CyberNinja89

Hope everyone had a good Easter weekend. 2021 April Front Helmet Progress: https://imgur.com/a/DVmi3ta I'm hoping to get some feedback on my weathered silver on the helmet and a question to anyone that has painted Tom's helmets. The pieces of the helmet in the picture aren't glued down, but is just taped down for the moment for the picture. I have been using some watered down black acrylic, washing down the Rust-Oleum metallic silver, and then dab/wiping the excess off the pieces. In the album, I posted the left side that hasn't been weathered as a baseline and right side with weathering. 1) I know that weathering is optional, but for "weathered" silver do I still have enough room to good darker before I'm out of scope for clearance? So far the grill in the front is the darkest I have gone, followed by the bridge of the nose, and then right vents. 2) I got the TS-40 (Tamiya Metallic Black) painted on the alternating surfaces. Do you give it a gloss clear coat on the metallic black? I having a hard time seeing it on pictures. 3) Tom's file for the helmet has three layers for front: the base where it's weathered silver, a middle layer with the first alternating black/metallic black, then the smaller top layer. I noticed in that most helmets from other vendors don't have that middle layer showing at the top of the nose bridge where it's black/silver. Am I still good to leave my painted pieces as is (silver/black/black) or do I need to bring that weathered silver to the middle layer for that 1/8 in. strip?

Reporting back with a long awaited updated that should of been done earlier! Work got a little hectic with the first quarter. Jan - Feb: Felt overwhelmed with all the 3D printed pieces in my bin of parts. So I focused on the SE-14R since these were small pieces to fill and prime. I also wanted to get some practice laying down black paint and clear coating consistently before moving on the large pieces. Thankfully Winter in the panhandle of Florida was ideal for temperature and humidity for spray painting. I built myself a PVC/Plastic wrapped enclosure to spray out in my patio. Otherwise I just kept Bondo filling if it was too cold. I didn't get much of chance to grab photos throughout February 2021 Early January Progress Album: https://imgur.com/a/pu90FtR March: I would say I finally got into the groove of things with spray painting and broke through my hesitancy with the black spray paint. I definitely felt more comfortable in telling much I really need to fill and sand without being to obsessive. I finished painting and clear coating the SE-14R, so I was able to focus better on the actual armor pieces and maybe on the E-11D. 2021 Mid March Progress Album: https://imgur.com/a/FScXA25 After thoughts: Armor piece and starting the undersuit is my main priority now. After seeing DHKnecht's post on the SE-14R scope mount, I'll come back and reprint that. Thankfully I didn't fully glue that piece down after seeing the level 2 requirement.

Making some progress with getting some of the smaller items prepped with the final coat of primer and start laying down some black paint. I'm looking to get the printed parts of the belt painted and I didn't see any paint specifications in the CRL. Looking at other DT photos from existing members, is it safe to assume that these boxes and the hard plates on the canvas pouches are also a gloss black?

Thoughts on printing the tops of the shin upside down to save on support filament? Despite the supports creating the less desired quality on the outside, you will be filling and sanding the exterior regardless.

Alright, two more albums of progress and that should wrap 2020. Plenty of pieces so far to keep filling and to prime. I'm at the point I started a trello board to keep myself focused only certain pieces at a time. Painting is going to be tough because weather in the panhandle of Florida is starting to be sub-optimal. I'm probably use this month to focus more on the undersuit when I'm not sanding. 2020 Mid December Progress Album: https://imgur.com/a/kiNVbPP 2020 Late December Progress Album: https://imgur.com/a/bQtw7f9

For sure. As someone whose as moved to Florida from up north, I don't think I can survive outside with all the humidity without fans. Why do I love black armor?

Funny, I was following one of your posts about using bbcode. Apparently, embedding imgur albums uses javascript so that's not compatible.

Let me know if there is a better way of sharing the images of the progress, but here goes it. This is pretty much the progress I made in the first 5 months of 3D printing. I've got another batch of pictures from December coming. 2020 July - November Progress Album: https://imgur.com/a/yTBCpAq https://imgur.com/milhitQ

I figured it was time to start a thread on my DT build after some motivation from Raider's SpecOp videos. This is my very first build for the 501st, but I have been researching and reading through forum posts for almost a year. I'm up for the challenge as I hear that this will be a long and challenging process especially going down the 3D printed route. I was fortunate to attend a couple armor parties in Florida with Squad 7 and Tampa Bay Squad. Met some awesome people that were able to give great insight and tips on the build. This is my favorite stormtrooper, so here goes for the New Year! I hope to get this completed for 2021. Start Date: July 1st, 2020 Goals: Complete this build by myself as much as possible (except shoes and gloves). I like to be hands on, so I'm willing to take the time to learn despite being stuck at home. - 3D Print my armor - Construct my own undersuit - Do the leather work myself General Note: - I'm using TDK Props (Tom Campbell's files) for this build - For my 3D filament I'm using PETG for the armor and I'm looking into TPU for the rubbery parts - Most of 2020 has been printing parts and filling print lines - My wife is a costume technician, so I will be leveraging her help with soft good patterning and sewing - I'm 5'10" and 230 lb (Target <210 lb) Version 2 Requirements: Helmet: TDK Props - Printed, Filling/Sanding - Lens: Amazon - Cut - Rubber Seal: Armory Prop Shop - Ordered - NSM: TDK Props - Printed, Painting - LEDs: Ordering Torso: TDK Props - Printed, Filling/Sanding Chest Rig - Not Started - HKG3 Magazines - Printing Arms: TDK Props - Printed, Filling/Sanding - Arm Bands - Not Started Gloves: Endor Finders - Received - Armor: TDK Props - Printed, Painting Belt: Amazon - Received - Buckle, Boxes, Lids: TDK Props - Printed, Filling/Sanding - Canvas Pouches: Fabrics - Ordered - Small Leather Belt Pouch: Not Started - SE-14R Holster: Not Started Legs: TDK Props - Not Started, Sizing Balaclava: UnderArmor - Received Pauldron: Not Started Undersuit: Fabrics - Ordered Boots: Dr Marten's Talib Brando (Poshmark) - Received Weapons: Grenades: TDK Props - Printing E-11D Blaster: TDK Props - Printed, Filling/Sanding/Painting SE-14R Blaster: TDK Props - Finished - Flashlight: GZ150041 (AliExpress) - Received Optional Accessories: - Helmet Audio System: Need to evaluate space - Helmet Fans: Not Started - Stormtrooper doll: Not Started - Shoe Lifts: 1.5 in heel lifts (Tallmenshoes) - Received Getting pictures of my build in order... I will include some from 2020, but more to come soon. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

@mjt82 Have you looked at the free/basic version of netfabb? It might be limited compared to meshmixer, but I find slicing and measuring easier in netfabb. Like @DHKnecht, I had been resizing the pieces myself. I'm 5'10'' and currently 230 lb. So far I had to shorten the length about ~15% for my forearms. I haven't done my shins yet, but I'm looking to do the same and possibly more shortening. I'm worried about thighs too, because I'm a little bit of a thicc boy. @lancer Thanks for the tip. For $30 bucks that sounds like a hell of a deal.

An update to this thread for future DT doing research, Dr. Marten's Mayers are out of production and Talibs appears to be going out too.