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[Kando Falco]

So I have decided upon taking the Jango armor set and turning it into a heavy assault set with a bit of my own flair.    I am goign to make most of the plates a little over sized and definitely thicker then the original set.   

As far as what its going to look like and the preplanning... well I am not as good at that part.  I usually let things become what they want to be (if that makes any sense to you).  In other words I go into a project with a very vague outline of what I want to accomplish and the end result is usually better.  When you try to nail things down to much, you tend to eliminate possibilities.

So here we go.  I have printed out most of the necessary templates and started transferring them onto poster board for a more ridged template.  I also picked up some sch 80 pvc, foam board, lexan, smokes acrylic sheet, garolite, and lots of bondo products. 

My plan is to make an armor set that could take a legitimate hit, so I want be using many light products.  Its supposed to look heavy anyway!

I do want to submit this thing for approval in the end so please let me know when you see a violation in standards and I will make sure to keep this up to date and picture heavy.  Agreement?

You gotta start somewhere so  I went for the thighs

4" pvc tube plus template



Cut out with a jigsaw and shaped with a heat gun and a concrete former.   Took some tweaking by hand for final fit.



Darkened some work gloves and tried a tried a few techniques for damaging the armor piece.   The dark spot is where I hit it with a blow torch...

Kinda looks like a blaster mark.  I will try it on a painted surface and see what happens.



Started my left glove. 

Still not done. I need to keep shaping the writ piece so it looks more like part of the hand and I think I want to add a small triangular piece where the webbing if the hand and thumb is.

They look dirty because I'm wearing them as I work.  If I can still build stuff with them on them they are successful in my mind. I will try to do this with all my pieces so that I can adjust them for comfort and fit



You can see what I mean about the wrist here

[Malakier Vhett]

Those gloves...are awesome. That said, for my $0.02, I think you'll find the wrist about where you want it, though it depends on how much flex you have between it and the plate on the back of your hand. Too tight, and you'll lose dexterity (which seems to be important to you). I also think armoring the web of your thumb, while it would be awesome looking, would get uncomfortable. Maybe add more armor around the base of your thumb (similar to what you've done on your other fingers) instead? Only way to know is to try it and see though. Again, just my $0.02.

[stinkylinkz]

That's a thick piece of armor there! I will share some of my limited trooping experience. Don't make anything too heavy. If you plan on wearing it for extended periods of time (I.E a con or troop) it may become very uncomfortable or painful. But I like the 'thick armor' look a lot.

[Kando Falco]

Yes I like thick plate armor as well! I do think the wrist is to thick and may thin it down tonight.

Not as concerned with weight yet but I want it all to be under the 50# mark.  Part of the reason I'm wearing it all while I build is to make sure it's tolerable.

Well I'm outside Jo Ann's right now to get material for vest and some pattens. I made some sketches for a weapon and back pack today which I'll share later.  Knowing me they will change while building though.

So as a kind of proof is in the pudding I wore the glove while doing some demolition and clean up in my house.  I did lose a few degrees of movement in the wrist when curling down but lost more then that when flexing up died to the wrist plate. I'll be resizing the plate about a 1/4" slimmer and continue on with the second glove.

[Verdis4128]

Awesome gloves, I would thin out the plastic though, it looks too bulky, maybe finish it off with finger caps for a more completed look? Then again this is personal preference, so take it as you will.

[stinkylinkz]

I like the idea of a larger gap to increase movement. That is one of the downsides that comes with bulky armor. But then again, you're heavy assault, never meant to be agile anyways! 

Also, in response to wearing the armor, just make sure the completed weight isn't too much. I remember wearing a 30 lb IBA day in and day out. It's quite tolerable. So I think even at 50 lbs you'll be golden. That's a good goal.

[Niabi]

Cool gloves

tape the templates to you and get a pic so we can check the size

[Carid Vhett]

Cool gloves

tape the templates to you and get a pic so we can check the size

This^

And those gloves are sweet.

[Kando Falco]

Which templates?  I have the jango ones from the site but I'm not sure I'm gonna use them as the aren't heavy enough in my opinion.  I've been contemplating two main from plates with an over lap or maybe three.  Then again I thought about just adding to what is already there.  Here is a few drawings I did just farting around.  Warning I am not an artist!



Some other sketches I made.



The trip to Jo Ann's went semi well.  Didn't find exactly what I had in mind for vest material but this black vinyl is decent.  I also got some grey burlap for a possible cape or whatever.  I also found some nice thick material for a girth belt and dug out my old military boots for repurposing.

[Ronin Tavic]

pretty neat start. i use the same type of pipe for some of my kit. and just cut out new hand plates from it... great minds!  custom plates look pretty cool too.

[stinkylinkz]

I actually dug a piece of 3" pipe out of the dumpster at work and plan on using it. So you've helped me a little with this thread.

I agree with the paper plates for sizing. That's what I'm doing on my wife's kit now. Trying to get it all fitted before I go and waste material and time trying to size it as a plastic piece. Much easier to cut paper and reprint if you screw it up or are unhappy with the results.

[Kando Falco]

Added the extra piece to the thumb and took one of your suggestions. I also trimmed and thinned the wrist piece.  So much better




I also started the second glove





Cut out one of the boot pieces.  Any thoughts?

[Carid Vhett]

Nice, you may still need wraps to hide the laces on the boots though. Also, don't add armour to your shooting finger, it would get stuck in the trigger guard.

[Svik Katora]

I never understood why people like such thick armor. Just a preference thing but to me it seems ridiculous.

[Kando Falco]

For me thin armor looks like it would provide little protection to a heavy assault class armor kit. How many hits do you think that thin stuff would take? It may work on a canon set but I think for this it would be akin to gluing cardboard down.