# A Warrior is More Than His Armour! Reaper Dons the Beskar'gam



## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Greetings all,

It's time for a new log and this year's crazy venture is a set of Mandalorian armour.

Some of you may be asking what happened to my stromtrooper amrour. Well I still have it but have made no progress in about 2 years. The main reason for this is that because of how the plates fit together at the side, I need to get into much better shape before I can achieve a look I'm happy with.

However, the mando armour involves a lot more soft parts so that hopefully won;t be an issue in this build. 

I've learnt a lot since trying to build the trooper armour and a project like this offers so much more flexibility in terms of what you have to have to pass the requirements to join, as well as scope for creativity. 

So I had a think about the colours for my armour last night, found a Boba Fett ink and coloured it in photoshop to mock up the scheme.










After looking at a lot of build threads I think I'll be making my armour out of plastic (most likely cut from the body of some poor household item) and buying a helmet.

Going this route means the build should hopefully remain reasonably cheap (Under £150 is my goal) but look nice (Hence why I'm spending most of the budget getting a quality helmet)

The biggest issue this route presents is the gauntlets. I'm not too sure whether I'll be able to build gauntlets like Boba's, and I think (not finished looking yet) buying them would put me over budget much faster. 

I've a few ideas as to how to get around this. One of which is cannibalising parts of my trooper armour for the project, which I'm reluctant to do as I'd like to return to that one day. Another idea is building a arm frame to heat mold some plastic around and then build up the shapes of the gauntlets with clay and all that good stuff. 

In terms of soft parts, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designed-Prestige-Boilersuit-Coverall-Overalls/dp/B00617QDOI/ref=sr_1_1_m?s=clothing&ie=UTF8&qid=1362687162&sr=1-1 to use as my undersuit. 

I have no idea what to do about the vest yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to use snaps to attach the plates to the vest, which will allow me to totally dismantle the armour for transport, should provide a strong bond and mean I can swap out plates if I upgrade etc. 

For the cape I'll probably pick up a heavy thread bed sheet, dye and weather it and snap it to the chest. I won't be going with a jetpack (another cost saving/skill measure) so my back plate will probably have the UK clan logo either painted on or built up with plastic.

Those are my ideas so far. Comments, criticisms and help in general will be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks,

Reaper


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## LukeValantine (Dec 2, 2008)

The best way to make one of these outfits is with plaster strips, and fiber glass. Then use a type of rubber that can be cast to make some of flexible parts. I myself am starting a project to make a cybernetic looking arm armor following the design shown in MGS rising. If your going to invest the time in doing something like this you should do it in such a way that the end result is worth the investment. If you look online their are lots of cosplay and theatrical guides to making awesome looking custom costume armor. I know it will cost more, but luckily its done in relatively cheap stages so you can keep costs down by splitting the project across 6 months.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

LukeValantine said:


> The best way to make one of these outfits is with plaster strips, and fiber glass. Then use a type of rubber that can be cast to make some of flexible parts. I myself am starting a project to make a cybernetic looking arm armor following the design shown in MGS rising. If your going to invest the time in doing something like this you should do it in such a way that the end result is worth the investment. If you look online their are lots of cosplay and theatrical guides to making awesome looking custom costume armor. I know it will cost more, but luckily its done in relatively cheap stages so you can keep costs down by splitting the project across 6 months.


For the armour plates themselves I'll definitely be using the bin method. I've seen a lot of build threads on the Mandalorian mercs forum where people have used it and it produces fantastic results. It's all in the painting, as long as you nail the paint job, no one will tell you're wearing a £6 bin for armour. The method involves printing templates, taping them to the bin, cutting them out and tidying them off, sanding them then painting and weathering. 

I may use pepakura for the gauntlets, either that or I'll be heavily customising pvc pipe and guttering. 

I'll be picking up the bins next week hopefully, and getting started on the plates.


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

Good luck with the project!

Side note on Pep for gauntlets - I'm using it for my Farseer costume and because it results in a non-flexible material it can be tricky to create armbands with. You want it snug in tight behind the wrists so it doesn't fall off, but you also need to be able to fit your hand through it in the first place! Do you have any ideas as to a solution to that? I was thinking of a couple of alternatives:

1. Cut in half, add a hinge to one join and a zip/popper/clip to the other so it locks shut
2. Cut in half, add elastic material along both joins so that it stays in one piece all the time, but can be pulled over your hand due to the elasticity, which then pulls it tight again once past the wrist
3. Leave in one piece, big enough to go over your hand, and then bulk out the wrist afterwards to prevent it sliding off.
4. ???


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Sethis said:


> Good luck with the project!
> 
> Side note on Pep for gauntlets - I'm using it for my Farseer costume and because it results in a non-flexible material it can be tricky to create armbands with. You want it snug in tight behind the wrists so it doesn't fall off, but you also need to be able to fit your hand through it in the first place! Do you have any ideas as to a solution to that? I was thinking of a couple of alternatives:
> 
> ...


I haven't given a massive amount of thought to how I'd do it in pep. But I'd probably do then in a single piece _just_ wide enough to get my arm into, and fill the gaps with padding. My trooper gaunts are two separate pieces that attach via Velcro and they're always a pain to put on. 

Here's another concept (the ink is shamelessly lifted from the internet, colour was done by me) that shows the colour scheme more completely. I'm going for full lower body armour (jango style) as I think it makes the piece more even and not so top heavy.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

So I got all the plate templates cut out in paper and did a test for plates sizing:










Wearing my trooper helmet to help balance the scale. Going to start cutting the actual plates tonight!


