Complete Scratchbuilt Boba Fett

Thought I'd show off my homemade SE Boba Fett outfit. It's almost completed, just waiting on a couple more parts before I call it done. First up, the helmet:

HELMET


It started out as 2mm greyboard. I followed templates from TDH and went about assembling it.


It went together fairly easily with the sturdy cardboard supporting itself. The dome proved to be the most challenging however I managed to keep it looking somewhat neat. After that, it was time to resin the helmet, coating the outside in polyester resin and using fiberglass mat on the inside.


The bondo stage took a while, especially on the dome but after repeated filler > sand > primer > sand > filler > etc, I had the imperfections smoothed out.


I also added electronics in the form of a metronome light kit to the rangefinder and followed that up with a hearing aid system, two fans and a microphone for my voice.


Painting was laborious. I followed reference material and although it's not dead-on accurate, I'm really happy with the finished piece.

Very nice, paint job looks fantastic. Any plans to do the rest of the suit?

That paint job is awesome!

Killer!

I'm just starting an EE-3.... don't tempt me to go full Fett!!

looks great! what template did you use, rwh v1?

chizbot said:

Killer!

I'm just starting an EE-3.... don't tempt me to go full Fett!!

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We all go full Fett eventually. Might as well get it out of the way.

DizzyStrmtroopr said:

looks great! what template did you use, rwh v1?

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I used Raf's v2 templates. His measurements and proportions are spot on although I did scale the helmet down slightly to accommodate my size in relation to JB.

Armour


I had to size the armour down precisely so it took several sheets of paper before I was happy with the dimensions. Then I cut the sintra and heatgunned it to shape. I decided to double up the sintra to 6mm around the edges, but later decided to take it back to 3mm as it looked too thick on me. After that, primer. The collar studs were old computer keys that were sanded flat and had a nut epoxied in them.


When painting, I ran into some trouble with one of the pots of Humbrol 117 which left a flaky nasty mess regardless of how much or little paint thinner I used. In the end, I sanded it off, reprimed and cracked open another tin of 117 which left me with a slight variation in colour. Again, very odd. But I settled with this and took this colour variation into account when misting on the black weathering. The decal was painted on with a combination of stencilling and freehand, using a stencil to get the basic shape and positioning and then using a steady hand and a paintbrush to smooth out the rough edges.

Jesuit24 Really nice.

Wow man. I just can't believe it. I know that's what the templates are for (building things just like you've done), but if you'd have only showed your finished helmet and then told me you started with cardboard, I'd have told you that you are full of s***!

Seriously, the talent, the patience,... just outstanding job, man.

mugatu said:

Wow man. I just can't believe it. I know that's what the templates are for (building things just like you've done), but if you'd have only showed your finished helmet and then told me you started with cardboard, I'd have told you that you are full of s***!

Seriously, the talent, the patience,... just outstanding job, man.

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Thanks. I started with low expectations. If it looked a little like Boba, then job done, but being on the Dented Helmet around other Fett costumers kind of pushed me to be a lot more accurate. I'd still say a proper resin cast would be a lot better, but the accomplishment is satisfying in itself.

This isn't the typical jesuit garb I've seen in the past.

Gauntlets


I had leftover cardboard from the helmet so I put that to use with the gauntlets.I used templates from TDH to assemble the pieces and then used the same bondo > sand > bondo > sand technique until I was happy enough to prime the pieces and install the electronics for the blinking light and the flamethrower light.


I sealed up the flamethrower compartment, added greeblies and painted them up, although I realised when I was making the cardboard pieces, I was using my bare arm as a guide to whether they fit. When I tried them on wearing my flight suit, they were far too small, so I had to add spacers to make them fit my wrists. So back to the bondo and painting stage. I made the gauntlet rocket out of Humbrol paint tin lids, cardboard and PVC, and the whole thing was screwed tightly in place. The gauntlet darts were Bic biro pens that I cut down and painted.

Where did you get your greyboard/ cardboard? Ive made my own Mando helmet before,but there are some things I want to fix and I was never able to find the cardboard they talked about Jesuit24

Jesuit24 said:

I used Raf's v2 templates. His measurements and proportions are spot on although I did scale the helmet down slightly to accommodate my size in relation to JB.

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Your helmet turned out beautifully from a structural standpoint, and the paint is beautiful! When you say Raf's measurements and proportions are spot on, what helmet did he measure as a reference for his V2?

mikemakesmovies said:

Where did you get your greyboard/ cardboard? Ive made my own Mando helmet before,but there are some things I want to fix and I was never able to find the cardboard they talked about @Jesuit24

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I got it on eBay. I'm from the UK so I stuck with local eBay but it's pretty common, so you shouldn't have any problems finding it (may be grAyboard in 'Murica?). I went with either A1 or A2 size card (european measurements, not sure what it would be in the US) since I needed enough space to transfer the whole template on. I think I went for A2 which meant I had to split the helmet sides in two. A little more annoying to work with but saved on shipping and general handling. Also, 2mm thickness equates to 2000 microns if that helps with the search.

