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2nd Weathering Attempt (pic heavy!)


TK6237
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I´ve been dreading this moment for quite some time, but I think it´s time now to show and tell...

This is a TM suit built by TD-252/Rolf, passed on to me through another Nordic Garrison member; refurbished, adjusted to and weathered by me. Somewhere along the way, it got pretty banged up, so I´ve had to substitute the TM helmet for an AP, due to the TM helmet having quite a few nasty cracks in it, that I haven´t found the time to repair yet.

Here are the pics:

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I´m already a 501st approved TD, but I´ve never been quite happy with my FX suit. Mostly because I´m only 175 centimeters tall (approx. 5´9"), so my chest plate would pretty much ride on my belt...Also, reading and studying this and other 501st forums gave me a taste for the more accurate armors, so when I saw Rolf´s old suit was for sale, I jumped on it.

My FX suit I weathered with acrylic paints, which is another point I was never really all that happy with. It did look somewhat like sand from a few meters away, but if you had a close look at it, it looked like...acrylic paint. So this time, inspired by Gundamzeppelin and TD-1536´s weathering tutorials, I went for the dry pigments, Fuller´s earth and hairspray method instead. And the result is, in my opinon, much, much better than my previous attempt.

Only problem is, I got sorta carried away, just a tiny, little bit...I really am more of a "less-is-more" kinda guy, but I guess I fell in love with the effect I was getting from the new approach, and got a bit overzealous. I´m pretty happy with the amount of weathering I´ve got on, but the colors I used are too dark, in my own opinion. Also, I put in too many small details, giving the weathering sort of a marbled look. The error I did was working on one piece at a time, forgetting to take a few steps back now and then to look at the suit and the weathering patterns as a whole. I´ve already ordered a new batch of Fuller´s earth, and will be redoing the weathering soon as it gets here.

Still, I wanted to show what I got so far, to hear what you guys thought....Am I on the right track? Thanks for looking!

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Hi Mads :) .

Good! to see my old suit in action again.

Sad to hear about the cracks, in the TM helmet.

There was some small ones too, back when i got it too.

I showed them to the other owner before you, before i sold it.

Back them, they was really small.

But the weathering, made them look a bit more bad.

Hope you can fix it, or sell it.

Love the look of the suit, looks great on you.

Maybe i would tone down the weathering, like this:

http://www.tk1536.com/images/te_sandtrooper/Walking.jpg

One the close ups shots, the weathering look it best.

Maybe we will need, to see some parts taken out side too.

The indoor ones are a bit dark.

I like the colours you have used, and the details.

But if i should say something, it would be...

The weathering, maybe look a little bit too much like camouflage.

So i might tone it down a bit.

Beside that, Great helmet, body armor, weapon, pictures.

You are all most there.

Hope to see you soon, whit your new MH/SB back pack on, ready to deploy :) .

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@Ray: Thanks man! I put a lot of work into this, so I appreciate the comment!

@Rolf: As I´m betting you put more than a few hours of work into this suit as well, I´m really pleased to hear you´re happy to see it back in service again!

I was kinda in a rush to get these pictures taken, to send to the Nordic Garrison GML for approval, so I can start wearing it to 501st events. I just suited up and had my girlfriend snap these in our living room with a small, digital point-and-shoot camera...I´ll get some better pictures taken by a proper photographer in a professional studio later this month.

The weathering does look a bit better in person than on these pictures, but I think it´s still too dark. Too much black and brown. When I get the new bag of Fuller´s earth I ordered, I´m gonna rub off most of what I have on now, leave some in the corners and cracks, and then work it over with a mixture of mostly gray, some light yellow and maybe just a pinch of ocher. Then cover it up with a heavy dusting of Fuller´s earth. Think that should do the trick!

Oh, and a word of advice to others wanting to try weathering with Fuller´s earth (and you really should!): Don´t do it inside, especially not in your living room. I spent 4-5 hours cleaning up afterwards...That stuff gets everywhere!

The camouflage-ish pattern was what I was referring to when I wrote marbled...You can see it really well on the back plate. I was working with my nose way too close to the plastic, making the weathering patterns too intricate and detailed. Next time, I´ll put the part I´m weathering down on the floor every now and then, and take a few steps back, try focusing on the bigger picture.

I was really sad to discover the cracks in the TM helmet, especially since the guy who sold the suit to me forgot to mention this to me...There are quite a few cracks in the suit as well, mostly around the edges, which I´ve tried to repair to the best of my ability. I´m also thinking of gluing some thin strips of ABS, using E6000, around on the inside of the return edges, to strengthen the integrity of the suit. I do wanna try and repair the TM helmet, but I think I´ll stick to using the AP with this suit. As I have to admit to being way too short to be a stormtrooper, I think the smaller AP looks more proportionate to my height.

It´s still kinda nerve wrecking, working on a HIPS suit, after being used to the way more solid FX ABS suit. While the FX can take all kinds of abuse, the HIPS TM needs to be handled with a lot more care...Wearing it for the first time, I wanted to check if I could sit down in it (like I can in my FX). Bad idea. The butt plate cracked right away.

The MH/SB back pack is next on my to-do list!...That, and a third go at weathering (second one for this suit).

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Copy that.

Sounds good about the back pack next, hope you can deploy soon.

The way i see weathering.

