rickyboyblue

OTHER SOFT GOODS There's not much to say about these other items but that fact that like them enough to have actually used them during the holidays. (OCT 2018) And because of Jafo's relentless pursuit of Mud perfection, he unearthed the undershirt used by the actors in the movie. While not seen and not a requirement of the proposed CRL, I decided to get one. Might as well, right? This is the closest we'll ever get to living the dream of being a Star Wars character -- building a costume that is as close to what they wore in the movies!

TONIC TUNIC & HOT PANTS In anticipation of the tunic, one of the first items I ordered was the silver PVC cog patch offered by Jim Lau from the FB group. It was funny that by the time Jim mailed it to the US, I was in Hongkong. And Jim lives in HK. (SEP 2018) Jim's tunic is one piece of pretty. It took me a while to reconcile with myself that I'll be messing up a fine piece of clothing. But what the heck... My only regret was for some strange reason, I never got to take a picture of the clean tunic. Arggh! (DEC 2018) I was actually surprised that I was able to take a picture of Jim's Mud pants before I massacred it with layers upon layers of acrylic paint... I initially tried Sebastian's street chalk method. It was a nice idea but it comes off easily and it tends to be dusty. Plus I wanted a more permanent solution so I kept with my acrylic paints. Fortunately, it registered well on the pants.

THE COMPLETED PLASH PALATKA (as of JAN 2019)

PARKING THE PARKA (Part 3: Rigging the Plash to the Body Armor) Another dreaded build prospect for me was finding out how I could put on the Plash on the armor properly, easily, and consistently. This costume is going to be trooped eventually. My mind is already in the process of dressing up and down and wondering how much help I would need from handlers... Again, my default was snaps on straps. Oh, if all the world's ills could only be solved by these! (DEC 2018) Armed with two webbings with snaps on its ends, I identified two strategic points on the plash and sewn the webbings on them. Then I identified two good points on the front armor that can act as the main anchor for the plash. I installed a good amount of paracord through the back part of the plash so it can help bring up the plash, in support of the snap anchors. I've yet to find an efficient and easier way to tie these cords up. But the snap-cord combination is the system for me. The only thing left is to ask a handler to fold the points at the back so the parka falls and flows smartly.

NOT DYING TO DYE (Part 2: aka turning the waterproof green Plash to black) In researching and learning from experiences of the wonderful folks at the Mudtrooper Builders group, I'm astounded by the different ways folks try to dye the green Plash into black. Apparently not an easy feat because these babies are waterproof and the dye don't easily adhere to the cloth. I've never dyed anything in my life before, I see folks soaking their Plashes on a pail filled with black dye, stirring like witches and warlocks hoping it turns into a raven-colored beast. Dreaded this part! (DEC 2018) It might be a Judge Pescadero from the FB Group Page whose method it was that I followed (I thank you kind soul for sharing your awesome step by step). Essentially it's a simple 3-step process: Normal wash at 40° (I poured fabric conditioner to soften the material) Run another cycle at 95°, apply decolorizer (I used two boxes) Run another cycle, apply black color dye (though I actually doubled the dye amount and added salt as per dye instructions. With this knowledge on hand, me and the wife went to try out this wizardry in our local coin laundromat. While dye will not stick to the insides of the washer, it's a good practice to give the machine a good wash after the process, as a courtesy to the next user. (DEC 2018) I can actually see the cloth losing its deep green... And actually see the black happening!!! We came home with a black plash! Success!!! It was many-a-December-nights when I started the process of muddying-up the Plash. It was not an easy and simple process of just dirtying up the material. Somehow I was obsessed with making sense of the placement of acrylic paint, which color goes where, which are weathered heavily, how would the other areas got weathered, how I shouldn't forget to weather the inside part, but to not make them as heavily weathered as the outside. The splash on the plash has to make sense. Somehow.,, (DEC 2018)

MAKING A SPLASH WITH THE PLASH! The Plash Palatka One of the reasons the Muddy grew on me as a character is its "cape," the parka. Somehow no matter how grungy the look of the character is, the parka gives the costume a regal look. The kicker cool factor for me was learning that the parka used in the movie is actually a Russian rain cape (among other things). A very interesting piece of military article. I bought mine from ebay and amazon. I wanted to purchase from different vendors because I heard that vendors don't necessarily ship the type with the leather ring grommet. Needed a back-up just in case. The one from amazon arrived, the one from ebay never (vendor eventually reached out to me that the item was sent back to them for unknown reasons). It was my luck that what I got was the one with the lvl2 required leather ring grommet. Lucky me!!! (OCT 2018)

