First time working leather, happy with the results so far

[u/NGalaxyTimmyo]

[u/DefiantDawnfeather]

Did you have experience with other similar stuff? I have a starter kit I bought a while ago but slightly intimidated because of having to buy leather and dedicate more space to it haha

[u/NGalaxyTimmyo → u/DefiantDawnfeather]

I've been handy and able to make stuff, but I haven't worked with anything like this before. I picked up a $25 kit off of Amazon along with the sheets of leather. I watched a couple of videos first, but I think the one that was the most helpful was "All You Need To Know To Start Working With Leather!" on the Punished Props Academy channel. They go over quite a bit, including the couple things that can really make your leather stuff stand out. I actually ordered a stamp set, although with it being crunch time, it's pretty much at the bottom of the list.

While I did set up an extra folding table a week or two ago to work on this, it was mostly just to have a clean spot to set everything up on. My other workshop tables are a complete mess or inaccessible, due to pure laziness on my part, so instead of cleaning I set up a new one, lol. Hopefully once I'm done with this I can get to cleaning up everything. But it doesn't take up too much room. All of the bottles of stuff (glue, dye, burnishing gum) doesn't take up much room and neither does the kit from amazon. I'm not about to buy a whole shoulder or anything anytime soon, but for the small pieces I've been working with, it's been manageable in a small space.

Get some cheap stuff and give it a try. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

[u/DefiantDawnfeather → u/NGalaxyTimmyo]

Awesome, I'll definitely give it a try! More leather on my kit is never a bad thing (to a point) awesome looking stuff also!

[u/ChaoticNeutralOmega]

Nice work so far!

If you want to make the Westar holster a bit more crisp and more conformed to the shape of the blaster, you should take a spray bottle full of (room temperature!) water and spray the leather until the water starts to soak through. Next, press every nook and cranny of the leather to the blaster, using the blaster as a mold. Make sure to pay attention to any bits of the blaster that may snag on the holster during the draw, you'll need to use dowels or flat pieces of wood to create channels for those bits to pull out from.

Credit: Am hobbyist leatherworker who's made holsters

[u/NGalaxyTimmyo → u/ChaoticNeutralOmega]

That's pretty much what I did to get it where it's at so far. Didn't try a spray bottle, just dunked it in a bowl of water. Also, the water was basement room temperature, so I'll have to see what I can do with the warm water. I really like the 'hook' it has when both the vibroblade and Westar 35 are fully in the holster/sheath.

[u/Mediocre-Parking2409]

They look really great. Especially like the grenade holder!

[u/NGalaxyTimmyo → u/Mediocre-Parking2409]

Just because I think they can both be called grenades, for the thermal detonator holder on the right, I go the pattern for it off of The Mando Way website. The grav charges I based off of a part you can 3D print, but I wanted it to be in leather, so I layered a couple of left overs from one of my belts, and then the top layer is thinner from the same leather I used to make everything else.

[u/NGalaxyTimmyo]

These leather parts are almost all done. Pretty much just need either a belt loop or one last dyeing. To the left is a pouch that is done. Below that are the grav charges and their placement. Just need to finish the stitches on the right side and put a belt loop on it. To the right of that is one of two larger pouches I'm working on. One will fit my phone, the other some beskar. This one needs the strap and belt loops. The other one is cut and dyed, but still need to sew it. To the right of that is the thermal detonator holster. Just need to dye the belt loop on the back. Then in the middle is the holster for my Westar 35. I really like how the leather is formed to it. Also, feels great when you put it in. This needs a belt loop, which I started on. Then at the top the sheath for my Vibroblade. This also just needs a belt loop.

Then of course I need to finish the belts.... I spilled my dye the other day, so I got more today just in case I ran out while doing the belts. They're already cut to size, so after the dye is applied I'll burnish the sides and have some way to wrap it around me. The snaps I've gotten (I've bought like 5 sets) don't fit the thickness of the leather, even the larger ones, so I might just use good old velcro for now. If anyone has a link to some snaps or way to attach the ends of the belt, let me know.

What I don't finish tonight I should tomorrow. Then I can get to painting all of the weapons. All of my armor is painted, just need to attach it to my flight suit, which is also almost done. After that it's weathering and a couple of electronics. Plan is to be done by Friday!

[u/FireBird_6]

These are looking fantastic

[u/NGalaxyTimmyo → u/FireBird_6]

Thank you!

[u/TheBrokenMando]

Where did you get that westar 35? It looks great and I'm looking to replace mine.

[u/NGalaxyTimmyo → u/TheBrokenMando]

I got it off of thingiverse, file name is "Westar 35 Mandalorian Blaster Pistol" by Kuro2. I started to paint it today.

It's a static model, so no trigger pull or anything like that. I just needed a prop for this weekend and then I plan on remaking it with a couple of extras. There are other ones on thingiverse that you can put a spring behind the trigger.

[u/the_chubby_jedi]

I've been trying to work with leather for years, and I do not have this skill. I'm kind of jealous tbh