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[A'Vhekad]

I asked this in the female armor section and didn't get a response so maybe I'll get one here, but is there a requirement for where the bottom edge of the cod plate needs to be located? I'm planning on using a design similar to the animated Bo-Katan's cod but I wasn't sure how much freedom I have to shift it up/down.

Hey Rhue-

Just catching up here...  I'd say you have some leeway as to the exact length of the cod, as it is not explicitly spelled out in the CRLs.  If you go with a similar length to the animated Bo-Katan I would think that you should be okay?  Once you get your paper template sized and cut, if you want to send me pics I can run them past the west coast ruus chat and make sure.

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Hey Rhue-

Just catching up here...  I'd say you have some leeway as to the exact length of the cod, as it is not explicitly spelled out in the CRLs.  If you go with a similar length to the animated Bo-Katan I would think that you should be okay?  Once you get your paper template sized and cut, if you want to send me pics I can run them past the west coast ruus chat and make sure.

Thanks! I'll get you some pics later this week hopefully.


Well, I finally graduated! I'm back home now, and I celebrated my long-awaited reunion with my sewing machine by putting together my vest mockup! The pattern is one-size so I just sewed it as-is, but I might add ~1/4" to both side seams just to account for any extra bulk from my flight suit. I'm really happy with the fit, but I would appreciate a second opinion!

Now that I'm looking at it, I might also need to make the bottom band a bit taller since I'll lose some of the width to the seam allowance, and I didn't have too much space between the bottom edge of my ab plate and the raw hem of the mockup.

     


My flight suit is also being worked on, I tried it on yesterday and fixed a couple fitting issues I'd had previously, so I'm ready to move on to mockup #2. No pics yet, but hopefully I'll have some soon.

Last thing, A'Vhekad mentioned my shin plates looked short so I grabbed a quick pic of them with my boots and knee plates on for reference. To be honest I don't think they're too short but let me know if I'm wrong! (and sorry for the weird angle, there isn't a single full-length mirror in my house so I had to stand on a chair  )

     

I'm also going to my very first AP soon! I'm super excited 

[Vercopaanir]

It good to see progress.   
I also think your shins look a touch small for you but there isn't a set size in the CRLs.  It could also be that you don't have the template for the boot armor on which will throw of the visual perception of the amount of armor you're going to be wearing on your leg.  If you look at Sabine and Clan Wren



You can see that the shin guard runs from an inch or two below the knee to just over the ankle with a cut out or flared pieces over the front of the joint. 

Jango's is  little smaller.



Looks like it ends either at or just above the ankle joint.  This is probably closer to what your looking for.  You are planning on doing boot plates if I remember your mockup correctly so a little shorter would work with the boot plate filling the gap over the laces of your boots.  Just make sure to engineer it to allow for foot movement. 

Then there's the animated Bo Katan whitch ends a bit higher then either of them. Looks like 1-2 inches at the knee and 1-2 inches above the ankle



So adjust as you see fit.    

Vest looks lovely and yeah you probably will want to lengthen it a bit so that you have room for a hem. 

[Rhue_Shofytt]

So adjust as you see fit.    

Thanks for the clarification on the sizing! It seems like this should be the easiest part but nooo  So what you're saying is that I should either make them longer and fit them over my boots, a la Jango, or make the knee/shin/boot spacing look more like Bo's, right?

Of the 3 images you showed I like Bo's style the best, but if my templates already look too small I don't want to make them any shorter, so I probably need to get shorter boots. I found a pair on Amazon that are popular with the canon Bo builders, I think they might work better than my chunky steel toes, plus I'll be able to modify them if I want since they're not work boots 

In other news, I'm making progress on my helmet! I got tired of sewing for a few days so my helmet is taking shape, but there's still a decent amount of work that needs to be done before it's ready for fiberglassing.



I'm undecided about whether I should leave the dome with just the cardstock (with resin inside and outside, and 2 or 3 layers of fiberglass mat on the inside) or replace it with the cardboard I used for the rest of the helmet, but still use the resin and fiberglass mat. The last scratch built helmet I made turned out really top heavy, so I'm trying to avoid that this time. Any advice?

