Anh tk build

[Rampage13]

Hello I am starting a 3d printed anh stunt build and need feedback and help along the way.

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

We'll do our best to help whenever you have questions, but be aware that it's very likely that the time and expense of printing an ANH suit will be far more than purchasing a vacuformed ABS kit, and still yield an inferior product. We try to replicate both the accurate processes AND materials around here, so all print lines would need to be removed so we can't tell it's been printed and it appears accurate to the films, which is a tall order. Holy bondo, Batman.

 

As mentioned, there is no "step" ridge under the cover strip for biceps like there sort of is on the forearms, so those will need to be removed from your file or sanded flat, then with a coverstrip added on top, or the two halves overlapped to simulate one (less accurate).

Edited February 17, 2022 by TheRascalKing

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Some excellent advice/information from Justin there, John.  To elaborate a bit, a few other things you need to take into consideration are:

 

1.  Accuracy-  If you are just looking for armor to wear at cons and such this is not so important, but if you are hopefully looking to join the Legion there are lots of details that must be screen accurate (or very close).  I am not sure where you got the files, but note that the end product must meet these requirements.  Either way we we are here to help!

 

2.  Flexibility-  Certain parts of the costume must be able to bend during normal use in order not to crack.  This is especially important on the parts like the lower leg (calf) pieces and exterior "ammo" belt as they must flex quite a bit when putting them on.  Unless you have a 3D printer that can print large items, pieces like the chest, ab plate etc. will have to be printed in pieces and be joined together.  Bondo type products (at least those I am aware of) dry rigid, do not flex and will crack under even the slightest pressure.   

 

3.  Sanding-  All parts of the exterior must be sanded not just somewhat smooth, but perfectly smooth.  Considering there are lots of small ridges/crevices/angles, even with fillers/filling primers you could be looking at weeks or even months of sanding.

 

4.  Painting-  Not the biggest of deals as there are a lot of high quality products out there, but if (when) you should have any scratches/cracks these cannot be buffed out in many cases like ABS can and will need re-painting.

 

Please don't think I am trying to dissuade you from continuing with your build, sir.  3D printing is perfect for many items like weapons, accessories and maybe even a helmet, but I'm not so sure it's practical for a complete set of armor that is intended to be worn.  As Justin mentioned, getting a kit from one of our vetted armorers will not only save you an insane amount of work, but you will know that they are durable, flexible, and have met the criteria for 501st approval (when assembled correctly, of course)! 

 

 

 

[Rampage13]

20 hours ago, TheRascalKing said:

As mentioned, there is no "step" ridge under the cover strip for biceps like there sort of is on the forearms, so those will need to be removed from your file. 

The files are from christhepropguy, and he stated theese are 501st approved files and work with originals to produce?

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

20 minutes ago, Rampage13 said:

The files are from christhepropguy, and he stated theese are 501st approved files and work with originals to produce?

 

It was explained over here in your original thread that there is no such thing as "501st approved" files or armor. It all depends on how they are assembled and fit - including Chris'. And I'm unsure what you mean by "work with originals to produce?"

[TheSwede[TK]]

Chris has some interesting files so I for one are interested/curious to see how this will turn out. It does have some features though that reminds me of old FX armor, approvable but not that accurate. Looking at the helmet I feel hesitant it will look good enough in printed form to be approvable. But hey, you’ll never know and if it’s just a helmet you’ll be needing to complete this project there are plenty options out there. Haven’t heard of anyone trying this before so you might be a pioneer

Good luck! 

Edited February 18, 2022 by TheSwede

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but just in looking over some of the ab-plate details alone you may have some issues.  I may be mistaken, and it could very well be the image supplied on the site but both ab-button panels may be too different for even Basic approval.  Some GMLs could very well pass this as is, but some may scrutinize it more.

 

1.  The right indented vertical panel looks awfully deep, and the rectangle inside it should ideally have rounded edges (not squared) and should sit higher (in line with the second button from the top).

2.  The raised area that the large button plate sits on looks to be a separate piece instead of being molded into the chest plate.

