ericnathan811 Posted October 4, 2019 Posted October 4, 2019 Ok so I just finished making my ROTJ armor, and I decided to weather it because I like the dirty Endor look. It came to my attention recently that no one has made a SE/BF2 HWT yet, so I'm thinking why not me? I'm already 90% there! Before I go on here's a few pictures of the armor right now: https://imgur.com/UK55RnA https://imgur.com/SiYMlvu https://imgur.com/L77IwHA I'm not sure if I put the pictures in the post right, but I hope you all can see it! Last pic is with my dad, who really helped me with the build until I eventually fully took over, props to him or I'd never be here! Anyways I would like to try to be the Legion's First SE sandy, but I'm gonna need help. Where do I get the backpack and pauldron? is there anything about my armor that needs to be altered for an SE? How much will this all cost? etc. I may want to try to do this, but being the first person to make a new armor seems really hard; I'm gonna need all the help I can get from you guys, since you have all already researched it. Thanks in advance, I can't wait to do this!! 1 Quote
Hausi Posted October 4, 2019 Posted October 4, 2019 Awesome work, looking great!...and the happy face is priceless There is one trooper who has already put a lot of dedication and research into his buid, have a look at it here (just in case you haven't already seen it) : Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 18 Author Posted May 18 Reviving my dead thread. Crazy to think I've been in the legion for 7 years now... What a time it has been. Lots of troops, lots of fun, and lots of costumes. When I first made this thread I was in my senior year of high school, had just finished my ROTJ TK, went on exactly 0 troops and thought "it's just a backpack and a pauldron, this will be an easy addition." For whatever reason I never went through with it, perhaps fatigue from spending 2 years on a first build and just wanting to be done. The desire to build never went away, but was redirected. I went on to make a CT, and not just a CT but developed and built a whole new costume for the legion and became a CRL: https://imgur.com/n8rzMhI https://crls.501st.com/ctd/41st-ranger-phase-ii-specialist I then went on to make a kit for my then girlfriend (now ex) with an Imperial Ground crew: https://imgur.com/VxZ8ARE And most recently a Kylo Ren for my younger brother, who has now gone on 3 troops with a 4th this next week! https://imgur.com/r7SpJ3h Those latter two costumes were completely made by me - sewing and 3d printing just about everything myself. Apparently going through the **** that was the CRL process hasn't scared me off, because all of the costumes I am eyeing up for the future will have to be new CRLs. As the summer (and thus work season for hard armor) fast approaches, it's time for me to decide what kit I'm gonna start off next, and begin that -almost. I haven't been very active the last year or so in the legion due to personal life, and prior to that I almost exclusively trooped in the CT for about a year or two, since when that project finished my TK had a lot of needed repairs, and was completely un-troopable for various reasons. I was probably going to leave my TK in the bin for eternity and just turn to new stuff, but with the new Mando and Grogu premier this Thursday, my squad is doing some OT based troops at the theaters, and I decided I wanted in. So a while back (months ago) I started the much-needed overhaul of my kit. Doing that remind me of this old thread, and so I am posting here to probe the possibility of doing a SE sandy. Interesting to see that nothing has really changed on this SE front since I last posted. Now, much more experienced and well knowledgable on these costumes, the first changes I needed to make weren't repairs, but correcting mistakes. I had not used rivets in the original build, only glue; the plastic has begun to age and crack, so I feared using rivets now would risk severe damage. So instead, I fired up Blender and 3d modeled and printed some fake rivet/screw heads to attach to the kit: https://imgur.com/ai45ZiO https://imgur.com/4zBL6ws https://imgur.com/muyT5jz https://imgur.com/nnKkRVK My second mistake with the ROTJ Tk was the construction method, I used butt and joint instead of overlap, because I was just uninformed and was following YouTube tutorials (for ANH) back in the day. I didn't realize mistake until after approval (not sure if the CRL has changed but 7 years ago butt/joint was still allowed for ROTJ). So the most important change made here is creating the illusion of overlap. First I took off the old cover strips, and attached new ones cut in such a way that specifically would help this illusion. https://imgur.com/3aFz4A4 Then with the new strips attached, I used putty/filler to round out, fill, and smooth the transition from the armor to the strip (on the outer edges