Tachyon

Work on the project had stalled again The build team who were "absolutely going to see it through" cut the helmet apart then didn't provide any further assistance. Loosing the bucket was a major set back. However, one of my other garrison mates has since offered to help with some 3D modelling of the helmet. This should provide a much more accurate version of the helmet than my original sculpt and also provide a permanent model of it too. It's going to take him a while to get it done as he is back at uni in the next few weeks, but we went over the helmet today and he also had a crack at the blaster/speargun while he was here. I'm sure he will be along shortly to show off his work The other parts of the suit are as they were at the last update. Nothing has been trashed or damaged and it has all survived a house move in the last month. The Backpack is still a work in progress, I'm having trouble working out the best and most sturdy way to glue ABS at 90 degree angles. If anyone has any suggestions, I"m all ears.

Ok, so I've been working on finding an imaging hosting solution since photobucket died. Couldn't get imgur to work, so using Facebook in the meantime. Put some hours in to the backpack over the last few days. Still lots to do on it, but in the comparison pic, the old backpack is on the right with the new one built from ABS on the left. Note the much better tanks on the new one compared to the old one. Just have to finish sanding the right tank back (PLA sucks...) so it can slot in properly and finish cutting the rectangles on the side. In the next comparison photo, I have the old hose connector (basic) compared to a fitting that I was going to use for a Kir Kanos glaive. The glaive fitting is larger, but will comfortably hold the hose. I like it as it makes the hose fitting look much larger and I think matches the reference better than the previously used fitting. Old fitting at top, new fitting on bottom. The plan is to rotocast out the final backpack, once this one gets all its gaps filled and looks shiny. Don't have pics yet, but the belt boxes and buckle moulds and the shoulder moulds are ready to go, so vacforming those in the next week or so.

Got the kit out again, the workshop guys are back into their stuff again after some lengthy illness and so I could tag along and get some more work done. Bells are ready to be pulled and then have the final moulds made. Same with the back of the helmet. I'm spending the next few days finalizing the drop boxes and belt buckle for vacforming at the next build day and hopefully fit in finishing off the backpack as I had custom printed tanks made (as my PVC pip attempts were failing). More pics to come soon

I think I get what you're talking about. My concern is that the side profile from the right had trooper in the reference pic doesn't seem to match that (though I can see how it would be argued). To me it looks like the 'E' straps are extensions of the front part and not coming from beneath the front part. I covered a TK shin in tape and sketched out my idea of one of the greaves. Essentially, this is the front trooper's right hand leg and the back trooper's left hand leg (the ones where the rear 'straps' match). In the images with the orange line, the scribbled on parts would be cut out, revealing the TK shin below. On the green part, the shaded area represents flexible straps (flat) that will close over the slit in the TK shins. In my head, the TK shin would go on first, then the Seatrooper detailing panel would magnet to the front and the straps magnet around the back. I think it will give the most 'seamless' look while still being wearable. This is my previous attempt at that shin which I think is too bulky looking when compared to the rest of the costume, however, more accurate to the reference; It was sculpted on 100mm PVC pipe.

Hi Guys, I figured I'd start a new thread outside of my main build thread to address the issue of the shins. I really need other people thoughts on this issue as I've been drawing a blank on them almost as long as I've been working on the project. As there really is only one reference that shows the shins in detail, it is tough to actually nail it out. The overall shape is different between the two legs, not sure if this is due to perspective or just a general star wars trait. The left leg appears tapered while the right appears cylindrical. I did attempt to rough sculpt the shins as shown here; However, I don't feel that these look right. I have them finished and the plaster moulds sitting in the box, they just look way too bulky and out of sync with the rest of the costume. The other problem is that the is no physical way to put them on if I leave them seamless. A potential solution came to me though when I saw my mate's Shoretrooper. The legs look like general TK shins, but with the skinning and camlocks over the top. So, my question I guess is; How do people feel about taking a similar approach with the Seatrooper shins? Obviously there would need to be bigger parts overlying the TK Shins than what is on the Shoretrooper, but the principle would be the same. Does anyone else have other suggestions for how I can achieve the look for the shins? Hopefully we can get some sorely needed input, this is one of the big fabrication issues that has been putting me off working on the costume as I haven't been able to work out a solution myself.