Thanks for reading!

[MercOfSteel]

For the helmet, you need to fiberglass the cardstock. Put some fiberglass resin on it first to stiffen the paper. Once that's cured, get the fiberglass paste they sell at Walmart and spread that on. You can also embed some fiberglass cloth in the paste to give it more strength. Then sand it down with a rough grit sandpaper to even out the surface and get rid of the lumps. Coat it with thin layers of bondo and sand it smooth, then use spot glaze to fill in the tiny imperfections. Filler primer, sand, filler primer, sand, filler primer, sand, then prime and paint.

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Yeah, I was definitely planning to fiberglass the whole thing! What I meant by my question was if I could leave the cardstock for the dome instead of remaking the dome out of cardboard like the rest of the helmet is. I know people make pepakura helmets that are entirely cardstock but I was worried that the cardstock dome might warp since it's supporting the heavier cardboard base. And thanks for the tip about the fiberglass paste, is that what Bondo Glass is or are those two different things?

[Arkham]

All of my helmets are cardstock.

I coat them with a layer of epoxy resin (inside and out). Once this is dry I had fiberglass cloth and more resin to the inside. When if't firm and structural, I Bondo the outside and begin to sand it smooth.

[Rhue_Shofytt]

OK vode, I've got several updates since I last posted!

I got my back vent and visor area cut out at the armor party (shout out to all the awesome Haran'galaar people I got to meet  ), and I have since added the first layer of resin on the outside, and two layers of fiberglass to the inside. Once the second inside layer dries I'm going to add one final coat of resin to the outside, just to seal in all the little fiberglass tufts that got stuck to the outside. I'm super excited about how sturdy yet light it seems so far, I'm just hoping that doesn't go out the window once I get the Bondo on  I need to start figuring out what I'm going to do for the earcaps, too...









My vest is done, except for some topstitching I need to do on the bottom band. I ended up not putting in the neck snap since that spot is going to be covered by my backplate and/or hair anyways, and I was worried the extra layers would rub and get uncomfortable.









For the side closure, I couldn't find a separating zipper that was the exact length I needed, so I got a longer one with the intention of cutting it and adding a whipstitch so the zipper pull wouldn't come off. However, once I got my zipper installed I realized I could just fold the excess zipper over and tuck it into the vest. That allows the side flaps to sit mostly flat since the zipper pull isn't in the way, and it also make the vest super easy to unzip myself.

I also finished my second flight suit mockup yesterday and I think I'm done making alterations to my pattern. I went ahead and dyed the fabric today, but it came out more purple-grey than I'd like, so I'm going to pick up the Rit Back to Black kit and give it a once-over later this week. Pic below is the dyed fabric next to a pair of true black jeans for comparison, although it's not quite as noticeable a difference in person as it looks in the photo.





I promise this is the last time you'll hear me talk about shoe options, but I finally settled on a pair of brown leather Chelsea boots. They're shorter and don't have any laces so I can ditch the arch plates, I'll just need to cover up the logos on the heel.





The next thing I need to focus on is finalizing my exact armor color scheme soon so I can start ordering spray paint and sintra    My next update will hopefully include some more accurate sketches that show my trauma plate and accent color placement.

Thanks for reading!

[Aster Veris]

That looks so awesome! Shoes seem cool and you did an amazing job on the vest 

[Vercopaanir]

The vest looks amazing.     I would recommend a hook and loop to close it in the back but that's just me.   I think the boots look great and not having to mess with laces is always a plus. 

The bucket is coming along nicely too!   

I look forward to seeing some of your color ideas. 

[Cattriss Wren]

Su'cuy, awesome job vod!! your doing great!! love the vest, keep up the good work

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Thank you all for the compliments!! 

OK, so I decided that I wanted to add the lip to the upper edge of the helmet in the back, because I forgot to cut the top layer of cardboard down before I started putting the resin on. I printed out the WoF outer layer template, cut out the portions that I wanted to use, traced it onto cardboard, and super glued it down. Unfortunately the earcap area isn't very flat, but I can always fill in the gaps between the earcaps and helmet to make it seamless. Right now this is what the helmet looks like.

