nanotek

Which model? Mine are 5mm I think. I can check later for you. If you can I would take the pieces to a model shop and try a couple of rods to see. I chose ones that required a bit of forcing in so they stayed in position I hope this helps

I went the 3D printed route and can honestly say I wouldn't do it again in a hurry. It's A LOT of work to get it right and even with strengthening using fibreglass it can still crack. I fibreglassed several areas that were very thin and weak. Butt plate, abs, shoulders, chest and thighs. I can safely sit down without issue I didn't go with other kits because there are a few features that I felt didn't match the screen used ones. At the time the ArmoryShop 3D print was the closest I could source without buying a printer myself. It was a very adventurous build and was satisfying once it was “finished” but there's still work to do. Not to mention ongoing repairs and repainting from trooping. My next build will most likely be the TLJ FOTK and will get a Jimi kit as that looks like a good one. Maybe by the time I afford to build again there might be something different.

Source for the lower v-ring?

I think someone found them, however they are really heavy. They were possibly looking at recasting it in aluminium but I don't think it happened. You will have to trawl through the research thread to find the post. I don't know anyone who offers them cast in any metal. Seems to be some rubber ones I think? Sorry just read you were after both too and bottom sets. The top ones the d-rings are available through a couple of people. The buckle is an ejection seat harness buckle. I got mine through eBay. The bottom ones as above

Thanks mate! Appreciate it! I am looking forward to the completion of your build!

TX10322 reporting for duty. Well actually already did my first troop within 24 hours of receiving my numbers So happy! I'll be continuing this build thread a bit more as I have some more to share

I used the Rustoleum 2X High Gloss Black. I'll try to post close up pics so you can see the difference. My painting skills have improved but not professional:D I have not used any clear coat. But may do in future as it may help protect the finish a bit longer.

This kit looks great! I wish it was available back when I started mine! Looking forward to seeing more of this kit as it looks like a far better investment than 3D printed armour

My modifications continue... after seeing how easily my shoulder bells kept slipping around on my undersuit, I decided to use some rubber matting to line them. This worked a treat! Glued in using Foss adhesive. Also experienced the insane heat and lens fog in my bucket so decided to install my fans. Awesomely enough the Anovos bucket has a nice seal around the opening so it was easy to conceal all the wiring behind it. One of the switches for turning fans on and off again These are Henry's fans. Really quiet and powerful.

Submission Sent in two days ago. Still waiting to hear back. I plan on weathering this next Front: Back: Right: Left: Action: Bucket Off: Supplementary angled Shots (to catch some highlights): Wish me luck!

You're doing a fantastic job. Really love the scorching on that E-11D, how did you achieve that? The curing time between coats is a bitch to predict. If you're like me and create uneven layering you'll get the pesky patches of uncured paint. That really got me down but just keep going. You got this!

Nice work!

Thanks everyone. Getting closer to approval. Still making mods and improvements as I go. Will look at redoing this thread in a more logical manner. One that actually makes sense!!

Hey and welcome! Looks like your build is off to a good start. I bought the killer combo and the quality is great. The boots are comfy too.

Thanks mate Here's a preview of the full get up

Well. The last couple of days have been hectic with getting all the strapping done. Getting in and out of the kit to make adjustments really took it out of me! I managed to get my harness sorted. I pretty much have everything strapped. The only thing I am waiting on is glue to dry on my belt. I have attached snaps to it so that I can just snap the belt on in key areas. Tomorrow I plan on making my first submission to the GML, I expect that some adjustments may need to be made. Doing all the snaps has been hard work! So knackered! Didn't expect this kind of exhaustion from putting together a costume. I had one break. I have had to use a hairdryer to reshape my butt 😄. I will probably need to do some touch ups to the paint! Will probably need to reshape chest as well. Also need to get some elastic for my biceps. Will post up pics tomorrow 😀

So the weekend was filled with drama, setbacks and progress. After fixing all the painting issues I masked off the areas that require the Tamiya TS-40 Metallic Black paint and gave a couple of coats each. Ab plate: Chest plate: Back: I also spent a huge amount of frustration on getting the rubber straps, ejection buckle and d-ring attached. It was a combination of changing strategies, failed attempts and just get this done! Part of the issue was my initial attempt to embed the nut in the strap failed. So I tried a couple of different things and eventually came up with a solution that will work in the short term but I will need to change it in the future. I got some 38mm webbing and glued some washers and nuts to that. Attached it to the back armour, then glued the strap to the webbing. I glued the ejection harness buckle to the strap and then glued the d-ring to the buckle. I am using industrial Velcro to secure the buckle to the front. Eventually it all cam together like this: I used Velcro to fasten the shoulders together from the inside. My chest plate caught some unexpected sun and flattened out a bit. So nothing lined up. I used a hairdryer and managed to shape it back. But it still needs work as generally speaking it's not all lining up flush yet. :-/. Definitely in a better state but not easy to fit together! I also started work on my strapping system starting with the belt: This version failed but the idea is there. I started work on redoing this using leather. I will update further on this later. Here are my gloves with plates I also started to work on the wrist rockets. I bought some machined aluminium ones with no idea or plan on how they would fit to the armour. I think I have a workable solution I am just waiting on some materials. Basically I will build my own mounting system using some 4mm ABS and some M5 6mm countersunk screws. I am having my undersuit pants taken in a bit as they are just too baggy. This armour leaves very little room so no more pies and beers this guy! Getting closer but probably over engineering this into next year LOL

