My Rocketeer Jetpack build progress thread

[themanwoaname]

here's what i have done now:

paper helmets getting there.

im a little anxious about the scoops on the helmet. i saved all three scales for the scoops, just in case these dont work out. there's a strange little notch that they attach to but there isnt a number or a tab or anything. and they're so detailed im worried i'll mess it up. the tubes on the side of the face? pssh. no problem. resining the inside? pssh. after i fill in the few holes on the outside with, no problem.

im not thrilled with the eyes, but the pattern i have is too big (i copied my aviators lenses, turned them upside down). i may play around with them a little before i resin it, but generally, the more i put it together and put it on, the more im liking this. i just wish the pack was as easy.

i also took it upon myself to draw up plans for my gauntlets,
face of hand

inside of hand

what i have so far to make them with:

i put up a pic of my gloves so you can kind of get an idea where im going. i saw harbor freight had a better set than the one i have on the right, but like i said before, im not really going for supreme accuracy with this project, and the gauntlets are a headache enough. im really not at all excited with the idea that there will be sewing involved, i ****ing hate to sew.

the colors, not to worry, im going to dye them darker browns.

EDIT:9/4
i was mistaken which glove, the one on the left is exactly what i need to mod. the one on the right can easily be changed since its just a glove, but for the sake of right now, it will do me just fine.

as for the pack, i havent done much since the last update. i took warpig's advice and visted joann's and found those woogly eye things that arent quite buttons, but arent quite jewels, but arent quite sequins. these but at 7mm instead of whatever these are:

i figured out the rest of the plating, i just need to buckle down and start doing it, mostly posterboard, just supergluing down, then resin over it. then those eyes glued on top. the vents on the boosters should be relatively easy to figure out too, i already have some ideas how to tackle them.

thats it. im trying to figure out what i can take with me to work on at my sisters since i have to stay in town over night. so far, the helmet and gauntlet stuff(and another more custom rocket pack for my girlfriend) i can do there with out making a giant mess of things. school this semester really going to slow down progress of my pack for sure and the closer to halloween it gets im going to become more frustrated.

 

[dualedge]

I love the pep helmet! Awesome work!

I might have to try making one of those myself (it's probably one of the few items that'd fit in my price range too! :lol )

 

[themanwoaname]

I love the pep helmet! Awesome work!

I might have to try making one of those myself (it's probably one of the few items that'd fit in my price range too! :lol )

lol, thats really one major reason why im so relieved i have it. its totally cheap and doesnt require near as many tools as my first helmet scratchbuild.

 

[Utinni]

let me know if you want any help on the gauntlets!

- Jeff

 

[EvilRocketeer]

let me know if you want any help on the gauntlets!

- Jeff

I been asking for help for months :cry

 

[WarPig]

Man, once you get these on your rocket pack, you just GOTTA get a video of the finished result (rocket potato, anyone?:lol)

 

[Utinni]

I been asking for help for months :cry

Start on your pack first, lol.

- Jeff

 

[rollerboi]

Now, how in the heck did I miss this thread?! Looking great, man. I'm really inspired by your experimentation and getting right down to it.

I do hope to see you bondo and glass your pep helmet, it's coming together nicely. Watch that line below the eyepieces.. On the pep it isn't that prominent but you'll want to smooth those two dimples out. Probably easier after glassing. Fantastic assembly by the way, it makes me want to make one of my own.

 

[charlie30]

Thats gonna look fantastic when its finished. Keep the plans under wraps, my friend or the Secret Service will be knocking on your door!

 

[unheard]

that was you!? holy crap man! thank you! i know i sound a little down about pep as a whole now(mostly because im freaking out about the short timeline i have now), but ive looked into it for other projects and its still something im very interested in.

yeah thats totally the file. with you sending me that, and me looking into the pep community, you saved me a ton of work.

glad I could help.
I still hope make my own jet pack following your work.

please can you tell me the diameter and the length of the jet tube please.

 

[themanwoaname]

Now, how in the heck did I miss this thread?! Looking great, man. I'm really inspired by your experimentation and getting right down to it.

I do hope to see you bondo and glass your pep helmet, it's coming together nicely. Watch that line below the eyepieces.. On the pep it isn't that prominent but you'll want to smooth those two dimples out. Probably easier after glassing. Fantastic assembly by the way, it makes me want to make one of my own.

thank you! there are alot of errors i noticed i did when i put this together that i'll most definitely be fixing when it comes to fiberglassing and bondo. one you can really see in the pic are those two squares under the mouth.

glad I could help.
I still hope make my own jet pack following your work.

please can you tell me the diameter and the length of the jet tube please.

for the jet booster tubes i used air conditioner vents with a 6" diameter connected, they are flat or open on the shelves at home depot for 7 bucks.


also thanks for the compliments fellas. i have a couple more days before class, so i hope to knock out the pep of the helmet and get some posterboard on the tubes.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

good idea with the eyes as rivets

you can always try dot candy

after you are done rocketeering, you can enjoy a nice tasty snack

 

