activation email

[Vercopaanir]

This kit is my creative release while I work on my cannon build.  A clan mate always says the custom kits have the most fun and he's not wrong.  I'm not going to stop working on my cannon build, I just want another kit that I can throw on quickly for shorter troops.

This kit is going to be post-imp build with Bo-Katan style plates. (Personally think those are some of the best plate styles for the ladies that we have seen yet.)  I plan on keeping it as simple as possible at first.  Of course with me simple is a matter of perspective.

I have a file of inspiration photos on Imgur.

https://imgur.com/a/YWtijme

My plan is the use the navy two piece that I made as a tester for another project as my flightsuit.  I'm wearing the Kama from my current kit in these photos as that was when I was still considering the overall look I wanted for my first kit.

   



My vest will be a combo of this leather with grey side panels.  I am thinking I want to do the vest similar to what you see on the covert mandos, just make it with princess seams for the fem-mando.

   

This leather reminds me of a whale shark which, to me, correlates a bit to an aiwha in star wars.

Color wise I am planning a weird sort of mottling effect.  My current color selection are these.



I plan on using the cream, light green and lightest brown on the front plates in a fractal triangle-ish pattern (Sea Turtle shell-ish).  While the creme, darker green and darker brown will be on the tasset and shoulder plates with a more striped pattern (think similar to a tiger shark but not quite).  The colors will start lighter in the front and get darker as you go back.  The back plate will be the grey on the edges slowly fading into the navy with spots of the dark brown and flecks of the green.  I also plan on hand painting in some splatters of the reddish color you see on the Mon Calamari and Rif Tamsons wetsuit.  Is this ambitious, yeah probably.  It may change as I go and decided if I like it or not.


I have already begun construction on my armor.  I hadn't planned on starting this build yet but I had two clan mates ask about making the female post-imp chest plates and I couldn't answer those questions.  So I got myself some patterns and sat down to figure it out.  I think it went fairly well.

   

   

It was at this stage that I took them to the local armor party and was able to talk the others through building their own.  Hopefully we'll have two new post-imp builds started soon!

I have since cut and started heat forming the trauma plates that I plan on adding to this build.

   



I have a bit more sanding to do to make them a bit more symmetrical but they are pretty close.

Edit 5/10/2020

Approval email was received yesterday!

[PSessum]

Actually, I have been working on something that might be perfect for an aquatic mando. Let me know if I can help in this endeavor.

[Aster Veris]

Nice! Excited for this kit! I am a huge whale shark advocate 

[Cattriss Wren]

 an aquatic mando, how exciting definitely following this build

[ishtob]

nice progress so far!  commenting here to follow this build 

[Vercopaanir]

Actually, I have been working on something that might be perfect for an aquatic mando. Let me know if I can help in this endeavor.

Thank you PSessum, I usually like your ideas so I'm totally down for a collaboration. 

Nice! Excited for this kit! I am a huge whale shark advocate 

Me too!  One day I'd love to see one.

an aquatic mando, how exciting definitely following this build

Enjoy the ride and feel free to offer suggestions.  Ideas are always appreciated. 

nice progress so far!  commenting here to follow this build 

Thanks!

[Aster Veris]

Me too!  One day I'd love to see one.

I actually have! I visited an aquarium in Atlanta when I was young and saw them. Would love to see them in the wild (and travel to where whale sharks live lol)

[Kuyan Jai’galaar]

That is so cool!!    I’m envious of how you have so much time to create all of this amazing stuff.  Question, though. Did you use a template for your chest plate and if so, would you be willing to post it? Bo-Katan’s plates are annoying to figure out.

[Vercopaanir]

That is so cool!!    I’m envious of how you have so much time to create all of this amazing stuff.  Question, though. Did you use a template for your chest plate and if so, would you be willing to post it? Bo-Katan’s plates are annoying to figure out.

Thanks!  It really only gets done in fits and starts.  Usually takes me a year to build one kit so don't get discouraged and keep on building.  Those 20 mins intervals start to add up fast when you're working on a project like this.  I purchased my templates as I didn't want to take the time to design them.  They're not that complicated but I decided to part with money instead of time.  This is the link to the pattern I got.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/910014585/bo-katan-armor-templates-pattern-foam?ref=yr_purchases

I actually have! I visited an aquarium in Atlanta when I was young and saw them. Would love to see them in the wild (and travel to where whale sharks live lol)

That's awesome!  To dive where the wild things are would be pretty cool. 

Quick update:  Bondo!  and sanding.