As it stands progress on the kit is; Helmet:- In three pieces. It was decided by my local CRL team that the front outside panels on the side with the little rectangle are actually angled sweeps and the rectangle is a cut out similar to the ears on the TB helmet. This is the main modification that I still need to make as now it has been said, I can't get it out of my head and it looks better/makes more sense than what I originally sculpted. The problem however is that the angle for the sweep starts right on the seamline between the two plugs and I want/need the guys who cut the helmet in half to line it up properly (should have rotocast it...) The mould for the front half in addition to the sweeps needing adding was damaged when I removed the plastic from the plaster mould and it ripped up the top of the sensor array, so that needs fixing as well, though relatively that is easy. However, due to the two issues, I think I may need to learn how to 3D model the helmet to prevent future approval suggestions. Torso, Backplate and Pelvis: Haven't started. Will need to modify vacform moulds from a TK & TB which are being supplied for this purpose. Shoulder Bells: Moulds complete, ready to go. Arms: Need to mod TB moulds. Again, they are being supplied for this purpose. Legs: The OTHER big sticking point. In discussions with my CRL team about making them similar to Shoretrooper legs. Need opinions and views of other people though. Would a 'E' shaped system that straps over TK shins be acceptable? Camlocks were suggested by my garrison CRL team here, however, there is no detailing to suggest they are there. A similar argument could be made about the shoretrooper-like shins. There are no seams on the reference pics for the seatrooper, so in order to maintain a seamless approach, the shins need to be oversized which look stupid. The current prototype fails to hit the visual mark (should be a photo in the thread, otherwise will upload later today) as it just looks cumbersome. Need to start a discussion me thinks. Boots: Need to find soft white boots. Low priority at this stage. Belt Boxes and Buckle: 3D Print done, just need to make vac forming moulds. Fins: Originals obtained, just need to make moulds. Soft Parts: In the works. Gloves and undersuit done, need cummerbund as last one went mouldy in storage. Backpack: The blueprints are done and scale seems accurate. Started out making the panels, but discovered that the pipes I was using weren't uniformly round and the wall thickness also wasn't uniform, so my 3D printed tank toppers did not fit. Plan is to 3D print a prototype tank with the topper included, then mould it and make a rotocasting mould. Then all tanks for the kits would be pulled that way and slot into the backpack smoothly. Blaster: Need to start 3D modelling. I think that's it. Need to run to work. Will try to update further shortly

Yep, still going on it, just haven't had a whole lot of spare time lately I am hoping to have some more progress on it soon as the boys who have been helping me vacform have graciously offered me copies of their TB and TK moulds to modify for the parts that are similar. They only just finished both of those projects so those copies should come along soon. Meanwhile I've been trying my hand at 3D modelling. I've been running into some hurdles with the local CRL team and some details on the helmet. If I can't get back over to the build team to finish off the helmet in the next few weekends I might have to 3D model it as the mods are easier made in the sculpting phase than the post fiberglass phase. It would also help with the symmetry. But hoping to see them this weekend or next all things going to plan. The 3D modelling that I have been able to do was the belt buckle and the dropboxes. Just have to pick them up from the printer, clean up the print lines and then make a vac forming plug That part I can do on my own so those parts will be easy. Then just have to chat with the build team about vacforming it. Still hoping to have this finished soon, just haven't had alot of free time since Christmas as I had hoped. And when I do, the build team who I need for assistance fixing up the bucket for vacforming haven't been free -.- Shouldn't have cut it in half until the details were confirmed.

Still working, it's been a busy two months. Haven't had much progress, though I have the plaster moulds to work on from the test pulls of the helmet body. The plaster bubbled, so lots of holes to fill, and not alot of time spare in the lead up to Christmas.

Alright! Vacforming of the helmet body has begun! Can anybody say Shadow Seatrooper? We pulled these two parts in black HIPS as this was just the test, and everyone expected the first attempt to tear on the corners at the top as they are so sharp. But, to everyone's surprise, the parts pulled extremely well! Just need to heat the corners a bit to make sure all the lines are sharp. Then we're going to back fill these parts with plaster to create the final bucks for the vacforming machine and then to the final pull in white HIPS or ABS. There is a video of us pulling the front half here;

More progress today. Unfortunately, the weather changed and I couldn't do as much as I wanted to get done. A side note, we decided that the little rectangle thingies on the sides of the front part of the helmet should actually be recessed, similar to the ears on the TB helmet. So we sliced them off. Things to do before weekend; Back of helmet: - Patch up sculpted part from today (ruptured through to plaster layer which I knew would happen. Just have to smooth it) - Tidy up edges for vac forming - Spray putty - Carve cut line Front of helmet: - Tidy up edges for vac forming (lots to do here) - Carve side vents - Spray putty - Carve cut line The faceplate still needs a bit of work, so if we get to vac forming this weekend, it may not be on the list of things to do. We shall see. Time is a little tight for me this week, so if I can get the bulk of the helmet done, then I'll have another week or so to just focus on the faceplate.

