activation email

[StormMaker]

Duck cloth looks good, metallics not so much. Foil fabrics look futuristic in a super spaceman way rather than a down to earth star wars way.

     Yeah. I'm afraid Kris is right. The metallic will probably make you look like something from a Black & White SciFi movie. Many of the outfits/costumes in Star Wars really didn't use that.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Duck cloth looks good, metallics not so much. Foil fabrics look futuristic in a super spaceman way rather than a down to earth star wars way.

Darn, oh well! Better to know now before I buy it! Thanks

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Who's got two thumbs and is terrible at doing things in a timely fashion?

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~.

But a couple of updates: I poked NME about the status of my order since it's been about 8 weeks since I placed it and I wanted to make sure I'd get a tracking number. He says it should ship on Saturday, woohoo! I'm also hoping to get some patterning paper this weekend, maybe order the leather fabric I'll be using to mod my turtleneck and then the duck cloth. Maybe I'll buy some yarn too to make the belt once I get a better idea of the duck cloth's color in person. Sorry for necro'ing, no new pictures or anything but hopefully getting that helmet will kick my rear into gear lol.

EDIT: So to avoid a double-post, just editing this one. I'm still looking at the duck cloth for my vest, but I also found some cool batiks and was wondering if any of these would be acceptable. My primary concern is the design being too flashy, but I'm not sure if batik designs are too earth-y, either.

https://www.fabric.com/buy/0384582/artisan-batiks-prisma-dyes-mottled-jungle
https://www.fabric.com/buy/0436714/island-batik-tuscany-sun-fern-dark-green
https://www.fabric.com/buy/0384579/artisan-batiks-prisma-dyes-mottled-aubergine

The second one in particular I really like! But if they are a no-go, I might opt for a darker green instead of the olive. It's lighter than I remember it, and I'd like something just a tinge darker.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

So I finally bought my fabric to make my vest! Gonna be following the design of Jaki's side-opening vest (found here: http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=116746.msg1597095#msg1597095).

The outer fabric is just a basic purple Kona cotton. It's a little darker and less blue than the picture shows. I'll be lining it with some quilt batting to give it a little more heft and structure (no more pleather vests for me.. learned that lesson last time!).



Also, obligatory pic of my ferocious beast. He's a noisy pain in the shebs, and I've no doubt my kit will have a distinct orange tint by the time it's done, haha!



Hoping to put this together soon. Still have to pattern it out, shouldn't be too hard to throw together in an afternoon, though. Then I need to buy some pleather to modify my turtleneck... progress! Baby steps!

[StormMaker]

So I finally bought my fabric to make my vest! Gonna be following the design of Jaki's side-opening vest (found here: http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=116746.msg1597095#msg1597095).

The outer fabric is just a basic purple Kona cotton. It's a little darker and less blue than the picture shows. I'll be lining it with some quilt batting to give it a little more heft and structure (no more pleather vests for me.. learned that lesson last time!).



Also, obligatory pic of my ferocious beast. He's a noisy pain in the shebs, and I've no doubt my kit will have a distinct orange tint by the time it's done, haha!



Hoping to put this together soon. Still have to pattern it out, shouldn't be too hard to throw together in an afternoon, though. Then I need to buy some pleather to modify my turtleneck... progress! Baby steps!

     Oh yeah. The lovely baby steps, but she'll be running before you know it.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

     Oh yeah. The lovely baby steps, but she'll be running before you know it.

Haha, yup! Really the toughest part is just buckling down and working instead of slacking off or playing World of Warcraft.. but I've just about finished the mockup (good thing, too, or I would've wasted my fabric), and I may have to buy some more fabric anyway because I'm not sure I bought enough, but hopefully this weekend I can finish up the vest!

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Here I am again with little progress done. I'll post pics later but the vest is complete. Not 100% satisfied with it but I'm running short on time to get this done by Halloween. I can always make more tweaks later.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest downsides I've discovered from being out of the costuming/armor-making scene for as long as I have is that I'm extremely rusty, and it's rather frustrating. I've got a project schedule that I can follow, but right now I'm really struggling with sizing and templating my torso armor. :/ Especially when I'm trying to sketch it on Sintra and then find that pencil doesn't really erase on it so now I've just made a mess and still haven't gotten where I needed to go.

