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[Aster Veris]

Hello! 
For my “stay sane in quarantine” project, I decided to make a mando kit, and at this point I’m working on the armor so I decided to make a thread in armor construction. This is my current concept from the mando maker, I’m looking for a forest-y vibe. And maybe in the far, far, very far future, maybe a forest ops (and maybe recon?) brigade. Idk, taking it day by day. Also, the yellow seen in the concept will actually be gold! I love colorful visors so much.

I’m currently working on sanding my helmet! I’ve gone over it a few times with 80 grit and done a coat of primer/filler. After I’m done with this pass, I’m going to put some bondo on the top!


This is my armor, I’ve done all pieces except for the chest/ab/collar. Planning on sizing them when I get a chance. The lines are references as I heated and formed, that’s all. I’m using custom templates because I’m very short!
Cut out

This is me with the armor, formed and (about half of them) sanded, tapped on! First of all, I was not using my brain during this photo and it shows, placement is terrible, everything is wonky. This is just to show the general scale of things, Not Placement. I’ll enlist my sister to help me with the plates next time, and I won’t wear really baggy sweatpants. Also, I have to fix that right shoulder piece, it got very bendy from heat forming and isn’t a nice line, more of a gross curve. but other than that I feel like these plates are okay. I swear the knees fit well they're just falling off 

Paints! This is the primer I’m using. The clear coat one I found in my house and thought it would be useful for sealing the paint. I’ll test it on a scrap when I spray paint and if it’s too shiny I’ll just stick with my matte spray.

I’m also making custom gauntlets, and I know a few of my clan mates want to see them but one is still in pieces and the other is basically a block of bondo, but I will share photos soon!
The left one has a “data pad” on it, which is basically a box with an old iphone in it, displaying some star warsy graphics (the phone will be covered, only the screen is visible, and I have some fake buttons on the box). I am also planning on making a little grappling hook on the side of that gauntlet! VERY excited to work on that aspect 
The right gauntlet has a little communicator unit on it with some buttons, and a little raised platform for a few darts.
I’ve decided my mando name will be Aster Nova, hence the name of the thread I really put 0 consideration into it, I just thought it sounded cool (Aster is a type of plant, Nova like a supernova lol) and it stuck so…… mando name!
Thanks so much for reading, really appreciate it!

[Spartan 116]

Looks good! Excited to see the chest and the paint job. What's your plan for the cape? 

[K'Rom Maxx]

A lot of work I see  here vod.
It will be a beautiful  jorney, trust me!

[Aster Veris]

Looks good! Excited to see the chest and the paint job. What's your plan for the cape? 

Thank you! I’m hoping to get the silver down soon. I have some green fabric which I will use for the cape, girth belt, and loin cloth. I’m not great with sewing so I’m planning on looking up some youtube tutorials for fantasy capes for ideas about how to make it.

A lot of work I see  here vod.
It will be a beautiful  jorney, trust me!

Yeah haha I have a lot of work to do, and thanks!

Update! 
Had a lot of asynchronous work so I was able to get my chest and ab plates cut out in cardboard. The ab plate was good from the get-go, but the chest plates took a bit of editing.

I made some changes and I think it’s okay. The blue stripe of tape on my vest is where my belly button is. The spacing around the iron heart isn’t even (mostly due to my terrible cutting skills lol), so I will add some extra room in those areas when I cut it out in sintra and draw more accurate lines once the real material is on my body. Also in the photo, the top of the right plate is riding up a little bit due to the tape coming undone. The plates are basically symmetrical in person.

And some side view. It has a light curve to fit my body, but generally flat.

I didn’t get photos but I put a layer of primer on my armor pieces, and started making little battle damage marks with my rotary tool.
I primed my blaster, a 3D printed A-180 which I LOVE. I did a bunch of sanding before but the primer revealed more spots. Ugh.

I sprayed some scrap pieces with primer and then a layer of my silver and honestly…… I don’t like it. It’s super grainy and kind of looks like glitter, and I don’t think it gives off the impression of being metal. I have another silver which I’m going to test when I get the chance.

Plans for the weekend include cutting out and shaping the sintra for my chest/ab pieces. Once those are shaped I’ll make the template for the neck piece.
Thanks for reading! 

[K'Rom Maxx]

Mockup is the best way to check your build.
It is shaping almost like sintra.
I will be here to fallow you build.
This is the way.

[Twisted Void]

Awesome job!! I'm just getting started on mine today too. Good luck, and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

[Aster Veris]

Mockup is the best way to check your build.
It is shaping almost like sintra.
I will be here to fallow you build.
This is the way.

Thanks so much! This is the way

Awesome job!! I'm just getting started on mine today too. Good luck, and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Thanks! Good luck on yours too, I bet it will be great

Okay fellas! Long time no build, but it was break and I went on a fun covid safe road trip with my family. But now I’m back to working on my kit. 

Did a lot of helmet work, a few layers of primer and a lot of sanding, some bondo on places where there were holes.

