Sith Acolyte Costume WIP - My first time full costume build

[Markandson]

the paint work and the scratching looks incredible ! have you had a lot of practise doing it ? damnnn its nice !

I wished I had more practise doing the paint work... I think I spend a third of my time just painting. Again and again I´m surprised at the armor parts looking somehow "real" when they are ready. In addition to that I´m trying to get close to the CRL (in progress; 501st): "... should be painted a metallic grey that is weathered in a pattern consistent with the rest of the armor."

Please tell me you're going to make runs of this armor?

Thank you that you deem my stuff worthy making a run. But I´m so sorry, I never did something like this, I just don´t know how to do ... :unsure

Mercy Dynamic1, WookieFeet and vaderjeff1744 ... finishing the gauntlets takes up a lot of time. I hope to get them done by today!

 

[vaderjeff1744]

Mercy Dynamic1, WookieFeet and vaderjeff1744 ... finishing the gauntlets takes up a lot of time. I hope to get them done by today!

I hear that! Working on these kinds of things can take A LOT of time, ESPECIALLY TO DO IT RIGHT! SO, PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME! Good quality CAN'T be rushed! I look forward to seeing more whenever you get to it! I'M REALLY ENJOYING THIS BUILD!!! KEEP IT UP!!!:cool

 

[Markandson]

As far as I can see gauntlets give a distinctive character to the different armors.

So I tried to bring out the gauntlets and their details as best I could:

After filling and sanding, I sprayed on the primer. I enjoy this moment, because of all these small parts coming together, the distinctions in the various materials disappear and it results in unity. (Oh, my english... Do you understand what I mean? )

As you know the slow-motion scenes in the SWTOR Trailers show many details; these brilliant pictures, for example, were very helpful to me...

And here is one of my finished gauntlets:

(Since I had no usable view of the lower, anterior area I added some imaginable elements, I just wanted to fill this space with something...)

Thank you for taking the time to follow my build!

 

[Spardax]

Wow! the pieces are very cured in all details. Great, i really like it

 

[DBmike]

amazing work! I love the level of detail achieved and that helmet is stunning, you'll be turning heads in this costume for sure

 

[AbsoluteZero300]

Looking so freakin cool so far! The painting and weathering adds so much to it!
What pep file did you use for the chest?

 

[Markandson]

Thanks a lot, Spardax, DBmike and AbsoluteZero300! I´m really pleased!!!

What pep file did you use for the chest?

I use Fierfek´s Premium Pepakura Files "Sith Acolyte Armor". These files are excellent!

 

[AbsoluteZero300]

Sweet thanks for the info

 

[AbsoluteZero300]

What did you use to get those sharp clean cuts on that hobby glass? Im trying to find some in the U.S. cause it seems like a cool material to work with

 

[Markandson]

What did you use to get those sharp clean cuts on that hobby glass?

I used small diamond files; I bought a set years ago (similar to this one: Diamond-files-Set, small, 10 pieces )

 

[wolters]

Very detailed work , well done !

 

[vaderjeff1744]

Once again you AMAZE ME with your BEAUTIFUL CRAFTSMANSHIP & ATTENTION TO DETAIL!!!! Just ABSOLUTELY AWESOME WORK!!! I am SO ENVIOUS of you right now! I can only HOPE that my build comes out this GOOD! SIMPLY AMAZING!!! PLEASE KEEP THE UPDATES COMING!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS FINISHED!!!!cool

 

[Markandson]

Once again I just can say: Many thanks, wolters and vaderjeff1744!!!
All your encouraging response is so helpful to me! These days I´m a bit anxious about getting the costume done by the end of July :wacko . But your feedback really stimulates me to continue...

The kids and my wife were visiting grandma and grandpa this weekend. So I received some unexpected hours that I spent building.
I decided to start with something bigger - the thighs. Watching all these beautiful and impressive foam building here on the RPF I wanted to try this way out. With Fierfek´s pattern in the one hand and the only foam-like-stuff I was able to find (some remaining meters of "Randdämmstreifen - perimeter isolation strip??" :facepalm) in the other hand, I started Saturday night. The strip (PE, 5mm thick) is only 12 cm wide, but this does not matter, because most of the pep pieces are smaller.

