Post-Imperial Valin PlanningPotential Things of Interest- Post-Imperial
- Modeling custom parts with Fusion 360
- Custom blaster electronics
- General heavy use of LEDs, OLEDs, electronics, and avoiding premade solutions
- 6500 word initial post
- Space pirate hacker
- Lots of Arduino coding
- Beat Saber as the holy test of mobility
Statement of GoalsThis is my Google Doc/thread for planning a Post-Imperial version of Valin’s Armor. This is both a design goals document, as well as a planning document for deciding what prerequisites I want to set for myself. For my Modern kit, I more or less winged it, and while that gave me flexibility, it also wasted a lot of time/money. Given I now have something approved for trooping, I intend to do an actual planning thread for this kit. Mostly because Arco’s thread is stupid good, and now I wanna be competitive, and have things like back story written out.
Arco has hugely influenced my desire for perfectionism kit, and while my Alor’ad always reminds us to keep it simple for an initial build, this build I want to harness that perfectionist energy, and really up my game in techniques, and in-universe ambition. Similarly our friend, who I believe goes by Bairn Sidhe here, makes me want to push my lore and backstory game further, and also find some opportunities for doing better hand stitching where Post-Imperial looks allow.
While this will predominantly be planning for the Post-Imperial build, it will also be interrelated with upgrades to my existing kit, and the shared aspects between them. Michael from Yustapir has been doing some of the stuff for his kit, and it’s so impressive. Part of my goals is to follow his example on integrating ammo pouches, and more visually interesting soft goods, as well as more custom designed parts.
I’d also like to better split out the aspects of my armor. I may not make a specific thread for everything, I do want to do each piece documented in such a way that it could serve as instructions to replicate, and better document the costs, and where I got materials, with links to Amazon and MicroCenter, for example. Additionally, I’d like to avoid difficult to re-obtain fabrics.
Where possible, for things I don’t have any plans in my head to sell on Etsy, I’d like to document/open source any materials/code developed for my armor. We’ll see how this pans out, but I want to try and better document Illustrator templates for sewing, or Fusion360 projects, as well as my code.
I’d also really like to keep to the Post-Imperial spirit, and involve clan mates where possible to make the armor more personal, so where possible I’d like to use this as a chance to do favors I can get returned later. In this realm, a large goal is also to keep my skills sharp, and be able to provide guidance to my fellow clan mates in Yustipir in many of the skills this build will require.
One related guiding principle I’d like to have is freedom of movement. I’m proud to say I’m able to nail some Expert and Expert+ Beat Saber songs while in my existing kit (minus helmet and blaster), and I’d like to keep that true of this, while still in a troopable state, if not with all the brigade knick-knacks and weapons (and helmet). Back plates and cod pieces don’t equate to a difficulty of movement, and there’s tons you can still do while having lots of mobility. In most cases, the biggest increases in agility I think I can achieve would be from increased durability and better attachment mechanisms.
Adjacent to agility is sustainability. My current kit, all told, is about 25lbs. It’s not terrible at all, and I’m pretty comfortably able to wear it indoors (other than some airflow/visor stuff), and outdoors I struggle a bit more, but I’d be perfectly comfortable with an hour or two in 80+ weather. I could stand to add a bit more weight, but I do want to try and consider weight more, as Post Imperial generally seems to have the potential to be more mass, so I’ll want to add more hollowed out bits when possible, for weight and electronics. Weight has been more limiting than agility for things like beat saber.
Finally, this is the beginning of longer term planning. I’d like to do substantial work on at least 1 of a Galactic Marine and a Jedi first, or a side build like a Jawa first before beginning the Post-Imperial in earnest, so it may be many months to a year before this takes form. Or I’ll begin aspects now to apply to this kit, and leave others for later.
Initial Sketch
This is not a work of art by any means, but it's more or less a summary of the end goals. Valin infiltrating an Imperial remnant space ship, pistols blazing, ready to whip out the vibrosword I clearly forgot to add for a good old pirate duel. At the end, hack his way into the enemies’ systems, and claim the credits from those who dare to glass Mandalore.
Back StoryFollowing up on the basic backstory of “Modern Valin”, I believe Valin would be roughly my age (29) around the OT era. Old enough to have memories of the Clone Wars, and a source for the love of the DC-15s, which would seem silly if I’d never seen a Republic Commando. This I believe would place me at 36-38 in the Post-Imperial era, which, who knows, maybe I’ll be that old when I finish this version of the kit. This character is essentially supposed to be a soft insert, so I’d like to include aspects of my background in electronics, cybersecurity and computer science in particular.
Currently, my essential lore is that I served in the Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service. I’m either part of or related to clan Wren, where I suspect Sabine Wren would have steered me from my ways as a Mandalorian with a yet to be written further back story, into serving the Rebel Alliance, particularly in the OT era.
I haven’t particularly nailed down much more than that, but I’d like to flesh this out to at least a page or two by the time we near the end of Mandalorian Season 3, and learn more about the purge and the Mandalorian factions in the Post-Imperial era.
Post-Imperial Armor Game PlanI’ve divided this up into a few sections, and while I’ve aimed for this to be a decently exhaustive top line stream of consciousness of my initial thoughts on each piece, it’s definitely not complete, and there’s further stuff I’d like to do specific to the full BRLs that I’d likely want to cover with a brigade specific thread. Where brigade stuff fits with a very topline description and 1.0 version of this kid, I’ve listed them.