Still have alot of work to do, but if I can plough though it this week and the shipment of ABS arrives, we should have the first plastic prototype helmet pulled next weekend, at least of the body of the helmet. I've gotta run to work, but I'll upload a pic tomorrow showing the helmet's current state. Then it's just a matter of getting the other part moulds made. Hoping to have it all done and submitted by January since the Dreamworld weekend (closest thing Aus has to a celebration at the moment) was confirmed to be coming back next year. Gotta have it approved for that

I've spent the last few days working at the helmet. I got together with the local build team, initially to discuss rotocasting the helmet, but it was decided that vac forming it would be a better option. So we cut the helmet in half with the intention of doing it as a three-piece kit. I then spent two days filling the interior of the parts with plaster (to strengthen them for the vac forming machine), stripping paint and building up the back of the bucket as it was a touch asymmetrical (the green/grey parts are the built up bits). We decided the front of the bucket was fine and the face plate will be separate. Tomorrow I'm meeting with them again, this time to cut out the tube connectors on the face plate and finalize the moulds. Hopefully, if things run to schedule, the first pull will happen by the end of the month. Progress pic below! The boys have also offered me plaster copies of their TK and TB moulds to modify so the whole kit can be vac formed. The legs and backpack will still need to be custom made, but if everything is being vacformed, the reality of this becoming a kit is pretty high. Watch this space

A bit more progress today, I drafted the backpack in 3D to see how it looks when rotated to match the references. Had to do a bit of tweaking to my original backpack plans. The first side pic and first back pic are the original working design I had in the first iteration of the backpack that was made into a fiberglass mold. From that, I've had to tweak measurements as I can't get PVC to match the diameter I originally used for the tanks. When compared to the side profile of the reference image, I noticed the control panel is not visible in the reference. So I dropped it to sit flush with the top of the tanks. It is still visible when I tilt the model to match the reference, so the only other real option to me is to make the control panel smaller, however, when looking at the reference of the back of the backpack (top left, coloured reference) and comparing to a back view of the model, it panel seems correctly sized. So my justification is that the artist simply forgot to sketch the control panel on the backpack of the side reference. I also raised the side cutouts and made the rectangles smaller, to better match the reference. The only other detail I feel needs justification is the inverted 'T' that appears to be the top of the control panel on the back reference. I don't see how there can be a stem running flush with the top of the control panel to the top of the backpack, and still have the tank causing the shadow on the reference. Again, my justification for this is artist error. Also worked out a potential way to smooth over the top of worbla to give it an armor-like surface (instead of its course texture) so I'll whip up the shoulder bells and give it a crack.

Bit of an update today. Been a busy week at work, but I managed to mock up the cylinder domes for the back pack for consideration by my GMO/one of the LMOs. Bit of discussion about the shape of them in the reference, will keep everyone posted First pic is my initial interpretation of the dome. On discussion with my garrison's XO (housemate) and GMO, it was suggested that the tops may not be spherical and slightly parabollic. So I mocked up some tops with ellipsoids (second pic). Third pic is my justification for using a 30mm dia circle as the tank topper (I'm using a 100mm dia pvc pipe for the tank, though may scale it back to 95mm if I can find that size. The original backpack used 95mm poster tubes and looks more compact.) I think the 60mm ellipsoid best approximates the reference, but will wait to see what my GMO suggests as well. As always, open to feedback from you guys too. Pics here are thumbnails, click for full sized images Also, I found the belt in storage. Unfortunately, the news isn't great. It was probably the worst stored part, the webbing has discoloured and stained, and the fiberglass pieces had warped like the backpack did. But it's ok. We have the technology. We can rebuild. In the very least I can pull the measurements and reconstruct them in ABS when that arrives.

Thought I'd give 3D modelling a go, so I drafted up the greeble piece for the helmet snout. It's a 3 part greeble, the main parts separated so I can vapor bathe the parts to remove the print lines. Then put it all together. Hoping to get a slush cast of my helmet so that it is in urethane and therefore, easier to modify than the fiberglass it currently is. I'll then sand off 5mm from the snout, removing the current sculpted snout so I can replace it with a smoother and more accurate snout piece as moddled above. Finally, bondo around the seams and sanding to get the curve back from the cheeks to the edge of the snout. Something to do while I wait for the ABS for the new backpack to arrive from china and a day off to go get craft foam for the worbla.