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[Tyno Krast]

Decided to work on a new set of gaunts for old Tyno.

My old gauntlets were fine but I screwed up the construction and paint job so bad I felt it was best to just start over.

The base is a pair of Pre-Visla/Bo Katan/Death Watch gauntlets from KW.




My original gauntlets were from RKD. Needless to say RKD makes a top quality gaunt!

Here is a side by side comparison for size.




The KW gaunts are a bit more....petite...but since I'm going for a sniper build I'm ok with something more streamlined.

I may end up combining some of the parts from the RKD gauntlets into the KW gaunts. Maybe the whip cord housing and/or the flame thrower. As long as it doesn't look ridiculous.

Also if anyone has a line on where I might be able to get some ready to go electronics I'd appreciate the help. I'd like to add lights to the gauntlets if possible but I don't have the aptitude or that tools to put together the electronics myself. A vibroblade is also on the To-Do list.

[Niabi]

oooo this is going to be fun please do go on Vod

[Drak Fiurr Verda]

Two great sets of armor to start out on a solid base.

[Thaxos]

Looking forward to seeing how these turn out.

[Novoc Mereel]

Can't wait to see these come together!

[Tyno Krast]

Quick update....

The gauntlets and handbacks have been cut out and trimmed. Still not fine sanded yet just the rough trim to get the return edges off.

I started working on the weapon platforms. The blade has been roughed out and I'm working on mounting it with magnets. More on that as the build continues.

At the moment I need your opinions for the mounting of the weapons to the platform.

This picture shows how the rockets and blaster are supposed to be mounted as per the animated series.

(metallic darts are supposed to be in the 4 slots on top of the right platform but I doubt I'll be getting the darts any time soon)



But I have a pair of leftover nozzles for a Fett flamethrower so I thought I'd go with the configuration below.



Of course the weapons would all be pushed in so you wouldn't see their mounting stalks.

What do you think?


Also you can see the markings on the left platform. That is my proposed color scheme for the gaunts. My old gaunts were all white. But since I am doing a paint job that is a bit of a nod to Cpt Rex, I was thinking of doing the gaunts grey to match the armor but with a white stripe running down the center of the "box" continuing on to the hand backs...similar to the blue stripe on Rex. The smaller box on top of the left platform will be black. The little triangle shaped window has a piece of red plexi glass in there that I may put some lights behind at a later date.

Your thoughts?

[Vhett Naast]

If your not going to have darts, I'd say that would be a great configuration.  I was actually thinking myself the other day about using fett flame nozzles mounted similar to that on my gauntlets.  Guess great minds think alike 

[Tact Kor]

Go with the anime style and send those extra unneeded fett nozzles to me 

Actually I like it but have you considered adding the flame nozzle to the top of the right one and leave the blasters as they are in your first photo?

[Niabi]

Nice  8)  i like the use of the flame nozels

[Tyno Krast]

Thanks guys!

Tract I did try that but the nozzles are too beefy to be up top. I tried several different configurations and these two seemed to be the best fit.

I've opted to use the flame nozzles because...well....flamethrower!

I also worked out a way to mount the vibro blade.

Using two magnets and two small bits of metal up front, the blade stays in place very well when extended. Then using a magnet at the base of the blade and another mounted to the top box the blade stays nice and secure when it's retracted.

The only "problem" I had was with the magnets that hold the blade in the retracted position. The idea was to flick my wrist and the blade would pop out. The problem was I underestimated the power of the magnets. A simple flick of the wrist won't budge the blade at all. The only way for me to get the blade to come out is to do a full on Wolverine "snkit" motion....bring my forearm up to my chest then throw it back revealing the blade. I figure I can put a thin bit of plastic between the magnets to soften the bond up a bit. But to be honest.....it's kind of fun doing to Wolive thing 

On to the pics!!!





Here you can see the interior of the top box. To the left is the magnet that will hold the blade in place when retracted. Up front you can see how the blade sits when extended.



Here you can see the bits of metal up top and the magnets on the blade. The blade magnets are held in place with CA glue as well as 2 part epoxy. The reason for this is because of the stress the magnets will have to endure when ejecting the blade. Also, to ensure the magnets don't shatter, as they are prone to do, I recessed them a bit and added a shim to the top of the "cross beam". In this way the magnets never actually come into contact with the metal and the shims take the brunt of the force.



In order for the blade to return to the retracted position I just raise my forearm and tap the tip of the blade and the wonders of gravity and magnetism do the rest. GO SCIENCE!




This image shows the box mounted to the gauntlet. I cut an access panel into the gauntlet so I can add electronics, change batteries, and/or change/remove the blade. Because of the way the access panel is cut it actually acts as "rails" for the blade to slide back and forth. I've got some extra t-visor material that i'm going to velcro over the access panel. I'm doing that so the wrinkles in the arm of the flight suit don't interfere with the action of the blade.




I'll be using this part as my 'fuel pump" for the flame thrower. I'll notch out a little recessed area on the pump assembly so the magnet can slip inside and the assembly will sit flush against the top box.














Obviously we're still in the rough stages and there's still alot left to do. If I can stop playing X-Wing Miniatures I might be able to get the gaunts done in about a week. Not including electronics.

Thanks for watching and please feel free to give any advice and/or criticisim. I need all the help I can get 

[Pointoforigin]

"because flamethrower" is an excellent reason.

It's probably safer being harder to get the blade out honestly.

Overall looking great as usual

[Tyno Krast]

Thank you thank you!

Progress has been slow. Mostly because of Darth Real Life. But I managed to get all of the assembly done today. The sludge has been applied and needs to sit and bond for about 24hrs. Next will be my least favorite part of this process....cleaning up the sludge. After I finished my clone I swore I'd never mess with sludge again. Yet here we are.





I estimate about 5-4 hours of clean up left to do on each gauntlet. Clean up will include sanding down the sludge, filling in any low spots, trimming, and a final sanding before painting.

The plan is to be ready for paint by Thursday. But that depends how long it takes for the sludge to set. If all goes well I should be ready to send in my OM application on Monday!

Thanks for watching!

[Niabi]

Really like these vod

Oh and what is sludge?

[Manbrolorian]

Really like these vod

Oh and what is sludge?

It's melted down plastic (ABS, HIPS, whatever). I've never tried it before, but it's a fairly simple process.
Put some extra pieces of plastic (the same type that your desired prop is made from) in some acetone and let it sit. The acetone will melt down the plastic and make the sludge. Slather the sludge onto the seam lines of your prop, and let it cure.
It gives off a great 1-part look to a lot of plastic kits.

[Tyno Krast]

Yep. Exactly what Manbrolorian said.

It's basically used as a filler the same way you'd use bondo. But bondo will only fill the seam and can crack over time. The sludge will actually fuse together with the plastic to form one solid piece. No cracking, no chipping, and it's more flexible than bondo or other fillers. It's also great to make repairs to cracked or damaged armor. And it's cheap. All you need is a jar, some acetone, and the plastic trimmings from whatever you're working with.

The downside is that it is a pain in the shebs to work with. First you've got to make it. If it's too thick it won't bond and could pull right off. If it's too thin it could actually eat through the part you're trying to bond. It takes a few days to get the right consistency and you only have a minute or two to work with it. Yet once it's on it could take up to or over 24hrs to cure depending how thick it goes on. On top of that is the sanding. The endless sanding.

Although it is a huge pain I think it gives the best results when going for a seamless look and it will last forever. But the sanding......uuugghhhh