THE COMPLETED BODY ARMOR (as of JAN 2019)

CHEST THUMPING AND BACK PATTING (Part 3B: Rigging) SHOULDER STRAP/BUCKLE CONNECTION (FRONT): Jim's kit has nice straps that already have built-in webbing connected at the end. I used the webbing to connect to the underside buckle, with guess what... CA glue. Then installed a big rare earth magnet at the backside of the buckle... ...to match the magnet behind the chest armor. Shoulder strap buckle and chest armor, connect! SHOULDER STRAP/BUCKLE CONNECTION (BACK): This is a pretty straightforward part. The shoulder strap is glued permanently to the back armor. I just snipped the rubber shoulder strap to the correct length, slather the underside with CA-glue and affixed it on and within the "shoulder slot" on the back armor. Oooh.. I see a gap there. A little application of E6000 will do wonders in strengthening that part some more. A MAD MUD MOD -- COLLAR TIPS... KEEPING IT FROM SLIDING OUT: Jim's armor design has the collar connected to the back armor. And when the front and back armors are aligned properly, the tips of the collar is inserted in their respective holes/channel on the front armor. In theory, they should stay in place. In my case, they don't. When I put on the armor, they just keep sliding out. No matter how I angle the armors to align better together. I may be too short for the design of the collar tip. I don't know what went through me, I initially thought installing a row of small rare earth magnets might do the trick. Nope. I went to what I knew that works. A webbing-velcro-snaps combo. I prepped a webbing that has a snap in the end, and velcro in the middle, and the naked webbing is CA-glued to the bottom of the collar. When the tip of the webbing is pulled down, the collar tips are guided snugly to the holes/channels. Then the velcros and the snaps are attached to their corresponding match on the backside of the front armor. It's not full-proof. There's still movement of the collar, but it lessened the wild popping-out of the collar tips as seen in the first test-drive photos. Until I can determine a better method. This should work for now. Some Jimmiroquai owners who encounters this might have a different approach, would love to hear from you...

CHEST THUMPING AND BACK PATTING (Part 3A: Rigging) Let me tell you. I have never rigged and strapped and applied magnets on any other costume as I did with my Muddy! ? SIDE ARMOR CONNECTION: The way I normally connect the front and back armors, on the side, for my other costumes (TK, TI, IG) was to use an elastic with snaps on both ends. Jim's front and back armors have a natural and perfect overlap on the sides, with the back overlapping the front. Seeing that I don't have to cut the sides (I try to minimize drilling and dremeling fiberglass armors as much as I can), I allowed this natural and clean overlap to be my way of conforming to the proposed CRL's "meet at the sides" requirement for the front and back armors. In order for the front and back to close and align properly every time I put it on, I decided for the first time, to use magnets. I identified 3 points on each side to E6000 the rare magnets on. Once cured on both sides, locking them in is a nice one click sound all the time! SHOULDER CONNECTION: Connecting both armors are pretty straightforward. Measured the correct distance between the two, finding the perfect gap as both parts sit on my shoulders. Installed snap plates and CA-glued/E6000'd them on the armor. Made elastics with both snaps on both ends. Also sewn a button in the middle to "T-connect" with the shoulder bell elastic. Done! SHOULDER BRIDGE TO SHOULDER BELL: A "T-connection" is made by installing a snap elastic that connects the shoulder bell to the shoulder bridge/elastic. SHOULDER BELL / ARM STRAPPING: This part's a no-brainer. Not too much adjustment is required on Jim's shoulder bells and bicep parts. After painting, it's all a matter of measuring how far/close the pieces should be from each other. It's all a matter of creating snap plates, installing snaps on elastics, sewing the button on the elastic to connect the bell to the shoulder bridge elastic. Boom!

