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NotRookie's 7th Sister WIP


NotRookie

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Hi everyone.  I'm NotRookie from Miami, FL.  I'm a recently approved Kylo, and, after going with me to a few troops, my wife is also interested in joining the 501st.  She's a huge fan of the OT (she didn't like TFA and HAAAATES the prequels), so I was quite surprised when she chose to go with the Seventh Sister, especially since she spent the entire first season of Rebels referring to Ezra as "Aladdin".  This costume really speaks to her (I think it's an amazingly designed character as well), and I've been slowly getting the pieces she'd need for it.

 

I started collecting the parts before the costume was approved, but now that our toddler has started part-time day care, I've finally been able to put some time into it, and now seems as good a time as any to start my WIP.  I've done some research on this costume, but there's still a lot out there for me to learn, so please feel free to offer any advice or suggestions you may have.  Anyway, without further ado, here's the current parts list.

 

  • Helmet: Ordered and Received from Atlis Armory.  
  • Armor: Ordered and received from Jawa Chop Shop. 
  • Lightsaber: Ordered a Dominix LE V2 from Ultrasabers, and I plan on getting the semi-circular hilt pieces 3d-printed from Keltaria Designs (my Squadmate) to slot it into.
  • Boots:  My wife has an appropriate pair.  I'm not sure how to make (or where to buy) the spats.  I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.
  • Soft parts: The current plan is to buy some black slacks (corporate wear-type) that are form-fitting and buy some matching fabric to get the jacket and gloves made by a local seamstress.
  • Neckseal: I have an old neckseal I first used for Kylo that should fit the bill. 
  • Belt: I legitimately have no idea what to do about the belt.
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First up is the helmet.

This thing is beautiful.  It has light-up LEDs (not lit in the photos), a removable mask for Face character options, and just looks amazing overall.  The only complaint I have is that the eyeslits are slightly asymmetrical. It's not a lot, in fact, no one's noticed it unless I mention it, so I think the right solution here is for me to stop mentioning it.

 

This thing is a challenge to pad properly, though.  It's weirdly shaped and has small eyeslits, so it needs to sit JUST right for the wearer to get any visibility.  I'm thinking of trying a hard-hat liner, since padding alone can't get it to sit right without bobbling like mad whenever my wife moves her head.

 

44D85476-FD84-4E96-BC0A-3190A562A8A7_zps

 

C19AF1F9-4D51-46F0-A4BE-98EDC8240577_zps

 

B4789BC8-17E9-4553-9F6B-94A2E0EE2871_zps

 

Next up is the armor.  I've done the rough trimming on the bracers so far, but that's about it.  Does anybody know what type of LED's would go well on these?  I'd let to get them to light up as well.  We can't have the helmet lighting up but not the arms!  What might be a bit of a challenge is that this armor is sized for a large person.  My wife is 5'3" and petite, so I'm going to have to cut this down a LOT.  I might need to spend some time on FISD reading up on the shorter troopers and seeing how they handle the forearms there. These will also need to be painted.  I'm going to ask Atlis what sort of paint he used on the helmet and try to match it.  The helmet's paintjob looks beautiful.

 

3F59196E-0514-431B-B0A5-52AAA51D3AE2_zps

 

C49A85A7-EDF5-4326-8EA6-F98A993DB02E_zps

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I've finally gotten around to trimming both bracers to fit my wife's forearms. I also molded them somewhat with the hot water bath technique, although I think I need to try again. Every WIP I read makes it seem like the plastic becomes super soft, but mine didn't. I think I'm being too conservative with the amount of time I leave them in the water. I just don't want to ruin the armor; it isn't cheap!

 

I also glued a pair together using the overlap method (and E6000), but it left a sizable lip that I don't think I'll be able to smooth over.

 

0451F7CC-9FEE-4CBA-9357-8D3D6DE276A2_zps

 

A71CB0EA-7DD5-434D-AD15-B3F9D713B2A5_zps

 

I'm not happy with it, so I've torn them apart and I'm going to try making an inside cover strip and butt-joining the two halves. Whatever seamline is left can then be filled in with ABS paste. I really want the seam on the outer edge of the bracers to be invisible. My plan for the inside edge is to Velcro them together so that my wife will be able to comfortably get her hands in and out.

 

I also picked up some Valspar spray paint in "Blindfold" and flat white to have my armor match my helmet. So there's some progress being made!

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The armor should never become "soft", if so you've heated it way too much.  Using a heatgun and flexing it to shape and hold several times slowly is safest way to mold.  

 

The arms on that armor are massive for a woman, ton of work has to be done to make them fit sadly.  If you do close up the seam on one side, you have to be very careful if you are leaving one side open to put on and off, as the "sealed" seam side can crack over time.

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Yep. These things are large. As I was working on them, I remember thinking to myself "I should've just bought some flat plastic. I'd be doing about the same amount of work".

 

I have a jar full of ABS paste that should see me through cracks for the foreseeable future (there is *some* benefit to these things being super large).

 

How did you do the bracers? I couldn't think of any of way to get them seamless without sealing at least one side.

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My wife's bracers have no seam, like our TK bracers, she can slip them on and off, you got to make the wrist cuff area wide enough for your hand to get through and out of.

 

Wife's sister was made before the CRL was posted, and in the show there was no seams on the legs or arms, so she built hers to be seamless, but then the CRL came out and they said seams are ok.

Edited by PanzerKraken
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Chiming in to say that I got the same kit and we're going for seamless on the bracers too-- just bondoed them last night. WE've made it narrow enough that I can just fit my hand through the wrist opening and will use foam to make them fit. Can't say that I'm particularly happy with this kit especially since the bracers are clearly both made for the same arm and aren't sized for women (we cut off a TON and had to heat gun form them.)

