1/6 Kyrr Geron (Mandalorian) Custom Figure (FIRST UPDATE IN 5 MONTHS)

[the dude person]

As some of you know, I have been writing a fan fiction about a Mandalorian of my own invention by the name of Kyrr Geron. So far, the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 are up on my fan fiction thread.

But the idea for Kyrr Geron actually came from an idea I had for a custom Mandalorian 1/6 figure. I started on the armor a while back, making it out of layers of index card and super glue and then painting with acrylic paints... didn't work out so well, and although I had finished almost all of the chest armor (weathered it too!), I lost both of the shoulder pieces and the tiny hexagonal shaped piece that goes in the center of the chest.

So I started over, this time using plastic (guess from where? :rolleyes: ). I have all the chest armor made, and I also did both shin guards, but have yet to paint or weather them. Yesterday, I did spraypaint them a nice silver, and I was going to spraypaint red over it and scratch parts of it off to reveal the silver... not sure if that'll work, but I will do some weathering by masking off the silver with masking tape when I spray the red, and I'll probably end up painting some silver on top of the red... anyway, here are some progress pics! :D


shown here is a template I made using precise measurements from my Hasbro Jango figure.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0725.jpg

After the template is made and cut out, it is taped onto the plastic and traced with a Sharpie

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0736.jpg


Here's a shot of some of the armor before it was spraypainted

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0735.jpg

Here's a good comparison between the shin plate I made (white on left) and the actual Hasbro shinplate I made templates from (on right)

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0731.jpg

and here's a couple of pics of the silver spraypainted armor.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0743.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0744.jpg


let me know what you guys think! I'll be making the thigh armor pretty soon, then I'll try to figure out how to tackle the helmet, gauntlets, and kneepads...

[Crimsonbob]

Looking good m8, you can have the boba fett clothes just cover the postage if thats ok?

[arnax161]

SWEET WORK!!!

[the dude person]

Looking good m8, you can have the boba fett clothes just cover the postage if thats ok?

That's very kind of you! However, I don't know if the jumpsuit would fit on a standard HT body, I thought I heard somewhere that it's a little short...

[Crimsonbob]

Yeah its short but can fit a BBI G3.5 ok. also if you have long boots that would be even better.

[Dorgmal Snow]

Nice work DP, looking great.. have you any concept drawings of your character or are you making him up as you go along.
Ow and take Cbob up on his offer thats what I love about this place.

[the dude person]

Nice work DP, looking great.. have you any concept drawings of your character or are you making him up as you go along.
Ow and take Cbob up on his offer thats what I love about this place.

Well, I've known exactly what I want him to look like for almost a year now, and I have one poorly photoshopped picture of Jango Fett that I did to test out the color scheme...

problem with C-Bob's offer is, I want to make Kyrr Geron and Boba Fett at some point, and I would need to dye the suit dark grey to use it for Kyrr, and I wouldn't want to risk ruining something that valuable... and I don't know if it'll fit right anyway... and if I use it for Kyrr, I'll have to find some other one for Boba Fett... :banghead

I just don't want that jumpsuit to go to waste...

[the dude person]

Yeah its short but can fit a BBI G3.5 ok. also if you have long boots that would be even better.

Well, I have a couple of those... problem is, I want a Boba Fett too, and wouldn't want to ruin the suit for my Kyrr Geron figure...

I'm thinking of trying to make a jumpsuit from scratch by making a template from the Hasbro Jango suit, maybe with a few modifications...

And with the massive chest on the G3.5, an armor vest over that would make him look absolutely silly! :lol

[Crimsonbob]

Fair play man and btw grind down the BBI chests :peace

[the dude person]

Fair play man and btw grind down the BBI chests :peace

:lol always thought they needed breast reduction surgery!

I dunno about that, I need the huge chests for a few majorly muscular figures (like Arnie! :D)

[Crimsonbob]

:lol always thought they needed breast reduction surgery!

I dunno about that, I need the huge chests for a few majorly muscular figures (like Arnie! :D)

Hehe aye they are kinda huge :D

[the dude person]

Man, I am just beating my brains out trying to figure out how to do the helmet and gauntlets... I really don't have enough time or energy to deal with molding/casting from my Hasbro Jango, but I guess that's the way I gotta go... The helmet is gonna be tricky though. I can't figure out how to remove the rangefinder (the antenna bit that swings down in front of his eye) without damaging the helmet, and it's gonna be a pain in the shebs to get the helmet out of the mold, I've figured that I'll need to make this a 2 part mold, one part for the outside of the helmet, and another for the cavity inside it where a figure's head would go... And I'll need to cut the first part down the side so I can pull the helmet out with the rangefinder, and that's gonna leave a seam, which I really didn't want... And I'll have to carefully cut the rangefinder off every cast, and figure out some way to cut a slot into the right earpiece and get a pin through the rangefinder inside the slot so it can move like it should be able to... fortunately, the rangefinder on the Hasbro Jango is a little too long, so losing a bit of it when I cut it shouldn't be a problem...

Maybe I'll have time later tonight... :dunno

[Crimsonbob]

Do yourself a favour and stuff plastercine or something in the hole, make a full cast then drill the neck hole for any casts u make.

[FLOSI]

Looking good, Dude!

[the dude person]

Do yourself a favour and stuff plastercine or something in the hole, make a full cast then drill the neck hole for any casts u make.

I don't really have very good tools for doing that very well unfortunately, and it would be terribly difficult, as I need it to be pretty much copmletely hollow, and the top part of the inside of the helmet I think should be round... I wanna actually be able to put this over a figure's head, so the figure is actually wearing it, rather than have it be a swap out headsculpt sort of deal...

I've thought about if rotocasting could take care of that problem, and I don't think it can... it would be hollow, but the resin would probably glob up too much in one place and render it unwearable...


Looking good, Dude!

Thanks!

Made one of the thigh plates, had to heat it up quite a bit with my desk lamp actually (it gets pretty hot, it can be used as a heat lamp with any light bulb! :horror But it's supposed to be a regular light, but I got it for cheap... ), but I got it bent enough finally, thinking of making another one tonight and spraypainting them both with a silver undercoat to match the rest...

[Chakaman]

Armor looks good man.

[BHD2]

Looking awesome! I've been saving my plastic cups lately for using the plastic for projects. People might make fun of it, but its cheaper in the end then going and buying it from the hobby store.

For the helmet would it perhaps be easier in the end to get a cheap Hasbro Boba off of ebay and just using it for bash fodder? I know I saw a few at the local 1/6th show last month for 10 to 20 bucks. I can't see them being worth more on eBay. Or perhaps one of those McDonalds bobbleheads that you could hollow out?

[the dude person]

Looking awesome! I've been saving my plastic cups lately for using the plastic for projects. People might make fun of it, but its cheaper in the end then going and buying it from the hobby store.

For the helmet would it perhaps be easier in the end to get a cheap Hasbro Boba off of ebay and just using it for bash fodder? I know I saw a few at the local 1/6th show last month for 10 to 20 bucks. I can't see them being worth more on eBay. Or perhaps one of those McDonalds bobbleheads that you could hollow out?

Saving plastic cups? Did you pick that up from me or did you come up with it independently?

Don't let nam find out that you are too, or else you'll never hear the end of it from him!

Anyway, I just saw the cheapest but it now Hasbro Boba end, I was gonna buy it, but I waited too long and by the time I came back to it it had already ended... oh yeah, it was $45 (shipped)! :horror some jokers are trying to sell him for $80 + shipping, absolutely ridiculous... :rolleyes:

I'll just mold the helmet in silicone and cast it, it'll be tough, but it will save me a few bucks (already have everything I need!), and then next time I want another Mando helmet, I won't have to rely on getting one from eBay!

