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[mobcake]

Hello! This is the first time that I've built a Mando (or any costuming in general). As of now I am working on the vest, chest armor, and back armor. I'm juggling school and work at the moment so I try to get as much done whenever I can. So for the flak vest I am making and sewing it myself. I have the material and I have it mostly cut to size, the only thing that I need to do for it now is make any size adjustments, attach my armor, and then sew up the sides. For the armor I have all of the chest, stomach, back, and collar plates made out of sheet metal. I also have thicker metal (about 2 millimeters thick) that I have made chest and stomach plates out of but I lack enough of it to make the rest out of so I'm a bit worried about consistency for that. I also have a lot of Sintra so I may make the armor out of that instead depending on how it turns out. But this is what I have so far. Please leave any comments, concerns, or bits of advice that you may have. I want this to look as good as I can so please tell me anything that you think I can improve upon or do differently. I will be posting pictures and updates of my progress anytime I make any. Thanks!

I'm thinking of this as a concept for colors



Here is the vest that I've made. I do know that I still have to size it better and make some finishing cuts 



Here is the vest with the armor that I have so far on it 



Here is the backplate that I have taped on so I could get a feel for the weight. I still have to fold the edges to fit my body (Some edges look really unclean but that is because the paper template underneath it is sticking out a bit) 

 

I should be able to get some pictures with me wearing the armor up by tonight or definitely within the next two days. Once I have those I will post them

[Maljohn Han'Tor]

I'm afraid that none of your pictures came through.

[mobcake]

Yeah I have no idea what I'm doing wrong either. I've followed the given instructions exactly on how to post them and I still am not sure. I'm going to maybe try a different website besides PhotoBucket. If you have any advice I'd be more than happy to hear it 

[Maljohn Han'Tor]

upload your picture to photobucket, once it's there, go to your library, click on the picture.  to the right should be a couple of window options.  Click on the "Direct" window.  A yellow bar should flash, saying "copied".

Go to your Mercs post. put your cursor where you want the picture.  click on the icon under the "B" (looks like a photograph)
Something resembling this should appear where your cursor was:
[ img ] [ /img ]
Place your cursor beween the center brackets, & right click.  Click "paste" on the menu that pops up.  ...& that SHOULD do it.

Hope that helps.

[mobcake]

Thank you!!!! Previously I was just copying the link straight from the URL bar. The "direct" button advice really helped

[Maljohn Han'Tor]

Thank you!!!! Previously I was just copying the link straight from the URL bar. The "direct" button advice really helped

Glad to help.

[Oryon]

To me that metal looks too thin. How the edges are after you cut it, they're warped. You'll have to be careful not to take any hits from much in that or it'll dent really easily. Shaping may be easier with the thinner metals, but they don't keep the shape very well.

[mobcake]

That's definitely a problem that I'm going to have to address. I have an excess of sintra and I think I'm going to make the armor out of that. However, I do have the thick metal but only the chest and stomach plates so i'm not sure about consistency for that. I'll be able to make those sintra plates hopefully within the week and get some pics of those up here

[Oryon]

That's definitely a problem that I'm going to have to address. I have an excess of sintra and I think I'm going to make the armor out of that. However, I do have the thick metal but only the chest and stomach plates so i'm not sure about consistency for that. I'll be able to make those sintra plates hopefully within the week and get some pics of those up here

Slap the thin metal on top of the sintra, badda boom: easy metal plates

[Ninjapacman]

The plating looks very nice already, and I like the color scheme.  Would it not be better to paint the armor before attaching it to the vest, though?   It might save a little bit of trouble.

[mobcake]

The plating looks very nice already, and I like the color scheme.  Would it not be better to paint the armor before attaching it to the vest, though?   It might save a little bit of trouble.

