Boba Fett Details #3

[Braks Buddy]

Once again, here we are, Fett fans. Thanks to EVERYONE who have made the first two threads a phenominal success. Interest has died down a little but we are still amassing valuable info. Please keep it coming!

As many of you know we have recently created a Mandalorian Reference Archive board called AS YOU WISH pub82.ezboard.com/basyouwish (http://pub82.ezboard.com/basyouwish). That board would not have been possible without all the information that has come to light in these threads. Many of the things we are going over have been covered before but have been topics of controversy. With your help we have been able to verify certain facts and lay down proof that is unquestionable. Again, I thank YOU because YOU made this happen. Here are a list of things that I am currently working on or were unfinished at the end of the Details #2 thread:

Chest Display - Should have dimensions set after this weekend...

Sonic Beam Weapon Finalization - After building three SBW I am ready to update my website and lay this project to rest.

Anti-Security Blade - This will be my next big project...

Survival Knife - We have the design and are currently looking for machine shops to make this out of aluminum.

Girth Dying - I have STILL not suceeded at this task and will look into it again when I build up the courage.

ESB Cape - I am not involved in this but several are searching for the original source or a good alternate to the ESB Cape.

Move Pertinent info from Details #2 Thread to the AYW board - Something I will be working on over the next week or so.

If there is anything I missed please remind me. Thanks again (that's three times).

Thread is open. Fire away!!!

[michael max111]

Ok I have a question I don't think anyone has brought up yet. The Bolt looking peice on the top of the JP is it a square or hex head? Anyone know. Also while I'm hear in BB's MoM pics on the right gauntlet back where the compression fittings are there looks to be a hose that runs along the side of the gauntlet also painted the same color of the gauntlet. Anyone care to expand?

BB great work! You're the man!

Mike

[Braks Buddy]

MM111, is this the jetpack part you are reffering to? If not can you be more specific? If it is, hopefully these pics will cover any quations you have.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=53726518

As far as the tubes that run DOWN the gauntlet from the compression fittings go, I can give you a guess at what they are but that is about it... I believe they are most likely copper tubing (but they could simply be stiff plastic tubing) that is welded/epoxyied/glued into the ends of the fittings and run down the length of the gauntlet. The lower one runs a little more than 3/4 of the length of the gauntlet and is cut at a sharp angle at the end, kind of like a gigantic needle. The other tube runs from the fitting THROUGH the housing on the lower outside part of the gauntlet and ends at the front of the housing, creating the tip (hole) for Fett's fibercord whip that he wrapped around Luke in RotJ. Hope this helps. Here is a pic from Hammerhead's collection that clearly shows both tubes.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=53726521

[TK1028]

Please e-mail me or post all questions that we want to ask Jeremy Bulloch abou the Fett suit. When we see him at various Cons, we can ask him about five or so at a time. If you catch him when the lines aren't long, he is more than willing to help. Let's pool our plans so that we aren't all asking the same questions.

My next question for him will be about the bottom display in the upper left chest.

What other questions do you have? He remembers an incredible amount!

On Monday morning of Dragon*Con 2001, I asked him many questions and one thing that he remembers DISTINCTLY is that both LEDs in the rangefinder were RED, they only operate when the rangefinder is down, and they flash intermittently. To show me, he lowered his head a bit and stuck two fingers out to where the rangefinder would be and he twitched one finger at a time saying "tick, tick, tick, tick" to convey the fact that the two lights went back and forth in a regular wig-wag pattern. He said those LEDs came on when you physically lowered the rangefinder. He also confirmed that the two triangles on the front of the helmet have never had lights in them, and there is NO switch in the helmet for the chest display, the chest is opperated by a switch in a pouch or pocket! He also said the chest display was red.

[michael max111]

BB thanks for the help on those items. So who has or where can I get that tubular piece on the top of the jet pack?

Damn cool Chris, but you should have nocked him on the head and pulled him away to somewhere where you could really make him talk. LOL.

Mike

[Braks Buddy]

Here are pics of my completed Sonic Beam Weapon. This is the third one I have made. Let me know what you think!

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=53782073


Here it is compared to the real deal. Not prefect but pretty close. Suggestions, as always, are welcome.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=53779071

[TK1028]

Hey Braks, that is beautiful. The color is PERFECT, I mean perfect. It really looks metal. The weathering is NICE. I was thinking about mabe rubbing some metallic silver makeup or something into mine, re-scratching it and coating it wth a shinier finish coat to try to make it look more metal like the ones pictured above.

One thing, though, that I have not noticed until now... that Art Of pic makes it almost look like there is a hole where the fourth knurl should be. That would mean that there is probably no spring in there, thus explaining the taper at the bottom. If you think this is so, I'll buy your third one! ;)

BTW, I'm serious about pooling our resources and developing a list of questions for JB for the next time one of us sees him at a con.

[Braks Buddy]

TK1028, the paint on yours should be fairly thick. You could always just sand it down very carefully until all the dull coat is gone and then do the weathering thing that I told you about with small rocks. Course you might have to redo the details but I can walk you through that. Sorry, got rid of the third SBW to you know who...

