Chaos

Have you contacted Andrew over at PAD to get advice?

Greg, A lot of people have had issues with clear coats and other have had great success after painting their helmets with gloss black. To be honest, I painted mine with 4-5 light coats of Rustoleum Pro 2 gloss black, let it cure for about a week so that it would get nice and hard and then used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, followed with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish and it looks just as good as using auto paint. If I ever get a scratch on any part of my paint job and I don't want to leave it as a weathered or battle scar look, I just use the Compound to buff out the scuff and then Polish over the area again.

I have never used it, I have been using UKSWRATH's DT helmet audio system and love it, I can talk normally and play DT scrambled voice clips without switching back and forth. The system is loud enough to be heard even in loud environments.

Could be the release agent used to make the casting come out easier.

To be honest, I have never used plain rubbing alcohol (<90%) on anything, it contains additives that leave a residue. If you want to use alcohol as a cleaner it is always best to use 100% or a Denatured Alcohol. I use diluted Dawn dish detergent as my cleaner/degreaser and have never had an issue it it reacting to any type of material.

Yes, I've wet sanded a color coat due to minor imperfections, I always hit everything with a tack cloth before doing a final coat. And take compressed air and blow everything in and around your part before spraying.

Greg, looking good, " I'll add a few more coats tomorrow and the next day and see how it turns out." Be careful added new layers of paint over partially cured layers. This is when a lot of people get the bubbling/crackling effect with the last coat. I'd wait a good 48-72 hours before you add any new layers of gloss paint. As far as painting in your garage, during the winter months when I live in Washington state, I built a little paint booth out of 1x2s and plastic drop cloth material. You can make a work bench top one or any size really. I then put a small electric heater/fan inside the booth and kept it going while the paint cured. Worked like a charm!

I like making the "oddball" and "unusual" characters. Have you gotten word back on your approval?

So far, so good! Looking Great Greg!

Congrats Chris, your build looks Great!

Looking good so far! I wouldn't worry about the eye/cheek piece, it looks almost identical to the Celebration display and the promo photo's helmet. A word of advice on the plastidip, if you plan on putting velcro inside for pads, electronics, etc., or gluing them in, you will need to sand away the plastidip. Things will stick to the plastidip but the plastidip will pull away from the resin's surface.

I got my E11D, SE14, and grenades from Jerry Budde, he is on FB and a member of the Death Troopers Build page. Send him a PM he has awesome prices.

Mark, a lot of people have gone to an auto paint shop and had the single stage auto paint sprayed on. Just have patience and make sure you do all the prep work, its worth it in the end.

Chris, You will get many opinions on who's kit is more accurate etc, all of the Maker's listed on this forum kits are approvable with work just like any other costume kit. Andy's and Jim's kits are fiberglass resin so you will get more of the details showing than if you went with an ABS vacuumed formed kit. Either of them would be an excellent choice, it really boils down to how much money do you want to spend and how much time you have (kit verses completed options) I have Jim's kit as he and Tom Campbell were some the first to offer the DT, Tom offered the 3D files but I did not have a printer at the time. I am very pleased with how well Jim's kit has held up after 20 something troops over the past year. The kits is cast in a flexible fiberglass resin and it really has a lot of flex and give. I have copied your list and posted who/where I got mine from with any comments I have about each. Helmet: Anovos' helmet is the most accurate. I used Jims and am very please with how it looks, plus it fits me well, some people have issues with the Anovos as it does have some head size limnitations Armor: Jim's complete "regular" kit. He does make a "tall" kit for guys over 6 foot that fits them very well. Undersuit: Jim offers the complete undersuit, make sure you add about 1-2 inches to your circumference measurements to allow for fluctuation in your own body changes Shorts: part of Jim's undersuit Neckseal: part of Jim's under suit Elbow, Abdominal, and Knee Gaskets: part of Jim's undersuit Shoulder Straps: part of Jim's kit Boots: I went with the Talib as I couldn't find the Jered as well. Since you only see the bottom of the boot, it looks exactly like the Jered when covered by shin/calve armor. Plus they are really comfortable. I have heard that the Imperial Boots version does look like the Jered but have also heard that people are having to get a size larger and put comfortable inserts in them. Gloves: I found a pair of shooting gloves that were an exact match and simply removed the logo. I can't find the link Balaclava: UnderArmor HeatGear Tactical Hood (Amazon)--Received Belt: part of Jim's kit Belt Buckle: part of Jim's kit Canvas Belt Pouches: part of Jim's kit Leather Pouch: I made my own but I have seen Kerry Alan Rowntree's and it is a good remake Holster: I made my own but I have seen Kerry Alan Rowntree's and it is a good remake SE-14R and E-11D: I got 3D printed kits from Jerry Budde, they cost less than most of the others and I was able to assemble and paint them easily, plus Jerry hollowed out the magazine and mag well so I could accommodate a battery pack for my electronics. The infill on his kits is thick enough that they are very durable. Metal kits are nice, I think Christopher Fieldmarshal Vandenberghe makes some metal parts that can be used on the airsoft version. I have trooped with metal kits, they are great at holding up against accidental droppings or bangings but after about an hour of holding them they do get heavy. Sound System: I have UKSWRATH's DT helmet audio system with the bluetooth MP3 player and love the fact that it is all contained in the helmet and I don't have wires running down to my torso and a speaker hanging off my belt. If you eventually want to troop the "specialist" variant, I made my pauldron and chest rig. There are a few good makers out there for these items, make sure you are getting a DT pauldron as they are slightly different than the normal TK ones. If you have basic sewing skills I did post a DIY thread with patterns/parts for the chest rig that I made here: https://forum.specops501st.com/index.php?/topic/5016-specialist-chest-ammo-pouches-wip/ Best of luck with your build!

