Volksjager

Though I would post the build up of this blaster since this one is now mine to keep and I will be painting another in the future. This is one of the 3D prints Plunk has done and I was given the opportunity to paint. So to start, as with all 3d prints, time to sand away the print lines as much as possible. Be careful of heat buildup as this type of plastic doesn't like the heat and it will just come away in clumps. Here all the parts are after an initial sand: Once I am happy with the surface its time to use some spray putty. I went through many layers of this to get the surface smooth with harder areas getting some modeling putty. All sanding was done with Wet/dry sandpaper and all in the sink with water (my wife loved me for that Y&@@& ) Once smooth it's time for primer and then a coat of silver. I like to metalize everything first, I feel it give a better look and colour density. Here are some closeups of the surface once it was silver & shows the texture I got out of the surface. Onto initial painting. I did a lot of research on the MG34 and rather than going with just a black stick, I wanted to replicate the original gunmetal look and show the gun was made up of different parts that could be exchanged with other guns in the field. In most cases the parts have all aged differently and there was quite a lot of tone & colour difference. So here is the first colour being added, it look light but trust me it's going somewhere Because of the silver layer underneath I can add natural scratches to the surface and it again adds to the realism. Next stage was getting the butt stock finished. I was going to go a chocolate brown but decided on black as it adds more contrast. The stock & grips were made of Bakelite and black was also the most common colour. Here it is after a coat of black, then semi gloss clear. Next was the barrel & cooling jacket. As this part was removed often I wanted the cooling jacket to show very patchy colour due to wear with the barrel to be different again. Was happy with the look of the paint finish once I was finished Nice worn look Flash hider is a different colour and more solid in density And lastly I did the bipod. No pictures of this really as its much the same as everything else. I did re enforce the legs though and add a couple of greeblies that should be there from the real gun. Next was the T-Tracks. These were also 3d printed so after a little work I was able to paint them a rubber black for contrast. This is a more green black colour and really does give a rubber look Then after final assembly it was ready for handover. Really proud of this one and was sad to hand it back. Still happy to have been part of it. Sooo... I was given the opportunity to keep this blaster the other week and paint a second for the owner. I was more than happy to accept and this lovely girl came back with me from a recent troop. I had a couple of things to repair and while I was there I decided on a small upgrade. While I was researching the MG34, I found some details on the print missing & I was looking to upgrade the belt feed section as it was pretty bland (not that it needed to be anything else, I am just being picky z--3 ) Here is what I started with: I added a back to the internal section of the port (which I left black) to block out light coming through from the other side. I then made a flange for the feed as per pictures I found online. Heating the plastic to had it bend it in a number of directions which was hard but it came out ok. I also made a T piece that attaches to the top of the cover (again found on pictures of the real MG34 and will probably help explaining its a fake gun & nothing can be put into the chamber) and small piece to the left of the feed. A bit of paint and weathering and I think it came up a treat. And that's it, all finished and ready to troop next weekend!

4. ANH in Concert with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra - 29/9/18 ANH was shown on the big screen with WASO playing the soundtrack live. We completed 2 shows on the day, one at 1:30pm and again at 7:30pm and both were great.

Very nice, the metallic look adds to the weapon. Well done

Well done, great Job

I just finished my Pack 4 for my PO application. Here are a couple of the completed pack

Very nice! Wish we had access to parts like this in Australia but the best we will ever get is resin or 3D print.

Well done, congrats!

Congrats, well done

Excellent news! Thanks for the quick response and I am very happy to be deployed! You are right Bigwam, I will upgrade to the plunger cups for the bottles as well, will look even better.

PM sent for Police Officer certificate Many thanks

Bottles are done, now shorter and thicker than before. Both requested item’s have now been rectified. Please let me know if there is anything else you would like me to change.