I need to ask Vivisect for advice on the jumpsuit though... that's gonna be tougher than the helmet I think...



Anyway, have you checked out my fan fic about Kyrr Geron yet BHD2? I don't think you left a comment if you did... You should check it out and tell me what you think of it!

[BHD2]

$80 bucks? Holy smokes. I knew I should have picked the one up I saw.

Nah! I figured it out randomly one day while spending too much at the hobby shop and noticed I could just use the cups I throw away. I've done the same with alot of things now, thrift stores are your best friend when trying to track down leather, certian types of cloth, etc. Sure your a bit limited on what you can get, but its by far cheaper half the time. For example I do 1/1 stuff and I build a sword belt for myself. I could get one from a certian online store and spend $80 plus on just the belt, that doesn't include the sword frog, etc. With a little time, some elbow grease and parts from the thrift store I made the almost excate same thing for maybe $10 bucks which includes the sword frog.

No not yet, but I will for sure tonight. I always get side tracked by annorying friends on MSN messenger.

[Vivisect]

The problem with a Hasbro Boba for parts is there are 2 versions (3 if you count the talking version) The older 2 versions are cheap now but the helmets are crap, and the later good OTC version rarely go cheap, It would actually be cheaper to pick up an ultimate jango, or if you just want the helm and gauntlets get the cheaper plastic version ( molded clothing ) they came out with since it has the same helmet and you could cut it up for the gauntlets and such. Be careful bidding on the plastic one since a lot of times the people selling them picket it up for the helm and backpack and resell it without the good parts.


As for a jump suit, I found this seller on eBay a while back selling cheap ones. Just check out his store and look around, he has a lot of 1/6 stuff, and a lot more jump suits in different styles (hoods, collars, zipper), I just had the swat ones on watch because they would be easy to dye black ( I think those 3 are very dark blue) for a Boshek I wanna do, and for me spending $4-$5 dollars shipped for one is more worth while than making one for myself considering the time it would take for the detail on it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-1-6-BDU-4-Modern-SF-Uniform-SWAT-SDU-GIGN-GSG-9-/330424502030?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ceed5c70e

http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-1-6-BDU-3-Modern-SF-Uniform-GIGN-SWAT-SEAL-SAS-/350341534514?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5191fb9332

http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-1-6-BDU-1-Modern-Special-Force-GSG9-SWAT-SAS-/270564357464?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3efee47558

[Vivisect]

thrift stores are your best friend when trying to track down leather, certian types of cloth, etc. Sure your a bit limited on what you can get, but its by far cheaper half the time.

You wouldnt belive the stuff I get in second hand stores, material, figures, model kits and all kinds of crap (I wish someone would start donating their SS and Hot Toys collections :lol),not to mention all the vintage stuff me and my wife resell on eBay. Though here in Chicago there are chains of them and at least one second hand store every 1/4 mile in any direction. Actually the main leather for all the brown Weequay armor I have done came from a leather Jacket that cost me $1.80, so for some things I don't have to tack on huge material costs, besides that, it was the only leather I could find that looked right and even came a bit weathered. The best thing about getting materials at them is that you can get high end fabric from clothes that usually costs a fortune per yard if you can even get it locally.

[the dude person]

You wouldnt belive the stuff I get in second hand stores, material, figures, model kits and all kinds of crap (I wish someone would start donating their SS and Hot Toys collections :lol),not to mention all the vintage stuff me and my wife resell on eBay. Though here in Chicago there are chains of them and at least one second hand store every 1/4 mile in any direction. Actually the main leather for all the brown Weequay armor I have done came from a leather Jacket that cost me $1.80, so for some things I don't have to tack on huge material costs, besides that, it was the only leather I could find that looked right and even came a bit weathered. The best thing about getting materials at them is that you can get high end fabric from clothes that usually costs a fortune per yard if you can even get it locally.

Thanks for the advice, I'll have to find some second hand stores around where I live (know there's at least on or two around here... think one's a Salvation Army...)

I'm going to need some help from you Vivisect, need advice on making Kyrr a jumpsuit.

First off, I want to essentially reproduce the Hasbro Jango Fett jumpsuit/flightsuit with a few minor modifications (longer sleeves)... how would I go about making templates from it? If I trace the Hasbro suit exactly, it won't have enough extra room for when it gets stitched together right? How much of an overlap will I need? Should I trace the suit exactly and then make slightly enlarged copies and use those?

Secondly, would you reccomend using a white fabric and coloring it with dye and or paint, or should I search for a dark grey material?

I'll have to look back at some of the diagrams you PM'd me a while back, I think this may end up being the most difficult part to produce...

oh yes, and this jumpsuit has a collar, any advice on how I should go about making that part?

I'd ask you to make me a jumpsuit, but I know you're really busy, and I don't think I would be able to repay you sufficiently (with money or a trade)... plus I'm also trying to become more self-reliant, so if I ever do a second custom Mando I'll be able to do it myself once I learn enough....

[Vivisect]

A jumpsuit like jango's/boba's is made out of a bunch of pieces so tracing will not help to much, it you turn one inside out an look at the various pieces and measure every thing and draw it out it will come out better than trying to trace it. The overlap/ extra material you stitch together will be visible when you turn it inside out but have at least 1/4 inch, but more will make it easier and you can trim off a lot of it before turning it right side out.

For jumpsuits like those with a lot of detail that are fairly easy to get at various places it hardly worth it for me to even make my self something like that considering the work involved unless there was a big demand for them since you can pick one up on ebay and such for $5-10.

Heres one I found that not black or dark blue that could be recolored.
http://cgi.ebay.com/YA4-16-1-6-BBI-US-SWAT-Uniform-Suit-/280471604692?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414d690dd4
http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/orgar2009/BBI/000632/102_2155.jpg
I know its probably not perfect but took me 5 seconds to find that that one. To be completely honest a hasbro one should work just fine if you plan to have him wear gauntlets though since the sleeves length isn't as big of an issue then.

For color white is good because you can dye it any color you want and you can worry more about finding a material you like instead of color. Just make sure you use something thats mostly or 100% cotton or dying it well might be a hassle.

[BHD2]

From the sound of the jumpsuit the military ones seem the way to go. Plus you can typically find them pretty cheap or trade easily. One of the best bets might be checking out Justice Fighters(I think thats right). They typically have random lots of stuff for cheap and theres plenty of fodder in those lots they have on their site. Weapons, clothing, every now and then they have Hasbro Star Wars figures. Heck I think I might even have one kicking around, I'll look.

A 1/4 of an inch? That makes so much sense now. Typically I give it an 1/8th and it comes out a little too tight. You can kind of see what I mean by the pants I made for my celt that I posted in the military section. Now I'll know. LOL

Looking forward to the Mando, DP. I still need to read your story, I've been slacking. AH! What sort of boots do you plan on him having?

[Vivisect]

A 1/4 of an inch? That makes so much sense now. Typically I give it an 1/8th and it comes out a little too tight. You can kind of see what I mean by the pants I made for my celt that I posted in the military section. Now I'll know. LOL

Yea, always leave more than you need because you can always trim the extra off, and you also have a better chance of saving something if you screw up and have to pull the stitches and do part of it over.

[the dude person]

A jumpsuit like jango's/boba's is made out of a bunch of pieces so tracing will not help to much, it you turn one inside out an look at the various pieces and measure every thing and draw it out it will come out better than trying to trace it. The overlap/ extra material you stitch together will be visible when you turn it inside out but have at least 1/4 inch, but more will make it easier and you can trim off a lot of it before turning it right side out.