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I'm having a bit of an accuracy dilemma with the bracers. I made a small semi-circular cutout on the inside of the elbow side so my wife could bend her arm. Should I have...not done that?

 

I can trim the whole thing to be shorter, but in the reference pics I have the bracers run almost up to the elbow. So, I'm not sure if I should go for accurate length or accurate shape. Worst case scenario: I can always leave them like this and if they get turned down due to the cutout I can make them shorter and be done with it.

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The bracers I have appear to stop short of the elbow when I hold it up to compare to my arm. I'll actually need to take a small bit off one end so I can actually get them on over my hands. The previous owner had smaller hands

 

I don't know if that will help...I'm sure someone with more info will chime in. Worst case, check with your GML...I've already had to get feedback on a few parts of my build ;)

 

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

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I'm having a bit of an accuracy dilemma with the bracers. I made a small semi-circular cutout on the inside of the elbow side so my wife could bend her arm. Should I have...not done that?

 

I can trim the whole thing to be shorter, but in the reference pics I have the bracers run almost up to the elbow. So, I'm not sure if I should go for accurate length or accurate shape. Worst case scenario: I can always leave them like this and if they get turned down due to the cutout I can make them shorter and be done with it.

 

Accurate length for armor is really based on the person wearing the armor.  If the arms are too big for you wife, then cut them to fit her.  The arms have no special curve for the elbow so you should probably have the whole end trimmed down to match.  Sister on the show has ample elbow room to move, so if needed trim your wife's armor down. 

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I was using this picture as a reference (left side). The original is from the Star Wars rebels wiki. I'm not sure, but I think I might've gotten (stolen) this pic from you guys.

 

FE94C737-B4AB-4D88-A487-D8DBAFD4F26C_zps

 

If you zoom in under the hilt of the saber, you can see the armor goes right up to her elbow.

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It varies scene by scene.  The arms also flex in the show, so accuracy is not 100% on using the plastic armor, the models in the show are not stiff armor, the Clones in Clone Wars had same issue in that you had armor flex and twist in some scenes, something real armor can't do.  Same image on the right arm you can see she has more than enough room for elbow flex

 

https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/b/b5/Seventh_Sister.png/revision/latest?cb=20161107033246

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I know it's been a while, but I'm still here. I've just been doing one bracer at a time so I could apply my lessons learned to bracer #2. I hope to be done with this bracer business in another 2 weeks or so. E6000 is a harsh mistress. She requires her 24 hours each and every time.

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I would just use super glue to be honest.  Most two part bracers and such for armor kits like on TK's we use super glues on, cured much quicker and strong enough.  E6000 works better on parts that might have a some flex to them, as it doesn't turn hard and brittle like super glue can.  Bracers should slide on and off, so super glue works best, I personally love gorilla glue brands, super strong.

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I like having the opportunity to try again if I screw up. I had to pull things apart once already on the first bracer and give it another go. I think I'll just refer to them as "stunt" and "hero" when I'm done.

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I finished "hero" bracer. I was worried at first because no matter how finely I sanded it, the ABS paste I used on the seams had little micro holes that wouldn't go away, but luckily the paint I'm using to match the helmet ("Blindfold" by Valspar) has a nice, rough texture to it that hides a lot. I could've saved a few hours of sanding had I known this ahead of time, but you live and you learn.

 

Since Photobucket's trying to extort us all now, I'm putting up a link to Imgur until I figure out what I'm going to do about photo linking.

 

https://i.imgur.com/qEPK2gX.jpg

 

I'm not looking forward to spending several hours going through all my posts and replacing the pictures. :/

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Hey, @NotRookie ! Your build is looking good. I'm about to start my own Sister build so threads like yours are invaluable. Thanks! One question, though - the "Blindfold" spray paint - it looks really grey in that last picture you posted of Hero bracer. Is it really that light, or is it just the photo?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I have my doubts about the color as well. Unfortunately, I have the helmet and bracers in two different locations (there's not enough room in the apartment for all my crap), and I've been too lazy to bring the bracer home to compare to the helmet. Now that I've got someone depending on the answer, I'll make it a point to hold them next to each other in the sun and take a pic today.

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I've been trying to figure out Flickr. Hopefully this works:

 

https://flic.kr/p/VHoqzk

 

https://flic.kr/p/VEDnTs

 

It looks like the creator used a very light coat of blindfold over some sort of black (matte? Satin? Semi-gloss?) on the sides of the helmet. So it looks like you were right. The bracers are too light. I'll have to try and test out the various blacks I have on it.

 

I am glad I used the Blindfold, though. It's given the bracers a nice texture, so I'm going to paint the other bracer Blindfold as well before covering it with black.

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Oh, I see. (Flickr worked fine.) It does look like he used black first and then the blindfold. Thanks so much for the comparison! I've been stuck between finish types so it's especially handy to hear about ones that others particularly enjoy.

Do you think you'll cover it with blindfold again after the black, or just rely on the texturing coming through from the previous layer?

Right now I'm considering a flat enamel. I disagree fundamentally with the CRL's specification that it's a semi-gloss, but if the flat ends up looking inaccurate, at least it's easy to paint over.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Right now, I think I'm going to keep it black. In my reference pics it looks to me like the armor is a shade or two darker than her cloth parts, and the cloth looks charcoal grey.

 

In the worst case scenario where it just looks too different from the helmet, I'll spray some Blindfold on it from really far away to get a light dusting. I *really* don't want to have to repaint the helmet.

 

I should point out that I am not artistically talented or inclined, and this CRL being so unreliable is really not helping. I'll just keep on muddling through and hopefully figure this out eventually.

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