Shoulders Finished!

The first step on the shoulder armor was to add these #8-32 1/2" machine screws using epoxy:

Then, I added corresponding grommets to the flak vest:

Here's the silver layer (Rusto Aluminum) with the liquid mask applied per movie photos.

After that dried, I added the "primer" yellow layer, (Rusto Pale Yellow) and another layer of liquid mask.

Then the top coat of Rusto Line Painting Yellow misted with Rusto True Orange.  Once that was dry, I scratched it up with a screwdriver.  On the left shoulder, I applied the vinyl decal of the bantha skull, and then dirtied both shoulders with Testor's "Rubber" colored paint.  After a coating of Testor's Matte Clear Coat, we have finished shoulders!  These photos look a bit more yellow than the shoulders look in real life. (They're more orange than this...) Stupid phone camera!

Next up, the codpiece and butt plate!

~N

Finally Coming Together!

The project is finally starting to really look like Boba!  Let's start with the knees.  I added velcro and epoxied some 1/2" #8 screws to the inside of the knee plates:

When the epoxy was dry, I dyed some 1" elastic straps to match the flight suit, and applied grommets:

My wife sewed velcro to the knees of the pants:

And we have finished knees!

I got my vest and neckseal from my mother-in-law, who made the pieces from scratch with no patterns.  She did a hell of a job!  I weathered them with the same method that I used for the flightsuit in the last update.  Here's the neck seal on my very dapper mannequin:

For the chest armor, I epoxied screws just like I did with the knees. When they dried, I added a little graphite dust to the tips of the screws and then pressed them into the vest while it was on the dummy.  I used the center-line of the vest (based on the distance between shoulder seems) as my guide.  The graphite powder left a mark for each screw, and then I added grommets:

Here are all the finished pieces on my dummy!  It's finally starting to look like Boba!

 More to come...

~N

Flightsuit - Finished!

So I bought this beautiful flightsuit and jetpack harness from Man Of War. 100% cotton. When I got it, it was snow white.

 The Return of the Jedi flightsuit seems to be a faded version of the Empire Strikes Back flightsuit.  It's gone from grayish-blue to pale gray.  From my research online, it seemed that RIT Pearl Gray dye was the way to go.  Unfortunately, Pearl gray is much darker than I needed, so I did some testing on scrap swatches of white cottonand came up with a recipe.

In 2 cups of very hot water, I dissolved 1 tablespoon of dye powder per gallon of water that I intended to use.  I was dying this in a big plastic tub, so I used 4 gallons of water. (4 tbs of dye is less than one package of the dye powder.)

Added 1 tsp. of Speedball Super Black india ink per gallon of water.

I filled the tub with gallons of very cold water.  (I DID NOT use hot water. This is cotton. It would  shrink.) I tossed in the dye liquid, and added about a cup of salt.  Mixed well.

I threw in the flightsuit and stirred constantly for about 10 minutes.  Then I hung everything to dry overnight.

When it dried, I ended up with this:

Next, I had to weather it.  This was by far the scariest part of this entire process because throughout the weathering, I couldn't tell what the final flightsuit would look like when it was dry.  Just had to have faith and use my imagination.

I filled an empty spray bottle with water and RIT Dark Brown dye powder, and just a pinch of RIT Golden yellow dye powder.  Mixed well.

The trick to this whole thing was that the flightsuit had to be DAMP so the brown dye would spread out through the fibers and didn't just sit there like paint.  The result was supposed to look like old stains that have been washed over and over, but never came out.

I hung the pieces from the ceiling in my garage, and started spraying on the dark brown dye using movie photos as reference.  I alternated between the spray bottle and dabbing with a sponge dipped in the dye solution.

I knew that the flightsuit looks much darker when it was wet from the original dye process, so I had to estimate how much weathering to put down.  I figured I'd go just a little bit overboard because it would get lighter.

I let everything dry, and it turned out I was right.  It got a lot lighter.  I went back and added two more layers -- repeating the process until I had multiple tones of grime.  Some a little more yellow. Some a little more brown.

The final result is this:

And here it is with the white jetpack harness.  You can see the contrast.

