areilly

a while back when there was talk of another run I drew up the patch in illustrator. I anyone needs it in another format I can convert it. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fk2U3TBxw4xMJHl1iKtTW-Xd-lCnBmmh/view?usp=drivesdk

One nitpicky change to the ammo bandolier - remove "Vietnam era" from the description to leave it with "4 pouch 5.56mm ammunition cloth bandoleer. [...]" The Vietnam era pouches where 7-pocket bandoliers made to accommodate the original shorter 20rd mags, when the army moved to the 30rd STANAG mags in the early 80s with the rest of NATO they switched to the 4 pocket/30rd version.

I'm making progress, but it will likely take a few weeks. When I do have results I'll post them for review.

I don't have any accurate numbers yet. I just got an exact reference for the singlepoint scope, which appears to be the same with both (apart from the lack of windage knob covers seen on the OT), so I'll be using that to extrapolate the measurements. It's not a straight scaling, it's more of a redesign since the proportions have changed. Now that I have the scope, I'll try to do some measurements in the next day or two so we can get a rough estimate.

I'd change "charging knob" to cartridge or canister, since its one of the cartridges loaded as described with the belt. On top the spine/ridge is also part silver. I've been doing some digging into this R1/Solo variant since I'm working on a model for it, but details are scarce. These are pretty much the best shots available - I still need to do a screengrab pass on the movie, but that probably wont get much more detail. I also included the patrol trooper shot since its the same one just all black. It is noticeably larger than the classic RotJ scout blaster particularly in the grip area and muzzle, but the patrol trooper CRL didn't mention the size either - currently nobody is making this variant and there are no models available, so most people would need to stick to the classic version with modifications to the color and muzzle.

A while back when there were some some previous issues with supply I can looked at doing a run - I already recreated the patch in illustrator, so I can send that to you to save the effort. The only thing I didn't do was identify exact thread colors.

That makes sense, in that case ignore my suggestion

“Goggles shall have a trim around metallic frame. Trim shall be rubber or foam.” change to ”Goggles shall have a dark trim around metallic frame” reason is we recently got new info that the trim was molded in the same slightly flexible material as the armor. This is why it appears to have rounded edges in some shots. It does appear that some of the earlier ones may have had a rubber trim, so this would keep that option open.

Thats the best pic of the new R1/Solo EC-17 variant i've seen so far. I'm (slowly) working on a new model for that one, since it's significantly different from the classic RotJ EC-17.

I'm not aware of any reference shots of the inside of a screen-used mask, and any pictures people might submit now would just be someone's guess or how they happened to design their own particular piece. The closest I've got is a couple fuzzy screen caps from the two or so frames in the movie it's visible - it appears to be mostly a lip around the edge. Either way, It seems like the mention of the trim just needs to be dropped completely until we have an accurate shot of it (which may never happen). It's an almost completely hidden detail not visible from an observer's point of view, and most people wouldn't be able to produce a custom-molded rubber trim anyways. At best I'd expect a hard lip as part of the design.

Definitely. It’s a big heavy aviation toolbox that’s damn near impossible to get outside of the UK. I was thinking of making a unofficial medic kit along the lines of strapping up a smaller medic kit with stuff like the O2 mask with bottle and various accessories like the shears. I think I see a greeblied wrist BP monitor in there as well.

