DoggyDoc

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I figured I would create a step by step tutorial on how to use snaps for strapping. I use Line 24 snaps for most strapping projects. Items required: Line 24 snaps (male and female sets) Snap setting tool and anvil 1” and 2” nylon strapping Soldering iron Torch or lighter Mallet White paint pen (if using black strapping) Scissors First step is to make the male snap plates which will be glued to the armour. First step is to make a template with a piece of cardboard. Mine is 2” by 1” with the holes spaced as seen in the photo. I marked one side as edge and one as inner, so I could keep the placement of the holes consistent when making straps. Next, you will need a 1” by 2” piece of strapping. I use the cardboard template to measure it You will need to seal the cut edges of the nylon using a lighter or torch. I have a Hacksmith mini light sabre (overkill but very fun). This will prevent fraying. Once this is done, you can now use the template to mark the hole locations with the paint pen. Next, use a soldering iron to make the holes for the snap posts. This will also prevent fraying. Next place a male snap post through the hole and put the corresponding piece over the post. Hold the snap parts in place and place the snap setting tool onto the post Gently tap the setting tool with the Mallet until the two pieces are secure. Go slowly to avoid bending the post and fouling the snap. The completed snap plate can then be glued to the armour. I use E6000. plastic weld or CA glue will work but it is unforgiving if you make a mistake. Allow at least 24 hours for the E6000 to dry. Secure it to the armour with clamps or magnets. Now for the straps: Roughly estimate the needed strap length and cut a piece of the 2” strapping to a bit longer than needed. Seal the ends again with the torch and then mark the hole placements on 1 end of the strap with the template. Make the holes in the strap with the soldering iron as above. Now place the female snaps the same way you did the male ones. Once you have the 2 female snaps placed, they can be attached to the male snap plates on the armour. Make sure that the pieces to be strapped are positioned where they need to be. I often tape them together for this step to ensure the strap snaps are perfectly placed. Once you have done this, use the white paint pen to mark the rim of the male snaps. Next pull the strap to the male snaps and press it onto the painted rim of the mail snap this will show you where to put the holes for the posts. Make a dot in the centre of this circle. Make sure that you have the strap pulled tight when you mark it. If using elastic, make sure that it is not stretched when marking. Now make your holes with the soldering iron and trim away any excess length of nylon. Remember to seal the nylon cut edge with the torch. ‘Place the female snaps as done in the previous step. You should now have a strap that lines up perfectly with the snap plates Note. If you are using elastic, always fold the elastic to make it 3 layers thick if you don’t do this, you are likely to pull the snap out of the elastic when pulling it. I usually pin the elastic to keep it in place, then mark the hole points as done above.

Since you only see the top of it when it’s in the pouch, I think that area looks about right. I have an STL file based off of a CAD rendering of the magazine for this as well. If you want it, just let me know.

I purchased the snaps directly from Tandy Leather. They are line 24 snaps and I buy them in packages of 100. Originally I bought them through Amazon but last I checked they were not available. I assume you are referring to the rubber straps on the left fore arm? Since my forearms are fully closed, I will likely glue them on. For the male snaps, I used 2” nylon to mount the snaps and then glued them with E6000

Awesome. Thanks for the tip. I have been putting that off until I have everything else done but will need to start soon.

@Hillmansm72 One piece of advice with coating the inside of the armour, which I am not sure that I mentioned in the thread is to make sure to sand it off in the areas where you are gluing, applying Velcro or bonding pieces together

@Hillmansm72 glad you are finding it useful. It’s a learning process for sure.

Hey Alex. I designed and 3D printed brackets to hold the thermal detonator in place. I used threaded heat sunk nuts and bolts to attach them to the back plate and used CM glue to attach the thermal detonator on the other side. I can send you the files for the brackets but I am away on vacation for the next week, so it will have to wait a bit.

Looking forward to it. I will have to get my butt in gear though. You likely will be trooping in yours before mine is done. LOL.

Awesome. Looking forward to seeing your costume when it arrives.

Mounted the Arm Impellers from Phoenix props. Are these supposed to be left black, painted silver, or weathered silver on the black?

Did the weathering on the buckles today. Does this look okay? I have not had a lot of practice at weathering. I did a base of silver, then put a coat of clear coat on the silver and let it dry completely. Then I went over it with the black and wiped off the black before it dried with lacquer thinner. still need to do a couple layers of clear coat once I am happy with it.

I haven’t looked at mine yet. I wonder if uV resin brushed over the area would work better as it won’t fill in the gaps as much. Otherwise Bondo would be the right stuff to use. the rubber is screen accurate I believe and I have seen it used on previous builds, so I suspect it would work ok. If the area is too soft, you could always back it with fibreglass.

Still some sanding with resin but so much less. Also the speed at which they print is so much faster than filament. All of the parts for the magazine took about 8 hours.

Got a bit of work done on the E-11D lighting today. ‘I had planned to use red and yellow EL panels but the yellow looks more white when illuminated and the red looks pinky. I went with one long yellow panel across both openings and then printed covers in yellow and clear red resin. I think the results are what I was hoping for.

E-11D battery placement update. In complete agreement with @Chaos, I feel that putting the battery in the handle will be a mistake. Every time the battery would be changed, the screws securing the handle will need to be removed. Given that the threads are in resin, I feel that over time, it will become looser and looser. The magazine is the best place to put it, but the design of the Tom Campbell / Martin Martinez magazine and magazine well do not allow for modifications to fit a 9V battery. I looked at the file Chaos provided but decided to go with the magazine housing that I used for my E-11 (Trooper96’s files) for my TK costume. This one has a working spring release button and the magazine can be inserted and locked in place securely. I had to slightly enlarge it by 10% and open up the inside of the magazine a bit to fit the battery as well as conform the base to the E-11D barrel. Pictured below are the original magazine set up (lighter resin) and my new one (darker resin)

Hi Stuart. I have a Jim Tripon kit that I am building. I am just under 5’11”, so a fair bit shorter than you. Here is a photo of the armour on me. You would have room to elongate the torso by reducing the overlap on the abdomen and chest plates as well as on the back and kidney plates. Not sure that you could find 7 inches there and still have them overlap though.

Hey Chris. Thanks for finding that photo. I checked the size and my prints are the right size. The magazine well wall is a bit thick, so I will try to modify it and see if I can thin the wall and fit the battery in.

I wanted to do this originally, but the compartment is too small. Can you show me a photo of how you set yours up?

Managed to do a bit more work on the belt as well as some mods for the E-11D today. I created a template for the canvas belt pouches and then put them together. The final version will likely be stuffed a bit more than the one in the photos. For the E-11D, I have been trying to figure out where to place the battery for the electronics. The hand grip seems to be the spot where it will fit best, but the 2 posts inside will make it very hard to get the battery out, once it goes past them. So I designed and printed a cradle for the battery that allows it to be placed in and removed easily.

Wow. That looks amazing.

Yes the spectroscope or neurosav is the “rangefinder”. I purchased all of the specialist extras from Jim and was happy with them. When I ordered, he was unable to have the pouches made however.

Leather belt pouch is complete as are the 6 HK-MG3 magazines. Also did a bit of work on the belt boxes. Getting them ready for mounting.

If you look at the photo, the panels on the face alternate between the gloss and metallic black. The right cheek is the metallic one. For 501st basic approval, you don’t need the metallic paint but if you apply for level 2 specialist, you will.

Hey Casey. I wonder if they are referring to the paint colour scheme that is outlined in the CRL. https://databank.501st.com/databank/CRL_Gallery:Imp_Death_Trooper aim for a few weeks earlier so you can do fan expo at the end of August.