wingnut65 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) 6/2019 Update – I’ve changed photo hosting sites and have updated links for all pix that I am sharing. Also, with 23 troops completed in my Tusken, I’ve updated content with experiences and any changes I may have made to my build. Please PM me if I missed something... Like most Star Wars fans, I've always dreamed of being a Stormtrooper. There's just something about that white armor. But, with a limited/non-existent budget for starting a new hobby, an acceptable solution to placing an order, includes an eight month wait. I can't wait! I mean, seriously, I CAN'T WAIT ! ! ! What do I do in the meantime that would not be too expensive? It would be fun to be a Jawa, but I didn't think a 5'-10" tall Jawa would be acceptable. (I still might make one sometime!!!) But those Sand People.. Those troopers look like they are having a blast, being mischievous and carrying the gaffi stick. That would be cool. So, the decision was made and I will start my 501st Adventure with a Tusken Raider ANH costume! We recently had a community wide garage sale and the among sales from my tools/stuff/junk, were just enough to cover the cost of a Poor Man's Mask Kit. I contacted Dustin and placed my order. Then I had to break it to the Mrs. about the wonderful adventure that I am about to start. Besides, my twin daughters will be graduating high school this year and heading away to college next year and I have to have something to fill in all my spare time I really don’t have! She agreed and even thinks me getting a TK will be neat. And since she is the ‘Finance Minister’, she liked the fact that the mask is already paid for without hitting up the bank! Let's get the ball rolling... What do I need for 501st approval? 501st CRL Requirements - Full 501st Legion CRL can be found HERE! Mask - Poor Man's Mask Kit using a cut down hard hat Status: Finished! ! Neck Seal - I will most likely need a neck wrap and it will probably be osnaburg Status: Finished! ! Jump to Neck Seal post, Here! Neck Breather - Make my own along the same idea as Arcturus1020's how-to thread using a tomato paste can and 1/4" aluminum rod. Status: Finished! ! Build thread also found Here! Inner Robe - Osnaburg fabric and the Studio Creation pattern Status: Finished! ! Jump to robe construction post, Here! Outer Robe - Already sewed together using monk's cloth and TK409's Robe Pattern. Status: Finished! ! Pants – I wear long tan/khaki pants under my robes and they normally can’t be seen. Status: Have Pants Waist Sash - Using Osnaburg fabric Status: Finished! ! Jump to Waist Sash post, here! Hands and Arms - Harbor Freight cotton work gloves have been purchased. Found an old long sleeve blood donor t-shirt that will provide the sleeves for backing the wraps. I also bought two more yards of duck cloth for ripping and making the wraps Status: Finished! ! Jump to Hands, Arms and Feet post, Here! Bandoliers - To maintain a budget and keep peace in the family, I plan on making and weathering my own as needed for ANH. Starting with two Studio Creation's 1908 Enfield Pouch Template and possibly adding the third using Arcturus1020's Waist Bandolier Template. Jump to Bandolier and Waist Pouch post, Here! Chest Bandy Status: Using an original 1903 Bandy for the chest! Waist Pouch Status: Fabrication is Finished! ! Footwear - I'm considering my options and may use an old pair of sneakers with duck cloth leg wraps. Status: Finished! ! Jump to Hands, Arms and Feet post, Here! Gaffi Stick - (pineapple, gunstock, or mace head) as used in Episode 4. - Yes, one will be made or purchased and modified. Status: Purchased a Rubies Gaffi and modified it. Finished! ! Jump to Gaffi Stick Build Thread, Here! Rifle - Why not? Adding to the SW arsenal would be great! Status: None. Research only... Screen Used Colors - What Color Should I Dye the Fabric? Whatever dyeing that I use, I will most likely include Soda Ash to help lock the colors into the fabric. I've also read that salt added to the pot of dye mix will also help. Gloves and all Arm, Boot and Mask Wraps: Research here on the Krayt Clan says that the wraps are to be darker than the robes. And, ANH wraps are supposedly darker than the prequels. Some say they are to be Khaki, which is achieved using the standard tea or coffee bath for the wraps. However, from the looks of the screen shots and photos of the touring costumes, it really looks like the wraps are more taupe than just plain tan - there is more olive green in the color. I'm going to experiment with coffee and a couple drops of olive green craft paint. EDIT: Green paint did nothing... What color is this??? Inner Robe: This is the lighter of the two robes. Most