Buff, NY March of the Snow-Mandos!

Okay, I am meeting with Doug of Buffalo Museum of Science to see the workshop space and proposing that we do this Sunday, September 29, 2-5 PM. Pencil it in; I will post how the meeting goes.

 

Talked with Doug. We have the workshop for Sunday afternoon, September 29, for however long we want. Currently, we are saying 2 - 5 PM. Note this is the last day of the "Body Worlds" exhibit; after it is gone, their Sunday closing time is 4pm.

So excited! Helmet ordered. Boots ordered. Coveralls ordered. Worbla order soon to go in. Considering weapon build as well as other personalizing accessories. Can't wait to put all this together!

 

Bill, would you be able to find out the specs on the equipment they have and are allowing us to use? IE; how big is their vacuformer? and what kind of 3D fabricator do they have? so we can know what will be there for use to use and how to best prepare for it. Thanks! And Thanks for setting this up for us!

 

Will do! And realize that he has already offered to allow us to do this multiple Sundays. So, even if not ready to use any of his equipment that Sunday, we could definitely return and use it another Sunday.

 

Thanks for setting this up Bill. I hope that I am home one of these Sundays so I can hopefully join in the fun

 

I think it is awesome that this has been offered up. I am very interested in participating, however I have a couple questions. What kinds of material can be used in the vacuformer? How much of these materials are needed to accomplish what we want, and the same for the 3D imager? I would love to be able to make all the pieces of the costume out of the same material, and would love to spend as little money on the bucket as possible, and it sounds like this is the proper way to do that.

 

There are many different kinds of thermoplastics that can be used in vacuforming. The varying factors being density and thickness and depending on the setup of the vacuform table itself ( type of heating source and the power and pull of the vacuum) should be taken into account when selecting the right thermoplastic to use. Depending on where you buy it from, what brand it is and so on just like with many other things the price will vary.

When vacuforming you have to keep in mind that whatever thickness of thermoplastic you choose to work with wont be the end thickness of what you are forming it over as it stretches over the plug or item you are using it on.

As for the amount it depends on how much and what kind of armor you want to make. Id say browse the dentedhelmet, mandomercs, and therpf forums to find other who vacuformed armor similar to what you want to do and if they dont list how much they used message them.

Also keep in mind you use more than you need to make just the armor you want. A lot of material is used up just in being excess material around what you are forming and pulls that get messed up do to webbing and holes (which im sure will happen to a lot of us since its most of our first time using the equipment.

there might be a time you waste a good portion of big square of plastic only because you just have one small piece to make. and again the excess edge will depend on the size of the machine. but always save scraps! even if they can be reused in the machine they can still be reformed and re purposed with a heat gun! scraps gooood.


I need to look more into 3d printing stuffs and the inner working of it all. Lately I have been watching hours of casting and molding videos and itching to do that! hehe but 3D printing is a beast all its own. I follow April Storm on facebook and she does A LOT of amazing things with 3D printing and mostly in the field of mando stuffs! There are a ton of different files floating around the internet of full items that can be made from 3d printers, some free, some that cost monies.

Depending on the what type of 3D fabricator they have will determine what we can do with it as well as give us an idea on what kind of cartridges we will need to acquire for our printing needs. I am not sure how much you can get out of one cartridge but in a quick search they look to be around $50 but that can vary from different brands and the type of machines they are used on.

Everyone interested should be watching and reading tutorials on what they are interested in using to better prepare ourselves for the coming adventure!

sorry for the length. sometimes i jsut go on and on and on and on and on.... and on....

 

ALSO! I have a BUNCH off different style mando helmets in my pepakura files including the female deathwatch helmet(the owl) and I think the male one as well? i got them awhile ago. but also some other ones with fins and swoops on the helmet, different visor designs, and other variations. It will take a bit to post all the different ones i have but if you are looking for one and cant find it post a picture of the style you want and ill see if i have a match!

 

Has anyone printed out or drawn armor patterns to aid construction

 

I lost the link but i remember finding a pattern on either the mandomercs or dented helmet. I could have sworn I saved the link.

 

I believe I have PDFs

 

I have mando armor already cut out and molded out of sintra except for back piece if want to use that

 

That sounds helpful!