CHEST THUMPING AND BACK PATTING (Part 2: Back Armor) Repeat -- Base paint, first coats of Camo greens, then a couple final layers of my Krylon Olive Greens... (NOV 2018) Many a sleepless nights when I apply layers of acrylic paints to achieve a level of weathering that satisfied me... In my honest opinion, I don't think I needed this much weathering on the back armor. 1, this won't be seen on troops anyway on the account of the plash hanging on the back, and 2, I don't intend to do a "Solo-version" type of trooping/cosplaying. Either way, I think doing this to the back armor just shows the level of reverence and respect to the spirit of the character. So there. HOSE CONNECTORS: Note how I utilized the same PVC pipe set-up for the respirator to the back of the armor. I didn't bother to study the Solo pictures and how the hose posts seem to be angled. I was tad practical and pragmatic on this part. As it is, the hoses attach fine and they stay in place. BACK FOAM: Similar to the Shoretrooper, the back armor features a black foam that lines and extends out of the arm opening. I just bought a 6mm Daris Foamies from amazon, outlined arm opening on it, with about 1.5" at the widest, cut, and CA-glued the foam to the interior of the back armor. RESPIRATOR STRAP LOOP: Raider and Jafo both reminded me to make sure I don't miss out on this small detail on the back armor. There is a webbing at the top of the back armor, in between the respirator hose connectors. This is a loop where the strap of the respirator goes through. Keeps it in place. This may be done in various ways -- inserting the ends of the loop inside the back armor by cutting a slot on the surface, use a snap system to attach the end of the loop to the armor. Mine's the easier method of adhering the ends of the loop on the armor using E6000.

CHEST THUMPING AND BACK PATTING (Part 1: Chest Armor) Same start as my other armor parts. Base paint, first coats of Camo greens, then a couple final layers of my Krylon Olive Greens... (NOV 2018) First pass at weathering, a whole lot of dabbing of watered-down black acrylic, combination sponges and tissue paper. Same 3-4 acrylic colors were applied, layered, using combination brushes, tissue paper, sponges. I blasted the entire armor (and other weathered pieces) with a Krylon matte clear spray paint. This helps seal the acrylic paint onto the surface of the armor. It also loses the bit of shin that is present on the Kyrlon Olive Green.

THE COMPLETED BELTS (as of JAN 2019)

BELT (Part 2: Lower Belt) Jim provides all the lower belt parts -- from the webbing to the 4-size boxes. This is one of the easier part of the build, in fact, this can be done towards the end of the build. It's all a matter of prepping, painting, weathering. Then installing the boxes on to the webbing. (OCT 2018) At one point, Jafo/Darren spotted a mistake in my lower belt configuration. The four middle boxes should be MEDIUM-SMALL-SMALL-MEDIUM. I had it SMALL-SMALL-MEDIUM-MEDIUM. Method of installing the boxes to my belt was through pop rivets. The correct M-S-S-M order for the center 4-boxes applied. (NOV 2018)

BELT (Part 1: Top Belt) So far, the best belts I've seen and purchased are those from Wampa Wear -- leather parts and the buckle. Top-notch. I recently purchased one from Anovos, a tad pricier, but quality's impressive too. For the purpose of this costume, I went with Wampa Wear for the leather, it features the two grooves required by lvl2 of the proposed CRL as well. Since this will be messed up, I went with the cheap blank buckles from Tandy Leather, with an Elvistrooper code disk in the middle. (NOV 2019)

THE COMPLETED SHINS ON BOOTS (as of JAN 2019)

THE COMPLETED SHINS (as of JAN 2019)

SHINS AND SHINIES (Part 2: Shin Armor) PREP & PAINTING: Shin armor has a good number of work that needs to be done. Jim's would have to undergo a lil bit of mod to conform to the look of the actual costume part. As with any other parts of my costume, prepping and painting were the first order of business, then the time-consuming but all-too rewarding process of weathering. (NOV 2018) The straps are made of rubber, so a good blast of Plasti-Dip was required in order for the spray paint to adhere to the surface. I did not cover the material 100% with Plasti-Dip so that over time, surface sprayed with paint will eventually chip-off giving it more that worn, weathered look. (NOV 2018) RIGGING: The other end of the strap (the outer part) is attached to the shin permanently. A good portion of the strap was CA-glued to the armor, I strengthened it with a strip of webbing, CA-glued over it as well. The other end (the inner part) is secured with snaps. This makes putting it on and off the boots very very easy. (DEC 2018) I did not want the straps to pass-through the buckle. It angles upward/outward. I want the buckle to appear flat on the strip. I applied a generous amount of CA-glue to the buckle and webbing. This will be wrapped around the straps, making the buckles lie flat on the straps. (DEC 2018) For good measure, I also lined the edges with E6000. Future mod to this would have to include a small screw. Just to make sure the adhesion of the buckle is secured. JIM'S GREAVES -- A MAD MUD MOD: This is a mod that I shared on the FB build group so I'll just repost it... For those who own Jim’s awesome mudtrooper kit, dropping the T-shaped knee plate to rest on the knuckles is a very easy fix. Cut the connection points between the knee plate and the main body. I easily snapped em with a small pair of metal sheet snipper. Reconnected it first with CA Glue, then a good generous glob of E6000 in and around the contact points. Secured and stenghtened both parts too with webbing at the back. Works well and minimizes knee plate from hitting the knees! (DEC 2018) ----------------------------------------------------------- REFERENCE PHOTO PS: a member of the nice community of Mud builders, one of the vendors, pointed out that there's still inaccuracies in my shin armor. It's a nice catch that should benefit all vendors so that their future kits are corrected and on spec. But for my purpose, this should be ok and a minor detail unnoticed within about 4-5 feet won’t deter me from proceeding with other parts of the project.