Regarding the fabric. I was able to buy some olive bull denim, that after some gray weathering might fit the bill. But even that olive isn’t an easy color to find. However in months of searching I haven’t found an olive gray bull denim. I found an olive gray twill, while technically not a bull denim is still a twill like bull denim. My next route was looking at getting natural undyed bull denim which is fairly easy to find and dyeing it to olive gray. But that is quite a bit of work and would be really difficult to be consistent. The technical definition of a bull denim is a 3x1 twill weave with warp and weft threads dyed together as the same color. Personally I think the fabric choice should be made a little more generic by calling for a heavy/medium weight twill - even “bull denim” seems to be a term mostly used to describe upholstery fabric, and the even less common bull drill or cotton drill terms occasionally showing up for clothing weight fabrics. I could show someone a mid/heavy twill fabric, call it bull denim, and they’d never know the difference unless it’s someone familiar enough with fabrics to tell the difference between a 3x1 and 2x1 twill weave. On the left is a heavy 3x1 bull denim, on the right a medium 2x1 twill. Side by side, and close up like this you can tell the difference, but at arms length most couldn’t tell them apart. Reference image also for comparison. “Mid to heavy weight, Olive gray twill fabric” I think would suffice. It definitely needs to be a twill for the accurate look, and not a light weight fabric so that it looks like a jacket and doesn’t drape like a shirt, but the bull denim part is going to be impractical IMO even for level 2.

Continuing on helmet V2: Added a couple coats of silver paint, thick enough for the next weathering step: Then a very gentle wet-sand using 320 grit to give it a tarnished brushed metal effect - then a few random dings and scratches with some random metal tools on the bench Helmet was painted with the 350U base coat, then a very thin topcoat of 433U gray. The green came out a little lighter than planned - afterwards I figured out that I needed additional/thicker coats since the paint was thinned so much for the airbrush. That will be fixed in v3. The goggles got a little black paint rubbed into the grooves and corners, and a very tiny bit of sienna around the rivets to give a little rust effect. Then the weathering washes. First watered down gray paint applied fairly evenly with a sponge. Then some thinned gray paint splattered on with a flicked paint brush. Then topped off with a spray bottle with diluted black paint. Overall pretty happy with the results (yes I did eventually notice the serrated buckles are backwards). This bucket was actually a commission/trade item of sorts for someone at MegaCon and is already gone. I'll be starting on the v3 soon, and this one has really helped refine my paint and weathering technique. The one weathering/paint item really missing on this from the screen used ones is the texture paint. The original Idenden paint just isn't available in the US, and even int he UK its not a retail item, but I think i'm getting somewhere close. I tried a mixture of fuller's earth and gray paint dabbed on with a sponge. The fuller's earth tends to turn it a sandy brown, which isn't all that bad since the Idenden paint when chipped and weathered had a similar effect. it also gives it a bit of texture and grit. On the left in the image below is one of the best references we've got for the weathering - its one of the screen used helmet lights - the fullers/paint mix on the right seems to be pretty close. I think i'll end up using this a little bit on the v3 helmet and when I repaint the rest of my kit. Another small change is that I finally found some elastic strap with a silicone rubber backing. This stuff is meant for goggles and helps stop them sliding around which was a bit of a pain at SWCC. listed as "Zig Zag Wave Silicone Backed Gripper Elastic" on amazon. Next thing is to redo my tunic, since it doesn't meet the CRL since I skipped the front panels. Then I need to stop getting lost in the details and redesigns and finally get this kit approved.

After a post-SWCC break , I'm back on Mudtrooper Version 2: Mimban Boogaloo. I wasn't totally happy with the paint - it came out too light overall, for a couple of reasons - the initial paint formula was based on second-hand information. To fix that, I ordered official color samples from Pantone for 350U/C and 433U. Got another manual match of acrylic at the local paint shop and I think I'm much closer now. The other aspect of the paint I was unsatisfied with was the ultra-flat finish would appear several shades lighter in bright light. I'm switching to a satin-semigloss to be more consistent under varying light and for a deeper color. I may still fix my existing parts with a dark wash, but the replacement parts will definitely use a black basecoat and the new paint. In other paint news, I got the Montana Gold colors when I re-do those related parts on the helmet and biceps: Revised the helmet model and reprinted the mask and goggles again since the previous ones where a bit rushed and the end result was a little sloppy. Next step is trying the new paints.