For jumpsuits like those with a lot of detail that are fairly easy to get at various places it hardly worth it for me to even make my self something like that considering the work involved unless there was a big demand for them since you can pick one up on ebay and such for $5-10.

Heres one I found that not black or dark blue that could be recolored.
http://cgi.ebay.com/YA4-16-1-6-BBI-US-SWAT-Uniform-Suit-/280471604692?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414d690dd4
http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/orgar2009/BBI/000632/102_2155.jpg
I know its probably not perfect but took me 5 seconds to find that that one. To be completely honest a hasbro one should work just fine if you plan to have him wear gauntlets though since the sleeves length isn't as big of an issue then.

For color white is good because you can dye it any color you want and you can worry more about finding a material you like instead of color. Just make sure you use something thats mostly or 100% cotton or dying it well might be a hassle.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm not sure of what materials are used for most of the jumpsuits I find, so I don't know if they can be recolored that easily.

As for the jumpsuit having many pieces, not really in the case of Hasbro Jango. There's no flaps or pockets or pouches, it's just a plain jumpsuit with an extra sleeve that only goes halfway down.

I can't find a plain jumpsuit like that very easily, too many pouches and things I don't want on most of them... plus, unless I get two of the same one, or I am miraculously able to find a perfectly matching fabric for the color and material the jumpsuit is made out of, it'd be extremely difficult to make that extra sleeve.

I really want to be able to make the jumpsuit myself, and besides, I'm the kind of person who doesn't want to spend $10-$20 bucks on a jumpsuit (or else I would've just bought another Hasbro Fett and repainted the armor! :D)... I'd rather save my cash for things that are impossible to make by hand (like bodies, or SS clonetroopers!)


From the sound of the jumpsuit the military ones seem the way to go. Plus you can typically find them pretty cheap or trade easily. One of the best bets might be checking out Justice Fighters(I think thats right). They typically have random lots of stuff for cheap and theres plenty of fodder in those lots they have on their site. Weapons, clothing, every now and then they have Hasbro Star Wars figures. Heck I think I might even have one kicking around, I'll look.

A 1/4 of an inch? That makes so much sense now. Typically I give it an 1/8th and it comes out a little too tight. You can kind of see what I mean by the pants I made for my celt that I posted in the military section. Now I'll know. LOL

Looking forward to the Mando, DP. I still need to read your story, I've been slacking. AH! What sort of boots do you plan on him having?


I don't know about the boots yet... might pick up some cheap rubbery army boots or something and resculpt the area with laces into being smooth or something...

I was also thinking, maybe I could take a rubber boot, cut off everything above the ankle, and replace it with a circle of leather, maybe cover the rest of the original boot with leather to match...

Or I might not add the leather and he might just wear short boots...

I hope you get to read my story soon, there's already 3 parts! I believe it should take you a good 20 minutes from start to finish so far... the first chapter takes at least 10...

[pm07]

Dude,

If you want a green flightsuit, I have an extra Dragon produced one lieing around somewhere. PM me with an address and I will get it in the mail to you.

[maskfreak]

awaiting for the final product pic.

[the dude person]

Dude,

If you want a green flightsuit, I have an extra Dragon produced one lieing around somewhere. PM me with an address and I will get it in the mail to you.

That's very kind of you to offer, but no thank you.

I do want to become more self-reliant, and I'm not sure if re-coloring a green flightsuit would work.... as it needs to be a dark grey-ish sort of color. Also that brings up the issue of the secondary sleeves again, which don't usually come on flightsuits and would have to be added by hand... in which case they may not match the original very well...

Thanks very much for offering though! :D

[the dude person]

quick update on this figure so far.

I have started sculpting on the head, but it's pretty early on... it's still in the "featureless blob" phase... :lol

So it's not worth pics just yet... when I have time if I can make some progress I'll post it here...

EDIT:

I did make some progress on the HS, pics in a few minutes...

EDIT 2:

Can't find my camera! :o Pics will be posted as soon as I find it...


EDIT 3:

Still haven't found my camera... oh well, the sculpt is absolute crap anyway... don't think it's salvageable... :dunno

EDIT 4:

OK, I fixed the sculpt up big time, and found my camera! :yess:

Unfortunately, it's dead... :gah:

I'll try to post pics tomorrow, when there's some better daylight!

[the dude person]

Wow, this thread sure is dead! But now, just like the zombies we are all reminded of during this halloween time, the dead shall come back to life!

Hopefully, anyway.

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not some sort of ADHD gold-fish brain who can't stick with a project for more than a few weeks. The problem is, I have so many other projects that when new ones pop up, sometimes the old ones are set aside for a while.

I was so inspired by Dorg's revival of his X-Wing project, that I started thinking about all the old projects I started and never finished. This one was the first to come to mind.

The headsculpt is now as finished as it will ever be, except for the hair, which I have yet to add. There's just one problem: he looks like he's fifty-five, not thirty-five. So I'm thinking that I might use the head for a custom Kal Skirata at some point. (but I'm still doing a Kyrr Geron figure for now, Skirata is a maybe for sometime later)

But anyway, I decided to focus on the armor again for a while.

Here's what happened with trying to recast some of hasbro's gauntlets:

I molded the gauntlets with the last of my silicone rubber, only to find it hadn't cured right.

I tried to use the mold anyway, but due to my laziness and the scarcity of silicone, I only made a one-piece mold, when it should have had at least two, if not three pieces to it.

The cast came out terrible, as there are very thin places, and overly thick places inside. I'd have to drill the thick places through to make it a wearable gauntlet, and there's a terrible sort of blobby shape stuck to one end that would have to be trimmed away somehow (it's from where I put clay to support the gauntlet and keep it upright in the mold.) I don't think my dremel with its current attachments could trim it away, so I don't know what to do about the gauntlets at the moment.
So no gauntlets for now.

Then I started thinking about the helmet. I couldn't figure out how to create a sufficient mold for it, and I didn't have any silicone left anyway. (I seem to have bought every last drop of it from local hobby stores, as each has told me that "this is the last one they have," and they haven't gotten any more in stock since then)


So, I decided I'd take another approach to making the Mandalorian helmet. It's a paper mache technique I already tested on a Nazi helmet I tried to make for a Nazi-zombie custom. (what's more evil than a Nazi zombie right?)

Anyway, here's the process:

1. I use my 3D graphics program to model it

2. I use Pepakura Designer to unwrap the 3D model so I can print it out flat

3. I print it on cardstock paper and assemble it

4. I add several coats of spraypaint

5. I smooth things out with Mighty Putty and sand it down

6. I give it a final layer or two of paint


The results were pretty good with the test helmet, so now I 'm trying to do the sane thing with a Mandalortan helmet.

Right now, I'm in the 3D modeling phase. Here's the picture I used as a reference:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/Jango1v2.jpg


Just kidding, this is the REAL picture:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/Jango1.jpg


The first one actually has my model helmet in it over the real one. Here's a pic of the model, pretty much plain:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/JangoHelm.jpg


I played around with it a bit and repositioned Jango's head a bit. Sometimes I just get carried away! :lol

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/Jango1v2v2.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/Jango1v2v3.jpg

Next I'll be adjusting the helmet's dimensions so that

a) it's sure to fit on a head and

b) the helmet will be as accurate as possible (I don't trust my Hasbro helmet you see!)

after it's all fixed up nice and accurate, I'll simplify some of the details so I can print it out flat. Should turn out nice if it's anything like my Nazi zombie helmet!