Here is the right thigh. This is pretty much completed. Might do another coat of paint 😀 Chest without metallic panels, first coat of paint. Requires a second lick Beginning of strapping for chest to back Close up: Failed strap. The CA did not hold :-/ Here are the rubber straps I got from Bones Brudus. They are very good quality and require a little trimming. I have decided to insert the nuts for the bolts into the strap and then bolt from the inside. Prep for the nuts: The bolt holes for the straps. These are part of the kit. No drilling required. For my belt I decided to line it with foam. This is to provide grip and protection for the armour. The foam was from Bunnings. And last of all here is a sketch I did of the harness system I plan on doing I plan on restructuring this build thread too. I know it's all over the show as I am trying to do multiple things at once to keep up the momentum. My shins and forearms have just undergone a second coat. My cod, posterior, hand plates, ab plate and lower back plate have already been done. I just received a variety of weathering paints to simulate the salt water oxidation of the armour to try out. I'll experiment on my spare shoulder plate 😀 The end of my approval build is in sight. The overall finished product will take a bit longer

Congrats mate. Looks great

Thank you for the encouraging words mate, you're too kind. Your build is looking sick too and has been a source of motivation and inspiration. I completely understand the level of effort required to get this kit up and running. Might have to gather all the ArmoryShop raw kit builders together for a beer and counselling

Here is a preview of the paint work. Still a lot of work to do as my painting skills are not quite up there. It's been a huge learning process and not something I am able to articulate at the moment. Still need to work on the overall finish, but also there is the alternate colour scheme with the Metallic black and also weathering. I am thinking I will be able to do a test fitting this weekend so I can start the strapping process next. I am going through bouts of what I would call “build lethargy” right now. It kind of started a couple of weeks ago and as exciting as it is to see the armour all black now, I am still a bit anxious(?) about the amount of work required to finish this kit. I know it won't take long to finish now compared to when I started, but brother oh brother! Over the last three to four weeks I have been putting in a minimum of 10 hours on my days off and at least 2 -3 hours on working days. I am useless at math, but you'll get an idea of the effort required to work with this particular kit. I don't even know how I managed to fit in a social life and chores around this too!

Looking great Nick. Keep up the great work

If you belong to the Death Troopers build group on Facebook, go to the files and there is a PDF that Tom provided for free. It's a template for the decals

I didn't grab any photos this weekend, but will update soon! So grab your reading glasses and a big drink because this is a text heavy update So this last weekend was all about prep & paint. After what felt like forever I finally got to the end of the sanding phase. The basic process was: 1. Coat with Spray putty 2. Use 240 grit to remove runs if any 3. Light sand with 400 grit 4. Bump up to 1200 grit 5. Spray putty again if significant scratches or bumps I also had to file out and sand some details as they had been lost in coats of resin. This was a lot of effort as there is a lot of detail in this armour. One forearm took about an hour and a half to get through! So a key learning from this is to be careful when using resin as it can kind of pool up in the finer details! Prior to attempting to paint I sought some advice from Tom about how many coats he used and the technique he used. I then watched about 5 YouTube vids on how to get an even coat and avoid runs. I also watched a couple of videos on how to remove runs which was fairly interesting. I had a slight paint malfunction on my chest armour. Something caused the paint to wrinkle up so I immediately applied turps and some elbow grease to remove it all. Allowed it to dry and then repainted without incident... I have put a first coat of high gloss black over all pieces of the armour except for the back piece as I am still working on it. Everything is looking shiny, sexy and Vader:D No major dramas during, apart from the chest piece and a couple of runs on a couple of pieces. Nothing that cannot be fixed quite easily. All in all it was a fairly productive weekend, even managed to get all my household chores done! Have to keep the boss happy

The CRL is not clear on wether the ammo pouch should be leather or not, or if the stitching is white or black, it just says that the buttons shall be silver. Correct me if I am wrong here but technically you could get away with either but I would go for the first option. It will look better and it matches the pic in the CRL