That's what I'm going to do. I just have them placed down to get a sizing idea for it. But as soon as I have the plates complete and I'm sure that it's what I want to do I'll paint them then attach them. Hopefully it won't take too long for me to do this depending on work and school

[mobcake]

Slap the thin metal on top of the sintra, badda boom: easy metal plates

That is a beautiful idea, lol. Just a bit worried about making sure the edges fit flat against the sintra so there aren't bumps. Definitely something I can experiment on

[Cin Vhe'rang]

That is a beautiful idea, lol. Just a bit worried about making sure the edges fit flat against the sintra so there aren't bumps. Definitely something I can experiment on

Actually, no, don't do that.  Like, ever.  That's a horrible idea, and I'm pretty sure he was joking.

Do either-or.  If you can swing real metal armor, do it.  If you can swing sintra, do it.  Do not attempt to overlay the plates like that, mainly because it's kinda completely pointless, and I have serious doubts that it'll work without causing damage to the Sintra plates (in order to curl those steel plates in, you're gonna need to give it a few solid thwacks with a hammer, and sintra wasn't made for that kind of abuse).

If you want metal plates (I always advocate steel plates over sintra, for a variety of reasons), pick up a used car hood from a collision shop and cut them out.  If you can cut your plates out of the sheet metal you're using with a pair of tin snips (it looks like you did, here), it's not gonna be thick enough to be usable.

How thick is that, anyway?  At a glance, based on the cut marks along the edges, it looks around 26 gauge.  How easily can you bend it with your hands?

[mobcake]

I wasn't going to overlay. But thank you for the advice though, it really helps, especially with a first timer like myself. But the overlapping for me is to thrifty and like you said pretty pointless. I'll put in the money and the time to make sure it looks awesome and passes the application. But the metal is extremely thin, and you guessed correctly on the shears. It's practically paper. The car hood idea is actually really awesome and I definitely love steel over sintra. The only reason I got sintra is because my lack of metal working skills but through some practice i've become confident enough to make some decent plates. I'm definitely going to look into the car hood idea tonight and pretty much scrap the sheet metal i've been using. The only small issue I have with the thicker metal is that I can really only cut it with a table saw (it's the only thing I have that can cut metal) and it doesn't do curves or the indent on the chest plates where the diamond would fall into place since the blade is prettt long. However, I am going to get a dremel soon. Would you say that a dremel would do the job for the metal used on a car hood?

[Cin Vhe'rang]

I wasn't going to overlay. But thank you for the advice though, it really helps, especially with a first timer like myself. But the overlapping for me is to thrifty and like you said pretty pointless. I'll put in the money and the time to make sure it looks awesome and passes the application. But the metal is extremely thin, and you guessed correctly on the shears. It's practically paper. The car hood idea is actually really awesome and I definitely love steel over sintra. The only reason I got sintra is because my lack of metal working skills but through some practice i've become confident enough to make some decent plates. I'm definitely going to look into the car hood idea tonight and pretty much scrap the sheet metal i've been using. The only small issue I have with the thicker metal is that I can really only cut it with a table saw (it's the only thing I have that can cut metal) and it doesn't do curves or the indent on the chest plates where the diamond would fall into place since the blade is prettt long. However, I am going to get a dremel soon. Would you say that a dremel would do the job for the metal used on a car hood?

Metal's what I do, vod.  Both of my in-use kits are steel.

Getting the Dremel is a great idea.  Using a Dremel on a car hood is a bit like using a BB gun to try and break down a wall, though- it might eventually work, but it's not a great idea.  I use a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a cutting wheel.  It'll go right through it.  You might want to pick up some scrap steel to practice on, though; they're pretty simple to use, but getting good with one requires a steady hand and some practice.  Still, it's by far your best option, and available for relatively cheap (a decent one runs about $40 at Harbor Freight Tools, or online).  The other option, if money is no issue, is a plasma cutter, but unless you have an unshakeable hand, I wouldn't recommend it.

Another big tip- don't cut the plates directly on the line.  Leave yourself a good inch or two excess on the outside, and dial it in more precisely (or cut the excess into tabs and fold them over to give the plates the illusion of thickness).  This will require a small table vice and a decent ball peen hammer.

Metal armor is a labor of love.  It can take a bit of work and know-how to properly shape, but it'll survive trauma and life a hundred times better than Sintra or most other composites.  Take your time and get comfortable, and don't be afraid to ask for help.