So guys, tell me what you think (of my idea, of the model, etc)



Oh, and I did stop writing my fan fic about Kyrr Geron for a while, because I wrote the same chapter over twice, and both times everything got completely obliterated by my computer's "update" addiction! It just can't get enough updates can it? :slap

but I WILL be attempting yet a third unnecessary re-write sometime soon.

[bidufarewell]

Great to see you round here again Dude, look forward to reading more of your work too!

[the dude person]

Great to see you round here again Dude, look forward to reading more of your work too!

Great to be back, bid. Other projects have demanded my attention recently... Including working on concept art for a Star Wars fanfilm (I was personally asked to do it by someone who saw an animation I did on YouTube). There have been numerous other things that I've also been trying to work on just for myself as well, so I sort of drifted away from SSF for a while.


Anyway, back to my custom figure!

I've been fideling with the helmet, trying to improve it. It seem mostly right, but somehow it also seems kind of "off." Here's a spin-around of it (with Jango's colors slapped on):

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/JangoHeadRotation2.gif



So does anyone else think there's something wrong with it? I know the details aren't there, but I'm mostly worried about the over-all basic shape.



EDIT:

Just realized that the GIF up there is a bit stretched out, it's wider than the original version of the GIF, before I uploaded it to Photobucket. So here are some regular pictures instead:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/MandoHelm1.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/MandoHelm2.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/MandoHelm3.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/MandoHelm4.jpg

[Dorgmal Snow]

Good to see you back and getting stuck straight back in. Thats what I like to see and its looking grand

[hemble]

I got alot of admiration for you guys that can do this sought of thing with computers, looks great keep up the amazing work.

Ron

[the dude person]

Good to see you back and getting stuck straight back in. Thats what I like to see and its looking grand

I got alot of admiration for you guys that can do this of thing with computers, looks great keep up the amazing work.

Ron

Thanks very much for the compliments guys!


And Dorgs, you're the one who inspired me to finish up old projects with your fantastic X-Wing (which, by the way, when I saw it, caused me to make such a terrible mess that I fear I shall never be clean again! :lol)


Anyway, I worked on the helmet model some more, and got sidetracked and started working on a template for the flak-vest. Unfortunately, I'm very short on time now, so piccies will have to wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to unwrap the helmet model so I can print it out flat and start putting it together... :mwaha Phase I of my evil plan is almost complete!

Thanks for the support guys. :)

[the dude person]

I changed the title of this thread slightly, because "Kyrr Geron" doesn't mean much anyone who doesn't already know who he is, but "Mandalorian" does.

[the dude person]

Just thought I'd post an update - I put the helmet on hold for a while, so I can come back and look at it again with fresh eyes later (see, I kept modifying the helmet model because I always thought it needed to be better)

so anyway, instead I started work on the coveralls/jumpsuit and the flak vest. I made templates out of paper for both. I actually sewed up a test jumpsuit using a borrowed sewing machine and fabric from an old t-shirt.

It was terrible.

The legs, which, by all calculations and meaurements, should have been just like the legs from the Hasbro Jango Fett suit, were WAY too skinny to actually fit on any body I have.

Then I looked back at some old charts Vivisect sent me a while back for a different project (those are still very helpful! Thanks again, Viv! :) ) and realized I was supposed to sew the sleeves on long before the legs/pants part got sewn together. :slap

on top of all that, I actually misplaced the entire jumpsuit template I made, which is probably just as well since I need to start over from scratch again anyway...

I would've posted pictures... I actually took some pics, and uploaded them to my computer! But apparently my Internet security is suddenly now expired, and it says it's not safe to use the internet until I renew my subscription... So just to play it safe, I'm not using the Internet on my computer for a while and had to type this post fom my iPhone.

:cuss Stupid Norton Internet Security!

Anyway, I'm thinking I might go back to trying to work on the helmet now... :lol

[Vivisect]

Then I looked back at some old charts Vivisect sent me a while back for a different project (those are still very helpful! Thanks again, Viv! :) )

No problem. :)



I would've posted pictures... I actually took some pics, and uploaded them to my computer! But apparently my Internet security is suddenly now expired, and it says it's not safe to use the internet until I renew my subscription... So just to play it safe, I'm not using the Internet on my computer for a while and had to type this post fom my iPhone.

:cuss Stupid Norton Internet Security!

Well coming here wouldn't hurt anything, Just stay away from those porn sites. :lol

Anyhow, I have just used the free version of AVG for many years, and the 3 times something did get through, it was some new nasty thing that no anti virus blocked at first for the most part. Then when I cleaned it up I just use Malwarebytes antimalware to clean it up which is also free, but doesn't run in the back ground. I do run a key scrambler though.

[Darth_IMPoor]

:lecture Same here...on both programs. No issues yet.

[the dude person]

Hmmm... I'll defintely have to look into those some time...

I actually stay away from the ungodly sites out there, and somehow still managed to get some awful virus that makes my computer act like my mouse has been double clicked, when I only clicked it once. I STILL have had no luck getting rid or it, I have no idea where exactly it came from, and I have confirmed that it's not my mouse itself malfunctioning. :banghead

If that's what I get WITH Internet security, what'll happen without it?better to play it safe for now IMO.



Anyway, I'm going to get it all sorted out today, and perhaps work on trying to get my helmet printed out. I'll post pics if I get anywhere with it.

[Vivisect]

DP, if you ever have a serious problem, go here
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix
and download Combofix and follow the instructions, they are very simple instructions, but make sure you follow them to the letter as this program can in very rare instances cause more damage if you dont. This program will get rid of anything that a normal antivirus can't or doesnt remove, or reset.

Rule #1, is only Download Combofix.exe from the link on that page.

The problem is lots of the nastiest viruses change hidden system settings, and when most antivirus programs clean the virus from your system, they don't fix that stuff since it doesn't know if the virus did it or you wanted it that way, since every bodies software setup is different.

So the only side effect of combo fix resetting this stuff to default, is little things like your desktop icons forgetting where you placed them, folder options and things like that reseting, but it also fixes those system changes the virus made to make your pc even more vulnerable than when you got the virus in the first place, like showing hidden system files, opening hidden ports, and adding exceptions to your firewall and stuff like that, and can also set your mouse to single click mode. :)

Anyhow I hope this helps. Also, I think that the program has a Thunder Cats icon if I remember right. :lol




:lecture Same here...on both programs. No issues yet.

Yea, its pretty much the same protection as paying for other crap, and its less intrusive and less of a system hog than things like Norton and such.

Years back I had Norton for a while and it was a hassle because it liked to think a lot of video game anti cheating programs such as VAC and Punkbuster were viruses because they scan your memory and such.

[the dude person]

Well, I've got some news.

I used the printed out the helmet (twice, the first time it was too small) and assembled it, now I've started mashing Sculpey over it to smooth it out and reinforce it. I haven't gotten a chance to "bake" the sculpey yet, as I usually use my super cheap-arse lamp (it turns ordinary bulbs into death rays, like I said, super cheap. Probably made in China. Not just by underpaid, unskilled Chinese workers, but probably the Chinese monkeys owned by the underpaid, unskilled Chinese workers. Either that, or it's just made in America. :dunno)

anyway, I usually use my lamp to cook sculpey outside to avoid any of the possible carcinogens Sculpey is said to release when it's overcooked. And cooking it inside, even around reccomended temperatures, probably can't be very good for you anyway.

But here's the problem: By the time I'm home and have some free time, it's around 42 degrees Farenheit outside (that's about 5 and a half degrees Celsius), when the clay needs to heat up to 275 F for 15 minutes to cure.

