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[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

Su cuy'gar! This is the thread where I plan my build, practice painting and weathering swatches, draft cardboard mockups, and spam a whole mess of reference screenshots. I hope my process is useful, especially for lore-driven Post-Imperial mandos!

For those with Post-Imperial builds, this post and this post may be particularly interesting to you.

As of 2/23/22, this is where my kit stands:



Arco is a Post-Imperial narglatch breeder and a Child of the Watch, with custom beskar plates and generic Tribe durasteel plates. Armor inspirations are post-mudhorn / pre-beskar Din Djarin and an unnamed mando from the Tribe. Soft parts inspirations are Post-Imperial mandalorians, Fennec Shand, and Altaïr from Assassin's Creed. My endgame after OM approval will be a hunter / tech aesthetic with furs and LEDs, aiming for Beast Tamer and Light Melee brigades.

Below is my original post. Enjoy!





Hello everyone! My name is Arco and I have so, so many questions. I enjoy being consistent with canon and would be happy to incorporate elements from the EU, but I’m new to the series and would love the input of folks who have delved deeper into the lore than I have just yet.

I’m set on the post-imperial era. Here is my first draft, including paint swatches for the chrome armor:



 

NOTES

PLEASE NOTE, that is not a loincloth in the image – it’s the sash draping down! It will be more obvious in real life than on Mandocreator. In addition, the flak vest and kama are made of the same materials, but are different pieces.

The chest plate design will be tricky. I love V2 Din’s angular design, but that likely won’t fit my body type, so I’ll have to customize it. I will probably go for a design that combines elements of Bo-Katan, Din, and/or Paz.

Considering the similarities to Din (same helmet design, dark brown soft parts, chest plate derivative, chrome coloration, very possibly an Amban rifle) I will likely add bold symbols and designs to the soft parts to make things more differentiable to a general audience.

I will almost certainly add a Mythosaur design to one of the soft parts and the Clan Yustapir sigil to the armor (after OM approval, of course!).

So, this is my starting off point! However, I have many questions to guide me forward:


LORE QUESTIONS

1. Naming conventions – Other than not using the letters f, x, or z, I’m not sure of any naming conventions in Mando’a. Is there any rhyme or reason to where the apostrophes go in names? Also, is your last name your clan name? My current choices have narrowed to Arco’thyel Wyshla or Arco’thyel Whysha, but if our clan name is our last name, I suppose it’ll be Arco’thyel Yustapir. Do you guys have any thoughts?

2. Canon/EU colors and symbols – I’ve found the list of color meanings, but am trying to find a list of common symbol meanings. I know of group identifiers (Journeyman Protector, Nite Owls, Death Watch, etc), but I’m particularly interested in symbols that have specific meanings, like the Jaig eyes or kill stripes. Are there any others with Mandalorian-specific meanings? What about the triangle on Din’s hand / various helmets?

3. Alphanumeric display – I’m interested in putting Boba’s alphanumeric display on my chest plate, but I have no idea what it’s used for! I like the aesthetic, but I don’t want to use it if I don’t know what it does. Does it have a functional purpose?


KEY CRL CONCERNS

4. Kama – Is it OK to have it split in the back like a tailcoat? How about having it split both in the back and on the sides?

5. Legacy shoulders – Is this acceptable for a post-imperial build? I hope so, because I have a lot of similarities with Din, and these shoulders are great to break up his silhouette. The CRL says that double plates are acceptable but does not mention triple plates – I assume it’s ok because it’s an extension of double plates, but I’d like to check.

6. Visor shape – Are the straight / slanted visor designs gender-specific, or can we pick whichever we like?

7. Weathering the chrome beskar – The CRL of consistent weathering is a big concern for me. I like tattered soft parts, however, my armor will be chrome and I imagine it to be made of beskar, so it won’t have scratches or dents. I’m hesitant to go hard on the blackwash because that will dull the chrome. I may paint symbols on it so I can have chips and scratches in the paint job, but I imagine most of the armor will be plain aside from the chrome gold. Which leads me to….

