A CROWN IS BORN../ The Hobbit Dwarves etc.. WIP's & Finished Builds Part 2

Well I discovered 3 new things today about making 1/6 mail from scratch:

1) Definitely wear gloves! On one hand for stripping the wire and on the other hand for cutting the coils.

2) Pull the coils slightly apart so you can get the cutters in to cut each link in the coil one at a time and you won't be wrestling and cursing with multiple links at a time which will take much more effort and time to eventually cut rather than cleanly cutting one at a time.

3) No matter how much wire I coil and cut, the pile of links does not seem to get any bigger! There must be over 2 meters of wire coiled and cut in the tub now minus some defects I've thrown out while doing my own QC on this little production line...









Baby flathead screwdriver is for separating stubborn parts of coils:

Holy cow! I'm so excited to see this progress! Thank you for the wonderful insights.

Now you know why figures with proper mail are so expensive. It takes longer to make miniature mail than it does for full-sized mail. Stop when you feel blisters starting to develop and come back the next day. You'll get calluses pretty quickly so you won't need gloves.

Haha nice, 1/6 chainmail.. something I avoided yet to keep some bits of my sanity. I mean look at those true Lords of the Rings:


Hope you will get beautiful results!

I only tried to 3d resin print sheets of chainmail yet which were basically just lots of rings in 45° angles printed in place not touching each other. It worked a bit on some. Teet prints even but I would use it for smaller patches on the figure and not full suits.

I can't make out how small they are exactly, but I guess they are smaller than these 5mm rings I once bought?
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/aw/d/B075QF1GJY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Ovy wrote:I can't make out how small they are exactly, but I guess they are smaller than these 5mm rings I once bought?
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/aw/d/B075QF1GJY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Converting back to full scale, they would be 30mm, which is way too large. You need a maximum of 3mm rings to make decent 1:6 mail. Ideally you want 2mm rings or even smaller, but they are pretty fiddly. My eyes aren't good enough to work with anything smaller than 3mm.

Diana wrote:Holy cow! I'm so excited to see this progress! Thank you for the wonderful insights.

Thanks Diana!

shazzdan wrote:Now you know why figures with proper mail are so expensive. It takes longer to make miniature mail than it does for full-sized mail. Stop when you feel blisters starting to develop and come back the next day. You'll get calluses pretty quickly so you won't need gloves.

Cheers shazzdan, sounds like you're a old hand at this (no pun intended). My first time giving it a go so just discovering things as I progress.

Ovy wrote:Haha nice, 1/6 chainmail.. something I avoided yet to keep some bits of my sanity. I mean look at those true Lords of the Rings:

Hope you will get beautiful results!

I only tried to 3d resin print sheets of chainmail yet which were basically just lots of rings in 45° angles printed in place not touching each other. It worked a bit on some. Teet prints even but I would use it for smaller patches on the figure and not full suits.

I can't make out how small they are exactly, but I guess they are smaller than these 5mm rings I once bought?
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/aw/d/B075QF1GJY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Thanks Ovi! Well I hope they don't turn out beautiful, they are for a Uruk-Hai after all! I tend to avoid anything 3D printed in all my hobbies:1/6 building, gun building, robot model building, motorcycle building etc.. as I don't trust it or like the finish but glad you find a use for it.

shazzdan wrote:

Ovy wrote:I can't make out how small they are exactly, but I guess they are smaller than these 5mm rings I once bought?
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/aw/d/B075QF1GJY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Converting back to full scale, they would be 30mm, which is way too large. You need a maximum of 3mm rings to make decent 1:6 mail. Ideally you want 2mm rings or even smaller, but they are pretty fiddly. My eyes aren't good enough to work with anything smaller than 3mm.

They do seem to average around 5mm (my rings) but in my opinion this works as it's for a big beefy Uruk-Hai warrior and their armour is shown to be exceptionally crude and industrial (still looks cool as hell, must be the Bauhaus effect! ), the mail also matches this by being chunky and oversized for a human. If you look at the pics below you'll see what I mean, the rubber human scaled mail looks way too small and fine to be a Uruk-Hai's mail, the crossbowman Uruk-Hai's mail is the style and scale I'm going for; weathering paint will thicken the rings up too.