Even with my Chinese Death Ray, cooking Sculpey outside in such weather is extremely difficult. Especially since it gets dark so early in the day (thanks a lot, Dubya! :banghead)

So I'll post pics when I can, and I'll be sure to let you guys know if I ever get the Sculpey cured without getting cancer. :lol

[Crimsonbob]

Sounds good, and i had a lamp like that but it smelt like fish so i threw it away :lol

[the dude person]

Sounds good, and i had a lamp like that but it smelt like fish so i threw it away :lol

You're lucky! Mine just smells like... well, burning stuff. Burning plastic, perhaps.

:panic: Chinese Cheapo's! They didn't even bother to make my lamp fish-scented. I feel cheated. :(


I got it for super cheap a while back, and have since acquired many more desklamps (at least 3 or 4). But when I left the lamp too close to a water bottle, and the water bottle melted, I thought it might still be useful. :lol




Anyway, I've been considering trying the hair dryer method for curing the clay, but that'd be sort of loud if I did it outside, might draw attention from the neighbors...

I may have to just go buy a Sculpey-dedicated toaster oven. :dunno

I'll keep trying with the lamp for now though. Since I'll be home this weekend while the sun's still shining, I might get lucky and find a time where it's warm enough out for the Sculpey to cure...

If nothing else this weekend I'll at least post some pics of what I've got so far.

[bidufarewell]

Nice skills DP! looking good.

[the dude person]

My goodness! I can't believe I actually never posted pics of my progress on this figure... I'm so lazy... :slap

Anyway, I made some progress on getting the helmet finished today, so I took some pics. Then I realized that I never posted all the other pics I have that I took throughout the last few months... So, here's long overdue pics from forever ago.

First off, here's some of the flak vest pattern I made out of printer paper. I taped the armor to the vest to get a feel for what the final product might look like.

Here's one with the Hasbro helmet, just as a mockup.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0271-1.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0278-1.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0279-1.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0281-1.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0283-1.jpg


and here's one of the pattern unfolded.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0286-1.jpg

The vest isn't made yet, unfortunately. I can't find the swatches of real leather they used to sell at Michaels somewhere... I remember seeing them several times, but as soon as I actually needed the leather and looked for it, it wasn't there any more. :dunno

I'll have to order some from the internet sometime...

Oh and the jumpsuit underneath the flak vest is from my Hasbro Jango Fett, I've made some progress toward a jumpsuit of my own, but haven't taken pics yet... and I lost the pattern I made for it! :doh

The HS you see in those pics is not necessarily Kyrr Geron's face, I haven't decided what to do about an HS for him (whether I should find one or sculpt my own.) It was just what I had lying around that would fit on the TrueType. (when I say "the TrueType, I mean the TrueType! I only have one ATM... :lol)

I'll be posting more pics shortly....

[the dude person]

Seems like there's barely anyone around this time of day... Anyway, back to posting more ancient pictures.

So first, what I did was use this program called Pepakura to "unfold" the 3D helmet model I made. After some tweaking within Pepakura, I had a nice printable helmet template. Here's what it looked like:

<a href="http://s577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/?action=view&amp;current=mandohelm.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/mandohelm.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

so once I determined the accurate scale from almighty Google, I adjusted the size and printed it on some cardstock paper. Now, it looks like it's a nice, even grey. But actually...

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0330.jpg

... it's a stripy purple! :lol My printer has been running low on ink, and only works sporatically anyway. This is actually V.2 of the helmet, you can see V.1 (also purple) already taped together between the other two helmets. V.1 was actually too small to fit on anyone's head, so I had to reprint it larger...

anyway I roughly cut out the dome...

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0331.jpg


and then started working on cutting out around all those triangles (it's a lot of triangles!! )

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0333.jpg


Once it was cut out, I bent the triangles very smoothly (no creases, this is supposed to be a dome after all) and then taped everything into place. At this point, it actually does look like a dome.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0334.jpg


Which, as you can see, fits on the Hasbro Jango helmet almost perfectly (even though I designed my helmet without any input from the Hasbro Jango, I used official pics and measurements)

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0335.jpg


I didn't take step by step pictures for the whole thing, but eventually I cut everything out and taped all the pieces together on the inside (which was really a pain for the dome), and at this point it was actually starting to look like a helmet.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0337.jpg

From left to right: My first attempt at Kyrr Geron's helmet, using templates I found on the dented helmet forums through Google; V.1 of the helmet made with my own templates, too small to fit on any head; V.2 of the helmet, just about the same size as the Hasbro Jango; the Hasbro Jango Fett helmet (obviously)





Then, the purple was really getting to me. So I decided I would paint it grey (it looks so much nicer this way, I think)

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0344.jpg

here's a comparison shot at an angle.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0347.jpg



So since then I've done a bit more with it, but that's all the pictures I can have in one post.

What do you guys think so far?

[the dude person]

Right, so not that anyone seems to be paying attention at the moment... But onward with the pictures! These are more recent ones I took....

See I actually picked up an old nasty toaster oven for cheap a while back, after deciding my chinese death beams would not be sufficient in the middle of winter.

There's just a few problems with it... Like the dial goes down to 200 degrees F, and sculpey needs to be at 275 for 15 mins. to bake.

Problem is, I kept burning things somehow, even when supposedly at 250 for 10 minutes! (Fortunately when the sculpey turned black and released its cancerous gases, the oven was plugged in outside!)

So I got an oven thermometer and popped it in when it was set on the lowest setting (200 deg. F)... and after 5 minutes, the thermometer said it was about 350 degrees in there!!!

So now my technique is, I turn the little toaster oven on to 200, and then a few minutes later, I turn it off. By then it's usually around 300 or so, so I just leave the oven open and wait until the thermometer cools down to about 275 or so. Then I pop my sculpey piece in there, close it, and check on it every few minutes.

The heat that's left is actually enough to cook it a bit (better than the heat lamp does, anyway.)

So after I had my paper helmet assembled and painted a nice gray, I started mashing sculpey on it to smooth everything out (especially the dome) and to give it some structural integrity.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of the earlier stages of the sculpey addition ( I added sculpey to the front and used my heat lamp to cook it on before I got my toaster oven), but just yesterday I used my oven cool-down technique to bake most of the rest of it. Now most of it has been covered, except the back, where I need to make the vent thingy...

Here's how it turned out after a little sanding.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0388.jpg

It needs some more sculpey here and there, but I'm going to make the vent in the back before I fill all the cracks. I still need to add some structural support before I do anything else (maybe some paper + superglue on the inside of the helmet to keep the different pieces together.)

So after adding the vent in the back, all I need to do is figure out the ears/rangefinder, fill the cracks and gaps with more sculpey, then paint it and I think I'll have a pretty good helmet.

Here's some more comparison shots between it and the Hasbro Jango bucket.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0391.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0392.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0400.jpg

I think it worked out pretty well so far. I still need to add the vent seen here:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0398.jpg

right now it looks like:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0397.jpg


Anyway that's all I've done on this project so far. What do you guys think?

[Crimsonbob]

Getting there but im glad ive never used sculpey it sounds like a complete *** to use.

[Dorgmal Snow]

gettin there indeed man... with sculpty you bake it on a mega low low heat or the edges with burn and it will shrink and alsorts. I think if it is thin you can hair dryer it Dude.

[the dude person]

Getting there but im glad ive never used sculpey it sounds like a complete *** to use.