3.  The small ab-button plate appears to be set too deep, and the top gray button on it should be aligned with the top gray button the large one.

 

  

 

Again, I don't mean to rain on your parade but these are just few things that jump out at me.  Would the general public notice these crazy small details?  Never, lol, but it's just a heads-up, and hopefully you may be able to alter the 3D designs before printing them if you want a set of armor that more closely matches those seen onscreen.

 

Although the site states that "You will not find a more accurate set of files" (which may be true) it does in no way guarantee 501st approval.  

 

[Rampage13]

21 hours ago, TheRascalKing said:

 

It was explained over here in your original thread that there is no such thing as "501st approved" files or armor. It all depends on how they are assembled and fit - including Chris'. And I'm unsure what you mean by "work with originals to produce?"

Well if the biceps dont have that step ridge it does not matter how you assemble and fit. He said he work with ot vac form armor and the crls and references.

[sylverbard[TK]]

On 2/18/2022 at 10:36 AM, Rampage13 said:

The files are from christhepropguy, and he stated theese are 501st approved files and work with originals to produce?

There is no such thing as 501st approved.  That is not an accurate statement.  He may claim he worked with originals ... But original what? Moulds?  Movie cast worn suits? Again, like recasters, this is not likely accurate nor any assurance of quality.

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

3 hours ago, Rampage13 said:

Well if the biceps dont have that step ridge it does not matter how you assemble and fit. He said he work with ot vac form armor and the crls and references.

 

I mean, I don't know why we don't just request @ChrisThePropGuy's feedback! Not meaning to speak ill of him or his otherwise excellent work, so let's see if we're misunderstanding something or if perhaps he can update the file?

[Rampage13]

9 hours ago, TheRascalKing said:

 

I mean, I don't know why we don't just request @ChrisThePropGuy's feedback! Not meaning to speak ill of him or his otherwise excellent work, so let's see if we're misunderstanding something or if perhaps he can update the file?

Yes, as he is all over the forums here and has files for sale and says they are accurate to print etc... 

[ChrisThePropGuy[TK]]

Hey guys, thanks for tagging me. No hard feeling so far. I've gone over it in another thread but I'll reiterate to get everyone up to speed. When I designed these I was by no means a tk expert, I worked with Andrew franke our dl to get it as good as it could be but with all things it's easy to overlook some details especially when you're trying to replicate something uneven. Also these were designed to be for vac forming. I had lost the source files and only applied a smooth modifier to the saved stls to get some "roundness".

I'm currently working on some v2 files but I'm always looking for feedback on these things.

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[ChrisThePropGuy[TK]]

Not sure why I had added the raised edge on the biceps or why I'd missed that. I probably assumed it off the forearms and legs and was going off my kit I had on hand. You can use some bondo to blend it flush and it shouldn't be an issue.

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[Rampage13]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:31 AM, sylverbard said:

 

 Ok so if the files are for vac forming it should be in description on etsy not 501st approved etc... unless u send them the files for review so they can check them over. Will we have to pay for v2 etc... so what do I with half the files printed.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Rampage13

[ChrisThePropGuy[TK]]

The vac forming moulds just mea. They're a bit sharper, considering you will fill and sand it you can go over edges to smooth it. V2 will be free for those who bought v1.

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[Sly11[Admin]]

Just a note Chris as we do with any vendor that mentions 501st approved, nothing is effectively 501st approved until built to the CRL and approved by a GML of a local garrison.

Might help you avoid any noise or negative responses to your hard work by removing anything that sounds like 501st approved.

I think it is OK to mention you are working with the 501st to get these as good as they can be.

To explain further, a member could buy any armour on the vetted sellers list and completely make a hash of building it, bad trimming, miss aligned parts etc, and be knocked back by a GML, 3D printed armour would undergo the same scrutiny, in fact maybe more if an applicant doesn't finish it to a suitable standard, like visible print lines bad paint job and the like.

 

I look forward to seeing your V2, you know where to find me if you need any more assistance.

[ChrisThePropGuy[TK]]

Nowhere on the ad does it say 501st approved just a heads up. It reads as "made to follow 501st spec" so long as you can finish it correctly. Made it very clear on the ad that it's not guaranteed.