8. Gold chrome – What can the gold chrome accents be made of? Is there gold beskar? Do Mandalorians use chrome paint? If the accents are paint or a different metal, that gives more weathering options. Either way, I hope it’s OK for me to have tattered soft parts and comparatively unscathed beskar.

9. Flak vest – Can these be sleeveless with the shoulder armors attached to the flight suit, or is it required to have that arm flap?

10. Brigades – After the build is complete and accepted for OM status, I’d like to work on upgrades to join the brigades. However, I cannot see the BRLs for the brigades until I am an OM, so I am quite worried I may design my character wrong and have to redo parts of it! Are there any colors or design choices I should keep in mind for the Beast Tamers? How about the Light Melees?


Those are my questions for now (with a million more well on the way, I’m sure!). I’ll keep updating this thread as I plan out specifics of the build. Please don’t hesitate to offer suggestions!

[Jare talon]

This doesn't have the meaning for the symbols but, it does have a list of symbols and says whether the symbol is approvable or not.
https://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=199779.0

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

Hey, thanks for the list! I went through and tried to narrow down Mandalorian-specific ones, and posted what I found in that thread.

Four symbols in particular caught my attention:

Black Bha'lir: Though not Mandalorian, the idea of smugglers with a strict code of ethics is very cool to me. Also, cats are the greatest, so the emblem has that going for it, too. The backstory of the organization is pretty neat and may be fun to incorporate. However, I don't imagine that symbol will be very fun to paint!

Clan Eldar: Considering my stance of “cats are the greatest”, their signet is rad! Though my color scheme is not black, dark green, and orange, and the name “Arco’thyel Eldar” doesn't exactly roll off the tongue with the double 'el'. So, I probably won’t go with it. But dang, do I love that signet…

True Mandalorians: I thought that this was a brigades-only symbol, it’s cool to see that it’s allowed on customs! I’m a big fan of their ideals of honor and the Supercommando Codex versus the status-quo of barbarism. There’s lots of info here, looks like I should read some comics…

Sabine Wren's Starbird: It’s pretty cool that a Mandalorian’s symbol ended up evolving into the Rebel Alliances’ crest! I never made that connection when watching Rebels. 

None of the symbols on the list were the triangle motif that’s used on Mando helmets / Din’s hand. Seems it's still a mystery! 

[Aratris]

I'll try to answer the questions I feel knowledgeable enough to answer.

4. Perfectly ok, that's how most of the Kamas I've seen do it.
5. Its pretty safe to assume, quite a few armor pieces are acceptable to be switched between the eras, just not the chestplate.
6. You can have any visor design you want, nothing gender specific, as long as it falls within the CRLs.
10. Normally you want to go for base approvability and then go to brigades, but if you want to go beastmaster and light melee you wont need to change much. With light melee it's basically just don't add bulky stuff, like antennas, (RF's are fine) and add extra armor and weapons after approval. For BM you need natural looking soft goods, and just some accessories. So nothing you need to plan for until your approved.

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

I'll do my best to help out. It's good to have questions! Don't shy away from asking!

1. No. You definitely do not have to have your clan name be your last name. In fact, you don't even have to have a last name. There are also definitely grammatical rules to apostrophes and things like that, but don't get too hung up on all this stuff. No one will criticize you for an out of place apostrophe. 

2. As far as logos and stuff go, certain crests have certain associations. Fett's for example. Fenn Shysa also has a specific Crest on his chest plate as noted in the Marvel comics. But as for its meaning, I'm not certain. A lot of us Legends/Canon guys really like seeing pre-pro stuff like the painted "ears" on our Protector builds.

As for the triangle, I think it's just a triangle. At least I've not seen any specific meanings. Different eras used different symbols, with the early crusader/crusader Era using a symbol that looked a lot like the Mandalorian predecessors, the Taung.

3. The best I can tell you is it's a life support readout. That's the general consensus.

4. Should be okay. Just work with your local Ruus'alor to me sure.

5. Yes. Legacy shoulders are fine.

6. As long as the visor meets the 2/3 ruling, you should be fine.

7. This will be a bit trickier. You want the weathering levels to be the same on your armor as on your soft goods. You'll want to really settle some grime in the areas where you have recesses or low spots. Lightly weathered soft goods would allow for lightly weathered armor. Keep your local Ruus'alor in the loop for tips and advice!

