activation email

[kennethmterry]

So I have been called out for double posting and I don't want to cross any rules for double posting. I would like to post my pictures of my current Late Crusader WIP here for more feedback and ideas as well. Is this allowed?

[Sep Ho'ban]

Double posting is when you post twice in a row (in the same thread) without it having been a few days, or without someone else replying between.  If you need to post againsright after, edit your post and add to it there.  Please, post your pics and questions!

[Hik'aari]

..without it having been a few days...

The previous quote is nearly spot on for the Double Post. Generally it is 24 hours though, not a few days.
Please share away with your photos

[kennethmterry]

This is an update from the Talon Clan Forum.

Simply Copying All Of My Posts From My Build

     I'll apologize up front for the novel you are about to read.  I have been doing quite a bit of homework as of late. Well, since SWCO. You guys inspired me to build a Mandalorian Cosplay Kit. I have introduced myself previously, but I will explain a little about myself here as well. I am a Native North Carolinian. Born in Charlotte, raised in Mooresville. I am a metal fabricator who once worked in the racing industry and now works in hybrid construction. I am also a painter of industrial works that my company creates.

     I am new to the Mandalorian Mercs, but not new to cosplay. I have created several costumes in the past, however, none for any Clubs. My previous costumes have all been hybrid concepts, therefore, I didn't feel like I belonged into the constructs of the rules and regulations which come along with clubs. This is my first attempt to meet the guidelines of a club. I have not taken this lightly either. I have been in contact with several individual Russ'alors within the MMCC who have offered a great deal of guidance throughout my concept art and we have come to the below designs. These designs are in no way final as I haven't gotten you guys to approve of the designs as of yet. So without any further hogwash, these are my designs.



I am going for a Late Crusader. As you can see I like the asymmetrical look with the Shoulder Armor. Clone inspired clam shell. The Back Armor will be pretty plain as of right now. To Jet Pack Or Not To Jet Pack??? Perhaps later. Maybe not though as the Brigade I am shooting for, suggests there be no jet pack. I do however intend on incorporating some fans in the Back Plate to run some cool air to the back of my flight suit.



Flight Suit is inspired by Ralph McQuarrie's Boba Fett. The Flight suite will be made from Black 1000 Denier Polyester Cordura. It is a super heavy weave, similar to motocross pants.  The Seam thread will be in a contrasting color of Charcoal Grey. I plan on incorporating some Charcoal grey Upholstery Grade Leather on the Abdominal Plate, Kidney Plate, Cod Plate, Left Thigh Pocket, and the Shoulder Area (Wings on the Flack Vest). I plan on not wearing a Flack Vest Per Se. The inside of the flights suit will be lined with satin as the fabric I plan on using is quite abrasive. With that said. The back of the suit will probably have a form of mesh to help with cooling me down during a troop. The Chest Armor is a clam shell which will fasten on the left or right side. I haven't yet decided. I will wear Thigh Armor on the right leg only. I have not yet decided on the Shin Armor, but there will be a SHNEE incorporated into the Shin Armor. I will most likely use some of the Stormtrooper type Boots.





So that I don't make the mistake of using Fett Gauntlets for Late Crusader Era, I used some reference photos for some Ideas. I bought some 3 inch PVC tubing and cut and shaped about 6 different pieces until was happy with my method. These will be connected with a piece of piano hinge and held closed with Earth Magnets. I will then use some other techniques with Sintra and other stuff to construct the remaining pieces. I think I may wish to use some Aluminum tubes with some custom ends, So if anyone knows someone with a Lathe, Mill, and some quality work, I welcome suggestions. Of all the tools that I have access to, a Lathe and a Mill isn't one of them. Do Flame-Throwers always require a hose coming from the backplate? Just a question...



This is a base for a set of Macrobinoculars I will incorporate into my Kit. There is a great deal of work that has gone into those already. I just haven't taken any photos of the work up to this point. However, I will take photos and keep you guys up to date.

I started on modifying a Nerf Gun for a rifle and got shot down already by those who have helped up to this point. I was told it looked too futuristic and would fit the era.





