Arkham

I’ve been in the planning stages of this for well over a year and a half, and began producing pieces about a year ago. I started building it as a Mandalorian Mercs kit, but became very interested in getting approved as the 501st. The Problems: There are a very limited number of pictures of Mandalore the Ultimate in comic, which to my knowledge, are the only “canon” references. No two pictures of this kit are alike. Everything differs from one picture to the next. Some things are rounded in one, and square in the other. Pieces exist in one, and are gone in the next. The colors, and even expression of the mask, differ from each drawing and artist. The existing CRL is not for this version of Mandalore the Ultimate The Solutions: I chose the picture of Mandalore the Ultimate that I felt best represented the character and armor consistent with the look and quality of an TFE kit. I looked for the most consistent elements of the armor, and the ones that had the most evident details. I avoided most of the pictures that were not from canon references, unless they showed angles of the kit that were unavailable in canon examples. I similarly went with colors that I thought would be the best for a realized kit of the character and would compliment and give depth to it, keeping with the quality of an TFE kit. I decided to keep a file of the canon references in an effort to help potentially construct a future CRL for this version of the character. So where do we begin? The following picture is the one I chose to base my design. I feel it give the most accurate look. It is also what I am basing my color scheme off. The comic references for this kit only tend to show a gold/bronze mask, red cape, and everything else it the same gray color. I think the contrasting color of the gauntlets and shnees compliment the kit better, as serve to break up the monotony of an all gray armor and flight suit. My plan is to do a dark gray flight suit with a dark metallic armor. Many months ago I decided to start with the most complicated part; the mask. I designed it on the computer, sliced it into several pieces, and 3D printed it. As I progress, I will add and epoxy clay to the lines of the mask to give it more of an organic look. The primary chest piece is constructed of 6mm PVC board, with another 6mm detail plate on top. The under plate trim is made of 3mm sintra. The area above this plate is missing on most of the drawings. In my guide image there appear to be some smaller plates along the collarbone. My plan is to make these from 3mm sintra as they will give some texture to this area and help camouflage the straps for the chest armor. The cod plate is made from two layers of 3mm sintra. I have not glued these trauma plates in place yet, lest I have contrary guidance to their design and placement from the Ruus’alor/app team community. This is what I have done so far. The midriff section will be a series of plates with raise rubberized ribs between them which will sit under the edge of the chest plate. I have not decided yet if this will be attached to the cod plate at the bottom, or mounted to the flightsuit itself. I am in the process of designing the right pauldron (the second most difficult part of this kit. My hope it to design it using the computer, output it into pepakura designer, and then print it out as a pattern to use as a template for a combination of 3mm and 6mm pieces. I got the right pauldron designed in Fusion 360, created a template for the base shape in Pepakura Designer, and used that to cut out and shape most of the parts. Then came that long process of adding a bit of this, and removing a bit of that, and it slowly started to look like what I had planned. Here it is mostly constructed. I used wood-filler for the initial fill. After priming I will follow up with bondo and spot putty. My plan is to have my speaker and cooling systems mounted inside this pauldron. I have an armor party coming up this Sunday. My plan is to have both pauldrons, chest plate, cod, and mid-riff/ab done to the point of being able to do the final refining by then. I also hope to have the shnees being worked on then as well. My gloves will not arrive until next week, so I will hold off on the gauntlets until then, to make sure they are sized correctly. (Pic heavy portion) As I mentioned, I am trying to only use canon references for this build. There's no a lot out there. So I thought I would post ALL, minus the one I previously posted, of the canon references I have found. If you know of others, please let me know. This is the reference image I used to design my mask Other head and mask references Full body and armor references Those are all of the canon references that I am aware of for this character. Got some more work done on the armor. Here are the main pieces primed. I need to do a little shaping tweak to the chest piece, but other than that, I think their good to go. Need to build the collar pieces, and the shnees and guantlets are in process now. Soft parts are being built with assistance from a clan-mate. Cape, kama, and arming cap are underway. The flight suit will be being worked on in the next week or so. Did a test fit at the armor party one weekend. Quick update: Arming cap, kama, and cape are done. Flightsuit should arrive today. Here is the status of the mask; Added epoxy sculpt to the spine to give them a more organic look. Alternating layers of filler primer and glazing putty. Gauntlet are ready to have the edges finished, cleaned, and ready for paint. Got a little more work to do on the shness. Need to attach the armor plates of the ab armor to a backing, and the collar-ish armor to the chest plate, run the strapping for all of this (and the pauldrons) and it should be ready for paint. This meant there was one thing left to work on: his weapon. When it comes to Mandalore the Ultimate, you kinda have to go with the mythosaur axe. I will be making his blaster rifle in the future. So here it is; 6mm Sintra base, with 3mm lower lames and 6mm upper lames on each side. The entire upper section is 3/4" thick. I hollowed out some of the middle layer of the upper section to try to save some weight. The center spike is 1" wood dowel shaped and with a groove carved into to slide the blade through. The handle will be PVC reinforced with aluminum tubing on the inside. Need to smooth out the bondo and hit it with some primer. The blade head is 24" wide, and the final axe will be about 6.5'-7' tall when finished. It's going to be fun to figure out how to roughly balance it, and make it able to separate in to segments for transport, while still being sturdy and secure. Got paint on the armor Base coat on the mask. I will be adding antique gold rub-n-buff to give the top metallic detail. Then a dark wash and light airbrushing to give the dept of the shadows. Got the axe, all 7 feet of it, assembled and the head painted. The shaft and spire will get a bronze coat (same as the base layer of the mask above), metallic aluminum to the blade edge, and shadows of the blade lames airbrushed in. Got the last bits in place and donned the mantel of Mandalore the Ultimate for the first time. I think it’s done.

Hi Everyone. I am in Michigan and working one a costume that falls within this detachment (Mandalore the Ultimate). I am currently a member of the Mandalorian Mercs with two approved costumes with that group. I am excited about joining the 501st and expanding my Star Wars costuming!