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[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!

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Just for posterity's sake, here are the pics I sent the app team on Friday-ish. Still waiting on a reply from them, hopefully I get an answer by the end of this week. I've honestly become quite attached to the notion of going Post-Imp 

     

With the exception of a slight adjustment to my backplate since I'm no longer going for a cuirass-style setup, I'm not planning on changing any of my other plates. I am starting to pay attention to all those "how do you attach your armor to your soft parts?" posts now though   

I think a combination of leather straps and magnets/velcro will work well for the lower body armor, does anyone have any tips on how to attach the straps to the back of the plates?

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

Yesss, Post-Imp hype!! Your design is so clean! I'm about to send the app team my own cardboard mockup so it's exciting to see yours. I'm very interested to know if they OK the separate ab plate, a lot of references have them attached to the chest plate, but having it separate makes a huge difference in flexibility.

I'm also interested to learn how to attach straps! I know sintra takes cyanoacrylate superglue instantly, but not sure about the straps, so I look forward to others' input.

[Aster Veris]

Chest plates look super cool!
As for straps, I used pleather straps and attached them to the plates with velcro (and the plates were also attached to my flight suit with velcro, the straps were mostly aesthetic). Not the most "in universe" method, but with velcro you can adjust everything super easily and take off the armor very fast. I tried hot glue (straps came right off) and was considering snaps, but settled on velcro.
I just did a little square of velcro at the end of the strap and some on the inside of my armor plate. I added some gorilla glue to the velcro to make it stick (most velcro has a sticky back but it's not very reliable, use glue or sew it).

[Cattriss Wren]

I second what evening.echiveria said. Love the design!!! I am going to be using Velcro and snaps to attach my armor. and don't be afraid to try out some of the attachment methods to see what works best for you.

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Yesss, Post-Imp hype!! Your design is so clean! I'm about to send the app team my own cardboard mockup so it's exciting to see yours. I'm very interested to know if they OK the separate ab plate, a lot of references have them attached to the chest plate, but having it separate makes a huge difference in flexibility.

Thank you!! Sending stuff in to the app team is a little nerve wracking honestly. Feels a bit like turning in a test and not knowing if you got a 19% or a 99%   

And about the ab plate, it is attached to the chest portion, it's just hard to see the white cardstock I used for the spacer against my light tan vest *facepalm*

Chest plates look super cool!
As for straps, I used pleather straps and attached them to the plates with velcro (and the plates were also attached to my flight suit with velcro, the straps were mostly aesthetic). Not the most "in universe" method, but with velcro you can adjust everything super easily and take off the armor very fast. I tried hot glue (straps came right off) and was considering snaps, but settled on velcro.

That's a good idea, thank you! Did you use any additional adhesive to stick the Velcro to the back of the plates, or was it strong enough as it was? I have the reading comprehension of a 2nd grader apparently 

[Aster Veris]

That's a good idea, thank you! Did you use any additional adhesive to stick the Velcro to the back of the plates, or was it strong enough as it was? I have the reading comprehension of a 2nd grader apparently 

Yeah no worries! I only used glue to stick the velcro onto the straps, but that's because the sticky back of the velcro has been good enough so far with the sintra. I may have to glue the velcro down to the sintra if they start to fall off. I just have to wait lol. For most minor gluing I use gorilla glue (the gel kind), it's generally strong and cures fast, plus it's cheap and sold everywhere (in America).

Also, to mention the app team thing, don't stress! My ruus'alor said something really neat, which was that the "app" stands for APPROVAL, not application. They want you to get approved just as much as you do! I know, they scare me too  but we're all just nerds making costumes. This is for fun!

[Tramp Graphics]

Another strapping option would be similar to how I’m doing my armor. Attach straps between the chest and ab plates to join them together, then another pair over each shoulder to the back plates, attaching the two collar plates to the shoulder straps, then two sets of side straps with parachute buckles on either side (an upper and lower set), connecting the chest and ab plates to the back plate. That makes a full cuirass, but flexible cuirass.





Best of all, you won’t have to physically attach it directly to your vest either.

