Thorssoli's First Order Builds - Captain Phasma FINISHED on Page 21!
heartstopper85
Well-Known Member
Cant believe I just found this thread. I'm guy working on your flametrooper.
Awesome stuff man love seeing your process!
Awesome stuff man love seeing your process!
Theres no page 16... nooooooo 
Theres no page 16... nooooooo
There was, but then the overhaul happened and the forums have more posts per page. The thing you're looking for is now on Page 8.
Thank you. I've printed a new, bigger version of the incinerator, but I neglected to take any pics.
I've also printed the tank ends, but they need prep and cleanup:
I also finally made a new mold for the helmet tusks. Here's the prototypes before they went under the rubber:
I'll be back to work on that craziness sooner or later.
Can I hang out with you for like... a month?
Alright, it's been way too long again, so I suppose it's time to update this thread.
Forever ago I made a set of rubber gaskets that I decided were too stiff and unwieldy:
Those were cast in flexfoam with a fabric backing for strength and durability. The problem was that flexfoam didn't give me very good options to work with. They would either be stiff and slick looking, or they'd be soft and tear apart easily. I thought about using a urethane rubber instead, but they'd be heavy and expensive.
Instead, I decided to slipcast them in latex. The problem was that they were already molded in silicone and it's not an ideal material for casting latex. To make new molds, I started by having my assistant Rachel cast a full set in regular urethane resin:
Once they'd cured, any flaws on the backside were given a quick sanding so they'd lay flat:
Each of the casts was mounted to a scrap board and primed:
After a bit more prep and gloss paint, a drip wall was built up around the edges and each of them was covered over with burlap-reinforced Ultracal 30:
Once the Ultracal had cured, the parts were de-molded, the molds were cleaned, and then allowed to sit overnight to dry out completely.
Once that was done, each mold got three coats of black-tinted latex poured in:
That was followed by a layer of stretch fabric which was then saturated with more latex:
After allowing the latex to dry overnight, the inside surface gets dusted with baby powder:
That keeps the fresh latex from accidentally bonding to itself if it folds during demolding:
Here's the first shoulder gasket, untrimmed and fresh out of the mold:
These new gaskets are much lighter and more flexible than the earlier urethane versions.
Forever ago I made a set of rubber gaskets that I decided were too stiff and unwieldy:
Those were cast in flexfoam with a fabric backing for strength and durability. The problem was that flexfoam didn't give me very good options to work with. They would either be stiff and slick looking, or they'd be soft and tear apart easily. I thought about using a urethane rubber instead, but they'd be heavy and expensive.
Instead, I decided to slipcast them in latex. The problem was that they were already molded in silicone and it's not an ideal material for casting latex. To make new molds, I started by having my assistant Rachel cast a full set in regular urethane resin:
Once they'd cured, any flaws on the backside were given a quick sanding so they'd lay flat:
Each of the casts was mounted to a scrap board and primed:
After a bit more prep and gloss paint, a drip wall was built up around the edges and each of them was covered over with burlap-reinforced Ultracal 30:
Once the Ultracal had cured, the parts were de-molded, the molds were cleaned, and then allowed to sit overnight to dry out completely.
Once that was done, each mold got three coats of black-tinted latex poured in:
That was followed by a layer of stretch fabric which was then saturated with more latex:
After allowing the latex to dry overnight, the inside surface gets dusted with baby powder:
That keeps the fresh latex from accidentally bonding to itself if it folds during demolding:
Here's the first shoulder gasket, untrimmed and fresh out of the mold:
These new gaskets are much lighter and more flexible than the earlier urethane versions.
I have to post messages with no more than 20 images, so here's more...
After trimming, Velcro tabs were sewn onto little flaps on the edges. Then the ends were glued together and the parts were put in place. Here's the knee gaskets Velcro'd into the legs:
And the shoulder and elbow parts going into the arms:
With that done, it was time to do a quick dry run on the rigging of a complete set of Phasma armor:
Of course, this was the smaller sized chest and arm parts, so I'm a bit too manly and huge for this to fit:
So I enlisted Rachel to try everything on:
The perspective here makes it look a bit off:
That, and the fact that we had the waist sitting a bit too low.
