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[Tyno Krast]

Bucket and boots are in! Time to get to work.

The boots are from MoW and the bucket is from Asok.



Flight suit and vest are both under construction at the moment. The vest is grey and the flight suit is white.....for now.

Armor will be from RKD.

When I started this journey back in 2011 I was not a costumer at all. I was interested in building a Boba but while researching that I stumbled upon Hydra's Umi Snow Mando. I was hooked. I've always been a fan of snow based characters. So for my first build I was thinking of going that route as well. However I also own a Phase 1 and Phase 2 Rex and would like to incorporate something of my clone "heritage" into my Mando. I was thinking a "faded" version of Rex markings. Light blue for the visor, jaig eyes, and armor markings, tan/khaki for the cheek wells, and white for the rest.

I plan on doing a layered weathering technique with ruddy brown as an aesthetic primer to simulate rust then maybe a green followed by a white top coat. The armor will also have tan/khaki accents throughout.

Red or brown girthbelt and I am undecided on the color of the ammo belt. Brown or white? 

For weapons I'll be recycling my DC-17s from Rex and I will either be using a modified Woodchuck DC-17 (that I am trying to sell if anyone is interested) or if I can sell the DC-17 I'll use that cash to get a Woodchuck Verp.


My goal with this build is simplicity and depth. I feel that with the amount of freedom we have to customize it's very easy to get carried away. And instead of looking like a warrior you end up looking like the Junk Lady from Labyrinth.



Of course Boba and Jango are the bench marks. Jango is simple and functional but the colors and the way his minimal items are layered give great depth. And Boba is just a great example of having a lot going on without over doing it.

Any advice, comments, criticism, and wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I'm a clone trooper pro but I'm a mando newb and I could use all the help I can get.



Couple of questions that I'm sure have been asked a million times.

Keeping the mandibles apart and visor instillation.

On my clone I just use magnets to keep the visor in place as there's no need to worry about the mandibles coming together. But for the buyce I'm not really sure what rout to take. I was thinking about using epoxy to mount T-nuts to the inside and then use a piece of metal to bridge the gap and act as a support. The visor would be sandwiched between the t-nuts and the support bar with the rest of the visor held in place with magnets. Good idea, bad idea, or is there a better solution?

Tactical/Airsoft/Motorcycle Gloves
Are these acceptable to use or are the frowned upon as being too modern looking? I've been trying to avoid the ones with the large, pronounced knuckles.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice!

[Swift]

The best way I've seen is POOs method:
http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=52872.msg743004#msg743004

It's simple and helps helps keep it structurally sound. Hope that helps!

[Tyno Krast]

Very nice thank you! Also learned about subtractive weathering :-)

[Tal Skirata]

Have you sold that dc-17 yet? Is it the commando rifle?

[Tact Kor]

Nice start, I went with an Asok CC and love it, I wanted to try what you are referring to with a piece of metal attaching both side of the lower mandibles together but I could not find a suitable solution, in the end I used four screws to hold the visor in and a bit of hot glue at the ends of the mandibles, so far it has worked well.

Looking forward to seeing your build, I know your Rex is Epic!

[Tyno Krast]

Tal I did end up selling the DC. Sorry. It was an animated style DC from Woodchuck.

Thanks Tact! For some reason it seems the visor has been the most challenging thing so far. Going from a clone to a mando has been eye opening.

I've got a few updates. Just a little work on the bucket and a few more items have been collected.

Eventually I'd like to build a ROTJ-SE Boba Fett. But that is a long and expensive process. So my thinking is to get items that I can use for both Tyno and Boba. In that way I can still participate in local invasions while I wait/save for Boba. Although as I'm building Tyno I'm starting to like him more than Boba.

Ok so here's where I'm at.


I took this to show the difference between the sanded areas and the un-sanded areas. If anyone is considering getting a cold cast helmet stop thinking about it and just do it already!



Here is the ammo belt I will be using. It's a WW2 Swiss army bandoleer I believe. I will be adding "devices" to the insides of the pouches to keep them from laying flat.



