The BigJasoni's ROTK 3D Print Build Thread

[11b30b4[TK]]

15 hours ago, BigJasoni said:

Regarding a rubber blaster, I'm guessing it's similar to the rubber M-16s we had for training in the Marine Corps.

Yep exactly the same type of rubber without the metal barrel  the M-16/M4 would have. 

[Darth147[TK]]

did you scale up your abb armor 

curious before i start printing it

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Finally just caught up on this thread, as I was about 40 posts behind. With your post lengths that was quite a read. Fantastic progress and excellent documentation! This will sure be a helpful resource, along with Jeff’s and Justin’s threads, for future builders! Our of curiosity, what files did you use for your Mando helmet and the E-11? It’s possible that I simply missed that somewhere along the way. =)


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[BigJasoni[TK]]

On 10/7/2020 at 4:01 AM, Darth147 said:

did you scale up your abb armor 

curious before i start printing it

@Darth147 sorry, I totally missed your question. I must have strayed away from the site for a few days and missed my notifications. Yes, I scaled up to 105%, but that is entirely based on my build. Of course this also means scaling up the belt and ammo boxes in some axis' as well. For me, I scaled the belt to 105 on the X axis but didn't stretch it on the Z. I didn't want to have the belt be to "tall." Also, I don't know what printer you have, but be careful with your slicing if you have to cut it to fit on your print bed. This is why I'm going to be purchasing a CR-10 Max soon. If I do any more builds that require abdominal armor, I'm printing it off in one shot.

Back to the belt. The belt front fits fine, but the rear is tricky. Since the rear of the abdominal is where the majority of the stretching occurs, the belt has to do the same. But, since the 3d print belts don't have a lot of flex, you almost have to print the belt as if the abdominal is stretched. I would advise putting on the ab armor and taking a lot of measurements before printing. I got pretty creative with the rear belt to get it to fit, but ultimately I've now opted to make the belt out of HIPS. That's what I've got planned for tomorrow. Let me know how yours turns out.

 

On 10/7/2020 at 12:39 PM, MaskedVengeance said:

Our of curiosity, what files did you use for your Mando helmet and the E-11? It’s possible that I simply missed that somewhere along the way. =)

@MaskedVengeance, sorry, I missed your question as well. Initially, I was set on buying the file from GreatApeStudioArt on Etsy, but after researching a few posts on the Bounty Hunter's Guild I found a thread that listed all the accurate files on the web. One of them just happened to be on Thingiverse https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4401649. I printed it mostly for fun, but now that I've sprayed it with alclad, I love it. I didn't do a build thread for my Mando armor, but I may end up doing it again at a later date. Right now, I'm sewing my soft parts and will be spraying the Beskar tomorrow night. I'll post a pic after Halloween; my wife is going to wear my Mando costume and of course, I'll be cruising around in the ROTK armor. Also, one of the guys in my squad helped write the CRL for Din Djarin V1 and V2 so if you have any questions, I can dig into them for you. Our helmets are identical. Also, if you do the armor, be sure to download a left shin base shape. PandaProps uploaded his on Thingiverse here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4212846. The left shin is basically a leather wrap, but the base shape gives you something to wrap the material around. He has a video about this as well. Lastly, a lot of the armor sets don't have the back, kidney, and left knee armor. I think all the designers are still trying to figure everything out. For these, I grabbed the files from GreatApeStudios. Even if you pass on the back armor for now, the knee armor is cheap.

 

For the E-11, I also got that on Thingiverse here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4003566. It's  a Sterling SMG, but the same designer has E-11 accessories as a separate file.

 

Finally, I've been holding off on updating my build thread with hopes that I'd finish soon and be able to post the complete build, but I've been held up recently. On a positive note, I met up with some members of my local squad for a virtual convention and a "socially distanced trooping event/ photoshoot" last weekend. We had a blast, as a teaser, here's some pics:

 

 

 

 

Yes, we set up a volleyball net for the Tie Pilots. We had a little Kenny Loggins Playing With the Boys kicking in the background and really just had a blast. Though everyone was masked up under their buckets, there were absolutely no complaints and even the snowtrooper agreed that the weather was perfect. Also, I got to sit on a 3d print panel which ended up being pretty popular. If anyone's interested, they can see the replay at https://youtu.be/kDR9_nP7560.

 

 

[azuma]

Hi Guys,

I recently purchased this amazing R1TK 3D model by akira-yuming, and thought some minor changes could be made to prefect this 3D model. Followings are some details I think need to be revised. Any thought? Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
Azuma

Edited October 12, 2020 by azuma

[BigJasoni[TK]]

On 10/12/2020 at 7:04 AM, azuma said:

I recently purchased this amazing R1TK 3D model by akira-yuming, and thought some minor changes could be made to prefect this 3D model. Followings are some details I think need to be revised. Any thought? Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
Azuma

Azuma,

Thanks for finding those items. Typically the designer is very quick to make changes. However, I think I wore them out over the weekend. I made a few requests to change the lower leg armor and then started sending recommendations for their Phase 2 Clone Armor. They made the changes to the leg armor, but then sent me a message that said they were prepping for an event and needed to take a break.  I told the designer that I was done bugging them about the TK armor, so I'm not going to hit them up again until they reach out to me about the clone armor. However, if you wanted to request some changes, they may be willing to adjust. For me, I've asked so much of them, I needed to extend some professional courtesy.

 

Also, please check all the files in Akira-Yuming's download section since they have included several updates but didn't take any of the old files down. Some of these have previously been addressed. When I'm done with the build, I'll make a list that has all the corrected files.

 

For the back armor, I'm looking at the pics from other builders. I believe the back "box" is actually in a pretty good location. When you place the armor in your slicing software the shoulder trapezoids will likely be disconnected. I printed mine separately and placed them according to proportional fit. This is also how I determined the placement of the 8mm hole. Jeff (@11b30b4) and @yoshix both covered this in their builds where they actually filled the hole in their armor and moved the shoulder trapezoids/ straps further down closer to the box. Regarding the pill-shaped groove, this is present on Inferno Squad Tie Pilot back armor, but not the ROTK. Also, based on others' pics I'm less concerned with the shape of the trapezoids and more with the fact that the ones on the rear do not have a "rectangular tab protruding from the bottom." Lastly, only the cog sticks out past the box, but it's not noticeable unless you position the armor perfectly. This is easy to simulate in the slicing software, but I can't tell unless I look just right at my back armor. I guess you could slice the cog in Meshmixer before gluing it down; this isn't something I would bug the designer about. 