There are 2 ways:

1. The rocky look, whit many details in ( where there are more white areas vs. dirt).

2. The more dusty look, fade out (mostly done in more light brown tones, but still whit a few clean off soft areas).

1. http://www.looksirdroids.com/images/replic...or/Armor_03.jpg

2. http://www.tk1536.com/images/te_sandtrooper/Forward1.jpg

Many of my suits, i have used up to 10 different colours, brown/grey/black/light and dark.

On my next one, i guess i will only use about 2 colours.

Light and dark brown.

Most of the screen used, do not have so many tone of colours.

And most of the sandtroopers, have all most no weathering on there helmets.

(all most no dirt on helmets)

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Here you see one there just look like one brown colour, going on all over, whit out no technique (well all most).

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Sounds good whit the back up abs on the inside, of your hips TM, to stop the cracks.

E6000 will be a good choice 4 sure.

(if it crack up, better get a new body armor from TM, and i abs this time too)

Good luck whit the build of the pack buddy.

Troop on :)

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@Rolf: I guess the most screen accurate way of weathering would be to suit up, then have somebody smear brownish paint, perhaps mixed with sand and dirt, all over you with a huge paint brush, and then possibly shovel real desert sand over you, or just kick up a nice and thick cloud of desert sand dust and order you to walk through it, while the paint is still fresh...Problem is, there really aren´t that many deserts around where I live. Also, while it does look great on screen, I´m not sure the results would look too convincing when seen up close, in real life. Think I´ll stick to the pigments and the Fuller´s earth for now!

Think I used about 7-8 different colors on this suit, plus a solid helping of Fuller´s earth. Next time, I´m gonna make due with a mix of MIG "Gulf War" (a yellow/grey pigment) and "Ashes White", with just a pinch of rust colored pigment, applied very lightly, before dusting the whole thing with two-three layers of Fuller´s earth, rubbing some of it back in between layers.

What I do is, soak the part I´m working on with copious amounts of hairspray, then sprinkle pigments on using a makeup brush. I then smear the pigment all over the part with a wet rag or sponge, before working it over with a moist sponge to get a better texture. All of this has to be done while the part is still wet with hairspray. If it dries up, I spray on some more. After distributing the pigment, I let it dry for a while, before I start working it with dry and wet rags (like Mike does in his most excellent Youtube vid tutorial - thank you, Mike!). When I´m happy with the result, I let it dry for an hour or so, doing other parts in the meantime, before revisiting the part with the second layer of pigments, working my way from dark colors to lighter ones. In the end, I dust the part with two-three layers of Fuller´s earth, and rub some of that back as well, let it dry for a while, then seal it with two-three more layers of hairspray.

Is that anything like the rest of you guys do?

It´s just my luck to finally be able to acquire a TM suit, just as Troopermaster switches material from HIPS to ABS...I just saw some pictures of one of his new acrylic capped ABS suits over at the FISD, and it looks fantastic! Once I´m happy with the TD, think I´m gonna have to try and build a shiny white TM TK suit.

Gluing strips of ABS plastic with E6000 to the insides of the return edges was actually TM´s own suggestion on how to strengthen the suit, and repair the cracks. Luckily for me, the weathering makes the cracks a lot harder to spot, and the ones you do see just helps with making the suit look worn, I think. I just need to keep the cracks from growing to long an deep, ending with pieces breaking off.

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Copy that Mads.

It would be a nice A+ collection.

A TM HIPS beat up monster TD, and a shiny TK ABS TM.

Hope you get the TK too bro :)

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Hahaha..Rolf's old TM is hitting the MEPD again and...Looking good there bro'!!

It's always difficult to find the best technique that gives the best result. Still you done a good job.

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Look at the chest.

Its really nicly done.

I guess i would clean the helmet a bit down, and some of the darkest/biggest spots on the body armor.

And i have the feeling, that it will ROCK!!! :)

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Thanks guys, really appreciate your comments!

One of my garrison mates just put up a Flickr gallery with some pics from our latest troop, first one where I wore the TM suit. I´m the guy with the T-21...well, actually, I guess I really didn´t have to point that out, should be pretty easy to spot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/knokkel/sets/72157617598027745/

...He´s obviously got a lot better camera than me, so you can see the subtleties of the weathering more clearly. Something, probably the ceiling lights, is giving it a greenish hue, though. Anyway, at this point, I just wanna know what people think about the weathering technique itself, not so much the actual colors, as I´ll be redoing it shortly. And the fit of the suit, of course (which I must say, feels great when I wear it!).

(Bonus points to the those able spot the other TM suit in these pics!)

Its always amazes me to hear I "inspired" someone smile.gif I am honored!

I just really, really love the fantastic weathering job you did on this suit:

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That look and level of weathering is pretty much what I´m aiming for - in the long run, once my weathering skills have improved. Greatly.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Couple of more pictures of the suit to be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8394624@N07/s...57618412262132/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26561474@N06/

...Guess it shouldn´t be too difficult to figure out which one of the troopers I am by now. The other TD, with the black pauldron/RT-97C combo is my old FX suit, by the way.

The occasion for the troop was the Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17th, which is kinda like our 4th of July, with lots of parades and stuff. This was the very first time the 501st Legion was represented in the May 17th parade in Norway, and it was a huge success; the crowds were cheering us on throughout the entire parade route. We´re already planning next year´s parade!

I just got a fresh bag of Fuller´s earth, so I´m redoing the weathering as soon as I find the time for it.

Thanks again for the feedback!

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