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[TheSwede[TK]]

9 hours ago, ChrisThePropGuy said:

Nowhere on the ad does it say 501st approved just a heads up. It reads as "made to follow 501st spec" so long as you can finish it correctly. Made it very clear on the ad that it's not guaranteed.

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That makes it heavily implied though, especially If you are new to the whole thing. Just something to consider.

[ChrisThePropGuy[TK]]

That makes it heavily implied though, especially If you are new to the whole thing. Just something to consider.

I'll change it to crl spec maybe? I see where youre coming from though. I know I can't state it is 501st approved but just not sure how to say it CAN be as it follows what's stated in the crl. Just a thought.

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[justjoseph63[Staff]]

28 minutes ago, ChrisThePropGuy said:

I'll change it to crl spec maybe? I see where youre coming from though. I know I can't state it is 501st approved but just not sure how to say it CAN be as it follows what's stated in the crl. Just a thought.
 

I don't want to derail John's build thread, and I would love nothing more than to see one of the sets you designed get approved, but I would appreciate the chance to go over a few concerns with you.  Nothing too crazy, lol, but I would like to PM you this evening if that's OK.  Thanks!!

[ChrisThePropGuy[TK]]

I don't want to derail John's build thread, and I would love nothing more than to see one of the sets you designed get approved, but I would appreciate the chance to go over a few concerns with you.  Nothing too crazy, lol, but I would like to PM you this evening if that's OK.  Thanks!!

More than welcome, dms always open. Look forward to hearing from you.

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[Rampage13]

11 hours ago, TheSwede said:

That makes it heavily implied though, especially If you are new to the whole thing. Just something to consider.

Yes for sure, and if files don't even look the same how can you finish it to meet crl specs.

[Sly11[Admin]]

I'm going to point out the major stress areas of the armour  from a wearing it perspective. These areas I see as almost impossible to be able to duplicate with a 3D printed set of armour and have last any period of time without repair rebuild or even complete part failure.

 

Before I go into this, I would recommend anyone looking to attempt a 3D set of armour, take a good look at a correct ABS kit, understand how flexible it is and where it needs to be able to flex when worn.

 

Shins: These need to be able to flex open to get into them,

They need to be assembled in two hemispheres like all other limb pieces but they clam shell at the back. With ABS plastic at 1.5 mm you get the flex you need to be able to open them up and get your shin in.

Printing in a hard medium will not work for this, rigidity is going to send the stress strait to the front join and it will fail at the weakest point.

 

Shoulder bridges: these flex when putting the chest/back torso armour on. Even with the flex of ABS they still tend to crack over time. 3D printed could break on the first outing or so. Agian a rigid material like PLA or ABS filament will fail.

Chest piece has a degree of flex just from moving your arms around and taking certain poses. it needs to have a small degree ot twist and flex.

But plate: this also needs to flex when you strap it to the Cod piece.

Remember, these files were designed to use as a bucks for vac forming, not necessarily to build a functional set of armour that is 501st approvable, that would come from the bucks and refining them until Chris could vac form something that is functional and how the original suits were constructed.

His 3D printed helmet looks ok but the vac formed version he does from the buck looks much closer to on screen as an example.

 

Not only will you need to be prepared to sped a lot of time and money on printing and trying to make this actually work, you need to then refine it so it looks like all the vac formed TK's out there.

No one is going to give a guarantee a GML will ever approve a printed kit unless side by side it stands up to all the kits available that look identical.

 

I can't wait to see someone try, but be prepared for disappointment, i can't be more honest than that.

 

 

[Rampage13]

On 2/22/2022 at 5:10 AM, TheSwede said:

 

What about scout trooper as it has less armor parts etc... I see the visor moves up and down was that suppose to be like that?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 hours ago, Rampage13 said:

What about scout trooper as it has less armor parts etc... I see the visor moves up and down was that suppose to be like that?

Here's just one build from Pathfinders with 3D printed armor, the helmet does move up with the Scout Trooper

 

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/22826-first-time-rotj-scout-trooper-build-3d-printed/