 

Regarding the gaps, I kept adjusting them and then realized that they kind of take care of themselves when you put the armor on. Nothing was more apparent as when I widened the gap on the abdominal armor and then put it on. The gap that I had widened to 4 inches spread which left me looking like the stormtrooper in the picture you posted. Also, it looks like you posted the pic of the leg armor Akira-Yuming made for us bicyclists/ people with +sized calves which makes the "bell-bottom" look a lot smaller. But regarding the gap in the brim, please see the pics below.

 

The left is me squeezing the leg to "most people sizing," which eliminates the gap. For this, I references several other builds which show people with smaller/ bigger gaps depending on their "proportions." For the thickness of the brim, and the gap between the trim piece and rear right brim, I've got some extra plastic if others agree that this needs to be corrected.

 

This reminds me of one thing I may not have hit on too hard during this build thread, but discussed with viewers during the conference last week. Since I'm doing this build thread as a pseudo-tutorial, please bear with me for a few minutes.

 

First of all, one size does not fit all and adjusting armor post-print is extremely difficult. For reference, please see this pic:

 

This is my discard pile thus far, or as I like to call it, 'the pile of lessons' learned.' Of course the helmet was a paint issue and the macrobinoculars are from a clone build, but the rest of the pile represents pieces that I spent a lot of time printing only to find that there was something off. Immediately, my eyes are drawn to the thighs that I asked the community for help on. After I got some feedback, I altered the file myself and re-printed rather than asking the designer to change them. Their original work would probably work for most, but not for me. This is one of the reasons why garrisons host build parties, to help ensure people's armor is "proportional to the wearer in scale, fit and size."

 

Next, for those thinking about getting into 3d printing, I go back to the small discussion I had with @TheRascalKing on September 3rd regarding the practicality of 3d printed TK armor. Please look at this pic and determine for yourself; this pile represents approximately 240 hours of printing. However, as I stated then, after I'm done screwing everything up and either fixing it, or requesting that the designer re-work their file, I think we'll have a practical option for people to download.

 

Also discussed was the topic of community feedback, which is critical when going down this road. Take a look at the cod piece right in front of the pile. The original file looked like this:

 

I call this file the "underwear model" or "bikini cod." It was a mix of the OT and ROTK design, but either way it was wrong. I outlined how I chopped the armor on August 30th, but @gmrhodes13 was quick to point out a few more needed changes. This was one of the files I couldn't adjust post-print, so the designer corrected it.

 

Finally, this takes a lot of time. I've already missed my goal date. However, I'm still on track for my original deadline. Adjustments need to be made based off expected and unexpected circumstances. However, I'm also the idiot who's doing two simultaneous builds.

 

To finish up this tutorial/ response, Azuma, please feel free to request changes from Akira-Yuming. They said they're taking a little time off, but based off my previous experience with them, they'll probably still respond much faster than most builders. Also, getting to go out last weekend and see other TKs really helped a lot. Though there were no Rogue Ones, I was able to take note of the form, fit, and functionality of their armor as well as identify items I should look for in my build.

 

I'll put a build update up here in a little bit.

   

 

[11b30b4[TK]]

Azuma and Jason, just an FYI but the trap boxes at the top of the back armor and the chest armor were originally separate pieces for the screen used armor. The little tab you see one the bottom of the boxes is a connector tab that dropped into a grove in the armor to align the box. If you check out Mr. Pauls shoretrooper page you can find pics of how the chest boxes were attached with magnets to the chest armor. The shoulder strap was affixed inside the trap box, so taking the armor off required the box to detach from the chest armor. I agree with all of Azuma's suggestions to correct the model files to be more accurate. 

 

Jason, the build is coming along nicely; however, there no reason to "show off" that Mandalorian armor strategically placed in the background.  looks great as well.

[BigJasoni[TK]]

2 minutes ago, 11b30b4 said:

Azuma and Jason, just an FYI but the trap boxes at the top of the back armor and the chest armor were originally separate pieces for the screen used armor. The little tab you see one the bottom of the boxes is a connector tab that dropped into a grove in the armor to align the box. If you check out Mr. Pauls shoretrooper page you can find pics of how the chest boxes were attached with magnets to the chest armor. The shoulder strap was affixed inside the trap box, so taking the armor off required the box to detach from the chest armor. I agree with all of Azuma's suggestions to correct the model files to be more accurate. 

 

Jason, the build is coming along nicely; however, there no reason to "show off" that Mandalorian armor strategically placed in the background.  looks great as well.

Lol. Thanks Jeff. That wasn't the intent of my Mando Armor placement, but It'll pop up again in my next post. I've just got both projects taking up the same real estate in my garage. Not pictured is the soft parts I'm sewing. My wife actually just commented on how my build is encroaching on our living spaces, but it's going to remain in place until my new Janome HD3000BE comes in later this week. Yes, in a blow to my masculinity, I asked for a sewing machine for my birthday. At least it's black and says Heavy Duty on the front. 

 

I know the rear trap tabs are in the new CRL, I don't see them in the old. My question would be about their placement. On your armor, they appear to stick "down" along the shape of the back. There also appears to be a rectangle shaped "hole" right above them. Do you have close up pics of this element? Thanks.

 

I'm posting my build update in a minute.   

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Ok. So I got the "tutorial" portion done earlier which for some may have been repeated information. But again, I do that so people new to 3d printing can see some of the challenges and decisions that are encountered along the way. As I stated earlier, the goal is for people to have access to an accurate 3d print file, or know how to correct deficiencies they may encounter. Also, previously mentioned is how I missed my target date of 4 October. Some of this was due to me taking off all of last weekend for the virtual conference/ trooping event, some of it is due to me making on-the-fly decisions regarding my costume, i.e. fabricating my belt. Long story short... well my posts are usually long stories... I'm going to finish what I have and submit it to my GML, before I start tweaking anything else. I just emailed him last week to let him know that I'd be submitting pics as soon as my boots arrive. I did celebrate a little this morning because The Darkside Closet sent me this pic:

 

YES!!!!!!! It's on its way.

 

Team this up with last week's shipment from Endorfinders:

 

These are really nice gloves. I'm going to have to try hard not to wear them this winter. However, for the Velcro, can anyone explain why they have hook on one glove and loop on the other? My only guess was so that I can stick them together for transport. If this is the case, it's ingenious. All I have to do is pull the loop Velcro off my right hand plate and replace it with hook. Much, much easier than some of the modifications I listed earlier.

 

So, I'll start with the helmet, because that's where this all began. I don't think I outlined the Hovi Mic process when this all started a few months ago. It's all real simple, but in case anyone's wondering, here you go:

 

You basically start with the above items; metal mesh, Stormtrooper Hovi Mic Mesh Shaping Tools found at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3518807, and a 4 oz Japanese Chisel hammer. Ok, so the chisel hammer may be totally unnecessary, but I'm also doing my build on a Roubo workbench, so I've got some woodworking tools close by. Also, there's ways to do the mesh without the shaping tool, but it's pretty handy. The metal mesh is very flexible, so I'd be willing to bet you can shape this around your finger. Regardless:

 

 

Place mesh on platform, tap mandrel and watch mesh bend.