So if anyone is looking for a Rifle which has, for the largest part been De-Nurfed, I would part with it. All of the Screw holes have been filled. I shaved off the battery box, filled in the magazine well with a broke piece of aluminum and bondoed to make the stock appear similar to a Verpine. I fabricated a forward hand hold, which hasn't been attached as I was wanting to paint the barrel prior to epoxying the heat shroud to it. I had intentions of purchasing a Nurf Scope and attaching, but I sent photos to those helping me out and, as I said, "I was No-Goed".

I have since purchased another base rifle. I purchased a UKARMS Spring Powered P2703B Airsoft Rifle. I haven't had an opportunity to work on yet. I am aware the Rifle can not fire, So, If any of you knows how to deactivate an Airsoft, I welcome any advice.



I have plans on purchasing a Shae Vizla pistol for a side arm. I just haven't had the opportunity to purchase it yet. I will also use a Han Solo type holster/belt which I will make using 8 ounce leather I purchased from Tandy Leather.

Now to top everything off. I have ordered this little baby.



Now when I start talking about the bucket, I know what all of you are going to say.... Just hear me out. I plan on opening up the Visor just a little bit in the up and down position. Not too much though. Just a tad... I wear glasses and I need some extra space in there. I plan on using a mirrored lens, which hasn't been ordered yet. I also plan on using some of those string lights on the outside rim of the visor. (RED) or possibly an (AMBER). I want to have an outside mic so I can hear what is going on around me and I plan on using a amplifier system of some sort as well. I'll probably incorporate some fans inside the bucket as well. I have an idea of whose system I want to use. It is just too far down the road for me to worry about at this point.



I am going to use this as my inspiration for my paint scheme. Just Inspiration. I do not intend on copying another universe. I just really like the Yen and Yang concept for the Paint Scheme. Good vs. Evil...

For my Mandalorian Name I have chosen (Shev'la Kyr'am). Silent Death...

I recently hosted an armor party at my shop where a few people showed up. I was very pleased with the tips I got from those who attended. They helped me make a Duct Tape dummy for my torso. I plan on using this to mock up the chest armor, however, I am waiting on your feedback to start this portion as the Chest armor is Clone inspired and I don't wish to go about making something that will not be accepted. I also would like suggestions on those String light things which people use to light their helmet. I need a resource for those. If anyone knows of someone who does aluminum darts and such for gauntlets, I would like that resource as well.

I welcome your feedback and look forward to this journey with you all. I hope you all like my concept.


O.K. Folks,

I have finally gotten some work done on my templates and I am pretty pleased with how the templates look thus far on my Duct Tape Dummy.

Take a look and let me know what you guys think thus far.

By the way there is an Armor Party this Saturday at Boxman studios in Charlotte, NC at 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm if you are interested. It was posted on the Facebook feed a few weeks back.








Greetings Talon Clan,

I had the opportunity to work with some of the Talon Clan OM's this weekend at the Armor Party I hosted at Boxman Studios here in Charlotte. Our 5 hour party turned into 7.5 hours. I was able to help out with some Metal Fabrication, and James & Jessi helped me out with some Sintra Fabrication. All in all, I would say it was a pretty productive day. Mark stopped by for a bit as well. I wanted to say thanks to those who helped out.

Now for some progress shots of the Project at hand. Keep in mind this is Late Crusader Era Armor. I am hoping my armor was what inspired the Clone Trooper Armor. That being said :



This a photo of the Chest Armor on my Duct Tape Dummy. Note to those creating a set of Armor out of Sintra: (Spend the Time and Money to make a Duct Tape Dummy). It is So Very Usefull when molding the Sintra. I used 3 rolls of the cheap $3.00 duct tape at Lowe's to get the form of my body. I then cut it off of my body. Stuffed it with some of those clothes that should have been taken to Goodwill 5 years ago. I then wrapped it in the higher value Duct Tape ( $9.00 Gorilla Tape) so I wouldn't have anything busting out of the Cheap Duct Tape. Well worth the Time, Money, and Effort... 6mm Sintra was the Choice for the Chest and Back plates.