have dyed the inner with tea. Mine will either be with coffee or fabric dyes. Outer Robe: I'm going to follow many others using RIT fabric dyes in a combination of 'Tan' and 'Pearl Grey'. Weathering: Options to consider include: Fabric dyes in a spray bottle, soaking bottom of robes in coffee and let it wick up the fabric, spray paints used sparingly... Jump to Weathering TrainWreck recently started a thread called "TrainWreck's quickish weathering tutorial for Tusken" that has good techniques that I will be using. As I proceed with my build, I look forward to receiving guidance from the experts here in the Clan! To be continued... EDIT: Updated status levels! EDIT: DZ 50297 has been APPROVED!. Continue reading to see how I got to the 501st! http://www.501st.com/memberdata/5k/02/97/dz50297_full.jpg Edited January 28, 2022 by wingnut65 Updated Photo Links. Adjusted text color for dark background 1 Quote
wingnut65 Posted January 31, 2015 Author Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) Let the fun begin! I'll skip the obligatory photo of the unopened box sitting on the Kitchen table and I'll just straight to what is inside of that box! Here is my Poor Man's Kit, from Dialswiftjustice (Dustin) Available here. 6/2019 - Link to sale thread broken. I do not see where these are currently for sale 002 Dustin packs all the pieces nicely in zip-lock bags. The fabric wraps helped keep everything cushioned in the box. 003 The kit contains the mask face, 6 pre-ripped wraps 3-5" wide by about 8' long (I will need to rip them a little narrower), brown vinyl for the mouth, leather strips for the snout and nose, black screen for behind the eyes and mouth, tan screen for the side vision panels if one so chooses (nice touch, Dustin! I will need them!) and the 9 required resin pieces. And it all fit within my budget! 004 I had fun sorting out the wraps and extras! 005 So this is where it all begins... 006 To be continued... Edited June 10, 2019 by wingnut65 photo linx Quote
Tusken RTT Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Looking forward to the pics! I did the exact same, started tusken and then did the TK. It's great being able to swap out. Keep us posted! Quote
garbz Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Looking forward to this build with great interest!! 1 Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) Thanks, Scott and Aaron. I do look forward to being able to chose costumes for the season or the event, but I just want to get one approved for now. Grab a cold one and sit down for a few, here comes the first episode of starting this adventure... Edited June 7, 2019 by wingnut65 Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) This will be another of the many Poor Man's Mask builds, but hopefully some of the ideas and methods that I include may be new and helpful. I am including some steps in detail, with plenty of pictures, because I could not readily find the how-to information anywhere on the forum. Some of these steps may be redundant, so feel free to ignore what you want. First up - Prep The Resin Pieces The resin pieces came straight from the molds, including a little extra flash and irregularities from the exposed top of the molds. I washed them all down with dish soap to get any mold release stuff off and let them dry. I started with the Blood Spitters (aka: tusks). I used my Dremel moto-tool with a 1/2" (12.7 mm) sanding drum to remove the bulk down to be very close to the edge of the mold line. I colored the bottom of the spitter with a pencil and sanded on a sanding block to determine flatness. Sanding took off the high spots, showing me how much more I needed to sand to be perfectly flat. TIP #1: Be careful with the sanding drum. While spinning fast, it is easy to get away from you. Trust me... 007 (A Bonded Photo) Success was eventually achieved on both. 008 Next up were the two Eye Stalks. The amount of extra resin on the bottom is easy to determine because of the clean mold line. The two light slots (vision slots, whatever they are called) also had to be opened up. 009 For levelling the base, Instead of using the Dremel with the sanding drum to remove 1/4" (6 mm) or more, I chose a 1" (25.4 mm) metal saw blade. I started to cut little wedges out, but realized how much work that would be. 010 I changed direction and carefully cut slightly beyond the mold line on the inside and outside of the eye stalks. I started with shallow cuts and made them deeper until the whole bottom came off. 011 Then some work on the sanding block and it was flush with the mold line. I wasn't too concerned about the slight unevenness of the bottom since there will be so many wraps around them. 012 Feeling comfortable with the metal saw blade, I started on the two light slots. I drilled holes in the ends to ease in removing the waste. I used a small file to remove the extra and clean up the openings, (The ring is the bottom piece I removed from the second eye stalk.) 