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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.

[Malakier Vhett]

Also, don't add armour to your shooting finger, it would get stuck in the trigger guard.

Another solution would be to remove the trigger guard   

I think armor thickness is a matter of preference, and the 'look' you're going for. In-universe, armor can be made from a wide variety of materials, from Desh to Beskar. A suit made of Beskar, for example, could be relatively thin, and be fine, as it is one of the strongest metals in the Star Was unniverse. A suit of Durasteel would have to be significantly thicker to provide the same level of protection. As a general rule though, thicker does equate to better protection. But think about this: How often are people going to actually see just how thick your armor is? From even a few feet away, most people have a hard time distinguishing between 1/4 and a 1/2 inch. In some of the books, true Beskar'gam is described as taking dozens of blaster hits, as well as some lightsaber strikes, without problem, while durasteel armor gives out after just a few hits (or a single lightsaber strike).

Personally, I'm liking the 'thick plate' look. I'm just pointing out that you could make it thinner, and still have an in-universe reason for it being every bit as strong as a suit made of thicker plates.

[Ronin Tavic]

as someone who has/is using both thicknesses of plastic, I like both for different reasons. I do think thick looks like it'd be heavier, and I love the beveling you can do to it. Thin plastic can't be beveled to the same degree.
Also the weight and even mobility issues are negligible if done right. I also like the heavy because it feels more secure to me, where as the thin stuff im worried it's gonna break if I move wrong... its all about preference, and there's no wrong size material.

[Niabi]

That boot plate looks cool 8)

[Kando Falco]

Well i couldn't get a template to work. So I just went for it.









Once I had the basic form done I reheated the piece, put it on my thigh, and burned myself.  THe good news is the plate fits awesome now and I was able ot accomplish some nice complex curves.

[Carid Vhett]

I like it.

[Rang Kemir]

 I think that leg armour looks awesome cant wait to see it with paint on

[Kando Falco]

Just finished making the other side and I'm realizing how big of a pain it's going to be to get them in curves.  Baby steps and small bends I guess.  Already burned my legs twice molding hot PVC to my leg.

[stinkylinkz]

That knee notch is top notch! I like it. Exactly what I plan on doing with my shin armor. But with some more depth to it. Since you are using such thick PVC, if you used a secondary level and beveled the edges, you could get some realistic depth to your armor. Just a thought. Looks good though.

Where are you buying this 4" Conduit? I work somewhere that uses it so I have my eye out for the scrap pieces.

[Kando Falco]

Stinkylinkz

I totally agree with you.  Mind you this is just the base of the armor.  Once I have a cohesive set that fits and gets some sort of approval I will move forward with adding dimension and styling.   The plainness of the piece is driving me nuts. 

Im gonna work on the fit some more tonight and think about how to add some sort of backing plate (not gonna be easy).

I am thinking a true mandalorian markings for this as I am modeling it partially from a jango plate set I might as well be one of his faithfull.

Here is an idea I was thinking of for the thigh armor. The final product would be carved in.  Opinions?

[Ronin Tavic]

looks cool. do it. also, if you're looking for something to add dimension to the leg plates, could carve some lines in em, like i did with a helmet...

only ya know, dont do it bad like i did