Man, I really have to get better at sticking to a WIP thread. But, ya know. Life.
Since my concept has evolved somewhat, I'll be posting new concept pics as well, but first I'll simply do a top-down inventory of everything that I have/intend to do. For a quick reference, though, here's the pic of the mostly-complete concept.
HELMETWay back when, I got this old crash helmet that I stripped down. Because of similar thicknesses and the swivel posts, I'll be using this for the dome, and adding the vertical "cylinder" made out of Sintra and held together with epoxy and/or bondo.
The final helmet will have the visor and double fin of the Mandalorian police captain's helmet from The Clone Wars (begin general theme here). Pictures and cardboard mock-up below.
Reference of MPC helmet:
FLIGHTSUIT, VEST, AND TORSO PLATESI acquired a black flightsuit, and a good friend of mine was kind enough to sew me the vest to my specs. I sewed on these buckles, but I will likely carefully remove them and add a zipper on both sides- I'm not thrilled with how the buckles sit.
The plates will be standard in front, custom segmented but full coverage in back, and likely some added side plates, both for additional coverage and to cover zippers. On top of the standard plates in the front and back, I will be adding trauma plates over top for more thickness, and they will have the same color lines and profile of the Mandalorian police tunic armor.
SHOULDERS AND ARMSBefore, my design had an additional heavy shoulder bell, but I will be forgoing that for now, Standard shoulder bells, but detachable from the vest, in case I ever wanted to go sleeveless for a hot/unofficial troop.
As for gauntlets, I have no idea for the design so far, I'll admit. I will have one plain shell gauntlet for my left arm for sure, however, for reasons that will be explained later. Gloves will be plain black, and there will be hand plates, of as yet undetermined design.
GIRTH BELT AND KAMAThe kama was originally going to be slightly longer than usual, but keeping with the theme, I will keep it a standard length, made of black pleather backed with the same burgundy as the vest.
For the girth belt, I will be using a dark blue fabric, pictured below. I will likely add loops and a sort of under-belt to keep it in place, or perhaps industrial velcro, but that also remains to be seen.
Belts and bandoliers will also be black leather/pleather with burgundy-lined pouched, same as the kama.
Pic of the torso with girth belt held roughly in place:
JET/BACK PACKSince this will be a heavier build than I originally set out for, coverage-wise, to keep the theme the back pack will either be a booster pack, for dashes and jump assists but not necessarily prolonged flight, a simple power pack or backpack, or nonexistent. At this stage, it's not a huge concern of mine.
LEG ARMOR AND BOOTSBoots and leg armor design has not changed from previously, and following are some pictures of both the design and progress thus far. (Apologies for the blurriness on this one.)
WEAPONSWeaponry will consist of a beskad, likely to stay holstered, a WESTAR-35 carbine with full stock, also likely to stay holstered, and a WESTAR-35 pistol, which will likely be the main used/picture weapon. All will be slightly modified, especially in the grips, to better fit comfortably in my hand.
SHIELDHere she is. The beast. The Mountain. Affectionately nicknamed "Cerar."
In a break from traditional Mandalorian police shields, there will be an additional reinforced rim to cover the plywood edge, and a blaster-proof transparisteel viewport. Not a standard Mando shield, but there are in-universe examples of shields with viewports, so I'm not hugely worried about breaking any rules on that one.
Right. So, to address a couple of final concerns, yes, I am quite aware that Cerar will be quite heavy, especially if I have to carry it around a con or event all day. But hey, we all suffer for our art. Thankfully, ballistic shield handle replacement kits are surprisingly cheap, and with the proper balance and rigging it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Plus, if things get too heavy, I'll have the backup carbine to play around with as well.
I think the spacing is fixed and proper on the plates, but hopefully I haven't made any grievous errors. (Heh heh. Grievous.) If the lack of backing on the shoulder bells is an issue, I can also add an under padding to them, to give them a little more beefiness and perceived protection.
I will also say that not all of this will be done before my kit is official. My plan is to get things set up and official-like with the necessaries for OM, with enough progress and tinkering done that the other additions can be added smoothly and relatively painlessly even after I hit OM status.
Any comments, questions, or advice, as always, feel free. Oya!
