The BigJasoni's ROTK 3D Print Build Thread

[BigJasoni[TK]]

All, thanks for the tips on the paint. It's just weird since I haven't had any issues putting the white on top of the gold, it's only when I try to put anything on top of the white. I think I'm going to follow Tarok's advise and play around with a couple scrap pieces before I try to lay paint down over a cured coat again.

 

Since I showed a pic of the ab armor yesterday, I thought I'd outline this process a little. I'm hoping that by the end of the weekend I'll be posting pics of a few more finished pieces, but for now, I can at least bring this thread up to the current time.

 

First, I'm going to post a pic of something that has become a very valuable tool throughout this process.

 

I'm not sure how widely used this tool is, but the concept is very simple.

 

 

 

Of course, these pics are a joke, but the basic steps are gauge body part, measure, and then scale armor in your slicing software.  In theory, a person should be able to use this tool when measuring for any type of armor before trimming. If you guys want the file, they can be found here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2892755 They were created by Uncle Jessy, but he credits NikkoIndustries with the idea. For an in-depth view of how to use them, check out Nikko's video at https://youtu.be/8p0iqI_qWK8 or Uncle Jessy's video at: https://youtu.be/OM5hwTrVnRU

 

After scaling my armor, there was no way I was going to get it to fit on my print bed. When I chose the CR-10S, I did so because of its large surface, but as I alluded in a previous post, something even larger will be very welcome for future builds. The CR-10S Max is very attractive, but also very expensive. 

 

I started to make my cuts in Meshmixer, but was not a fan of cutting right through the front greeblie. Instead I decided to print off the file without the boxes which also helped extraordinarily well with hiding the seam. As I stated yesterday, if I can cut a file behind something that gets affixed later i.e. the belt ammo boxes, it eases the post processing burden. Additionally, printing the greeblies separate allows a person the opportunity to print them again slowly, at a much higher resolution. Preferably, I would like to print detail pieces off with a resin printer, but that's another future purchase.

 

Here's the slice without the boxes. Between the front greeblie and the belt, over half of the cut will be covered with another item.

 

The side slice was a little trickier. Again, I wanted to hide the cut, so I decided that the best place to do so would be along the forward edge of the semi-vertical seams on both sides.

 

I posted this picture yesterday, but this illustrates how I was able to "weld" the armor on the front. Typically I won't plastic weld anything on the outside of the armor, but since this will all be hidden, it was perfectly acceptable and did a great job of strengthening the seam.

 

Greeblies were printed separately, but as I said yesterday, I totally forgot to change my print settings. Regardless, they turned out pretty good.

 

For this part, I did my post processing a little out of order. After I welded the inside of the armor, I ran a thin bead of the Alex Flex along the front seam and sprayed a thin coat of filler primer over the top; this was what sold me on the process. The print lines were actually deeper than the seam I cut directly through the middle of the armor. When I'm able to pick up a tub of the Alex Flex spackle, I'll update the thread.

 

 

 

Again I went heavy on the glazing and spot putty before doing my first sanding and priming. Also, this is where I decided that I would stop post processing until after I sized and fitted the rest of the armor to this piece.

 

 

Doing the plastic welds is kind of fun. It's nothing more than a soldering iron and extra filament. The only issue I've had is that I've burned my knuckles about a hundred times, but that's just me being stupid. After I do the modified tig weld, I typically follow that up by smoothing the weld line, which forces the plastic deeper into the seam. 

 

The weld is obviously finished in this pic, but it's worth noting that prior to welding the pieces, I tacked them together using a few dabs of super glue and a bead of E6000. After allowing the E6000 to cure, I ran a bead of super glue along the seam and then dusted it with baking soda. While this cures the super glue almost instantly, I found that the baking soda cement line wasn't very forgiving to flex. In the future, I will fill the gap with the Alex Flex. 

 

Really not sure what I was thinking, but I really didn't like how narrow the gap was in the back of the armor, so like an idiot, I cut it wider to give me extra room to slip the piece on and off, and bring the gap up to "approximately 4 inches," which I swear I read somewhere but can't find now. I'll discuss this in a minute. After cutting these pieces out, I stress tested the armor and was able to flex it open to about 9 inches, which was plenty of room to put the armor on and off. However, knowing that I would be doing this frequently, I decided to print off two flex plates that would cover the seams I just welded. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of this, but here's the Simplify3d visual.  

