A 3D printing enthusiast has perfectly recreated the Beskar armor of the protagonist from The Mandalorian, and the result is breathtaking.
Mandalorian armor is iconic, and it is long before the advent of The Mandalorian third season. In the original Star Wars trilogy, fans had already fallen for the bounty hunter Boba Fett who, despite a somewhat ridiculous death, had served as a means of introduction for these warriors with indestructible and ultra sophisticated equipment.
Decades later, this Beskar armor accompanied with jet-packs, flamethrowers and other gadgets that would make James Bond mad with jealousy are still all the rage. Naturally, many cosplayers have tried to look like The Mandalorian, only to find out how difficult it really is.
Indeed, the beskar equipment is obviously metallic, and it is very difficult to recreate such equipment, especially replicating the ultra-smooth and shiny texture. The passionate 3D printing artist 3dpropz has found the ideal solution: to develop a real metal mandalorian armor… or at least, almost!
On Reddit, this cosplayer shared the complex method he used to achieve his goal:
“I 3D Printed all the parts of the armor then used them as master copies for my silicone and fiberglass molds. After I made the molds, I slush cast all the parts using cold metal cast technique but instead of just covering the outer surface with a dust coat of metal powder, I mixed the metal powder directly into the resin. When you take the cold casts out of the mold, they have a very dull and surface. I applied 7 different surface applications on each part to get an even metallic finish, then polished all the parts with metal polish. Since I added the metal powder directly into the resin and backed up all the armor parts with multiple layers of fiberglass for extra durability, the whole armor weights just a little over 10 kgs / 22 pounds but I really love how heavy it is!”
The result of this painstaking work is simply breathtaking and perfectly identical to the original.
The good news is that 3dpropz sells his creations, and it is quite possible for you to acquire your own Beskar armor, which unfortunately is not real Beskar. Still, craftsmanship of this quality comes at a high price. To strut around in a Mandalorian cosplay, you still have to put down $950 for all the pieces of armor. And yes., the Beskar, even when it is fake, is still valuable!
