DURGE, SW: Clone Wars Bounty Hunter

[The Clone Emperor]

I wanted to share a couple of recent images from my DURGE armour progress:






photography by Art Andrews aka Brak's Buddy, Chicago 2005.

I have been working on this suit and accompanying props since the beginning of 2004. I still have a fair ammount of construction to go. Currently I am working on sidearms and holsters. I'd like to have DURGE's jetpack done for this year as well.

Be well,
Thomas

*DURGE is a character from the Star Wars: Clone Wars, animations and comics.

 

[Talisen]

Damn amazing job Thomas. I've been following your post about this and boy, did it turn out great.

 

[Hangar18Studios]

Looks fantastic.
I always like seeing well-done, custom stuff on the forums. Can you tell us a little about it, such as how you fabricated the armor?
Awesome,
Scott

 

[Boba Frett]

Oh man. , Been watching the progress on this , that is just too sweet..
I want one.....

 

[IAMMAUL]

You truely have come along way with this project Thomas, I have never had the pleasure of meeting you but I do love your attention to detail in your work. Keep it up.

Rudy G.

 

[takevin]

Looking sweet Thomas, are you going to be at the Fangora con in March? The wife and I will be there, me in my Jason and Kroenen, wife in her predator.

 

[The Clone Emperor]

Good evening,

Scott: I'd be happy to talk about how this suit was created.
1. I gathered what references where available and sketched the suit over and over again. While the action figures, comics, trading cards where a good launching point, I needed to work out how the suit could work on a real person.

2. Some pieces of the armour started completely as oil-based clay sculptures. Others were initially mocked up in cardboard. The form for the thighs was a combination of polyrigid foam-board, clay, and pvc piping.
3. Each piece was molded with plaster. I used a waterbased polyurethane as a release agent.
4. The cleaned molds were used to cast bondo coated fibreglass castings. (The molds were waste molds--destroyed in the process of freeing the casting.)

5. I cleaned fitted and painted the castings. Despite all the planning on how pieces would work the final process of fitting and articulating the armour was largely by trial an error. I do believe I learned a lot, and hope to apply this experience to my next projects.

Thank you fellows for the support.

Kevin, I didn't know about Fangora, I'll have to look into it.

Be well,
Thomas

 

[Darth Kahnt]

Absolutely fabulous Thomas.... you should be proud.

 

[RebelGhirl]

Fabulous work as usual Thomas. You should go pro.

 

[RedTwoX]

:eek Wow. That's amazing work.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Amazingly impressive.. I like how you used Cardboard and clay. It sounds simple enough, but I just want to be clear on what exactly you did. Did you sculpt most of it with clay and then use cardboard for details? Or did you just build a core with cardboard and sculpt over that to use less clay?

 

[The Clone Emperor]

I am wishing that I had more pictures online now. Certain parts had such geometry that it made sense to construct the base in cardboard or matte board. To compete this arm, I added clay to the sides where the corrugation would other wise be visible.



The fibreglass casting still evidenced the corguation of the cardboard form. This took some effort to sand smooth. After this piece I spent much more tyme constructing the forms for the right arm with matte board and wood glue. It was worth the effort if judged by the reduction in clean-up tyme alone.

My experience has been encouraging in reguards of the use matte board to rough out the forms where the geometry of the attempted piece calls for it. With a sharp blade, good measurements, wood glue, and a little patience, matte board can be made to do some amazing forms. I added clay to the matte board sculpture when it just did not make sense to attempt a particular effect in board (e.g. the round of an inside corner.)

Be well,
Thomas

 

[KevVader]

...very cool. :thumbsup ....you just need to make that mini-gun type blaster that he had...

 

[Egon Spengler]

Thanks for the tips man. You've done one amazig job and created a fantastic wearable work of art.

 

[SethB6025]

Outstanding.

 

[Docking bay 327]

Thomas,
Truly phenomenal costume and wonderful website.
Since you have done so much research into Durge, (and I have not by evidence of my basic question) why does Durge have a Mandalorian/Boba Fett symbol on his armor, considering his painful past with them?


Thanks
DB 327

 

[The Clone Emperor]

The Mandalorian Symbol. Some folk call this The Bantha Skull. To these folk I ask ¿Ever look at a Bantha?

The EU has been ambiguious about the exact reason behind the blue Mandalorian skull featured so prominently on DURGE's body armour. In Star Wars; Visionaries there is a short tale regarding DURGE's evolution called "Prototypes." The story suggests the skull is that of DURGE's mentor Jaing, and that he bares in honour of his master who was out numbered and slain by a treacherous clan Mandalorians.

An issue of the Star Wars Insider featured an article on Mandalorians in which the emblem was identified as an homage to great warrior. By excercizing the law of continutity, it may be deduced that that great warrior was Jaing. The term Mandalorian itself once conoted a particular race, but expanded to encompass all those fighting under their banner.

(The smaller red emblems adorning his body armour have been explained as kills that DURGE was particularily satisfied with.)

 

[DL 44 Blaster]

This costume is still one of my most favorite ever created :eek I never get tired of looking at pics and very much look forward to the day you can call it "complete" in whatever sense that our costumes are ever really complete.

Kudos to photoshoot part duex

Steve

 

[AlderaanGirl]

Your Durge looks awesome Thomas. :thumbsup Then again, your work always does.

Off topic: I hope to get to see it this year. Perhaps DragonCon Andrea and I are planning on going this year. We missed out last year because we both broke the bank going to CIII. Btw...it was a pleasure to meet you then. I hope we get to see ya again soon.

 

[Beorn Tordensjold]

That... THAT... that's GREAT. I mean wow. Kudos.