I have just been waiting for someone to bring up the fact that the hole in the original prop isn't filled in. I figured the first person who did would get a good whack from the heaviest thing I could currently lay my hands on... J/K

I saw that a while back. In fact the way the 4th knurl is hacked off is kinda crude and didn't look good to me at all. I took a little liberty with that to make mine more smooth and to make it look like it originally only had three notches.

In this case I am wrong but I am willing to be wrong because I believe it adds to the realism of the prop.

Here is a pic showing the hole:

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=53787981

[TK1028]

**whak** OW! Hey, the Chronicles book was never intended for that purpose!

(Braks, you are always about three thousand steps ahead of me.)

[Slave1]

Just a quick note to let everyone know I've got a couple Fett related items up on Ebay right now, including gloves and a rifle.

cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBay...=2&rows=25 (http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewListedItems&userid=slave1@ee.net&include=0&since=-1&sort=2&rows=25)

[Braks Buddy]

Slave1, how would you recommend weathering the gloves? (I already have a pair.) :)

[Slave1]

There should have been a note included with your gloves or I should have emailed if I didn't include a note. Typically I take artist chalk pastels (gray, brown, whatever color you want) and rub it across some fine grit sand paper to create a fine powder. Gently pat it onto the material. Works great.

Another idea is to just use them for regular yard work for a couple weeks. ;)

[TK1028]

And don't forget to leave them out in the sun for a few weeks to fade them out. DeanO did and his look great. I am currently trying to fade my vest fabric the same way; it is stapled to my back deck.

[Dean O]

I placed my gloves in a zip lock bag and left them outside everyday for at least 2 weeks. I just flipped them from one side to the other. Then add a little dirt and light dusting with some pray paint and you have some weathered Fett gloves. BTW, Shebly after spending a lot of time in them this weekend I have to say they are great! Thanks.

[Helmschmied]

hey guys..how was DCON??
Helm

[PropReplicator]

What about the color of the plumber's bob on the left ROTJ gauntlet? I've seen some pics that make it look gold with black indentations, some that make it look black with gold indentations, and some that make it look silver with black indentations.

Which is it?:(

[Braks Buddy]

Looks to me like this:

RotJ MotM: Black front half, Gold back half, Gold Holes

RotJ Art of Star Wars UK: Gold all over

ESB: Gold all over, possibly with black holes or maybe there just wasn't sufficient light...

Preproduction: Black front half, Gold back half, can't see the holes clearly.

Yet another reason why I believe the MotM and Preprodution suit are related...

[falken108]

Hi Braks
If you are still looking for someone to make the survival knife in aluminum, let me know. I have a friend who is a prop/knife maker and can probably come up with something.
Email me all the stuff..reference photos, what people expect to pay, all that sort of stuff. I can then give it all to him and see what he says.
Scott
falken108@hotmail.com

[Helmschmied]

I think I could do the knife also.
Helm

[Slave1]

On the gloves: "And don't forget to leave them out in the sun for a few weeks to fade them out. DeanO did and his look great. "

I typically recommend to people that they leave theirs in the window for a few sunny days to get that sun-faded look. It looks very natural when you let them fade just a bit on their own. A combination of fading and weathering just makes it look all that more realistic.

[Motorfish]

Shelby:

Did you recieve Squirk's Robocop helmet, paint, and MO safely?


Dan

[Slave1]

Yep, it showed up at work yesterday. Pretty cool looking item.

It also gave me an excuse to get the DVD. I think it worked; my wife said it was okay to buy the DVD since I needed it for reference ;)

[Braks Buddy]

Here is an updated pic of the chest display components with all 5 displays. These are the .3" Displays which I believe are INCORRECT! I think the real displays were .28" and am working with glimadyne to get some. However, if you are satisfied with .3" the Radio Shack part #s are listed below.

0.3" LED DISPLAY (Common Cathode) - 276-075
You will need 5 of these.

10-ELEMENT RED LED BARGRAPH DISPLAY - 276-081
You will need 2 of these.

These parts are mounted on a typical board. The 7 segment displays are not as thick as the bargraph displays so I had two cut out two small sections of board and place them under the 7 segment displays to raise them to the same height as the bargraphs.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=53884978

[TK1028]

I don't suppose we could find a simple rectangular light bar for the top display in a size smaller than .400 could we? 5 of those mounted horizontally across the top would look close enough for me.

Okay, the Radio Shack 10 element bars are each an inch wide right? We need something thinner to come out even with the .28 LED single digit displays, right?

Mouser has a light bar that is .195 wide by .8 tall; we could put ten of those puppies side by side and have a top display that was 1.95 inches wide. I don't know how wide five of the .28 bottom displays would be, but if they were a total of 1.95 wide, then I'd say go with the Mouser 512-HLMP-2350 and light 'em up two at a time.

Am I way off here? I think I'll go back to sleep.

[ShackMan]

I'm still not fully convinced that the bargrap LEDs were used for the top row. Considering the EXTREMELY short screen time this particular piece got, and how insignificant it is compared to other patrs of the costume (personally, it's been the most interesting part to me), I don't think they would have put to much time or effort into it. I mean, lok how pitiful some of the screen used props were, because they only had to look good for a short period of time and from a distance.