013 The Nose was also sanded down using the pencil and sanding block method. I decided to fill in the voids and uneven spots with some putty from building plastic models. My green Squadron putty was hard as a rock, but the Testors still worked. Any putty, glazing putty, drywall spackle will work. TIP #2: Smooth out the putty before it hardens!!! Wetting your finger and wiping it down works well. I did not do this and it took me a while to sand away all the irregularities to get is smooth again! 014 Remember the first Tip #1 I gave about the sanding drum getting away from you?? I learned from experience. Here is my first Oops!. Not a problem that a little more putty can't hide. And some time for it to dry and then sand smooth... Uggghhh! 015 Now that all the resin pieces were sanded and finish was to my satisfaction, it was time to drill the bottoms to attach to the mask with screws. I decided on using stainless steel sheet metal screws in case I ever need to remove any piece to repaint, repair or replace them. I used Stainless Steel because I know regular steel will rust, with all the sweat this mask will experience. I used #6 screws for the blood splitters, nose and head spikes and two #4's for each eye stalk. I started with the Head Spikes. Using my finger as a spacer, I marked lines on the bottom of the spike, all the same distance from the edge. 016 Going all the way around gave me a pretty good impression of where the center of the circle is. 017 Using a drill press, I made a hole in a block of wood large enough for the spike. Inserted the spike and used a drill bit marked for the length of the screw. 018 The same process was done for the Blood Spitters. The last step before painting them all, I wanted to update the blood spitters by add the lip around the end, like is seen on the Peter Diamond mask. I had never noticed this until TrainWreck recently pointed it out in his 3D Pinter Project thread. And of course, now I can't find that post to give credit where due (EDIT: Thanks jtechlove for pointing me to where I first saw the lip! Link has been added above.) 019 I went back to my model building supplies to see what I could find without needing to buy anything new... I found some 0.080" wide by 0.015" thick styrene (0.4 x 2.0 mm). This is a little over 1/16" wide and right at 1/64" thick. I figure that two layers would give the appearance similar to the photo above. I heated some water in the microwave to near boiling. Soaked the end of a strip in the hot water and wrapped it around the handle of the X-Acto knife until it cooled. (see strip coils on bottom) 020 My standard modeling clothes pin clamps were too wide for the 3/8" (9.5 mm) diameter hole, so I had to trim them down. A little super glue and a clamp was all it took. 021 I used a second clamp to make sure it wouldn't slide anywhere. First layer is drying... 022 Here's the Before and After shot! I used putty to fill end to hide any seams. 023 Next Up, The Helmet, The Mask and Cutting Some Holes! Edited June 7, 2019 by wingnut65 updated photo linx 1 Quote
jtechlove Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Here's the link to the post about the flanged blood spitters, TrainWreck started it http://www.kraytclan.com/forum/topic/4328-trainwrecks-3d-printed-tusken-project/ Quote
TrainWreck Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 I think someone said that they did it to theits as well before my thread but thanks for the shout out. Dude I did the same thing. Decided to start this hobby last March. Got my Tusken approved last September. And all the while I've slowly been collecting stuff for my Sandtrooper. I got onto ATA's waiting list last June (I timed it so the armor would be ready around income tax time) and I now get my Armor next month! Of course I'm hooked now and can't bare the idea of having nothing to build after the Sandtrooper so I have already started designing a Mando for the Mercs too... Once you start a serious Star Wars habit... 😠Looks like your off to a great start. I'm definitely watching this! Quote
