Hey everyone! I have wanted to join a Star Wars costuming club for years, but have always been too intimidated to try. After making too many excuses and waiting too long, I finally decided to take the gundark by the ears and give it a shot! I've been slowly working on my Mando kit over the course of the last year or so with the help of the Naast Facebook group, but I've been delaying getting my WIP started and updated, so here goes! I know that some threads tend to be more detailed than others here, so be prepared for a pic heavy thread! Over sharing is always better in my opinion, just to make sure I'm on the right track. And if I am, hopefully someone else can learn from my journey! Let's get right into it.
The DesignAs I posted in my concept thread, I wanted to create a color palette that was unique yet significant. So, being in the Peach State, I chose to go with a Peachtree inspired color scheme. Here's my updated concept:
For those of you who are interested in my original concept thread that has my old concept design renders, here it is:
https://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=193255.msg2148919#msg2148919The Helmet (COMPLETE)After asking around, the overwhelming majority recommended I start with the helmet. I ordered a Mando blank from Lonewolf Customs and washed it upon its (extremely quick) delivery.
The next thing to do was to glue on the ear caps. I sanded down the flashing and then used Gorilla Glue Gel to attach them.
Then of course, I had to try it on!
Note: I know it fits a bit wide on me here, but my head barely fits inside. I consulted a Russ'alor on this, and my solution will be to make a Jango/Deathwatch style flak vest with the shoulders sticking out a bit more to compensate.
Next, I used spot putty to fill in the gap between the ear cap and the helmet, then sanded it down even.
Then I sanded down the remaining flashing and gave the whole thing a light surface sand. Washed it, let it dry, and then it was on to painting! I started with a base coat of silver.
After that dried, I applied my first layer of masking fluid (I used liquid latex), and let dry. The next coat is a smoke gray.
Added more masking fluid, then on to the espresso brown.
Then, it's time to peel the masking fluid off! I've officially decided that this is my absolute favorite part of the process. Here's the reveal:
Note: on the image directly above, I used steel wool to get those little bits of paint and masking fluid up that look like they're starting to peel later on in the process.
Next up was the cheeks! In my design concept, the cheek color was intended to be a sandstone color, but I ended up accidentally discovering this brick color that I thought worked much better, so I went with that! Here's how it came out:
Now, on to the color I was most excited to see on the bucket, the peach! When putting the first coats on, I got a little too impatient (it's a very pale peach) and sprayed too much on the first coat. That, coupled with the humidity (this part of the process was done last August) made the whole thing peel. And not just the regular orange peel. This thing peeled in sheets. Here's the carnage:
This was super discouraging at the time, as I hadn't seen anything peel like that before. But, I learned what to avoid doing, so that's the important part. Nothing a little sanding can't correct, so I started sanding it down.
What was cool about this was that even after sanding, there were some ridges that I couldn't quite get all the way even, so I ended up keeping those, and they ended up looking really cool in my weathering process later on! But we'll get to that later. Once I finished sanding the peeled paint down, I started repainting the peach. This time, in lighter coats.
After several more coats, the peach was nice and even with no peeling. Then I peeled my masking fluid off and dry fitted a t-visor in to see how I was progressing.
The last step was the topical weathering! I used brown and black acrylic paint washes, along with charcoal to achieve the desired look. Once the weathering was to my liking, I sealed it and installed the t-visor (I used a welding face mask for mine). Here's the finished product!
I also got some pads for the inside:
It fits like a glove and doesn't wobble at all, I'm super happy with how it came out, especially for my first stab at a helmet like this.
Flight Suit (COMPLETE)Now that I have a helmet that can sit on a shelf and constantly motivate me to finish my kit, the next step everyone I spoke with recommended was to get my soft goods dialed in. First up, the flight suit! I got a pair of khaki coveralls (I'll get these recolored later on to match the colors in the concept image) for my base, here's what they looked like when they came in the mail:
After getting some help bringing it in, this is what it looked like after the first round (pockets still attached):
Still a bit too baggy at this point, I got more help bringing it in even further, and this is where we ended up after I removed the pockets:
I then weathered the suit (see last page for reference images).