Primary Brigade InterestsGiven this is intended to be the same character as my Modern kit, a lot of potential brigades for this will cross over as I look at brigades for my Modern kit. Where mutual exclusivity seems likely to be an issue, such as for Privateer and Combat Slicer, I’ll probably just aim to complete as much as possible, with the other going for actual approval.
PrivateerThe space pirate aesthetic, and bold vibes this gives off just fits so much of what I’m already doing. I’d like to keep as much of my design as possible for the Post-Imperial kit, so the general space pirate requirements of this will serve as guidance for how I build the base of this armor. I don’t see any notable requirements on this that require consideration early on, mostly seems to be fit and finish. The main initial goal would just be to keep strong on vacuum compatible soft goods, and weathering considerations.
Combat SlicerA huge goal of mine is to integrate my background in hacking and (a little bit of) electronics into my kit. It’s listed as incompatible with the Privateer (due to the colors), but regardless, the hacking/security attack elements of this fit with what I’d like to do as far as electronics goals go. For my helmet, if I redo, I’d want to integrate the required data pad connection from the start into one of the ear caps. I probably can’t be approved, but I kind of find the color requirement silly given real world hacker culture’s diversity, so I think I’ll try and do as much of this as possible, and use privateer for approval purposes, and combat slicer requirements for my own satisfaction.
Secondary Brigade InterestsWhile I'll go for privateer first, these also interested for potentially proper dual brigades.
Pistoleer/GunslingerThese fit nicely with the dual DC-15s. I don’t think there’s a ton specific I’d need to consider for the initial build, though both require a range finder, which my current helmet lacks.
MechanicRelated to slicer, similar cool DIY/maker lab items I wouldn’t mind on a belt.
Aerial AssaultWould need to drop the cape, but I love a lot of this. Additionally, would 100% require a jetpack, which I want to integrate anyway. Further, I’d have to leave my kama setup to add jetpack-related weathering later, which was also why I’d chosen my current heavier kama material.
Soft GoodsThis is where I see a lot of room for improvement from more planning than I did previously. I learned a lot about sewing and fabric choice that I’d like to apply here. Also I’ve seen so many people with stupid cool soft goods, and I’m just dying to try and be half as good.
Flak VestThis is where I’d like to make substantial improvements in a few categories. While I’m gonna go for the maximalist version initially, and for the purposes of this planning thread, I’d very likely make a hot and cool version of the flak vest, to avoid my goals conflicting with wearability in summer outdoor troops. I’d also probably be more inclined to move colors around, instead of falling back to black. My final plate color ended up a dark purple in the Modern build that didn’t contrast well, but also kind of precluded my desire to use purple fabric. I didn’t end up integrating white into my build either until after I’d done my original flak vest.
The first category is the Post-Imperial look. They’ve got far more visual interest going on on their flak vests, with things like top stitching and multiple panels, and so on. Related to this also is looking like it’s provided protection. Whether it’s all over or in key areas, I’d like things like batting to imply there might be some level of soft armoring to protect myself and a vacuum safe flight suit from shrapnel. Another consideration here is integrating options like the cape backplate, and my ultimate chest plate design from the start.
The second category is in visual interest. I’d just like to make sure spots not covered by armor will still be interesting where I might be caught by an errant photo, and not just a front shot, chest towards the camera.
The final category is just usability. The flak is a super useful tool for mounting things like a back plate, jet pack, cape, and so on in addition to just the armor plates. I wanna make sure key areas are sturdy, even if on a summer version the majority might actually be a single layer. Part of this might be researching things like water cool solutions, though I don’t currently find that to be needed. Another part is planning ways to run wiring to as many armor pieces as possible. Even where I don’t currently intend to add LEDs, I’d like to have a plan for where I’d run cables if I add electronics. My original plan had involved using CAT6, but I think I’d go more custom, with stitched in routing options this time.
I also would like to avoid a rear zipping option. It wasn’t actually a huge pain on its own to do it myself, but it was really difficult to hide the rear zipper in a way I liked. This pairs with my desire to at least consider a separate neck seal. I believe this can be considered separately from the snoopy cap I’ll talk about later, as they’re distinct pieces.
Flight Suit
I don't have tons of specifics, but just would liketo generally make my flight suit more detailed, and include things like built-d in pockets, top stitching, and so on. My original was navy, mostly just because it was what I had, but I’ll probably consider grey shades this time. Maybe even sharing a flight suit with a future Galactic Marine build.
Kama
This is something I don’t want to change a ton. The overall design was
primarily based on Commander Bow. What I really love here is the triangular lines in the front, crossing over the codpiece. My current cod goes over instead, to simply mounting, but if I redid the kama, or cleaned the current one up, I’d swap it to have the cod under the kama like Bow’s. This may seem small, but it’s probably the most significant change I want to improve the mobility I have available on my Modern kit, as the snaps I currently use frequently come undone when bending over or sitting down.
What I don’t love here was the execution of the Kama itself, and the back view. I really just want a better execution here. I like the thick Kama design, but because of how thick the fabric I used was, it was pretty challenging to get the lines I’d really love. I’ve seen Arco and Athena Dawn’s kamas really work well with multiple layers of Canvas, even without the thick fabrics that gave me trouble on my Modern kit’s kama. I’d also probably make it much longer and wider, as it doesn’t inhibit movement much, and I think more surface area, even if I don’t keep to the thick Vinyl, would result in a better movement.