 

Trim off excess and place in Hovi Mic Tip. It's that simple. Lol, the Mandos because of your previous comment Jeff @11b30b4.

 

--Break-- Since I'm name dropping, I never posted a pic of the shoulder straps Jeff sent me. His is on the right, my painted TPU strap is on the left. I mentioned previously that when I submit my pics, I'm going to try to keep everything 3d printed, so my straps are for pictures, and the flexible straps I bought are for trooping. Also, Endorfinders aren't the only people getting the ingenious designation today, these straps are amazing and the velcro puts them over the top; I can't glue Velcro to mine. Also, after all my experimentation with paints, the solution was simply spraying the TPU with gold metallic to fill the "micro-lines," and then hitting it with gloss white. It's remaining very flexible for now, but I expect it will peel later.

 

Back to the helmet. Previously I posted pictures of the Vocoder and now the Hovi Mic tips, but after securing the Hovi Tips with 8-32 machine screws and the vocoder with E6000, I'm left with this:

 

Correct Hovi Mic Tips, and Vocoder "tubular in nature" and "visible gap be [sic] present between the Vocoder and the helmet."  

 

I touched up the paint and it looks awesome. The only thing I have left to do is the black lines around the tears and traps. I'm still requesting advise on this because I really don't want to use the Sharpie oil based pen again. I've got a very fine paint brush and a steady hand, but want advise first. I'll add the mesh and blue fabric later, but this is pretty much done. Also, of note in this pic, I love the eye bump and yes, I still need to paint the thermal detonator end caps. I'll talk about the belt later.

 

BOOM!

 

This is almost done. Tonight I'll put one more update post which includes even more paint woes, some creative positioning of Mando parts in my Stormtrooper pics, and my belt build.

Thanks for viewing.

[11b30b4[TK]]

Jason, I am not sure what hole above them you are referring to, perhaps its the holes from how I originally attached the shoulder straps. 

 

Back box pics

 

 

 

Chest box pics

 

 

 

Sorry the armor is so dirty.

 

I think the idea for the Velcro on the gloves was as you suggested. 

 

All of your update pics look good; however, you may run into an issue with the mesh on the Hovi mics. It looks like the mesh holes are a little large. 

 

This is the correct size mesh:

 

This looks to be a close match but not sure from the pics. 

https://www.amazon.com/TIMESETL-Stainless-Steel-Woven-Wire/dp/B07K8NTC94/ref=asc_df_B07K8NTC94/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312243985851&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6488589743034915043&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010776&hvtargid=pla-606177998854&psc=1

 

I got my Hovi Mics off Etsy and they came with the correct mesh. Here is the link.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/245863441/star-wars-screen-accurate-11-hovi-mix?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=Star+Wars+Screen+Accurate+1%3A1+HOVI+Mix+Pa2+Stormtrooper+Helmet+Mic+Tip+Aerators&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&sca=1

 

Lastly, I airbrushed the black lines on my helmet. I masked off the small 1/16" gap then airbrushed them but you could hand paint them. Just mask them off well so you dont get any bleed and the lines will look good.

 

Keep up the great work.

 

 

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Ok, last post for the day. I'll start with paint issues. Since my Mando parts keep gratuitously appearing in the background of my pics, I'll start with this to illustrate some issues I had painting Stormtrooper parts yesterday:

 This is what happened when I sprayed my Alclad. The finish pitted like crazy and polishing didn't do anything. The awesome thing about Alclad is it dries completely in less than five minutes. I've even seen videos where people polish it with a cloth between coats. Regardless, when I started spraying this appeared and it freaked me out. Though this actually made the thigh armor look pretty awesome, the chest and abs are another story. While those parts didn't pit, they came out incredibly dull. I stood there in my garage confused for a while, but when I looked up at my home weather station it said 64 degrees at 89% humidity. I then went over to my Stormtrooper legs which I had sprayed with gold a few minutes earlier and they looked exactly the same. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture which is another reason for me posting this one.

 

So, rolling back to Friday night, I realized that I hadn't attached the thigh ammo belt to the leg. Again, I forgot to take pics of all my steps, so if anyone has questions, please reach out. First, I tried using Steel Stick epoxy to attach the part, but what I'm starting to discover is that it works great for small applications (installing magnets) but not larger ones like this. At first everything felt great, but when I put the thigh on I heard a pop and noticed that one side had popped off.

 

This is where I should have taken more pictures. Basically, with 3d prints, even if you cover the backside with tape, drilling through the layers and walls typically results in a blowout on the drill bit exit side. What I've started doing is drilling a hole larger than the screw head, i.e. drill a 5/16 hole for a 8-32 machine screw. I then fill the hole with epoxy and let it dry. Once dry, I can work the epoxy just like any solid material. For this, I re-drill at 3/16" then recess the top side with a 1/4 bit to flush mount the screw. In this case I think I went a little deeper with the 1/4" and then totally covered the screw head with more epoxy.

 

Following those steps, and after curing, I sanded down the epoxy screw cover and touched up the rough edges with some glaze and spot putty. After some more sanding, painting, humidity issue, sand again, and respray, I'm left with this:

 

Personally, I feel this exemplifies the CRL rule of "no visible screws or rivets." Also, I've had a few people reach out to me about the gold paint idea. I wanted to put these pics up so you can see why I do this.

 

When we used to do this with the buses I used to work on, it was typically a base coat for pearl. Now, the paint shop wasn't using rattle cans, nor were they spraying 3d prints, but they were the absolute best in the industry and the results were always incredible. If anything, I'll rip this technique from them any day. When I saw someone do it on YouTube, I decided to adopt the idea. Essentially, I treat the gold as one last layer of primer, then wet-sand and lay down the white. Barring unforeseen errors, the results are typically great.  

 

There's a few small runs, but they'll clean up nicely. I'll probably spray them tomorrow night and that'll leave me with two final parts, then this project is done.

 

So, the belt... First, I put together my thermal detonator and its mount. I did decide to do neodymium magnets and they worked great. Unfortunately, I mounted the Thermal Detonator upside down (crossed up the magnets), so I just pulled off the face plate and painted the canister again. This was actually an easy fix, plus I wasn't happy with how I mounted the face plate.

 

Here's an example of the "epoxy hole technique" I discussed earlier. This is all covered up with the detonator, so I'm not too worried about it, but there's two techniques shown. The outside rough holes were filled with Steel Stick epoxy and the mounting screws were embedded from the other side. The inner holes are the magnets, which were filled with epoxy. This was the first time I tried out the epoxy hole method and I liked how smooth everything came out. additionally, I tried prying the magnets out and they're there to stay. 