I would think that wiring up those bargraphs would be counter productive when they could just put in rectangular LEDs, like the ones shown here:

www.jdr.com/interact/item...mno=gr-led (http://www.jdr.com/interact/item.asp?itemno=gr-led)

Look a the top of the page, second LED on the left (3rd object from the left - the first one is a holder). And based on the size of the rectangular LEDs I've seen, it may even be the right size (in comparison) to be in poportion with the 0.3 inch 7-segment LEDs. I plan on ordering some to find out ...

What do y'all think?

ATM

[TK1028]

Okay, this Mouser catalog has some regtangular LEDs that are .245" by .145" (model 512-MV57124A) and some that are surface mounts (645-597-2001-202) and some that are only listed as 2mm x 5mm (645-566-0407).

[Braks Buddy]

TK1028, not to be ugly but I think you are way off and here is why. Even though there is a small difference in the size of the digits (.02") there is a huge difference in the overall size of the display between using the .28" displays and the .3" displays. According to my calcs the total length of the .3" displays is about 2.11" while the total length of the .28" displays is 1.5" According to my original calcs for the slots, I came up with a little over .26" in height and a little over 1.7" in length for the bottom slot. This falls in line pretty well with the .28" display. This is why I have been so picky about these points. .02" isn't noticable but it means the slots would be the length of the slots would be almost half an inch different which I believe would be VERY noticable. Check out these pics from Kapitein Iglo to see what I mean.


.3" Displays
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1309474&a=13067725&p=51696973&Sequence=0

.28" Displays
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1309474&a=13067725&p=51696972&Sequence=0

[TK1028]

BTW Shack, THANKS!

WOWSA! That difference is huge-- so much tighter together. Do you think the characters look that close in the pics of Fett?

This pic may have been retouched:
http://TK1028.homestead.com/files/close_up_of_display.jpg

[Braks Buddy]

Actually, no, the .3" has spacing that is closer to the real thing. This is why I am having such a dilema. I am just about ready to say "screw it" and just go with .3"...

[TK1028]

Um, couldn't we space them any way we wanted?

[BOUNTY HAUNTER]

Braks: 3 things...

1) First off...you rule for researching this chest light setup so thoroughly. I know that everyone here is going all out to be super anally-retentive on every tiny insignificant little detail of accuracy, but I think that the set up that you currently have pictured (assuming it works well within the costume) is more than sufficient to convince even the most descriminating Fett fan, let alone the average clueless movie-goer who we all enjoy having gawk at our costumes. Kudos!

2) When you mount the bar graph and digit counters onto the board, just how wide is this thing? (I mean how "thick" is it? Like if you were laying the whole thing down on a table, how high would it be? Am I making sense with this?) I just wanna know how far out from your chest this thing sits when you have it up on your left pec behind your armor plating. Is this going to be a problem? Maybe making the chest plate "bulge" out?

3) And let's just assume that some of us (not saying who...*ahem*) are total dimwits when it comes to electronics...

So exactly what is involved in wiring up these LED's and counters when mounted on the board? What would you use to power it? What additional hardware needs to be purchased to make it work?

Thanks again!

~Brian

[ruadh9978]

I am gonna have to second the request for how to hook this up, and what parts are needed aside from the actual LEDs. I am certainly a dimwit when it comes to electronics, but all I need is some dirctions and/or a diagram.

[ShackMan]

If BB can give us what he's got on the thickness/depth of the display, I'd venture to say that it' about as thick as you'd need to accomodate for. I'm looking at putting the control circuit no a separate board, and using something like ribbon wire (thin/flat wire used in computers) to connect the control board to the display. That way, you could put the lights right there in the chest, and the control board over the other pec (or lower if you'd like, with longer wire).

As far as powering it, I'm looking at using a 9V battery. For the control circuit (in my case, a microcontroller), you'd need a 5V regulator. The regulator won't take-up more than about a square inch of space on the circuit board, so it's not a concern.

Wiring up LEDs is pretty simple - relatively speaking. However, for anyone who admits he/she doesn't have much experience with electronics, I wouldn't suggest starting with 7-segment displays. There are a lot of pins to solder, and getting one of them wrong could prevent one or more displays from working properly.

I've got a chaser circuit for the top row working (had some spare time today). My prototype board uses regular LEDs though, and I don't personally have any way of filming it ... I did compare it against the animated file in the archive. I could tweak the speed down just a hair, but other than that, I just need to order some LEDs (rectangular and bargraph ... maybe compare the two).

Good luck,

ATM

[ruadh9978]

Thanks a big bunch for the info Shack man!

[TK1028]

Hey Allen, we understand how busy you are, so all of this is REALLY appreciated.

So, is there a general consensus yet about the lower dislpay. I mean, with what we think is the movie accurate display, the post you quoted states no delay between the two sets of characters. Personally, I think it woud look better to be blank, show the partially complete characters, then the full characters (or vice versa). But again, that's MY preference ... who knows if it's accurate or not (I know, we shouldn't go there ... everyone's pulling their hair out already). When I talked to him, I THINK I remember Jeremy saying that the bottom display didn't change. My mind was going a million miles a minute and he said so many things so quickly... ARGHHHH! If this is so, it would jive with what Jimmy said he saw. Barela said the bottom only got brighter when the top LEDs lit up, but they stayed on as the same characters.