Arcturus1020 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Oh that's so odd...I thought that this was a celebratory thread about me for a moment... 1 Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 2, 2015 Author Posted February 2, 2015 Here's the link to the post about the flanged blood spitters, TrainWreck started it http://www.kraytclan.com/forum/topic/4328-trainwrecks-3d-printed-tusken-project/ That's the one! I looked through all the mask builds, but didn't think of TW's thread. The Edit has been made. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! I think someone said that they did it to theirs as well before my thread but thanks for the shout out. Dude I did the same thing. Decided to start this hobby last March. Got my Tusken approved last September. And all the while I've slowly been collecting stuff for my Sandtrooper. I got onto ATA's waiting list last June (I timed it so the armor would be ready around income tax time) and I now get my Armor next month! Of course I'm hooked now and can't bare the idea of having nothing to build after the Sandtrooper so I have already started designing a Mando for the Mercs too... Once you start a serious Star Wars habit.... Looks like your off to a great start. I'm definitely watching this! The vacuum of The Force is strong and has sucked in many people into its grasp. I look forward to the ride! I have that same feeling that my costuming will not stop with my ATA TK kit. And' I'm not sure if it is a good thing or not, but while surfing, I stumbled across The Wookiee Workshop, only to find out they are a couple miles from me. That would be a fun project and fun to troop in. Good luck on your ATA! I look forward to your build. I'm still about 5 months out for mine. Plenty of time to wrap up my DZ, collect TK pieces and even throw together a blaster. Hopefully... Oh that's so odd...I thought that this was a celebratory thread about me for a moment... Just another of the long list of Poor Man's mask builds. But I try to acknowledge anyone I found guidance from so others can find it as well! Quote
Arcturus1020 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Tampa Gets A Tusken You see, this is my last name and I also just formally applied for DZ status, so . . . yeah. . . . Anyway, all joking aside, you have an awesome start on your build and I like the direction you've taken with those blood splitters! Awesome mod! Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Ahhh. Now that makes sense. How heartless of me to create what I thought would be a totally unique thread title, only to go and burst your bubble! I will just have to go stand in the corner of the cave for a time out! Cool name, though! And it is a cool place to live and work. Cool, as in, not cold! More on the warm side most of the time! And our white stuff has rolling waves nearby. Sorry, can't resist. Feel free to come visit anytime! Edited June 4, 2019 by wingnut65 spellcheck 1 Quote
Coin Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 This thread is indeed awesome, I love the people that incorporate the end flare on the blood spitter! Keep up the great work! Keep sharing photos, and entertainingly I did actually go here thinking my friend Tampa had gotten his approved I think you two should be friends too Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Thanks, Kim. As Karpouzian spoke for all of us newbies, we appreciate the positive support and expertise we receive here on the Krayt Clan. I hope to give something back to help others. The 501st is a great place to make friends across town, across the country and around the world. It is great to have all the different detachments focusing on different costume subjects, but all of them are focused on the same cause. I keep bumping into some familiar names on FISD and the Florida Garrison forums as well. With Celebration, Comic Cons and SWW, there is always the chance that some day, we may all get to walk in that same single file line! Edited June 7, 2019 by wingnut65 2 Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) The fun continues... Next Step, Mounting the Mask to the Hat Needing something to mount the mask face to, I decided on using a construction hard hat. Mainly because I have a few spare laying around but no sports helmets. After trying my spares, none of them would work because the profile had ribs on top that were too high to make the mask fit. I ended up picking up a cheap one from Home Depot. First shot at fitting it to the helmet wasn't too bad when the hat was backwards. I did have to cut out a neck opening before I could even try it on. This alignment seemed to be the best so that the curve of the forehead continued relatively smoothly. 024 The rim around the hat doesn't look wide, but it was pushing the mask face too far away, leaving big gaps. 025 So, the rim of the hat must be removed. The red line shows where I aimed the band saw blade. 