If y'all have any tips for how to best template (aside from doing it on paper, which I will) armor, particularly for a chica who is trying to keep her look as close to the male templates as possible (boob plate isn't practical for a jailer!), I'd really appreciate it. I'm finding it really hard to stay motivated on this project, or any project lately, but if I can at least get the torso armor sorted that's likely the toughest part.

EDIT: Found some templates on the dented helmet that should fit. Sized for someone who is 5'1", which is a half-inch shorter than I am so I don't know if I should go for that or the 5'3", which is 1.5" taller than I am.

[Kris Jasra]

I would heavily advise not templating until you have the vest if you're wanting to try for masculine plates and have a larger bust as you may have to add padding in a couple of places to lose the breast profile. If you don't think you'll need to pad then wear whichever bra or binder you plan on costuming with before starting.
I ended up making my template from scratch as I had no printer back when I started. I put on a strip of fabric to simulate where my girth belt would sit and measured from the top of that up to my neck. I then measured across my chest and then simply drew out a set of armour using Boba and Jango as my references for angles and cut it all out of folded paper so it was symmetrical. Then it was just a matter of refining a few parts that needed adjusted angles due to me being 3D and the flat paper not.

I did get my hands on some templates eventually and it turns out that I require the 5'5 ish set for width and 4'9 ish for height when I am 5'3. So the templates can be a great start but without the actors body shape you will have to adjust them to fit anyway - so grab a size and use them for the basic shape and angles but add and cut them till they fit you.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

I would heavily advise not templating until you have the vest if you're wanting to try for masculine plates and have a larger bust as you may have to add padding in a couple of places to lose the breast profile. If you don't think you'll need to pad then wear whichever bra or binder you plan on costuming with before starting.
I ended up making my template from scratch as I had no printer back when I started. I put on a strip of fabric to simulate where my girth belt would sit and measured from the top of that up to my neck. I then measured across my chest and then simply drew out a set of armour using Boba and Jango as my references for angles and cut it all out of folded paper so it was symmetrical. Then it was just a matter of refining a few parts that needed adjusted angles due to me being 3D and the flat paper not.

I did get my hands on some templates eventually and it turns out that I require the 5'5 ish set for width and 4'9 ish for height when I am 5'3. So the templates can be a great start but without the actors body shape you will have to adjust them to fit anyway - so grab a size and use them for the basic shape and angles but add and cut them till they fit you.

Thanks for the input! I do have my vest done and I'm just a little lazy right now, but I'm also thinking of changing it some. It currently velcros on the sides, but it's a little hard to put on-- are life-vest style buckles accepted for vests? They'd be on the sides, and black of course to match the flight suit underneath. Wanna make sure that's okay before I make any changes.

Once I can get some answers there and potentially refine my vest, I'll see if I can't have my husband print out some templates when he can and play around with sizing. I expect I'll have to make some changes no matter what, whether it's to width or height or whatever, and I'll probably start out with templates that I expect to be too big so I can shave them down instead of having to size up, if that makes sense.

Thanks again!

[Kris Jasra]

Life vests tend to use parachute clips - they're completely fine. Dont use elastic to attach them if it will be visible. Try and colour match the strapping to either vest or flightsuit if it's any other material. And try and use metallic buckles, or if plastic give them a spray with a metallic colour or use black and silver highlighting to make them appear metal.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Life vests tend to use parachute clips - they're completely fine. Dont use elastic to attach them if it will be visible. Try and colour match the strapping to either vest or flightsuit if it's any other material. And try and use metallic buckles, or if plastic give them a spray with a metallic colour or use black and silver highlighting to make them appear metal.

I wasn't sure what the actual name was, but yes, a parachute clip! That's what I'm looking at using, so perfect. Glad I can use those, think it'll be easier to wear the vest if I just have to buckle it, rather than velcro it. Can also fix some of the other issues with the sizing. I'll make sure the clips and strapping is black, since that's the color of my flightsuit since I imagine there will be at least a little gap.

