Definition

• Mandalorians are a clan of mixed species from the Star Wars movie series. George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars saga, did not take to the idea of using Mandalorians when the idea was first pitched to him by Star Wars head writer Henry Gilroy. Thankfully, George Lucas later accepted the idea of incorporating the Mandalorian clan, which has had a large dedicated following since the first Mandalorian appearance in Star Wars.
  
  

Components

• The main components of Madalorian armor include a helmet, jetpack, protective plates and soft parts. The helmet covers the entire face and head with slits for the eyes that allow the wearer to see, and the jetpack has jet-like features and is carried like a backpack. The protective plates cover the chest, shoulders, arms, groin, legs and feet. The soft parts are the layers underneath the armor that show between the protective plates.
  
  

Material Options

• The least expensive material option for making homemade Mandalorian armor is cardboard for the hard elements such as the protective plates. Cardboard is easy to cut, secure into shapes, and paint into appropriate colors. More costly material options are plastic and metal, which require skilled craftsmen to shape and mold. T-shirts and soft pants such as sweatpants work well for the soft parts and undergarments. Choose heavy boots for the shoes.
  
  

Instructions

• Cut out the chest, shoulder, forearm, groin, thigh, knee, shin and feet plates from cardboard. The forearm guards wrap around the wrist and forearms completely, so soften the cardboard by gently rolling it into a loose cylinder. Each of the other protective plates partially wrap around the corresponding body part, except the chest plates; softening the parts that hug the body using a similar rolling method shapes the flat cardboard. An approximate thumb space between each plate is appropriate. Cover boot laces with the feet plates and mask any exposed skin between the armor and helmet with a balaclava.