 

The flex plates were wide enough to cover the seams and the high-stress portions of the side-abdominal area. Additionally, at only 2mm thick, they didn't have much infill and were highly flexible. I secured them using E6000 and then welded around the edges. Following this addition, I was able to stretch the abdomen pretty wide, and kept walking around the house like this:

 

Unfortunately, when I put this on, I realized that the rear gap had opened up beyond the dimensions of the rectangle (kidney) plate. Thanks to Jeff (11b30b4) for verifying the size of the kidney plate for me. I had suspected that my kidney plate dimensions were off, but after he told me what his measured in at, I realized that the length and width of what was provided with my armor was correct (I actually increased the depth based off reference pics).

Fortunately, I was able to get all my measurements done and adjustments made before I got ambitious with the cutoff wheel. That's how I was able to appropriately size the chest, back and side extensions as well as get community input regarding the thighs, cod, and belt. I agree that the abdominal should be the starting point for this reason; the placement of almost everything seems to hinge on where the abdomen sits.

Also fortunately, the rear (kidney) section of the abdominal armor was only like a six hour print. I was able to set everything up, do my telework thing, and come back to finished armor. Last night I welded the sides back together and now have this:

 

 

Here I clamped one of the old flex plates on so you can see what I was referring to earlier. I totally forgot to print off some new ones this morning and started printing the back of my clone helmet instead, so I won't be able to put the new flex plates on until tomorrow. Following that, I'm going to hit the inside with some resin and keep moving along.

 

   

Ultimately, though I'm holding it a little low in the pic, it fits how it should. Hopefully I can do the strapping and add this to the pile of white pieces soon. Also, please ignore the mess, that's our COVID stash and evidence that my kids have been feeling rather cooped-up all summer.

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Ok. Quick post before I hit the rack. I'm following @Darth147's build in which he's used a few of the parts from the Akira-Yuming ROTK files. I told him I'd post a quick pic and see if anyone could provide feedback on the cod and posterior. First the cod:

This is how the original file looked. I believe the "underwear look" is more in-line with the original trilogy armor. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

This is how I corrected the piece:

I couldn't find anything to prop it up with, so I used my clone helmet.

 

Side by side with the CRL. These are at different angles, but when I put on the armor it looks like this:

 

This is before I cut it down. Input please.

 

Next, the posterior.

Two different angles, but I think you can get a good view.

 

Side by side with the CRL pic:

Again, different angles, but is this worth chopping before I spray it this weekend? The only pic I have of it on me is this, but it's from the side:

 

Please let me know if these are significant enough to start chopping my armor. Also, this is before I made changes to the thighs, belt and abs. Everything fits great now.

Thanks

Edited August 30, 2020 by BigJasoni
Forgot something

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

 

Here are some references, you will notice that the sides do have a slight curve from about 1/2 way upwards curving out. Also the sides meet with the cod bulge sides

 

 

 

 

 

Your butt plate is very rounded, again compare with some references and you will notice they are quite angular and straight lined

 

You can find more images in the gallery sections for reference https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/category/28-r1-tk-reference/

 

 

 

 

[Darth147[TK]]

i say chop the butt plate it will look a lot better 

everything looks great so far 

[BigJasoni[TK]]

All,

Quick update. The files were redesigned and look pretty good. I'm going to print the new cod and go with the butt plate I chopped. Thanks for the input. Also, I just realized that it's September and that I really need to get moving on this project. Hopefully I can carve out some time this week and get some good updates posted. Thanks again for the help.

'

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I think you will have to move the curve further up as it's closer to the top

 

[BigJasoni[TK]]

@gmrhodes13 thanks again for the advise. After you posted this, I started racking my brain over why this wasn't looking right. I put the model together in Meshmixer along with the belt to see what was going on and it turned out like this. When the uppermost portion of the cod is hidden by the belt, the curve starts about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up. By this weekend, I hope to be able to put the belt together and try everything on.

 

Also, I'm either going to have to cut the belt front or reprint it for the third time. I just looked at the reference pics and realized that my belt has something extra.

