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[Bat Akaan]

Yogi, thank you.

Straka Zulu, thank you. Yes I wanted to find an airsoft sturmgewehr 44 and modify it but I could not find any for a decent price. I could find AKs and Ars all day long but that was just too common for my taste. The FAMAS worked out well and made a great sniper rifle.

Havelock, thanks Vod.

Slade Kel, thank you for the comments. My plan was to just add some 3D detail to the armor. I tried to not get too carried away with it. It is easy to do when you are looking at just one piece at a time, but I hope it will all blend well when painted and highlighted.

Update, Well I just spent 120ish hours of 3D printing to print my gauntlets and Shev’s gauntlets. The Prusa print slower than my previous printer but it also does a 100% better job. I am concerned that I did not go into slic3r and make the walls thicker, but we will see how they work out. Worst case is I will need to reprint everything.



You can   probably see where I am going with these but if its not all that clear, the left gauntlet (pictured right) will be getting 4 barrels that I will make with aluminum on the metal lathe. It will also get 4 rectangles and two round LEDs and two toggle switches. The right gauntlet will 5 rectangle LEDs, one round LED, and a large strobing LED like in my previous build. I am still working on what colors to use.

Also, I modeled and printed new chest diamonds for Shev and myself with our family sigil.



Well that is the update for now. As always, thanks for the interest.

[Bat Akaan]

Update,

I finished the enclosure for the Prusa and got back on the Mando kit stuff.



I finished the belt. The belt is a 2” wide leather strap I got from Tandy Leather. Previously I had added the buckle and holster to the belt and stained it black. I also got a 1” wide strap from Tandy and planned on using it to attach my greebles. All the aluminum greebles were made with a thinner 1” wide cut out in the center of each to allow the strap to lock them in place so they would not fall off the belt once mounted. I had been deciding how I would attach the 1” strap to the belt.

My first thought was to use rivets and leave them raw metal to sort of stand out and “pop” as another detail but I decided that was not the best approach. I ended up sewing the strap to the belt and stitching between the greebles. I also wanted to add at least one pouch to the belt and I had an extra black surplus French MAT 49 pouch I got from Sportsman’s Guide for my previous build. Once all this stuff was added I tried it on along with the girth belt, flight suit, and vest.







Next, I built the waist strap for the cod piece. I used some 1.5” nylon webbing and added Velcro where needed. Next, I attached two pieces of webbing to the cod piece with rivets and added Velcro. The back side of the waist strap had a bee dot 100% silicone to prevent it from slipping.



Next, I added hard Velcro to the back side of all the armor and did a test fit with the armor on the vest.



Lastly, I removed the back pockets from the flight suit and used the material to make some tool pockets on the left thigh. I used two reading glasses cases and another of the small tins for the tools. My normal sewing machine did not like the thread I was using so the sewing is not my best but Once everything is weathered is will all look fine. The tools are held in the pockets with Velcro.



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

[Jenga]

Everything is looking great! Love your attention to detail.

May just be the angle but check your spacing between your left chest plate and collar. Looks like it’s creeping a lil close. 

[Slade Kel]

Wow, yeah, definitely looks awesome! . I'll second Jegna on the spacing looking a little wonky, but it also looks like you've propped your phone on something and are using the camera timer so it could just be the angle

[Bat Akaan]

Jenga Feet and Slade Kel, excellent observations and deductions. Actually, I am using the selfie camera on my iPhone 7+ and it is placed at waist level on something in my shop. So, the angel is a little wonky and I did move my arm to activate the 10 second timer. Regardless, I have no doubt that that the spacing is all kinds of messed up. I just threw the plates on and put the vest on by myself to get a quick picture and see how it was looking. Since all the armor is secured with Velcro, adjustments will not be an issue. My biggest concern was the spacing between the shoulder bells and the collar armor, but I think it looks good.

Update,
I picked up the fabric for my cape and will be starting that soon.

I started working on the gloves. I masked off the area I wanted to be coated with silicone and applied the silicone. Once the grey is cured, I will add some black detail and the top of hand armor.



And that is it for this quick update. Thanks for the comments and interest.