Then perhaps change it to "Similar to..." the named color? It seems a shame to discard the accurate color info since this is not a basic primary color like so many other kits. Even if someone doesn't want to buy that specific paint, it still lets them google for an image and pick something close. For instance with the Yellow Cab color, I was able to pull it up on my phone, since I had a named color reference, and select a paint at my local craft store that was a very close match. Granted, for most cases a standard red and standard yellow with weathering on top will end up pretty close. Since we're fortunate enough to know the exact colors and layers used, it seems a shame to erase that information from the official record - many people who come across the CRL in the future may never know it otherwise. And for the Pantone 350U/433U references, those are trickier, but maybe a similar wording change to "end result similar to 350U with a 433U topcoat" or "Most accurate color is similar to..."? I agree that we shouldn't require the specific Pantone colors - I know the expense and effort involved, and it's not reasonable to require that from everyone. As far as I know, I was the only one at celebration that attempted a Pantone paint match, and I also didn't get it quite right. I've already got a second batch of paint on the bench for a repaint - this time instead of some internet info, I got official color samples from Pantone to manually match the paint and I think i've finally got it after a slightly unreasonable amount of effort. My first batch had issues due to the matte finish appearing lighter and chalky in bright light - the fix was the rematch against reference samples, and a switch to satin/semi-gloss for a deeper color. As an aside, the reason nearly all shops can't do anything with a Pantone code is two-fold: First off, PMS is a graphic design and print-focused color standard (hence the U for uncoated paper and C for glossy coated paper) and the CMYK and physical medium specs don't easily translate to paint. Also, I suspect there are licensing considerations with Pantone that most companies simply don't want to bother with. So far I know only one company (perfectcolor) that offers paint mixed to PMS codes without a manual match, and they are rather expensive.

I ended up with 22mm wide which was the inner diameter spec for my hoses - it was very snug and took a little work to get the hoses on. you'll probably have to experiment to get the right size for your hoses. One other idea I didn't get to try yet was gluing a plug with a magnet into the end of the hose and then having that attach to a socket on the back plate.

The angled connectors give it a nice look and help the hoses sit on your shoulders where you want them to. Here’s how I made mine, and they were completely secure during SWCC. I did want to do something a little smaller or with a disconnect to make the half-armor Han kit an option, but that will be version 2.

SWCC After Action Report! The last several days before were pure stress. Didn't sleep much and pulled an all nighter the day before travel to get things finished off. I ended up still missing a few details: Used a simplified tunic, the more complex tunic pattern I was working on was too difficult to finish in time. No shin strap buckles No screw on the mask filters No secondary belt Incomplete weathering on the soft parts The gray + black weathering washes were done at the hotel, very carefully to avoid splattering paint everywhere Overall it went well. Paint held up, materials were durable and had no breakages, and kit was mostly comfortable - the longest day was 8-9 hours and I came out of it with a slightly chafed neck and sore shoulders. Was awesome to meet up with all the other Muddies and Spec Ops people. Learned a few things about how the kit wears to improve V2. From here... adding the missing bits and updating the tunic so I can submit for approval. I'll actually end up fairly close to level 2 eligible, the main thing I'm missing are some very minor details, and another set of boots - my current ones have a zipper. I'll be working on a version 2 of this kit - I'm revising the helmet a little, working on a new mask design (all the current options have some mistakes), and over the next few months I'll be redesigning the chest and back as well. The shoulder bells are a little small, so I'll be doing new ones there as well. This kit has the potential of actually being fairly comfortable to wear if fitted correctly. For the con, I cleaned up a Yugo backpack and made a basic shoulder strap to carry it around - it blended in with the kit and was really handy to have while wandering around all day The shin rigging worked out perfectly. I made some nylon straps with a ladder lock buckle to wrap around my calves and cinched them tight. They stayed put and high enough to avoid the pinching that you get on stairs and the like. The straps had some velcro on them to attach the painted straps. My bicep redesign included the double fishhooks, which let me rig them like the screen used TK kits are on R1 one and later. elastic cord on the sides to keep the shoulder bell tucked in and lined up with the bicep, and the middle strap is elastic as well. Very comfortable, and keeps a good fit in a full range of arm motion. After a couple days of wear, overall the paint help up well. I was expecting some chipping but for the most part the only paint wear was on corners where it was rubbing with other parts of the kit. One thing I'll be doing differently on version 2 is avoiding the gray primer when I can. The gray primer doesn't produce as nice of a wear effect as a black base coat. Unfortunately I haven't found a good black filler primer, but I can still do black sandable primer with an extra coat or two to fill things in. For example, my belt boxes that were smooth black resin casts had a clear adhesion promoter primer, and then the 350U/433U coats. When i sand those down the wear effect matches screen-used example almost perfectly: The right bicep had a black basecoat before the red, so its wear looked a bit better, although in spots you still see the gray base primer: The left bicep had the only spot of bad and ugly wear, although it wasn't really visible to other people, so it wasn't a problem during the show. Right where the inner arm rubbed against the chest plate. for the next one, a black basecoat, and a rougher grit for finishing (I was using 320, I may stop at 220 for the acrylic to adhere better) should improve the wearing of that spot. I might also try a clear enamel topcoat to improve durability, or bite the bullet and go with the much more expensive custom color mixed enamel. The armor held up well. The part of most concern was the skinny bits - the tines of the yoke/collar since in the suitcase, those would get pressure when banged around. Other than a few scratches on the paint it survived the trip there and back again.