Thanks!

[Akiva Tal'korel]

OMG AN ACTUAL UPDATE. I'm actually making progress, -what-?!



Finally finished my vest, or as least as done as it's gonna get for now. I slimmed it down multiple times with darts at the bust, front, and back, and pulled out the velcro (too hard for me to fasten and my goal is to be able to put this on entirely without help lol) and added parachute clips instead (may add more down the line). It's not perfect, I know, but the imperfections at places like the hem will be covered with a belt so I'm not too worried right now. Especially being on a deadline for a KC Zoo troop in October (and obviously, Halloween).

I also got my husband to print out the Boba templates, these are sized at 5'3" and actually fit me pretty well from what I can tell! It's near impossible to see in the pic, but I have drawn on my ab plate and collar piece to mark where I need to make some adjustments to account for not being a 5'3" guy. Will add the shoulders later once I make those adjustments.

Everything looking good so far?

[Kris Jasra]

Small pic is a little hard to see details and I have no idea where you've marked but the only thing I can say is that you may need to shift the collar so it sits closer to your neck on either side, but it's hard to tell if it's gap or neck seal.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Small pic is a little hard to see details and I have no idea where you've marked but the only thing I can say is that you may need to shift the collar so it sits closer to your neck on either side, but it's hard to tell if it's gap or neck seal.

Hope that size is a little better; trying to upload from FB is a pain! The collar is sitting pretty close to my neck, the black is my flightsuit. The vest also has a bit of a high neck, but the plate is sitting pretty much as high as it can go. As far as the rest of the plates, though, those are looking good size/spacing wise?

EDIT: When you say 'on the sides' do you mean on either side of my neck? Because yeah, I see what you mean. There is some space there, so I should probably fill that a bit?

[Kris Jasra]

EDIT: When you say 'on the sides' do you mean on either side of my neck? Because yeah, I see what you mean. There is some space there, so I should probably fill that a bit?

Yeah, the inner sides of the collar next to the neck. The templates are made from plates made for men so the neck spacing is often a little wide for women.

And slightly better , looks like you've pretty much got it in hand. (Mirror selfies are hard, my only well lit mirror is high enough I have to stand on the loo to get a decent photo... )

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Yeah, the inner sides of the collar next to the neck. The templates are made from plates made for men so the neck spacing is often a little wide for women.

And slightly better , looks like you've pretty much got it in hand. (Mirror selfies are hard, my only well lit mirror is high enough I have to stand on the loo to get a decent photo... )

Sweet! I'll adjust the outer sides of the collar plate (they go into my shoulders so too wide there) and see if I can't use that extra on the inside space. Gonna adjust the ab plate so I have proper spacing towards the bottom of the chest plates and then I'll post a new pic. Will probably need husband's help pinning the backplate on lol! Or maybe I'll just opt for a cape now and work on that later.

EDIT: Went ahead and trimmed the collar and ab plates. The shoulder plate is kinda affixed badly because I can't reach the way back. They are kinda big, but I kinda like it. Gives me a little extra on the intimidation factor, lol. Everything look good?



And of course, not content to be left out is my little jerkbutt of a cat.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Not a whole lot of progress to show yet. Got my patterns transferred to some sintra, which I tried to cut with a box cutter. Got one chest piece out, but snapped off the bottom tab (cue frustration). Managed to super-glue it back together, hopefully it won't break again when I shape it. I'll bondo over the seam later. Gonna cut the rest out with my dremel since I'm terrified of band saws, but I need a dust mask and to find my safety goggles first.

Tried to pattern my left gauntlet today, but it's been frustrating. I want to use my old phone as a data pad, but I'm stuck on how to be able to insert and remove it from my gauntlet without it falling out, or without it looking really obvious. I don't want it permanently in the gauntlet, but I'm just out of ideas. It's been a frustrating day in general, so not being able to translate what I see as a finished product into separate pieces hasn't helped.

