My Clone molds -UPDATE 8-7-06

[The Manlet]

Its looking better everytime i check in.

 

[troopermaster]

Good effort Rodann :thumbsup

Reminds me of when I first started on my sculpts way back I made seperate body casts and sculpt over them with air drying clay,and boy did that stuff crack up on me big time. I did it the hard way (but cheap ) but got there in the end.I didn't have a vac table to form over the sculpts to make plaster moulds,so I used this remeltable rubber and was great at the time.

Keep up the good work

-Paul.

 

[Rodann]

<div class='quotetop'>(Goldenrod @ May 30 2006, 02:02 PM) [snapback]1253162[/snapback]</div>

nice job Jim.
So how ya like that KAW chest?
I got mine along with another fg helmet from James. The chest is nice but to big for me. But would work for bigger clones
I'm glad its over with...well atleast for us. I wonder if scott will ever see his refund.
-michael
[/b]

I like it, but yeah, it's big. I KNEW his whole "one size fits all/ready to wear" thing was a bit off. Imagine the whole suit like that? Geez, pain city. Stuff would be better for a mannequin. I don't think the rigid plastic he's using now is much better, either. You need help resizing the chest? It can be done, but you'd have to use a saw and some of the fiberglass resin from Walmart.

Or resell it to recoup some of your money.

I painted mine up already. When I sculpt my own chest, I'm definitely going smaller. Or less wide. And those chest cutouts should be more rectangular than his.

 

[Rodann]

Here are new pics of my plaster shin molds. And the test pulls. They fit better than expected. I'll be adding some material to them, so they overlap some more.

[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1149368375767_Clone_Armor_Molds_001.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1148994479067_Clone_Molds_Testfit_003.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1150821619428_Clone_Molds_test_pulls_001.jpg[/image]

And here's my vac table, Stace. I added a place to hold the heat gun so it won't burn my countertop, and there are two hold-downs for my frames. Gives me hands-free molding, so I can hit the vac button without losing the seal.

Yes, that's an "ove' glove". :lol

[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1147096263998_Clone_Armor_Vac_Table_002.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1147931436803_Clone_Armor_Vac_Table_004.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1149912952456_Clone_Armor_Vac_Table_003.jpg[/image]

And here's the fg chest, Goldenrod, with an improved Bly stripe. Pre-weathering. The other was temporary, anyway. I made the gaps in the stripe, by rubbing candle wax on the spots, then scratching off the paint after it dried.

[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1149521035570_Clone_Armor_chests_002.jpg[/image]

[EDIT]: Moved my pics vertically- I hate having to scroll sideways.

 

[TK9120]

Jim, do you know any of the details of the KAW armor? I thought is was supposed to be scanned from a LF maquette. If it is why is it so big? Did he have a "one size fits all" or is that how big they are supposed to be? The helmet is huge as well.

BTW, nice work on the molds. :thumbsup

Vin

 

[OdiWan72]

Hey Jim, PM´d you reg. the large chest armor you posted.

Markus

 

[Rodann]

Vin, the KAW helmet will sit on a normal person's shoulders (without armor even bulking you up) , and STILL be hard to see out, so I have no idea where he got his dims. The chest is too wide to comfortably put your arms at your side, and I've been told the forearm is too big, but the elbow is too narrow to fit ON. No idea what's going on there. After three years, I'm tired of waiting for this deadbeat to send completed armor to ANY of the 15-20 people on the list. I got the chest pieces as a settlement, and I'm officially out of the project. So it cost me $1000 for a helmet that was delivered in August, and now finally these two chest TEST PULLS.

Which is why I decided to say screw it, and sculpt my own armor.

 

[TK9120]

I'm tired of waiting too. I haven't waited as long as some others though. I'm debating on taking some other pieces plus my helmet and being done with it. If starts getting these done and the reviews are good, I might wait a little longer.

 

[Reactor drone]

<div class='quotetop'>(TK9120 @ Jun 1 2006, 01:18 AM) [snapback]1253942[/snapback]</div>

Jim, do you know any of the details of the KAW armor? I thought is was supposed to be scanned from a LF maquette. If it is why is it so big? Did he have a "one size fits all" or is that how big they are supposed to be? The helmet is huge as well.

BTW, nice work on the molds. :thumbsup

Vin
[/b]

If he was working from the CG/maquette sizes it won't fit any living person.The waist on the CG troopers is too narrow and they cheated on the movement(the armour miraculously merges when troopers move).

All real life clone armour has to be a compromise to fit on real people and still move.

 

[Rodann]

<div class='quotetop'>(Reactor drone @ Jun 3 2006, 04:26 AM) [snapback]1255320[/snapback]</div>

If he was working from the CG/maquette sizes it won't fit any living person.The waist on the CG troopers is too narrow and they cheated on the movement(the armour miraculously merges when troopers move).