8. I don't think it matters what it would be made of, as long as you keep it in-universe looking, you should be fine. I really do like the amount of thought you're putting into this build though. However, as mentioned in 7, you're going to need to keep everything consistent.

9. Sleeveless is just fine!

10. Beast tamer/master will require specific damage and heavy weathering to your armor:

Weathering - must be heavily weathered and should include scratch and bite marks that are consistent with operating in the natural world and consistent with frequent animal encounters and attacks.

Beast Hunter requires natural colors to blend into the environment but Beast Tamer does not. Not sure if this will cause you to rethink your plans for brigades. But one way to see brigades is to look into an auxiliary membership. You'll get access to those boards then.

For light melee you'll need to stay in the light to medium category of armor with no bulky parts or protrusions. No specific weathering or colors are listed.

These are all really good questions and I hope you'll continue to ask as they come up.

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

Thank you both for the info! I haven’t heard anything from my clan yet, so it’s very exciting to have a Ruus’alor’s input, too. This is all very useful. I spent some time reading about logos and apostrophes.

The weathering will be tough, but I suppose I’ll cross that bridge when I get there! I’ve taken a liking to a beast tamer backstory, so it stinks to see it requires heavy weathering. The soft parts will be fun, with bite and claw rips that have been handsewn shut. The armor though, phew! When I get paint and sintra, I’ll have to make some samples and see what kind of grime effects I can get going.

I’ve been looking into crafting methods, and since I’m going for a low-budget build, it’ll be best for me to make my own items when I can.

As far as armor goes, I plan on using sintra for most of it, perhaps 3D printing the helmet and gauntlets. My brother has been talking about getting a 3D printer, so maybe that’ll work out. Quite intimidating to worry about failed prints, though!

I’ll be working on the soft parts and/or the helmet first. I found these scrubs in chocolate that should work for a flight suit, but two pants and a shirt will be $45 . I’m wondering if it would be cheaper to make them from scratch, but I have no sewing experience, so it may be best to just get the scrubs to keep myself from getting overwhelmed – that’s a genuine concern since this is all new to me and I have “either-make-it-perfect-or-give-up” tendencies.

I’m itching to go browse potential options at Joann’s and thrift stores! But I need to be careful of COVID, so no window shopping for me. Let's see what digital swatches I can find on their website...

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

My first kit was a budget build. $45 isn't outrageous for your flightsuit. I bought Red Kap Coveralls and think I spent $35. Then I had another $90 in the vest. Since I'm not great with sewing, those were worth the purchase for me. I think I had around $300-$350 in my first kit. So I'm all about doing it yourself!

I scratch built everything else including gauntlets and my helmet, but ended up buying a Rubie's Fett Helmet and modifying it for under $45 dollars. Unfortunately, it's been sold out for months now.

3D printing can be intimidating but some friends of mine break the print down into smaller sections to eliminate last minute fails. But I don't have a printer, so I'm not much help there. If you don't get feedback from your clan, you're always welcome to reach out to me on here and I'll do my best to help.

[Matchstick1021]

Don’t be too worried about failed prints, it comes with the territory. Print a few small things at first to get your settings dialed in and that should work out most of the issues. However you’ll still have mishaps, I’ve been printing things for over 6 years and stuff just sometimes happens.

Helmets and gauntlets are some great things to print.

Like Kurshi said, keep reaching out!

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

Thank you for the reassurances! Looks like I’ll need to reevaluate my mindset on the budget. I’m the type of person who balks at anything over $5, so it’s a struggle.

Good to hear about the prints! I’ve read horror stories of faulty nozzles, warped print beds, etc, but successful prints are fantastic. Just gotta remind myself that if I run into a problem, there’s probably someone who knows how to solve it.


