Wook1138

Congrats!! Nice work.

Looks good, trooper! Nice and dirty. good luck.

And more trimming. Torso and belt. Ab. There is no trim line at the ab to kidney seam. I put my cut line at the pencil mark. A lot of material to remove. I used the dremel and cleaned up with scissors. I rough cut the kidney along the pencil line. There is lots of extra material here if needed. I knew I didn’t need much and just trimmed off a bit to make fitting easier. Chest. Most of the trim lines were visible. I always trace them out with pencil. But I had trouble here. The pull was a bit rough here and at the shoulder bridges. Still doable. Rough area from the pull. Sized the ab and kidney parts and I only need 1cm from the edge of the kidney notch. Torso rough trimmed and sanded. I left a little return edge along the sides of the chest. The return edge along the shoulder tabs will help strengthen them. My left side had less return edge thanks to the dodgy trim line and me not paying close attention. Inner return edges are rounded so they won’t snag on things during fittings and what not. All torso return edges are about 10 mm to accommodate screws for original bracket system - but may reduce them a bit more once the screws are in. You really want to rough sand everything and make sure there are no sharp edges before the fitting and strapping process - this will prevent your undersuit from snagging and less chance of creating a tear in the armour. Belt and ammo belt took about one minute to trim. Turned upside down, scored the seam, used scissors to cut along the corners and snapped the edges off. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

More trimming of the AP kit. Shins Unlike the arms, there is a left and right to the legs. Shins are indicated as so. Since you will cut away that part, mark with marker. I use scissors for these cuts. I will rough cut with dremel but finish with scissors to get curves at corners. Sharp corners invite tearing. Unless you are good with the knife I really don’t advise the score and snap method for areas like this v Oh yeah, if you get confused about the shins, they are shaped like this. This is the left shin. Note the difference in the shape of the outer part (right side of pic) to the inside. The inside (left side of pic) has a tighter curve higher up the shin. Also, coverstrips will be 20mm - the seam will not be overlapping when you put it together. All sizing is done with the back seam (in my case) and most people will be good to just cut the front return edge down to 10mm each side. Thighs This is the right thigh. The inside part swoops down to avoid your... errr... bits. The right thigh also sucks. The return edge along the butt seam is not straight. I drew a straight line to act as a return edge. Trimming the front seam. The score and snap works awesome here. 10mm edge. When I cut the front seam I try to leave some extra material along the lower return edge detail. This will minimize the chance of a gap. This is the right thigh so it will be covered by the ammo belt, but keep this in mind for the left thigh. I forgot. Final trimming on shins. Ankle return edge completely removed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Since I'm done with this build for now, I figured I would post some stuff that I didn't post during the build - namely the trimming part. I posted this over at FISD for new people trimming the AP kit, so I guess I'll add it here too. Sorry if the images show up as only links - tapatalk thing when copying posts from one forum to another. This is of course for new people with no experience with trimming the AP kit. I'm not really talking about measuring for fitting, just the rough trimming (for the most part) Getting ready. I use a combination of lexan scissors, dremel, and score and snap with a utility knife. Picked these up. Bicep There is no left or right for the arms. They are the same. So the trim lines are pretty good for most pieces. Red in the pic. The green is the return edge for the butt seam that gets the coverstrip. The blue just separates the two halves. Inside bicep. I used the score and snap method here. I don’t like using this unless the lines are straight and flat. The knife can get away from you pretty fast and you can end up cutting your armour or at least create a weak spot for a future tear. I never score towards an inside corner - I'm not great with the knife and tend to overshoot the corner - creating a weak spot in the armour. Cut to the corners with scissors and snap the the edges. For the butt edge the is lots of material. I only need about 7 or 8 mm (15mm coverstrip) for my edges. Using the inside is great for seeing return edges Biceps rough trimmed. Butt edges not sized yet. Forearms Elbow edge. I left return edge only because the particular sandy I’m building has some return edge. I’ll reduce later to better match reference pics. Wrist edge of forearms. More return edge needs to be removed Wrist return edge needs to go. The inside of the piece really shows the return edge well. Shoulder bells before Shoulder bells after Don’t forget to clean up the little return edge along the side if present. Arms trimmed and ready for fitting. Return edge left where possible for screen accuracy sake. I removed all return edge for my TK build. But this is a sandy and they seem to have return edges. After fitting I reduced all butt return edges to about 7 or 8 mm for a 15mm coverstrip. Had to trim the shoulder bell return edge so I fit over the bicep better - not done yet in pic. I sand the areas that I will glue with coarse sandpaper. This helps the glue stick. Use E6000 - can't stress that enough. Cut some 15 mm coverstrips and sand the rough sides. There is a shinier side - this is the side that faces out. The other side gets the rough up with sandpaper and glued. Ready for assembly. Edges rough sanded and all corners rounded off. Got some gluing done too. Forearms got their coverstrips. The right arm doesn’t get a full coverstrip. And yes, that is the inside seam by accident. Too long of a day - good thing it is E6000. Check it out below in green. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Connor. Welcome to the MEPD. Yes, you have come to the right place. To get started here, check out this section: http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?/forum/1-the-barracks/ And check out the CRL (costume reference library): http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TD_sandtrooper And check out this thread for help in selecting a kit: http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?/topic/10053-where-what-and-whom-to-avoid-when-buying/ This hobby is really about the research. Take your time, do some reading, and ask questions. There a number of options for buying armour - all depends on your budget and body size. The do-it-yourself kits are very rewarding and will save you a few bucks. Try to stick with vetted sellers - and remember, if a deal looks too good to be true... well, you know. Also, since the sandtrooper armour is almost the same as an A New Hope stormtrooper, you might want to also check out FISD (www.whitearmor.net) for additional information and general tips for building armour. Of course, once you get into the sandtrooper details such as backpacks, pouches, and BFGs - nothing beats MEPD. Good luck with your journey!