[Bat Akaan]

Update,

After the grey silicone cured, I added some black silicone.



Here is one of the gloves with the hand armor. I will attach it permanently once its painted.



I wanted a cape with this kit but I wanted something other than just a rectangle of fabric. I found this pater and instructions online.

https://abramsbooks.tumblr.com/post/159986624521/how-to-make-your-own-cape-from-the-heros-closet

Once I grasped what the instructions were telling me I decided to stray a bit from the design. I purchased just shy of 2 yards of a black “suiting” fabric and just shy of 2 yards of a grey “suiting” fabric from JoAnn’s. I wanted more but both of these were at the end of their bolts so 5.5 feet of each is what I ended up with. The black is a 93% Polyester 7% Spandex blend and is slightly stretchy. The grey is a thinner crepe fabric that is not stretchy at all. I knew I wanted to add sections of the grey on the black and rather than cutting everything and sewing is all back together, I opted to just stitch the grey over the black in several areas. Additionally, I wanted to add some Mandoa script to the cape so a simple line down the center of the back was going to be the best way achieve this. I laid out the pattern on the black fabric and traced all the pleats with chalk.



Next, I measured the area of the two main (top) pleats and then made covers for these pleats out of the grey fabric as well as the 6” wide strip for the center. Next, I stitched the grey patches to the black and finished out the shoulder pleats as detailed in the instructions. Since the fabric was only 5.5’ long, the shoulder pleats do not fall as in the picture of the super hero cape, rather they tend to flare out to the sides. Next, I attached some snaps to each shoulder of the cape and to the flack vest. Lastly, I got some heat transfer vinyl for my Silhouette cutter and made some Mandoa script saying “vengeance”; as an executioner’s job is to hunt down and execute traitors to Mandalore. Here is a picture of the cape mounted sans the back plate.



And here is a side picture.



I am pleased with how the cape turned out and I feel its unique enough to be consistent with my build.

Next, I will be working on the gauntlets and the bucket, then it will be paint time.
Thanks for the interest.

[Bat Akaan]

Just a quick update,

I spent the evening working on the lathe with some aluminum stock to produce the cannons for my gauntlet.



Additionally, I built 10 models of Mandalorian Chest Diamonds that will be painted and used as trophies for my kit. Although this picture has holes at the top of each diamond, I omitted the holes for the file I up-loaded to Thingiverse so you can use them as your chest diamond or as trophies.



These are free to download so you can print your own chest diamonds on my Thingiverse page here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/11b30b4/designs

As, always, thanks for the interest.

[Jin'thal Ca'vallas]

if I end up buying a new lathe because of this ill be telling my wife its your fault Bat o.O

[Bat Akaan]

Jinthal, cool, I can take the heat and if you get a new tool out of it, its all good.

Update,
I sanded the gauntlets and test fit the cannons.



Next, I built some of the electronics for the gauntlets, but I am waiting on some other small bits before I can install everything.

Next, I put everything on to test fit it all together. Here is the complete kit minus the hand armor.











I am in the process of building the arm band. That’s it for the update, thanks for the interest.

[Jenga]

Looking darn good!! Great job on fixing that bit of spacing everything is looking great 

[Jin'thal Ca'vallas]

whoever said "NO CAAAPES!" obviously hasn't seen this bit of awesome

[Straka Zulu]

I have to thank you for making the file for those diamonds.  I'm waiting for my library to print them for me. 

[Bat Akaan]

Jenga, thank you. I am having an issue with the left breast plate, it will not stay connected to the Velcro, so I will need to diagnose the issue and find a solution.

 I will be using Chicago screws on the top and bottom of the back plate like I am using with the top of the collar plate. Another issue I found is that the crotch in these coveralls hangs lower than I would like and this means the cod piece is not where I think it should be. This is the one glaring advantage to getting an actual flight suit over the coveralls. The crotch in the flight suit is more anatomically cut and fits better. The flight suit is designed to be worn as a garment where the coverall is designed to be worn over a garment.

Jinthal, thanks brother. I may do another cape in the future with a lot more material so that it would come out closer to the super hero cape that the plans are designed for. Or perhaps not…. I am digging how this cape looks and it was all by accident.