Braksbuddy has just gotten a new picture and it shows a THIRD configuration for the bottom display. When he gets back, I'd like for him to take a close look at it and tell us if it looks like the same configuration as the others only missing more of the character segments. Shack, is it possible that, even if it was wired to not change, that some of the connections could have worked loose so that we might see a progressive diminishing of previously lit portions of characters in the display?

[ShackMan]

I wouldn't say it's impossible ... but not very likely. For that many segments to be dimming (going by the two sets of the "movie version"). And usually when a connection gets loose, the LEDs go from on to off - not a gradual dimming.

On a side note, does anyone out there have ESB on DVD? I'm talking about the one made from the laser disc. The reason I ask is because I just acquired a copy, and there's an excellent scene showing the chest lights - I just can't make them out. It lasts several seconds, so we should be able to see if they change or not (much less what they are) with a little scrutiny. On the pan and scan version (like VHS), while Han is being tortured on Cloud City, they show two troopers standing outside the dorrway. In the wide-screen version, to the right of the two troopers is Boba Fett, facing the camera. As I said, this scene lasts a few seconds, and you can see lights flashing - but I can't make them out. If someone else has this disc and a DVD ROM drive, we could get some screen grabs.

Thanks,

ATM

[Braks Buddy]

Totally off subject but I just thought I'd throw this in because I just happened to stumble over this pic...

Here is a Fett Cake my mother-in-law made for me several years ago. It was the first standup type cake she made and unfortunately it was too heavy so is kinda squished all down. She has gotten much better at it and I would love to see her do it again. Can you tell which helmet was the model for it? Check the visor area and it should become clear...

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=53903501

[TK1028]

What a nice mother-in-law you have!

Hmmm... It's not a screen-used or pre-pro helmet. Is it a regular Don Post?

And Shack, BB said it will take 20 rectangular LEDs. Oh, and with regard to the "loose connection" I wasn't talking about the fading or dimming phenomenon described by Jimmy, I was referring to the possible chronic progression (of losing PARTS of the characters) as shown below:
http://lonepigeon.home.att.net/fettled_esb.jpg
http://TK1028.homestead.com/files/AlternateChest.jpg

[Braks Buddy]

TK1028, yep, it was made from a regular Don Post. See how she made the visor two different colors just like the Don Post with it's crappy solid plastic lower visor half. I thought that was pretty funny. She didn't know it wasn't supposed to be that way...

[ShackMan]

TK-1028,

Ah, I see. Well, I guess the segmets could be dropping out due to poor connections. But I wouldn't think that was the case (with SO many of the segments dropping out). If so, they needed to hire someone that knew something about soldering. ;)

As far as the rectangular LEDs, what I'm talking about is using 5 of them. 20 would be for them to be standing vertically. What I'm looking at doing is setting them side-by-side horizontally. Again, I just think it's weird that they would have bought bargraph LEDs and wired all 20 of them for this "rrelatively" insignificant piece of a costume (which would barely be seen in the movie). I'm not totally ruling out the bargraphs though - I'm ordering both types for my prototype, to see which is best.

Like I said, don't hold your breathe. I tried ordering parts the other day, but some of the parts weren't listed on-line. So I had to wait until today, to order by phone. Anyway, they will come ... :)

Thanks,

ATM

[BOUNTY HAUNTER]

Ok...I'm following this so far...

So could anyone (Braks/Shackman) give us the make/model/serial numbers of the control circuit/chaser circuit hardware pieces?

I happen to know an electrical engineer here at work that could probably give me plenty of help in assembling this board(s).

I just wanna make sure that I buy all of the correct parts that you guys are saying look pretty convincing when in operation...

~Brian

[Braks Buddy]

Shackman, from the 3rd pic in the post above by TK1028, I think we can safely say that is not a single light... What do you think...

[Braks Buddy]

Very interesting stuff... I just bought the Action Figure Archive (after seeing TK1028's at Dragon Con). $30 was a bit steep in my opinion but there is a pic of Fett in there that I haven't seen before. And it shows the display! Once again, as with the Fett in ESB hallway and Fett in carbon freezing chamber with Vader, you can only see half of the last charater... I am now convinced this is NOT because of the angle but due to the fact that the slot for the bottom display IS NOT LONG ENOUGH for all 5 displays! I believe it is only big enough for 4.25-4.5 of the displays! This would fall in line PERFECTLY with the natural spacing of the .3" displays!

I also have found errors in my previous design for the Movie Accurate display as the display in one of the pics is obviously the same as the one with Fett and Vader in the Freezing Chamber.

See pics below for details.

Here is the pic I hadn't seen before:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=54069530

Here is a Chest Shot from the pic above VS the Vader/Fett in freezing chamber Chest Shot:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=54069534

[DL 44 Blaster1]

And the best part about the action figure archive is that it has more pics of the ESB Fett :) Oh,and BB I got the CAD drawings today,and I plan on getting them to the machine shop by weeks end.