   

[Vercopaanir]

I had a few hours this afternoon and decided to spend them building.

I mainly worked on my vest today.  I got the majority of it done but I didn't account for the fact that my secondary fabric isn't stretchy so I cut my elastic too short.  Oh well, it's an easy enough fix but that meant that I couldn't finish it as I will have to pull the side seams open to put longer elastic in, then I can quilt it and finish the back.  The rest of it is done though.












I still need to cover the zipper pull for the flightsuit and add a bit of elastic to the waist of the pants as they are a touch to big.  (Why can't I get them right the first time?!)

I also got the first layer of primer on the chest and backplate.  (They're still wet when I took the photo but it's a matte black primer.)

[Aster Veris]

Vest looks awesome! Can't wait to see more of the plates too

[Vercopaanir]

Vest looks awesome! Can't wait to see more of the plates too

Thanks!

I finished the vest!  Lengthened the elastic, quilted in the back side panels and hemmed it.  I haven't decided if I want to put any topstitching on the main panels yet.





 



Don't mind the fuzzy pajama pants.  Got home from work and said "Meh, not doing anything else today."

I patterned out, cut and heat formed the base for my shoulder bells.  I also heat formed the shoulder straps? That's what I'm going to call them.  I still need to finish cutting out the fins that will be mounted along the edge of the shoulder but the base it ready for some filler.



I also made the patterns for the gauntlet bases and the shins

[Cattriss Wren]

That looks great!! I love how your flak vest looks like fish scales! Very cool

[Bryn Cin'Prudii]

Consider me following!
Youll probably want to sleeve the exposed elastic (PI CRL still doesnt allow visible elastic except on knees/elbows) Given your very solid sewing skills, should be a simple task

I love the hand made PI chest and those shoulder strap panels will be killer!

[Vercopaanir]

That looks great!! I love how your flak vest looks like fish scales! Very cool

Thanks!

Consider me following!
You'll probably want to sleeve the exposed elastic (PI CRL still doesn't allow visible elastic except on knees/elbows) Given your very solid sewing skills, should be a simple task

I love the hand made PI chest and those shoulder strap panels will be killer!

Thanks for the heads up.  I read the CRLs a bunch when I designed this and since the Post-Imp CRLs and the Modern CRLs said nearly the same exact thing (including the list of acceptable closure methods) for the vest and the strapping portion of the CRLs (where the acceptable uses for elastic are listed and are the same just with different wording). I thought I should be good since my current vest passed and those sections are practically identical.  It also says in the CRL that the traditional vest (aka modern style) is approvable for post-imp so my approved custom (a little modification from my modern style vest was made to better fit the post-imp aesthetic but I could just make the same vest and it should be approved based off that statement in the CRLs) should also translate, yes?  Or is my logic flawed?

I am trying to figure this out so I can help the rest of my clan building post-Imp stuff.  We've got two foundlings working on post-imp femmando's which is what prompted this build.  None of us actually know and since our Ruus' is no longer with us I don't have a clan resource for this.  I have been asked to step into the position come elections but until then I'm going to play devil's advocate to try and find all the places someone can poke holes in the CRLs and try to have an answer before hand.  So I want all the advise I can get about this sorta thing and to stopper as many holes as I can think of.

Okay back on topic.  I can easily cover them with fabric but then they kinda look like scrunchies which, shudder, not the look I'm going for.  Leather, nylon strapping or anything else that doesn't stretch wouldn't work at all as, well, it doesn't stretch.  Got any brilliant ideas for how to add the fabric without getting the scrunchie look? 'Cuz just a tube of fabric looking mildly like an old scrunchy doesn't pass my personal quality check.

Or perhaps the apps team would be willing to assess this as one of those case by case basis approval things? Since this is something that has been approved for pervious eras so the knowledge of how to do it wouldn't have been lost to this time period.  I am using top of the line elastic.  Just a FYI I do plan on backing this section with chain mail same as my current kit, not sure if that would make a difference in the assessment.

I'll keep brain storming it for now.

Update:

I got the shoulder straps heat formed!



I also got the fins attached to the shoulder bells.  They were screwed and glued on.





A little bit of filler and these will be ready for a coat of primer.

Additionally I got the shins and the bases for the gauntlets cut out of PVC pipe.  I haven't done any heat forming yet.



I am also still debating the trauma plating for the shins.  I know I want to do something but I tend to favor what I did with my first pair and I want these to be different.  I'll keep sketching ideas till I find one I like.

And I started to pattern out the half chaps for this kit.  I plan on using the same leather as the central panel of the vest for these.