Straka, absolutely. I am glad you find them helpful. I try to share all the 3D models I make or modify. I completely believe in sharing content for printing. Most of the time, I wait till I have finished my current project before I share the models, but I have also learned that if I do not do share them while I am thinking about them, I will forget to share them later.

Update.
I realize that I have not had a lot of content to share recently. Life has been getting in the way of me having fun and when I am working on cosplay stuff, its not even my kit. Regardless, this is a little something I wanted to add to this kit.
Since my armor is medium, I will not have bicep armor and wanted to fill that space with something, so I thought about an arm band with some reloads or grenades or something on it. I remembered that I had some spent CO2 cartridges laying around and I had a few of these automotive vacuum plugs I had purchased for m Rogue One Crystal Patrol Pack antenna top.

I sand basted all the cartridges then painted them with bake on flat back fire arms paint. Next, I printed out some vinyl masks of the explosion and the chevron and masked the cartridges. Next, I sand basted the designs on the cartridges. I added the vacuum plus on top and presto. Lastly, I weathered them with some scuffing and scratching with 220 grit sand paper.

For the arm band I cut a piece of saddle leather 3.5” x 10”. I burnished the edges and died it black. I took a 1” black strap and marked where it needed to be attached to the larger piece of leather then I sewed it all together. I attached a 3” wide piece of elastic and added snaps to the leather and the elastic. After I took these pictures I applied black silicone to the back side of the leather to keep it from slipping when worn. I think the arm band turned out well.







Its these little details that I feel really make a costume.

Thanks for the interest and have a wonderful Christmas.

[Slade Kel]

Everything is looking great! I could list each individual thing and what's awesome about the progress on it, but you don't need me to write a novel just on praise . The CO2 cartridges on the bicep are a nice touch for a non-armor filler. I feel you on the coverall crotch issue; it's one of the reasons I went to using Dickies work pants and shirt for an easy-made two-piece under-suit a few years back, for availability and ease of alteration. If you haven't already, a little velcro on the lower crotch and the end of the cod-piece can help alleviate the problem a bit, or a half Boba-thing; a strap from the bottom of the cod piece that fastens pretty much right between the legs. It's a little more comfortable than having the full strap all the way up to the back of the belt.

Re: Left chest plate velcro; I'm sure this is answered elsewhere, but for clarity you're using Industrial strength velcro on the plate (the hook side) and regular sew-on loop side on the vest, right? If so your issue might just be not enough velcro, unless your issue is the velcro coming off of the plate? It can happen with certain materials, and you might just need to get some super glue, gorilla glue or epoxy on there to reinforce the adhesive on the velcro.

I like your attention to detail when laying out how you've done each part, it will be a valuable resource for other members doing work they haven't done before, or even for those of us that have, giving a different perspective on some build points. Me, I'm pretty bad about laying out my work , so my build logs are always done in fits and starts.

[Bat Akaan]

Slade Kel, thank you for the suggestions for the cod piece and dealing with the coverall crotch issue. The Velcro used (both sewn on and adhered is industrial strength. The issue is the LED name tag that I use for my chest display and this leaves a 1” x 3” area without Velcro in the most crucial place. I have some ideas on how to address this, but I have yet to try it. I appreciate your comments and praise.

Update,
I have finished assembling the electronics for the right gauntlet. In this picture you can see the two halves of the gauntlet, the four barrels, the hinge pin and locking pin (bicycle spokes), the hypnotic bars kit, and two LED flasher kits. All the electronic kits were ordered from Chaney Electronics; however, I replaced the LEDs for the flasher kits with rectangle LEDs and I added additional LEDs.



I will finish the left gauntlet on a later date. I moved on to the helmet. First, I rough cut all the areas to be removed with a Dremel. I used two bits to accomplish this, the 1/8” 9903 Tungsten Carbide Cutter and then the 5/64” 7134 Diamond Wheel Point for the smaller and tighter areas.



Next, I cleaned all the edges with small files.



And here is the result of the filing. All the holes been cleaned up and the helmet is now ready for sanding.



So, more progress and we should be painting soon. As always, thank you for the comments and interest.