Sith Cosplay Armor Mk2

[Quaralane]

Bringing this one back from the great beyond.

Working on a new version of my previous Sith Armor cosplay.
This time, I'm using Sintra rather than EVA foam.

Started the new armor base in 1/4" Sintra versus the older version being in 1/2" EVA foam
Layouts started, based on the older piece


For the bracers, I'm basing the detail on bracers worn by Therion Jinn in Star Wars: The Old Republic


Finished laying out the new chest piece.
This version won't have the center plate of the original


Base piece cut out.
This was done with a LOT of passes using a box cutter


I laid out the pieces for the arms and legs, and then cut them out with a jig saw. Saved a LOT of time and work doing that

 

[Quaralane]

Began heatforming with the chest piece, and then went to the bracers and leg pieces.
While Sintra can be heated and formed with a heat gun, you need to use patience, and a respirator is a good idea because of the fumes





Laid out the detail pieces for the bracers on construction paper, and then laid it out onto 1/8" Sintra


I cut new angles into the chest piece for a different, less square look



Due to the stiffness of the Sintra, I had to rework my idea on how to fit the bracers.
I wound up having to cut about 1/4" from either side of the under seam to allow for my thumbs to make it through the piece

 

[Quaralane]

Laid out new angled shoulder covers to add to the main piece. This was part of why I made the angle cuts on the chest piece


Tested the layout of the detail pieces on the bracers


And now, the gluing begins. I'm using E6000, which is the adhesive of choice for the 501st Legion and the Mandalorian Mercs when working with Sintra.
I'll reinforce these later with Chicago screws.
Here are the bracers and the beginning of the chest all clamped up

 

[Quaralane]

Got the banding/clamps off on the chest and bracers.
Also installed the Chicago screws that will be doing the main work of holding the pieces together.
Chest piece

Bracers


For the underside of the bracers, I used two layers of 2mm EVA foam.
I used my soldering iron to cut 'pad' lines in the first layer prior to gluing them together.
I then glued them to the main parts.


Decided to show a little comparison between the Mk1 and Mk2 sections so far.
This is mostly to show the differences in what I can do now
Chest piece

Bracers


Turning my attention to the leg pieces, I cut them using similar methods to what I used for the arms and then heat formed them.
I also added a 'center line' to use for placing the detail pieces


Laid out a template for the leg detail pieces, then separated the segments for cutting



Laid out the templates on the 1/8" Sintra and then cut them out


I heat formed the detail pieces, and then labeled them to make sure they get applied in the correct order to the correct leg

 

[Quaralane]

Using hot glue, I mounted 1" webbing to the 4 and 2 pieces of the detail layer.
I'll add the buckles to them after I get it all mounted to the leg pieces



Glued the 4, 3, and 2 pieces to the leg forms using more of the E6000 I'd used previously.
I also got the 4 and 3 pieces secured with Chicago screws

 

[Quaralane]

Got the legs out of the clamps, and installed the strapping and Chicago screws


Drew up a templat for the new 'spats' for covering my shoes.
This one is designed to go over both sides of the foot with armor plating over the top


Pieces for the spats cut from 3mm Sintra.
I used my Dremel to cut grooves in the top pieces for ease of later assembly


Pieces shown how they'll sit after heatforming



Drew up a template for the knee plates


Cut the layers from more 3mm Sintra


Finished knee plates, awaiting straps

 

[Quaralane]

With all of the parts now built, I decided to go ahead and paint them up.
I started by coating the craft foam on the arms with Plasti-Dip
Then, I primered all of the parts with black primer.
I masked off the detail plates and painted them with Testors Graphite Dust lacquer.
Once the masking was removed, I hand painted the black areas between the plates

 

[Quaralane]

Installed some 1/2" strips of elastic on the 'spat' pieces that will be covering my shoes.
This will keep the pieces from moving as I walk around the con


For the knee pieces, I opted to use 1" elastic

These will be adjustable during the day by using velcro for the closures


At this point, the armor is done.
For the first time, I put on the full suit I'll be wearing at Salt Lake Comic Con in September.

A look at the upper body



A look at the leg sections



The whole suit, complete with saber



Finally, a side by side comparison with the Mk1

 

[Quaralane]

After some thought, it was time to make the necessary adjustments to the 2.0 version of the Sith Armor.
I also made a couple of changes to how things were going to work.

The original pieces, prior to modification


The plan was to cut a bit of length off the bracers so I had full arm movement.
Having gotten actual boots for this suit, I cut the main leg pieces down so it was primarily the armor.
The belt got some of the biggest changes as I took it from a single belt to a double and intended to add spacers as well as a new back plate for the buckle.



With the belt now finished up, I replaced the old version's tool pouches with a single utility pouch.
Went in on the buckle and painted the engraved design in Tamiya red.
Seeing how that turned out, I made similar markings on the bracers and chest piece.
I also changed out the gloves for ones that let me better grip the sabers.




After putting on the full costume, I decided to drop both the knee pieces and the 'spats' I'd been wearing to hide the fact I was wearing shoes.
I really like the end results here.



Youtube link:

 

[Quaralane]

Traded out the more traditional tabards for a vest.
Also, at the suggestion of someone over at saberforum.com, I put the cloak I wore at FanX on under the shoulders instead of over them

 

[urumomo]

Awesomeness , Q

Great seeing all this again - I was just thinking about the off-gassing from overheating this stuff ,, like 2 days ago ,, for some reason .
I was digging ice cubes out of the ice-bin in the freezer LOL . Weird what we remember .

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks
Well, I do use a respirator when heating the Sintra. Just a good idea

 

[blakeh1]

Awesome!

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks.
Got some more work I'm doing on the bracers that I'll be showing soon enough

 

[Quaralane]

Did some update work on the Sith armor as well as my son's smuggler cosplay
The Imgur gallery has most of the details.


The video also contains a lot of what was done.


Sorry for not embedding all of the pics in the post

 

[Quaralane]

Okay, may have gone a little crazy here.
Going to Star Wars Celebration over Memorial Day weekend.
Masks will be required.
Mandalorian can wear normal mask under helmet, no problem
Jedi can wear normal mask, no problem
A Sith would not wear a normal mask.
So, to remedy this, yesterday, I took some templates from Much Props and started a 'rebreather' style mask.
It's a little rough, I'll admit, but it got finished in two days so I can take it with me to Anaheim.
Video does a better job of explaining what I actually did with the mask.

 

[urumomo]

That's cool , man .
Especially for a speed build .
Have a great time at the event !
Anaheim , California ?

 

[Marktastrophe]

Disney Land land!?
Lol I lived in Ventura county for roughly half my life. Small world!

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks, guys.
Been waiting for almost a year and a half for this.
It was originally supposed to go off in August 2020, but, like a lot of things, got postponed.

Be in the Mouse's neighborhood for sure. The convention center looks to be right outside Disneyland proper

 

[garagebuild]

This looks great!