 

I don't know where this part came from, but it should be an easy fix. This was actually the first belt I printed off before I realized the ammo boxes were supposed to be separate. However, my most recent belt has the same "hanging chad." Honestly, these are the kind of things I was expecting more of when I decided to 3d print a set of armor.

 

Also, yes, that is my new bucket. I'm so happy with this print.  I just started working on it, and it's perfect so far. I ended up using the Nerdforgedesigns file again because of how awesome it turned out last time. Also, the new helmet file needs a few adjustments that I don't feel like making right now. I'll work with Akira-Yuming on this later. Also, though I said previously that I refuse to cut out the tears on the back of the helmet ever again, I realized that the issue previously was me attempting to cut them out after bondo and primer. This time, it was very easy and they turned out great. I have no idea what I was thinking last time. I'm probably not going to outline the helmet process, since I already did it previously, but I will post a finished pic when done. 

 

 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Been following this thread for a while. I think it is really cool that the armor designer is so open to suggestions and follows the CRL. I'll continue to follow this thread with great interest

[BigJasoni[TK]]

@TheDecisiveRaindrop honestly, I'm amazed that they've been listening to my suggestions. I've had other designers essentially tell me to model it myself if I don't like what they made. I never try to come across like that, I really want to help them with their files, but I understand that it's a lot of work. I think this one's kind of curious about what I'm doing more than anything else, but they've been nice to work with. I've already bought a few files from them. Eventually I do intend on learning how to do my own 3d modeling, but for the time being I'll keep doing it this way.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Just now, BigJasoni said:

@TheDecisiveRaindrop honestly, I'm amazed that they've been listening to my suggestions. I've had other designers essentially tell me to model it myself if I don't like what they made. I never try to come across like that, I really want to help them with their files, but I understand that it's a lot of work. I think this one's kind of curious about what I'm doing more than anything else, but they've been nice to work with. I've already bought a few files from them. Eventually I do intend on learning how to do my own 3d modeling, but for the time being I'll keep doing it this way.

Understandable, I've been teaching myself 3d modeling using Blender and it takes a fair bit of practice. Currently working on a backpack for a costume, and it's already taking over 100 hours for just a backpack! I'm still pretty new to it all, but at least you got the printing side of things down! That's an area I'm still struggling with, especially with my dinky little Ender 3 Pro.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, BigJasoni said:

That piece can be seen on some of the troopers in the promo photo but not on other troopers, 

 

 

Not on screen or display 

[BigJasoni[TK]]

@gmrhodes13 thanks! That actually makes sense because as the designer and I have sent pics back and forth, they've frequently referred to the promo photos. I'm making some changes and should be set this weekend.

Thanks again.

 

[tarok[TK]]

Looks like they trimmed the belt for the promo footage, leaving the bottom lip only in the centre.




Looking at your rendering though, it looks like your boxes are flush with the bottom of the belt.

[BigJasoni[TK]]

@tarokthanks for the input. For that rendering, I just chopped the bottom portion off to show the curve on the cod, so there were bound to be errors. The belt has since been corrected. This pic has a small error under the far left and right ammo boxes, but the belt bottom has been straightened and the boxes are offset from the edge by about 5mm. I think I'm ready to print. I'll post pics after I'm done.

Thanks again!

 

[tarok[TK]]

Cool, no dramas. I did think it odd as you had the lip in the renders above

Btw, are the designers making all the changes you’re making/recommending to their CGTrader files?

[BigJasoni[TK]]

@tarok they are. Every change has been added to the original file. If a person downloads the armor file, they get all these changes. You only have to dig through the files and find the ones that say V_2 or something of that nature. I think at this point, there's four different belts,

[tarok[TK]]

Nice. I’ve got Nick’s helmet waiting in the wings. I reckon I’ll wait until you’ve finished yours before buying their files


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[TheRascalKing[TK]]

WOW! I have long maintained that 3D printing a full set of armor is not practical or remotely screen accurate... and buddy you're starting to change my mind! By far the best looking (and only getting better!) 3D build I've seen so far, and I LOVE that the files are being updated as you go. Looking good and I'm super excited to see the final product!

Don't get discouraged during the process - hopefully you're aware of what a monumental undertaking this is - and take any feedback not as criticism, but as everyone trying to help you look your best! This could be opening the door for some really cool stuff if we can help you get everything dialed in to where it looks presentable (and not like the Hex3D files I've seen for example haha).

