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[Sea_Marshall]

Every time I start a work in progress, I just hear C3PO's voice, "Here we go again" and this time is no different.  I was convinced that I wouldn't build this kit but then my wife gave me the green light and even requested I build it. How do you argue with that? After some initial research, I was able to spread sheet the build and by 3D printing all of the armor, I was able to cut some costs, making this a bit more affordable.  So here we go again.

I'm embarking on, or at least have the beginnings of, the beskar variant of Din Djarin: http://mandalorianmercs.org/the-mandalorian-v2/

I was going to keep this under wraps, but I need something to do and this will need to be done eventually, so might as well get it started...

"This amount can be shaped in many ways"

I picked up the Beskar 3D files from Great Ape some time ago and my printer hasn't slept for at least a week now.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GreatApeStudioArt?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=769899694

I've also come across the blaster pistol and rifle files along the way, but have yet to begin. In the mean time, I've got a number of pieces printed and tossed in a box until the day I can hunker down and start surface prep. So far, the armor is chugging along. There are reports of folks upsizing armor to 110% print size to accommodate individual sizes, but I wanted to give the files the benefit of the doubt and started printing at 100%.

I went for the easy to print items to begin with, the gauntlets:

Left: 100%


Right: 100%


I haven't decided on electronics yet, but the whistling bird rocket has holes and room for LEDs, so I am likely to plug in some blue lights at some point. Likewise on the right gauntlet, there is a panel of what appears to be mando'a(?) that cycles through in an amberish color. I've seen others get boards for this, so I'll be looking into this further down the road. Gotta' get through everything else before I get to the fiddly bits anyway. Gauntlets look like a good fit at 100% printing size. There are also some thin greeblies I'll likely chop up a metal rod to attach to the print. I can see the 3D printed parts snapping off over time.

Next up were the hips and kidney plate: 100%


Not sure how this looks for scale, but I'm going to keep moving on. The kidney plate will be hidden by the cape and the hips should appear to be appropriately sized. If I need to up them, I'll do so down the road.

Left and Right thigh: 100%


Test fitting:


I'm... not sure. Can't tell if bumping this to 110% will make much difference, but I may have to. I noticed the on-screen right thigh is a bit boxier, where the 3D file is a bit longer. This should be a minor issue. I suppose if it becomes an issue I can reshape the Z axis to compact it a bit. Planning to move it forward until I can get a proper test fit on soft parts and do a photo comparison. The chest was another story...

Chest and Ab: 100%


Screen comparison:


I got a wider chest it seems lol. "My armor is compromised, I may need to begin again"

Reprinted Chest Plate at 110% for comparison:


Chest plate: 110%


Screen Comparison:


Better! I measured my chest width and made the adjustments to the file, which were about 111.6%, but just rounded down to 110%. This leads me to resizing the thighs, but I have a number of other things to get moving for the time being. Excited to have a fresh refill of filament. The new 110% ab plate is cooking now. I still need to print out the shoulders which look like a 20-24 hour print each, and then I can take on the helmet. The helmet file also came from Great Ape, so we'll go for 100% and see how it goes. At my current rate, I might have a duplicate set for someone a bit smaller than myself, or perhaps a custom post-imperial kit.

Here's the first major item set to have arrived! Aluminum parts from JJ Industries: https://store.jjindustries.co.uk/shop-all/star-wars/


The grav charges are hollow with room for electronics and came with magnets for the grav charge belt holster. Nice to have all metal accessories for this build. Helps sell the realism beyond the plastic.

Flight suit, vest, cummerbund, gloves and boots are on order! I'll follow up on the WIP once those parts trickle in. Can't wait to get a test fitting going.

Still sorting out where to acquire the belt and left leg wrap, but I have a few leads.

Cape will be an easy purchase of Black Boiled Wool when I move on that one. Thinking two yards should do the trick. There aren't any seams that I could see on the cape, just some fraying at the base.

At some point I'll have to print up the right shin but hope to get that knocked out this week. So... much... printing. I'm thinking summer next year or late spring. We'll see. Once more parts start coming in and prints + surface prep compete, it could be a pretty quick build! I'll be looking into Alumaluster http://imperialsurfaceshop.com/alumaluster-8-oz/ for the paint work. Haven't moved on that yet, but I hope to get the proper reflection and metal from this.

[Mi'ix]

Ah, yes. 

I think I first saw your post on your local clan board, and wondered when it would show up over here! 

Still waiting for your Fett to show up in Brigade Apps, but I digress. 

Prints look really clean.  Sanding is a character building exercise, but you're no stranger to that! 

I agree the first chest plate was a little narrow, but the second looks much better!  You could probably sell the first one and get a roll of filament or two for it. 

