[*done* TD-99665 Requesting Deployment [RS]]

Congrats!!  That was quick.

[*done* TD-99665 Requesting Deployment [RS]]

Looking good Daniel. Good luck!

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

DLT-19 upgrade.

Since I want to also have the option of trooping as the cantina captain, I guess I need to dirty-up my DLT-19. I added some wire to the t tracks and added a bit of weathering.  The DLT-19 is a 3D print I put together last year - it was actually the first thing related to the 501st that I built.  This was my gateway build.

Used dremel to make some notches in t-tracks.


Installed wire. I used 19 gauge black wire. Might be a little thin but it is what I had on hand.


Reference from Looksirdroids website.


Light wash of light brown paint. It does not show up very well in photos.





 

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

1 hour ago, Harenatrooper said:

I just wanted to say this looks amazing. I’m building my first ever armor and I’m doing a Sandtrooper. Wanted to thank you for putting up this build thread. It’s been super helpful to me. I refer to it all the time.

Thanks!!  I'm glad it helped.  Troopers helping troopers.

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Darker lens and s-trim installed.  Need to add some fans.


More ear trimming. Baby steps. Yeah,  I could probably stand to trim a bit more off.


Compare pics after and before distressing the MP40 pouches. I used 220 and 600 grit sandpaper and a wire brush.


Distressing small Spanish pouches. After and before.


I roughed up the pauldron but the effect does not really show very well in photos, so I won’t show that.

Pauldron after some black and brown paint washes.


Boots got brown and dark grey washes.




Everything got a few light coats of a dark grey/ sandy colour.










I have pouches for both versions of the docking bay capt and cantina capt - so I should be good for whatever.  Backpack #3 from CrookKnight should be shipping anytime now. 

 

[MEPD HOCKEY JERSEY Interest Thread]

This is awesome!  I’d be interested in one for sure. Orange is my preference. 

 

Nice job!

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

2 hours ago, Airborne Trooper said:

I’m more of a fan of the thicker green lenses for the purpose of people not being able to see through them. 

Yeah, this was my first time wearing the thin lens. I can totally see my eyes in the pic. I agree, screen accurate or not, I’m putting in the dark lens. 

[Move Along Helmet]

Your paint detailing is spot on.  Impressive!

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

First test fit with the weathering and pauldron. Still need to make my thigh garter (temp setup being used) and proper shoulder straps. And yes, those are my dancing shoes (need to weather boots, pauldron, and pouches). I didn’t bother with the pouches but the wife snapped a few pics of the fitting so I tried some poses. Daniel, I was in a hurry and totally botched the pose. Next time And I need to finish the T-21.










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[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Took some pictures in the sunlight. It knocks down the weathering a bit.  I'm glad I went heavier with the weathering than I planned. 

By the way, do most TDs use the thinner green acetate lens or the heavier, darker lens (like from Trooperbay)?  I have the thinner lens in there now as I believe that is more screen accurate but it seems it would be pretty easy for people to see my eyes - even with my balaclava on. 

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[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Helmet looks good already, nice job:duim:
but I'll stick with one of my previous posts in this thread: there will have to be larger gaps on the ears. 

Hey Hausi, how is this? Does the back of the ear have the same gap? Thanks.






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[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

4 hours ago, Hausi said:

Helmet looks good already, nice job

but I'll stick with one of my previous posts in this thread: there will have to be larger gaps on the ears. 

Thanks... and yes, I need larger gaps. 

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Last major weathering hurdle - the bucket. There isn’t much reference for the left side or back so I took some artistic license. I still need to attach the Hovi mics and install the lens.











Reference


 

 

[Armor arriving Thursday, Painting questions]

If you are getting ABS, then no painting is needed.  

 

For the paint runs, I used ABS paste to simulate paint. Actual paint never matches the colour of the plastic exactly and the ABS paste is very durable, especially during the weathering process. 

 

Congrats on your new armour! Enjoy the build!

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Weathering of everything but the helmet and soft parts is done. I also removed the paint run line from the helmet and redid it with a better colour. I also added the cheek crack and some random spots of HDPE green to simulate paint chips. Of course I won’t have as many chips as the non-screen capture reference pics since they are way after the fact, but they do give ideas as to where the paint may have chipped off. Overall the weathering is stronger than I planned, much stronger, but I’m generally happy with it.













 

[TK to TD Sergeant]

You are doing a great job with this. I like how you are using the lighter colours to keep it subtle.  

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Update on weathering. It is a slow process but I am adding washes of black acrylic paint and burnt umber acrylic paint over the armour to build up the dirtier areas. Just the arms and helmet (hard parts) left to do then I can dust the armour with a couple layers of airbrush.




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[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

I happened across this pic. Looks like the trooper second from the right with the white pauldron is wearing the captain’s armour - aside from the cheese grater hand guards.



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[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

The "stripes" on the chest color looks off to me. I like the texture and color on the right shin the best. 

This is the second try. No black added yet.



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[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

First crack at weathering - let me know what you think.

So, I’m trying to find a balance between what looks good on camera and what looks good in person. I found that my previous test looked pretty good in person but seemed pretty soft in pictures. Because of this I decided to punch up the weathering a bit. I started with the shins since I tend to weather too much and the shins are typically the dirtiest part.

Started by using a sponge to apply burnt umber acrylic paint. I kept on dabbing until the paint was pretty much dry.


Wiped away most of the paint with a damp shop towel.