CSMacLaren said:

Your helmet turned out beautifully from a structural standpoint, and the paint is beautiful! When you say Raf's measurements and proportions are spot on, what helmet did he measure as a reference for his V2?

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Thanks, I think Raf based his off the ESB helmet. Raf's takes in all the imperfections of the original helmet including the asymmetry of it such as the mandibles skewing in a particular direction by 0.6mm... An intense amount of research. I know the other main lpayer for helmet templates is Wizardoffflight. It's the same construction pattern but the pieces are a bit more evened out. I find from pictures that the cheeks seem to be a touch lower for a Boba helmet.


Jetpack


Same greyboard, I used WoF templates to build the body. The missile was the hardest part by far. I curved sintra for the centre cylinder and sheathed two poster tubes with sintra for the fuel tanks. I epoxied and then later fiberglassed curtain rail hooks on the back for attachment to the harness. I made the missile detachable through a shower gel tub in the right thickness. I built the missile in three parts with a wooden dowel running through each piece for stability. Bondoing the missile was a nightmare but after three weeks labour, I had something decent enough.


The jetpack stabilizer was made out of an old scalpel handle and sintra (which I later replaced with the bottom of a Humbrol tin for the sake of using metal. Jetpack thrusters were made of curtain rail ends with sintra cones. I tried drilling into the metal for the detailing but that proved fruitless so I glued some greeblies from the greeblies box to the balls and did my best to blend them into the sphere with carved sintra and bondo. The balls each had a screw attachment for which I had nuts, so I secured the nuts ina PVC tube and then bondoed everything. Like a kid using one of the shape to hole toys, I drilled an oval shape on the inner side of the fuel tanks which sits flush with the 5mm PVC tube that runs through to a 5mm hole on the outer side of the fuel tank, and then the layered sintra wrapped around the tube sits flush with that.


I painted my missile in preparation for meeting Jeremy Bulloch at Sheffield Film & Comic Con and was blessed to have it signed by the guy himself. Hopefully I can get time off to go meet him again this year, but in costume this time. I resined the jetpack body and bondo/sanded to shape. And with a coat of primer, it looked a lot neater.


Being a cheapskate, I decided to build my own jetpack beacon rather than pay for one. I installed a flashing LED in a tube wrapped in sintra and bondo, using my tried and tested Humbrol paint tin lid base. The top then came from a water bottle. And then, a coat of paint and it was done.

You continue to amaze with your craftsmanship and ingenuity.

wow! Very nice work!

Thanks, guys.

Blaster


I made the stock out of pine offcuts by cutting out the shape and then using an electric plane to carve the curvature, followed by a power sand. The grip bracket was cut out of MDF and then screwed in place before I gave it a black undercoat. I then carved out a grip using the same pine using the same techniques. The grip was then epoxied, bondoed AND hotlglued in place after I took a dremel to the Hasbro blaster to remove the stock and grip. I also sourced a replacement scope and barrel in the form of a silicone caulk tube, and I recycled the Hasbro's stock greeblies by cutting out a recess and glueing them to the stock.


I cut off the Hasbro's barrel and scope, attaching the replacements. The barrel was difficult as in a bid to keep the Hasbro's electronics, I only had a very small surface area to glue the new barrel in place. To solve this, I carefully hammered pins into the connection which was sturdy enough to keep it in place without fear of it breaking with regular handling. Then I gave it a prime and got to painting, being sure to bring some grey and rust into the colour palette.

That blaster looks awesome! I scratch built about 85-90% of a ROTJ Fett years ago, but never finished the blaster. I've got a hasbro one laying around... now I might have to do something about that.

This. Is. Amazing. I can't believe how great it all looks!

Cheers, guys. Glad to see the costume getting some love.

Soft Parts


The ammo belt was made using cardboard boxes as a base. I then epoxied leather to the sides and then one strip covered the middle, leaving the back unglued so I could thread a belt through. This was fastened with velcro.


The boots were a cheap pair from eBay. They were grey already so I didn't have to alter the colour, except for the soles. I used a few coats of Angelus paints to get the white soles and then I hotglued and sewed black shoelaces for the raised detail on the top of the shoe. Then I painted the centre strip with regular watered down acrylic and lightly weathered everything.


Braids were bought. All I did was tea stain them a little bit and run hair straighteners through the ends to make them a bit knatty. The flak vest shows the armour attachment method I used; press studs.I also cut a hole for the chest lights and ended up just messily hotgluing an taping it in place... And again, the flight suit was bought although I did add various press studs and velcro attachments for the armour pieces. I also tailored the arms and legs down to be more slim fitting and lightly weathered it with blacks and browns.


The girth belt was a series of red lengths of rope stitched together in a line with first nylon and then elastic sewn into buckles. I found the nylon incredibly difficult to buckle up, so I permanently attached elastic which I could just step into and stretch around my rear. The gloves were white parade gloves which I dyed grey and sewed white patches to. It was possibly the most difficult sewing job I've done so far.


Pouches were made from templates and a tutorial on TDH. Velcro attaches them to the other side of the ammo belt. They were dyed with grey dye to pale up the beige calico I used, but I left the left pouch in the dye longer since it is a bluer hue in the SE costume. The spats were made with the same material in a similar manner.