only) https://imgur.com/RPUHSfu After sanding the filler smooth, I went and put a coat of white paint on it, before weathering the TK again - I had always like the Endor weathered look. The end result is actually fairly convincing: https://imgur.com/y9KUplf https://imgur.com/cR4pnJe Then I went on to fix various cracks on the armor, unfortunately some were too extensive to save, and winded up becoming mobility cuts on the back of the knees. I also replaced some of the trim, and re-painted some of the other details. https://imgur.com/jar76ru https://imgur.com/K6bLeF7 The helmet was the most tricky, the thinner plastic under the chin started to crack and wear out, I used some resin on the inside to reinforce it. One last change, which was both entirely necessary and may be a big roadblock to doing the SE sandy, was the change in the thighs I made. One of the reasons I tabled this kit was because I could barely stand, much less walk around. The real issue was that I am a very short trooper, and the original length/height of the thigh pieces are actually taller than my real thighs. This meant that even when the thighs were pulled up all the way, the still covered my knee (and hips too) and so I couldn't bend my legs much at all. The only solution would be to shorten them, I couldn't shorten them from the bottom because that's where all that molded detail is, so I cut off from the top https://imgur.com/NCbQo01 Now I know there's a fancy way to do that, where I re-create the return edges at the top, butI know my skills well enough to know that's beyond my ability (and I don't have a heat gun). Instead I just cut them without a return edge, and adjusted the straps that hold them on accordingly. Now I can finally walk! Here's a side by side from approval to current length: https://imgur.com/gallery/tk-64001-RDS157J#WWxNE5L https://imgur.com/kamLLPV https://imgur.com/SU4Nuoo Now I admit they were sitting a bit low at that troop, I re-sewed the snaps onto the strap just yesterday since those were falling apart anyways. They should sit about 1/2 inch higher now. Anyways, I guess that leads to the main event here: am I or am I not going to make a SE sand trooper? I would like too, my kit has been weathered since the start and I don't mind doing more. If I were to here is my plan of attack: If there's no real hold-ups on how the kit is currently, I would repaint it a nice new white, and re-do the weathering to be accurate to the SE - I know you guys are infamous for the crazy accurate 1:1 weathering here! I would have to purchase a SE pauldron (there's gotta be one out there yes?). And finally the backpack. I am aware there are some out for sale, but I'd rather just model/3d print one since I already have material and modeling skills, and save the money. Although I'm sure the big black square base is a found part - that would probably be better to hunt down to reduce weight. If there are significant hangups - things that need to be major re-worked or replaced entirely on my kit, I will probably hold off on doing the conversion. At that point it becomes no different than starting a new kit, and I'd rather do a completely new and different costume and keep the TK as is, than to take this one out of the rotation for an extended period of time. I just don't think it's worth the time and effort (in a big picture, multiple project/costumes way) if that would be the case. Any and all advice is welcome here, I would love to get the ball rolling Quote
Vf2112 Posted May 18 Posted May 18 Hi eric I'm guessing for the troops you mentioned you wouldn't have enough time to source and build parts for an SE probably just easier to keep as is for OT trooping I'm not to knowledgeable on the SE build but that pauldron looks like a cut up wet suit !? Maybe And we dont do 1:1 weathering unless your going for SWAT level approval so your good there 1 Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 19 Author Posted May 19 13 hours ago, Vf2112 said: Hi eric I'm guessing for the troops you mentioned you wouldn't have enough time to source and build parts for an SE probably just easier to keep as is for OT trooping I'm not to knowledgeable on the SE build but that pauldron looks like a cut up wet suit !? Maybe And we dont do 1:1 weathering unless your going for SWAT level approval so your good there Not looking for the Sandy for the upcoming troops, was just the repairs I mean, whoops! I also just want to keep the TK troopable while working on the other aspects like the backpack, and avoid having to redo armor. Painting and weathering armor shouldn't take too long, but any real hard armor work would, and I want to avoid that if possible I figured since this would be a new CRL that swat level would be required -but idk the rules about that. Wetsuit idea is interesting. I wonder if there is a diy way of going about making the pauldron through avenue like that. Might have to see what I can find and work with out there... Quote
