PiotrRasputin

Well, I just got word that I am APPROVED! I am making the small adjustments that @Chaossuggested regarding the posterior armor, belt and abdomen this weekend. I've already added the 2nd straps in the back of the thighs and they fit MUCH better now. Wow, what a journey it's been! