ZeroRoom

Hey - I'm not as think as you drunk I am Darth Aloha...

This is really impressive. Any chance for a how I built my folding stock thread? Would love to replace my resin cast with a working one...

Hi Dirty D, Sorry, I had to pop out for a few drinks (read many) with friends. Ok so this sewing velcro on a Lycra suit thing. I was gonna ask what kind of wetsuit but I see you've cleared that up already. Believe it or not this is do able. Now I've never done it on a TK suit or under suit of any kind but I have a lot of experience making clothes so I can certainly address the issue. First things first - sewing stretch fabric of any kind is always hard unless you are quite experienced with sewing and using the sewing machine. The thinner the stretch fabric and the more 'stretchy' the harder it is. So bear your level of skill in mind when you consider how carefully you work on this. Secondly - sewing a non stretch fabric to a stretch fabric is even harder. The two things do not play nice together, that is why you rarely if ever see any clothes made of stretch and non stretch in combination. (try to think of an example and you'll see what I mean). That doesn't mean its not possible though. The trick to attaching a non stretch like Velcro to a stretch fabric like Lycra is that you have to stretch the Lycra as you sew. If you sew the velcro onto the body suit without stretching the body suit fabric you will run into trouble. Primarily it will pop the stitches or rip the fabric easily later down the line. It wont last long basically. It will also wreak havoc with stretching it to fit your form. So you have to stretch the fabric as you sew, so that you are basically sewing the Velcro onto the fabric in it's stretched form. This will cause it to wrinkle up in a funny way when it's not being worn but will allow it to actually fit your body and help prevent the body suit from stretching further when the weight of the armor is attached. This is important. If you want to add weight to ANY stretch let alone a stretch/ non stretch combination you absolutely must ensure your stitching is applied to the fabric when it is stretched. The exact level of tension required will depend on the fabric, your size and shape and the weight of your armor parts. I have to warn you though that getting this right is hard even for experienced manufacturers. But not impossible - and isn't that the important part? This means you have to sew it using a machine. Unless you have four hands you can't hold it taught enough and hand stitch simultaneously. So you need to keep your skill with the machine in mind. the only other possible option is for you to wear the suit while someone else hand sews the velcro directly on while your form stretches the fabric to shape. As to the issue of whether the fabric can hold the weight of the armor, well that's a different issue. If your ABS is anything like my armor, the weight shouldn't be issue, but mobility definitely will be. The issue with using velcro (anytime really, but especially for this) is that it simply separates when under any tension. Meaning you may well move your arm out to shake someone's hand and watch as your shoulder bells rip off and drop to the floor. The only real way I could see to prevent this is to reinforce your under suit with a grid like structure of bonding type tape inside that provides a sort of framework to prevent stretching causing the Velcro to separate, of course this would involve a whole new level of sewing non stretch to stretch. Put your under suit on and watch how much the fabric around, say, the shoulder moves, slides and stretches when you move your arm. Now imagine what that would do to any velcro connected to a solid, not-at-all-stretchy piece of plastic. The plastic stays, the fabric moves, the Velcro seperates. So is it do able? Yes. BUT You'd need to be either very good or very experienced with a sewing machine and you wouldn't be able to move much in your armor. Basically, it can be done. It might even work, but I wouldn't recommend it. Moving in armor using the traditional strapping that keeps the plastic independent of your body is hard enough. Imagine it if you were all 'stuck together'....

Whoa! Speed demon! Nice work - I see you build skills are as good as your DVD cover art

So cool! Congratulations

I can definitely help you out here but I don't have time to write at the moment. Stay tuned I'll be back later...

First Papier Mache EIB?

What did you prime with? Often thicker areas of spray paint will wrinkle if the primer doesn't have enough 'grip' ie: if the primer used is a satin finish etc. This could also happen if you were too thorough with sanding your primer coat. Try sanding the primer by 'dabbing' it with a coarse paper rather than 'rubbing'. This will give good tooth to the primer coat. This wrinkling can also occur if you hold the can too close and air pressure from the nozzle, combined with heavier paint knocks air bubbles into the paint layer. I have to say in this case it doesn't look bad visually, but it's likely that it might cause chipping or peeling somewhere down the line. Yes it wastes more spray paint but try to keep the can a good 50cm away from the surfaces as opposed to the 20 or so suggested on the can.

Wow man - what's to criticize? Looks absolutely awesome! Nice work.

I've got the action figure version of this! I'm not a Disney guy either but it was just too awesome to pass up

Rock and roll! What a great prop!

There's some great LFL archive shots here thanks to Caleb. (and to JoeR for putting me onto them) I don't think there are inner finishing stops on this suit but the inside is visible so look carefully in case I missed it

That's a great slideshow. The helmet looks pretty good but to my eye it seems a bit 'symmetrical' for something cast from a real prop. Perhaps that's just because it's a hero or maybe it's just my eye?

That's fantastic - simple but effective!

Another one of your threads bookmarked RogueTrooper Tom! Greta stuff.

Thanks for the advice Joey. It's always better to feel safe than sorry when it comes to 'borrowing' images

Thank you it does indeed help a lot. When you say this: Are you referring to the variation in curvature and spacing that is apparent on ANH lids or is the actual Degree of curvature different? Ie: is there a specific different curve shape for ANH and ESB?

What? Round and rubbery?

Good replica. I don't want to seem critical of Ralph MacQuarrie who is obviously a legend but I'm glad the TK lids came out the way they did rather than spot on to the MacQuarrie illustrations...

That shark tooth comparison is spot on - I never saw it that way before and now I already can't see it any other way!

Roger that Mason, thanks for chipping in

It's not so much that I wanted ANH stripes on an ESB helmet, it was more a question of what 'decals' means. Eg: whether it specifically refers to the solid strip decal or just that it should be decals as opposed to painted. It seems to me that the solid decal strip used in ESB was probably a time saver rather than an aesthetic decision, so the idea of using decals but in individual stripes didn't seem to me like it would corrupt design or look in any way as it is not visible on screen that the tube stripes are a single solid strip. I guess the 'screen accuracy' versus 'prop accuracy' issue rears it's head again... That being said - if the use of the word decal in the CRL refers exclusively to the solid strip decal then I shall abide by that... It will make construction easier!

I want to build my armor ESB style and am hoping to apply for EIB and then hopefully centurion so I have a question about tube stripe decals: The CRL clearly states that ESB requires decals and not hand painted. There is one aspect though that is not clear. If you look at the screen used helmets from ESB like so: You can clearly see that they have used decals of the type that are one strip with the blue and white as one solid piece. Here I have highlighted the edges to clarify what I mean: Hand painted tube stripes on the other hand, consist of individual stripes, with the gaps between being helmet 'showing through' like so: I actually prefer the look of the individual stripes rather than one sheet with both the white and the blue. Of course this can still be achieved with decals if you use an individual decal for each stripe. My question is whether the EIB/Centurion requirements demand that the decals be of the one strip kind or if individual tube stripe decals would be considered acceptable simply because they are still decals? Any tips or opinions would be appreciated EDIT: I have taken these photos from StarWarsHelmets.com without permission so if I should take them down let me know...

Absolutely Amazing! Time t ring ILM and say 'Employ Me!'

These are the droids, I mean Snap sellers, you are looking for... Tandy Leather. -