I used the audio foam tape that came with the kit and made sure that the correct side of the mic was turned towards my mouth and not right up against my lips, you can set it back an inch or two and it will pick up your voice just fine. I also made sure the speakers had a "gasket" between them and the helmet and that the audio tape completely covered the speakers, You don't need to turn his system up to 100% to be heard, I keep mine at about 75% and have no feed back and people can hear me very well. Here is a photo of my helmet: Here are some videos of me using his system: https://youtu.be/R2z5bnrK1zM Initial setup demo https://youtu.be/3GiZPNzvwH4 Voice playback demo before a parade https://youtu.be/keIMwrgqdDs playback demo showing how loud it is when set at 75% https://youtu.be/ukSndBA-pnk Demo of how loud it is even with a lot of background the noise when set at 75% Sorry for the length of the video, but you can really tell around the 1:45 mark. Best of luck with this issue, let me know if you need anything else.

It was not difficult at all, it is time consuming because you want to make sure that each layer or primer, base coat, and top coat (clear if you choose) is cured. I waited a good week after I primed it and took that time to wet sand as necessary to get a smooth finish. I used Rustoleum self etching auto primer and Rustoleum Painters 2X gloss black. you can do about 2-3 light coats of the black and then wait about 5-7 days before applying 2-3 more light coats. If you don't wait and get in a hurry the subsequent coats will cause the previous ones to bubble or crack. After the final black top coat, if you want to spray with a clear, use the same brand of paint and wait about two weeks or it too will bubble or crack. Trust me it worth the patience to do it right the first time. Best of luck with your build.

The Shadow Stormtrooper helmet is made using the same molds as most TKs and Magma Troopers, the only difference is the color. Currently, there are only three CRLs approved for Shadow Stormtroopers: TFU, Original ST, and the Battlefront II ST. Neither CRL mentions "weathering" Most CRLs are built around reference photos from movies, TV, or comics and not from Toys. If you want to make a Shadow Stromtrooper you can take a TK and paint it black. If you go the Battlefront II variant you will need to invert the abdomen armor button detail. Weathering can be done but depending on your GML, if there is no "weathering" mentioned in the CRL, you might not be approved.

Looks like you are making head way. If you are thinking about electronics, I recommend @ukswrath's Death Trooper helmet system. Its completely contained in the helmet. Check out his Facebook and YouTube demos. I also installed Trooper Tronix's three fan system. You can find him on Facebook. Give us a shout if you have any questions. Welcome to the darker side of the Darkside.

LOL Yeah seems we are never satisfied until we are dead or move on to another project!

I use UKSWRATH's DT helmet voice amplifier and wireless mp3 player. It allows me to speak normally and play pre-recorded DT scrambled voice clips on demand or in a loop similar to the TK radio transmissions file. (I have a thread in this section about it) And it's all contained in the helmet so there are no wires hanging down into your armor. I went with his set up as I didn't like using a full time voice scrambler because sometimes you need to speak normally to the younglings so they don't freak out. The real time scramblers that I have seen, require you to turn them on and off to speak normally. Also with UKSWRATH's system you can preload tunes and play them thru your helmet such as the Imperial March, Christmas tunes for parades, dance music for those non-cannon troops where you just want to wiggle your butt plate, etc! @ukswrath

Congrats and welcome to Team #NotVader! All your shiny parts are making me want to repaint mine, a years worth of trooping is making me look like I was in the beach assault scene, LOL

Congrats and Welcome to the Team #NotVader

Good to hear! I never really understood why it said silver, most grime is black or brown.

CRL: "Helmet may contain lightly done silver weathering but is not required" Weathering looks black/dark gray. You might want to ask your GMO before you clear coat it.

I wish I had made a WIP thread, I'm the type of person who starts a project and works continuously until I'm either finished or drop from exhaustion. LOL One thing that I did do that I'm happy I did was use a rubberized spray coating on all the pieces' inside areas after I fitted them. You're going to be surprised how easy Jim's kit will be to finish. Best of luck. There are plenty of us who have been approved and can help with any questions you might have.