 

Keep up the great work!

[BigJasoni[TK]]

@TheRascalKingthanks a lot for the kind words. I have to say, your ROTK build is the other one I'm constantly referencing. That is a great build.

 

I myself have questioned the practicality of this build. However, the input from the community has been a huge boost. There's no way I'm getting discouraged by the advise I'm being provided, because I know that in the end, the results will speak for themselves. Everyone's experience is really helping to create something that's screen accurate, and after I go through the "growing pains" we should have something available that indeed makes this a practical choice.

 

Also, now that I've made all the mistakes one can possibly make, I've learned how to do this right next time. By comparison, it's only taken about five days to print all of my Mando armor. The only thing I have left with that set is the Shoretrooper shin armor, but thanks to @11b30b4 sending me a link to Sean Field's files, this should go pretty quick.

 

By the way, regarding Sean's Shoretrooper set... Wow! 

 

Finally, that Hex3d/ Geoffro file was the one that I put a link to in my first post. I think it's a fun prop, maybe something I'd make for my kids, but no way I was going to try engaging this community with something like that. Also, when I saw their FOTK helmet, I knew there has to be better things out there. Here's my favorite pic:

Honestly, this had to have taken some work, but there's no way I'd put a picture of the real thing next to it.

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Just now, BigJasoni said:

@TheRascalKingthanks a lot for the kind words. I have to say, your ROTK build is the other one I'm constantly referencing. That is a great build.

 

I myself have questioned the practicality of this build. However, the input from the community has been a huge boost. There's no way I'm getting discouraged by the advise I'm being provided, because I know that in the end, the results will speak for themselves. Everyone's experience is really helping to create something that's screen accurate, and after I go through the "growing pains" we should have something available that indeed makes this a practical choice.

Idk if it's worthy of reference, as it's become less of a "how-to" and more of chronicling of my descent into madness (a la Hearts of Darkness hahahaha). But I'm happy if it's helped. There's still plenty of problem solving to do on these suits in general, so I've had some fun (and frustration) trying to get my suit to a level of quality that I expect from myself. I swear some more updates are coming soon, I just have been very busy with work and a few little details that have taken extra time (ugh, shoulder straps).

 

That's an awesome way to think of it, and totally true - you're not just doing this for you, and I really hope others are able to learn and make great armor for years to come once this project is done! We obviously LOVE stormtroopers here and it leads to lots of nitpicking and fine scrutiny, but it comes from a good place. Keep up the awesome work!

 

Not exactly Centurion level stuff here and probably not worth the time sanding the print lines out. God I hate print lines >.< 

[BigJasoni[TK]]

Ok. So I'm guessing that most will look at this update like it's much ado about nothing. However, any progress, regardless of its magnitude kind of gets me excited. Additionally, actually finishing a few more white pieces was just enough to motivate me beyond anything I could have imagined.

First, I think I've done a fairly good job at documenting my issues with paint. For future builds, I will definitely employ a makeshift booth setup with HVLP sprayers, rather than using the rattle-can method. Actually, for my clone armor, I'll do rattle-cans, but others will receive different treatment. While the finished products have turned out great, the process, and resulting errors, has left me kind of "head shy" when it comes to painting. I think that by just going out to my garage tonight, and spraying a few small items, I was able to overcome the memories of recent disasters.

Let me get you all caught up to speed...

First, my printer's putting out more products than I can keep up with. Every time I finish something, I print something else and each requires a lot of post processing work. I just wanted to share this picture because it shows the lineup of current and future projects. Of course, the one in the middle is the priority, but the other two are fun. Unfortunately, Mando has the same deadline as the Stormtrooper, so I've got a lot to work on. But I also wanted to ask anyone who might know... are clone helmets really that big? This thing is enormous. I'm going to post in the Clone Trooper Detachment forum, but my gosh; I feel like I can put the entire TK bucket inside the clone helmet. Kind of like a Turducken.

 

I posted this pic a few days ago when asking questions about the belt (which I've since corrected). But again, it kind of shows the pain of removing 3D print lines. In the previous picture, you can see the horrendous lines left on the bucket after a long two day print. In the center of this pic, you see how I used almost an entire bottle of glazing and spot putty (bottom right corner) to turn the helmet into a "sandable" chunk.