Steve

[ruadh9978]

Any new developments with the chest LEDs? (kinda a bump I guess)

[PropReplicator]

What color is the "yellow" that is shown under the chipped green paint on Fett's armor in ROTJ. Is it about the same as the ESB helmet hashmarks? Sort of an ochre?

[Braks Buddy]

Bounty Haunter,

Here is a pic of the side of the display. It is approx 3/8" thick. I plan to take the bargraphs out and use 2X4mm rectangular LEDs instead. This should make the thickness even less.

As you may have noticed, there is no controller usint on this board. It will have to be set up seperately. As I have mentioned before (but am working at very slowly) I am preparing all my information for Glim so he can look into making us a unit.


http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=54220324

[TK1028]

What color is the "yellow" that is shown under the chipped green paint on Fett's armor in ROTJ. Is it about the same as the ESB helmet hashmarks? Sort of an ochre?

Where? On which version of the suit?

Cking's AoSW photopoint pics show different knees than BB's MoM pics and the yellow chips are different from knee to knee in the Barbican suit but the same from knee to knee on the MoM suit. Also, the yellow paint has been shown in pictures as being different from piece to piece of armor.

[ShackMan]

Aha! Someone else now speaks of using rectangular LEDs, huh? ;)

I checked the status of my order, and it shows that my parts should be here sometime today. Hopefully, in the next day or two, I'll have a prototype together. I've already got the driver circuit for the top row of LEDs - just waiting on my LEDs (ordered both rectangular and bargraph). I've also found a bug or two in my program to display the 7-segment characters, but I'll try to get the hardware assembled in the meantime (while debugging my code). Hey, I'm new to this micro ... cut me some slack. ;)

Anyone else having any luck getting the lights together?

Good luck,

ATM

PS. Please note that I'm NOT out to compete with Glim. He's the wiz at this sort of stuff (and MUCH better than me at sound projects), and a great guy. Since this was a "light" project, which is more my speed, I figured I'd take a stab at it and even talked with him about it back at the last Plano Con. Anyway, I've been wanting to get into programming these chips for ages, and this gave me an excuse to dive right in. If you want a working circuit fast - don't wait on me ... see Jim! :)

[glimadyne]

Shackman,

Have at it! Last I heard there were not many people wanting to buy these. So it is good you are stepping up and fronting all the time and money for the project (plus you get to learn something). I can only take this project on if it is able to bump off my paying customers. I wish I could do more freebie stuff, but I am unable to front time and money for projects any longer since I got burned one too many times. I have lots of old projects parts and boards sitting around here with no home. :( The only way I can work on this project is if I had orders and money upfront. To boot, I am up to my eyeballs with other projects.... Good luck!

[ShackMan]

Well, glad to hear you're keeping busy. Like I said, I just wanted to make it clear I wasn't trying to step on any toes. I don't any major sales ... this was just a pretty good project to get me into the PIC micro. Since my last post, I received my box 'o parts. I don't know if I'll have time to tinker tonight or tomorrow (we're having some MAJOR car problems which are sucking up my free time) ... but I'll get on it when I can. It's been plaguing my mind night and day. :rolleyes:

My next question is: Is there anyone in the DFW area that has a digital camcorder? Even if I build this prototype, I don't have a way of making an MPEG or AVI to show it. I can take some stll pics in the next few days, just to show what I meant between the bargrap and rectangular LEDs (size comparison).

Jim, maybe next year, after the wedding and all, I can buy up one or two of your homeless projects. I can think of one or two I'd like already. ;)

Thanks,

ATM

PS Any word yet on the "new arrival"?

[ruadh9978]

I admit I am really tired after a long weekend while writing this, so maybe I'm misunderstanding, but are one of you guys building this kit with the intention of offering kits to others who want to buy premade ones? If not, when all is said and done, and the design and patterns are finalized, will there be a parts list and how to post at the AYW board?

Thanks again everyone, I couldn't do it without you guys...or at least, not nearly so accurately.

[Braks Buddy]

ruadh9978, I can only speak for myself in saying that I have no intention of selling anything (and this is not being said because of LFL, I just don't have the time or desire to be a vendor). I will do EVERYTHING I can to help you and to make this as accurate as possible and then either I or the person who ultimately finishes the display (looks like Shackman is going to be our man) will hopefully post instructions here and on the AYW.

ruadh9978, this next part is directed towards you but just kinda falls into the same category so please do not be offended.

As I have said before I have two main desires here. The first is to dispel some of the old "truths" about how to build a Fett suit by replacing the incorrect information with provable facts.

The second is to use the info I amass to build my fett suit. Selling items just doesn't come into the picture. I know I sound like I am kinda going off on a rant but I have had a number of people email me asking about buying this or that and I just thought now would be as good a time as any to set the record straight. The ONLY things I will ever sell are "prototypes" that I have made that I am not completely satisfied with and hopefully there will be very few of those as I am not on an unlimited budget...

[Fenrear]

I for one am very intersted in the LED part of the suit, in either getting the instructions for its construction or purchasing the "unit" from a board member.

As far as realism goes, there is a Animated Gif someone made (maybe BB) on the Fett board of the display and i think it looks dead-on acurate. Although the bottom half of the display i think is never going to be agreed upon, as its just too blurry/not enough time to see what is really being displayed.