Email sent with pic. Thank you!

And now a deployed PO! Woo hoo!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MG 34 is a 3D print. Easy trooping.

Wow!! Thank you!! I’m lost for words, so...

Added to the list above.

Hi there... for your review. Let me know if I missed something. I apologize for the green screen - it is casting weird shades on some of the weathering in the close up pictures. Thank you for your consideration. Name: Greg Bell ID: TD-34575 Link to 501st: https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=27237 Username: wook1138 Garrison: Badlands Pictures: Bucket off: Front Back Back - no pack Right Left Ab detail Right ab snap detail Left ab-kidney rivets detail Belt Shoulder straps Cod and posterior detail Thigh ammo pack Helmet Front Helmet Back Helmet Right Helmet Left Helmet green lens Helmet vocoder and hovi mic detail Helmet right ear and tube stripe detail Helmet left ear and tube stripe detail Hand guards Neck seal Pauldron Pouches (including small Spanish pouches) Interior Strapping DLT-19 right DLT-19 left DLT-19 wire and weathering detail Backpack Backpack right Backpack left Some poses and action shots I couldn't help myself - here are some action shots as the Docking Bay 94 Captain.

If I’m not mistaken, those look like the “sandtrooper style” stripe templates from trooperbay. One side is more sparse than the other if I remember correctly. All I know is that this is not based on the “stop that ship” helmet. I think the “ move along” helmet had more stripes on the left side, so maybe the stencil was trying to emulate that.

Found a pic from day 2 of the expo. I’m practicing my Garindan walk. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sounds awesome! People seem to really respond to the TDs. I fine tuned the kit a bit and wore it much more the second day. Trooped with the T-21. Nice! Here is the only pic I have right now - I was in kit about 6 hours each day but didn’t manage to give my phone to anyone for pictures so I’ll wait for others to send me copies. I had to copy this one from the expo’s twitter feed. I’m on the left. The other sandy is another Badlands trooper, Jon, who is SWAT. It is from day one so no T-21. I don’t believe the one in the middle is from the Star Wars universe Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I donated it to the props display. The Armor needs some fine tuning. Going back to the TK for the rest of the day. How was the troop? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have my first troop with my TD this weekend. I tried on my backpack tonight. I’m not to sure about trooping with it since there will be some thick crowds. Of course that means attaching the shoulder pouch to... what? I’ve decided to use a small elastic strap to wrap around my arm and magnets to hold it in place. Drilled 3/4 hole in wood “ammo clip”. Inserted a couple of magnets. Duct tape another magnet to inside of chest. It holds its position without any other support - sort of. Still need the strap around the arm. Two sets of magnets might hold it in place without any other support. Might. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Had a small troop today, so that was good. My voice electronics failed again, so that sucked. But I think i conditionally finished my t21, so that is good. Added the tubing greeblie with some blue wire (sacrificed some cat5 wire). Added sling. Added coil wire. Just need weathering and one other thing. I put a couple of elastic bands around the barrel shroud. I’ve seen other builds where people use tubing. I think it is a bracket for a bipod. The elastic bands are temporary. Screen shot Actual Lewis gun. I will shape a piece of plastic to wrap around the barrel some time in the future. I also picked up some fuel line to test if I can fit it on the corrugated surface without looking ridiculous. My weapons locker is expanding. New member of the family. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is outstanding news! Thank you.