026 Done. Brim and rim are gone! A little work on the sanding block to smooth it all out. 027 Now it fits better to the mask, but the hat still comes down too far over the eyes. 028 Grab the Ofishal 501st Blue Tape to mark it: 029 Head to he band saw and cut that strip off! 030 With the strip removed, the hat is now clear from the eyes. I used Gorilla Tape to keep the mask in place until I could get the eyes located to know that this would be good to mount permanently. 031 Next Up, Spacing the Eyes I have heard all the discussions that Tuskens aren't supposed to see well! I've also read about some close calls where troopers almost, or did, step on kids and others during an event. This is my chance to locate my eyes so that I can have the best visibility the mask can offer, while still being as close to screen accurate as possible. Now let's get those eyes located... Studying the screen shots revealed to me that the leather nose piece is actually cut in an hourglass shape to fit between the eyes. The ends of the eye stalks are 1-1/2" (38 mm) outside diameter and 1-1/4" (32 mm) inside diameter. Comparing the eye stalk sizes to the leather size, they are pretty close. The leather strip I received in my kit is 1-1/2" wide, so trimming it down will look fine compared to this screen shot. 032 To start, I cut 2" diameter cardboard circles (51 mm), the same size as the base of the eye stalks. Using a center finder gauge, I found the center of the circles. I also drew a pencil line down the centerline of the mask. This will be for my attempt to keep everything relatively aligned 033 I tried several different eye spacing and drilled and 1/8" holes for each eye. But, when I tried on the mask, I could see though one hole, but not the other. Close, but not quite. Then I realized that if the 1-1/2" (38 mm) wide leather nose piece was cut down to 1" (25.4 mm), it would create the hourglass effect and space the eyes 1" apart. I also had to raise the holes a little from my past attempts. Vision was Good! 034 I cut the holes with a 1-1/4" diameter forstner bit. 035 Drilling on slow speed, it was easy to cut out. You can see the three other attempts at locating the eyes until I achieved visibility and was satisfied. 036 Now is a good time to bring up some more research results. More knowledge I obtained from TrainWreck's build thread is that the eye stalks are installed so that the outside edges of the vision slots are actually rotated to approximately the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions. 037 With that knowledge, I taped the eyes in place and tried it on. I COULD SEE!!!! I marked the outside edge of the eyes and drilled small holes through the mask. I taped the eyes back on and drilled from the back into the eye stalks. 038 After all the holes were drilled, I used scrap plastic and E6000 to add reinforcing to each hole. As I worked on the mask, a small crack started at the mouth opening, so I heated up more plastic strips and reinforced the mouth. 039 I used three #6 sheet metal screws to mount the mask to the helmet and made sure the forehead continues over the helmet. The little variation will not be noticed with the wraps on. The screws will be cut flush when for final mounting. I also may put the nut on the inside. 040 Last step was to cut out the holes on the side for peripheral vision. This does add to better viewing. Can't wait to try it out when it's all done! 041 Next Up, Painting Greeblies and Mask Improvements.. Edited June 7, 2019 by wingnut65 Photo Links 1 Quote
Arcturus1020 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Awesome work!!! I too used a hard hat for mine, but I had to do a lot of work to get it to mesh up with my mask, which is probably much smaller than these. I love all the attention to detail you're putting into this and it makes me want to redo mine. LOL Quote
garbz Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I just ordered my kit. I'm learning so much! Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 Awesome work!!! I too used a hard hat for mine, but I had to do a lot of work to get it to mesh up with my mask, which is probably much smaller than these. I love all the attention to detail you're putting into this and it makes me want to redo mine. LOL Wow, James, I've never seen a hard hat get dissected before. That hat looks like whole project in itself. I can't imagine trying to figure out where to cut, what to remove, what to keep... And then figure out where to mount the spikes! I've had your thread bookmarked for a while. I've got a few good ideas from your build! I like the weathering on the greeblies! I just ordered my kit. I'm learning so much! That is the first step to the Denzian way of life! I read through so many threads to get ideas that it got confusing. Had to read them again while taking notes along the way. Having a tablet near the workbench has been a help in finding the right picture when I need to go to the next step. Good luck on your project and be sure to post build pix. THREAD TITLE UPDATE... I was not aware that we had an active Clan member, named Mr. Tampa. So, not to confuse anyone else on the progress of his DZ Approval Status and my Florida based DZ project, I've asked RaiderNick to formally change the title of this thread to "Tampa Bay Gets A Tusken". This will allow Mr. Tampa, our own Arcturus1020, the honor of sharing the excitement of his own approval. Carry on! Quote