[Vercopaanir]

For my straps I used Chicago screws to hold them onto the plates and a mix of buckles and D-rings to close them. 🙂

Love the chest plate 

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Thanks Vercopaanir, I'll check our your WIP and see what you did 

I don't have any updates on my kit, but yesterday I got to go to Galaxy's Edge for the first time    I quite literally have no words to describe how amazing it was... I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't been able to go yet and wants to see it for the first time in person, but here's the link to some of the photos I took  I felt like such a nerd taking close-up pictures of like...the ride queue railings and the trash cans but it actually gave me a good idea of what kinds of weathering I like, so I called it "research" and let my family laugh at me 

[Tramp Graphics]

Thanks Vercopaanir, I'll check our your WIP and see what you did 

I don't have any updates on my kit, but yesterday I got to go to Galaxy's Edge for the first time    I quite literally have no words to describe how amazing it was... I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't been able to go yet and wants to see it for the first time in person, but here's the link to some of the photos I took  I felt like such a nerd taking close-up pictures of like...the ride queue railings and the trash cans but it actually gave me a good idea of what kinds of weathering I like, so I called it "research" and let my family laugh at me 

Nuiiiiiiice. Did you get to Savi’s Workshop or the Droid Depot?

[Aster Veris]

Galaxy's edge looks soooooo cool, I'm glad you had a great time! I really want to go after the pandemic gets better (I would have to fly there).

[Cattriss Wren]

Thanks for sharing the pictures it looks like you had a fun time!! I am also hoping to go there again after the pandemic.

[Arco'thyel Wyshla]

Oooohh, I'm so jealous!! That's bucket-list stuff right there, I'd love to go someday. Those are some great reference pics, you should get a tax write off on that trip since you were obviously there on business.

[Rhue_Shofytt]

Oooohh, I'm so jealous!! That's bucket-list stuff right there, I'd love to go someday. Those are some great reference pics, you should get a tax write off on that trip since you were obviously there on business.

Ooh good idea, then I'll have more money to spend on greeblies    And you all should definitely go, it really is an incredible experience. My sister bought the Art of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge book and it's fascinating to see how it progressed from a bunch of rough concept sketches to a fully fleshed-out theme park.

Nuiiiiiiice. Did you get to Savi’s Workshop or the Droid Depot?

Nah, it was kind of a spur-of-the moment trip (perks of living in SoCal  ) and tbh I didn't even know the Droid Depot existed until we got there lol

---

I've been putting off re-dyeing my flightsuit fabric for several weeks now but I finally went out and bought some more dye today. I got one of the Rit Back to Black kits that comes with the special Jet Black dye, as well as a packet of regular black dye and combined them in one double-strength dye bath. The fabric is in the wash now and I'm hoping that it's at least a very, very dark shade of grey once it comes out of the dryer, because I really don't want to dye it again    I'll update tomorrow with a pic of how it turned out.

I also bought a pair of Post-Imp ear caps today, so I'll be able to start making progress on my (woefully neglected) helmet soon!

[Aster Veris]

Good luck!

[Cattriss Wren]

You can do it!!

[Rhue_Shofytt]

OK as promised, my fabric is dry and here are the results! I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out, even if it did turn my dryer slightly blue   

Before:



And after, compared to the same pair of jeans. The color difference isn't as dramatic in person as it looks in this photo, I think the lighting in my room is just bad 



It's hard to see at this distance but there's a little bit of color variation from the polyester threads that gives the fabric a lot more visual interest than if it was just one solid color.

Also, if anyone is planning on using Rit Dye for any of their soft parts I'd HIGHLY recommend also picking up a bottle of their Dye Fixative, it helps the fabric retain a lot more of the dye and prevents it from just washing out.

Next Steps:
-Check the flightsuit mockup to make sure I'm 100% happy with the fit
-Cut out and sew flightsuit pieces together
-Get thumbs up from App Team about chest plate design (I'm still waiting on an answer from them, hopefully my question didn't get lost)
-Start prepping helmet for first layer of Bondo

Lots of exciting things happening soon! 

[Aster Veris]

Cloth looks great! And I don't know why the app team wouldn't approve your chest design, it's super similar to the live action bo katan/nite owl armor and definitely matches the post-imp aesthetic. Good luck!

[Mochuda]

Thanks Vercopaanir, I'll check our your WIP and see what you did 

I don't have any updates on my kit, but yesterday I got to go to Galaxy's Edge for the first time    I quite literally have no words to describe how amazing it was... I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't been able to go yet and wants to see it for the first time in person, but here's the link to some of the photos I took  I felt like such a nerd taking close-up pictures of like...the ride queue railings and the trash cans but it actually gave me a good idea of what kinds of weathering I like, so I called it "research" and let my family laugh at me 

I love Galaxy's Edge! Went pretty often from oct 2019 to march 2020 before the pandemic hit. You're right it was extremely "educational" for how live action props should look. Did you happen to do the rise of the resistance? Super unreal.

Considering how last time I saw you, meticulously building that helmet, it looks like you're moving along really nicely! Did I see in here somewhere that you got your sintra? Let me know if you need help or anything at the next armor party. Missed ya at the last one on 07/17.

[Cattriss Wren]

Great job dying the fabric!!!