Dylans Imperial Armoured Captain

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

This is where ill document the construction of the captain variant of the IAC, Im doing the same in my garrisons tk wip subforum but since this will be the eventual creation of a whole new crl which will need the input of FISD leadership my focus will be here primarily (mostly cus if were successful here ittl be the standard to which all others are cleared to and so being as in depth on there as well as here probably isnt a fruitful endeavour.

this will evolve as we cement the proposed differences and proto-crl.

 

to start it off i thought id go over what we know about the captains seen in the show. the battlefront models for now are functionally the same bar the guns they use and the accompanying holster so ill leave them for the end of this. with the knowledge ill be going for level 3 centurion in mind

 

the base costume is identical. at least from all the  images we've got access to. this makes things a lot easier because theres no need for anything new to be modelled up.

the only armour pieces that are changed are the shins. knees, vambraces/handplates and the helmet itself.  these changes are cosmetic only and include the shins and knees being entirely a red gloss colour. likely as with the normal suit, a matte red with gloss clearcoat, which red is yet to be determined but from the well lit photos it appears to be just a basic red, no complex shade or special colour.  the hand plates are similarly entirely red. those 3 components are easy and there doesn't see to be any hidden details we've missed there. 

 

the gauntlets/vambraces whatever you prefer to call them have the white paint replaced with red, from screenshots it appears as if every paint colour except the white is still there, there's simply been a swap to red where there would be white, this as well is not a complex change and since all components will be separate as per centurion requirements  that should be fairly easy.  granted we cannot confirm that the right gauntlet has the grey components as well, but its safe to say they wouldn't have done the one without the other.

 

the helmet is the same as the grunts. but with added red on the whole of the ear sections, extruded ear piece, and into the cheek where the ear connects. the greeblies all remain the same colour other than the large ear pieces. 

 

everything else is identical to the existing crl bar the holster.  see the fun part about that is that while the screen used costumes were seen with the foundry 3 blaster pistol which mando later takes, which has a slimmer and differently shaped gun holding section, as well as no rifle. the battlefront 3 versions are seen with both the rifle in hand , and the grunt costumes holster and SE-14 inspired blaster. 

 

the proposed new crl will be a variant of the existing one and not a separate crl , as per the crl team. and ill be doing my best to replicate franks epic work on the crl model kit , ill be using  a mix of his and bigfreds print files. i dont believe the chest is available yet from frank but that's the last bit that ill be using. 

 

currently this is what ive figured out vender wise. 

 

all my armour is being printed by fellow uk costumer and maker.  the shins chest rig and jetpack will be last because im aiming to heavily slim down to do this costume justice.

 

flightsuit-keep trooping

 

gloves- either crowprops or keeptroopings axe wove gloves which i believe is what frank used (crowprops that is) 

 

boots- likely keeptrooping to save on immense shipping to the uk, but if his wont pass level 2 for whatever reason ill go with crowprops.

 

soft belt- likely to be made by a garrison member who's not godawful at that like i am

 

holster is yet to be determined as we need to decide on what the crl will require. its very likely we do basic clearance allowing either holster type , with level 2 or 3 clearance limiting it to the screen used blaster and no rifle. but that's to be determined. it'll likely be handmade using modified patterns from franks existing patterns

 

balaclava is self explanatory

 

blaster will be resin printed by the same guy as the armour

 

lighting will likely be something im helped with by a squadmate as experience in electronics is not my strongpoint.  

 

excited to get this started and help build this crl. itll likely be at least early january before im able to start the chestrig and jetpack and maybe shins . and im unsure if ill leave painting til everythings ready. but in the meantime we'll be making sure the red is the right red i guess XD

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking forward to seeing your progress, good luck

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

Thanks. So am I , a lot of the work for this will be in majorly slimming down so that’ll be a feat in of itself. Hopefully we can narrow down a correct red as I’ll probably do the knees and hand plates in the next month.  I’ll try and narrow down some spray paints that look like they might be a good match and we can go from there. Am I correct in thinking the best painting route is matte colours with a glossy clear coat or have I fabricated that entirely. I’ve got rustoleum flat grey primer on me  and if that is the case then I’ve got 2 rattle cans ready to go 

Edited September 14 by loyalImperialCitizen

[Sithtrooper02[TK]]

Hi,

 

You’re on to a good start! Very exciting to see you diving in to this variant build!

 

for the boots,The basic boot pictures I saw from both vendors were simply stitched on the top section, but I asked Giovanny to add padding so that we see the thickness as in the reference pictures. He did build me a custom version (maybe it’s now his new standard, but worth confirming)

 

if you are aiming to level 2, then you should check with Giovanni from crowprops as you will need the thickness to create raised sections. These are very confortable boots and they fit snugly under the spat. This was my biggest worry when I ordered them.
 