Vf2112 Posted May 19 Posted May 19 Ah all good then. I'm sure theres probably tutorials on YouTube if you search it and got to videos!? I'll look into the armor n pack a bit more n see what's what. Crl covers level 1-3 Level one being garrison Level 2 (in blue) for deployed mepd Level 3 (in red,) for SWAT 1 Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 19 Author Posted May 19 4 hours ago, Vf2112 said: I'll look into the armor n pack a bit more n see what's what. I already messaged crooknight on one of his socials, I know he made one already via 3d printing. There was some info on found parts for the pack in the CRL research thread; once my university finals are over this week I'm going to see if I can hunt any of the parts down online - although now being 25 years since filming it's possible they will be difficult to find Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 21 Author Posted May 21 Huge update! I was able to find all the materials needed for both the pauldron and backpack, spare the unidentified parts, in a single shopping trip at a Menards store. I expected to find all the pvc pipes, hoses, etc, but was ecstatic to find a rubber floor runner, that had both the right texture and sturdiness to make the pauldron. I lucked out that the refrigerator water filter I needed was marked down to only 3 dollars. I was also able to find a suitable tote, doesn't match the backpack exactly but it's fairly close. I was using these for reference, from the forum here: https://imgur.com/a/mbBMy4X#iIeWkDE https://imgur.com/a/mbBMy4X#mTLpOkY https://imgur.com/a/mbBMy4X#y9F23DL And here's everything I got: https://imgur.com/a/mbBMy4X#DAc50iC The material for the pauldron: https://imgur.com/a/mbBMy4X#9fwej5a And the water filter discount because it was just so good: https://imgur.com/a/mbBMy4X#2Tskc3z The only missing components I have left is the weird unidentified dish/showerhead looking thing at the bottom of the pack, the larger water filter piece (I found one that looked similar-ish, but for ~40$ I wasn't going to settle on it), and of course the custom vac formed boxes they did for the film. I think I'll go ahead and 3d model/print the remaining pieces, since I got about 95% of it here. This build is 100% happening, I'm committed to getting us this CRL Quote
Vf2112 Posted May 21 Posted May 21 Very nice work trooper look forward to seeing your progress 1 Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 22 Author Posted May 22 First off, I got to do the movie troop last night in the repaired TK kit and had a great time, both trooping and watching the new film! https://imgur.com/XQnMA3U Today I spent much more time than I expected taking off the barcodes/labels on the found parts, they were on there pretty good and needed some goo-gone. Once they were cleaned up I did a mock-up with some tape to get the relative positions figured out and marked on the tote. I also went and measured the spots for the other missing components, and marked all the cuts on the pvc, hoses, and tote. https://imgur.com/Cy8Sn5w The water bottle in that last pic is a stand-in, I have one on the way that I ordered that is a much better match. Now with the approximate sizes and spacing for the missing parts measured, I went ahead and 3d modeled them for printing. Once these get printed off all the materials for the backpack will get painted and then assembled! https://imgur.com/hDNE7CR 1 Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 26 Author Posted May 26 After cleaning my armor from the last troop I discovered I missed a fairly severe crack in the forearm when I was doing repairs. So my next step was to fix that https://imgur.com/a/FI6OgjF#k9suno8 Meanwhile, my printer has been busy churning out all the parts I modeled https://imgur.com/a/FI6OgjF#mQXFTVV After the repairs were made to the armor I turned my attention back to the backpack. I went ahead and cut the tote down as we see it in the film/game, but it winded up becoming very floppy. So I took the cut parts, and glued them back inside of the totes. The lip/return edges on those parts really stiffened it back up, and this avoided having to use wood or something else for a frame, since that would add a fair bit of weight. https://imgur.com/a/FI6OgjF#hWZJEQP https://imgur.com/a/FI6OgjF#zKU7lyJ While I was gluing things, I glued the two halves of one of the prints together https://imgur.com/a/FI6OgjF#Jd4Lq5m All the parts have printed with exception of the largest box, which is currently being printed. I took all the 3d prints I could and coated them in filler to be sanded tomorrow. I prefer to lather it on thick and sand it down smooth, I know there are other approaches, but this has worked well for me in the past. https://imgur.com/a/FI6OgjF#fQRKcn5 Since the weather today has been sunny, warm, and windless, I also took all the parts that needed painting and were ready, put to get a coat on. Oh yeah, i forgot to mention I cut the pvc pipes https://imgur.com/a/FI6OgjF#vC1Nbnv The last print still has ~20hrs to go, and given the sanding and paint those need I imagine this backpack will start to be assembled this upcoming weekend. But it's coming together fast! I have yet to touch the pauldron, although I better start making that soon. thats all for now ? Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 26 Author Posted May 26 Thanks! Well I winded up starting the pauldron In the last couple of hours now. I figured I was putting it off too much just because I didn't know exactly what I'm doing in that department. I did some trial and error with paper patterns, and getting the overlap right as to get the right 3d shape so it doesn't sit flat. This is what I got from that: https://imgur.com/a/jVAzDrc#KU23Ed7 https://imgur.com/a/jVAzDrc#6N2zvX4 I went ahead and cut it out on the rubber, since I have so much extra of it I can afford more trial and error This is the current state: https://imgur.com/a/jVAzDrc#zJ8QD7R now the question I have is on the only detail this version of the pauldron seems to have. The diagonal lines https://imgur.com/a/jVAzDrc#jLju52a I can't really tell if it is a second layer of rubber overtop the bottom, and that's what gets them, or if these are channels carved/scored out of the single piece to give it some depth. I'm open to feedback here both on that detail and on how this first attempt first overall. Right now it's held in place by some tape, so there's plenty of room to play around with it Quote
Vf2112 Posted May 27 Posted May 27 It seems to me, just to my eyes that it's two pieces joined together sewn with the lower piece (as it seemed to me in the film also) actually goes round under the arm!? What do you reckon 1 Quote
bigwam Posted May 27 Posted May 27 I think two peaces of Rubber. I don't think, it goes under the arm. I think, there is a strap, like in the classic pauldron. Your pauldron looks good, but i think, it must be Bagger. 1 Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 27 Author Posted May 27 9 hours ago, bigwam said: I think two peaces of Rubber. I don't think, it goes under the arm. I think, there is a strap, like in the classic pauldron. Your pauldron looks good, but i think, it must be Bagger. Bigger, I think you mean? Upon giving it a day and looking at the pictures I would agree. I'll adjust the pattern and make a second one this evening. Maybe an inch and a half (or 2?) further off the shoulder; and a little bit lower in the front, if I'm using the details on the chestplate as a point of reference Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 30 Author Posted May 30 Alright so made some real progress the last day or so. Got all the 3d printed parts sanded -took 3 rounds to get smooth- and painted, I'm now onto the assembly phase of the backpack. I need to figure out how on earth I'm gonna get all these doodads attached to the tote. Anyways here's a pick of the in progress and the mockup with all the parts of the backpack in a rough position https://imgur.com/a/1FG4Dnv#ZU6p1Fn https://imgur.com/a/1FG4Dnv#9JbruC3 It is very nice to see it come together. That certainly looks like a sandtrooper pack now. I also re-did the pauldron pattern, and made mockup number two. This time with both layers. I added about an inch and a half around the entire pattern, and extended it about little over two inches over the shoulder. It doesn't have the straps attached yet, I think it will sit a little better when those are added. ATM it is held together by tape https://imgur.com/a/1FG4Dnv#FUfeKgI That's all for now, I imagine I can get the backpack and pauldron completed this weekend! Then it's just weathering and other (possible) minute changes to the armor. Very exciting! Quote
Vf2112 Posted May 30 Posted May 30 Love your work, but remember if this is for a CRL, it will have to be spot on in every aspect. So when you think your done it will have to go through proper approval process so the team can go over it properly and get approved. Loving your work and enthusiasm so far 1 Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 30 Author Posted May 30 Hence why I am posting every tiny step I can, in case I miss something and you guys can catch it ? On a similar note, I've spent a fair bit of time looking at the other threads for this costume, and there is a lot of good information there. Unfortunately it seems many of the high quality pictures have been lost to time... I saw there being mentions about having the text for the CRL already written up and sent to LMOs with screenshots etc. Although all the links to those CRL mockups on here are 404 errors now. Does anyone have access to the CRL draft? it would be helpful going forwards Quote
