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!

Knees & Armor Shipment

It's been a while since I updated here -- it's too cold to paint in the garage right now, so we're at a lull until the spring.  But here's the latest:

Before the weather turned, I managed to get some work done on the knee plates. Here is the Rusto Aluminum layer with liquid mask:

After this, I did a layer of Valspar Golden Maze and Rusto Pale Yellow:

Still working indoors on the final touch-ups on the knees.  Pics soon.

Simultaneously, I sprayed the knee darts that go on the sides with Rusto Aluminum:

And then brush painted the black and red details on those, and dirtied them up:

In other news, I received a long-delayed shipment from FettPride, including an almost full set of armor (I'm inquiring about the missing kidney plate and RF topper.)  It was cheaper for me to buy a whole set then just the pieces I needed.  So I'll sell off the parts I don't need.

The helmet shown here is the "GMH" helmet -- the most authentic repro of Boba's helmet currently available. It was cast from a repaired movie prop.  Eventually I will paint the GMH in the Empire Strikes back color scheme, so that way I have both ESB and RotJ helmets!

~N

Helmet Padding & Backplate Finished

Hey, folks! Here's the latest.  I've added the padding to the interior of the helmet.  I bought some foam from a fabric shop, trimmed it to size and super glued it in.  The brow foam is 1" thick.  All other pieces are 1/2" thick.  It's snug but comfortable, and I won't need a chin strap.  The helmet doesn't wobble when I turn my head. For the record, this is NOT movie accurate.  But no one is ever going to see the inside of the helmet but me, and I opted for comfort. (The real movie props used a chin strap and a liner similar to what you see inside a hard hat.)

And with that, the helmet is 100% DONE!

I've also finished the back plate.  This piece of armor will never really be seen by anyone since it will be beneath the jetpack, but I wanted to give it as much attention as the rest of the armor.  Since it was already primed, I sprayed it with Rusto Aluminum, then buffed it with 0000 steel wool, and added liquid mask for the "metal" that will show through...

Then I hit it with Rusto Line Painting Yellow, and a mist of flat black. When that dried, I peeled off the liquid mask...

I added another layer of liquid mask, and then sprayed the final Rusto Hunt Club Green, and a mist of flat black.  After that dried, I peeled the liquid mask, gave it one more misting of flat black, and then scratched the hell out of it with a screwdriver and gravel from my driveway.

Here's the final back plate:

This weekend I also went for a test fitting for the flight suit and the armor vest.  Some adjustments needed to be made, but we're on the right track.

Next up: The knee plates.

More after I come back from New York Comic Con this weekend.

~N

Chest & Neck Finished!

After the yellow layer, the next step is to do a layer of Rustoleum Spruce Green (misted with black) on the left side of the abdominal plate.  The butt of Boba's blaster has rubbed against this area in the movie armor, and scratched it down to a lighter green.  No other plate has this treatment, so I only had to do this for one piece...

Once that was done, I added the "scratches" to all the pieces with liquid mask, and sprayed everything with the top coat of green (Rustoleum Hunt Club Green, misted with black. This is a darker green than what was used on the helmet, per movie photos.)

Once that dried, I picked off the liquid mask, and added the vinyl decal to the upper right plate.  Then one more misting of black, and some scracthes with a screwdriver and some gravel.

Here is the final right chest plate.

And the final left chest plate. Note that the display holes here will have a piece of the same material I use for the visor on the helmet.  So it will look gloss black.  That' will be taken care of before I attach the armor to the vest.

Here is the final abdominal plate. Now you can see the light green scratching from the stock of Boba's blaster...

The final neck plate...

And the whole set assembled together with the small center piece... I made this photo extra big so you can see more detail.

The vest that these attach to hasn't been made for me yet, so in the mean time, I'm moving on to the back plate and the knee plates.

More soon!

~N