 

After a lot of manual labor, you're left with a much smoother, almost pink helmet that's nearly void of all lines. After a nice layer of filler primer, some sanding, some touch up spot putty, and more sanding, I'm left with this.

 

But that's enough about the helmet. I'll get back to this in a few days. Overall, I'm very excited about how this one will turn out.

 

This pic kind of shows all of the stuff that's piled up during my "fear of painting" period. Please notice that if I would just get over it and paint everything on this bench, that I would only be left with the legs and strapping remaining for the build.

 

I know that nothing is sitting quite right in this picture, which is primarily due to the absence of strapping, but I wanted to check everything regardless, before I start going for "permanent" solutions. As a side note, I have to print the inner forearms again, but that should be a quick fix.

 

 

Which reminds me. I've started a pile of misprints, reprints, and screw-ups. In the end, I'll weigh this all up to see how much money I wasted.

 

This is just a closeup of the hand armor to show the print lines. This is mostly due to me printing at 180mm/ sec. When I slow things down, it's much cleaner.

 

As I stated previously, I just needed to go out there and spray something. Because of the print lines, I decided to use the gold paint method again. After putty, filler/ sandable primer, sanding, white primer, and gold, this is the hand plate improvement.

The difference is remarkable. Other than a little wet-sanding, this is ready to join the white armor club.

 

As is this.

 

And all of these. Yeah, I got some bad runs, but I've seen worse. Also, I didn't even realize that this was more of a brass color than gold. In the end, the results are the same; it's still got flake in it that finds its way into any  remaining lines or errors. I love this process. Honestly, I wasn't going to use it on these pieces, but decided to at the last minute and I'm glad I did. Also, the shoulders had a big crack going through them that got obliterated after some alex-flex, primer and gold paint.

 

 

And finally, the white pieces. Butt, kidney, and ammo boxes. The arms, shoulder straps, hands, and trapezoid pieces should be white tomorrow. Again, this seems like a long post which resulted in very few completed pieces, but when I laid them down with the back and torso I got very excited. Like I said, this was the motivation I needed to start cranking this stuff out. Additionally, since I've now reprinted the shoulder straps and trapezoids, as soon as their white paint dries, I can start assembling and strapping the armor. This should be a good weekend coming up.

Until next time.

 

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, it all adds up in the end.  

[Sly11[Admin]]

This is coming along great

[BigJasoni[TK]]

So, I just saw the CRL... challenge accepted.

 

Ok, maybe not with this build. There's actually a few things in there that may help me out a little, but others I may need input on. @Sly11, @11b30b4, @gmrhodes13, you guys have really helped me out during this process. Maybe you can lend some advise.

 

Really, the only major differences I see are the eye socket bump and the arm pieces; everything else seems like clarification to existing requirements. On the biceps and forearms, I noticed that the CRL now says they are "loosely held closed in the back with elastic, shock cord (bungee cord) or white Velcro and are designed to remain flexible." Does this mean that the forward leading edge is still secured with velcro and that the rear is no longer "fused" shut? For the forearms, this would really help with sliding the things on and off if that's the case.

 

I know this one's not new, but I have questions regarding the shoulder straps where it says "These shall be inserted behind the chest tabs and into slots of the backplate." The picture in the CRL shows this clearly where the shoulder straps appear to go straight through the back armor. As I've tried on my armor, I feel like I need all the shoulder strap I can get (I'm no longer a 160 lb. distance runner). Is this just for sizing, or is there more to it?

 

The gloves say that they "shall be made of a nylon material." Is this a new addition? Is Elastane (Imperialboots.com) no longer permitted? 

 

The belt makes much better sense now.

 

For my 3D printed kit, the eye-bump's probably not happening.

 

Are there other additions I'm missing?

 

Thanks for the assistance.

 

 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Hopefully Jeff chimes in to help you as he has probably the best understanding of this armour, plus he did the re-write.

I still have the CRL open and editable, so if something is going to make more sense I can change and ass it.

We didn't actually change the gloves, that part wasn't touched in the CRL revision

I will have the CRL open for another 3 or 4 days to make any changes, so dont panic yet.

Also, if you have already started your build, you can certainly continue with the previous version of the CRL as you will have a grace period.

I'm glad that the bulk of the changes are making this CRL easier to understand.