Hausi

The prop builders probably put these together in a hurry and they were wonky and not very tidy with all those gaps... and then we painstakingly try to recreate all those flaws... isn't this crazy? Great work Thomas and a keen eye for all those little details.

Nice work, those binoculars look great.

ABS slurry or sludge, as it's also called, is just a great way to repair stuff.

Congrats!

Nice and tidy application and a great-looking trooper, well done Joe. Two easy changes and you'll be joining the ranks.

** APPROVED 19/01/2021 ** Björn, It is my honor to officially activate you as the first SWAT Officer of 2021. Your hard work and your attention to detail on your build has been carefully evaluated and inspected. You have met all the requirements to place you among the MEPD's Finest. Thank you for your patience throughout this process, I know that it was quite exhausting and nerve-wrecking for you but it was definitely worth it and you have set a new benchmark for this particular trooper. You can now take your place amongst the SWAT Troopers! Well done. Please submit a picture that you would like to use for your SWAT Profile to Luis (TD-5044 / "SANDMAN TIGUI") to help get you properly processed onto the SPECIAL WEAPONS and TACTICS Unit Members Page. Congratulations on successfully taking the next step as a proud member of the SANDTROOPER ELITE. Welcome aboard, SWAT OFFICER # 56 Hausi - ON BEHALF OF THE MEPD SWAT PANEL

Hey Björn Thank you for approaching the required changes so quickly. I know that you are quite nervous about this and keen to see the next review but let me tell you that the MEPD´s SWAT program isn´t for the faint of heart as so many have experienced before you... So let´s get started with the second review… MEPD SWAT OFFICER: application review part 2 Name: Björn Dapper Legion ID#0: TD-82112 Forum Name: Doubledx Garrison: German Garrison ANH Sandtrooper selected: Alley Check Enlisted/private (black pauldron) Helmet: Green lenses: check Paint color on traps / tears: check Paint color and number of teeth: check Mic Tips: check Vocoder color: check Rank bar: check Brow: check Side Screws (ears): check Weathering: check **Additional Comments** The helmet still looks amazing and it´s sitting properly now on your head and low enough to look just like those screencaps. **Result on Helmet** CHECKED & CLEARED Armor / Suit Details: Canvas straps shoulder: check Neck Seal: check Black Undersuit: check Shoulder Bells: check Biceps: check Forearms: check Pauldron: check Chest / Back Plate: check Kidney / Butt plate: check Ab plate / Side Rivets / Cod: check Strapping: check Tighs: check Shins / Calves: check Sniper Plate: check Boots: check Gloves: check Hand plates / Guards: check Ammo Belt (waist) w/ correct angled edge: check Ammo Belt (right knee): check Canvas Belt: check Pouches: check Weathering: check **Additional Comments** Björn, you have done an amazing job on the weathering of your armor, I look at it and I can hardly tell the differences to the screencaps, bloody brilliant mate! I have to admit that that right shoulder bell still looks a little low for my liking but you are not the biggest of troopers and so I can understand it is quite difficult to achieve this desired look, so it´s good to go as it is. **Result on Armor** CHECKED & CLEARED BACKPACK Pack#2 Details: check Weathering: check **Additional Comments** Even if you might not have completely agreed on that tape on your pack´s upper box, you did a very good job emulating that screen-used look of the pack… and it certainly looks beautiful now. **Result on Pack** CHECKED & CLEARED WEAPON: Bapty E-11 Details: check Weathering: check **Additional Comments** Bapty E-11 still looks great, most iconic STAR WARS blaster of them all, full stop. **Result on Weapon** CHECKED & CLEARED So this was your second review Björn, please stand by for the staff´s/SWAT panel´s final review. This is probably the most nerve-wrecking moment for you, I feel with you mate. Cheers mate! Hausi – MEPD Deployment officer

Great job Thomas!

