Ashari's TLJ Captain Phasma Build Thread

[Ashari[501st]]

20 hours ago, themaninthesuitcase said:

Wow! Love a comprehensive build thread. Looks like you’ve been making some great progress. 
 

Cape looks great too. 
 

Love the bags I’ll need to make something a bit like them for my First Order build. 
 

Will also have to look into that sanding box. The amount of sanding dust over my work space says I need to! 

 

Thanks so much!

I was thinking about making the bag patterns into things other people could download 🤔 I'll have to look into digitizing options!

 

The sanding box made keeping our garage clean so much easier. The only issue was figuring out a table I could put it on so I wasn't sitting weirdly to use it.

 

18 hours ago, Sly11 said:

Truly amazing and inspiring build thread Katie!!

 

Thank you so much!

[Ashari[501st]]

It occurred to me at some point I wasn't sure if this armour I bought way back in 2020 was going to fit any more (thanks Covid & snacks!) so I did a quick test fit with some of my local Garrison members.

 

The good news is it fit! 

The bad news is that I may need to look into getting new thigh pieces at some point. They are VERY snug.

 

[Ashari[501st]]

Once it was finally time to clear coat, my partner and I had a long discussion about what to do. The 2K clear coat can be really damaging to your health and with it being winter I couldn't exactly work outside.

(Note: I live in the lower half of BC, closer to the boarder with the USA, so our winter is actually just very rainy with very little snow. The humidity is more of a problem.)

 

I already had PPE for the early primer work, so it was a matter of making sure there was proper ventilation in our garage. 

He had already installed a vent and fan system for his resin printer (Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra for those curious), so we reconfigured it to have a Y join that we could close off from the printer set up to prevent particles from making his setup dirty.

 

[Ashari[501st]]

Then it was time for chroming!

 

I watched quite a few youtube videos on various ways to chrome things, different paint types and how to apply them.

This was my first time really learning about anything more advanced than a rattle can.

What is HVLP?
What kind of Spray Paint Gun do you want?

What is PSI when you're talking about paint? (I know what it means when filling my tires)

What kinds of chroming are available?

Should you clear coat chrome?

 

I probably could've researched this for months and still not know everything there is to know.

 

First:

There are lots of pretty good chrome paint options on the market right now. The top couple that seem relatively simple to apply are:

Alclad

Duralumen

Revell

 

There are more complex and probably more durable systems, such as Alsa Corp Easy Chrome or Angel Gilding Chrome Starter Kit, but I can't afford $500+ CAD for something that might work. 

(Turns out I didn't save much in the end by not going with these)

 

There are also a ton of comparison videos out there for different Chrome products in the model builders community.

Spray Paint Chrome Showdown Revell Rustoleum Duplicolor Krylon IronLak Review Scale Model How To - hpiguys Workshop

Testing Revell Chrome Spray - Is It Worth $35 ?? - Barbatos Rex

Testing Different Chrome Spray Paint - Barbatos Rex

AK Super Chrome: My First Impressions #akinteractive #superchrome #modelcars #modelcarbuilding - Time Machines Scale Models

Comparing Alclad and Duralumen Chrome Paints. - gordontarpley

Will Duralumen Paint hold up to handling without a topcoat? - gordontarpley

 

I chose Duralumen because it had lots of good reviews and seemed pretty easy to apply.

NOTE: You're going to need more of this than you would of Alclad. I started with two 4oz bottles because I'd read a doc on the Phasma group that said they only used about 6oz of Alclad. I'm currently waiting for my 1 Litre bottle to be delivered.

 

The owner of The Digitial Armory, the North American Duralumen seller on etsy, has been SO responsive and kind every time I've had a question.

 

How to Spray DURALUMEN Chrome Airbrush Paint from The Digital Armory - Prints and Props

 

Ok, so, time to learn about airbrushing and air paint spray guns.

 

I didn't do my reading, so I didn't know what kind of spray gun or airbrush I should use. I ended up getting a VAPER .5 mm Gravity-Feed Touch-Up Paint Spray Gun (Princess Auto) after consulting The Digital Armory for advice.

 

For settings, it's available on the Lumin's Workshop page:

Quote

Apply using an Airbrush or HVLP touch-up gun, wearing an appropriate VOC / painting respirator. Use high pressure (~30PSI) and low paint volume (1/4 open on HVLP fluid needle or 1/18 open on airbrush). 

 

Then I watched a ton of videos on how to calibrate a Spray Paint Gun.

HVLP Spray Gun Basics- How To setup - Tom Stringham

How to Setup your Paint Gun to Spray a Car Guide! - Paint Society

How to use a paint spray gun. Vaper HVLP gun in this video - backyardmech

 

And a few more on cleaning an airbrush.

How To: Cleaning the Airbrush - The All-In Nerd

Hobby Cheating 213 - How to Clean Your Airbrush Fast - Vince Venturella

Cleaning Airbrush Between Colors // Quick Tip Airbrushing - Baker Builds
 

I ended up getting some Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner (BC Hobbies) prior to starting the paint.

 

The first coats were on the fingers, shoe plates and butt since either they're small and not going to be noticed as much or will eventually be hidden behind the cape.