:lol Yeah, it sorta is! It's better than epoxy stuff for things you sculpt over long periods of time though. I don't have any modeler's epoxy, I just have that godawful Mighty Putty stuff... can't apply it to helmets in less than a half-centimeter thick layer, it just cannot be manipulated well... Maybe I'll have to try the epoxy stuff they sell at hobby shops...

gettin there indeed man... with sculpty you bake it on a mega low low heat or the edges with burn and it will shrink and alsorts. I think if it is thin you can hair dryer it Dude.

Yeah, thanks, good advice. I also learned that baking it in a toaster oven on a sheet of aluminum foil is not a good idea.... The aluminum foil heats up too much and burns the sculpey. Luckily I have found a few bathroom tiles that fit inside the toaster oven just perfectly, the ceramic tiles keep it from burning as much.

I figure that since the empty toaster oven is cooling down after I turn it off, once it gets down below 275 it can't burn the sculpey, because it'll always be below the reccommended temperature from there on out...

The hairdryer idea sounds like it'd work, but I'm planning to do some things in the future that would require thicker sculpey pieces, so the Death Trap (as I have christened the little toaster oven) will be better in the long run, I think.

Hmmm now what to do about those ears.... Might have to sculpt em from scratch...

[witekite]

If I might offer my help into this project I think I can make things a bit easier for you. I wish I would have been able to help you before you started all of the work with the sculpy. I did the exact same thing you are doing to make your helmet to make my Halo ODST armor. You have the right idea to use card stock in the pepakura to make your helmet that's what I used as well. But did one extra thing that you missed. When people do the full size pepakura to make the life size armor they coat the folded card stock in fiber glass. But working in this scale fiberglass won't work two gloppy and expensive. I figured a way to do the exact same thing only in this small scale you coat the finished pepakura model in super glue. That way it will harden the card stock and give you a good solid base to start your sculpting the details on because I am sure you had to deal with a flimsy helmet which would make sculpting difficult. And the epoxy I think would make like a whole lot easier it hardens rock hard and is very easy to sand...and it dries by itself :)

Here are a few pics of my finished ODST to show you what you can achieve. You are on the right track with the pepekura and I hope my short little message will help you finish your project. If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I'll help you out...I'm somewhat of an expert at this through a lot of trial and error.
http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af119/witekite20/ODST/100_2817.jpg
http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af119/witekite20/ODST/100_2808.jpg
http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af119/witekite20/ODST/100_2790.jpg
http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af119/witekite20/ODST/100_2800.jpg

All of the armor is removable as well...the ODST project took over 5 months to complete but it was def worth the time and is one of my coolest custom pieces I own!

[the dude person]

Wow witekite, that turned out very nicely! :clap

And yeah I had little paper supports on the inside of the helmet to help it keep its shape. That worked pretty well, and now that there's baked sculpey on most of it, it can hold its shape on its own.

And I guess I was on the right track with the super-gluing paper to the inside to make it stronger (that's what I was planning to do next anyway before filling all the cracks.)


Thanks for the advice!

[Crimsonbob]

Yeah that ODST is very cool and so is the superglue idea.

[Dorgmal Snow]

Great start DP, love the step by steps and great tips Witekite. The Halo armour is INSANE man I love it. Have you got a thread elsewhere on the boards for this I would love to see more pics.

[witekite]

here is a link to my customs thread..It has pics of every piece of the armor and some of my other customs too :)
http://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69158

[the dude person]

I thought I was becoming quite popular! Now I see that it's just witekite hijacking my thread! :cuss

:lol Just kidding....



Anyway, I hope to start work on the vent in the back sometime today... (:o Hmm, "vent in the back," that doesn't sound right at all!)

[the dude person]

Well, I haven't made much progress on the armor... But here's the headsculpt I mentioned I was working on months ago....

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/HS1.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/HS2.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/HS4.jpg
(Sorry for the crappy pics)

I added hair to the front of it, (he's bald in the back! :panic:) and decided he might be salvageable. After I thought he looked too old, I decided he would become just a general headsculpt to practice sculpting on. Once I added hair, I realized he might still have potential!

So what do you guys think? He may not look young enough to be Kyrr Geron (haven't decided yet,) but I was thinking he might make a nice Kal Skirata some day....

[big guy]

Looking good and as for the ODST guy OUTSTANDING. Don`t supposed you cast the removable armour and SMG?

I have got the McFarl ODST helmet, 2x Magnum pistols, that McFarl rifle and 2 x Battle rifles (one from the 12" MC and the other a 12" statue MC), 2 x Brute bladed pistols and ELITE sword. Also a disected 12" statue MC.
If no casts any chance of a pm with a how to on the armour and SMG or a thread for it as I`d like to get one built myself.

[the dude person]

Oh man! I thought someone actually had something to say about my custom... But witekite's ODST just goes and steals the show again...
:gah:

I have to admit, it is pretty damn cool tho...

[Crimsonbob]

Looking good DP :)

[big guy]

Your certainly getting there wqith this Mando figure and the headsculpt looks great. Look forward to an update on this.

[the dude person]

Your certainly getting there wqith this Mando figure and the headsculpt looks great. Look forward to an update on this.

Thanks man! :)

I was planning to post an update, but some new toys came in the mail and I accidentally used all my time today playing with them! :lol

I've started a new headsculpt, among other things (not quite satisfied with the one I've got, like I said it may become a Kal Skirata some day)

Anyway, I'll try to remember to post some pics tomorrow (Sunday.)

[the dude person]

I'm REALLY bad with updates.... :lol

Anyway, finally thought I'd post an update on this guy.

Here's some pics of the new headsculpt I've been working on. Like the other sculpt, I haven't yet decided if this is Kyrr Geron or not, but at least he looks a little younger! :lol He's not quite done yet though...

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0463-1.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0466-1.jpg

Also, I've almost completed my Mandalorian flak jacket. I got some nice black leather from Michael's (finally found some there again! :panic:) Anyway, I cut out the pieces from my paper template, and glued them together with "Liquid Stitch" or whatever, essentially fabric glue. The resulting vest turned out really well, I think. Here's some pics of it on my new TT advanced:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0469.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0472.jpg


Here's one with a white background so you can see it better:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0474-1.jpg

And here's one with the helmet:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0478.jpg


I just need to figure out how to attach the sides, I can't decide between velcro and snaps... :huh Any ideas?



Let me know what you think, guys!

[Artoo]

Wow, that vest looks great! Have you ever used those little buckles? They're great for small closures, but elastic with snaps works well too. I have not had any luck with velcro, it wouldn't stick together for me, but I've only used that really thin stuff I bought from goodstufftogo (I feel regular size is too bulky).

[the dude person]

Wow, that vest looks great! Have you ever used those little buckles? They're great for small closures, but elastic with snaps works well too. I have not had any luck with velcro, it wouldn't stick together for me, but I've only used that really thin stuff I bought from goodstufftogo (I feel regular size is too bulky).

I'm not sure what little buckles you mean, but I know what you mean with the super thin velcro! They used it on the original HT Joker clothes, they will NOT stay velcroed... :slap

I was thinking of using some slightly thicker velcro, but I'm curious about these little buckles of which you speak...

[Artoo]

These little guys work great! Lots of different sizes too, I use all of these. Goodstufftogo sells them in individual sizes and on trees. In their Supplies-Webbing, laces and buckles.
http://www.goodstufftogo.net/html/catalog1.asp?ID=382

[the dude person]

These little guys work great! Lots of different sizes too, I use all of these. Goodstufftogo sells them in individual sizes and on trees. In their Supplies-Webbing, laces and buckles.
http://www.goodstufftogo.net/html/catalog1.asp?ID=382

Oh cool! Yeah, I'll definitely have to look into using those. They might be a great alternative to velcro or snaps! Thanks man. :)

[katkuru]

Oh cool! Yeah, I'll definitely have to look into using those. They might be a great alternative to velcro or snaps! Thanks man. :)

Go with the velcro and add a few stitches to it so it is permanent. Don't be afraid of the needle and thread. It is not that intimidating once you try it.

