ESB V3.0 Painted

ESB Helmet Version 3.0

This is the fourth Helmet that I have purchased so far for my Fett Costume (refer to earlier posts for Version 1, 2, and my Aluminum Bonus Helmet). Hopefully this helmet will be one of the last ones that I will purchase for myself. A brief history of the lineage of this helmet is that it was cast off a casting of the Pre-Production 2 Helmet. You can read more info on the helmet here. I purchased this helmet back in October or November of 2011, and after long production delays, I received my helmet on March 26, of 2012. Quite a wait there. The helmet is a slush cast in resin making it lighter and more flexible, however I fear that it will also be susceptible to warping. All the original helmet were cast in fiberglass which holds its shape better over time, but can be brittle and crack easily if mishandled or dropped. I would like to add some fiberglass to the inside of the helmet to help hold its shape, and keep it from flexing too much or warping due to moisture or heat. Along with the helmet came a set of resin "ears", that I will switch out with a machined aluminum set. Time to purchase an Air-Brush to get this baby painted.

New ESB Blaster Greeblies Part 2

For Boba Fett's ESB blaster there are three known Hirschmann LMK/AM Aerial/Earth Connectors (Model No. 730 851) attached to the stock. Two on the front face and one on the back face. These connectors are old wire covers used to plug in an antenna to a vintage UK style radio. These plugs have been coveted by Fett collectors as they have been hard to come by. I have signed up with vintage UK radio forums seeking these plugs, but the word is out that only Fett costumers are looking for them, so they raise the price to a small fortune or you get banned from the forum pretty past. Which is what happened to me. One post saying I wanted a plug, and bam, immediate ban. Luckily, someone on The Dented Helmet was able to locate a box full of these plugs being stored in some basement, so I was able to purchase three from him. These are vintage plugs, and identical to the ones used on the original blaster. Once these little guys arrived, I drafted up the plug and uploaded it to Shapeways.com so anyone who wants a 3D printed copy, can buy one cheap. You can pick one up here.

Building the Shin Tools

I have been sitting on these parts for awhile. I had just recently ordered replicas of the Michell Engineering Stylus Brush that was used on the Anti-Security blade of Fett's shin tool. They are machined aluminum and are near identical to the real thing.
To get started I used my small hobby saw to cut the Paterson squeegee’s end off, the third finger grip off, and the end of the Paterson stirring rod off. Now I just need to get a sheet of plastic cut to shape to finish off the Anti-Security blade, paint them up, and done with set one. Minus the unidentified part.

New Pre-Production 1 & 3 Flame Unit Connector

Here is another of Boba Fett's Rocket Pack greebles. It is seen on the bottom of his Rocket pack in the Pre-production 1 costume. The same Rocket Pack was used again in the Pre-Production 3 costume. In the Pre-production 2 costume this greeble was moved or removed altogether, as it is not seen with the others on the back of the pack. It is still unclear where this connector is located on the ESB or ROTJ Rocket Packs, or if it was on them at all. It is an ITT Cannon XLR-3-32 3 pin male socket connector. The female connector is an ITT Cannon XLB-3-110, however it was the silver end version that was used. This electrical connector is typically used for Audio equipment, but was used as the power source for the flame unit on Fett's left gauntlet. I've been on the hunt for the correct manufacturer for awhile. Once it was identified, I was able to track it one down and picked up a set. XLR-32 3 pin is pretty generic and you can find a lot of very similar style connectors, but ITT Cannon is the correct one with its logo stamp on the bottom and Part No. stamp on the top. It's all in the details.

New ESB & ROTJ Right Gauntlet Switch Button

These two switches are on the right gauntlet. They are Alco switches by Tyco Electronics. There are several models that are practically identical. These are still pretty available by searching the serial number.

New ESB & ROTJ Right Gauntlet Darts

Up next is a set of Gauntlet Darts. There are four located on the right gauntlet. These darts are from a JA Michell Engineering sweep arm brush. There is only one of these spindles per sweep arm brush. I was fortunate enough to make a trade for them. These are no longer being made by JA Michell Engineering. The second set where machined by RBReplicas.

New ESB & ROTJ Rocket Pack Stabilizer

This is the Rocket Pack Stabilizer (or Missile Targeting Range Finder according to the Visual Dictionary). This is a found item that comes off a vintage JA Michell Engineering Hydraulic Reference Turntable Sweep arm assembly. This little guy, and I do mean little, is the stand or base of the sweep arm. It comes in variable sizes. I was able to obtain two machined replicas that were made to match the originals precisely.

New ROTJ Wookiee Braids Version 1.0

This is my first set of ROTJ Wookiee braids, or 'scalps' made by Julie. They are braided from horse hair to closely match a diagram that I drew up based on the available reference photos. I placed an order for them in February of 2007 and they finally arrived! They are still missing one braid that I will have Mary-Frances braid for me. I will then tie them together and add a snap to the vest where they will attach.

