activation email

[Ultramarine81]

Ok, I'm about to take an info-dump. I've actually been WIP for about 16 months now, but since I started getting help from my local clan and the Ruus'alors there on Discord I haven't been posting much. Time I fixed that.

I'm building 3 separate kits for myself and 2 friends. They wanted Mandos (I've made costumes for them before) and I haven't done a lot of this type of stuff specific to Mandos before so I'm the prototype. The kits are me (Harloc), Bard and Koss. I'll note which is which as I go

Right out of the gate Jan 2021 I lost the use of my shared print space b\c of a health issue on someone else's part, I had to get my own printer. I did manage to get the main body of the Harloc helmet printed first.




It was way thinner than expected (Alter Ego helmet in grey for comparison), but I figured I could resin\fiberglass the interior and epoxy the exterior to reinforce it. More on this later

[Ultramarine81]

Next up soft parts. All 3 kits are getting the same vest\cummerbund combos as part of the unifying design we picked out (forgot to mention, all 3 are post-imperial). I have never operated a sewing machine in any capacity before. I broke out my wife's sewing maching, watched some Youtube tutorials, bought some patterns online and set to work. I mixed it up a bit, I altered the pattern on the soft torso armor of the cummerbund, copying the idea TheWeldingGeek used in his build on Youtube. This added 1\4" foam inside the front part to give it that padded armor look. I made a stencil based on Din Djarin pics online, cut and glued the foam, turned it rightside out, and profit.





I did this 2 more times over the coarse of Feb 2021

[Ultramarine81]

Next the vests. I picked a patterned fabric from the cosplay section of my local fabric supply store. I like how the pattern and texture make it look more like a soft armor vest. Unfortunately my inexperience sewing bit me here. I was so focused on getting the girth right I didn't think to alter the length, and I'm taller than the average bear. Fortunately the smaller set fits Koss so no loss.

It took almost 4 months for the tall sizes of dickies that I'm using for the flight suit to come into stock. Don't know why, but just couldn't get it anywhere from Dec to Apr. Finally got lucky (went out of stock again the day after mine shipped). I also got the height adjustments figured out for the other 2 sets.





The grey dirt on the cummerbund was a happy accident, it rubbed off from some cardboard that I'd done some priming on. Gave me a good idea how to expand on this when weathering time came.

Also made the neck seals out of the same material as the vests b\c it was more flexible and comfortable than the duck cloth on the cummerbund. This was pretty easy compared to the vests and cummerbunds).

[Ultramarine81]

By March printing the suits was in full swing. Harloc in grey, Koss in red and Bard in orange\lbue. Printed from PLA, double layered with fiberglass in the inside and coated in XTC 3d on the outside to help smooth print lines









The orange helmet above is one of a couple I made that turned out to be sizing mistakes. One was a smidge too tight, and the other (which I printed with all peripherals before I caught my mistake...booooooo) I loaded the stock sized file to print on accident instead of the one I made size alterations to

The Liege helmet for Bard had a really narrow visor and he was concerned about visibility (he's been 501st before) that he wanted it widened. Fortunately my jamb saw did the job perfectly

[Ultramarine81]

Finally all 3 sets of soft armor done. I also had to acquire some gaiters. Even with a tall size inseam my pants don't fully cover my socks so I had to fill the gap somehow. Pretty happy with these from amazon. I cut off the fast clips on the straps and added 3\4" cobra buckles, which I filled the lettering in w\ bondo on and repainted. Those little suckers are expensive.





Painting begain in late June. After racing through rattle cans of filler primer I borrowed an airbrush. Way cheaper. I'd never painted so much all at once before so lesson learned there.





You all know the drill. Base metal-toothpaste scratches-black-toothpaste-base color. Yay. The different layers of toothpaste (esp the 2nd layer on black outlining the first layer) was the single most tedious task so far. Although we had originally not set a deadline (as long as it's right we all agreed) suddenly Bard decided he needed his in around 30 days for a con. Crunch time. He was drafted into painting.

[Ultramarine81]

Bard barely made the Con. He did his own belt and holster, and bought his blaster online. His gauntlets were still missing greebles, and he abandoned making his flight suit and just bought one. Helmet missing the RF and earcap on the right side. Still looked sharp though. Gold visors by Kalevala









After the moderate heart attack of getting him ready to wear (for about 5 weeks I was doing 30 hours on the suit a week, not including his time, on top of my job) I took 6 weeks off

[Ultramarine81]

Now into November. I made the double sleeves for the suit based on quick tutorial I found here on the forum (tips hat). I added the tan stripe to the pants to better conceal the pockets (which are glued shut at this point) and used tan bias tape and thread on the sleeves to tie it all together.





I finally started on my own gauntlets. I was determined to do something custom. I first took some 3d print files and kitbashed. The Scomplink I cut in 2 (in meshmixer) and added an AM\FM antennae so it would extend.





I also bought some microphone jacks to use as small blaster barrels



About this time I made a cartidge holder for Bard's left gauntlet to cover the hole where the flamethrower would be. Just a resized shotgun shell holder and a custom modeled mounting piece



 

[Ultramarine81]

On to painting Harloc. Same steps: metal-toothpaste-black-toothpaste base. Unfortunately as I was starting this process the thin build of my helmet bit me. Despite the my efforts to reinforce, the faceplate cracked at the bottom of the 'assassin's tears' and wasn't fixable in a way I could wear. I had to edit the model myself to make it about 5x thicker, and I added material at the bottom of the tears to raise them up and give the face more support. Printed Harloc Mk2 Helmet.