SHINS AND SHINIES (Part 1: The Leather) The boots requirement is a pretty straightforward one. I bought used Russian Officer's Boots via ebay. While it's real leather, I don't think I'm using this for any other costumes, so this will be exclusive to the Mud. Having decided that, I can go full-on weathering details with the pair, and I can go crazy with it. I just used acrylic paint, layers, and that's it. Am still not happy with the final look, but the idea is this part of the costume should be the dirtiest part of the costume. Don't be stingy with your "mud!" (NOV2018) Since I have no qualms about messing this boots up, I installed snaps-on-webbing at the back via CA glue). This attaches to the straps of the shin armor. When I test-drove the costume and took pictures, my pair of shin straps were not on the same level, and the other one's way way-off, it was so irritating. I installed the snaps to make sure they stay relatively the same height. No matter the type of leg movements the parts might experience. (DEC 2018) Will probably install rivets at some point to reinforce the adhesion of the webbing to the leather. This is the matching snap on the strap: I know this boots are pretty much done for the purposes of approval application. But I know I'd revisit this at some point and weather it more properly, evenly, realistically. (DEC 2018)

THE COMPLETED ARMS AND SHOULDER BELLS (as of JAN 2019)

ARMS & SHOULDERS for the ARMED SOLDIERS This is probably the easier and the most straightforward part of the this costume's build. It's mostly sanding, prepping, base coat, a good blast of olive green paint, then weathering for the shoulder bells. More work doing the markings on the right arm (same goes with the Medic variant). Otherwise, nothing that takes too much time from any builder. (NOV 2018) I made the mistake of applying an extra set of lines to the right arm. It was an easy fix. For JIm's kit, I just tried and measured the bicep armor on me, then applied E6000 to the halves, let it cure overnight. Arms' tight! Rigging is just a usual use of snap plates (on the armor) and snaps on elastics.

THE COMPLETED BUCKET (as of JAN 2019)

NOT GONNA BUCK IT, THIS IS MY BUCKET! (Part 4: Rigging & Strapping) This is the part where I went free-wheeling. I did not research much which method was more accurate or whatnot. I just went through with what I think would work... CHIN STRAP: Both ends of the chin strap webbing were attached to the side screws. I used a release buckle in case I'd need loosen the chin strap for whatever reason. Besides, the buckle looked good in it. (NOV 2019) RESPIRATOR RIGGING: I really think that attaching the respirator buckle to the bucket must be done properly in order to have the right look when the respirator is worn. I remember reading Jim installed magnets to the inside of the bucket so that the buckle has something to hold on to. I tried that method. (NOV 2019) For the few instances of trying out the respirator-on-bucket configuration, it was frustrating for me that the buckle ain't holding properly on the magnet, will move, or might ride lower, especially when the fairly heavy hoses are attached. I decided to use a simple and more stable method -- D-rings. I installed D-rings secured by a strip of nylon webbing, CA-glued to the bucket. The yugo buckle just simply clips to the D-ring. More secured, more permanent. I think problem solved. (JAN 2019) RESPIRATOR-TO-BUCKET RIGGING -- A MAD MUD MOD: This is a mod that I shared on the FB build group so I'll just repost it... I think the tactical unit is more than just a design element. Its practical use is keeping the google strap from riding up and slipping off (NOTE: as stated in the proposed CRL - "The lower end of the telemetry unit sits out from the helmet to allow the goggle elastic to feed underneath.") It works! Though it irritated me that the rest of the strap rides up and down and sometimes easily slides off the bucket. This, no matter how tightly wrapped the elastic is around the bucket. Had to find a solution... Neodymium magnets! I installed a good number of bar and round magnets glued on strategic points of the goggle strap. Matching magnets were placed inside the bucket. While this won't keep the goggle from falling off your bucket when you run and jump into (the) trenches, it will at least make your strap straight or easy to align around your bucket (DEC 2019) This part's rigged!