This is the stage I am at currently:

Next step: Instead of using resin and bondo etc., I aim to cover the foam thighs with thermoformed PVC sheets (guttagliss hobbycolor). I hope this will work out anyway... Please, cross your fingers!!! Has anyone done this before? I would be pleased with any advice!! Thanks a lot!

 

[MrBrobean]

Really nice so far, you've got an amazing eye for detail!

 

[vaderjeff1744]

The thighs look GOOD so far! I'm not sure exactly how you're planning to thermoform the PVC over the foam. Can you explain your plan at all? How thick is the PVC? Are you planning on using a heat gun to heat & form the PVC, or something else? I know how thermoforming is usually done. I believe it's similar to vacuum forming. With either technique, you usually have a hard form shape/mold that you're forming the plastic over. I'm not sure how that will work with foam. I'd be interested in seeing how you do this! I wish I could be of help, but I've never tried doing what you're planning to do before. Personally, I think plastic coating the foam with something like Smooth-Cast 65D, which is what I'm planning to do with my armor, would be easier, albeit maybe more expensive! Anyways, keep us informed on your progress! I for one will be VERY INTERESTED in what you come up with! GOOD LUCK!:cool

 

[Markandson]

Thank you very much for the compliment, MrBrobean!!

I'm not sure exactly how you're planning to thermoform the PVC over the foam. Can you explain your plan at all?

Hi, vaderjeff1744!
Sorry about that! I must have used the word "thermoform" (like many other words, I guess :$) in a wrong way.

• I´m planning to divide the surface of the thighs in several segments; the cutting lines as can be seen in the reference pictures will guide me.
• Then I will cut out the segments of a PVC sheet (3mm, guttagliss hobbycolor - Gutta international).
• I plan to heat them with a heat gun to the distortion temperature (76°C) and bend them by hand. The thighs as they are now give me a feeling about the shape.
• Finally I will glue the PVC segements on the foam thighs.

In some way this reminded me of a medieval plate armor: the steel plates were riveted on leather straps.

 

[vaderjeff1744]

Hi, vaderjeff1744!
Sorry about that! I must have used the word "thermoform" (like many other words, I guess :$) in a wrong way.

• I´m planning to divide the surface of the thighs in several segments; the cutting lines as can be seen in the reference pictures will guide me.
• Then I will cut out the segments of a PVC sheet (3mm, guttagliss hobbycolor - Gutta international).
• I plan to heat them with a heat gun to the distortion temperature (76°C) and bend them by hand. The thighs as they are now give me a feeling about the shape.
• Finally I will glue the PVC segements on the foam thighs.

In some way this reminded me of a medieval plate armor: the steel plates were riveted on leather straps.

Hey, no problem! It can sometimes be hard to describe things we're talking about in words! I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND! As for your new explanation, I understand your technique MUCH BETTER now! It sounds like this SHOULD WORK FINE! GOOD LUCK TO YOU! I look forward to seeing your progress on this! YOU CONTINUE TO AMAZE & INSPIRE ME!!! KEEP IT UP!!!:cool

 

[Drack]

This is stunning! I absolutely love it!!
I have been so caught up in my own stuff these days that I have failed to give encouragement and support to my fellow builders. When I have my first go at using sintra/foamex/etc I hope to be as good as you guys. Of course I am not going for something easy because I can't get my head round easy

 

[Markandson]

Hi Drack, thank you so much!!

Just some pictures to show where I am.

First of all I divided the surface of the thighs in 12 segments (mostley guided by the cutting lines as can be seen in the reference pictures, but I had to add some cuts for function) and traced the segments out on an overhead-transparency:

With a heat gun I heated the PVC sheets to the distortion temperature (76°C) and bended them by hand. Finally I glued the PVC segments on the foam thighs. In this manner I made piece by piece. And with every piece it worked somehow better and better...

The only really difficult thing was to get the cutting lines fit closely into each other (doing the best I can...):

Constructing the - actually I don´t know what it is - lock (?) :

Last step: I sprayed on the primer:

Thank you for following my build!!

 

[Robert69]

Looks fantastic so far. I can't wait to have a son to do this stuff with (Or even a daughter, God willing my kids are nerds like me lol) But that's awesome you're spending time with him doing something you both enjoy.