I also kitbashed together a blaster. I took a free design of a steampunk pistol and put a Star Wars disrupter barrel on it. Unfortunately the 1st build didn't fit my hand very well, and it had some very weak points in its assembly. I bashed on a grip from another free scifi blaster model and fused some pieces together for stability.



Here's when disaster struck. I was removing the toothpaste from my kit with a wet rag. I had it all done but the top of my helmet when it slipped in my wet hands. I bobbled it trying to grab it but I just added arc to it's trajectory and it hit the concrete floor face first. Done sir done. I went to bed early and layed there in total shock.



There was no putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. Back into meshmixer to add additional supports to the chin and cheeks

[Ultramarine81]

Gauntlets finished! I made the keypads out of silicon keys and assorted microswitches I got off ebay and modeled some simple custom frames for them. The 'shield generator' on my left arm is translucent and hollow underneath. The goal is to backlight it someday but one thing at a time. The rocket is a model I made myself. We decided against the Jango\Boba style rockets b\c they're too much a pain to sand and finish and we wanted something simpler. As an in-gag I loosely based the design on another movie weapon. I'll give you a clue: it says Dar'Riduur in Mando'a on it 







The microphone jacks fit perfect as blasters and the metal darts are from Etsy.

Now weathering my soft kit. I used watered down acrylics and charcoal pencils on the neck, vest, cummerbund and gaiters. The suit I used spray paint and followed with fabric softener. I left the spots where the armor will sit cleaner, hopefully that edge will show a little bit. I patterened the dirt and wear off pictures of my gear when I was overseas and I'm super happy with how it came out

[Ultramarine81]

We're up to last month and it's hang time! The first few pics the plates are just loosely tacked into place so I could get a check from the Ruus'alors before I commited to placement. I'm on the fence about the back plate I made and I still might change it, so as of today it still isn't attached.







I got some feedback at this point that the buckles I put on the gaiters were too clean compared to the rest of it, so I sanded 'em a bit, scratched 'em with a razor and washed 'em with brown and black ink. The ink doesn't show up as well in the pic as it does in person



Fully attaching the chest and diaphram with no float was a bit complicated. The models are from GreatApe on Etsy and are high quality, but the lower edge of the chest and the upper of the diaphram push against each other pretty hard and took a lot of doing to fully hold them down. Twenty heavy duty snaps and about 6 feet of industrial velcro later...





The shoulder bells are not only held underneath by a strap but also a heavy snap apiece at the top. I can take the whole vest off in 1 piece just like a real one without anything coming loose. It also survived a jumping jack test.

[Ultramarine81]

And now to the present day. The Koss kit was on a timeout for several months (he had bigger things on his plate) but he's working on his flight suit and has worked out all but the last details of what he wants for his paint scheme. I'm through the 2nd round of toothpaste (UGH!) and almost ready to put on his base color



The Harloc helmet Mk 3b (3A was an 11th hour print failure) is on the printer as I type this

I'm also building an E22 blaster rifle for myself. I'm using the free model off thingiverse. Instead of using PVC for support it has a couple 3\8 aluminum rods, and I filled the stock with resin and bb's to balance the weight. Just about the weight of a real rifle. I just put the black coat on it today, and still have a bunch of detail work to do. Not pictured is a forward hand grip from a scifi looking Nerf blaster that I scaled down. I'm going to do a custom scope but haven't designed it yet. I also didn't like the charging handle that printed (too fragile) so I ordered a real one from an MP5, but that isn't here yet. I also switched to printing in ABS for the E22 b\c an OM in the clan had his expensive disrupter rifle (PLA) wilt in the heat so I went with something a little more resistant





I'm also painting the blaster pistol (I call it the Dirty Harloc) and making a custom scope with some brass rod. I don't have a pic yet.

Bard went to ComicCon in KY last month, and made some minor changes to his look. Ditched the green, added a cape and all his greeblies are now in place except his hoses. He's basically application ready. He keeps swearing he'll get around to it but he'll probably procrastinate until the other 2 of us put in.
First pic is his original color scheme









I shared his ComicCon pic because his girlfriend (in pic) is SUPER proud of it 

[Odran Krayt]

Man! That's a lot of progress, and all three suits look great so far! Love the little reference in the rocket, that's really the best way to show your love of other franchises, my hand plates were a gift from a friend, who modelled an extra couple details in to turn the triangle on Din Djarin's handplates into the deathly hallows, but it's subtle enough that it's noticeable, but only if I were to point it out.

Overall, though, love the progress! Do you happen to have a link for those gaiters? They look really good, and would be a great fit with my second kit, which I'm in the planning stages of.

[Ultramarine81]

Here's that link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CF317MQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

I liked 'em b\c there's no visible brand logos or anything to remove. It was a bit of a hassle replacing the buckles. I had to rip the threads holding the female ends of the buckles and hand-stitch the straps back into place with the new buckles. They were super thick and had to do it with a very heavy carpet needle by hand using heavy duty thread. The small cobra buckles were also about $15 apiece