 

Next, I went back and looked at a few other builds which used HIPS for the belt. I tried to follow everything I saw, but a lot of it was trial and error.

 

First, I carefully measured for the placement of the tabs and transferred my measurements to the hips.

 

Using measurements from the 3d printed front belt, I was able to lay out a flat belt as shown. However, This process didn't work as it should have. A flat piece of material measures different than a curved piece. No worries, though, I flipped the belt upside down and bent it around my waist and then marked the plastic where the tabs should be. I then cleaned up the lines and it fit like this:

 

 

I then laid out the ammo boxes and drilled everything out.

Next, I'm not sure if @11b30b4 thought of this himself, but I'm a believer in the big pot method. Here's the tools of the trade:

 

I had a sheet of corrugated steel that I rolled into the same diameter as my abdominal armor. I actually put the ab armor in one end of the roll to get it right.

 

Lol. Also, after all the belt print issues I've had, I also happened to have an extra one lying around that I placed in the other side to serve as a mold.

 

Here's a close-up. Honestly I thought this part would start warping as everything on top got hot, but it didn't.  It actually worked better than I thought. So, with the steel formed in the same shape as my armor, I did a trial run with a piece of scrap.

 

 

The trial piece fit great, so I moved on to the front belt. The process was the same, except since the piece was wider, I had to coax it a little by forming it over the steel, and then finishing off the curve using the pot. I tried calling to my wife for help taking pictures, but she couldn't hear me. However, as I said, there weren't too many differences in the process.

 

For the boxes, I pressed t-nuts into the back. While they don't seem to be going anywhere, I'm probably going to do the epoxy hole trick to ensure their stability.

 

 

After attaching the boxes, I was left with this:

 

I'm happy with the results. I don't have the rear belt attached in this pic, so I'll take care of that tomorrow. Also, after looking at @TheRascalKing's ab closure, I can't unsee it. When my new sewing machine gets here, I'll be adding the elastic zipper enclosure.

 

So, in the end, I got a lot done this weekend. As I said earlier, I've only got two parts remaining and they're going to go fairly quick. There's not much to talk about with the lower leg armor. Essentially, my next few days will be glaze and spot putty, sand, filler primer, sand, touch up, sand, sandable primer, sand, gold paint, wet-sand, white. Additionally, the belt will be complete (attached to rear), the ab will be gold and the thighs will be white tomorrow night. By Friday, I should have everything white except for the calves, which leave me the weekend to finish everything up. Hopefully by Sunday I'm only doing strapping, but I've been wrong before. Anyways, I'm about to be done with the exception of my boots. 

 

Thanks again for viewing.

 

 

 

 

[BigJasoni[TK]]

1 hour ago, 11b30b4 said:

Jason, I am not sure what hole above them you are referring to, perhaps its the holes from how I originally attached the shoulder straps. 

Jeff,

Thanks for the post. This is the hole I'm talking about:

I guess it's not too noticeable, but I'm going to alter mine to look the same. Thanks for the pics.

 

1 hour ago, 11b30b4 said:

you may run into an issue with the mesh on the Hovi mics. It looks like the mesh holes are a little large.

Thanks so much for this pic. I saw your Hovi Mic Tips in your build thread and then went to Etsy. All of the Etsy stores appear to be using the outer shell from KamikazePigeon's Hovi Mix Pa2 on Thingiverse. I'll look around for some stainless steel mesh, because yours looks way better. Easy fix and thanks again.

[11b30b4[TK]]

Ok so the gap above the tab not the box. Well also consider that my armor is Jimms design and still has many issues that are not exactly “screen accurate”. This gap being one of them. Actually, the screen used kits did not have this gap. Instead, there is a similar gap on each side of the tab and along the bottom of the box seen in these pics:

 

 

 

Although, these gaps look like holes they are actually just depressions that got filled with dirt and that is why they are black or brown. Although these boxes are made separate from the back plate, they are glued on and do not come off ( at least I have not found any proof that they unsnap of come off) unlike the shoulder strap buckles on the front of the Shoretrooper. The back of the Shoretrooper uses similar or more likely the same strap boxes.

 

 

This pic from Mr Pauls Shoretrooper build should help shed some light on what the tabs are and how they work. Although these are the buckles and not the boxes, I believe the principal is the same.

 

 

Also, you mentioned the placement of my back boxes. On the Jim kit they were originally much higher near the top edge of the armor.

 

 

I moved them down closer to the large OII box. In this pic you can see how they are less than 1” from the end of the large OII box taper (red circle). I will admit that my armor extends much further over my shoulder than the screen used armor (Yellow Circle).

 

 

And in this pic you can see more of a top down view of the box and the back plate. On a side note, notice the hole cutouts on the bottom of all the boots (in the center of the sole). This was an Easter egg added to all the screen used kits as a nod to the peg hole in the original Kenner action figures. We considered including this into the level 3 CRLs but felt it was a bit much since no one makes boots with the hole in the sole.

 

 

The belt looks great. I would recommend that the tabs get slightly angled to make it easier to align them with the ab detail and the screen used belts were slightly angles so each tab is more like a tooth rather than a rectangle. I forgot to nudge you when I posted the pics on Kal Akaan’s WIP on us forming the back belt. Sorry about that… Anyway, keep up the great work.

Edited October 14, 2020 by 11b30b4

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Jeff,

Thanks, I was just taking my morning break/ forum check and saw you post this. So, my shoulder traps sit similar to the reference pics you posted with a very small gap under the bottom. I'll play around with them a little.

I still need to finesse those tabs on the belt a little bit. I intentionally left them a little "fat" so I would have room to trim. Also, since I added an extra strip underneath the belt (I forgot to post a pic, but it's basically the same size as the test strip I bent) the belt sits in a position that should allow me to bend the tabs inward slightly. Also, I actually just went to my garage and looked at the rear belt. I may play around with it a little bit because I feel like there's too many layers of plastic there.

 

Finally, I saw this pic of the boots before and I love it. For reference below is my 1980 Dengar figure and one of my son's Stormtroopers from 2010. In Rogue One, are those "holes" cut out or painted? They look painted to me, but I wasn't sure if anyone ever got a close look. I have no problem with painting a "hole" on the bottom of my boots when they come in. That might be fun.

 

[azuma]

Hi Jason and Jeff,

 

Thanks for the comments.  I have a STL file that was scanned and reconstructed based on a HT 12" R1TK. There is no details on the model, but the overall shape should be good reference for 3D modelers. I am not sure if it is allowed to post here, so if anyone is interested in getting the file, PM me for the link.  Thank you so much.