NOT GONNA BUCK IT, THIS IS MY BUCKET! (Part 3: Interior) The prospect of using a helmet liner, especially something as common as a skates/bike helmet liner, intrigued me. Bonus too that this was how (apparently) the screen-used buckets were done. In most of my costume builds, I always go traditional -- star-shaped foam. For the Mud, I just scoured ebay and found an $11 helmet. Gutted the exterior of the helmet, and shaved excess styro on the liner to fit my bucket. Installed velcro in front and from top to bottom rear center, I have a snug-fitting bucket. Hey, it works! (NOV 2019)

NOT GONNA BUCK IT, THIS IS MY BUCKET! (Part 2: The TU and The Torch) While I love the work of Jim's, I ordered Mr. Paul's TU piece. Sorry Jim. ? (NOV 2019) For the TU, I lived dangerously. While it's suppose to be installed screwed from the inside of the bucket, I just placed my trust on my black E6000. Let it cured overnight. It's still there, and unmoving! I also installed the black bungee cord. (NOV 2019) I also painted the TU green and applied the uniform weathering as the bucket's. Until Lewis White commented on how nicely painted the bucket is (thanks Lewis!) but how the TU should be off grey/black. Ugh (Thanks Lewis!)! ? (DEC 2019) ------------------------------------------- I wanted the "torch-on-TU" look for my bucket. I initially went for my replica Surefire M300 flashlight, which was initially inferred as the torch used for the bucket. (NOV 2019) After the torch was dulled with a clear matte spray and eventually weathered, I continued my practice of living dangerously with my builds. I relied on my CA Glue / E6000 tandem to affix the flashlight to the TU. (NOV 2019) Sometime beginning of the last month of the year, our resident Mud Guru struck another discovery. The torch used was not the more expensive M300 (or its replicas), but a lowly cheap, sometimes free-from-your-local-hardware store 9-LED flashlight! Attaching to the TU was the same as the M300 replica -- CA glue/E6000 tandem. And this was a tad more secured since the torch is significantly lighter than the first torch. (DEC 2019) Replica Surefure M300 vs. the cheap 9-LED flashlight: And in conforming to Lewis White's advise that that TU is black, here's the shift from my original colors to what's prescribed in the proposed CRL, and eventually weathered. Note the two zip ties wrapped around the torch. It was confirmed by Lewis that holes were drilled on the original buckets so the zip ties can be passed through the holes to eventually secure the torch in its place. My zip ties are NON-FUNCTIONAL. They're there for aesthetic purposes only. (DEC 2019) This portion is done!

NOT GONNA BUCK IT, THIS IS MY BUCKET! (Part 1: Exterior) This is a pretty straightforward part of the build. Mostly prepping, a good amount of spray painting, a whole lot of weathering! (NOV 2019) Weathering colors were same acrylic paint I used for the respirator. Technique was combination use of two size of brushes and 3 types of sponges. CRITICAL MAD MUD MOD FOR JIM'S BUCKET: Two things we need to remember about the proposed CRL. Bucket requirement states that "A rubber trim, or the illusion of a rubber trim covers the edge of the helmet rim with the join made at the rear center of the helmet." Jim's bucket already has an artificial trim. In order to achieve the rubber trim look, I just painted the edge with satin black. (NOV 2019) To achieve the "join at the rear center," I filed the center of the trim so it is level with the body of the bucket. Which provides a "separation between the black trim" thus, the "join at the rear center." (NOV 2019) A screw was inserted to the side holes. This will hold my chin strap. (NOV 2019) And to cover the screw hole, the application of notch-less code disks from Elvistrooper -- my go-to supplier of awesome aluminum greeblies. (NOV 2019) Weathering the disks with dried mud by applying some acrylic paint. (NOV 2019)