck piece might not be wide enough, so I'm going to make a new one, just to be safe. 

And what are the odds of finding a long lost relative in this neck of the galaxy??? 

[Havelock]

I guess the galaxy's a lot smaller place than we thought.   

[Kris Jasra]

To be CRL technical, your chest plates can extend an inch (no more) than your collar. So you could simply trim the chest plates a tiny bit. I offer this advice in case you find that a wider collar inhibits your arm movement (my shoulder joint shifts pretty much from my neck so a wide collar means it shifts out of place if I so much as twitch my arms while holding my rifle) Another option, if necessary is to have a segmented collar.
Or of course, you could be built in a way that means a wider collar isn't a problem
I will say however, that the rest of that spacing is absolutely spot on.

[Kaelik]

Hi there,  I'm working on armor for my wife,  I'm wondering how you shaped the chest pieces?

[Laaran Dala]

I like the idea of a segmented collar...I might look into that!

Hi there,  I'm working on armor for my wife,  I'm wondering how you shaped the chest pieces?

Kaelik, I softened the plates up in the oven, and used a mannequin to get the general shape.  Then I used a heat gun to tweak any corners or contours that I couldn't get just right with the oven method. 

[Laaran Dala]

So...still working on a collar plate, but here's the rest of the kit!








I also did this. 

[Havelock]

Wow, looks awesome!  Sizing and spacing look really nice.  You might want to move the shoulder pieces up just a little, but I think that's just my personal preference. 

Nice work!

[Laaran Dala]

So I had a pretty productive weekend...still working on the neck plate (I managed to royally screw up the one I had been working on ), but I made some progress in a couple other areas.  Check it out!

Pre-weathering and detail



Post-weathering and detail



Still have a few detail things to do, and I have to re-do the paint on the left knee plate due to some bubbling, but other than that, she's basically done! 

[Havelock]

Love it!  Keep up the good work!

[corriban]

Looks real good! Spacing and sizing look spot on. Love the paint application!

[Laaran Dala]

Thanks guys!