[themanwoaname]

mmmm... those are a good idea. but id probably eat them before i got them on the pack.

here's a preupdate, before i go outside. im really nervous about resining this thing im doing everything i possibly can to stall.
i know i have to do it, because you cant have a paper helmet, and you cant be a finhead with out a fin, and i need it sturdy before i do that. :/

this is just pictures of what i have done with the helmet. you can see some tears and some boo boos that will definitely be repaired during the resin process. i also hope by resining the inside it'll straighten it out. i figure if i start from the top and work my way down, it'll work itself out. while im tackling the helmet i also want to try this acetone mixed into bondo mumbojumbo when im fixing up the center cosmetic plate.

here are the "so far" pics of my gauntlets:

...and then i found this fantastic thread with great detailing of the gauntlets by utinni:
http://www.therpf.com/f24/my-rocketeer-project-updated-3-30-09-replica-buckle-29351/

and then i learned i need to draw my patten again, and make the face of the gauntlet smaller. and show some inside pics of what i have when i get those done. i figure, while its raining this afternoon and the resin is drying, i can go back to the drawing board on these, my pattern i drew here, didnt match the one in my last update, so i wasnt totally sold on this pattern anyway. i will say, the pattern towards the top of it is alot closer to the real gauntlets:

i have to take a side note here and say i like the look of han solo's gloves around the fingers. while they may not be 100 percent accurate, think they'd look really neat. im not a fan of work gloves, hell, cutting them for my gauntlets has been a major pita. they're just too bulky for my tastes(especially around the fingers). im not thrilled with my current choice of glove gloves, because of the black material is seen alot, i will be changing them out later for something better.

i have to say after really looking that thread over, im thrilled i dont have to wait to go to orlando so i can go to a store i hate called skycraft to see if i can find the right sized push buttons for my gauntlets, i can just get them at radio shack. i mean, every time i go to skycraft, i spend atleast 70 bucks, and end up not using anything because i later find what i really needed some place else for a fraction of the cost and in less time it took to scrounge in that store that stinks like nerds and old farts. i'll probably take care of that this afternoon, i have to take some fiberglass chop mat back to walmart i didnt need(still in package and i have reciept!) i can plan around being near a radio shack.

i have some good news concerning my jacket, this is it:

its my peacoat zooyork jacket that i let my friend use when he wore this costume for halloween last year and i wasnt thrilled with the jetpack then. ive eyeballed it for hours trying to figure out how to make a bib for it with out damaging my sweet jacket and i ended up on the idea to velcro a bib. i'll probably make it out of black pleather, because it would look neat, and i can double it to a pulp green lantern idea ive been tumbling in my head (but first, PULP BOOSTER GOLD WITH A SKEETS JETPACK!...ahem...) im not going to rush out and make a bib because there's plenty of important sewing to do. so if it gets done, great. if not, great.

anyway, enough with the boo hoos, and back to stalling to fiberglass this helmet.

 

[Utinni]

*note to self- when I see ER's pack at Con, I can pick off rivets and eat them... and will have a great place for my gum as well..."

- Jeff

 

[Utinni]

Lookin' great!

A little tip on the gauntlet buttons, you'll have to choose if you want to run electronics in your pack or not. What I found is you'll need to modify- ie cut the buttom off the button and resolder the wires. Otherwise you get this huge bump in your palm and won't be able to hold on to anything. On my current pair I just cut off the bottom and mounted the top buttons, which still go up and down. I built inner brackets out of metal for strength. The buttons, I cut down enough for the threads to still poke through the bracket to tighten with nut that comes with them.

If you need any more pix let me know!

- Jeff

 

[themanwoaname]

aw man! i was hoping i could wire it up, one hand was going to be lights the other was going to be the fan!

just to make sure, you modified the button by cutting off the bottom bulk and modified it to still be electronics ready?

 

[Utinni]

As far as I know those are the stunt gauntlets. They don't have a mounting bracket for the buttons, it's more of just a leather pouch. Also has a Velcro wrist strap and not leather with a snap. My prototype's had the velcro and then switched to the snap on my current ones which still need to be redone to get them closer to being accurate.

- Jeff

 

[Utinni]

Mine are not currently set up for electronics. I am still working on a set for Moffeaton, yes they are still on workbench Moff, and trying to figure out the best way for them to be wired up and not bulky. He sent me buttons all wired up but they're still to big for the glove. I'm redoing my top gauntlet pattern soon to fix it.

- Jeff

 

[EvilRocketeer]

Mine are not currently set up for electronics. I am still working on a set for Moffeaton, yes they are still on workbench Moff, and trying to figure out the best way for them to be wired up and not bulky. He sent me buttons all wired up but they're still to big for the glove. I'm redoing my top gauntlet pattern soon to fix it.

- Jeff

didnt he sell his stuff?

you can always make them for me instead haha

 

[EvilRocketeer]

here is a picture of the gauntlets for the "walkaround" costume that Billy Campbell wore