Wip - Star Wars Galaxies Composite Boots

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ArcherShadow

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Hey guys, thought I'd share my current project with you.

I used to be a hardcore Star Wars Galaxies player, but stopped when Sony changed the game with the NGE. I've recently found a project trying to emulate the original game engine, so that's got my interest up. For those of you who didn't play (probably everyone, heh), most people wore armour called composite, which looks like this:

180px-Composite_Armor.jpg


I'm in the process of getting the 3D files to see if it can be pepped, but in the meantime I've started work on the boots. Here's another image of them:

screenshot0018y.jpg


First step was a pair of what we call "welly boots" in the UK, I think you just call them rubber boots in the USA. I was hoping for plain black so I wouldn't have to colour them, but these were the only ones I could get that were a good fit:

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Then I cut them up a bit, because they were too loose:

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And stuck them back together with duct tape (there's some hot glue in there too, but it wasn't adhering well to the boots).

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At this point the boots were just a little looser than skin tight, enough to comfortably walk in them and tuck in trousers.

For the "spats", I wrapped some regular printer paper around the arch of the boots and cut it to about the right shape. I then traced the outline on craft foam, cut it out, and hot glued it in place. I knew the boots had to be black underneath (that flowery pattern wasn't going to cut it, heh) and I was worried that paint would crack, so I wrapped them in black duct tape. On the plus side, the boots in the game have a slight texture . . . on the negative side it's clearly duct tape :p But I figured, why not give it a go.

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At this stage they started looking recognisable. I tested out walking in them and walking doesn't seem to make the foam move, so it should be okay when hardened.

Next stage was to cut out the sections for the shinpads:

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These are also made of foam (though in retrospect I don't know why I used it), backed with corrugated cardboard. I've since tweaked them a little to make them more game-accurate, but just going off screenshots and my drawings it was tricky to get right.

For the pads at the back, I stuck on a piece of printer paper, drew roughly what I thought the pads should look like, and cut it out. (Cutting out a mirror image copy for the other boot.) I then cut out corrugated cardboard and foam using the paper as a template. I curved the cardboard and temporarily stuck it onto the boots with Scotch tape, and then hot-glued on the foam (the foam curves easily and two layers glued together help keep it in shape).

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You can't really see it well in that pic, but the curves are holding pretty well.

Here's everything stuck in place with tape in a temporary mock-up. You can see the drawings I worked from in the corner:

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And here's a look at the temporary back:

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The ankle of my boot is too narrow as compared to the game, which is making the shinpads look too wide - I've reduced them in size a little which helps, and I think it will also help to have them at the right angle (they don't go straight up, when finished they'll lean forward a little).

I also got pretty paranoid about the fiberglass resin destroying the craft foam, so I've added a layer of cardstock to the shin and calf pieces (this is also helping the calf pieces hold curved shape). I'm a little worried about the spats area, because it will be tricky to stick on a protective layer of cardstock. Does anyone know if the resin will damage it? If not, I'll just test some out.

The next stage will be to fiberglass the shinpads, calf pads, and spats. Depending on the final texture that gives me, I might just stick the pads on, paint it, and call it a day.

I'm not sure if I should glue the calf and shin pads on, or possibly use velcro. The boots are also a very tight fit so I'm thinking of putting a zip down the side (inside edge, so it won't be too obvious).

For my first scratch built, non-pep project I'm pleased with how this is turning out, though I think I'd do some things different if I try again. Thanks for reading and any comments, crits, or advice are much appreciated :D
 
Ithica posted an experiment today to show what would happed, It will warp and bowed,but other than that you're good and that's preventable.
 
Yeah, I just saw that video, good stuff.

I think I'll maybe paint the foam first to try to seal it a bit and reduce warping/bowing, but it looks like there will be no eating. Good stuff!
 
Hey guys, here are some updates!



I've fiberglassed/resined both "spats" and trimmed off the excess from them - next step there is to sand the edges and surfaces, the surface looks fairly good so I'm hoping I can avoid any awkwardness of bondo. Right now, the thin layer of fiberglass tissue and thick layer of resin is nicely flexible, as per Ithica's video - so if I can get the surface texture nice all is good.



The shinpads and a couple of calf pads are all bondoed, but this is a new process for me so I don't really know how well it's going to hold up and how many times I'll need to do it. Aside from bondoing/sanding to get the surfaces right, I'm also in the process of putting bondo along the edges, to fill in the gaps from the corrugated card.



I *think* I'm giong to attach each set of calf pads to foamie and velcro that to the back of the boots . . . I might just go with velcroing each piece individually. My opinion on that changes frequently, heh. Not sure how to mount the shinpads yet, but I think I want to make a "top" to hold them together relative to each other and make it a more solid shape; foamie sheets are likely to come in here too.



Anyway, pictures!





Here's both sets of calf pads, fiberglassed, and with the big excess lumps of fiberglass removed with a hacksaw:



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And the same for the shinpads:



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Shinpads with the edges sanded, and surface sanded very slightly:



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And here's some of the calf pads sanded the same:



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For this initial sanding, I used 40 grit aluminium oxide paper, wrapped around a block. Seemed to do the job very well.



Here are some quick mockups with tape of the pads attached to the shin and calf:



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The "spats" come off quite easily (which will make painting, and potentially changing the surface of the boot, much easier in the future). Here's one of them on my foot for comparison. Monday socks on a Friday . . . disgraceful.



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Assorted pads mid-bondo:



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Assorted pieces waiting to be bondoed:



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And finally, a shot of a boot and a spat, though this was before they were smoothed with extra resin:



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Imageshack.us is some kind of genius . . . it just put in an add for the exact type of bodyfiller I used for this, heh.



Tomorrow there's no Wimbledon to distract me (COME ON RODDICK!) so I'll see how much I can get done. I imagine sanding, plus bondoing, plus sanding, plus bondoing, plus sanding, plus bondoing, plus sanding . . .



Thanks for looking, guys!
 
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