I could imagine this type of process for something requiring a couple dozen links, but entire mail shirts? Wow! I'm sure it will look excellent (avoiding the term beautiful, as I instructed) when done! And whether or not the scale makes perfect sense (though there is something to be said for these larger-than-life characters), it will be very effective.

GubernatorFan wrote:I could imagine this type of process for something requiring a couple dozen links, but entire mail shirts? Wow! I'm sure it will look excellent (avoiding the term beautiful, as I instructed) when done! And whether or not the scale makes perfect sense (though there is something to be said for these larger-than-life characters), it will be very effective.

I agree it's certainly not the most practical way to convey 1/6 Uruk-Hai mail but figured I'd give it a go as it'll be another week before I'm in a position to buy any ready made mail and I've always been curious as of how much of a challenge it really is. So far I've put five links together in the 'four in one' pattern and gone "now what?" . I've decided that to have any hope of managing and controlling as well as just seeing the pattern I'm intending to create (completely dependant on which way certain rings face in a consistent repetitive process, just one ring facing the wrong way messes everything up) I'll need to peg the connected links to a polystyrene board with boot tacks and repeg it as it grows. Doesn't help that I can't find my favourite pair of pointed nose pliers! If it all goes pear shaped I do have back up plans like painting some very chain mail looking wool material I have. As for scale, whilst not huge, Uruk-Hai in the movies tend to be bigger than humans.

So.. the chainmail saga continues... managed to cancel an order of a 1/6 ready made full coat of real mail at £45, the seller didn't accept PayPal Credit and I was too stupid to notice which was a blessing really as I've made an offer on an old chainmail purse that's nice and grotty so perfect for LOTR builds and hopefully no one else wants it! As it'll be a lot cheaper for a lot more ready made mail, looks like 3mm rings if there's a factory standard used when these were made which was post industrial revolution so there should be (compared it to pics of other chainmail purses of the same period and similar design).
As for making my own, well it's not very satisfying or entertaining, I did find a great video on making mail which was much easier on my brain than the pics directly below even though they should be idiot proof but I seem to have some sort of pattern dyslexia (okay, I just made that illness up) but I used to be dyslexic so not sure if that has any bearing on it? Anyway.. even with the 'better' technique it's like simultaneously playing 'Operation' and 'Jenga'!! You think you've finally attached a new link through the other links and closed it sufficiently (I say finally for a reason!!) only to find out it's facing the wrong bloody way! They take so long to line up and close you forget which direction you put the last one in... then there's the worst part, they like to come undone and fall apart in an area you have already made whilst working on a new area if that makes sense? I guess the wire isn't stiff enough to put up with the jostling it takes while being made so I imagine it would be a huge pain in the butt just posing the figure! Basically it's just to fiddly, fragile and frustrating and that's while on the highest legal dose of Xanax allowed in the UK! So I'm normally quite patient with this stuff.

Initial guide to making very basic mail pics









New method after watching video





Bag I made an offer on:





One in better cosmetic condition so you can see the mail







A smaller version but I believe it uses the same size rings? Which look to be 3mm when I magnified the original picture in higher resolution





So it's wait and see if they accept my offer, luckily there are a few more out there and they accept PayPal Credit!

I really hope you manage to get this so as to shorten and simplify your labors.

Those mail-mesh purses were hugely popular about a century ago. Whiting and Davis was the biggest manufacturer and is still in business today. Damaged ones can be bought very cheaply. The links are usually 4-5mm so too large for 1:6 scale but they are a good way to get pre-made mail at a decent price.

GubernatorFan wrote:I really hope you manage to get this so as to shorten and simplify your labors.

Fingers crossed!

shazzdan wrote:Those mail-mesh purses were hugely popular about a century ago. Whiting and Davis was the biggest manufacturer and is still in business today. Damaged ones can be bought very cheaply. The links are usually 4-5mm so too large for 1:6 scale but they are a good way to get pre-made mail at a decent price.

Yeah I remember looking into these years ago back when we were on OSW, Think I wanted to make an entire suit so ended up using the rubber mail from the 'Time Line' movie figures by DID? I was going through a Crusader phase at that point.
The purse rings may be oversized for historical builds but should work well for the more brutish Uruk-Hai.
Any tips on building my own mail in 1/6? Sounds like you have done it yourself.

