Topic: Functional Mandalorian Armor

Hey could somebody help me? I was thinking of making functional Mandalorian armor and I was thinking how heavy it would be if I were to make it with steel and cotton. Since im just a beginning engineer i don't now exactly what im doing.  :)

Well, that really depends on how thick you're making the plates. But steel armor can weigh quite a lot. I've known medieval suits that weigh upwards of 100lbs. But that's for full plate. So I'd put an estimate around maybe 50-80lbs, depending on how many plates you use, and how thick you make the plates themselves. :)

In our costume guide here at BFFC, one costumer recommends sheet metal for the armor instead.

Ah... I was thinking of using plexiglass for the chest armor

So, plexiglass as well as actual steel and cotton?

Well no what i meant was instead of using steel or whatever, i use plexiglass.

Also how complicated is making Boba's blaster rifle?

You can actually sometimes find an EE-3 resin cast online. But if you want to make it from scratch, I recommend trying to find something with relatively the same style handgrip. Then everything else is just a matter of PVC piping and plastic pieces. So not all that complicated, if you know what you're doing. :)

As far as plexiglass for the armor plates, I would really recommend Sintra or some other form of plastic over it, because plexiglass is not very easy to mold into the shapes you'll need, and it doesn't take paint very well at all. Sintra is a bit expensive, but all you need is heat to mold it.

Ok thanks that will help!  :)

So whats EE-3 and where would i find some Sintra? Whenever i search for Sintra i get a country.

Whats the best tool for cutting relatively thin sheet metal?

Try looking for Sintra plastic specifically. EE-3 is Boba's weapon. If you want a Fett armor, it's good to have all the pieces for it. :) Also, I'd really recommend using a metal-specific jigsaw or rotary cutting tool for metal. Though you can usually use tin snips for really thin stuff, but your edges will need grinding down if you do that.

Thanks.

Steel would be heeeeeeeeavy...

Most Fett costumers use sintra or styrene. There are some builders that buy fiberglass Fett armor which is a lot better, but obviously not easy to make if you aren't crafty like that.

I've also seen armor made from car hoods. Pretty nice, but has a lot of weight on you costume's soft parts.

If you use sheet metal, be sure to buff the edges out real good so you don't have a bunch of sharp edges.

Good luck.

I would advise against any kind of 'functional' Mandalorian armor because that in itself is a contradiction. The spacing that the costume plates have in them would make any sort of protection against ...well, anything.

As far as costume-making goes, we have a great guide on how to make Boba Fett armor or you can check out costume clubs like the Mandalorian Mercs for more custom stuff. Good luck with your build!

Hi I am about to start making my metal mandalorian armor as well. And you could to ease the weight use hydraulic and pneumatic pistons.  And you could have smaller joints that way to because you would not need to bend a much. And for the inner parts on the joints you could use hinges to let it bend.

Also doing this would let you have thicker armor so instead of sheet metal you could use about 1/2 inch thick steel. And instead of steel you could also use aluminium.

Darth kuruptios, great tips! Be sure to share your work in progress with us here, if you'd like!