T21 is painted and assembled save a few greeblies and sling. Also made some minor modifications to the pack. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks. That's unfortunate. I must admit, I don't see a fraction of the detail you guys get from these pics, but the lower pic does look more like tubing of some sort rather than a corrugated material.

Hey Urs, I meant to ask - would the corrugated tubing look be ok for SWAT or would I have to use fuel line (or similar tubing).

No worries - not much one can do about the shipping. You packed it about as well as anyone could. That is great news about the mortar tube. Yeah, someone recently got called on the shape of the lab pipe. Thanks Shawn. Looking forward to seeing the finished armor!

Backpack. So to get PO approval, a trooper needs a pack. Although the Docking Bay captain does not have one, the Cantina Capt does, so I purchased a #3 (standard) backpack from CrookKnight. He had a May 4th sale that made it too hard to pass up on. Anyway, the pack arrived today. The pack came very well... packed. Took me awhile to get to the actual pack. However, as impressive as the packing efforts were - it was no match to the brutality of the Post. The plunger head came off - which is fine since it should be mounted at a bit of an angle anyways (which I was going to do if not done so already). One of the seed trays was cracked on the bottom. Again - a little black tape and it will look probably even more screen accurate. A screw for the canteen fell out. I found the screw in the packing, but realized it was probably a little too short anyways - so I'll put in a longer one. I do have another canteen to replace the 3D printed one at some point down the road. So anyway, the pack is pretty sweet. It saved me a ton of work of finding and putting this stuff together. That said, I might make a few changes to make it more screen accurate. I'm not taking this pack to SWAT (if that happens), so I won't go really crazy. I have no idea what is actually required of the pack for PO but I guess I will find out. The changes I might make are: add small disc to top of lab pipe (upper left circle in pic) mount the plunger at an angle (dashed line showing exaggerated orientation) cut the mortar tube down a bit or lower the whole thing if possible. the white caps are 3D printed, I have ABS ones if needed. I might augment the bee stinger and make it a bit shorter (lower mid of pack) the radar dish (?) or tupperware lid needs a black backing to it and should sit a little lower on the mortar tube. As you can see, a few things are a little high or a little low compared to the reference pic. But I really can't complain, I could just weather this guy and go.

Painting T21 wood parts. sorry, the pics will probably only show in tapatalk. So I guess a person has a choice with the grips and butt of the T-21. black, or bakelite look, or wood look. I like the wood look so that is what I'm going to do. at the end of the day, it will be very dark so it doesn't stand out as wood - like most of the reference pics. I use a method of applying many washes of acrylic paint to make it look like wood. So starting, mask the area off. The black is primer. Paint white strips with various amounts of water. By the way, I'm using vallejo acrylic paints so water is the thinner. I even used my finger to run the white in to make the streaks. This base layer will dictate the direction and look of the wood grain. Now,this looks crazy but it works. I paint a bunch of different, bright colours in washes. I just slap it on any way, following the brush stroke direction of the white. This will give the brown washes, that I will add later, some more life and variation. I took 80 grit sandpaper to it and scratched it down to the primer and occasionally down to the black plastic below. I add a layer of light brown to neutralize things a bit. Then I sanded again very lightly. I started added washes of brown. Starting with brown mixed with red, and then brown mixed with black. Keep on adding washes of brown with various tones. My final wash was pretty much black to give the wood a nice aged look. then I removed the masking tape. ready for the next step - darkening the metal parts.