Just Excellent. Your Ring Wraith is so scary, and there´s so much work in the head. You wan´t it in a special way and You don´t give up. Can´t wait to see Your Orcs

Jeebus! (Simpsons reference). I wouldn't even begin to have this sort of patience. Kudos, my friend. That is an insane amount of work -- but it's going to look so cool.

shovelchop81 wrote:The purse rings may be oversized for historical builds but should work well for the more brutish Uruk-Hai.

Yep. It should be good for that.

Any tips on building my own mail in 1/6? Sounds like you have done it yourself.

Not really. I make it the same way as I do full-sized mail, except that it is slower and more fiddly.

Ephiane wrote:Just Excellent. Your Ring Wraith is so scary, and there´s so much work in the head. You wan´t it in a special way and You don´t give up. Can´t wait to see Your Orcs

Thank you Ephiane!

Stryker2011 wrote:Jeebus! (Simpsons reference). I wouldn't even begin to have this sort of patience. Kudos, my friend. That is an insane amount of work -- but it's going to look so cool.

Apparently it's beyond mine too or more realistically not worth the effort and frustration which would ruin my enjoyment of the build especially when there's an affordable ready made solution. Sometimes it's just time to step back and stop hitting my head against a brick wall!

shazzdan wrote:

shovelchop81 wrote:The purse rings may be oversized for historical builds but should work well for the more brutish Uruk-Hai.

Yep. It should be good for that.

Any tips on building my own mail in 1/6? Sounds like you have done it yourself.

Not really. I make it the same way as I do full-sized mail, except that it is slower and more fiddly.

Bummer, I was hoping for some great tips like using double sided tape or something to keep everything in place.

Turned my store room upside down looking for the green orc shaman figure as I thought his feet would work well with sharp toenails added but ended up using some Predator feet from the dissected MacFarlane Predator statue/figure instead with some mods. One of the feet was at a preposed  bent ankle so I had to do plenty of chopping, bending and gluing the cut out parts into the opposite sides in multiple directions to get the feet to match. Luckily the Uruk-Hai only have four toes so this works well, I had to remove all the extra talons though and will reuse them on something else, the Predator hands look promising for this build too. As for the orc/troll WOW figure, it's mouth is awesome so I'll probably save it for the Uruk-Hai Beserker build since they seem to have longer lower canines than the other Uruk-Hai.



























































LONGER TEETH







PRETTY DARN CLOSE TO THE BUILD I'M GOING FOR, I THINK IT'S A CUSTOM FIGURE MADE FROM THE CROSSBOWMAN AND THE ARMOURED WARRIOR FIGURES

Holy cow -- now I see where they got the inspiration for the K-2SO head in Rogue One! Good call on the Predator feet and declawing. In fact, good call on having all these items to source parts from, and on figuring out what might work best and how to modify it accordingly.

GubernatorFan wrote:Holy cow -- now I see where they got the inspiration for the K-2SO head in Rogue One! Good call on the Predator feet and declawing. In fact, good call on having all these items to source parts from, and on figuring out what might work best and how to modify it accordingly.

Cheers GTF! The hardest part is keeping everything organised into categories and in its own draws/tubs/bags etc.. then remembering what I have as it's so much! I guess I'll need to somehow leave all my 1/6 parts to the website when I die, if you go by eBay prices there's a bloody fortune in stuff there!! I hadn't noticed the similarity with K-2S0 before LOL, now I'll never unsee it!
Searched for ages for another Jakks Pacific 12" AA wrestler body to use as a much cheaper Beserker but came up with nothing after a few days of trawling the internet, not even a picture or the name of the one I have! Anyway luckily TA accept PayPal Credit as I'd just topped mine up so ordered some stuff off them by the skin of my teeth, after shipping and currency conversion charges I literally have 3p in my Credit account!LOL. Anyway got that great body you told me about, the seamless black Anubis body builder one, a Hobbit body (for young Bilbo to go with the Dwarves), Hobbit hands, Thorin gloved gripping hands with rings, Aragorn gripping hands (one with fingerless glove, one with ring) and a Darth Vader body! Rare as hens' teeth now and I never tire of Vader builds!
As for changing the Uruk-Hai warrior's feet from closed boots to open clawed feet, I figured that he will be wearing so much armour it would be nice to have a visual reminder that there's a monster under it all!