This is a major candidate for a costume element I’d intend to use to replace my Modern build’s kama, and for the Post-Imperial build. One other note, I’d like to try integrating an optional kidney/butt plate. In most cases, I’ve tried to avoid dropping Jango plates just because I could take an out, and so far, none have impacted my mobility substantially as much as the cod mounting here.
One point of concern, and potentially added feature here is integrating this with my desire for a DC-15s drop holsters (Those Republic Commando pistols are way bigger than you think from playing the game)
Girth Belt/CumberbundI don’t really have a plan yet here. I suspect I’d drop the girth belt for not being common in the Post-Imperial area, but I don’t really want to do a ton, besides switching from suede to a canvas for the white on it, and having a more military aesthetic attachment mechanism.
CapeI’d definitely like to redo this if my brigades are compatible with a half cape. I quite like the half cape aesthetic, but I wouldn’t mind this build’s Tunic/Backplate being set up for both a full and half cape, depending on if I’m carrying a jetpack.

The current version references the Alliance Intelligence emblem, with more mandalorian starbirds and a mythosaur thrown in, to indicate perhaps I was part of allied mandalorians working closely with Rebel Intelligence. Why would I advertise this from a lore perspective? I’m not sure, but it’s a cool symbol!

Material wise, my Modern cape uses two layers of differently colored gauze, with different symbols on each side, with the inner symbol using the opposite side’s background color. I’d probably do a darker color, closer to hot pink if I redid the gauze instead of the outer pale pink, but this didn’t require dye, so it had made my life easier to just shrug and pretend the sun had bleached it.
The material itself though is a bit thin and stretchy, and while I really like the texture, and especially how it flows, it’s extremely difficult to work with for adding the symbol, resulting in an execution that I was only really able to tolerate after adding tears, burns and other weathering. I think if I can have a cape, I might try and partially use something sturdy like canvas to integrate the symbols, and try and weaken/soften the fabric to better achieve the flow.
My biggest feeling of unfinished business has come from the difficulty of matching my visual desire for a tattered bottom of the cape from dragging against the ground/brush with the requirement for a “finished piece”.

Related to this, I do wish I could find a CRL-compliant way of doing my previous cape, which was the same gauze simply draped from its mid-point.

Both of these photos capture a bunchy, tattered aesthetic that I’d like to find a kosher way to integrate into my shoulder cape, though this might ultimately be impossible with my desired brigades. If anyone has thoughts, I’d love to hear. I currently just have my cape folded over itself at the top to reduce its width by about a third from where it’d be if I’d have just draped it as a full cape, where you can properly see the stitched-in symbols.
Snoopy/Flight CapI’d really like to include this design as an optional element for troops. It seems like a good inclusion for things like cons, where you’ll frequently be taking your helmet off to talk to people or communicate, and helps avoid breaking an in-character illusion. It also provides a convenient mount for headphones and microphones.


Depending how I do mine, this serves as a fun real world analog to the snoopy caps that Apollo astronauts wore.