     

I'm thinking about adding one layer of resin to the new cardboard layer to seal it, assembling/attaching the earcaps, and then going in with my first layer of bondo. I haven't decided how I'm going to make the earcaps. I've never tried making cardboard/pepakura earcaps and can't even find any templates or references to folks who have done post-imp earcaps that way, so I might see if I can get a pair 3D printed by one of my clanmates.

In other news, I put together a cardboard mockup of my chest plate. I was having issues with the cardstock not holding its shape over my vest, but switching to cardboard really helped.

     

I also have an overall accent color layout that I'm liking so far. I only used blue marker to match the blue painter's tape, so ignore the color, LOL. Oh and the stripes at the bottom of the ab plate are supposed to go all the way down to the bottom edge, I just messed up and cut the tape too short    If you guys have any feedback on it I'd really appreciate it!



Finally, my sintra got delivered last week! I got 2 2'x4' sheets so I should have more than enough, but I'm still nervous about wasting it    I want to make a second cardboard chestplate mockup just to make sure that I'm 100% satisfied with all the dart angles, but I think I can transition straight from paper template to sintra for the other pieces.

Thanks for reading!! 

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

I love the accents! The way the vertical stripes are balanced from the chest to the shin plates, then the way the verticality is broken up by the slanted design on the thigh plates, it comes together real nicely. I actually like the way the accents on the ab plate don’t go the whole way down, something about that is visually interesting to me!

The way you’re scratch-building the bucket is intimidating – it’s impressive to see it coming together so cleanly! Keep up the great work.

[Vercopaanir]

Nice stripes.    I like the switch from thick to thin on the chest plate, very eye catching.  Will they continue onto the collar?  Feels a bit abrupt of a stopping point.  Maybe angle it?  So it matches the lower cut out on the stipes and the highest point could be touching the top edge of the chest plate.
Angles on your chest plate look great to me.  And I love your cod design.  It is unique and lovely.   

Helmet looks like it is coming along nicely.  Honestly I made my earcaps out of sintra.  I used the WOF templates, cut ,sanded and then just a bit of heat to bend them into shape before gluing them to the bucket.  3-D prints are also a good way to go.   

[Rhue_Shofytt]

I love the accents! The way the vertical stripes are balanced from the chest to the shin plates, then the way the verticality is broken up by the slanted design on the thigh plates, it comes together real nicely. I actually like the way the accents on the ab plate don’t go the whole way down, something about that is visually interesting to me!

The way you’re scratch-building the bucket is intimidating – it’s impressive to see it coming together so cleanly! Keep up the great work.

Thank you so much! I'm really glad that it's aesthetically pleasing, I spent a lot of time trying different configurations to find something that felt really cohesive but not overwhelming 

Nice stripes.    I like the switch from thick to thin on the chest plate, very eye catching.  Will they continue onto the collar?  Feels a bit abrupt of a stopping point.  Maybe angle it?  So it matches the lower cut out on the stipes and the highest point could be touching the top edge of the chest plate.
Angles on your chest plate look great to me.  And I love your cod design.  It is unique and lovely.   

Helmet looks like it is coming along nicely.  Honestly I made my earcaps out of sintra.  I used the WOF templates, cut ,sanded and then just a bit of heat to bend them into shape before gluing them to the bucket.  3-D prints are also a good way to go.   

Good point about the collar! Truth be told, I'm considering asking in the Q&A section if my plate design would be acceptable under the Post-Imp guidelines (with the appropriate modifications). The more I look at it the more it looks like a vaguely low-poly version of Bo's live-action armor, so I'm curious to see what App Team would say. Plus I seem to have a handful of elements from that era anyways (my vest, gauntlets, and helmet earcaps mainly). If I can switch eras I'll end up ditching the collar plate altogether  If they say no I don't mind, and I'll definitely look into playing around with the stripe edges!