 

Cheers,
Azuma

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Quick update.

I got an email this weekend from DHL that said my boots are coming tomorrow. Awesome. The only problem is that I've been "slow rolling" my build over the last couple days since I didn't expect my boots for another couple weeks. Oops. I've been planning on taking a picture of myself barefoot in full TK armor waiting by the mailbox, but apparently I underestimated the turnaround time for Imperial Boots. I'll remember that next time. So, when I received that email, it was enough to motivate me for another push.

 

I put up pics of the belt and thighs last time, so now that they're put together and awaiting paint, I decided to smooth down all the edges of the abdominal armor I had banged up while sizing everything else. As I stated in a previous post, other threads mentioned starting at the middle and work out. This meant beginning with the abdominal armor and then putting it on/ taking it off about a hundred times to see how everything else fit. This meant that all the smooth corners I had worked on back in August had become rough and the multiple layers of primer had their fair share of dings, scrapes, and gouges. However, everything was easy to fix and I was able to hit it with the gold paint.

 

This was taken after my first round of wet-sanding at 400. As you can see, I went pretty heavy on the gold, which resulted in some big runs, but as I've discussed previously, the corners and cracks got filled up nice with the gold flake and the runs were taken care of after wet-sanding at 800 grit. Following the gold and sanding, I got my golden thighs and the ab together and started spraying. This was the result:

 

 

 

My pictures never seem to do this stuff justice, but believe me, it all turned out awesome. Also, I've been stressing about spraying the abdominal armor, but it all worked out fine. I just had to keep reminding myself to take it slow and not go too heavy. Also, I was finally able to pick this stuff up:

 

Why is French Blue so hard to find? I couldn't find it online for a reasonable price. However, in my search for 10" elastic and 9" separating zippers (had to order off of Amazon) I found a bottle at Hobby Lobby. It was actually hidden behind another blue and the only one in the store. Also, I'll be doing a final build update this weekend and try to include as much about my strapping as possible. The elastic/ zipper abdominal closure has been covered in other build threads, but I'll do something here as well. I've got a plan in my head, but we'll see how that goes. Also, I think I've got enough elastic to do like 5 stormtroopers.

 

With everything else done, I've now turned to the pieces that have had me spinning my gears ever since this build began. I've posted pics of the shin armor taped together a few times, but I've also documented how I haven't been happy with how it fit. So, after looking at other build threads, I just decided to get to work. 

 

Now, I just posted a few days ago that I asked the designer to change the shin armor, which they did, but I really didn't want to print out the new set. These fit together "clam shell" style, so it's pretty straight forward. However, I cut away the strip I circled in red because it was causing a whole bunch of weird gap/ fit issues. Additionally, I didn't feel that it was necessary since the front will be butt-jointed and sealed. Also, the strip would prohibit any kind of flex and make it impossible to put on the shin armor.

 

Ok, this looks bad; real bad. But all I can say is "PC-7, where have you been all my life?" Ok, the product is over 60 years old, so obviously it's been there the whole time, but I've never used it until now. Also, the only reason I decided to try it out was because of @11b30b4's posts. So Jeff, thanks again. As I said, this looks bad, but if anything, this build has made me very good at sanding. After doing that all night, I was left with this:

 

LOL, socks and Birkenstocks. I guess that's the Pacific Northwest side of me showing through. Actually, since this is a 3d print it doesn't flex as much as I would like. I have to kind of slide my heel down the crack in the rear which wouldn't feel good barefoot. The socks help a lot, but this means that when suiting up, I'll have to start with the legs first, then boots. Ultimately, they passed the stress test. I was able to put these on and take them off several times without issue.

 

I'm probably going to print off another set though, using the new file. When I do, I'm going to set the infill very low. As a side-note, I printed off Sean Fields' Shoretrooper shin armor for my Mando build and it was designed very thin with a lot of flex. I think that if I emulate his settings for the next print, I'll be golden.  

 

So there we go. Other than painting the belt, which I'll do tomorrow night, I'm on my last two pieces of armor. I'll get back to the shins on Wednesday night, but I'm at the point where all I'll be doing is touch-up paint and sewing/ strapping this weekend. Also, with packages arriving from The Darkside Closet and Imperial Boots tomorrow, as well as new Hovi Mic stainless steel mesh form Etsy, I'll likely be sending pics into my GML next week and see if we can get a 3d printed TK into the 501st.

 

Thanks again for viewing. I'll update this weekend. 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by BigJasoni

[BigJasoni[TK]]

So I had a few armor items drying last night, so rather than wait until the weekend, I decided to tackle the abdominal armor fastening system. I'll submit this post as a tutorial for this awesome abdominal closure. Thanks again to @11b30b4 for "nudging" me towards this system rather than the strap and buckle setup I had already gone with. Since I've tried both methods, I'll go over the positives and negatives of both towards the end of this post.

 

First, let me show what I'm trying to achieve:

 

    

 

Both of these pics are from Jeff's Rogue One TK vs. OT TK Comparison thread found here: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/48617-rogue-one-tk-vs-ot-tk-comparison/. The first pic is of what appears to be a screen used ROTK set. The second is Mr. Paul's Shoretrooper system. Regardless of the authenticity of the first, it seems legit. I tried searching everywhere for ROTK wardrobe malfunctions that might show one, but this is the best I can muster:

 

Can't tell, but by just looking at the unclear image I'll just assume this is the way it is. Regardless, here we go. First, here's the necessary tools:

 

 

Not too much there. Of course, you only need one zipper, and scissors work just as good as the rotary blade. Also, you don't need a HD machine for this task, a regular sewing machine works just fine for elastic and zippers. Technically you can hand sew the entire thing, but this is much faster and providuces a much better product. You can see the zipper foot to the left of the machine, but I didn't use it; a regular foot works just fine.

While I'm discussing sewing, I'm no pro, I don't even claim to be good. But, my advise is don't be afraid to try it out, especially if you're building a lot of costume accessories. I bought this because our old machine couldn't handle duck cloth without failing let alone vinyl or leather. Plus, it's like 25 years old. Additionally, I can't justify $770 for Mando soft parts and another $650 for leather. We're getting up towards Darth Vader costume prices there. Back to the build.

 

 

 

First, the edges of elastic can get pretty "thready," mostly when cutting against the grain. I squared off the swatch, and then burned the edges to melt off and close the ends of the fibers.

 

This elastic is 10" wide, so it's plenty big enough for most abdominal armor. Unfortunately, I cut off the right side of this picture, so you can't see how far it extends past the bottom edge. My armor is 9" tall. Also, distance from the top of the belt recess to the top of the back is 8". This is why I ordered a 8" zipper, but I probably could have just grabbed the 7" (8" overall length) one that they had at the fabric store. I'm also looking at the mess left over from the 1/4-20 screws, washers and buckles and think this new system will be much more kind to the armor.

