DoggyDoc

Created the HK- MG3 magazines for the specialist chest rig. Looked into getting real ones but they are not legal to have in most areas. I found a CAD rendering that I cleaned up in blender and then resin printed. If anyone wants these files, just PM me.

Hi Case. Welcome to spec ops and congratulations on deciding to take the plunge. ‘I am also working on a Death Trooper and am part of the Canadian Garrison. Looking forward to trooping with you in the near future.

I have not thought about it yet. My TK has a couple of snaps and Velcro to hold the front in place. Likely something along those lines.

Hey Mark. I used line 24 Tandy snaps from Amazon, they are pricey but they are also very strong. I bought a cheaper snap for my holster and belt pouch and they hardly hold together, so I will switch those fit Tandy snaps as well. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003ABSPT4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 For the nylon, I also ordered through Amazon. I use 1 inch for the snap plates and 2 inch for the strapping. https://www.amazon.ca/Yards-Black-Nylon-Heavy-Webbing/dp/B08BNNKV9M/ref=sr_1_7?crid=6ZBFBTLBJIML&keywords=2+nylon+webbing&qid=1680786366&sprefix=2"+nylon%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-7 https://www.amazon.ca/Juasky-Strapping-Backpack-Climbing-Crafting/dp/B09J7Z7CS2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=YXOB0EBOHMCL&keywords=1+nylon+webbing&qid=1680786408&sprefix=1+nylon+webbing%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-7

Had a productive day today. I decided that I was not happy with the shoulder strap buckles that came with the kit as they had imperfections inside of the troughs. I also dropped one and the D ring shattered. the belt boxes were also fairly uneven and when I applied Bondo and sanded, it opened up lots of air bubbles. I rendered new D rings, belt boxes and armour plates for the soft belt pouches. The shoulder buckle is the one that came with the shoulder strap files from @Chaos (thanks again). I feel they turned out alright; Also wet moulded the leather belt pouch. It’s amazing how many new things you learn to do with this hobby. I used the Fabric paint to darken the canvas for the soft belt pouches. The black dye came out more dark grey. Happier with the painted product. The darker potion is the painted area, the edge shows the more grey area. Finally I made the SE-14R holster. Thanks @nanotek for the tutorial. Not sure if this is sitting properly. It does not feel like it will be very secure when I walk around. I have posted 2 different ways to strap in the blaster. Is one of these correct?

Thanks, I have been thinking about this. The resin printed parts need minimal light sanding, it is just the barrel that needs a lot of work. I will look at it. I was thinking more for the armour pieces.

You are correct. You can’t see them because I had the front section rotated 90 degrees so they are on the top and bottom.

Yes. I will set the full length to 36”, then trim the rods. That way, I can adjust them down as needed. Also a lot of sanding to do on the barrel.

Working on the E-11D the past few days. All parts printed. So much faster with a resin printer. The 2 barrel parts had to go on the filament printer still as they are huge. must admit, I did run around the house with the barrel and threw out a few Pew

Your costume was awesome. Great trooping with you.

Finally completed my SE-14R.

EL panels arrived on the 17th. Well packaged and no issues with them, all 4 work well. Now I just need to figure out how to trim them and mount them.

Nice looking kit. Looking forward to seeing your build.

I used a drill and carefully drilled holes along the length of the opening angled down to avoid coming out the back of the raised area that the strap goes into. Once the pilot holes were drilled, I used needle files to file out the rest of the area. Go slow and take your time. I accidentally drilled a hole through the back of the armour - easy fix with plastic weld but it did make my heart skip a beat or 2.

Not sure if there is an exact amount. I think that it should be comfortable but not rattle around. My stormtrooper thighs are fairly snug at the top for me and looser at the knee but not so snug that they bite when walking. I have seen other troopers put some foam padding inside the thigh or arm pieces to keep it from moving around. On my stormtrooper, I needed the. Knee area on one thigh a bit tighter to keep it from rolling inward and misaligning the seams, so I put a piece of cushion foam under my undershot to keep the thigh pushed forward a bit to prevent it from rolling.

I have the opposite problem, I have to expand mine by an inch or so. There is one area where only the groove cuts across the thigh and at one point it is almost horizontal, so it should match up well when I expand. I am not sure if it will line up perfectly though if you are reducing it as I will need to join the 2 cut ends with a new groove. ‘Maybe for reducing, along the edge of the ribbed area might work?

The SE-14R is almost done. I used a water slide decal to do the circuit pattern on the back of the gun. The trick was that when you try to print silver on a clear surface, it is just very light grey because the white paper adds colour. This caused it to not be visible on the black background. To fix this, I painted the area silver and made the decal the reverse pattern with the black, so it shows up well. I also very lightly weathered the blaster. Ready for the matte clear coat and it’s done.

Hi Sean. Welcome to Spec Ops.

Working on the brackets for the shoulders. I wanted to try and prevent the chest piece from dropping down with respect to the back piece at the shoulder, so I cut brackets from 3mm aluminum plates and slightly curved them to follow the arc of the shoulder. I will set them into the back plate shoulder area with plastic weld and then run a nylon strap with snaps under it to join the front and back pieces. I just have to show this next piece off a bit. I picked up a mini sabre from Hacksmith Industries when I was trooping at a recent con. I use it to seal my nylon and elastic cut edges and it makes my wife happy because I don’t steal her kitchen torch anymore.

With respect to the buckles on the shoulder and side straps; what is the correct colouring for them. It seems that for most of the photos I find, the buckle on the shoulder strap is black with some silver weathering and the d-ring is more silver with some black weathering. For the side straps, the d ring looks to be silver with some black weathering. is this correct?

Thanks for letting me know that they were just uploaded. I couldn’t figure out how I had missed it before as they are such good photos.

Found these photos of a screen used E-11D blaster from Rogue One on Hero Props. Figured that they would be good for reference. Then I found them in the death trooper reference photos but I will keep them here for my reference.

Congratulations. Well deserved.

Hey Kyle. @nanotek has a good guide for these. Here is a link for the holster Here is the link for the Pouch. The dimensions are listed on the CRL. Progress update: Leather leather leather! Warning I am a first timer with leather! So I went to Leffler Leather last Friday on my day off to spend $$$ on leather and leather crafting tools. I picked up some leather, hole punch, dye, conditioner, rivets, snaps, and various tools to begin the works. I had to create a woodblock mould for one of the belt pouches. Was a fairly simple exercise except I got my measurements wrong the first time. However. I progressed with my second mould and with a little love and attention I got my first pouch. First you thoroughly soak the leather in water and then basically stretch and mould to the block. You need to trim excess gathering and it's a bit random but it works. Once you have the leather shaped you clamp it or tack it. I chose clamping. Then it's just wait for it to dry. I also had a crack at the speed strap for the SE-14r. Testing out skills... Last night I cut out the back/front flap and tried my hand at dyeing the leather: I have plenty of leather left over so will continue making these until I have none left. If they're good enough I will sell some to recoup costs I happy to post more detailed pics of the build later if anyone is interested.

Leather arrived today for the belt pouch and SE-14R holster. Also picked up some canvas but could not find black, so I bought off white and dyed it. Worried it may not be black enough as it is really dark charcoal grey.