[ruadh9978]

I wasn't offended, nor was I asking to buy anything. I will always prefer to do things myself. I kinda studied how people did the harness, and made my own. The Leds, I'd prefer to do my own as I never have enough to afford the kits or what have you people offer. I just wasn't clear on what you guys were doing with this. I definitely appreciate the time and effort you guys are putting into doing this, especially since I have no real electronics know-how.

[ruadh9978]

hey, if anyone wanted to see my costume so far:

briefcase.yahoo.com/fett62877 (http://briefcase.yahoo.com/fett62877)

I still have to add the cape, which I foolishly didn't let the epoxy that held the clip on dry, so it came off before I even took pictures. It also needs some little touches, particularly the LEDs. Let me know waht you think, and go ahead and be honest please.

Some specifics on the suit: I kinda cheated on quite a bit of it. I did actually get the Bradley armor and jetpack. The helmet is a 95 post, which i was lucky enough to get 5 or so years ago before anyone knew it was theo ne to get. The blaster is a resin kit. The gloves are gardening gloves I altered myself. The jumpsuit is a pair of overalls that I added the pouches to, as well as making the pouches on the belt. The rope belt is actually yarn put together over two belts. The ammo pouches I found at an army surplus store, and have never seen anything that looked better without having to fabricate it (and I know those look a lot better, but still). The vest and hood is actually from Richie, who was a serious pleasure to deal with. The harness I made myself. The shoes I actually made myself too, but you can't even see them, so I'll have to get some pics of them as well. I just took a pair of boots, built a new sole (giving myself a bit more height as well), made the toe more square, covered the whole thing with grey fabric, added the toe spikes (which if I say so myself, look a lot better than some of the spikes people put on the boots they sell on ebay and such). Fortunately I'm not all that tall, so I don't suffer from the pinhead fett syndrome I talked about in another thread. The helmet doesn't look too bad, I think, as far as proportion, except in a couple of those shots. I know they're not the best quality pictures...ok, they're total crap, but I have no digital camera, just a hand-me-down snappy. I must say it was super cool to wear, and I really enjoyed running around in the costume. And one thing I always say, wear the costume, don't let it wear you. That's why I made sure all the bits and pieces are REALLY on there, so when I'm running around, aggressively posing, they don't fall or fly off. I refuse to appear to be a stiff fett. heh. Thanks for checking it out guys.

[TK1028]

Fantastic Ruadh! Can you tell us about your gauntlets and gun?

[ShackMan]

I fully agree with the above posts. I also (as with Braks) want to make it clear that I'm not looking at this project as a business strategy. I've discussed PIC programming with Glim since sometime early this year (or was it late last year?). Anyway, the point is that I've wanted to work with micros for quite some time. I see this as a good incentive to get going.

As Glim has pointed out, it's easy to *lose* money on deals like this. It's not cheap to do a limited run of PCBs, and there's usually not much interest except for the "die-hard" guys that can't or don't want to do it themselves. And everyone that knows me KNOWS that I can't afford to lose money at a time like this ... I have a wedding to pay for in just under 4 months! :eek:

So my outlook is this: I'm going to build up a prototype circuit. If there's no interest, I'll have a prototype to sell or trade (and I have someone in mind already, sorry). IF there is interest, I may see about having 3 or 4 made and sell them for a little above cost. I've got about $200 worth of development product here already - and that's just for the programmer, book (so I could re-learn assembly), and parts for one prototype. If I sold these, it would be to try and recoup *some* of my costs. Believe me, I don't do "get rich quick" schemes. I mentioned my interest in this project over a month ago (roughly) to another board member, who has been nice enough not to bring it here. I asked him not to mention it because I will NOT promise to make something, only to have people waiting on me and end up disappointed. I'm working on this in my scarce spare time, but I AM working on it. Just didn't want to get anyone's hopes up until I new I at least had the resources to get started. :)

Now once I have a working circuit, what I might be willing to do is offer up a schematic. For anyone confident in your soldering skills and electronics knowledge, you could make the circuit yourself, and I'd sell you a programmed chip to drop into your circuit. But again, I'm getting ahead of myself. My point was that I'm not out to make a bunch of money. I love electronics, and this was an opportunity for me to try something new. I'll *try* not to let y'all down. :)

Now, with that said ... here are the parts I got yesterday (laid out for size comparison):

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=467384&a=4731438&p=54247190&Sequence=0&res=high

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=467384&a=4731438&p=54247189&Sequence=0&res=high

This is how I planned on laying out the rectangular LEDs ... only these are kinda small. I may see if I can find slightly larger ones, or put two side by side. Of course, if everyone agrees on the bargraph LEDs, that would still be a possibility.

Thanks,

ATM

[ShackMan]

By the way, do we have a good set of measurements for the top row of lights? I mean, do we know for sure that they should be the same length as the bottom row of 7-seg displays ... or is it just that the window is the same length?

I'm just wondering, IF I go with rectangular LEDs, how close/spread apart should they be?