Overall my armor was printed with PLA+, 3 perimeters (1.2mm walls in and out), and 25% infill. For the collar however I was also concerned - so I printed it solid (100% infill) and also sliced the tine of the yoke in half so I could print each half with pieces with layers/grain at 90 degrees from each other and laminate them together like plywood. This avoids the weakness along the layer lines, which was critical at the tips. It survived as checked airline baggage and 2 days of convention wear will all sorts of bumps and stress. If you used the same approach with PETG you shouldn't have a problem. Even without that the main risk is the tips snapping off, and you're still holding the halves together at the shoulders so it's survivable.

Search for Jim Lau's posts on the Mudtrooper FB page, I think he's still selling them - they're the proper embossed plastic type (R1/Solo didn't use embroidered).

I think theres a few people using McCalls M4745 as a starting point, which is easy to find. I'm starting with this: Victorian Era Army Dress Tunic

The full size standee was a great buy. I'm considering this a V1 build, I'll be using the standee more to compare the next version of the kit. The Sherwin-Williams paint has worked out well. A little trial and error thinning it out to work well in the airbrush. left the 350U green a little thicker for the basecoat, and the 433U gray fairly thin so I could layer thin topcoats for the proper effect. It adhered well to everything, and dried to a durable finish. Base coat seemed a little light (keep in mind these were on an extremely bright, blue sky day so they are much lighter than they would appear in person) Paint also worked well on the rubber straps. First coats were a little spotty but a few coats later it evened out. Adhesion was good - I did use a light coat of clear adhesion promoter primer - the kind usually used for priming urethane body parts. Then I started airbrushing on very thin light coats of the 433U gray. Added an uneven coat to give it a slightly mottled look. Once dried it really started to look like I was expecting it to. Also a note on the importance of lighting. This is the same part, moments apart, one in the sun, one in the shade. No sunny days on Mimban, so the shaded pic is the best reference. The white background on the latter also helps the white balance and color accuracy The files I had for the biceps didn't fit me well, and the arm cutouts were too small. Knocked up a quick design that had more taper towards the top, larger cutouts that were more accurate, and added the double-fishooks so I can rig up the elastic cords that have been used since R1 on the TKs/STs/etc. Got this 1.5mm elastic cord for the rigging. This stuff is surprisingly durable and will pull off my arm before it snaps. Next few days is the Tunic... First time sewing anything like this so I'm a little nervous that it'll turn out a mess.

I don't have a specific pattern, I'm just modifying some regular pants, and trying a generic tunic pattern and modifying it.

Creality CR-10S4 - the large bed has problems getting past 60. I do need to do an enclosure, I think some of my PETG issues was the part warping and lifting off due to ambient temp differences overnight.