[big guy]

TDP that head sculpt is coming along nicely mate and as for the vest, very nice and I concur with Katkuru on velcro and needle and thread.
The helmet is coming along nicely too mate.

[the dude person]

TDP that head sculpt is coming along nicely mate and as for the vest, very nice and I concur with Katkuru on velcro and needle and thread.
The helmet is coming along nicely too mate.

Thanks man! :D

Go with the velcro and add a few stitches to it so it is permanent. Don't be afraid of the needle and thread. It is not that intimidating once you try it.

I'm not afraid of the needle and thread in general, I was just worried that if I used it to put the vest together it would end up looking kind of sloppy, and the stitches would look too big, so I opted for a stitch-less approach.


I'm still unsure of using velcro, because I'm worried it won't stay velcroed if it's the thin kind of velcro, and the thick kind might just be too thick.

:panic: I think I'll try velcro, and if it doesn't work I'll try attaching some tiny buckles to the sides or something...

[the dude person]

Alright, no pics as of yet (as they aren't really that worth it)... But I thought I'd do a quick update.

I've started to reinforce the helmet with superglue.




...What's that you say? A silly excuse for a thread bump? Hmm... Perhaps... but it was more difficult than anyone would have thought.

One day I was at the grocery store, and realized I didn't have any superglue left for reinforcing my Mando helmet. (I had found out a day or so before, when I finally decided to stab into the sealed-shut bottle I already had, only to be greeted by an empty sort of puff of air... The stuff inside was completely dried up!)

Anyway, I was in a hurry and all I could find quickly was some krazy glue. I brought it home, tried it out on two pieces of paper... But they didn't stick. I tried felt, scrap leather I had lying around, and even my own fingers and couldn't get anything to stick to anything else.

Who ever heard of superglue that's not sticky? :slap

So then a while later I came across some Gorilla Glue, thought I should try it. I did, and this time the glue did stick things together, but when I glued a scrap of paper to the inside of my helmet, I realized that it was still very flexible after it dried (entirely defeating the purpose of supergluing the inside anyway)

So I finally found some more Loctite brand superglue (not the "control gel" stuff, the regular liquid kind,) and it dries very solid.

I don't understand why I can only find one type of one brand of superglue that

a) works as glue

and

b) solidifies

:panic:

Anyone who uses Krazy Glue is obviously krazy, and anyone who uses Gorilla Glue... shouldn't be trying to glue gorillas...

(By the way, turns out the Krazy Glue expressly stated on the label that it is not suitable for paper.... But I still couldn't even get "suitable" things stuck together... :huh)

I'll never use anything but Loctite again!

[katkuru]

DP,
Loctite rulzs! And hurry up with your human sculpt, it's off to a promising start. You don't want to lose your groove!

[the dude person]

DP,
Loctite rulzs! And hurry up with your human sculpt, it's off to a promising start. You don't want to lose your groove!

Thanks, I haven't put it down yet! I keep messing with it...

I carved out his face just slightly, to make his cheekbones more defined. I also did some work on the shape of his chin, and his forehead/cranium... Here's some very quick pics of how he looks now:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0516.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/FILE0517.jpg


I just hope I can sculpt his ears properly when I get to them... but as a human being, I think he's getting there.

[katkuru]

The proportions look good! Is he going to have hair?

[Chakaman]

Thats looking pretty good so far. Thats better than anything I could EVER sculpt, nice job. :)

[the dude person]

The proportions look good! Is he going to have hair?

Thanks!

He will have hair at some point, somewhere between a buzz cut and Jango Fett-length hair. But I'm not going to add the hair until after I'm done sculpting all his facial features (including the ears) so until he's completed he will be bald for a while. :lol

Thats looking pretty good so far. Thats better than anything I could EVER sculpt, nice job. :)

Thanks very much Chaka!

Although I'm sure you could sculpt just as well, or even better than I can. It just takes a little practice.... :wink1: Including aliens and zombies, this is my 9th attempt at headsculpting. I'd sometimes tweak a sculpt for weeks, or even months on and off, and then only get a very loose representation of what I'd had in mind. (Some times a HS would become unrecognizable after all the revisions I made on it, I would end up essentially completely resculpting it once or twice, it was great practice!)

If you had seen my first sculpt, I think you would have laughed! It was supposed to be the Terminator, but ended up more like the Constipator! :lol


Anyway, glad you guys like this guy so far. Hopefully I'll figure out how to do his ears properly someday... :lol

[AndreTK421]

WOW Great job DUDE!! Looks great! Cant wait to see finished sculpt!

[the dude person]

WOW Great job DUDE!! Looks great! Cant wait to see finished sculpt!

Thanks Andre!

I can't wait to see it either! :lol I'm hoping he'll look very Mandalorian in the end.

[AndreTK421]

Lets hope he does lol;)

[the dude person]

Hello again, everyone!

Nothing major, but I do have an update to share on our old Mando friend here.


These pictures are actually from yesterday, but I think my computer was running low on RAM, and decided that the Internet wouldn't work. So here they are, today.

Firstly, I cut up a handgun and an AK-47 (generally supplied by pm07 for that purpose - if you're still around, thanks man!) to make Kyrr Geron's blaster pistol. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with it yet, and haven't decided on a final design, but I'm trying things out.

Anyway, here's a pic of the guns in question before I Frankensteined them:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0563.jpg

Here's a pic of afterward:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0565.jpg



I also worked a little bit on my Mando helmet, filling some cracks with more sculpey and sculpting the left "ear." Here's a couple pics:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0566.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0567.jpg


I know the ear's not perfect, I'll have to try to straigten it out before I bake it again.


I can't believe that I've been gone so long that HTML images no longer work here! I must've been gone a long time...

Anyway, you might also notice that these pictures are nicer than the ones I was taking before (if you remember what they look like.) This is due to my buying a new camera off good ol' eBay. It costs something like 6 times as much as my old one (brand new), and I got it used for about 2.5 times as much as my old one. It was a great deal, and I'm very satisfied with the quality.

I guess I'll have to go back and edit my old HTML images to the BBcode format, at some point.



I'm really stoked to see that SS is finally doing Boba Fett, I'll probably end up buying some parts from him off TA, when he comes out, to supplement this project. I think I'll keep plugging away at him from time to time though, until then.




Anyway, are you surprised I'm even still alive after all this time? :wink1:


Also, more importantly, what do you guys think of the helmet and blaster so far?

[the dude person]

Okee dokee, all my old HTML pics in this thread are now fixed! :yess:

I've got some more updates to post later today, but I'm still waiting for comments on the blaster and helmet as they are now... (^in the post above^)

Oh yeah, that's right! I've been gone for so long, I forgot how incredibly disinterested everyone is in posting in this thread. :wink1:

[the dude person]

Hah, if it gets any emptier in this thread, I may have to start talking to myself. You wouldn't want that now, would you? :wink1:


Anyway, I've done some minor "work" on the blaster pistol. I found a tubular bit in the package of stuff pm07 sent me, and thought it looked nice on the side of the pistol, like so:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0603.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0604.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0605.jpg


So does anyone have anything to say about it? Is it ok, or does it look a little silly?

