Building a live action Deathwatch costume

[shenphong]

With the current downtime, its been a perfect time to start working on my live action Deathwatch costume based off of the characters seen in The Mandalorian series for myself and some local costumers.

I opted for the 3d files from Great Ape Studio due to the quality of the files, the customer service, and just for being all round a great person to work with.

Some of the more standard shaped parts were printed on a CR10s using Zyltech PLA filament (thigh armor, shoulders, knees, chest). I had tried printing the handplates, knee darts, gauntlets, and the rest of the parts on a standard FDM printer (CR10s) and were not happy with the quality of the prints. Decent enough but I knew it could have cleaner details. The shoulder was also slightly undersized compared to the large looking shoulders seen on the actors in the show.

I upped the shoulder sizing to about 106% and printed a thin and hollow test piece (vase mode) in simplify3d.

Success. Flimsy but helped guide me well on figuring out the sizing for a standard version and large.

 

[shenphong]

Final shoulders printed out, parts were given a coat of glazing putty, filler primer than paint and sanded to a smooth surface.

After sanding, I prepped the pieces for molding, used Smooth-on Rebound 25 for the molding material and wanted to try my hand at using plaster/plaster bandages for the mother mold. Worked like a charm. Kinda thick but strong and no issues. Never used plaster before for this, normally I use fiberglass and rondo, but having a ton of this on hand, glad it worked out. Added a lip around the parts and went to work.

Test cast taken with smooth-on black onyx, though the parts I'll be using will be with fiberglass.

 

[shenphong]

Still not happy with the gauntlets, knee darts, knees, and handplates, in comes what I call my medium format resin printer, the Epax x10. Smaller than the Phenom from Peopoly and the Phrozen Transform, but big enough to do most helmets in 4 parts or various armor pieces, it'd be a waste to use it to print the shoulders or thigh armor but perfect for detailed pieces.

After some testing with some non sw pieces, I moved onto the big pieces right away with a few testers just to check out the machine. The mudhorn signet came out real well.

Why the x10? I don't have enough room (not till I clean up anyways) to have something as big as the Phenom in my shop. I also scored the x10 for an unbelievable price and after owning the Peopoly Moai 130, I have realized the importance of support from the manufacturer and Epax is leagues ahead of Peopoly. In the short time I've owned the x10 I've put in almost 100 hours with no issues. Though I would definitely advise new resin printer folks to start on a smaller machine and learn how to work with these before jumping in, its definitely a different process than FDM printers.

 

[d_jedi1]

Impressive...
I REALLY need to buy myself a 3D printer

 

[shenphong]

Impressive...
I REALLY need to buy myself a 3D printer

CR10 is probably the best bang for your buck and versatile enough to do most of anything in this hobby.

 

[shenphong]

Shoulder straps/strips molded and cast, a test pull in 65d made since I had it sitting around.

Chest and shoulder molds were also a success. Wasn't a fan of the plaster bandages mother molds and went back to making a standard one with the mix of rondo and fiberglass.

Test pulls were also made with smooth-on 65d and worked pretty well. I have a friend that will be teaming up with me to learn to cast and mold. Shes been a fantastic help though I forget trying to do this and teach someone at the same time can be so time consuming.

Her first bucket pull, with mold and print clean up done by her as well, Ellie Moon Jelly, local costumer who also works in theaters around the bay area here in CA. She'll also be working on the soft parts for the build. Helmet isn't deathwatch but still mando related!

Gallery of her costumes and other work here: Gallery

Mold making is an art, one that I'm mediocre at, very impressed she succeeded in her first try though. The help will really help expedite on making the 6+ sets I need to make. Going to work on paint masking templates next.

 

[shenphong]

Soft parts.

Gloves, just went with medieval gauntlet leather gloves from amazon. Purchased them a few months back at $30 but looks like they are cheaper now for anyone interested: Leather Gauntlet Gloves Long Arm Cuff (Small, Black) at Amazon Men’s Clothing store

They don't have the correct palm stitching but should still work and can be modified.

Flightsuit, still deciding as well but leaning towards going with a maker on the deathwatch facebook group and pirate styled boots on amazon for the DW boots.

 

[shenphong]

Molds are completely done and parts are being rolled out, remade some of the parts with Darren's V2 pieces which are also available on his Etsy page Great Ape Studio.

 

[shenphong]

Gloves were purchased today along with the boots, going with black for both:
Gloves - Hugger Glove Company Men's Classic Unlined Seasonal Wind Stopper Gauntlet (Medium), Black at Amazon Men’s Clothing store
Boots - Amazon.com: Funtasma by Pleaser Men's Halloween Captain Boot: Pleaser: Shoes