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[Akiva Tal'korel]

GUESS WHO'S BACK, BABYYYYYY

Though I imagine most aren't gonna remember me, hello, Akiva back! While the last kit (Warden) stalled out, watching the Mandalorian, Clone Wars, and Rebels has reignited my fire for kit-making, and once I lose some weight we've got a fun kit in the works!



I'm not really sure what to call this kit, or the character behind it, but it's got a lot of little nods to characters and kits I love:

1. Pauldron inspired by Rex!
2. Live-action Bo-Katan inspired thigh plates.
3. Largely pure beskar color inspired by Din Djarin, with red accents.

The cape is likely going to be attached to the larger pauldron, maybe so it can be swapped out if I want to change the look. Weapons will be a blaster, vibroblade dagger, and a flamethrower gauntlet. Not sure what I'll put on the pouches or the ankle strap-style bandolier yet because I just drew this up yesterday for the most part.

The Balekicker returns, third kit's the charm!

[jethroskull]

Following with much interest. Love the drawing!

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Following with much interest. Love the drawing!

Thanks! I'll be bringing my helmet to my bandmate's house on Weds when we have practice since he builds pedals and audio electronics, he's gonna help me figure out a way to hear people clearly and speak clearly myself through the bucket!

[Akiva Tal'korel]

I made some updates, since I've decided I want to go Force Hunter with this kit. Still haven't named the character yet, but here's a full turnaround, albeit not fully colored. Gonna stick with black, various shades of dark red, and gray. Anything white just hasn't been colored yet because I'm still deciding lol.



My idea is that the backplate will have two grips with magnets in them that the force pike can be attached to, and I'm planning to use a thick velvet for the cape and kama since it looks close to the 'blaster-resistant' fabric seen in one of Padme's outfits from a prequel-era visual dictionary! The cape is also attached to the pauldron, which will probably be adhered to the collar plate with magnets so it can come off. Still debating making the chest plate all one piece with recessed areas akin to Post-Imp armor. So many choices!!

As it stands I think there might be too much gray, so I might throw in some charcoal here and there, IDK yet. I probably won't start physical construction for a few months at LEAST, but I might have some electronic answers on Weds!

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Commenting to follow! Looks great so far, I'm interested to see how it turns out 

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Thanks! No physical updates to report except that I took my old NME bucket to my guitarist's house so we could look at it after practice, and he thinks he has a good idea of how to wire up a system that'll let me hear people clearly through the helmet, as well as speak clearly and keep the mic on a switch so if I say naughty words after stubbing my toe nobody hears He's looking at using an Adafruit super tiny amp trinket that's like.. the size of a quarter. Once we get this figured out, I've told him he needs to make a step-by-step tutorial for all us bucketed folks, 'cause it'd be super handy!!

No other updates besides that, since my big focus right now is weight loss/getting in better shape (and thus I don't want to make things that won't fit later) as well as stuff that just has to take priority over costuming for a little bit. I've also found I'll have to replace the visor since having my helmet in a closet next to a window caused said visor to warp and no longer fit.

Can you cut a welding visor with a dremel? If so, what sort of cutting tip is recommended, and are visor tints worth it? Thought it'd be kinda neat to put a silver or red tint on this, or maybe a mirrored tint of some kind, but IDK if those are worth the time/money/effort. Seen a couple folks with 'em and they look super neat, though!

[Evaar'la Kal]

Great concept! 

If your visor is the thin flexible type then you can cut it with scissors or an exacto.  If it's the rigid type then yes you can cut it with a dremel, I used a reinforced cutting wheel for mine. 

[Celtkhan]

I hit mine with a utility knife and then used the flex-snap method to finish it off.

If you’re going to use a tinted film, you’ll probably want to use a clear visor (or at least not a shade 5 welding visor). If you put a dark film over a dark visor, you aren’t going to be able to see. There’s a vendor in the supply section that specifically sells tinted visors. Unless you have a friend in an auto shop to give you spare tint scraps, it might be cheaper than buying a whole roll of film for just one visor.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Taking a look at one of those tint shops now-- choices!!! IDK if I want to go mirrored chrome/metal looking or one of those red shades...

[Senra Qiin]

Love the concept! 

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Hey everyone! No real updates as of yet- got a lot on my plate that requires funds, plus the plans to launch a business later in spring. I do still want to make this kit and intend to, unfortunately I have no actual updates except that I hit my first weight loss goal! Which means I'm that much closer to buying a dress form to fit everything on!

Appreciate all the feedback and support so far!

[Awall]

Congrats on hitting your goal!!  We all have to do life first and we will all be here when you get the chance to dive further into your kit.  Great concept btw!

[Akiva Tal'korel]

Long time no see y'all, only been 2 years and 2 more seasons of The Mandalorian and 2 years of me remembering then forgetting to get back into this. BUT THIS TIME I'M DOING IT. I actually realized I have a faux leather jacket I thrifted that has some perfect pieces to put on a flight suit. So I wanna start making the soft parts, and see just how much I can harvest from thrifted items. Still sticking with the Force Hunter concept, may play around with paint options still. I also have yet to name this character but all things in time.

Feels good to be building excitement over a kit again, and I can't wait to see how much more I can accomplish with the things I've learned over the years!

UPDATE: To avoid double-posting, I'll update here with the new ideas/adjustments and a pic (or a few)!



This is the color scheme I'm presently working with, but I have some variations as well that I'm still considering. Changed the era from Modern to Post-Imperial, with modified Bo Katan/Night Owl chest-plates (hopefully modified enough). I am also making my own life much harder in going for a Chiss, and shockingly, one -can- find red mesh scleras in prescription! Still planning to have a flamethrower gauntlet, crush gaunt, force pike, and vibroblade (x2 now, one in the boot and one on the back).

Also adding in half-thermal detonators, and swapping a blaster out for a slugthrower- likely the Scattergun. Also incorporated jet boots and toe spikes. Crush gaunt also incorporates a data pad (disguised phone case), and a shield 'projector' (might get rid of this, but it seems like an interesting idea at present). I haven't weathered the soft parts on these pics but they'd definitely be weathered similarly.

Alternate color schemes I'm considering:





Still leaning toward the earthy colors for the contrast of blue skin and red eyes. LMK thoughts/suggestions!

[Ronin Tavic]

My two cents, if you're gonna do a chiss, doing fingerless gloves and or short sleeves would be neat to emphasize the alien look.(idk if short sleeve is allowed for post imperial right now, so possibly disregard that)
But I do like the earth tone color scheme, even if I'm a sucker for purple mandos.

[Akiva Tal'korel]

My two cents, if you're gonna do a chiss, doing fingerless gloves and or short sleeves would be neat to emphasize the alien look.(idk if short sleeve is allowed for post imperial right now, so possibly disregard that)
But I do like the earth tone color scheme, even if I'm a sucker for purple mandos.

Fingerless gloves is a good idea! I was honestly leaning more toward it being a sort of 'secret' until I take my helmet off, but having a hint that there's something non-human under the bucket with fingers also feels pretty neat- and isn't much more body-painting to do LOL

I've done a lot of beginning research into body paints, contacts, and gloves/boots that could potentially work and I've definitely found some good options. I think my first order of business is going to be patterning the flightsuit (which I intend to be two pieces that can connect at the waist but still separate easily for trips to the little Mando's room) and flak vest.

Is it acceptable to have part of the flak vest showing under the girth belt? (It's the green triangle, I was gonna make the vest with a pointed shape). Also do all the plates meet acceptable criteria for Post-Imp?