Did lots of sanding work on my blaster as well, I’m hoping to spray the silver base coat soon (photo below is a BEFORE photo).


I also got a new silver, it’s SO much better than what I had before, super super shiny and metallic.


During my work today I ran out of primer and the hardware store didn’t have any, so I decided to play around and just paint my bucket silver, just to see what I still need to work on……. folks I almost cried, the print lines are so persistent! I’m thinking of just slathering a lot of it in bondo and working from there, but I did that on the dome and you can still see the lines so….. I think I’ll try more primer when it arrives in the mail, I just have to keep at it! And yes I know all the scratches are because I’m using a low grit sandpaper but not even they can distract from the print lines that haunt me...



I also worked on making armor damage and prepping my pieces for paint, and I cut out my chest armor (though it is not shaped). Today I got my two shin pieces ready with a thin layer of primer, did some damage marks with a thin rotary tool, then I sprayed one layer of silver, sanded with 400 grit, then another layer of silver and this is the result! Super shiny and it feels pretty smooth. It finally feels like I have real mandalorian armor!





Btw this is a little drawing I did to plan out and rationalize my battle damage. For the blaster shot on the leg, I have an injury there which sometimes causes me to limp so I decided to incorporate that into my mando’s story. The real injury is way less cool (I ran into a rock while it was dark).


EDIT: almost forgot! I've been looking at these boots for my kit. I'm very short and really love the platforms, and the design reminds me of shoes others have. Thoughts?


Again, thanks so so much for reading! Porg time
 

[Aster Veris]

Lol I've really been neglecting this thread, been posting on my clan board instead. I've made a lot of progress.

Made and shaped my chest plates


I then recently got them placed via velcro and snaps with help from my alor'ad and ruus'alor, can't find a photo with the plates on me, but they both approved the spacing. Currently working on the claw marks 




Oldish photo but this is most of my armor laid out! I still need to make the half bracers, which will probably be one of the last things I do.


Made paint damage with some liquid latex


Here are my painted pieces! They're not weathered yet.

Thigh piece isn't there because I am painting a design on it in gold and green! Gold is on, green is not.


Got my boots!


And gloves


My flight suit arrived, and I tried it on with the rest of my soft parts (which I made myself). It's a bit big and I will have to tailor it to fit me. I also have to make the girth belt a little shorter because it was touching the ab plate when I tried the plates on.


I also coated my bucket in some xtc-3d due to print lines and also to reinforce it. Also coated the rangefinder stalk because I've heard horror stories of it breaking.


That's all! I will definitely try to update more! Thanks for reading.

[Aster Veris]

Been doing a lot of painting and weathering!

So I go from this...

To this!


I've also been working on my shoulders, left is my own signet based off of a Maalraas, and the right is my clan logo. Still need to weather that one 


And this is all of my armor so far. I still need to make the gauntlets, and I'm re-doing the paint job of one of the thighs.


Thanks for reading! I'm trying to update better 

[Bade Duun]

Kit is really coming along, I love where it's going. Keep at it, you're already there 

[K'Rom Maxx]

Wooow
It is so beautiful....I have one word for u
RESPECT

 

[Aster Veris]

Kit is really coming along, I love where it's going. Keep at it, you're already there 

Thank you so much! I feel like I've done so much, but I have so much more to do! But I've got most of the building behind me 

Wooow
It is so beautiful....I have one word for u
RESPECT

 

Thank you so much  I appreciate your kind words 

[Kurshi BeJahaal]

I saw aster and echiveria and thought, "ahhh... My kind of people."

Looking great. That silver is really shiny!  But the top layers, weathering and everything else looks like it went over it nicely.

[Aster Veris]

I saw aster and echiveria and thought, "ahhh... My kind of people."

Looking great. That silver is really shiny!  But the top layers, weathering and everything else looks like it went over it nicely.

Aha I'm glad to meet a fellow plant lover! This kit is very forest-y inspired so I thought a plant name for my mando would be appropriate    And thank you so much! My goal was to make a shiny, jango-like set of armor, then hit it with my paint and rough it up a ton for more practical looking damage.

Anyway the weather has been terrible, hot and humid and rainy........ I have a pile of silver armor waiting to be painted but the weather won't cooperate  but I did some weathering because I can do that inside at my desk!

Shoulders


Neck


Thanks for reading 

[Aster Veris]

Okay! I've been sanding away these past few days....... and I'm done with my bucket and ear pieces! Smooth! I've sprayed them with the silver, and hopefully will get some color on this weekend!!!!
I feel like Din Djarin  it's so silver!


I put the brown coat on my chest pieces and tried it on! I also added the iron heart but forgot to take a photo, so here it is hanging up. I think need to move the heart over to the right a little.



I also painted my chest pieces! Really happy about how it turned out, and I can't wait to weather it   


I also know this may not be the place, since it's not armor, but I tried to weather my loin cloth and was looking for some feedback! Please let me know if the weathering is consistent with the rest of my kit.


Also...... I may have lost my upper arm piece      really hope I didn't
Thanks for reading! Oya!