This is just a shot to the Chest piece off of the Dummy.



This is a shot of the the 3 components of the chest armor. Pectoral Plates were fabricated separately from the lower Rib plate to add dimension.



The area blacked out is what I will later cut out in order to allow room for a Sound Transducer and other electronics.



This is just a shot of the Backplate on the dummy.





Lateral photo of the Backplate.



This is also a lateral view on the Dummy showing how the seam from the Chestplate to the Backplate fit together. It fits pretty darn close.

Working with Sintra was not terribly difficult. It really just takes patients and a steady (Gloved) hand. I had a few spots that required some reheating and shaping to get those awkward looking spots out. However, I found it pretty easy to work with.

I would appreciate any Constructive Critiques and I look forward to any additional ideas.
Thanks in advance.


Here are a few pictures of the new NME Helmet I recently purchased. I have to say, I was sceptical about spending the amount of money on this helmet, but I was really surprised with  the product NME puts out. I had them install the visor and asked them to leave some additional amount on the visor inside in the event I wanted to open up the T-Visor some so I could see better. This helmet comes pristine. there are zero seams, and zero defects. The only reason I will have to sand this is to get the paint to adhere to the helmet.

Front View



Side View



Side View
You can see where I have drawn a pencil line where I am considering opening up the T-Visor. Let me know how you guys feel about this as I don't want to cut too much away, but I feel like I have to open this up for a better field of vision.



I also plan to install a scope of some sorts on the right side and would like some ideas. I have seen some Mando Helmets with scopes installed and thought it looked very cool. Let me know how you guys feel about the updates.


As you can see, I am not rushing anything. I am trying to make deliberate decisions concerning anything to do with my Armour. I have been spending the last two days trying to decide on how I am going to pad the inside of my helmet. I have so many electronics I want to go in there as well. I think I have decided to scavenge the padding from a Motorcycle helmet I have. I just want everything to be super clean inside. I don't like the idea of wires hanging to and fro.




Nerf Scope came in the mail today so I cut it up and I am trying it out on my helmet. I cut a 3 mm piece of Sintra to fit into the hole so I can later fill in the hole after the Mirror Film comes in and I can cover the piece of plastic that will go in as the lens. I plan on adding a few greeblies to it to make it a bit more Swarzy. I may also put a few LED's in it that blink. It all depends on the amount of space I have left over. I have it just taped on there with some Gorilla Tape at the moment to give me a mock up. It fits perfectly inside the Ear Covers. I may end up attaching it via Earth Magnets, but that is a ways down the line.

But here are some Pics.








Here are a few pics of the scope and how I chopped it down and added a few items to Swarzy it up a bit.
Let me know what you guys think.








The vision is definitely hampered by the divider, but I do intend to cut a bit out of the T-Visor horizontally. I will cut
from the point closest to the ear, T-Visor, to the center point of the face diagnally, taking off approximately 3/4 at the center point to zero at the ear. Please see the pencil marking on one of the pictures previously posted for reference. I would like to hear your thoughts on this as well. I don't want to cut something and then have to try and replace it later. I am anxious to hear your thoughts.


I would greatly appreciate any input the application team might provide. I hope to keep the photos coming so that I can get as much feed back as I possibly can during my first build going for OM status. I know my ideas are somewhat out of the box as far as your usual Mandalorian Armour setup would be. So, I look forward to tips and advise on the entire build. I am taking things slowly primarily because my seamstress is backed up with projects and won't be available to work on my flight suit until November. That being said, I still will try and keep the progress coming via photos and explainations of my decisions.

[kennethmterry]

Repost Of WIP Update From Talon Clan

Hey Guys,

I wanted to give you a display of the score I received from Amazon yesterday. This is going to be my rendition of the Starforged Blaster from SWTOR.  The best part is the total cost for the base was $7.49.



These are photos of what I received.





Not a bad starting point. The way I figure this, this will be the easiest part of my kit. I'll keep you posted of the results as the are warranted.