mutter Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 What a great thread! My masks came in today and this thread will be heavily referenced. Wonderful job! Quote
Tusken RTT Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 Great job taking the extra time on the eye position- nothing is more important! 1 Quote
jtechlove Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 Wingnut65 Not sure how far u are on your build but take a look at how high up and close your tooth piece is to the eye stalks...if it's too close you might wanna cut and lower that whole mouth piece down a bit to get it more accurate to the hero reference photo that You'er using. I know it's more work but the end result will be worth it. Too many "ANH" masks have been made by people around here that have the tooth piece up so high that it looks like a nose. There's a couple WIP posts around here where people have done that and the end result is way more accurate looking. Observe how low the tooth is in this hero Tusken photo. Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 5, 2015 Author Posted February 5, 2015 What a great thread! My masks came in today and this thread will be heavily referenced. Wonderful job! Congrats, Greg! Opening your box is the first step towards walking in that famous single file line of Tusken Raiders! Now I need to work to update my build to stay a couple steps ahead of you. When you feel comfortable, start a build thread so we can follow along! Great job taking the extra time on the eye position- nothing is more important! I agree, Scott. This is my big chance to get my vision as best that it could be, considering we're looking through small toilet paper tubes! I hear some say that they can only really see out of one eye and trooping gives them a headache. I'll report back how the final results turn out when I wear the mask for a length of time. Quote
wingnut65 Posted February 5, 2015 Author Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) On 2/4/2015 at 2:47 PM, jtechlove said: Wingnut65 Not sure how far u are on your build but take a look at how high up and close your tooth piece is to the eye stalks...if it's too close you might wanna cut and lower that whole mouth piece down a bit to get it more accurate to the hero reference photo that You'er using. I know it's more work but the end result will be worth it. Too many "ANH" masks have been made by people around here that have the tooth piece up so high that it looks like a nose. There's a couple WIP posts around here where people have done that and the end result is way more accurate looking. Observe how low the tooth is in this hero Tusken photo. Thanks for bringing it up, Johnny. You are most certainly right. I have been working on the improving the mouth area and will be hitting the tooth as well. As I was studying the eye locations, I printed out several head on pictures of the mask and tried to determine a relationship between the eyes, blood spitters and the tooth, They all show that the top of the tooth is centered between the spitters. A couple had the tooth completely below the centerline of the spitters and a couple had 80% of the tooth below the centerline. When I make more progress on the tooth area, I'll post an update. 042 Edited June 7, 2019 by wingnut65 photo link Quote
Tusken RTT Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Interesting stuff! I saw mine was in one of the pics (top right). It looks like the angle of the photo plays a lot to do with it, as well as the angle that the tooth is attached (besides the anchor point). You can see the photo of the lower 'hero' tooth is turned down a bit more than mine, as you can see the top of the teeth in that photo but not in mine. But in relation to where they are attached, just about spot on. I see an opportunity to do a mask tweek! I may angle my teeth down a bit, maybe with a spacer behind in the back on top only. Quote
mutter Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Wingnut, I'm sure you'll finish way ahead of me. I'm too busy building my storm trooper kit. It won't be for another couple of weeks before I start. Aare you going to do a thread for your robes too? Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.