Another Tie Pilot Costume

[TIE1138]

I was asked to post some pics of Saturdays Gala at Kenakena School in Paraparaumu, so here they are.Blaxmyth and I attended in full costume. Beautiful sunny day with a cool breeze blowing, which kept things cool and comfortable. Thanks badges2nz for inviting us along. My costume held up well with no construction problems and was not to bad to wear.I was a bit concerned that one of the clips on the side of the front armor would let go, but badges2nz put 2 'zip-ties on them just in case. Thanks. Worked a treat.

[MattG]

Awesome. Y'all look great!

[TIE1138]

So, now that the helmet is pretty much finished, lets turn our attention to the back plate armor. I was very fortunate in being given a fibreglass front and rear set of Stormtrooper armor. I began by cutting a piece of 3mm Thinline to the size of the square panel on the back, and glued this in place with SS Epoxy glue. Once this was dry, I set about sanding all the ridges left by the folded Pepakura cardboard, and then began putting copious amounts of filler all over the plate. When this was dry, I sanded it all with a sander that I made from a piece on 16mm MDF with 80g sandpaper glued to one side and a handle on the other. This made sanding easier on the fingers and wrist and also allowed larger areas to be covered quickly.
When I was happy with the shape, I primed it to see where the imperfections were, and then started filling these in with Tamiya Modeling Putty, allowing this to dry and sanded again. Repeat until you are happy with the finish and prime again. You will be surprised how much you miss the first, second and even third times you repeat this. When done you can apply a final coat of primer, then do 2 coats of top coat. I was fortunate that the clasp hooks were already in place at the back, so I didn't need to worry about those, But I knew that I would have to glue them onto the front plate when the time came.

[badges2nz]

That is a great costume, nice work on the finish.
Thank you to both of you for coming down to help out.
A great day all round.

[badges2nz]

Here's a couple more pics, babies galore even one named Anakin!

[TIE1138]

Fantastic. Thanks badges2nz

[Blaxmyth]

Yes, thanks to you Craig for the invite. Marvellous day!

[Armante]

That black shiny finish looks incredible! Well done

[badges2nz]

Yes, thanks to you Craig for the invite. Marvellous day!

Might have to return the favour up your way some time, i also have a contact at Palmy nth hospital to try for visits.

[TIE1138]

That would be nice.