Stormtrooper
Well-Known Member
Well, since my first replica stormtrooper costume waaay back in '99 I've always thought it would be cool to have a Star Wars themed base for the mannequin to stand on.... better than a plain ole' chrome plate like you see on store mannequins.
So my first homemade mannequin had an octagonal piece of plywood, which I covered in adhesive-backed black plastic, and added an Imperial Navy logo sticker to it.
But I thought my current set of Stormtrooper armour deserved something a lil' bit better, so a couple of months ago I headed to B&Q (UK version of Home Depot) and loaded up on wood, screws, mitre-saw, adhesive-backed plastic sheeting..... oh, and some 'Link Light' flourescent lights
The mannequin is a rigid fibreglass one (as opposed to poseable) which I then modified extensively by cutting the arms in 2, and fibreglassing wire into the elbows to allow them to bend (vital when putting the stormtrooper bicep armour onto them, as the arms have to be straight to slide the bicep armour on) and cutting the feet to allow the thigh armour to slide on etc. etc.
The base itself is made from a plywood base and lid (covered in adhesive-backed black plastic). The side panels are hardwood from which I cut out the windows with a holesaw and jigsaw. These were covered in more adhesive-backed plastic sheeting to minimise the amount of seams between the panels.... the front 3 panels are on one 'strip' of plastic, and the rear 3 panels are on another strip of plastic.
I experimented with 6 strip-lights inside but found that the light was TOO BRIGHT, and just didn't look right... so I settled on 4 strip-lights instead.
And then I added some orange and red gel lighting sheets to the back of these panels for the desired Carbon-Freezing-Chamber look
Also added tracing paper to the back of these sheets, to help diffuse the light, and to ensure that you can't see the lights and components inside the base by looking inside the windows
A spray-can of car Dashboard Shine adds the finishing touch :love
The hands are re-used from my old homemade mannequin.... basically wooden bodies with wire coathanger fingers covered in garden hose and bits of foam 'n' duct-tape.... super-poseable and strong enough to hold a valuable 27 year-old resin blaster
The costume is now back at my friend's office / showroom where it is safely protected by commercial insurance.... and I'm once again left with a replica Stormtrooper suit with a plain jane mannequin. :lol
Oh, and happy 1000th post to me. Woo-hoo .. It may have taken me 6 years but I finally got there. :cheers
Cheers,
John
So my first homemade mannequin had an octagonal piece of plywood, which I covered in adhesive-backed black plastic, and added an Imperial Navy logo sticker to it.
But I thought my current set of Stormtrooper armour deserved something a lil' bit better, so a couple of months ago I headed to B&Q (UK version of Home Depot) and loaded up on wood, screws, mitre-saw, adhesive-backed plastic sheeting..... oh, and some 'Link Light' flourescent lights
The mannequin is a rigid fibreglass one (as opposed to poseable) which I then modified extensively by cutting the arms in 2, and fibreglassing wire into the elbows to allow them to bend (vital when putting the stormtrooper bicep armour onto them, as the arms have to be straight to slide the bicep armour on) and cutting the feet to allow the thigh armour to slide on etc. etc.
The base itself is made from a plywood base and lid (covered in adhesive-backed black plastic). The side panels are hardwood from which I cut out the windows with a holesaw and jigsaw. These were covered in more adhesive-backed plastic sheeting to minimise the amount of seams between the panels.... the front 3 panels are on one 'strip' of plastic, and the rear 3 panels are on another strip of plastic.
I experimented with 6 strip-lights inside but found that the light was TOO BRIGHT, and just didn't look right... so I settled on 4 strip-lights instead.
And then I added some orange and red gel lighting sheets to the back of these panels for the desired Carbon-Freezing-Chamber look
Also added tracing paper to the back of these sheets, to help diffuse the light, and to ensure that you can't see the lights and components inside the base by looking inside the windows
A spray-can of car Dashboard Shine adds the finishing touch :love
The hands are re-used from my old homemade mannequin.... basically wooden bodies with wire coathanger fingers covered in garden hose and bits of foam 'n' duct-tape.... super-poseable and strong enough to hold a valuable 27 year-old resin blaster
The costume is now back at my friend's office / showroom where it is safely protected by commercial insurance.... and I'm once again left with a replica Stormtrooper suit with a plain jane mannequin. :lol
Oh, and happy 1000th post to me. Woo-hoo .. It may have taken me 6 years but I finally got there. :cheers
Cheers,
John
