DoggyDoc

Looking awesome. Great job

Just ordered my bubble lenses from OPLE props and EL panels from EL Wirecraft.

Magnets would hold them well, but I am having a hard time figuring out how you will rig them up. The magnet would either need to be embedded in the strap and still be small enough to fit through the slot on the back piece. Alternatively, you could glue a thin piece of metal onto the back of the strap and then mount the magnet inside of the back piece. Another option would be a piece of elastic attached to the end of the strap with a snap on it that can be snapped into the inside of the shoulder.

Hey @TookBreaker, I used copper knurled embedment nuts. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B087N4LVD1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 you predrill slightly , so the sleeve sits in the hole, then use a soldering iron to heat and push the nut into the plastic. It essentially melts itself into place. For the shoulder straps, I am planning on plastic welding the buckles onto the chest piece, so they are secure when attaching the specialist rig. For the straps, I am going to use E6000 to glue the front portion in place under the back end of the buckle and along the top of the chest piece. The back portion will stay loose, then can simply be tucked into the openings in the shoulder portion of the back plate once the front and back pieces are connected together.

Did a bit more work today on the torso parts. I opened up the slots on the shoulder for the shoulder straps and attached the thermal detonator to the back piece. The thermal detonator is attached to the 2 supports with plastic weld and the entire assembly is held onto the back piece with 2 screws. I embedded threaded metal sleeves into the supports to allow them to be easily removed if necessary.

Spent the day today reworking the 3D render files for the shoulder straps. Here is the new one printed and compared to the old one in the background. I think these look much better. Thanks @Chaos for sending me your original files so I could get a better idea of dimensions.

Let me just print the updated version of the shoulder strap to make sure it works ok, then I will get you a copy of the file (no cost). The side straps are from @Chaos. I am sure he will help you out with them as well.

Found some time to do a bit more work on the kit today. I have been fiddling with my resin printer settings as the shoulder straps did not turn out properly. I reduced the exposure time dramatically and they came out much better. do you think the shape of the one on the right or the shape of the test print on the left looks better? Ignore the blemishes on the surface and the print lines, they will be removed.

looking good.

I don’t see what you are referring to. Here is a photo of my helmet head on

These strap portion is in 2 pieces with a cutout on each one to make a tube around the buckle.

Update on recent build progress: I wasn’t happy with the look of the resin printed shoulder bridges as the printer seemed to squish the raised notches and thicken the base portion causing it to look out of proportion. I went to the filament printer and printed them in TPU and sanded the print lines out. I think these turned out much better. Likely will hit it with a coat of plastidip to get it shiny again after the sanding. new bridge is on the bottom new bridge is on the left Photos of the shoulder bridges and side straps I also primed the SE-14R blaster parts. Ready for black now

Welcome Jared. Looking forward to seeing your build.

Printed some supports to attach the thermal detonator to the back plate. Do these look ok?

@Chaos thanks for the side strap files. They turned out awesome.

I have been struggling with getting a backing for the calves so that I can extend the fibreglass to make them bigger as they don’t close around my leg. I initially tried ABS plastic strips and heated and Mildred them to try to follow the curve along the edge of the piece but als had to have a curve around the circumference of the calf. This was very difficult and did not work. My solution was to use fibreglass cast material and form it to the inner edge of the calf piece. Being a vet, I grabbed a couple of rolls from work and gave it a go. to prevent damage to the armour pieces, I also wrapped the pieces in press and seal wrap which sticks to pretty much everything. The end result gives me a 3 inch backing that I can extend out past the edge of the back of the calf to build up new fibreglass. Armour pieces wrapped for protection Fibreglass cast strips laid down 2 layers thick with 50% overlap (4 pieces total) Completed backing - note the continuation of the curve around the circumference and the conformity with the edge of the armour piece. I also worked on the shoulder strap buckles. In order to get the loop to sit snug under the lip of the buckle, I had to file down a notch on the underside of the buckle to allow it to sit flush. Once this was done, I glued the loop to the buckle with Zap a Gap and then filled the gap between the 2 pieces with plastic weld to further secure and reinforce the piece.

@Chaos They are a bit under the 6mm thickness, I think those were 4mm total. I am sending you a DM. Thanks for the advice.

So I assume this shows how well it bends? LOL. I love this flexible resin. I also printed the side straps for the chest piece. Do these look ok. Should the polygon at the top be the way it is (lower in respect to the ridges, or should it be raised up to the same level s the closed rectangular block?

@Chaos @Lt. Dan Thank you both for the insight. That does help a lot. Makes sense to secure the front part with the buckle as it would just pull all over when the tactical vest is on.

The shoulder bells are attached with Velcro straps that connect just behind the seam. They are hanging down slightly when I am not wearing the costume. Here is a pic with me in the costume. With my shoulders holding them in place

I need some advice on the shoulder bridges. I rendered these on blender and printed them using Siraya tech Tenacious resin which is flexible. Are these a bit too long? From reference photos, it looks like the buckle should come to the collar end ‘ neck opening. is the curve enough for specialist certification? are the grooves too shallow? Should I lift the bumps on the bridges a bit higher? Thanks

Any time.

Snaps finally arrived and I was able to do some more work on the strapping. Just waiting for the E6000 to set on the shoulder and biceps snaps and the torso will be done. Then onto the big job of resizing the thighs and calves.

Hi Mark. Congrats on your order. I am building one of Jim’s deathtroper kits as well and have been very happy with everything so far. There are different ways to strap the kit. I am using a similar way to the TK strapping with snaps glued into the armour plates and connected with elastic strapping. Others have created a corset with the abdominal pieces and keep them in -lace with suspenders while the Chest and back are floating free over top. Here are some photos of how I did it: Here is a link for the corset method https://imgur.com/a/xaRbyZg For sanding, I start with 80 grit and then go to 120 then 220 grit paper Not sure about the magazine cartridges. I plan on resin printing mine. Where are you in Canada? I am near Toronto.

Congratulations