Stating the obvious, but if you go with keeptrooping, they would have to add padding to their design and you got to make sure that the ankle shape is not too wide or it will interfere with the spat. 
 

for the red color, I  assume from the pictures that it would be the same red for the shin/knee/ gauntlets as the inserts in the bicep, thigh plates and chest plate (seems very close).
I tried a few paints but the best matched I found in local shop is the one in my build thread, it’s an airbrush paint (I didn’t find a spray matching this color)

 

Edited September 14 by Sithtrooper02

[Sithtrooper02[TK]]

34 minutes ago, loyalImperialCitizen said:

Thanks. So am I , a lot of the work for this will be in majorly slimming down so that’ll be a feat in of itself. Hopefully we can narrow down a correct red as I’ll probably do the knees and hand plates in the next month.  I’ll try and narrow down some spray paints that look like they might be a good match and we can go from there. Am I correct in thinking the best painting route is matte colours with a glossy clear coat or have I fabricated that entirely. I’ve got rustoleum flat grey primer on me  and if that is the case then I’ve got 2 rattle cans ready to go 

Yes, you’re correct. Matte paint with gloss clear, otherwise you will end up with cracking issues like everyone has ( I had this issue on some pieces on my Sith trooper armor… gloss clear on gloss paint isn’t a good idea)

Edited September 14 by Sithtrooper02

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

thanks mate, as always your kit is a beauty and I hope I can do as good a job.  
with regards to boots. I’ll go with my original plan of crowprops for both then since they have the glove Velcro for the hand plating sewn in. And make sure that they’re doing the padded version.

 

i did think the red was the darker red we see on the biceps thighs and chest (if you have any helpful hints regarding what colour that is specifically that would be super helpful) but the lightest shots we see in studio lighting seems to be pretty bright red. I’ll have to spray paint the entirety of the costume rather than airbrushing the smaller details as I suck at airbrushing and don’t have one atm. But that shouldn’t be a problem as long as I’m careful.   
 

we spoke on Etsy regarding the ab piece and I’m hopeful I won’t actually need a larger mold if I do achieve my goal of slimming down enough. But if you keep me in the loop regarding your endeavors and the last thing Ive really gotta source is your chest files. Which I’ll be only happy to purchase when they’re available.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

38 minutes ago, loyalImperialCitizen said:

Thanks. So am I , a lot of the work for this will be in majorly slimming down so that’ll be a feat in of itself. Hopefully we can narrow down a correct red as I’ll probably do the knees and hand plates in the next month.  I’ll try and narrow down some spray paints that look like they might be a good match and we can go from there. Am I correct in thinking the best painting route is matte colours with a glossy clear coat or have I fabricated that entirely. I’ve got rustoleum flat grey primer on me  and if that is the case then I’ve got 2 rattle cans ready to go 

I stopped using Rust-oleum paint as it wasn't being consistent, no matter how much you shake the tin it would come out sandy at times without warning, make sure you shake as much as you can as well as between coats.

 

I use acrylic automotive paints, doesn't matter if you paint gloss over gloss, dries quickly unlike enamel based paints and can be sanded and polished if needed.

 

Everyone has their own way with painting or what paint they use so go with what ever you are more comfortable with. 

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

Good to know, the grey is  the only paint I’d be using in the costume I have on hand so I can easily just get automotive paints instead  , and I may just to have as good a finish as possible.  I’ll check out what reds are out there and see if I can’t source the same shade of red.  We are gonna have to figure that out sooner or later so why not sooner 😉

[Sithtrooper02[TK]]

Fully agree with Glen on automotive paint, rustoleum isn’t great and if I had to do it again, I would use my spray gun and automotive paint.

Honestly the primer grey is ok, but the rustoleum matte white isn’t as great and did make some sandy finish and doesn’t cover easily without multiple layers. I had to sand it with 1000grit paper before finishing with 2K gloss to remove the surface defect.

 

Everyone has his own recipe for sure!

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

I’ve never used automotive paints myself yet and never gotten a spray gun. But this might be the time. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

14 minutes ago, loyalImperialCitizen said:

I’ve never used automotive paints myself yet and never gotten a spray gun. But this might be the time. 

You can get automotive paint in spray cans and that's what I normally use, albeit I do have spray equipment too as I used to spray cars  

 

Again it depends on what you are comfortable using, anything new you have to get used to using it and practice makes perfect, acrylic can go on a lot thicker than you would spray an enamel, but there is a fine line between enough paint and getting runs 

 

Having enough painting and drying space is essential.

I also use metal hooks which are taped on with duct tape, easily comes apart.

