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[Bat Akaan]

Update,
First, I have glued snaps inside the knee armor (no pics). Next I cutout the area on the breast armor for the display. I will be using the LED display again, like on my previous build.



I still need to add some epoxy to hold the display.
Next, I have not wanted to show this preliminary sketch until I had made some headway on this build so now is as good a time as any other. This was just the concept artwork and I have deviated from it somewhat; however, you should be able to get an idea of where I am heading with this build.



Ok so I have gone through three sets of coveralls to get the closest size that will fit and not be too baggy. This last set is close enough. I still needed to taper the legs a bit but I think it’s now where it needs to be. So in these pics you can see the coveralls/ flight suit (it still needs some alterations) the girth belt, the boots with shin armor, the gloves, and the flack vest with Velcro sewn on.





I still need to make the neck seal and test fit the back plate and shoulder bells. After that I think I will start on the belt and holster and greebles. Also I have been working on the 3D models for the gauntlets and will start printing them soon.

Well that is it for the update, thanks for the interst.

[Jenga]

Fantastic work so far  I especially love how the girth turned out!

[Jennari]

Nice design!

[Bat Akaan]

Jenga, thank you. I like how it turned out as well.

Jennari, thank you.

Ok well I started working on the neck seal last night, more to come soon. Also, I have finished the 3D models for the gauntlets. Here is a rendering of them. I am hoping to start the print tonight or tomorrow. I estimate it will take roughly 80 hours to print everything. If anyone is interested, the vanilla version is available for free download on my Thingiverse page https://www.thingiverse.com/11b30b4/designs



That’s it for the update. Thanks for the interest.

[Bat Akaan]

Update,

Well the RAMPS v1.4 board on my 3D printer has burnt out again. That is twice in 2018… Not sure what is causing it. I have ordered another one and it should arrive today. I think it may be time to upgrade my printer to a Prusa I3. I am hoping to be printing this weekend and 80 hours later having a full set of gauntlets.

I applied the epoxy sculpt to the inside of the breast plate to hold the chest display.



Also I have finished the neck seal.







Well that is it for the update. Thanks for the interest.

[Bat Akaan]

Update,

The good and the bad and seeing a silver lining on things…
So My 3D printer burnt another RAMPS V1.4 board and I replaced it, then the Z axis was dead and I confirmed that it also burnt the Stepper Motor Driver A4988. I replaced it and all the other driver chips with new ones and now the Z axis works some of the time and then pauses. I have no idea what is going on with it and there is no customer support for the print since the company is now closed. I got my printer in 2015 and I have replaced the RAMPS V1.4 board twice now. Both times this year. Honestly, I got the cheapest printer I could find in 2015 with the largest build volume and heated bed. The company was located in GA so I figured I would be close to the company and could count on them if I ran into issues; However, I have only marginally been happy with the print quality it produced.

I think it is now time to upgrade my printer, so I ordered a Prusa I3 M3 and should have it in a week or more. I will need to build it and test is before I can continue to building the parts for this build that will be 3D printed. This will mostly be gauntlets, ear caps, range finder (if I decide to have one on this build), and possibly the chest diamond.  More to come on this in the coming weeks.

To add insult to injury, my 20 gallon 2 hp air compressor died over the weekend and that forced me to purchase a new compressor. So, yes the past few days have been very expensive and have stalled the build in some areas.


The silver lining to all of this is that it has afforded me time to further address some details of the build that I was not happy with. One of these details is the shin guard armor. I kind of just made what was easy at the time and then looking at them, the top layer with the V cut just looked cheesy so I cut off the outside part of the V and added another piece of Sentra and now I think they look more like they belong in the Star Wars universe.  I did chip one of the top pieces on the left boot but this will add to the weather detail once everything is painted. Here is a comparison.



I will be attempting to add some layered details to the VF armor as well. Currently I am working on the leather goods such as the holster and belt and should have some pics to share this weekend.

That’s it for now and thanks for the interest.

[Bat Akaan]

Update,

I built the holster for my A-180.







Next, following the change to my shin guards, I decided to add Sentra to the vacuum formed armor. This seemed simpler than it was, because the VF armor is based on Boba Fett armor which is not symmetrical. This means that none of the armor was symmetrical. I mat still play with the shoulder bells and abdomen but for the most part, I think this is a good improvement over the basic mando armor.









Next, I knocked out a few greebles. I wanted a few small but tall (1/2” x 3”) code cylinder, Aliens grenade looking things. I also want three power cylinder reloads for my A-180. So I jumped on my lather and made these. Initially I made two of each but then I needed to add a third and then realized just how inaccurate I was being in my duplication. I will be adding some black and red paint to them in some areas.





Lastly, Monday my Prusa arrived so I am now assembling it and then there is Fallout 76 for the remainder of the week.



Thanks for the interest.

[Bat Akaan]

Update,
Well two things have been taking up a lot of my time…





However, I have managed to get some stuff done.  First, I cleaned, painted, and weathered the belt greebles I made. Since they are aluminum, I painted them with KG metal coatings 2400 series firearms coatings which is a bake-on coating.







Next, I dyed my belt, holster, and leg strap, then I applied a protective coating and rubbed away some of the stain to give it that weathered look.









And that is what I have accomplished so far. Thanks for the interest and Happy Thanksgiving.

[Jin'thal Ca'vallas]

this brothers got mad skills....

[Straka Zulu]

Awesome build, vod! 
What is that A180 made from?  Looks too shiny to be a resin cast.

[Bat Akaan]

Jinthal, thank you.

Straka Zulu, nope its an airsoft Luger with the AW Custom A180 Conversion Kit for AW Custom P08 6" Luger from Evike.com. I did not get the navy version of the Luger so I had to modify it. Full build is on page 5 of my sniper WIP. http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=144162.60

[Yogi]

This build is looking great!

[Straka Zulu]

Just read your build thread...   
Love what you did with the Famas!

[Havelock]

Everything's looking great, as usual!

[Slade Kel]

I've come in too late to comment on everything individually, so I'll just say for now that everything so far looks great! There's some serious detail work going on there, which is always great. I am not a great fan of trauma plates, but the detail pieces you've added look really good; not overwhelming coverage on any individual plate, just enough to add depth.