Great Ape is the way to go.  My Death Watch plates are from him, and a majority of my fiance's Din plates are too.  I was less than enthused with what The Plastic Arms Dealer put out.

Thigh plates look good to me, size wise.

We're currently writing BRLs for both version of Season 1 Din.  If you're interested in Brigades with him, we are looking at having the electronics in the gauntlets be part of the requirements. 
 
JJ has some beautiful pieces.  I'm glad you were able to get your in a recent wave before things slowed down with his shipping. 

What are your plans for paint on the plates?  Going full alumaluster? 

[Sea_Marshall]

Mi'ix! I keep forgetting to take Brigade photos for Boba. Each time I get him out I forget to take pictures. Thanks for keeping me on target. Next time I unpack him I'll cross check the BRLs. 

I do intend to do alumaluster. Its a bit steep, but I don't think I'd be happy without it. I am most definitely familiar with 3D print prep lol. Got some upgrades to my printer so they're coming out better than ever. Looking forward to the soothing mediation period of sanding while episodes of Season 2 play on repeat!

I aim to add electronics for sure, BRL or not. Can't wait to see what details are added!

Good to be building in your neck of the forums again.

[Sea_Marshall]

Minor update, but worth noting the resizing for future builders.

Shoulder: 110% & 100% comparison



Screen comparison: 110%

[Sea_Marshall]

On the printing front, I've started the pulse rifle. Still need to do the prongs and the scope, but I'll give the printer a break. I think I'll be using PVC pipe for the barrel when I get to it.



The helmet is printed! Huzzah. I really like that it had guide holes for assembly. This is just dry fitted to check size, but I'll do some surface work on it before assembly. I'm wondering if I should just print it in one shot? Covering seems could be tedious for the finish... ah, well see. I like that the ears are opened for magnets or other mods.





The Mandalorian costume by Sky Costumes arrived! whoop whoop. The big takeaway from this kit is the flight suit, cummerbund, and vest. There are a few attached 'armor' parts that need to be replaced (chest, thighs) but a quick seam ripper job is all it took.









Are there any notes on the stitching anyone can call attention to? I haven't stared at it intently yet, but I'd imagine there are some mods that will need to be made. Dyeing the vest for sure. Perhaps the flight suit too. Hoping to get a fitting with armor taped on for placement and fitting lol. Lots of parts in hand, a long way to go.

[Mi'ix]

Belt loops should go, not that anyone will see them anyways, but otherwise, the hallmark stitches are there.

I'm curious what the soft parts look like with the "armor" on there?

[Sea_Marshall]

I'm curious what the soft parts look like with the "armor" on there?

I casually joked with my wife that we should put the whole thing on, out of box. but I lack a helmet... then I seam ripped the parts... but it would have been a good laugh and just in time for Halloween. The parts aren't half bad considering it's a mass produced costume set. I want another set for a custom post imperial, for reals.

[Sea_Marshall]

It's a good day to dye!

Got some time in to dye the Sky Costume flak vest and lightly tinted the flight suit.



This was 4 oz of Charcoal dye, 1 cup of salt, and 8 gallons of boiled water at 180-ish degrees. Water was boiled in a still with propane, then drained into a wash bin where the salt and dye was added. I let the vest stew for about 10 minutes. The flight suit was just a little dip to get the tint of the gray. Most of the dye rinsed out. In hindsight, I probably could have left the flight suit out, but it allowed for a better match overall.



Hosed down the lot and then it went to the washer and dryer. The vest did good but a lot of the darkness washed out to a gray, too far from the flight suit color, but this was kind of expected.



I revisited the flak vest in a smaller pot for a more concentrated coloring, but only used 3oz of dye and let it cook for about 5 minutes before rinsing.



Here's a start and finish of the vest dye job. Always impressed with fabric dying. Pretty cool stuff.



Side by side from the gray to the medium gray I was looking to hit.



And lastly, a color comparison outdoor, indirect, and indoor. Think I got it



Minor update, but a satisfying step completed.

I reached out to Delta Leatherworks for my bandolier and belt. He's done some awesome work for me in the past so it will be great to own another quality piece from him. Should be here in December some time. I've got the JJ Industry hardware, so I reached out to Delta and asked if I he could leave it partially unfinished so I can add the parts myself and he obliged. Even knocked a few bucks off since I was providing my own hardware. Great guy.

http://deltaleatherworks.com/portfolio-item/the-mandalorian-set/

There's a lot of sanding to be done! More to come.

[Rayne]

The dye colors turned out pretty well!

[Mi'ix]

Dye job looks really good.  You're getting pretty good at that, especially after your ESB adventures. 