Vf2112 Posted May 30 Posted May 30 Nah like you said , lost to the sand gods mate Although I certainly believe you have done a better job especially on the pack much more accurate I believe Tryd to msg you on Facebook to send some pics on the pauldron to no avail Quote
ericnathan811 Posted May 30 Author Posted May 30 1 hour ago, Vf2112 said: Nah like you said , lost to the sand gods mate Although I certainly believe you have done a better job especially on the pack much more accurate I believe Tryd to msg you on Facebook to send some pics on the pauldron to no avail Thanks! I was afraid that was the case when it comes to all that old info Interesting about Facebook, I just double checked and I do have the right account linked and messaging should be open. Strange. Quote
ericnathan811 Posted June 9 Author Posted June 9 Ok so I went a little radio silent. Summer job started up after a brief lull after my semester finished, so I've had less time to work on this. I have made some good progress on the pauldron but I have more adjustments I'm making before I take pics of pauldron v.2.5. majority of the work has been on the backpack so let's dive into that: firstly, I felt for accuracy I wanted to get a smaller tote size for the base. I bought the first one scaling it to the found parts I sourced, which was close but ultimately too big. I don't think it's that the size was terribly off (still slightly large compared to the found parts) more so that I am truly the shortest trooper in the area, and scaled to me it just looks too big. proof of me being short (furthest left): https://imgur.com/a/y8Rni1c#YgRCpy5 and the pack size of the original tote: https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#JbjN4fE So I went out and got a new tote. I found one that was significantly shorter but roughly the same width. Made by the same brand so it still has the moulding/details at the bottom that resembles the original screen used pack fairly well. It is *slightly* cramped getting all the parts on there but definitely still good. The old box was slightly too roomy anyways. Side by side: https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#w4KeHAN it's about 4 inches shorter overall. Unfortunately it's navy blue, so I did have to spray paint it https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#WEPGzPr onto what has been taking so long. I finally have all the components of the backpack! However there's so many parts and they all need to be solidly put together for me to troop in this long term. Figuring out A) how each part should be secured and B( the order of operations on some of the more interconnected and complex parts has been a real challenge. Multiple attempts have been made before the right solution. Some parts I thought could be glued but that failed. Other parts I wanted to be screwed in but doing so in a way that doesn't show the fasteners has been difficult. This is ultimately what I have come up with, although the execution is still in process. firstly, sub assemblies that can be glued with E6000 are glued with E6000: https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#zKTk168 https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#m5D4Lly https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#Wz6LwLH To stop the tubes from flopping all over they have pvc or dowels running inside them. Most of these are glued in place. Glue is being used wherever the dowels are not being anchored and instead are just holding the shape of the tubes. Anywhere that they are actually structurally important is getting either set in via "potting" or some kind of screw/fastener if going directly to the pack. The potting takes quite some time to cure so only one part can be done at a time https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#9feLnMy https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#xOlTiRk With so many components, it makes the process slow waiting a day or two before attaching the next part. All of the large details need to be secured yet. The boxes will have wood glued inside, which will then be screwed into the pack (since screwing directly into 3d prints won't be very secure). The pvc assembly on the right side will also be screwed into, as well as the other details like the cylinder/cap on the bottom of the pack. This little detail on the side has a backing glued on; a whole the diameter of the part will be cut into the pack, and it will be glued on after slipping through from the inside: https://imgur.com/a/ahfK2tr#x04b9LE I still haven't found all the elegant solutions for every part yet. Each one presents its own unique challenge, and there isn't a catch-all approach to this at all. Add in that most are attached to others in some way shape or form, and suddenly the order you do it in matters greatly. So this is more time consuming than I initially thought. that's all for now! Quote
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