So if anyone has tips on the following, would be greatly appreciated:

1. How to install said phone into gauntlet, but in a way that still allows me to take it out if I want to.
2. How to make a basic LED circuit that I can operate with a switch. I want to make stun batons as my first weapons, and have them light up at one end, with the switch at the other. I don't know how to make a circuit, and I don't have a soldering iron either so.... no idea.

Thanks all <3

[Ikaan Deema]

Depending on how you're going to make the gauntlets, you might consider putting in a panel or something on the inside of the gauntlet that keeps the phone in place. That way there's no external edges or evidence of a closure method and even if the panel comes off, your arm will keep the phone from falling out of place.

If that's too rambly/badly communicated, I can clarify. Or at least attempt to.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Depending on how you're going to make the gauntlets, you might consider putting in a panel or something on the inside of the gauntlet that keeps the phone in place. That way there's no external edges or evidence of a closure method and even if the panel comes off, your arm will keep the phone from falling out of place.

If that's too rambly/badly communicated, I can clarify. Or at least attempt to.

I'm not sure I quite understand, no. Right now the plan is to have a base shape for the gauntlets (probably more square than cylindrical so I can fit the phone on top without it looking weird) and then build the structure on top. I thought maybe velcroing the attachment to the gaunt, but I'm not sure how much of a visible attachment that would leave (with velcro on the top of the gauntlet and the bottom of the phone 'case').

[Ikaan Deema]

If you create a frame or something that the phone fits into on the gauntlet shell, you can leave a space where the phone fits into it from the inside. Kinda like a picture frame.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

I've got most of my armor patterned and have started cutting it out with my dremel. SO DUSTY. However, it feels like it isn't cutting as efficiently through the 6mm as I'd want. I'm using the reinforced cutting disk on speed.. IDK. 13-14? I'm not sure if I should use a higher speed. I've been doing it a little bit at a time, often going over the same area repeatedly so I'm not using too much pressure and damaging the disk.. should I use a higher speed?

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Nevermind! I went ahead and got some new blades for my box cutter/utility knife and it worked really well. My hand is a bit sore but I've got all my fingers still! Cut out just about all the pieces I need. Still need shins and back plate, but I need to buy more sintra for that.



Chest pieces. Shoulders are 3mm, rest is 6mm. Probably gonna recycle my old shoulder armor too to use as a 'second' shoulder for a bulkier look.



Gauntlet pieces, or at least the basics. Recycling the backs from my old kit, and my left gauntlet is gonna be using my old phone as a data pad. Gonna greeb it up, of course. Also the vaguely circle-shaped piece and the smaller square will be a housing for a portable charger for said phone, which will be running a slideshow of 'inmates'. Right gauntlet will have a taser set-up. Still need to find or make a transformer box and a battery pack, as well as cut out the plating for the back of my hand/knuckles.



And my leg plates. Thighs and knees. Will make shins when I get more sintra, along with the back plate. Also helper-cat decided to 'help' by sitting and being cute (this was after many times he interrupted my work by literally sitting on my sintra piece. :|)

Boots should be here this week, gotta think about my girth belt, ammo belt, and how to disguise my actual phone, which is pretty large! Anyone have any ideas for how to disguise a Nexus 6? I don't want it in my armor, but I'm not sure if a pouch for it would be too big.

[Verco Nuhla]

You people and your cats 

[Akiva Tal'korel]

You people and your cats 

What would I do without him... (the answer is probably get more work done and spend less time scouring the apartment wondering what clever hiding space he found for a nap -this- time..)

[Kris Jasra]

What would I do without him... (the answer is probably get more work done and spend less time scouring the apartment wondering what clever hiding space he found for a nap -this- time..)

This. Entirely this. I posted a full wip that had cats in every picture just because they got in the way so much... - Fabric is for lying on. Plastic is for lying on. Metal is for lying on. Trophies are for chewing on. Kit sorted.

Your cat is cute. I suppose I should congratulate you on your progress plate cutting, but you have a cute cat. Cat!