Hi Lars, welcome back and thanks for providing those new (and dirty) pics. We can now start the next and final round of reviewing. So here we go: Application Review: Part 2 Name: Lars Boller Legion ID: TD-90874 Forum Name: larsb Garrison: German Garrison Helmet a. Green lenses: check b. Paint color of traps / tears: check c. Correct number of teeth: check d. Mic tips: check e. Vocoder color: check f. Tube stripes: check g. Rank bar on ears: check h. Brow: check i. Side screws (ears): check j. Weathering: check k. no mesh behind teeth: check *additional comments* RESULT ON HELMET Checked & Cleared Armor details a. elastic straps shoulders: check b. neck seal: check c. black undersuit: check d. shoulder bells: check e. biceps: check f. forearms: check g. pauldron: check h. chest / back plate: check i. kidney / butt plate: check j. ab plate / side rivets / cod: check k. strapping system: check l. thighs: check m. shins / calves: check n. sniper plate: check o. boots: check p. gloves: check q. hand plates / guards: check r. ammo belt (waist): check s. ammo belt (right knee): check t. canvas belt: check u. pouches: check v. weathering: check *additional comments* RESULT ON ARMOR Checked & Cleared Backpack a. details: check b. weathering: check *additional comments* The pack is even better-looking with the added dirt and I appreciate that you have kept it subtle. Well done! RESULT ON BACKPACK Checked & Cleared Weapon:T-21 a. details: check b. weathering: check *additional comments* You know that we fight dirty and although a dirty blaster is probably more prone to get jammed, it somehow just looks more in line with the rest of your gear. RESULT ON WEAPON Checked & Cleared Lars, this was your second and final review. Your gear looks great and you are a worthy addition to the ranks of the MEPD´s finest (and the Rancor Hunters of course). Be proud of yourself! You have successfully followed the guidelines in regards to the MEPD CRL and have met all requirements. Please send the pic you want to use to Luis (Sandman Tigui) and we'll get you squared away. I will have your updated information uploaded into the MEPD system asap. Congratulations on becoming a Deployed Officer of the MEPD! Cheers mate!

Congrats Luke, mission accomplished, great job!

Hey Luke, Thomas will be taking care of your application but it's looking really good already! Shins might have taken a lot of work but look spot on. You're supposed to include some pics showing the sides of your armor with your arms raised... but you're a slim dude, so I guess that should be fine. The shoulder elastics are a tad bit brown but let's see what Thomas thinks about them. Keeping my fingers crossed for you mate.

Hi Lars, welcome and thank you for your interest in wanting to join the MEPD´s finest and becoming a deployed officer. Your gear looks great (almost SWAT-ready?) and since you have got yourself a backpack (which you have built quite quickly), we can start your review. So here we go Application Review: Part 1 Name: Lars Boller Legion ID: TD-90874 Forum Name: larsb Garrison: German Garrison Helmet a. Green lenses: check b. Paint color of traps / tears: check c. Correct number of teeth: check d. Mic tips: check e. Vocoder color: check f. Tube stripes: check g. Rank bar on ears: check h. Brow: check i. Side screws (ears): check j. Weathering: check k. no mesh behind teeth: check *additional comments* Nice Helmet, one can see that you have put a lot of effort into it and it is immediately recognizable as the Cantina/Garindan/Docking Bay Captain, well done. RESULT ON HELMET Checked & Cleared Armor details a. elastic straps shoulders: check b. neck seal: check c. black undersuit: check d. shoulder bells: check e. biceps: check f. forearms: check g. pauldron: check h. chest / back plate: check i. kidney / butt plate: check j. ab plate / side rivets / cod: check k. strapping system: check l. thighs: check m. shins / calves: check n. sniper plate: check o. boots: check p. gloves: check q. hand plates / guards: check r. ammo belt (waist): check s. ammo belt (right knee): check t. canvas belt: check u. pouches: check v. weathering: check *additional comments* Your armor suits you really well and you look great in it. My only concern is that from up close,in some places your weathering looks very uniform, by saying that, I mean the pattern which has obviously resulted from using paper towels to dab it off again but no worries, it´s fine for PO and mostly not really recognizable as it is in places where one wouldn´t probably notice. RESULT ON ARMOR Checked & Cleared Backpack a. details: check b. weathering: see comments *additional comments* Great-looking backpack and built in such a short time using some original parts, kudos for that achievement mate. But… it looks too clean. I agree with people saying that this pack shouldn´t be overdone with weathering but yours simply looks factory fresh. Please change that by giving it a wash with some watered-down earth colour, keep it subtle. RESULT ON BACKPACK Pending Weapon:T-21 a. details: check b. weathering: see comments *additional comments* You have done an amazing job scratchbuilding your blaster and it looks beautiful. But what I said about your pack also goes for your gun: please dirty it up a little bit and make it look used. Take the shine off some of the parts and also add a wash. RESULT ON WEAPON Pending Lars, this was your first review. There´s not much to do, those small changes will be a walk in the park for you, especially knowing that you´ve built everything yourself. You have already done a tremendous job and I expect to see your new old dirty pack and blaster soon. Keep up the great work and I am looking forward to seeing your improved gear. Hausi - MEPD Deployment Officer

