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TrapperMitch — Shadow Guard WIP
Published: 2012-02-28 06:11:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 1799; Favourites: 20; Downloads: 0
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Fed up with not being able to metal work so I made my own sheet metal break. Also found a metal cutting bit for my Skil saw. I half expect cutting metal to kill my saw but it does slice really nicely so I'll just keep with light gauge stuff to be safe; 22guage aught to be safe and somewhat durable...I hope.OH, yes, so I've had my Imperial Royal Guard helmet ever since Don Post was offering helms thru the Things You Never Knew Existed catalog way back in 1998. In 5th grade I could fit my head and glasses in the helm but only my head now with a slight squeeze getting it on. So when The Force Unleashed game came out I decided to finally redo the costume to fit me now...and possibly duplicate the helm to make a Shadow Guard too.
Currently I've my shirt, pants, boot, belt, gloves, shin armor, and backhand plates done and nearly ready.
I plan on fabricating the insteps, forearm guards, and a recast of my helm to color black. Still not sure how to go about the chest and shoulder bells, I would like to metal those but that may be not possible for me and my mickey-mousing skills.
Wish me luck!
**UPDATE: 3-20-2012
So I caved because I found a recast helm on ebay and figured I was going to spend $90+ on the materials to recast my own anyway. It came pretty raw, needed some good sanding and a primer and paint. Came out...decent. Went with Krylon Matte Black. Perhaps a flatter satin was what I really wanted.
Also, I've at least cut out the pieces for the instep and fore arms. I'll be bending and painting these soon I hope. Coming together! Very Exciting!
**UPDATE: 5-22-2012
My home made break, JB Weld and more paint finished the leg armor off for me; pics later. Made a Helm stand from an unused piece of pine in the garage. Picked up some Window Tint off ebay for the visor. Made at template, cut out a piece of clear plexi from Ace and heated/bent it to shape. Bending was tricky, still not sure if I like the profile. Tint is tricky to apply; think manual laminating sheet only cellophane thin.
**UPDATE: 7-12-2012
Found a spare TK chest piece on the bay of e. Also noticed that the CRL's for the Gurad costume require the materials of all armor parts to be the same...So because I'm not going to be making a metal stormtrooper chest and back I'll be remaking what I've made so far of plastic. So far Boots are finished minus needing to remake the instep and shin armor(strapping buckles for the shin plate are done up nice). Found another alternative for the visor as my mirrored red window tint with bent acrylic sheet turned out to be near imposible to see thru. Turns out they make these red mirrored sheets for Football helm shades, works perfectly.
If there's interest, I have my armor part CAD templates here
[link] - Instep Armor
[link] - Shin Guards
[link] - Ab Plate
[link] - Bracers
[link] - Shoulder Bell
[link] - Helm Mods
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Comments: 2
Ok, first off, love love love the Imperial Royal Guard, they're my dream characters in the saga. Second, how much would the materials cost to make a cloak, helmet, and force pike, etc? Looking on one day hiring someone to do that, but would like to know how much money to save up for it...................................................????
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From what I've seen so far in my own planning,
Fabric can run up to $100+ easy for just the outer cloak using the correct material (a premium velvet)
The helmet $150-500, kits are less but require work and someone out there make a real nice fiberglass I've been hearing good things about
Belt and buckle $40-120, plenty of makers for the buckle as the Imperial Officers use the same buckle(the Disneyland buckle is money well spent), note for shadow guard be sure the silver dot to the side of the buckle is NOT present on the belt
Boots $40-F@#K , these can be anywhere form easy to hard to find depending on the episode of IRG, accuracy, and of course your shoe size
Pike $26-1000 (There's a fellow out there did the IRG pike with just fishing/ski pole and odd hardware store stuff for dirt cheap. There are also folks that will machine you the SG Pike from aluminum and slap an FX saber in it or top your IRG pike with a legit stun gun)
Armor parts $300+, It's best if you can make your own as getting a proper fit and scale can be tricky and costly
As with all of this, research, check review, search other sites for other buyers opinions of the item and the reputation of the dealer! Make sure it's right for what you're looking for. Cash spent on the wrong item is cash you can't donate to a charity while trooping in your marvelous armor. Most good crafters will typically quadruple the cost of the materials for things they sell to account for labor.
As always, check out the CRL on 501st and check in with your local garrison and the costumes detachment (www.forcepike.net for all thing Imperial Royal Guard) for help, guidance, and good leads. whether your going for 501st approval or not always good to check those links.
Cheers and Happy trooping!
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