Been working on a lot of different things at once, but I wanted to share more progress on the chest armor! It's all constructed and glued together, so now it's time to fill seams, reinforce seams, and coat the back in a nice layer of fiberglass resin.
I'll share some tips that I learned while using it that I wish I knew beforehand.
I started off by filling in the back seams with
JB Weld Plastic Bonder . Pretty darn sure that is optional and perhaps redundant in most situations, but I used it to seal the back of the seams so resin wouldn't seep through to the front. Also to ensure that the resin would cure as evenly as possible.
The fiberglass resin I used is from
Bondo , and the resin kit cost about 20 usd. Don't forget to test your resin kit on a scrap to ensure everything is compatible and cures correctly. I forgot to test mine and ended up with a gummy, nasty layer of uncured resin that took forever to clean up (isopropyl alcohol cleans it up and is safe for most plastics!) Don't use acetone, acetone WILL melt your plastic and ruin your work.
The ratio I've been using is 3 tablespoons of resin with 10 drops of catalyst (hardener). Working in small batches with anything that requires a hardener is key to getting the best results. You might not even have enough time to use it all if you mix a big batch! REMEMBER, the more catalyst, the faster it cures, so work fast! If you add only 5 drops to 3 tablespoons, it will cure super slowly, and that's if it does cure.
I used the pattern I used to create my chest armor as a template to cut out fiberglass for the seams. Make sure you cut more than you need because fiberglass can and will fray MASSIVELY. You're gonna trim off the inevitably frayed edges right before you lay it down, and that seam allowance will have saved you from the shrinking pattern piece problem.
A trick I figured out was to not cut the fiberglass with the grain, as the lines pictured show.
I cut it against the grain as the lines show, this decreased a lot of the fraying and made the mess a little less messy!
I laid out all of the precut pieces to make sure everything would fit.
Finally I got to work laying the resin down! First you lay down a thin layer of resin, then you gently place the fiberglass over top and lightly press it down so the resin saturates into the cloth. The last step was to brush more resin over it and put it in sun to speed up the curing. I brushed some more resin on to better cover the fiberglass, but again, I think it's personal preference.
I mainly used the fiberglass on seams and folds, areas that will break more easily, especially since it's 3mm sintra. Pretty excited to be this close to finishing my chest armor! Gonna smooth down the resin, add some eva foam padding, and mount it with strapping next! After that it's priming and painting time!
Update: 6/21/2021
Greetings! It has been a bit since I've updated this thread, hasn't it? I had to take a short hiatus to attend to some personal business, but I'm kicking into full gear to "finish" my mando for a Star Wars themed event on July 29th. It's gonna be a personal event that's not at all associated with the MMCC, so I won't neccesarily be MMCC ready, but I'll be close! I started work on my backplate and I will be constructing my shoulder armor and redoing my schnees.
I haven't actually shared a picture of the front in a while, but after glueing everything together I had to fill in some seams and cracks as well as sand down some other spots. The abplate in particular had a deep recession that required
Bondo BODY FILLER instead of Bondo Spot/Glazing Putty. The difference is that spot/glazing putty is more so for small cracks and divots, and not neccesarily for body work. In fact, you may find that if you use glazing putty for body work, that it will crack or be prone to cracking in some areas (ie, large areas and areas that have some level of flex) Body filler is more rigid than glazing putty, it will fill in the bigger gaps and deeper dents way more effectively than glazing putty and you'll find that your finished product is much nicer!
As you can see, the body filler filled in that center seam/deep reccession quite nicely! The first coat of primer went down a lot nicer than expected, though I still have some nitpicking to do before I move on.
This image better shows the flaws I'm talking about. Zooming in you'll see a lot of unclean little flaws that will easily be fixed with some more filler/primer and glazing putty! The seams are still slightly showing in some parts and it gives the illusion that the plates are lifting, and I personally don't like it so I'll be hitting it with my glazing putty! Though we don't want to overdo it because Flo is gonna wanna show some signs of her albeit short time on the battlefeild. I want the smaller dents and scratches to look painted over because Flo most likely touches up her paintjob in her downtime like the vain youngling she is. Next time I update this will be 100% ready for painting.
Update: 7/12/2021
Thought I'd share an updated picture of all of the wearable stuff. Super proud of the chestplate construction! I'm really happy with the proportions and the spacing. These weapons are alsp courtesy of a friend, but I'll tell you more about these weapons and who made them in another thread!
Also, t-minus 18 days until most of my armor has to be done. I'm kinda terrified! I probably shouldn't have accepted such a close deadline, but I AM starting to get pretty close. I have all of my mounting supplies (chicago screws, magnets, velcro) and my chest armor and backplate are pretty much ready for paint. I'm probably gonna make some derpy standin gaunts for the upcoming event, but I'm thinking if I can get my helmet and most of my top armor done, that I can get away with a partial for an event. Been working closely with my Ruus so I'm not super scared about needing to start anything over (though it won't be a big deal if I have to).
Update: 7/27/2021
Finally updating on my chest armor! I filled in the little "potholes" and deep scratches with wood putty, it did the trick! I just put a little bit down and smoothed it out with my finger. When I dried I hit it lightly with 320 grit sandpaper. A video demonstration!
I laid down a few more layers of filler/primer and wetsanded it using 600, 800, and 1000 grit wetordry sandpaper. It came out so smooth and shiny!
Because the weather permitted to do so, I got to start painting today! I put down a layer of Montana Metallic Silver and it looks so cool!
(If you guys want to know more about how I prepped and painted, I go more into detail on it in my helmet WIP thread.
)
The reason I'm laying down silver as a base color is because of the type of weathering I'll be doing. I'm going light on the weathering because in my mando's (still incomplete) backstory, she's still pretty much a foundling and hasn't seen a whole lot of battle. I'm going for light paint chipping and scratches only on areas that make contact with anything. With paint chipping you're gonna see metal, or in this case, Beskar. The final steps will be a blackwash, the rub n' buff I plan on using, and a clear coat. You don't neccesarily NEED a clear cloat, but in some cases it adds a certain look and can add some protection.
Update: 7/29/2021
I have to have a presentable looking piece of chest armor by tomorrow evening. It sucks because I have to rush it, but also while keeping the CRLs in mind, meaning consistency. And costumes on a time crunch are difficult to keep super consistent! I trust myself, I'm just nervous.
I actually decided to go a little heavier on the weathering than originally planned, I'm going for primarily paint chipping and light scuffing, so I guess kinda like Katan's weathering? I don't know, I'm really happy with how the color blocking came out though. I used
Maskol masking fluid and dabbed it on with a foam sponge and an old paintbrush. I did two layers of it, ensuring that the first layer had already dried. I think I waited like 20 minutes before taking the masking fluid off. One tip I have is that you want to pull it off against where you masked off instead of pulling with it. I found out the hard way that pulling with it will smudge your paint; However, it IS weathered, so there isn't much damage to do!