Cool idea

Hey Mikel, looks like you're off to a good start already. I see that you are from the US (and that you are also into Skateboarding, cool mate! ) so that means that some of the parts might be just as hard to find as they are here in Germany where I'm from. The mortartube for example is a rain water drain pipe with a diameter which is easy to source in the UK. I have always ordered one from Ross when getting new parts for a pack build, you should have also ordered his vacformed Brexton Box replica. However, you might be lucky and find the genuine thing on ebay. I am not at home right now so can't provide the measurements of the endcaps but it seems to me that the ones you got from Trooper Bay are too small. I'm going to check when I'm at home again. The 3D printed plunger caps look about right (keep in mind that the lower bottle is larger in diameter than the upper bottle). Have fun building, looking forward to seeing your progress.

Nice sweater... but too clean. Pour some eggnogg over it. Merry Christmas to you and all other dirty dudes!

I did my time in the Swiss army, our guns looked like plastic toys, maybe that's why I appreciate some old German Iron now, no idea. I just like the design of this gun - somehow similar as the Sterling - and it wasn't even that expensive at the time when I bought it. I'm not a gun nut at all. Had to disassemble and clean that Swiss Gun so many times that I actually hated it.

Then came the final paintjob with a rather dark gunmetal: And to emulate the worn look of the blued steel, I just gave it some washes with watered down black and brown acrylic paint. Dabbed it off again in some places and after letting it dry a bit, I rubbed some of it off again, especially around the edges. So here´s the final result next to the real deal for comparison (the real MG42 is on the left with no barrel). When removing the butt stock on an MG42, one is just facing a large opening, which didn´t seem sensible with wood, so I just added an ABS plate on the back. Even though the gun is fairly light with around 4,4 kg, it´s still good if I can put it down on that plate without worryin about getting bad dents. Another fun touch is that I have added the name "Valken" as well as my number on the back: And as you may notice, I have chosen TD, as it simply is and will always be my favourite costume. Does it sound familiar to some of you that when you attend an event as a Sandtrooper, you always feel badass.. and when you are there wearing some other costume, it feels cool... but as soon as you see someone wearing the dirty Sandtrooper armor, you wish you would also be wearing your TD... So that´s it, Dengar´s Valken is ready and I am already working on some other parts. Cheers mates

Next up was filler primer and a lot of sanding: followed by black filler primer and even more sanding

Many of the smaller details I have cut out of a sheet of 2mm black ABS and used my heatgun to form them. This is what these parts look like on the original MG42: and this is what it looks like on my scratchbuild:

Hi everyone, some of you might already know that I have started a Dengar build. What I really dig about this character is the cobbled-together look with all the Sandtrooper armor, the backpack and that big Valken blaster/MG 42. I for one assume that Dengar originally was a Sandtrooper gone rogue becoming a bounty hunter finally. Altough his blaster has never been used by a Sandtrooper, I just wanted to show you some pics here of my build, hoping that you just like to look at pics of big, badass blasters as much as I do. I already have a real demilled MG at home but as it weighs a ton, I won´t really be taking it out trooping, that´s why I decided to replicate it from wood, a big sheet of black 2mm ABS plastic and some real parts which were easy to source and not that expensive. I am not such a big fan of 3D printed stuff. While it´s okay for smaller parts like Dengar´s DL-21 sidearm, it seems much too fragile for such a large blaster. Wood is going to be much more sturdy.So I started by making a cardboard template from my real MG. sawed it out of three sheets of wood, glued them together and started giving it the right shape with files and my angle grinder:

Hey Raj, thanks for taking the time and sharing your technique with us, great work. Have fun building and upgrading your armor. Cheers mate.

And that's absolutely correct.

There are no more reference pics of this helmet, at least none that I know of, I am sorry. But these should actually work fine.

Such shiny white armor. This is going to be great!

Welcome Anthony