 

We have an extra backpiece we can use for a template

 

I have back piece its just not bent/molded yet. Wow I'm getting excited for this...been looking at mando stuff for past week or so

 

Hey maybe we can do some mando armor stuff at camp next week if we bunk together ...I'll bring some ipa as well

 

Here is my report. But, um, yeah, let's do this! Shall I tell Doug, yes?

Buffalo Museum of Science
MakeShift Workshop

Equipment:
EMCO Vacuum-pressure former model 1220-VP.
12x18 (14x20 sheets) Kelvin vacuum forming sheets. He has sheets for it we can use within reason. He also has lots of sculpting foam blocks and sheets as well as foam cutters to sculpt molds again within reason.

Cube 3d Printer (two units)
5.5 inch x 5.5 inch square
For fair trade he gets to keep the image of cool items we design in exchange for the resin to make the item (ABS and PLA plastic) - can only print in one color at a time (red, black, white, or green).

Epilog 30watt Laser engraver
1' x 2' bed with rotary attachment for etching cylinders.

Drill press
Power sander
Sliding miter
Router Table
Two sewing machines

Workbenches:
Four 50x60 inch tables with stools. Two can easily work at one workbench meaning we can have up to eight participants working on armor at a time.

Tools:
1 Craft heating gun, 15 soldering irons, multiple adhesives bottles, hand sanders, safety glasses and aprons.

Miscellaneous:
Scrap fabric. Thread. Wire. LEDs. Plywood dowels, boards, and pieces.

Note:
Ventilation inside the workshop is not sufficient for spray painting. He also wants to keep any mistakes made along the way to show to kids as examples. Also, Martin Camacho (a local photographer) has been invited to take pics throughout this process to document it.

Event:
Sept 29, 2-5 PM for first workshop, subsequent workshops on Sundays, 1-4 PM. We are the only group currently up for using this space on Sundays and so we can use it as frequently as we can tolerate. First workshop is closed to the public. Subsequent workshops, as we have stuff to show as well as still working on, the public will be welcome to enter the workshop and observe and ask questions of participants.

Makers' Fair, Saturday, March 1, 2014, 1-4 PM is the family event, 4-6 PM participants dinner, 6-9 PM adults only event. We would be the only "cosplayers" there; other makers of things, seamstresses, bakers, crafters, programmers, robot builders (that is evil geniuses) will also be invited. Formal ads will be out after the event is fully green lit.

Other possible partnership:
"Night at the Museum" - Star Wars theme.
Sleepover event for kids (and even participants-performers if they want). Two hours of 30 minute activities, feature length Star Wars movie, and then sleep. Breakfast in morning.

Again, tell him, yes? And please respond to this so I can give him the number of participants and names for security.

 

Sounds great. I will bring my worbla (it is on it's way). Don't know if I will need to use any of the materials available at the BMS but it will be great to have an open workspace and to work on the armor side by side with you guys.

 

Your name is now on the list. And, yeah, who knows; I was planning on bringing everything I needed with me but... well, wait until you get there. It was like being in a candy store! I'm already imagining how I could use the 3d printer as well as the vacuum former!

 

Oh... and the LASER ENGRAVER! WOW!

 

Would like to be there to observe the process and what is going to be needed to create a Mando on the 29th of Sept.

 

I personally am not sure about observers at this point; I want to give priority for space in the workshop to people who will definitely be crafting armor. If we have less than four sign up we would definitely have space. If we have eight, we definitely wouldn't. Between 4-7 participants, I'd leave it up to everyone signed up.

If you are asking what any armorer would need to create a mando you primarily would need to determine the material you would be using to fabricate your armor pieces (read the rest of this thread). Next you would need to determine what you will do about a helmet, boots, gloves, coveralls, as well as other personalizing details.

 

OH MY GOODNESS..... this sounds amazing .......I am so in .....I'm going to start writing down ideas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You're on the list!

 

Oh sorry. I thought this was for members who wanted to be in a mando tribe. I know Dave Barone was starting this with this thread. I didn't know it had advanced so far. I saw some people were starting to do things on their own but I didn't know that the Mando tribe was kinda set. I thought it was more of an instructional thing on how to start a mando. My bad.