That sounds like quite the loot. I'm glad you were able to get it, and hope it finds your way to you safely and expeditiously. I'm sure you will put it all to very good use. Good philosophy on the Uruk-Hai. And glad you agree on the resemblance between this type of Uruk-Hai helmet and K-2SO.

GubernatorFan wrote:That sounds like quite the loot. I'm glad you were able to get it, and hope it finds your way to you safely and expeditiously. I'm sure you will put it all to very good use. Good philosophy on the Uruk-Hai. And glad you agree on the resemblance between this type of Uruk-Hai helmet and K-2SO.

Cheers GTF! I plan to put it to good use, a Beserker on my shelf will look sweet!
Continuing with the warrior version here I've ended up combining 4 scrap heads to make one lol, kind Frankensteining it, appropriate for Halloween! Also added black milliput to fill in the gaps and give him more of a chin, used some putty to fill in the ugly holes of the joint pins too; just curing next to the heater now, takes about 5 hours.

Oh yes, the head is definitely taking shape, and I can see the good work you're doing to the body. Didn't they kinda put the uruk-hai together in the film, too? Anyway, appropriate for the day -- and subject.

Very creative customisation!

Dude, that is some proper kitbashing. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

GubernatorFan wrote:Oh yes, the head is definitely taking shape, and I can see the good work you're doing to the body. Didn't they kinda put the uruk-hai together in the film, too? Anyway, appropriate for the day -- and subject.

There's a bit of a debate amongst hard core fans (I don't include myself as this 'dedicated' a fan) about the origin of the Uruk-Hai being all Saruman's work or Sauron's too and if they both have them, then the name is contested as just meaning Big-Orc not Superior-Orc so could be used for all big Orcs but the main consternation seems to be 'Gandalf's words' versus 'Tolkien's words'. Gandalf said that the Uruk-Hai are breed created by combining Goblins and Orc-Men but Tolkien describes Orcs and Goblins to be the same thing; so Uruk-Hai would be Orcs combined with Orc-Men which seems a bit odd but I guess you could say they are 3/4 Orc and 1/4 Human. Either way they are made with good old spells and alchemy growing inside and bursting or being cut free from a 'birth sack' depicted in the movies so no apparent rampant raping going on between species to create these guys although pillaging and killing aplenty!

skywalkersaga wrote:Very creative customisation!

Thanks! Needs must etc...

shazzdan wrote:Dude, that is some proper kitbashing. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Cheers! And actually using a kit too!

Well, I'm glad they are keeping their violence relatively clean! Thanks for the explanation. And you are certainly knowledgeable enough to rank right there with the biggest experts among the fans.

GubernatorFan wrote:Well, I'm glad they are keeping their violence relatively clean! Thanks for the explanation. And you are certainly knowledgeable enough to rank right there with the biggest experts among the fans.

I don't 'nerd out' on LOTR stuff I just pick up info and backstories whilst researching characters for builds mostly .
Been busy dremelling, sawing, sanding, scalpelling (?) and even drilling to to separate, remove, join and prep stuff for the next phase of building missing armour including the helmet. I'll still need to tidy everything up especially that fist I've turned into a sword holding hand (cut the original moulded kit hand away) as it needs a new index finger for a start! Removed the 'leather' mouldings from the armour.
Just won that weathered chainmail purse for £20 including postage so that bit is hopefully sorted.

Nice progress, very promising. I find making weapons in this scale almost beyond me, whether one does them like you do, or like Ovy and Shazzdan.
And that's (LOTR) what I say about me and Star Wars! Although years ago my college suite-mate Simon put me on some (misleading!) "Everything I know I learned from Star Wars" list which would seem to attest to the opposite.

Dude you are faster than that Urukhai Dude with that bomb running into that wall! Love those molds. Or Legolas sliding down stairs on a shield while shooting arrows. Which twelve year old me found quite cool.

There is this guy who makes 1/6 metal armors who used chainmail purses too. But it's a bit hard to find his pics as many are not hosted on the linked site anymore, haha.

I think the purses will be great for small sections.

And when u said u didn't like the 3d prints texture, do you mean all 3 d prints in general or maybe the PLA/Plastic ones? Because the resin prints can look quite great and super detailed. Maybe I will try the 3d printed chainmail one other day again.

Oh and Thanks Gubeenator.