Wolfie's Mandalorian armor build thread

So as some of you may know, I'm a huge Star Wars nerd. Boba Fett, being the mysterious bounty hunter in the movies, instantly got my attention, and once the Republic Commando game and books came out, I dived into the Mandalorian culture.
And I recently decided to join a costuming club that is for custom Mando armor. I started my build Sunday.

I'll be updating this as I get pictures, since all the work on the armor is at our clan leader's house.
For now, all I have is my concept. But I'll break everything else down like this.
Plates: 80% done
Helmet: 0%
Soft parts: 70% done
Weapons: 80% done

Concept
Upper armor and halberd

Most of the hard pieces are made of ABS plastic, except my helmet and my gun, which will be a modified Nerf gun. The helmet, I believe, is a Jango replica.
Questions, comments, feedback in general is appreciated.

 

Do you layout templates and markings on the materials used then the leader (and who ever else involved) creates them back at his house? I've actually always wondered this in this type of costume creation.

 

Yeah, the group I'm part of has templates and tutorials available online. I can show you more in-depth as to what I mean on MSN. xD
There's templates for everything though, and in different sizes too. Everything from the flak vest to the gauntlets, there's a tutorial for it.

 

This looks like something I'd like to join. I'd so make so neo-crusader armor.

 

D: Wolfie you must show us the armor progress!

I can't wait to see it when it's done. :3 Maybe I'll make myself some Jedi robes.

 

Judging from the drawings and the template concept art you have shown us previously, the armour is going to look absolutely lovely. I see you have finally settled on a weapon.

I concur.

 

Well, I hope the site helps you if you actually go for it. xD

You definietly should. O:
That way we can meet up and have really cool Star Wars fights.

Yeah, one of our clan members has a torn ligament in his leg, so he just got that operated and fixed. Unfortunately he needs some kind of a cane to walk with, and we've translated that as a halberd. xD
So all the clan members will have some kind of halberd in addition to whatever they have now.

I'll be posting pictures as soon as the clan leader emails me; we've had quite a bit of rain and his workshop did flood again. He said he'd try to get them to me by today though.
Once it's done I'll have a total of three weapons; blaster, gauntlet claws (which will be removable), and the halberd.
Thanks for the support guys. xD

 

I forgot to ask, how much does it cost for the full thing?

 

Hm...can't quite say yet, the Nerf gun cost me about $20, but the cost of the plastic's gonna be determined once everything's done.
The helmet I'm actually getting for free, since it was another clan members, but had gotten warped, but the clan leader said he could fix it with a heat gun. But that might not work, so I'd have to buy a Jango replica, which I think is somewhere between $30 and $40.

BUT.
I have pictures now.
It's just the plates, since my gauntlets and everything else are still under construction, and they still need to be painted.
It's all sized though, so as soon as I get my flightsuit and vest, it'll be mounted on.

Full shot
Lower armor
Upper armor

 

Ah, I forgot to explain that.
Regional groups are divided up by clans; for example, NJ could have three clans, one for South, Central, and North. That way if someone's down in the South and the majority of the clan was in the North, they wouldn't have to drive for a long time.
However, the clan I'm part of is the first and only one in NJ so far, so we have two or three people in the North, about an hour away from most of us.
Each clan has a leader, and the generally plans the events we go to, what charity we support (the organization I'm part of requires each clan to do a charity event every year in order to maintain membership), and other things like that.

 

My goodness, these look quite authentic and amazing. May I ask what material they are made of if it is not some sort of plastic?

I cannot wait to see you wear the full set, Wolfie.

So this is somewhat of an entire extensive culture, I see. Are these Mandalorian clans found all over the world, or simply in the United States?

 

It's all ABS plastic, my claws and halberd will be too.
And it's worldwide, with 300 official (approved by the staff) members, 30 chapters, and clans all over the world, mainly in the US, but two in Europe, and one, I believe, in Malaysia. But there's new clans popping up al the time. xD

I've no idea what the hell that is. But it's not a LARP, just a costuming club.
And uh...alright.

 

They do charity events and go to other forms of events in costume. Basically entertainment for masses and probably so they can be like "Hey guys, I got my photo taken with Mandalorians". *Has read the UK site info* :lolface:

 

Wolfie that looks so awesome. D: Do you cut the plastic yourself, or do you use a machine thing, or get someone else to do it for you? I have a feeling that if I did that I would mess it up. o:

 

Dagohir is LARPing. I know some people who do Dagohir and they told me that it is.

Anyway, they look great so far. Can't wait to see them when they are finished ^_^.

 

You seriously need to find out if there's a clan near you. DD:

Aw, thanks. xD
It's actually just a pair of snips, and I did a little cutting. Since it was the first time, J.D. (the clan leader) did most of it, and then let me cut out the right chest plate. It's a total pain in the ass to do, since the plastic is sharp and hard to cut through the first time you try, but once the edges are sanded (which I did for all of the plates), it's a really nice cut.
It just takes practice, and J.D. said I'd get a lot more in the months to come. xD

Thank you. ^^
The goal right now is to get it done before May, since the local comic shop is having a free comics day, and we've booked that as our clan's first appearance at an event. :]

 

It's not just your local comc store, it's International Free Comic books day on the 1st of May. Should be lots of lolz. My comic store are doing some stuff as well. Enjoy it though, and expec to be asked a LOT of questions, Cosplayers normally are ... if you'd call it cosplaying.

Not all LARPing is fantasy based though, just like not all Role-Playing games are High Fantasy based. Maybe the scenarios you play are not fantasy based but it's still a form of LARP. ...:Awesome:.

 

Sounds quite durable, I see.

Malaysia? I would wonder what that would be like. Regardless, if they indeed do support charities and whatnot in costume then I may safely say that this is one of the most excellently-dressed organizations in the world. I am assuming general knowledge of Mandalorian culture is a requirement to join?

 

Yeah, though there's only one shop near me. xD
And I'm used to being around people that ask a lot of questions, so that shouldn't be too bad.

It is, J.D. hit a helmet made of it with a wrench to show us and it didn't even dent it. xD

It's all the same thing, so it's just people in Malaysia dressed as Mandos. I believe they visited a hospital that housed terminally ill children, and handed out Star Wars toys they had raised money for.
And it's not totally required; it ranges from people that see Boba or Jango Fett and are like "That's a really cool thing, I'll try it" to people like me, who have played the games, read the books, know the language, etc. But we teach each other, I know more than the rest of my clan, for example. xD

Anyway. I was at my dad's house this past weekend, and while at a garage sales I picked up a few Nerf guns to convert into props. We worked on the main one this weekend, and I'm pretty proud how it turned out. Did some heavy modifications, and it can't shoot things anymore, but it looks nice, and with a new paint job will hopefully be acceptable.

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4162/p1130434.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5135/p1130435.jpg

Original gun: http://www.hasbro.com/common/produc...b171df74/FE6B5C1819B9F369D94B6ACFC50B9CAC.jpg

I have the bottom one too, just removed it as a separate gun.
This one's a flamethrower, which is actually pretty good for my character, considering my Mando name translates as "Hell Fire". I'm gonna go out and find a medium-sized glowstick to put in the gap at the bottom, as some kind of fuel tank or whatever.

 

Is there a restriction to which types of Nerf Guns can be used? Like size or appearance limits.