 

When it's too cold outside you have to improvise  

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

I’m not gonna pretend my painting space isn’t the outside round table with a plastic cover over it . But uh. 

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

right so ive been looking around for the right shade of red. frank is right that it looks to be around the same shade as the darkish red used in the biceps, chest detail and thigh insets. so ive come up with a potential list of specific paints that i think hit the mark. 

 

montana - royal red

alternatively there's this gloss from halfords

which looks pretty on the mark although id likely try to see if there's matte of it.  if theres any production info on the specific brand or colour used for the costumes darker red sections thatll be super helpful but without that, i feel these 3 are fairly close. but maybe a physical test of one next to a gloss white needs to happen first

 

 

Edited September 15 by loyalImperialCitizen

[Sithtrooper02[TK]]

The Colors seem in the right palet, I don’t think we will have any color details in the near future from original props, but we can always hope!

 

I don’t know the last two brands, but we had a hard time with several blue colors of Montana gold for my partner’s Bo Katan armor, way worst than Rustoleum.

 

it’s water base acrylic, but it’s not a high quality paint and you may get a sandy finish/inconsistent spray… That wouldn’t be my first choice for a glossy armor on which any imperfection will show.

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

yeah im leaning more towards the latter two.  but id prefer a matte finish so ill see if i cant find those brands in matte

alternatively ive just found this in matte and reading reviews of the spraypaint people are saying its pretty dam good so if i can find white black and grey in matte ill start doing some colour tests on plastic spoons

Edited September 15 by loyalImperialCitizen

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

ive ordered matte white, black, dark grey and the above dark red, and im going to do a test on some scrap plastic. essentially im gonna do a  white coat. mask off an area and do the dark grey. then mask off and do dark red over it. and we cna see how it compares to the screen gabs.  the helmet. biceps and hand plates are printing today and ill have some physical stuff to show off next week hopefully. 

Edited September 17 by loyalImperialCitizen

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

right, so its not the easiest to get a pic with lighting low enough its not glinting and too light, but too low to where the colours arent showing right, but thats the test.  the grey is the same francais used for his kit, i think the red is pretty much the perfect shade but im open to opinions. 

hand plates and a few of the helmet greeblies are printed, helmet and bicep parts are currently being printed, and the gauntlets will start today cus they wont really be affected by my intended weightloss. the thighs and knees will be next on the print list

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

So far the hand and bicep parts have been printed out in resin. The helmet should be done today if not during this passed night. And the greeblies for it are going on today.  
one thing I’m trying to get found out is if keep troopings boots would pass level 2. I inquired with Vincent and he said since he does the boots with proper thick leather , unlike crowprops who does it with thinner leather and a backing material, that adding padding isn’t really possible. I was wondering if the usage of thicker material would give that raised look the crl seems to be asking for on the instep. If I’m perfectly honest I’ve perused the screenshots and I can’t really make out on the crl or in the actual show to what degree so if I can get clarification on his shoes and if they’ll meet the additional accuracy requirements that would be great

[Sithtrooper02[TK]]

 

When the CRL was created, it referred to screenshots from the show. You can find all of them in the Gallery and research thread under CRL creation. I copied one of the most relevant picture here for reference. In my opinion, it seems like a thin layer of leather with backing, 

 

 

Edited September 23 by Sithtrooper02

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

Mmm, ok I see it now.  I’ll have to just hope crowprops does get back to me in that case cus I don’t think keeptroopings  will pass the higher accuracy requirements and nor will crowprops at base. 
 

Helmets  finished printing. Next is the gauntlets I believe 

Edited September 23 by loyalImperialCitizen

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

According to crowprops the boots they do do have padding on the instep. So I’m going to trust that they do and order the gloves and boots from them

Edited September 23 by loyalImperialCitizen

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Reference Crow Props boots

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

Yeah im not entirely convinced they do have the padded instep. But they did reply back to my email and say they are made like that so I’ve gotta  take their word for it really. I do want to go for centurion and the boots are the one complex component of higher accuracy since of the two venders. Crowprops is the only one who physically can add the padded look. But we can’t confirm if it actually is done by default. And it doesn’t really look like they’re padded on the pictures on the website. So I might hold out actually just to be 100 percent sure. 

Edited September 23 by loyalImperialCitizen

[Sithtrooper02[TK]]

Talk with Giovanni Rodriguez from Crowprops to have same as mine, he is aware that this modified boot is now in the CRL reference. He sent me some pictures of the instep with padding while progressing through the fabrication. Here is one below :

 

[loyalImperialCitizen[501st]]

yep, confirmed with gio so alls good. ill put those on order now and thats two parts of the build tehcnically done and away with