Thanks,

ATM

[jbarela]

Shackman...from what I see from the movie ..each character has a light above it ..I think it should be at least two rectangular leds above each character....I sent BB some rediculously terrible pics of fetts chest when the top lights sequence...again terrible pics but the lights can be made out..so basicaly I was showing that I can and did see the sequence for the top lights..

!!!GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL OF ITS CITIZENS!!!
"WE ARE COMMING FOR YOU DEAD-LADDEN"
JImmy

[TK1028]

The latest word I got from Braksbuddy is a wonderful discovery of the following measuurements for the slots:

Height of top slot: 4mm.
Distance between slots: 8mm.
Height of bottom slot: 8mm.
Length of slots: 43mm.

Dean Overaker wired a bar graph in his and it looked great, but his programmed pattern was different than the one identified by Jimmy.

What are the dimensions of the LEDs? Would they go all the way across the top of the 7segs if we made each "light" out of TWO horizontal LEDs? I still kinda agree with BB when he says that he believes there are many, many vertical LEDs (more work, I know, but a different look altogether.)

[ruadh9978]

THanks tk1028. THe gauntlets were part of the bradley kit. I added some buttons and doo-dads to both. THe lil' darts (which I realize you cannot see, I think I'll try to do some closeups of some of the bits next time) on the right gauntlet are just pen tips. The rifle was a resin kit from Universal Armorer. THat's the only thing I've ever bought from them, and had a funny feeling about them after that, so I'm glad I stayed away after. It's not the most accurate rifle, particularly the stock. In fact, the stock is pretty damn inaccurate, but the rest looked good. I think it's a mre accurate rifle than the one golden armor offers. That's one of the things I'll most likely replace eventually. It was the second thing I ever bought, after the helmet. Well, as far as what I still have. I've been putting this together, redoing this, replacing that, for the passed 5 years. My first costume looked incredibly awful. All that's left is the helmet, which has since been repainted twice, with a new visor I added.

[Braks Buddy]

Shackman, first off let me say that I REALLY appreciate your expertise in this area. I have NO knowledge of electronics what-so-ever. Understanding the two ends of a battery is about as far as I go. Your displays are very interesting. Here is my take on your questions.

The "windows" (slots) for the top and bottom displays are approx. the same length and each appears to be segmented into 5 sections. The lights in the top section appear (if they were all lit at the same time) to completely fill the slot. Jbarela will hopefully back me up on this. The lights extend all the way to the edges of the slot and appear to butt right up against each other. I still maintain that each segment consists of 4 upright LEDs. 20 - 2mmX4mm rectangular LEDs would work PERFECTLY for this. There total length would be 40mm and the total length of the slot would be 43mm so with the slightest bit of spacing (between banks of LEDs not between the LEDs themselves) the LEDs would completely fill the slot area!!! If there is ANYTHING I can do to help this project along, please let me know. I am more than willing to help fund it as much as possible.

[ShackMan]

Like I said before, I'll go along with majority vote ... I'm no Fett expert. :)

I haven't measured the LED segments on my bargraph LEDs. I'll try to measure both the bargraphs and rectangular ones tomorrow at work. If the bargraphs are close enough, it would eliminate any slop in trying to evenly space 20 separate LEDs.

Thanks,

ATM

[michael max111]

A few things, do we have accurate measurements on the fett soft parts like the shin and thigh pockets?
How thick is everyone makeing the vest that the armor mounts to and has anyone found a good material do make it from?
Can someone recommend what I can use to strip the printed bar code off my braided hose, denatured alcohol, paint thinner and acetone won't take it off.
Who's been able to dye thier rope belt ROTJ red, that they are happy with?

I have a few things if anyone needs them I'd be happy to mail them to you.
ROTJ resin blaster stock, scope, stock details ESB helmet decal set, resin knee darts.

Drop me a mail if you need any of this stuff.

Mike

[imprissonedfett]

MichealMax111,
I saw on your post that you are selling a blaster. Please email me about this with pics if you have them. I would be happy to take it off your hands. Thanks for the help.
ImprissonedFett

[Mandalorian]

BB, Jimmy, other Fetter's: we need to decide ASAP on the exact size of slots for the chest armor so Helm can finish up the armor.

Please respond to this thread:
pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstitanicfrm21.showMessage?topicID=4484.topic (http://pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstitanicfrm21.showMessage?topicID=4484.topic)


M. :smokin:

[TK1028]

Yeh, ATM... what do you think. BB suggests just "buying 20 LEDs and gluing 4 of them together side by side vertically, that way you don't have to line up each individual LED.. You simply wire the four together and they would act as one."
pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstitanicfrm21.showMessage?topicID=4484.topic (http://pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstitanicfrm21.showMessage?topicID=4484.topic)
Can this be done?

[ShackMan]

Can it be done ... sure. That's pretty mcuh how I was going to wire the bargraphs anyway. Not in parallel mind you - in series. Running off a 9V source, you could put 4 in series ... but that wouldn't work down to a very low voltage. You'll probably want to groups of series-parallel LEDs. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry - it's not too complicated. Just helps ensure that they'll work down to a lower voltage, as well as having a fairly uniform brightness.