 

Old picture.

Next, I double checked the armor to see what I was working with. I had my wife measure the gap at its widest point which came out at 3 1/4". With that info, I set out to transfer measurements to the elastic.

 

The dotted line represents the zipper. The inside solid lines are the edges of the back gap and the outside is Velcro. I decided on 2 inches of Velcro on either side of the gap. Since this is a lateral pull I don't fear that the Velcro will separate from the armor, but I went with 2" regardless to provide plenty of surface area. 

 

This gives you a good idea about what I'm talking about. I held the elastic up against the armor again to get one last measurement of where to cut the bottom, which I shouldn't have done. .

 

As discussed previously, I purchased an 8" zipper which has an overall length of 9". Now, I could have used this regardless as the extra inch of zipper fabric at the top can be cut off or folded and sewn over, but at the last minute I decided to run the zipper the full length of the armor. So, I decided to cut a new piece of elastic which took about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Untrimmed and trimmed.

 

 

 

 

Next, I cut down the dotted line, laid double sided tape along the seam, and set the zipper in place. I like using double sided tape because it holds very well, it's fast, and doesn't require me to put pins in the fabric. They make seam tape for these applications, but it costs $7 for a small roll and doesn't hold as good. On the plus side, the seam tape dissolves after washing a few times, but after scoring and cutting the tape, it will never be seen again.  

 

 

 

This is the result. Now, this is where the sewing pros should bust on me. I didn't fold the seam over before sewing. Honestly, it doesn't bug me at all, because with the ends cut straight and melted shut, it turned out pretty clean. Also, as you can see from the second pic, after running a straight stitch down the length of both sides of the zipper, everything holds strong.

 

 

 

Next, I laid the Velcro down along the edge of the fabric and sewed it on.

 

Finally, I stuck the piece in the inside of the armor and covered the edges with Velcro for the kidney/ trauma plate.

 

 

 

I know, it's not centered, but you get the point. This is so much more comfortable than what I had before. Also, I discovered that I need to put a little cord on it so that I can zip it myself. Finally, regarding the kidney plate, I just realized that the new CRL says "the abdominal armor back cover plate has two protruding tabs along the bottom that rest inside the back hard belt." I'll add that this weekend, but @11b30b4, @Sly11, can we move that down to the Kidney Armor section? I overlooked it previously because it's listed under abdominal armor.

 

Pros and Cons of both systems.

 

Old buckle system:

Pro- Can pull ab real tight. This has a good thinning effect.

Con- If tight, it's hard to breath. If loose, you really rely on the suspenders a lot. Skinny guys don't need thinning.

Pro- Very stable.

Con- The straps have to be fastened somehow; either screws or epoxy, glue, etc... The holes in my armor show the obvious draw of this system and sometimes glue fails.

Con- Even when filed flush to the nut, I can still feel the screws in my back. This doesn't bug me too much, but my undersuit cost $200. I don't want it to get snagged/ damaged.

Pro- Can easily take on and off by myself.

Pro- Doesn't require sewing.

Con- Though not listed in the CRL, it's probably not screen accurate.

 

New Elastic system:

Pro- Very, very, very comfortable.

Con- Cannot tighten as much as old system.

Pro- You can breath in it without effort. Seems much more natural.

Pro- I fastened it with "industrial strength" Velcro rather than adding a 'mechanical system' to the armor and it's not going anywhere.

Pro- No screws or glue; much easier on my undersuit.

Con- Sewing

Pro- SEWING IS EASY

Con- Unless you're a contortionist, you're not getting this on and off by yourself without a cord.

Pro- The last one isn't really a con, because adding a cord takes about a minute and it's hidden by the kidney armor.

Pro- Building this and installing it took less than an hour.

Pro- See number one.

Pro- It's probably screen accurate, but unless I'm corrected, this has yet to be verified.

 

Overall, this entire process took less than an hour, and it's well worth it. It actually took longer to write this post during my breaks and lunch today than it took to do the actual work. Also, the comfort of the system cannot be overstated; this has become a necessity for me in future builds. I really hope this helps someone out in the future. In my opinion, the return on investment is huge.

 

Thanks for viewing.

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2020 by BigJasoni

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work and well documented

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Question for those who may know... possibly @11b30b4, @TheRascalKing, @Sly11 or someone else I may be overlooking.

 

After my last pic, this is what I did to my kidney plate. Never mind the scuff marks on the right side, I'll take care of that tomorrow. I added these tabs based off how I read the CRL and what I saw in other posts which referenced the shoretrooper plate. Can someone give me either a thumbs up, or a rudder steer before I make this permanent? It fits great with the belt, but I just have them temporarily super glued. Thanks!

 

Since I'm on here, I'll post a very quick update.

 

 

When I last showed the belt, the tabs (teeth) were big rectangles. I've since trimmed them down and they fit great.

 

However, when I started playing around with my Thermal Detonator, I realized that I put the keypad plate on upside down. I was able to pry it off and reinstall, but it left the cylinder a little dinged up. When it's mounted to the belt the damage is hidden, but I'm a little ticked off at myself for doing this. I think I mentioned previously that I really like the TD. I may make another, but that's a project for another day.

 

I previously showed the shin armor, but I wanted to show this view as well. I really went crazy with the PC-7. It works well, but I really don't like how rigid it feels. I think this is just a downfall of 3D print armor. For safe measure, I contacted 850 Armor Works and will be getting a pair of shin armor from them pretty quick. I'm not abandoning the 3d print TK at all, I've got other things in mind. I think I mentioned previously that I'm trying to look further down the road at other projects. I'll outline that some other day. 

 

After I got the PC-7 smoothed out, I went down the glazing and spot putty road again. I really went heavy this time because I had a lot of "imperfections," but once I got that sanded down, I hit it with the filler sandable and was left with the current state.

 

I should be able to get these glazed, smoothed out, and sniper plate installed tomorrow. By the way, I kept arguing with myself about installing the sniper plate tonight, but I really wanted to make sure I had everything smooth before throwing it on there. This leaves Saturday for gold paint in the morning and possible wet-sanding in the evening followed by paint on Sunday. I'll also finish strapping everything else on Sunday, and depending on the shin's paint finish and curing, full suit-up and pictures no later than Wednesday.

Cheers.

[Sly11[Admin]]

To help answer the question regarding your kidney piece, If those tabs are not visible from the outside of your armour and are simply there to allow better alignment you will be fine. The CRL and review only cover what is visible. We ask for images internally and of strapping only to better help understand how the armour is sitting on you if thee DO's see an issue with alignment of parts etc.