 

Edited February 12, 2025 by Ashari

[Ashari[501st]]

Strapping and Rigging - Boots

 

I started with the shoes, since they're the most done.

 

Since it's gonna be a lot of standing and mostly covered in armour I picked shoes that I think I'll be most comfortable in.

Feelgrounds is a barefoot shoe brand which is great for me because they have a wider toe box and are great for taking insoles. Their Chelsea boots are pretty much perfect.

Ideally, I'd like to wear these shoes just in general, but I realized later that I'd gotten a size up from normal to fit in some insoles to give me the extra two inches to be Gwendoline's height. I had a bit of a chuckle because this is the first time I've bought items to help hide going up in height as opposed to just wearing heels.

 

Starting with the toe piece, I added a mid-foot elastic with hook and loop on one side

 

Then added a permanently attached smaller elastic at the toe end.

 

I didn't take good pictures for the rest of the assembly.

I did a hook and loop attachment from the toe plate to the mid-shoe plate to keep it on top.

The attachment from mid-shoe to back is elastic glued to the mid-shoe and hook and looped to the shoe back.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Takes a lot of prep work for any chrome finish but well worth it in the end, this thread will definitely be a great help to others on this path 👏

[Ashari[501st]]

Strapping and Rigging - Snap plates

 

A lot of stuff is going to be attached by snaps, so making snap attachments is important.

 

I used an awl to punch holes before using my wood burning tool to open a bigger hole and seal the edges.

 

Any time I was putting a snap in elastic, I added a piece of webbing to make it more stable than going through the elastic by itself. It's a sewing trick using a thin piece of fabric to create a flat join between elastic and another piece of something.

https://theseamanmom.com/elastic-join-tip/

 

Smaller squares with snaps were glued to one side and the webbing with the other side can be snapped to it.

[Ashari[501st]]

23 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Takes a lot of prep work for any chrome finish but well worth it in the end, this thread will definitely be a great help to others on this path 👏

 

I really hope so!

That was kind of my intention - I found lots of different resources all over the place, but I didn't find a lot of really thorough threads.

The FOTK threads are great reference and there's tons of other resources for building and electronics. Just not a lot for weird, Phasma specific things.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I like the trick with the elastic to webbing join. Not seen that before, clever.

[Ashari[501st]]

I went to school for costuming which primarily focused on soft costumes, so I learned a lot of really cool techniques for attachments and sewn solutions. That's half the reason it's taken me so long - I can sew for days, but hard armour is scary!!

[Ashari[501st]]

Strapping and Rigging - Torso / Kidney

For securing the torso (which I've also been calling kidney - sorry for the switching!) I decided to use a slightly different technique than I've seen so far. 

A lot of the TKs I've helped with gearing up use large velcro panels or other strapping. Part of the thing I've always struggled with is trying to adjust things to close evenly while the velcro keeps sticking to itself.

 

My solution is inspired by corset lacing. This allows for individual adjustment while still giving support at all levels.

 

I started with D Ring hooks for picture frames (OOK Large 2-Hole D-Ring Hangers Value Pack)

I tried to get even spacing on both sides and glued them down with E6000.

 

Then I grabbed a pack of reusable cable ties (VELCRO 8 -inch X 1/2 -inch Reusable Ties) as the adjustable strapping.

I did have to upgrade to 12 inch ties just to give some extra room during the initial lacing.

 

I did end up covering the D ring attachment points with felt to make sure I wasn't getting scratched or irritated by the metal.

Edited February 19, 2025 by Ashari

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

24 minutes ago, Ashari said:

I went to school for costuming which primarily focused on soft costumes, so I learned a lot of really cool techniques for attachments and sewn solutions. That's half the reason it's taken me so long - I can sew for days, but hard armour is scary!!

Most here are the opposite, happy to play with plastic but my patch hoodie has been sat with out patches for about 4 months now!

[Ashari[501st]]

Strapping and Rigging - Gloves, Fingers and Hand Plates
 

One of the unique Phasma things is the finger armour. The TFA version has the finger rings, but the TLJ version has half-finger plates. 

I haven't really seen much in terms of how others have solved this other than gluing the finger plates to the glove.

 

My concern with glue was that hands flex a lot and that means that it's more likely that the glue will flex and fail. 

While discussing with one of my Garrison members, he suggested making rings that I could slide on over the gloves. 

I loved this idea and it was going to be my solution with a little tack of stitching to keep the rings in place (So I didn't have to figure out which plate went where).

 

Ultimately I decided on a half-ring solution. 

a) Because full rings might cut off circulation

b) Because I didn't want much of the elastic to be visible.

 

I'm pretty happy with the results!

 

[Ashari[501st]]

Went dark for a bit because we had our big local convention - and I got to debut Phasma on conditional approval!

 

Full size photos here:

Imgur Album

 

 

A little proof that it was me in the costume

 

edit: double posted the last image

Edited March 9, 2025 by Ashari

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Looks fantastic. That chrome is such a different look! Or at least it was until that pesky mando showed up.

[JBar[TK]]

Amazing! Hope to see a Trooper Tracker in the future