Did the same thing with black paint but only in some areas and used more of a wash than applying paint straight out of the tube.


I did two coats with the airbrush. One layer was a brown-grey colour and the other is sand coloured. So, four different colours in total were used.


Final

Reference


In sunlight with a clean thigh for comparison.


So, then I jumped into it.


First try was too dark.


So I had to tone it down with white paint.


Compared to shins.


Closer pic with flash.


The shins look too different than the chest. The shins are richer in colour and contrast. Question is, which gets redone? I think I will give the chest another go tomorrow - it looks too "painted on" anyways. Or am I letting the OCD get the best of me?
 

[*DONE* TD-19916 Requesting Deployment]

Dude, you forgot your belt. 

[MY DLT-21]

Wow!

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Final push before I can start weathering.  Here are some of the things I finished up.

Tube stripes. All the painting will be done by hand. Here, I am measuring out the spacing for the stripes.


First coat. Yuck, I hate doing these things.


Oh, I also did the vocoder. I forgot to mention that I composited original photographs over photographs of my helmet in Photoshop to place the stripes and vocoder details.


Had to place and drill the holes for the Hovi mics . The HOVI mics in the reference picture do not seem to match where the holes are marked for the AP helmet. So, I had to adjust. I also painted the tips of the Hovi mics white as per the reference picture.


Taped off an area for the crack/paint run on the top of the helmet.


The colour was supposed to match HDPE green plastic colour of the original helmets. But this is a bit dark, I will have to tone it down with some white paint.


I also cut some tubing at some funny angle to help redirect the Hovi mics . It is difficult to get them to point in the right direction.


Also final trimmed and sanded the legs and arms. I also added all the snap bases. For sanding, I use 220 grit, 320 grit, 400 grit, and 600 grit. All the return edges were sanded this way for comfort... especially in the upper thigh area.


And then the next day...

Ammo pack and some final strapping. Still waiting for the tube stripes to fully dry before I can clean them up.

Ammo pack riding low.




Single cap rivet




Arms ready to go. Once some glue drys.

 

I just noticed that the captain does not have bicep hooks.  I guess I'll have to change that sometime later.

Come on paint... dry.


Once I can do a full test fit and if things seem good then I can finally get dirty. Oh, and glue the silicone hand guards to the gloves - tomorrow.
 

Then tomorrow came...

So, the tube stripes were finally dry! So I clean them up a little bit and quickly assembled the helmet. I did not install the lens yet and the Hovi mics still need some adjustments. I will also also need to add the HDPE green colour to the crack on the cheek. After some research I think I found a very close colour match to use on the helmet. I will redo the crack on the top of the helmet as well.





I cobbled together a makeshift thigh garter. 3 inch elastic and 2 inch nylon webbing and a buckle. And a bunch of tape.


So I was finally able to do a test fit. My makeshift thigh garter system did not hold up very well and the thighs have dropped a bit in the pictures. The shins have also rotated, I will need to add some Velcro to the boots and the insides of the shins. I also noticed that I will need to hot bath the back tabs on the shoulders so they don’t stick up so much.





I meant to add these parts as well. However, my bucket did not have any fans in it, I had forgotten how hot it gets without the fans. So this fitting was short-lived.


Hot bathing the tab. The one on the left has been adjusted for comparison.

Overall, the fitting seemed pretty good. The true test will be walking around for an extended amount of time to test how the return edges will feel. So, it’s finally time for the weathering. Woo hoo.

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

2 hours ago, Airborne Trooper said:

From the times I've seen it, airbrushing makes it look unnatural. Apply some watered down burnt umber with a sponge. Let it begin to dry and then blot most of it off with a paper towel. You can achieve layers with this method. 

Yeah, I'll probably do that to create a darker base layer(s) when I actually do the armor.  I also want to get that dusty look that the Fullers Earth gives.  I tried the same process with the airbrush and using washes of acrylic.  I did do a quick layer of  burnt umber as you mentioned - I will do more next time.  As for the airbrush - I use the incorrect nozzle/needle combination.  This causes the paint to splatter and spit a little.  Gives a gritty texture.  Anyway, here is a test - the airbrush is on the right.  It needs a bit more contrast (darker burnt umber) in a few places. It doesn't read as strong on camera (especially in sunlight) - but it looks pretty realistic in person.

[Wook's Docking Bay 94 Captain Build (AP)]

Weathering test number one.
Although I like the look of the subtle weathering one gets with Fullers Earth, I worry about the durability and, more importantly, I need to be able to carefully control the pattern of the weathering. I feel I can do that better with paint since I have experience painting and zero experience with Fullers Earth.

Try one is using regular art acrylics and a shop towel to dab the paint for texture.

I used burnt umber, black, yellow ochre, and white.


I started off drawing a pattern and filling it in with dark grey. Then I did a coat of brown. Then a coat of sand colour. After each layer I rubbed off most of the paint with a towel.


Well, I wasn’t happy at all with that. Too dark. So I wiped the piece clean with some mineral spirits and tried again.


Outline pattern.


Paint in area.


Dab with towel and spread some paint around.


A layer of brown/tan colour and dab with a towel.


Rub away some paint once dry.


Flick some brown and yellow at it.


Rub off some of the specks. I needed to use mineral spirits for the flecks as they were pretty stubborn.


In sunlight at a distance.

Sunlight, bit closer. Not terrible.


I will try the same thing tomorrow but I’ll use an airbrush.