Been thinking about weapons… thought I’d check my local cons’ weapons policies alongside MMCC's before I start planning what to make. For my local comicon, prop guns cannot be mistaken for contemporary real-world guns, and they must be rendered inoperable, along with a solid orange cap on the barrel. My local anime con, however, has more rules on top of these:

• No strobe lights (Nooo, my vibroblade! At least I can program a solid light mode into it).
• No airsoft, paintball, or other firearms, even if modified with bright colors and no moving parts.
• Nerf guns are acceptable if they are modified with bright colors and no moving parts.
• The orange plug on prop guns must be at least 6mm long and cover the entire circumference of the barrel (This is rather confusing for something like the Amban rifle!).

And finally, for all prop guns…

• “50% of the exterior surface area of your prop must be a bright, noticeable color such as: bright red, bright blue, pink, neon green, orange, yellow, bright purple, or a combination thereof. The majority of your prop must NOT be black, brown, silver, or another dark color, though these colors may be a part of your prop’s color scheme.”

I, uh. Don’t know what to do about that one. I’ve really grown fond of a sandy/earthy color palate for this build, so I’m not sure if having the rifle be 50% neon is the way to go! I may email them and ask if gold / copper / rose gold etc. would count as a “bright, noticeable color”.

Alternatively, perhaps I could bypass the color restriction altogether if the trigger and the scope were removable so I can alter it to be a stun baton when I go to that con. That fits in-universe iirc – isn’t the Amban rifle illegal? “Oh, it was an Amban rifle, but the New Republic had me remove its disintegration capabilities...”

[Celtkhan]

At that point, there’s no way to carry an MMCC-approved blaster. Your local con basically wants to make sure any guns look like toys, and the CRLs are designed to make sure any blasters don’t look like toys. You are better off just carrying a melee weapon.

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

Realistically, I know it’s more practical to make the Amban rifle convertible to a stun baton. On the other hand, my mind is kind of smitten by the challenge of painting it to satisfy both rulesets! I wonder if they’d allow candy chrome metal parts with weathering and blackwash… if the security team is the same people I’ve spoken with before, they may appreciate that kind of creativity.

Though that does bring up the question, is it OK by MMCC’s standards to go to a con with orange barrel tips and con security’s ziptie tags on your weapons? Or does that break the illusion too much? For this con, I know they will ziptie any weapon, including melee weapons.

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

At that point, there’s no way to carry an MMCC-approved blaster. Your local con basically wants to make sure any guns look like toys, and the CRLs are designed to make sure any blasters don’t look like toys. You are better off just carrying a melee weapon.

I think this is the best advice. I've had my carbine kicked back at a few events because it looks real. I use a paintball gun base with all metal parts. I don't have an orange tip on it because I don't want to break the realistic look.

Most cons will check your weapon and give you a ziptie or tie a ribbon around it. This is entire acceptable and we encourage our members to follow the safety and check in procedures, complying with the event requests. The last thing we want is someone getting in trouble, or worse hurt, by trying to bypass a weapons check!

However, it's entirely possible to use something like a Westar 35 for the con. If you make a holster for one, the blasters are easy enough to make/purchase that you can have one for that event and one for others. A great option would be to use a 3D printed pistol of some sort for this con, one that's easy to have a second one replicated in the bright colors. That or just go weapons free for the event. Also, entire acceptable. The MMCC will never make you have a weapon for an event if there might be complications. 

[Sylvilagus]

...Neon colored gaff tape wrapped around the gun, that can be removed later?

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

...Neon colored gaff tape wrapped around the gun, that can be removed later?

Interesting idea! I guess that just comes down to the con's rules. But that might work!

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

The gaff tape is actually what the con does! They have it at their security table and will help folks apply it if their firearm doesn't meet the orange tip / 50% rule. It's a nice gesture, but I think I would opt to cover it then bring it back to my room and go with just melee weapons -- it's more fun to have a consistent costume when you can.

I looked more into it and turns out white counts as a "bright, noticeable color", so there could be room for creativity to make an approvable color scheme! I may reach out to the team and ask about weathering a candy chrome / gold / rose gold, etc. If not, then the stun baton conversion will be a nice compromise I think!

Also, it just occurred to me: I've taken a liking to the idea of having a thousand throwing knives. But each of those throwing knives will need to be tagged by security. I better bring them cupcakes or something for having to deal with my nonsense.