[11b30b4[TK]]

Jason outstanding work. Yes PC-7 is amazing. For your viewing pleasure here are two quick PC-7 videos. The first one (machining PC-7) was what sold me on this stuff a few years ago. Filled a hole in metal with PC-7 then tapped it for a screw. Still works perfectly today. The other video shows how once you wet your fingers or the PC-7 you can mold it like clay.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eabfILkbkH8

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaazrkdTu5w

 

The corset closure came out great and you made a great tutorial.

 

In reference to the two tabs at the bottom of the back cover plate, the original intent was to eliminate the entire kidney section of the CRL since there is not a separate kidney plate for the ROTK unlike OTTKs. That is why it was placed in the abdominal armor section. Making any changes to the CRLs is extremely tedious since the detachment commander must request for the CRL to be open for editing and then make the change. Several people are involved, and it creates a good bit of work for the commander. Since the CRL change, we have asked the commander to unlock the CRLs three times (I think) and I do not believe we need to move this item at this time. I would prefer to wait until we have several significant items to be changed before we ask for another unlock. This issue is simply where it is placed in the CRLs and not an issue of incorrect information, so leaving it where it is should not be an problem.

 

Now to the reason for the inclusion of the tabs. Sly11 is correct that if worn correctly, you should not be able to see the tabs; however, I asked for their inclusion for three reasons. First, we know they exists and are part of the armor.

 

Since Mr. Paul is in the UK and has had access to the designer of all of the Rogue One armor (Glyn Dillon), he has been able to learn a lot about these costumes and how they were designed, produced, and worn. He has incorporated most of this knowledge into his Shoretrooper 3D files essentially making his armor the most accurate available. Although, the Shoretrooper is different in many areas, a lot about the armor is the same with the Stormtrooper. Here is a screen capture from RO showing the tabs. In this seen the tabs have come loose and sit on top of the back belt rather than behind it, this is most likely due to the movement and was unintended. It is believed that the tabs for the Stormtrooper are cut down compared to the shore trooper and simply tuck behind the back hard belt rather than actually attach to the back belt like they do for the Shoretrooper. This is most likely because the back armor on the shore trooper does not come down as far as it does on the Stormtrooper.

 

 

Here are some pics from Mr. Paul’s Fb page of his design of the Shoretrooper back plate and back hard belt assembly.

 

 

 

 

I hope this clears up any questions or issues. Feel free to hit me up if you have further questions.

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Jeff,

That first picture from Rogue One is exactly what I was looking for. Also, the closeup pic of the tabs and belt is perfect. Thanks! Regarding the CRL, I wasn't sure. I keep referring to this plate as the Kidney Armor, because that's what I've seen elsewhere; that's why I asked. However, after looking at the 850 Armor Works site, they refer to it as the "Trauma Plate." Maybe I'll just go with that.

The PC-7 machining video is incredible, I've never seen anything like this before. So far  it's holding up pretty good and it sands great as well. I actually just used some for my thigh strapping last night and when I checked this morning, it looked like it did exactly what I needed. Also, I saw the 1" ball video earlier as well as the company videos where they use denatured alcohol for shaping. I started doing that and again was pretty impressed. Also, I've been using a scrap piece of HIPS as my mixing pallet and the alcohol cleans it up perfectly. I actually used that scrap piece for the tabs and there's no epoxy on it at all.

I've got my eyes on a Death Trooper kit, so if I go that route, the PC-7 will definitely be something I pick up when gathering my materials. 

[Sly11[Admin]]

The back plate piece is a very similar design to the TFA FOTK where it hooks over the top and the TD attaches to the bottom, minus the grooves that run down its length of course.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[11b30b4[TK]]

Sly11, I keep hearing people refer to the FO Stormtrooper armor whenever we learn something new about the Rogue One armor. Id be willing to go out on a limb here and say that there is more in common than different from the ROTK and the FO Armor kits.

[BigJasoni[TK]]

End of the road. Here it is...

I know I write long posts, so bear me, this one's going to have a lot of content. Honestly this will serve as a summary of the end of the build as well as me spelling out my 3d printed TK lesson's learned. I'll start with what I call "the glory shots" and then bring everything back around to a post Halloween damage assessment. The following shots were prepared for my armor submission; the trained eye will be able to pick apart some details, which I'll try to point out as this post goes along, but I'll cover my overall assessment later.

 

First a few shots that tie up a couple loose ends:

 

The new stainless steel mesh that @11b30b4 steered me towards came in and the difference is night and day. Stainless on the left, Michael's aluminum mesh on the right. Thanks Jeff!

 

I also did my strapping last Sunday, but kind of got in a flow and forgot to take pictures. We discussed PC-7 previously and this was the result after some shaping and curing:

 

I also went a little rogue (no pun intended) and rather than connecting the buckle to straps extending from the abdomen, I took one of my old Marine Corps Martial Arts belts and rigged this up:

 

I did this mostly because the thighs are tight and only go up so far. Additionally, the suspenders I have are very stretchy and were already working overtime to hold up the abdomen, belt, cod, and butt piece. The belt can't be seen under the armor, but it's really uncomfortable. I'll use something similar for my clone build, but it needs to be worked on.

 

The glory shots. Sorry, the lighting makes some of the pics look kind of weird:

 

Gloves: Endor Finders https://www.endorfinders.com/. $55.00 + $3.95 shipping. They're awesome. That's all that needs to be said about that.

 

Boots: Imperial Boots  https://www.imperialboots.com/ $119.90 + $30.00 DHL Shipping. Very nice and sturdy. The insole is garbage, but that's an easy swap.

 

 

Undersuit: The Dark Side Closet https://www.facebook.com/TheDarkSideCloset $230.00. A little pricey, but it was a gift. Amazing quality and even better customer service. Without going into details, I contacted them after receiving my order and they took care of me in a day. I can't overstate how good they are and I'll definitely be buying from them again. I wouldn't troop in this shirt during the summer months though, it is HOT. The material they use is very thick and I was sweating like crazy up until I got outside. As it dropped into the 40s tonight, I was very, very happy I had this suit. I also wore my cycling pants under the knee gaskets and they worked perfect together. 

 

 

Helmet: Modified Nerdforge Designs 3d Print; Etsy. $8.00 STL file.

 

Hovi Mic Tip and gap between vocoder and chin

 

Blue fabric behind tube cutouts, black behind tears and traps.

 

Hand plates: Rogue One style, recess present in front.

 

 

Forearms: Closed with Velcro on one side, elastic on the other. Will re-think the elastic side for future builds.

 

Back plate/ kidney armor/ trauma plate. Tabs present for belt alignment.