Hello All,

I've had a chance to get a few things done this weekend. I have managed to piece together a box and an outline for the top left gauntlet. I have been taking inspiration from other vanbraces and gauntlets. I am trying to stick to a Late Crusader Era Gauntlet so I have to stay away from Jango or Boba Fett type Gauntlets. I would very much like to incorporate a Apple Ipod  Nano into the gauntlet so I could have some displays for targeting or some other stuff. My problem is, I have no idea how to program such things to record onto the Ipod. Does anyone have any suggestions on how one might find someone with similar designs that have done this previously?

Here are a few photos of my slow progress.










So I had some additional work I was able to do on my Gauntlet last night and some additional items I was able to do tonight as well. Take a look and let me know your thoughts. I was able to steal a cannon barrel off of a 1/35th scale German Tank model and I also used some of the pieces that the model parts comes attached to. I thought it would add some detail that most won't see on other gauntlets. My fear is that it will be too fragile during a troop. I also cut up a dry erase marker to use as a barrel.  Now all that is left to do is attach to the actual gauntlet body and fill all of the gaps with some body filler and sand.

let me know what you guys think.











Alright Folks of the Talon Clan,

I have been a busy bee as of late. I have been trying to get my Son's Shadow Trooper Armour and my Mandalorian Armour done at the same time. Luckily, I have had some extra time on my hands. So, here are some updates of what I have been getting done.

I have been working on my Gauntlet which I plan on having a  IPOD Nano 7 which will display a number of different Mando Theme videos. I wanted to include a Small Missile Launcher as well. I have successfully got some of the things worked out, but there is still more to do.













I have also gotten some work done on my Rifle. I was able to get it primed, painted, and I have started the weathering. I am not completely satisfied with the weathering as of yet. Progress, Not Perfection.











I have also been working on a backpack. I was thinking, Since I am using the McQuarrie Concept Boba Flight Suit, why not add some additional elements from the Concept. Here is what I have been able to accomplish up to date. I will give you a reference photo and then the photos of my progress. There is still quite a bit I haven't yet figured out, but, it is coming to me little by little.









I am anxious to hear your comments on what I have gotten up to date. I would love to hear to solid critiques and suggestions from you all. So please don't hold back. I need to hear what I could do better, what I can do less of, or if I am on track. Please guys, I want your input.

[kennethmterry]

Another Update from the Talon Clan WIP

A letter to Naran

Naran,

So I don't go down the wrong road with the chest rig, what might I do to stay true to the Late Crusader Era so I won't do work that may not be acceptable? If you look at the photo below, this is where I am headed. If you see something that runs into to Legacy Era, please provide a suggestion of how to avoid that.

Back to the Review

As you can see I have the Chest and Back Plates built.

Another Letter to Naran

Naran Please note the duct tape dummy with the template paper samples of the armour. The only thing I really have left to fabricate is the Abdominal plating. Someone mentioned to me previously I should make sure the Abdominal plating is large enough . My purpose for the segmented plating is to remain agile enough to move while kitted up.

If you will notice the McQuarrie Concept Boba doesn't have abdominal armour. My flight suit will be an almost replica of the flight suit. My intent is to cover the Abdominal area with the above referenced plating. This is done in order to keep up with the requirements of the Late Crusader Era CRL's. I will also have a codpiece which is very similar to the Modern Era. Again to comply with the CRL's of the Late Crusader Era Armour.

There are somethings that are still undecided about. If you are suggesting to stay away from an exact replica of the Concept Backpack, I will make the appropriate adjustments to the backpack.

The Gauntlet will have a hard bottom shell. I just haven't focused my attention on that piece as of yet.

I am trying to knock out the difficult areas first so as to at some point be on the downhill slope. At some point, I wish to get some primer on all of the armour so I can see what isn't filled in properly and smooth. Primer is often times your grade on how well you have prepped prior to paint. With Painting and Fabrication being my occupation, I often find where my deficiencies are once the primer hits the substrate for the first time. Lets just say Primer is the Hard Nosed Professor marking your work up with the dreaded RED PEN. Primer reveals where you have failed to see your errors.