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## Charandris (Nov 27, 2012)

Look forward to seeing this done!


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

So I cut all the plates from the bin today and began trimming them, here's where I'm at as of now: 










I'm trimming them with my citadel clippers which takes quite a long time, and hurts my hands like hell. But I'm familiar and comfortable with them and know I can get a good line using them. I'm hoping to have all the plates trimmed by mid week and then think about forming them into shape. Then it'll be time to buy the soft parts such as flight suit, vest and boots.


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

keep up the good work on that mate, that should look pretty sweet when complete


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## Charandris (Nov 27, 2012)

Looks excellent, great to see you doing the armour yourself having looked for DIY mandalorian armour all over the internet and only finding expensive bought resin parts.
Going to have a crack at this myself, how are you doing the jet pack?


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Charandris said:


> Looks excellent, great to see you doing the armour yourself having looked for DIY mandalorian armour all over the internet and only finding expensive bought resin parts.
> Going to have a crack at this myself, how are you doing the jet pack?


For the foreseeable future, I don't plan on using a jetpack. I might sculpt the vok'chi (uk segment of the mando mercs) logo onto the back plate though. And have a kick ass cape!


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## Charandris (Nov 27, 2012)

Ah ok cool sounds good to me!  I dream of one day owning a decent chewbacca costume...


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Charandris said:


> Ah ok cool sounds good to me!  I dream of one day owning a decent chewbacca costume...


I'm currently trying to figure out how to do the flak vest and then the build will be going full steam ahead. As to the wookie, here's a thread for you.


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## Charandris (Nov 27, 2012)

Are you still working on this? Please do post an update if you are!  Just about to post some mandalorian armour of my own thay i started today.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Charandris said:


> Are you still working on this? Please do post an update if you are!  Just about to post some mandalorian armour of my own thay i started today.


I am indeed still working on it. Unfortunately real life took a huge dump on me in the form of over £2k in bills so all my funds have been diverted to that. 

BUT, I do have the undersuit and have started forming the plates. The biggest hurdle I've been facing is the vest. I've decided to use a black t-shirt as a place holder for the time being so that I can get a non-mercs approved beta version finished before summer's end.


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## Charandris (Nov 27, 2012)

Sorry i didnt acknowledge your previous post, im sure my phones ben playing up as i couldnt see it last time i was online. Im glad your still doing stuff with this, understand about the finance issue, imagine its been a bit of a kick in the 'nads :/
Look forward to seeing the flight suit. The suit im working on atm is just a practice but my next one will hopefully meet the Mercs high standards. 
Quick question, how will you be attaching the armour to a vest/Tshirt? Im stuck for ideas :/


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

_
Rise my log of death, your master has returned!_​
Yep, I'm finally back. It's been nearly a year since I last posted any progress on this project. There was a huge chunk where no progress was made, mainly due to a combination of being incapable of making the flak vest, and having very little money. 

But in the last sort of month a lot of progress has been made: 

I've finally purchased a flak vest that should arrive any day now. 

I bought a helmet: 










And I've started painting and weathering my armour:




























All my plates except the collar (which needs a fixing for the cape attaching), my backplate (which I need help forming around my body) and my gauntlets (which I still need to build ) have been painted red and have had the masking fluid (toothpaste) applied to begin weathering. I just need to pick up a can of white paint to apply the accent colours. 

The other things I need to get hold of or finish off are: 

Cut and dye my girth belt and cape. 
Buy some boots.


So it's coming together very nicely. Once the vest arrives I can start experimenting with my attachments methods. And that will be when the project really takes off!

As always, comments and criticism are welcome.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Update time!

Started working on stage 2 of the masking process; applying the white accents. I started with the left thigh, knowing the what just going to run down the center. For the chest, collar and ab plates, they will be off centre and will need more precise lining up, which means I need to wait for my vest to arrive to see how they sit on my body. 

I used painters tape and newspaper to mask off a roughly 1.5 inch line (I used the width of my steel ruler). 










I then dusted the area with white, followed by 3 additional coats. It maybe could have done with one more coat, but as I'm going to be weathering it anyway, I thought I'd save the paint. 

Here's the result:










Overall, I'm really pleased with how it has come out. The lines are really nice with only the tiniest bit of bleed on one side. But that will get sorted during weathering. I like how striking it is, and think it should look awesome once the toothpaste comes off and you get the layered effect. 

I'm going to wait for another couple of hours for the paint to really dry before I remove the toothpaste and start weathering. I'll keep you posted. 

Let me know what you think.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

So, there's been a fair amount of progress the last few days: 

Weathered the plates that I had painted so far:










Then my vest finally arrived:










And I started working on the helmet: 










The project is really coming along now and I'm loving where its going. 

C&C, as always, is welcome.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

What is the material your using for the armor pads? Plastic, metal, or rubber?


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## neferhet (Oct 24, 2012)

this project is fantastic! keep it coming!


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

emporershand89 said:


> What is the material your using for the armor pads? Plastic, metal, or rubber?


The plates themselves are made from an old wheelie bin. So plastic. The helmet is fiberglass resin. 


UPDATE: Version 1.0 of my armour is done! 





































I hadn't attached the visor in the fitting photos, so I used PS to black it in. I took a mando selfie to make up for it:










I wore the armour to a party this evening. It took a little damage to one of the gauntlets and a magnet came off, but nothing some glue and elastic bands won't fix!










An "action shot" from this evening. Excuse the blurry photo, drunk people can't be relied upon to do anything right!


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