 

 

Modified back armor. 8mm circular indent, top of box wall indentation, O cog has 16 spines, 5 raised bars on the 11 bars, and rectangular tabs on rear shoulder strap trapezoids. The tabs are a little big, and I should have attached the trapezoids much sooner, before paint. This would have eliminated the gaps.

 

 

Chest armor with shoulder strap trapezoids, black gloss side extenders, outward swooping pectoral outline and rib cage flare. Chest should probably be "taller" with a more aggressive flare on the bottom. This was one of the first things I asked the designer to correct, which they did, but I think we could have "leaned" the armor out a little more. I still love how it turned out, but maybe just a little more tweaking.

 

Abdominal armor and belt. I forgot to attach the drop boxes on for this pic, but did later.

 

Closeup showing separate belt boxes, trapezoid on middle box, and teeth on top of belt.

 

What color is the rectangular recess supposed to be on the middle greeblie? It's not noted on the CRL, but the picture appears to be a grey outline. Other than that, I can't find a clear pic, but I think I've seen others paint the inside blue.

 

Rear belt, thermal detonator, and kidney/ trauma plate. The contrast is a little off, so the trauma plate kind of blends in with the rest of the back.

 

For brevity's sake, I'll skip the rest of the "glory shots" and go straight to the things that pain me:

 

First, I touched on this in my previous post, but soon after going crazy with the PC-7, even it was no match for my lower legs. The sound of the shins cracking was quickly silenced by the moans of frustration coming from me.

 

 

If the paint looks sloppy and rough, it's because after these broke, I decided to do a quick spray and cover-up for Halloween. Additionally, until I go through a re-design with Akira-Yuming, these shins just won't work. First, the bell-bottom is not nearly big enough which means that my boots won't fit under cleanly. Next, the wall thickness is way too thick; there's absolutely no flex to the armor especially after putting on the sniper knee plate. I have already sent the designer some ideas, but ultimately it's going to have to be a total re-design with thin walls. By comparison, I printed out Sean Fields' Shoretrooper shin for my Mando build and it has a lot of flex and fits perfect, I've already spoken with the 850 Armor Works guys and will likely buy a set of shins from them for this costume. But, I will still print off a set of whatever Akira-Yuming and I come up with for my 100% 3d build.

 

So, for pictures I went outside like this:

 

 

 

 

 

Also, I mentioned previously how thick the Darkside Closet undershirt is. I actually had to modify my forearms to get them to close. My wife decided to take over my Mando armor, so while that costume would have been a good fall-back, I already promised it to her for tonight. Also, it's my size not hers, so if there's any Mando fans out there, please don't pick it apart. She got a lot of compliments when we went to Target.

 

Post Halloween trauma:

 

Scrapes scratches and dings were the most common issue. A lot of these are in places that just confuse me honestly. The above pic shows some pretty bad scratches that occured below the chest and back armor. Essentially, this wasn't touching anything and still got dinged.

 

 

Overall, the abdominal armor still looks good and the scratches can be touched up, but the cod got a huge gouge in it from when I tried to sit down (this was pretty funny by the way). Also, I previously mentioned that I forgot to show the drop boxes in my "glory shot" so here they are. They're way too big. Since I originally scaled my abdominal armor to 105%, I did the same with the belt and boxes. However, when I remade the belt with HIPS, I re-scaled the belt boxes to normal size but totally forgot about the drop boxes. Since I forgot them during the "glory shots," I didn't notice the size difference until I put the armor together yesterday.

 

And this one broke my heart. When I was closing my forearms, I kind of reached out in front of myself with both arms simultaneously (imagine Lou Ferrigno in his famous hulk flex). While I'm no Lou Ferrigno, the pressure from the biceps pressing against the chest from both sides just made it crack. What sucks so bad about this is that I was real happy with how the chest was holding up and it ultimately stood as a sign to how careful you have to be with 3D armor.

 

3D Print ROTK Summary:

 

After three months of printing, and building I've performed these final calculations.

 

Total weight of armor raw (no paint or filler): 7.12kg (15.67 lbs)

Total weight of finished armor: 8.9 kg (19.58 lbs)

Price of filament + Tax $19.95 per kg.

Total price of armor @ $19.95 per kg: $142.04

Waste (pile of lesson's learned): 5.25kg

Price of lesson's learned: $104.74 (ugh)

Paint/ primer: $200 approx. 

Filler/ sandpaper/ supplies: $100 approx.

Total Cost of armor: $442.04 + waste = $546.78

Total Cost of Armor/ Soft Parts/ Boots: $880.89 + waste= $985.63

 

So, with all that said, my opening statement on August 9th was "Throw my name in with the other ROTK threads, but let's do this with a 3D printer, and finish the project." Ultimately, other than the inaccurate stuff on YouTube, I had seen several 3d projects that were started, but none that had been finished. In the beginning, my wife and I were curious if it could be done to an acceptable standard with a 3d printer. While I did break the shin armor, I finished my project and would have submitted pics this week, had the mishap not occurred. In the end, I think it's at an acceptable level, but that's mostly due to the help you all have given me.

 

I've decided not to submit pictures of this armor set to my GML. I do like how it looks, but the 3d print settings need to be overhauled before it's "troopable." Basically, I feel that after I clean it up and get rid of the Halloween damage, I'd be able to take some pretty good "studio" shots, and probably be accepted, but then not be capable of doing the things that drew me to the 501st legion in the first place. I really want to get out there and start participating in events, but I think I'm going to have to wait for the BBB like everyone else that's assisted me through this project. Jimi sent me his price list this week, and of course, I've already spoken with the 850 Armor Works guys. Also, while there is a Din Djarin CRL out there, and I could put together some pre-beskar armor pretty quick, I linked up with the 501st to be a Stormtrooper; the other stuff comes later.

 

Overall, through this project, I learned a lot about this hobby and the ROTK armor. By the time I'm able to start building a new set, I'll be well prepared to build towards the Centurion Level set and join the ranks. While I'm waiting to start my next project, I'll continue being active on the FISD forum and learning as much as I can. Additionally, I'll be sitting on another 3d printing forum next month with Garrison Tyranus' Inferno Squad and use all of this as valuable information to pass on to the viewers. I'll post information about that as soon as it's solidified. 

 

Lastly, we're one episode into the Mandalorian season 2 and haven't seen any Stormtroopers yet. I'm still hoping for some Remnant Stormtroopers, like in season one, to come out (ROTK Armor with OT Helmet). For me, it would be my dream CRL. I don't know why, but the armor combination with the weathered look just works. I've already put my email on the Anovos interest list and will be picking up a helmet kit regardless. In the meantime, I'm collecting as many reference pics as I can and will gladly help out however I can.

 

Thanks again for everything.         

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by BigJasoni
Submitted accidentally