Back to the Review

I have got all of my Fabrics on hand For my flight suit. I am not sure if you guys are aware. I am trying to go for a Ralph Mcquarrie Concept Flight Suit. except in all black. I have a Black 1000 Cordura Nylon Fabric for the main shell (Similar to a Motocross Pants Heavy Weave Fabric), Black Leather for the Abdominal, Kidney and Knee Area, and a Rayon Nylon Telio Ponte Leggero Knit Black Fabric for the side of the Torso and the inside portion on the legs and groin area to allow for a more form fitting garment.

Fabric selection



McQuarrie Concept flight suit



Please excuse the writing on the picture. It is all I could manage with the drawing feature on my computer. There is a difference in the shades of black with the different fabrics, but I kinda wanted that to add depth to the suit. I am also heavily considering doing a cord going up each leg of the flight suit to give it the pressure suit kind of feel. I won't progress with this without your thoughts on this. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on these selections.

Pressure Suit



Another View of the Pressure suit



Please let me know your thoughts on the Pressure suit look. I would only do this on the sleeves and legs of the flight suit.




I got some work done on my Shin for the Left Leg. I am reconsidering armour on my legs. I would like for my Armour to have one leg with armour as a result of positions my Character might find himself in. I thought about how a Soldier would present himself on the field of battle. Inevitably, I would have to shoot from a kneeling position. This would expose the left leg to oncoming fire.



An exposed leg without armour doesn't make a great deal since in my head. So I am making Shin Armour for my Left shin only and I will wrap the other leg with Puttee's similar to the World War I Soldiers. I am leaving the right shin without armour for the sake of weight savings and agility. If you look at the photograph above, you can see how a soldier's left shin and right thigh are exposed to possible oncoming fire. I am planning on a right thigh plate and no left thigh plate as there is a large pocket on the left thigh. I am trying to think tactically and practically as well in an effort to keep my armour down to a minimum so I can be as flexible as possible but protect myself as well.

These are photos of my current progress with the Shin armour.









The cut outs on the sides of the shin will have the vent details inserted into all of them as the picture above. I just had to figure out how I was going to tackle those inserts. Now that I have them figured out. I will work more on them this weekend.

I am anxious to hear your thoughts on the shin armour and also about the Asymmetrical look of having armour in places on half of the body and not the other. Please share your critiques please.

[kennethmterry]

Last Update From Talon Clan WIP

Hey Guys and Gals,

I have had an opportunity to do some more armour fabricating and would like to get your thoughts on some of my progress. I have been focusing my efforts to the shoulder area as of the past few days and I think I am pretty pleased with the results thus far. That is of course pending your approval.

For starters I have fabed up a Shoulder Pauldron. I have had the opportunity to get in touch with a guy who does CNC work and he was kind enough to cut out a few Mythosaur Skulls in 3mm Sintra for me so I will have one on the shoulder pauldron as well. I got some inspiration for the shoulder pauldron from the recent Thor Ragnarok film that was released a few weeks back. It is just not pictured yet as I don't have them yet. But without further gibber jabber....

Inspiration of Thor Skurge Character Pauldron. I only took what I could see and tried to give it some Mandalorian flare.



Left Shoulder Pauldron









Left Shoulder Bell
This will go underneath the Shoulder Pauldron of course. I am not real sure as to how I am going to attach these as of yet, but here it is.









Right Shoulder Bell
I was feeling some creative juices flowing and got a little crazy with the design, but I hope you guys like it. I used some Quiksteel putty underneath the the little winged parts to give it a bit more structure and durability.



Can't really see the putty in this photo, but the arrows are of course pointing to the areas where the putty was incorporated.







I am anxious to hear your reviews and critiques on the shoulder armour. Please, if it is not up to standards or doesn't meet the Crusader Era design specifications, I hope you will feel free to speak your mind. I hope you guys like what I have got. I am working on the codpiece and knee armour this evening. I am not really stoked about the knee armour I have come up with just yet and the ones I am working on tonight are the third evolution. I am not feeling the standard Modern Era knee armour and I am trying to stay away from the Shnees as a result of Naran's suggestions. If you have any suggestions as of Late Crusader Era Knee Armour, I am open...