Still, once I get the gaskets cleaned up and shiny (they're very black under the dust) and the armor all chromed, I think we'll just about be there:
In a couple of weeks we're going to have to get focused and start finishing a bunch of First Order builds. There's too much "almost done" stuff sitting around the shop.
Stay tuned...
After trimming, Velcro tabs were sewn onto little flaps on the edges. Then the ends were glued together and the parts were put in place. Here's the knee gaskets Velcro'd into the legs:
And the shoulder and elbow parts going into the arms:
With that done, it was time to do a quick dry run on the rigging of a complete set of Phasma armor:
Of course, this was the smaller sized chest and arm parts, so I'm a bit too manly and huge for this to fit:
So I enlisted Rachel to try everything on:
The perspective here makes it look a bit off:
That, and the fact that we had the waist sitting a bit too low.
Still, once I get the gaskets cleaned up and shiny (they're very black under the dust) and the armor all chromed, I think we'll just about be there:
In a couple of weeks we're going to have to get focused and start finishing a bunch of First Order builds. There's too much "almost done" stuff sitting around the shop.
Stay tuned...
SonofJorEl
Well-Known Member
Awesome work, Shawn and Rachel!
Wow, I guess it's been a while since I've updated this thread. I suppose I've had a lot going on in these past few months, but that does include some progress on these projects. First off, I finished printing the Sidon Ithano helmet parts, then smoothed everything out and made a mold:
Then I cast a few:
And painted them:
Once I'd settled on the right shade of red, they were all painted to match and weathered like so:
I'm pretty satisfied with the final result:
Now I just need to talk myself out of making the rest of the ensemble.
Meanwhile, Phasma progress has continued. It started with more prep work and a lot of gloss black paint:
The idea is that you need a perfectly gloss black base before you can have a successful coat of chrome:
So I've lined up everything I need shiny and black and I've been chasing the perfect smooth surface for a while:
This has regularly meant wet-sanding parts and repainting them again and again:
But eventually I get there:
Then finally, the parts get a layer of chrome:
Which makes me happy:
At this point, I've got most of one complete suit in chrome and a protective clearcoat. It loses a tiny bit of reflectivity because the clear isn't optically perfect:
I'm actually completing two Phasmas simultaneously (because I hate myself), so the going's slow.
Stay tuned. With any luck I'll finish all of my Episode7 builds before Episode 9 comes out.
Then I cast a few:
And painted them:
Once I'd settled on the right shade of red, they were all painted to match and weathered like so:
I'm pretty satisfied with the final result:
Now I just need to talk myself out of making the rest of the ensemble.
Meanwhile, Phasma progress has continued. It started with more prep work and a lot of gloss black paint:
The idea is that you need a perfectly gloss black base before you can have a successful coat of chrome:
So I've lined up everything I need shiny and black and I've been chasing the perfect smooth surface for a while:
This has regularly meant wet-sanding parts and repainting them again and again:
But eventually I get there:
Then finally, the parts get a layer of chrome:
Which makes me happy:
At this point, I've got most of one complete suit in chrome and a protective clearcoat. It loses a tiny bit of reflectivity because the clear isn't optically perfect:
I'm actually completing two Phasmas simultaneously (because I hate myself), so the going's slow.
Stay tuned. With any luck I'll finish all of my Episode7 builds before Episode 9 comes out.
heartstopper85
Well-Known Member
Hows flametrooper coming along? Still waiting on blaster, bucket, butt plate etc
I've got the blaster printed. It needs more prep before I can mold it. I'm almost ready to mold the new helmet and the tank toppers for the backpack as well as the bracket and comms box for the tanks. I still need to decide how I'm going to handle the tube frame for the pack. The biggest problem is funding it. Since nobody seems interested in buying a flametrooper kit, I have to come up with some way to pay for the materials with other projects. It's much slower going than I'd have figured.