These are 2 pouches I also had from other costumes that I thought might look good on the belt. Is it too much?



Sadly the dent was filled. The dent was filled using a 2 part epoxy putty then sanded flush. I'll either use rub-n-buff to go over the spot or just hit it with some metalic silver spray paint.






The bucket is just about ready for painting. I might go over it a bit more with the steel wool then give it a good bath. The plan for this week is to get the visor mounted so I can cut out the FP logo and begin the painting process.
 

I have just about everything I need for soft parts except for a girth belt. I've sourced a few so I will probably get one soon. Most likely I'll be getting a white/natural girth belt that I can dye at a latter date.

Speaking of color...
Rather than doing a "faded" Rex blue I've decided to go with white as my primary, red as my secondary, and tan/beige as my tertiary. Because I'm going to have jaig eyes I felt that doing them in blue might be too close to Rex. But I will probably use Rex blue as one of the aesthetic layers under the main paint job. Just as a little nod to my favorite Captain. 

The flight suit was provided by Kcr7pr over on TDH. The quality is nice but I've decided to go with a ROTJ suit from another tailor. It's being made now so as soon as I get it I'll let you know how it turned out. I have high hopes.

The grey vest is a duckcloth job from our very own K'raam Xrati. I can't speak highly enough about this vest. Sturdy construction and great fit. If you need one get one!



These fine garments are all courtesy of Man of War studios. The gloves and vest are MoW's ROTJ versions. Because the white flightsuit is a bit more roomy I'll probably use it as my "snow assault" suit in conjunction with the duckcloth flack vest. While the ROTJ flight suit and vest will be my default until Boba is ready.



And for weaponry I've got ol' Vera standing by. She's a Verp lovingly crafted by the amazingly talented Woodchuck. This lovely little lady is both beauty and beast.

I may add some greeblies to the butt stock but at the moment I'm undecided. Maybe a few EE-3 greeblies and/or some "cheek padding".




Thanks for taking the time to look and read the WIP so far. You guys are the pros and I value any and all advice and constructive criticism you have. Also feel free to ask any questions.

[Vindar Falco]

NICE!

[Tact Kor]

You have got some quality items there vod, I am sure you will have a great kit.

Looking forward to seeing more.

[Tyno Krast]

Thanks Vin!

Thanks Tact! I hope so. I don't have much talent for this kind of thing so even with quality items there's a risk I can screw it all up and look like a bag of smacked shebs. :-)

But I will do my best and follow all of the advice I can get. And of course lots or research and planning!

I'm thinking about going Spec Ops sniper. I'll still need to get some kind of a spotter droid/image enhancement device. I was also wondering what to do about the blade/e-tool. I was about to go online and look for something when my son tells me "Uhh...dad....look on the wall." *DOH*!!! I've been collecting swords and knives for years. I've got a wall full of them so of course I overlooked them completely.

I have one that might work for a sniper. Please let me know what you think.

It's a custom weapon and is part of a set. It's brother is about 42in long with a 29in blade so probably not suitable for a sniper :-)

But this little guy just might do the trick....




As always please let me know what you guys think. If I do go with this blade I'm not really sure where I'd mount it. I was thinking either in the small of my back running horizontally or perhaps strapped to the butt stock of the verp.

[Nirob]

If you need some padding for your Verp, I got some leftovers, so just stop by.

[Tyno Krast]

Thanks 'vod! I need to stop over and see your mad scientist lab. You have some awesome stuff coming out of your workshop!

[Niabi]

Is that real steel, and sharp? if so its a no no vod

Nice verp

[Naren Sprax]

Is that real steel, and sharp? if so its a no no vod

Nice verp

Looks real. Maybe you can make a mold of it and cast it vod? Great start. Will be watching.

[Tyno Krast]

Thanks for the kind words!

Yeah that blade is very sharp, very real, and very functional 

Making a mold is a good idea!

[Pointoforigin]

I like all of this.