I am trying to add some finer details to my armour. I was able to secure some pieces which were cut on a CNC router table.  Nate Schnase was referred to me via a Facebook pal. Nate made quick work of the Sigils and I was able to incorporate these items into my armour. I have also been trying to tie in some of the details from my NME Death Stalker helmet into my armour in attempt to help it have some sort of continuity.

Shin Armour Details



Pauldron Details



NME Death Stalker Helmet Details (Vertical Plates)



Chest Armour Details (trying to mirror the vertical plates)



By No means are these details a perfect replica, but I am pretty happy with how things are coming along. I used 1 mm Sintra for these detail with the exception of the Sigils. They are all 3 mm Sintra.



This bring me up to date. I was able to work on these parts last night.
First there is the new Knee Armour



This is how the Knee and Shin Armour Fit together



I may be going with another asymmetrical look with the Knee Armour though. I have a selection of three other attempts on my Knee Armour that just didn't meet satisfaction at the time, but since I am doing so much asymmetry, why not just carry that over. I haven't yet decided.

Here is a look at the updated Chest Armour



This will conclude tonights update with the Crusaders WIP update.

[Redness]

I never really go to Crusader section of the forum but MAAAAN! I was so wrong. Your armor looks fantastic, to say the least. You've got a great approach and the execution is absolutely inspiring. Keep it up, vod!

[Raestin Ke'Varek]

Wow man..... This is just some incredible sintra work.  Blown away.  8)

[kennethmterry]

Raestin and Redness,

I really appreciate you guys checking out the WIP. I am just plugging away just like everyone here has before. Thank you guys so much for the compliments. It keeps me motivated.

[tx004472]

I am (slowly) working on a late crusader kit myself, and just got my armor in fact. And while your whole kit looks great so far, I really enjoyed the way that you worked the crusader sigil into the Shin/Knee armor in particular. But, again, the whole thing looks great, definitely keeping an eye on your build.

[kennethmterry]

I have another Sigil that will be going on the chest armour as well. It will be going on the right chest plate. I am not sure if you saw the inspiration for my paint scheme, but I will be using the Sigil as a kind of Yen/Yang division cutting the armour in half. One side Dark. The other Light. This has been my concept from the beginning. I will be incorporating a little bit more into the Sigil other than the Circled Dragon Tail. I have designed a Family Crest which will be added to the Dragon Tail Sigil. I hope you will like it.

Thanks for looking up my WIP. I look forward to seeing your kit.

[Switchback]

Very impressive work. I cannot wait to see more updates. 2 of my clan mates had to go with LC buids due to their helmet choice. And your work has definitely inspired how the design process has went. Thanks for the inspiration!!!

[kennethmterry]

Got a few more details added to the Left Shoulder Pauldron.

Take a look and let me know what you think Please...











Switchback,

I really appreciate you being so kind. My inspiration is not original in any way. I have copied every one of my ideas either from other Mandos or other costumes I have seen in other movies of pictures of Warriors. My details which I have been adding to the parts and pieces is truly just me getting inspired by other people's imagination. I have just chosen to carry their ideas over to my costume. I really don't deserve any credit at all. I am but a vessel...

But again, I really appreciate your kind words.

[Bowfanny]

Kenneth,
As part of my moderation duties I must request that you please avoid Double Posting in the forums.  This is against forum rules as documented HERE.

Double Posts - Please refrain from posting immediately after yourself, also known as 'double posting'.
If no one has replied use the "modify" button to update your post.
WIP threads and other similar threads that have new content being added are exempt from this rule, provided the posts have useful new posts being added.
In such exemptions, replies to multiple questions when attempting to catch up should still be combined into single posts.
Moderators will exercise their best judgement, if you feel an error was made please contact the Moderator Lead and Tech Officer via PM.

The posts have been combined.[/quote]