In other news, I realized the other day that I've got all of the molds for the standard First Order TK the other day. Somewhere on a dusty shelf I even had a full box of armor parts that I've pulled over the past couple of years. Here's how they look all taped together on my friend Freddy:
I don't have a white butt plate at the moment, but here's one of the Phasma plates (from the same molds) as a placeholder:
Not a bad looking rig. I just need a few dust-free days to go ahead and paint it up:
At long last, Captain Phasma is complete!
She looks a lot better this way than she did scattered all over my workbench:
As before, the donning process started with the waist and thighs:
Once the shins and calves were in place, I glued the knees onto the rubber gaskets:
Since this is the Episode 7 Phasma, she has the extra plates at the ankles. Since I want the option of switching out for the Episode 8 ankles (which I also made) the plates are attached by velcro wrapped around the lower leg:
The butt plate and cod piece velcro onto an inner belt:
The thermal detonator is attached with a single bolt making it easy to remove (eliminating the extra weight since nobody ever sees it anyway:
For that matter, the lower back plate can be left off to allow for more air to flow in to keep the wearer a bit cooler.
The upper arms velcro onto the shoulder gaskets, which in turn are held together with this strapping nightmare:
All of which is covered by the chest armor:
Then the cape slips over the head:
And the helmet goes on last:
I haven't made her a blaster yet, so for now I have to settle for the Ep8 spear:
In addition to being a bit inaccurate with the Ep7 armor, it's heavy, unwieldy, and needs a bit more room than I have in the workshop to comfortably maneuver;
So that's a done thing. Hopefully I'll find an opportunity to do a proper photoshoot with her (and a taller model) soon.
One other note, forever ago I found a tiny rubber chicken and put it in the grip of my black series Phasma action figure which hangs out in the workshop:
It's been sitting on a shelf, watching my slow progress on this build, since who knows when. So when we finally finished the armor, we had to dust it off:
Then replicate it in full scale:
So with Phasma phinished, it's time to shift focus back to that flametrooper. Hopefully I can have that guy done in time for Episode 9.
Hopefully.
She looks a lot better this way than she did scattered all over my workbench:
As before, the donning process started with the waist and thighs:
Once the shins and calves were in place, I glued the knees onto the rubber gaskets:
Since this is the Episode 7 Phasma, she has the extra plates at the ankles. Since I want the option of switching out for the Episode 8 ankles (which I also made) the plates are attached by velcro wrapped around the lower leg:
The butt plate and cod piece velcro onto an inner belt:
The thermal detonator is attached with a single bolt making it easy to remove (eliminating the extra weight since nobody ever sees it anyway:
For that matter, the lower back plate can be left off to allow for more air to flow in to keep the wearer a bit cooler.
The upper arms velcro onto the shoulder gaskets, which in turn are held together with this strapping nightmare:
All of which is covered by the chest armor:
Then the cape slips over the head:
And the helmet goes on last:
I haven't made her a blaster yet, so for now I have to settle for the Ep8 spear:
In addition to being a bit inaccurate with the Ep7 armor, it's heavy, unwieldy, and needs a bit more room than I have in the workshop to comfortably maneuver;
So that's a done thing. Hopefully I'll find an opportunity to do a proper photoshoot with her (and a taller model) soon.
One other note, forever ago I found a tiny rubber chicken and put it in the grip of my black series Phasma action figure which hangs out in the workshop:
It's been sitting on a shelf, watching my slow progress on this build, since who knows when. So when we finally finished the armor, we had to dust it off:
Then replicate it in full scale:
So with Phasma phinished, it's time to shift focus back to that flametrooper. Hopefully I can have that guy done in time for Episode 9.
Hopefully.
That is outstanding! And love the chicken
The chicken is what ties it all together.
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