Now, as far as gluing them together, that's up to y'all. I don't see why it won't work ... the question is how good will it look? If someone else wants to try, and show us the results, I'm for it. As far as putting it on a circuit board, I'd think that a board could be etched with the holes close enough that the LEDs would almost touch. Of course, I've never had a board etched ... yet ... :)

Good luck,

ATM

[Braks Buddy]

I am almost finished with my Paterson Survival Knife. The only thing I have left is to airbrush on the odd color seen in the picture below. Can anyone give me an idea of what you think that color is?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=54298992

Here is my weathered knife. Can't really see the weathering all that good here but it is pretty banged up!

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=54298994

[TK1028]

That color looks different in every single picture I've seen. (Darn studio gels.)

Again, your weathering technique is AWESOME. Did you use the same paint on your knife, SBW and ASB? In each pic I've seen, the ASB seems to be brighter and shinier than the other pieces.

[ruadh9978]

I was considering wearing my costume at work for halloween (I most likely won't...8 hours, at a desk...nah). but I was imagining walking down the halls, and rethinking it, seeing what I'd have to observe as far as manuevering (halls here are kinda narrow, especially the doorways), and I thought of a detail I don't know if *anyone* has ever mentioned. I was thinking "jeez, it'd be kinda cool to have some sort of fett version of jingling spurs", and I remembered that he has a little pinging noise that always accompanies him. THe best times to hear this are when he looks at the camera in ANH, and a bit during his first scene in ESB on the bridge. Ben Burtt said it's some sort of telemetry pinging sound or something. Fett doesn't have any kinda spur noise though, does he? but anyways, after the LEDs on the chest are sorted out, perhaps someone who REALLY wants to go all out will figure out the ping noise.

[TK1028]

It has been widely acknowledged that there _is_ a jingling spurs efftect used with Fett. You can hear it especially well in ESB when Fett first appears after Vader deflects Han's blaster bolts on Bespin.

Until Jim adds this to a vortex package (witht he motion sensor mounted in your legs) I have been kicking around the idea of making a mechanical version of this to hide in one of the Fett pockets. The stuff I carry around in my pockets each day sound almost like spurs (my clip-on sunglasses bounce agianst my cell phone in one pocket and my loose change bounces against my keys in another pocket). It shouldn't be too difficult to build a hollow metal tube with some metal "clanger" on the tip of a spring inside the tube, to re-create the sound. Does anyone have any better ideas?

Ah, now to listen for the pings...

[ruadh9978]

That's cool about the spur noise. I almost thought there was one, but was trying to remember the scene when Luk first sees him, and couldn't remember a sound there. You're right about the dining room scene though, i can kinda hear it in my mind now. Damn, well I'll certainly be happier with that than the pinging sound, which would be cheaper anyway. Cool.

[Braks Buddy]

Good eye TK1028! You are right and I hadn't even noticed! The ASB IS more shiny. It looks almost chrome while the SBW looks a dulled (weathered) silver.... As I was looking back over some ref pics I noticed some very striking differences. For one, the color and painting of the SBW for RotJ is completely different than for the preproduction suit. The preproduction SBW has a very clean (unweathered) look to it. It is definitely silver in color. The SBW from RotJ is a very dull almost dark grey color and looks like it was painted VERY thinly over the light grey color of the Paterson squeegee. It has a very grainy looking texture to it... Also the ASB looks to be nearly the same color as the SBW in the preproduction photos but VERY different in the RotJ photos.

Maybe I need to go back and rework one or the other because at the moment they are both the same color. What do you think? Her are some pics to look at...

Preproduction
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=54301973

AoSW, UK
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13204164&p=54301974

[TK1028]

I would focus on the tour suit over any prepro pics because, even if they are the exact same ones in both pics, chances are the prepros have been repainted before making screentime. BB, you might try to chrome-up the ASB instead of dulling down the SBW. We know what a dullcoat does to the SBW.

[Fenrear]

Just reviewed ESB Dinner Scene, Definate spur like noise. What comes to my mind is the jingling of all those tools etc in his pockets.

[Braks Buddy]

Good point. I'll try to get some testor's chrome paint asap!

[Fenrear]

Any LED News? (to the top with thee!)

[imprissonedfett]

Braks I think that the color on the survival knife is a salmon color. They almost look like stripes to me but really faint ones. I know that you are color blind so any help from the members would be appreciated. I just wanted to put in my 2 cents.
ImprissonedFett

[TK1028]

BB, et al. where are we going to make the permanent home of the Details Threads?>_< :grumble

[TK1028]

BB, et al. where are we going to make the permanent home of the Details Threads?

Okay, I guess it is not here... :wave

[Irishpride1972]

Hello, I was just wondering what you all are discussing the construction of? I'm new here, but if it has to do with fett, I'm in. If you are making custom Fett pieces, including helmet, then maybe I can help.

[Irishpride1972]

Whats going on here? Boba fett construction, maybe I can help.


Irishpride1972

[Irishpride1972]

I also am in the midst of constructing a Fett costume. I am on the he;met now. Fiberglass, kevlar, and cast molding are some of the things I have used thus far.

[Irishpride1972]

Fiberglass and kevlar are what I am using to construct my functional Fett helmet, any suggestions or questions? Also my vest is of leather with armour riveted onto it, for an earlier question.