I'd sort of like to know what other people's opinion is on how it looks, before I go and superglue everything together! This is my first attempt at creating a blaster...

Let me know what you think, please!

[Artoo]

Looking good, but I think it needs some kind of a barrel. A simple solution is the tube from a ball point pen is the most handy resource around, otherwise you can cannibalize the barrel from another weapon.
I know how you feel about people not posting on threads. :1-1:

I just realized I used that exact same pistol for my Mando custom.

[the dude person]

Yeah, I was thinking about the barrel. I haven't found one that I liked yet (that I was willing to cannibalize, at least.) Although I might use a pen tube, as you suggested...

What if I just drilled a hole in the end of it? Do you think that'd work, or would an actual barrel be better?

Thanks for the sympathy, at times it seems like my threads, posts, comments, etc. are some of the most ignored on the Internet! :wink1:

[Artoo]

Go ahead and drill the hole and see, then if you don't like it, you can stick a barrel in it. :lol

[the dude person]

I just realized I used that exact same pistol for my Mando custom.

Hah, so you did! I guess it's a very common, cheap handgun.

Go ahead and drill the hole and see, then if you don't like it, you can stick a barrel in it. :lol

:lol I suppose that'll work! I'll have to try that.

[the dude person]

Alrighty then, I managed to drill a hole in the right place with my Dremel. I'm still not sure on whether or not a barrel would be better... Although part of me likes the flat-ended look.

Here's some pics:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0621.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0622.jpg

Does the hole look okay for a barrel? I can't tell.

[the dude person]

Ok, so next up we have some work I've been doing on the helmet all this time.

I essentially cut a square hole for the vent in the back of the helmet, as you can see here:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0609.jpg


I refined the earpiece a little:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0610.jpg


Next, I added a curved piece of index card (reinforced with superglue) to the inside of the vent hole, then covered it with Sculpey on the outside:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0616.jpg


After that, I made an attempt at sculpting the vent details:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0617.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0619.jpg


Is anyone reading this thread?... erm, I mean.. What does everyone think of the vent in the back? (My goodness that sounds dirty...)

Next up will be baking and sanding...

[BuddyGus]

Looks pretty cool. I really dig the sidearm.

[the dude person]

Looks pretty cool. I really dig the sidearm.

Thanks, man! I'm glad you like it, I felt like using part of an AK-47 was a bit of a risky move, since the AK is so recognizable. It's really coming together now, though.

[Artoo]

What does everyone think of the vent in the back? (My goodness that sounds dirty...)

That's where I always put the vent. :pfft:
Looks good. :dance

[the dude person]

That's where I always put the vent. :pfft:
Looks good. :dance

Thanks!

You know I didn't realize until recently how good this has been for letting off steam... :lol

[the dude person]

After sculpting the vent in the back of the helmet, I gave the whole thing a nice, solid baking in my garage-dwelling toaster oven.
When it was cool, I painted it a neutral-looking grey color to pick out the bumps and flaws:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0623.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0624.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0625.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0626.jpg


Some of the imperfections you see are from the paintbrush, but a lot is from the helmet itself. I then I hand-sanded most of it, and got the dome to be very, very smooth.
(I couldn't use the powersander yesterday, as it makes too much dust to be used inside... And the edge of a hurricane is blowing through at the moment.)

Here's pics of it as it is now:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0627.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0629.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0631.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/the_dude_person/IMG_0632.jpg

I think it still needs some powersanding, but I can't get over how nice and smooth the dome feels!


I feel like this helmet is really coming along now. Next up after more sanding will be figuring out what to do about the right ear (with a moveable range-finder.) That might take a little while...




What does everyone think of the helmet so far?

[Gregorbian]

Wow, that helmet is looking awesome! I can't believe it's handmade. Great job!

I really like the blaster pistol as well. It definitely has a "Star Wars" vibe to it.

I tried making a custom set of Mandalorian armor several years ago, but gave up. Your project is coming along nicely, I can't wait to see the finished project.

[Force28x]

Coming along, Dude! One of the hardest parts of helmet-building is symmetry. I fight it to this day. I've learned that even stuff that looks top-notch and especially stuff that is 'screen-accurate' tends to get a bit cater-wallered. There is a lot to be said for battle-damage, paint schemes and clever photography angles, I suppose.
Keep it up!

[the dude person]

Wow, that helmet is looking awesome! I can't believe it's handmade. Great job!

I really like the blaster pistol as well. It definitely has a "Star Wars" vibe to it.

I tried making a custom set of Mandalorian armor several years ago, but gave up. Your project is coming along nicely, I can't wait to see the finished project.



Thanks Gregorbian!

I'm glad you like the helmet, I've been working on it for ages! If you could see it in person, it'd be more obvious it was handmade... It's a bit crooked in places! I try not to let it show so much in the pictures, though.

And I'm glad you think the blaster has that "Star Wars" feel, I thought of all the times an official Star Wars blaster has been made of cobbled-together guns from real life, and I thought of how the clone trooper blaster rifle was essentially an MG-34 with an upside Stormtrooper blaster on the end... So I put part of an upside-down AK-47 on the end of a handgun!

Did you ever post pics of your custom Mando anywhere? I'd be interested in seeing them, even if you never finished. Who knows, if you still have the pieces you might be able to finish it up one day.

And I can't wait to see this project finished, either! :wink1: But I think it'll probably take a while...

[the dude person]

Coming along, Dude! One of the hardest parts of helmet-building is symmetry. I fight it to this day. I've learned that even stuff that looks top-notch and especially stuff that is 'screen-accurate' tends to get a bit cater-wallered. There is a lot to be said for battle-damage, paint schemes and clever photography angles, I suppose.
Keep it up!


Thanks Force28x! And symmetry is definitely tough... I started out with a perfectly symmetrical 3D computer model, turned directly into a paper model, and this helmet still isn't quite straight! :wink1:

I bet even the real props used in the movies aren't quite straight from all angles though, so I'm not terribly worried. And I think I'll definitely be using battle-damage and photography angles to minimize the crooked-ness.

Anyway, I'm glad you like it so far. :)

I actually painted the helmet grey again, then power-sanded it twice... I just haven't posted pics yet. I'll try to do that maybe later today or tomorrow...

[Force28x]

One little trick I use is to put a piece of sandpaper in my hand and cup it. Then I put the part to be sanded in the cup and twist it. I have found that a great technique on smoothing out chunky domed parts.
Can't wait to see your progression.

[Gregorbian]

Did you ever post pics of your custom Mando anywhere? I'd be interested in seeing them, even if you never finished. Who knows, if you still have the pieces you might be able to finish it up one day.


I've posted pictures of my repainted/upgrade Mandalorians (based on Ultimate Villain Jango Fetts/VOTC Boba Fett figures), but I lost my custom armor a while ago. :(

[the dude person]

I've posted pictures of my repainted/upgrade Mandalorians (based on Ultimate Villain Jango Fetts/VOTC Boba Fett figures), but I lost my custom armor a while ago. :(

How odd that you should say that - just today, I realized that I've lost my entire set of custom armor for this project. :slap

This isn't the first time, either - back when I was trying to make the armor and helmet out of only paper, glue, and paint (with no superglue or sculpey,) I got most of the pieces done, painted, and even weathered. I have yet to find them...

So that's two partial sets of scratch-built Mando armor that have simply disappeared... I hope I find the more recent armor (which is made of plastic) eventually...


Anyway, I'm sorry to hear you lost your armor, too. If you ever find it, take pictures of it as soon as possible! Unless you meant "lost" in another way (if the armor was entirely obliterated in some disaster, for example.)