Here are some close-ups:

In other news, the balance of my armor is in from Bobamaker!

And I chopped off my mannequin's hands and replaced them with wooden artist models, so that the fingers flex, and he can hold his blaster.

More soon.

~N

Gloves

I started with a set of gloves from Bobamaker.  Great construction, but the gray was too dark.  They look more like the gloves used in The Empire Strikes Back. By the time Lucas filmed Return of the Jedi, Boba's gloves had faded quite a bit.  So I came up with a plan.  Here are the original gloves as I received them:

Too dark and too clean! I dropped them in a bleach bath and reduced them nearly to white:

While they were still damp, I started applying a solution of water and a small amount of Speedball ink with brushes and Q-tips.

I did this twice. The ink solution with the moisture gave a great, uneven, faded effect.  When the gloves were all dry, I did a few small yellow and brown smudges, as if the gloves had picked up grime over the years.  Finally we end up with:

More soon!

~N

Odds & Ends

Still too cold to do any significant painting, so I'm working on odds and ends as time allows.  If you've been following along, you know that I'm doing a second helmet. (Empire Strikes Back version. I've already completed the Return of the Jedi version.) 

This model is called the GMH by FettPride.  It's as close to movie accurate as there is. It derives from a cast of an original Lucasfilm prop.  Anyway, I've glued the left ear on...

And glued and screwed (tee hee) the right ear pieces on.

The right ear houses the Range Finder, and there's a cap that fits over that top part.  Taking a cue from the RotJ helmet I finished, I decided to attach the ear cap with rare earth magnets.  I had to send away to Australia for those.  Compare the previous and next photos to see that I carved housings in the ear so the magnets would sit flush. Then I glued the magnets in place.

These little suckers are strong!  Snaps into place if they come within about an inch of each other.  Nice and tight.

Using my trusty Dremel tool, I also carved out the keyslots on the back.  Then spent an hour sanding sharp edges with a set of jewelers' files.

Finally, I used my RotJ lens to mark the inside of this helmet so I could epoxy some screws in place.  This is how the welder's lens is affixed to the inside. (With screws and vinyl washers.)

In other news, I bought a new flightsuit to go under all of this armor. The one I originally bought was junk. (Most of the Boba Fett stuff on eBay is junk. Be forewarned.)  Luckily, Man Of War came out with a new two-piece version.  Not movie accurate, but everything will be covered by armor, and it's WAY easier to get in and out of.  Not only that but it needs no modifications, and is incredibly comfortable, unlike the junk I bought off of eBay.  I will have to dye it a light gray, though. You'll also note below that I bought Man Of War's new jetpack harness.  Not movie accurate either, but no one's going to see it under the armor, and it'll be much less strain on my back than a version made of just straps.

Speaking of the jetpack, I finally assembled the shoulder connections.  I installed the hooks on the back...

Which will connect to the straps that pass through the back armor...

By a bizarre coincidence, the strap that came with my yoga mat was EXACTLY the right material, color and width for those shoulder straps!  So I appropriated it for the Boba costume.  I'll buy another yoga strap!  I made the loops with my trusty grommet press, and bought the rings at Home Depot.

That's all for now.  I've heard via email that my final shipment of missing armor pieces has set sail from Portugal.  More soon.

~N

Final Paint: Knees

With our mild winter, I had a chance to finish the paint job on the knee guards.  Basically the paint scheme is this:

1) Primer 2) Rusto Aluminum 3) A mix of Valspar Golden Maze and Rusto Pale Yellow 4) Rusto Line Painting Yellow with a mist of Rusto True Orange 4) A touch up layer of a mix of Testor's Flat Yellow and Testor's Rubber 5) Final "grime" layer of Testor's Rubber. (Yes, Rubber is a color, apparently!)

Between each of these layers I used Liquid Mask for the major "damage". For minor "damage" I used a screwdriver and some gravel.

More soon!

Gloves and Harness

I've gotten a shipment in from Bobamaker in Portugal.  My gloves are in:

Of course, they'll need to be aged and dirtied-up once the weather gets warmer.

Also, my jetpack harness is in!  This is worn under the armor, with ties to the jetpack that slide through the slits on the back armor.

More soon!