I have heard the people go back and forth about the suit being gray, or it being brown.  Personally, I think it's gray with some brown tones, but likely the brown is weathering.  I trust you'll work that in there when you get to that point.   

Delta is a great guy.  Did all the leather work for me on my Boba.  Can't say enough good things about him. 

[Sea_Marshall]

Dye job looks really good.  You're getting pretty good at that, especially after your ESB adventures. 

I have heard the people go back and forth about the suit being gray, or it being brown.  Personally, I think it's gray with some brown tones, but likely the brown is weathering.  I trust you'll work that in there when you get to that point.   

On that note, my wife is in the Cara Dune builders group on FB and seems Gina's hairstylist is in the group and she said the flight suit was brown, from a first person perspective. ... so when the crls came out, there were mixed feelings. I agree with the gray and brown weathering, but also taking into account the film color grading and indoor lighting shifts etc.

Now that I have the colors matched, I can blend them uniformly.  "make it look like the picture" is my go to phrase. And yes, learned a lot from doing Boba's too. Definitely went into this one far more confident.

The dye colors turned out pretty well!

Thanks! I was happy to have gotten a good match without too much fuss. what a relief, heh

[Sea_Marshall]

Getting back to it this week. I hope to get everything that I have good enough so I can await final parts.

*Note: I sized up the thigh armor to 110%.

I have parts drying on the box that I have parts in, but I just got my crow props boot covers and gloves.
https://crowprops.bigcartel.com/product/din-d-jarin-combo-covers-and-gloves

Funny thing: my first mando circa 2017... I needed boots and for some reason, I gravitated towards the Sketchers Orson boots, but went for pirate boots instead. Fast forward 3 years later and I finally get to use them. Glad I was able to get the covers instead of the whole thing. I post a photo once I get them glued down.

This single collage is todays work. In a nut shell, my 3D prep goes like this: 120 grit on bare PLA print. Wash Rinse. Filler Primer coat, let dry over night. Sand to 220, wash rinse. Filler Primer coat. Let dry over night. 400 dry, 800 wet. (maybe 1k or 2k wet for this one) Then base coat black gloss.



At that point, I need to figure out a better way to protect the finish. This was the same issue I had with Phasma: Protecting the surface without dulling the finish. Any tips? I still have a ways to go before I start putting down actual colors, but black gloss isn't too far off now. I believe I'll be going with Alumaluster, but I need to reinvest in an airbrush and compressor, or find someone who's got the gear.

Belt is on order and black boiled wool showed up (still in box) for the cape. Still need to sort out the left leg wrap, but I have some time. Once this round of paint is dried, I'll get it 400 and 800 (maybe 1k) in the next session. I may need to revisit some edges and corners with spot filler, but next session will see these ready for final steps leading to painting. Exciting. Long way to go.

[jethroskull]

A coat of pure acrylic resin? Same stuff they use on art, puzzles, sand paintings. Also supposed to be good for leveling print lines.

Just a thought, it’s versatile stuff.

[Sea_Marshall]

Boots! At least the covers! heh. These were ordered from Crow Props, took about a month or so to arrive and they look good. Just started the process of attaching the covers. Instead of my typical CA glue, I'm using a Loctite Shoe Glue, which is probably more like an E-6000, in that it's a thick, flexible glue, and cures over 12+ hours. The leather on the interior and the shoe itself should bind pretty well. I sanded the shoe surface for some extra grabs.



I started on the heel since it looked like that would line up without spill over. I'll take a blade and clip off that heel tab.



I let this dry over night then came back to do the front toe -- without doing the sides. This is important because the covers are larger than the shoe, so getting the heel and toe down will help make the other areas easy to hit and trim excess. Should be dialed in tomorrow.





I used velcro strips I had to make wraps on the shoe to help bind the materials. I didn't have any clamps that would have worked, but this is pretty tight and the velcro was easy to bind. Woo. One more thing in the works.

[Sea_Marshall]

Holidays are behind us, so back to it!

These guys have been waiting for their 220, 400, 800 wet sand and finally got that out of the way.


By the end of the day everything was wet sanded to 800 and a coat of black gloss was applied to everything (even the parts that won't get chrome, just black primed).



Gauntlets got a few greeblies attached. I plan to add the extra right hand gauntlet parts with bits of metal, but that'll come down the road somewhere. I don't intend to add the lighting (haven't even looked for vendors) to the gauntlet panel or whistling birds for the time being, but will get to it in time. Probably going to back the gauntlet slot with an acrylic for the time being.



And Mr. Helmet. Printed as a solid piece, ears and keyslots attached before black gloss.



Pretty much ready for colors!