New ESB EE-3 Blaster Greeblies

I have actually had these parts for several years now. The first one is part No. 65, Connecting Rod on a 1977 Revell Visible V8 Engine kit. These kits are very popular, making them on the pricey side, if you can find one. The second part is a set of Tyco Electronic 6-pin Molex Connectors. They normally come in 'white', but the individual selling them was able to 'dye' them black with a plastic dye that chemically bonds to the plastic, altering the color. Don't ask me about how to exactly do this, as I have no idea. But it's not painted black, which makes them all the more cool.

New ESB Helmet Range Finder View Screen

This little guy is the lens seen on the bottom of the Range Finder. It comes off a Polaroid SX-70 Camera. The lens is the View Finder Lens on the camera, so it was ideal to be used where it is on the costume. The Lens itself is Magnifiying, so and Image I put behind it, is 'blown-up' on scale. The lens so far only appears to be on the ESB costume.

New ESB & ROTJ Helmet Key Slot Circuit

This is the circuit board that is found inside the MQ-1 Casio Calculator. The calculator keypad was used for the left gauntlet, while this little guy was glued to the inside of the helmet. You can see it through the 'key slots' in the back. Just click on the images to see larger photo.

Updated All Photos

Well Rumor had it that my photos were not visible to all since I was linking them from Flickr.com. So I reloaded every single photo, plus some new ones straight to the blog itself. So hopefully, they should all be viewable. Minus two.

New ESB Utility Hip Storage Pouches Version 3.0

Same story with the ROTJ pouches, just wasn't 100% happy. I also made these out of a Cotton Twill fabric, tweaked the pattern a little, dyed them using Royal Blue and Pearl Gray. It was too dark of a blue at first, so I used a little color removal to get the color it is now. The color doesn't seem to be identical as it is in person as opposed to taking a photo of it. But they are done. I even added a Velcro strip to the top like the originals. Oh and this time the flaps are both going the correct direction.

New ESB & ROTJ EE-3 Blaster

Here is a 1917 Webley & Scott Mark 1 Flare gun. It is the base for both blasters. It is the second one I have been able to purchase, but I sold the first one (see brief story in previous posts). These babies are hard to come by. I will be molding this thing to make both blasters so I am not caring around a real flare gun. It is pretty heavy too. Isn't it beautiful?

New ROTJ EE-3 Blaster Greebly

This little model piece is off a Revell F-4E Phantom II kit. It was used kit-bashed and added to Fett's Blaster, on on either side of the barrel to cover over the 'Webley & Scott" logo stamp, as well as to give it a more futuristic look. I wont use these original parts on the finished blaster since that one will be a resin casting, but will cast these in resin too and use them. No point on having a replica blaster with orignial parts. If they broke or fell off and got lost, I would be up a creek.

New ESB & ROTJ Helmet Data Port

A Borden 3-hole Connector was cut from its base, turned upside down and fiberglassed in place in the helmet. This little guy is the nifty detail you see on the right cheek. Upon investigation, this particular model isn't the correct one, so I may upgrade these later if I ever do find the correct 3-Hole connector. Oh, this thing is used for drills by dentists. It is one of a few dental items used on the original costume.

New ESB & ROTJ Rocket Pack Connector

This is a BNC Connector that is seen among the other little greeblies on the backside of the Rocket Pack. It is likely that the connector itself was functional, sending power to the Chest Lights via a cable. There was also a stip of masking tape under it labeled "Supply to Digital 6 volts + on centre pin". These things are tiny. I am still looking for two of the five connectors seen.

New ROTJ Honor Sash Version 1.0

The Honor Sash is made from a English style Mohair horse Girth. It is another one of those found parts that were used for the original costume. Nylon black webbing was added to the buckle at one end allowing it to be belted around the waist. It was originally designed to go on the underside of a horse and attach to each side of a saddle. So the girth has the buckles and the saddle has the straps.

I bought the white 36" girth and dyed it with scarlet and wine Rit dyes. First I did just the wine. Which made it more of a purple/pink color. Just horrible. Then I got the scarlet and had it in the dye bath for 90 minutes to get the color it's now. The ties that held the girth together had to go as they where more a peach color and not on the original costume. So I removed them. However this caused another problem. Now I had two halves of the girth. So I grabbed some extra gray fabric, laid it behind the girth and stitched the two halves together. Worked great, now it's finished.

New ESB & ROTJ Rocket Pack Connector

Here is a found item that is seen on the backside of the Rocket pack. By backside, I do not mean the side you see when looking at my back, but the inside of the rocket pack that faces my back that no one sees. That's right, I got a detail that literally no one will know about or see, but it's there on the original pack so it will be on mine. It is a female 5-pin XLR Connector. On a strip of masking tape under it written in sharpie "+4- feeds & switch returns for wrist units". It was most likely used to supply power to the LED's and switches on the gauntlets.