The radar dish is done Just working on the bottles now, will post overall pics of the pack once complete

Many thanks, glad a couple of you like it. To smooth the siphon I gave it a light sand, then used 2 layers of spray putty, sanding with 400 grade wet dry in between coats. After that I put on a coat primer filler, sand then the black colour. With the seed trays I found that pack 4 has a 3 rib tray for bottom set (picture pulled from my PO application, thanks Bigwam) Since the last update I have managed to build the corrugated section on the left side of the top tray. Was made from 30mm PVC pipe, same size I used for the lab pipe I also made my straps out of 50mm nylon strapping with size adjusters on both sides of the clip connector. Even put some clear plastic in the dial face of the sonix to simulate the lens Then fix the top tray in place and it was complete Then after a little weathering

Thanks for the speedy review! I will make the changes and be back ASAP. I am glad you mentioned the no disc look as I though I had read that somewhere so I will remove my backing plate and will change the bottles.

Jason Brash TD-86557 https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=24574&costumeID=2 Volksjager Desert Scorpion Garrison

I have been working on this since I was approved as a TD earlier in the year and it's finally at a point where I would be happy to post here on MEPD. Since I wear a black pauldron and looking at emulating the ally door check trooper, I will be building pack #4. I want to build with as many local supplies as possible though I know I will have to out source some of the parts. I have a full build thread on my Garrison forums but will run through the progress I have made so far. If people want a full breakdown I am happy to do that as well So I started off building my frame from PVC & gas pipe fittings that were the same diameter I also found some seed trays that match the sizes I found here on MEPD pretty well. Downside was they had a rim around the outside edge so I would have to take that off and refinish the edge. Here were the trays when I got them And after a little bit of surgery And in place on the painted frame I purchased a Lionstar canteen from Vincent (many thank) and some tupperware pudding cups & a Stow 'n' Go locally. I converted the canteen following Airborne troopers guide and painted the parts up The hardest parts were always going to be radio & siphon. Luckily I was able to get a fellow Sandy and garrison member to 3d print them for me. Quality was great, just a bit of finishing to be done to them And here is the finished product To complete the Sonix, I had to build the enclosure. I will be running an Aker inside playing background chatter so it had to open. I built the frame from Aluminium angle, made the outer walls from black plastic sheet & added some hinges and a magnetic closer for the faceplate. From there I made the leather cover, added the feet and the dial decals from Trooperbay. I also made the bottles from some drinking bottles I had around the house, they have the right look in comparison to the pudding cups. Made sure I could screw them onto pack as well Now all the main components were here I started to build everything up. I bolted both the blue & black bottom trays to the frame Then started to attached the items to the top trays. Here is the top blue tray completed and attached the tray to pack. Starting to take shape and look like a pack From here I will work on the last part of the top tray, the straps and complete the weathering before trying for Police officer. I will keep the topic updated as much as possible.

Congrats, well done on the approval

Well my weathering technique for my armour was the Panda Trooper method of dabbing on the acrylic paint and wiping off with the damp rag. Once the rag was saturated with watered down paint I ran this along my fabric parts a few times till I was happy with the tone of the weathering. At least doing it this way applies the colour slowly and it much more controllable.

Looks awesome, nice work so far and looking forward to the next update

Awesome work, looking forward to this when I get PO in the future!

3. Supanova Perth Day 2 - 24/6/18 Annual event where we raise money for Guide Dogs WA. Always a great turnout for this one as well

Awesome, thanks guys. There is nothing wrong with the decals at Trooperbay, just wondering if someone here does them. I will contact Woodman to see if he is willing to sell them separately.

I recently had one of my garrison member & fellow Sandtrooper 3d print me the Sonix radio faceplate for the pack I am building. I am currently building the enclosure for the Sonix but I am on the hunt for a good quality dial transfer/decal, Sonix label and a source for the lettering on the components. I have searched fleabay and I am aware of trooperbay's option but wondering if anyone else produces them here on MEPD

I agree, I would disassemble and insert a wooden dowl for strength, countersink some screws either side to keep it in place, Bondo, paint and rebuild. I would advise RS but I don’t know what their response would be though.

Well done, congrats on the approval