All real life clone armour has to be a compromise to fit on real people and still move.
[/b]

Exactly.

I wore the chest to Concarolina this weekend, and one new thing we all agreed on: It's not only too wide, but it's also too SHORT. It should come down more for an average person's chest. So I know what I need to do when I sculpt my own.......forget this one exists. :lol

James used the LFL images too literally, not taking into account the fact that there were so many compromises done in the CG. One thing I just realized......we've seen his pieces (i.e. "TEST PULLS") in several pics, but never TOGETHER- never being WORN. I wonder if that was intentional. Did he even TRY to wear them himself? Or did I miss that melodrama?

His armor would have made a great mannequin, in the sense that it would have LOOKED good and accurate standing still, but I have to say it's really not meant to be worn. Just the chest piece by itself this weekend, combined with my formerly comfortable styrene armor, was very uncomfortable. The size and shape was way off, and I'm "only" 5'9", and 205 pounds. I'm really glad I got out. Just wish I had a refund for the remaining pieces. :unsure

This would be a near impossibility, but I'd love to see a side-by-side comparison of his armor, and Clonesix's. I mean, two guys WEARING them. I bet it would look like a caricature of Clone Six armor.


Anyway, I'm going the affordable route. And once I get mine done, I'm pulling a set of untrimmed pieces for Baron Fel and Polymerarmory to pour plaster in themselves, to make/resculpt their own armor.

Gotta recruit more Clones.

 

[Rodann]

Hey, guess what- SURPRISE. My plaster thigh molds cracked as bad as the clay shins. :lol

Lesson to all other stupid people: Do not cheat by filling plaster molds with wood. I was running out of plaster, had all 4 thigh pieces halfway poured, didn't feel like making another trip out to Lowe's (in the same day.), so I started building them up with wood inside the plaster. That, it turns out, is a "No no".

Doesn't really matter, though. I'm going to cut each hunk of plaster in half, elongate them, add more material to the middle, then add a layer of material to sculpt a more accurate profile from. These first molds were only meant to be something to work off of, kinda like using a Kelloggs ep2 helmet as a base for an ep3. The original maker of my old thighs had no "eye for detail", so instead of making them curved and then pointed in the front, he made them barrel-shaped, and just added a flat ridged layer to the front. Not even close. And don't even get me started on the backs of them. I've heat-formed them TWICE, but it's time to just give up and start over.

 

[Rodann]

I finally got time to do some more work.

I fixed the molds. Tore them apart, reassembled them with plaster putty, and resculpted them yet again. Kinda like a puzzle, when the cracked apart. :lol And I think I found a cure for cancer in all the mold I discovered. Hooray for Lysol.

The front thighs are closer to completion, while I've only just started on the back thighs. I took my solid plaster "slugs", and started sculpting new details on them, beginning with making them larger and adding the rear "scallop". I still haven't gone back and redone the shins (first page), because I wanted to get these started curing.

I can't wait to have an UPGRADE from the crap I've been wearing all this time.


[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1151408085912_Clonetrooper_Armor_Thigh_Molds_001.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1148008950499_Clonetrooper_Armor_Thighs_0011.jpg[/image]

 

[Rodann]

Update 8-7-06

I've finally had time and energy to finish what I started. Or is it finish starting what I started?

I cleaned up my shin, calf, and knee molds, and I'm VERY happy with what came out of the oven.


For my custom Mando. I sold my 1960's Alpine motocross boots, so I needed something. And I got to use my old Clone "shoe covers". Hey, Dengar can have TK shins, right?
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1154011978286_Legs_003.jpg[/image][image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1154022305602_Legs_002.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1156839412801_Legs_001.jpg[/image]


My Bly shins and knees, too:
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1156537398451_Legs_005.jpg[/image][image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1155082274310_Legs_004.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1153525802615_Legs_006.jpg[/image][image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1155986663487_Legs_008.jpg[/image]
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...89_Legs_007.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...4_Legs_0010.jpg

Details:
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1157005111120_Legs_0012.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1153769767610_Legs_0015.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1154123117310_Legs_0014.jpg[/image]


Molds and stuff:
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1156210202248_Clonetrooper_molds_001.jpg[/image]
[image]http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/2379504/1154230140217_Clonetrooper_molds_002.jpg[/image]
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...r_molds_006.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...r_molds_007.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...r_molds_003.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...r_molds_004.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...s_knees_002.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...r_molds_005.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/237950...s_knees_001.jpg

I pulled a few sets of each, and made another knee mold so I can pull two at once. Just makes more sense than wearing out the one mold.

I've started these 6 pieces first, as an "upgrade kit". Because for years now, I've had (ahem) "inferior" shins.

 

[TK9120]

Nice work Jim. I see you've been busy. Keep it up. :thumbsup

 

[fettster]

they look really nice.

looks like your off to a good start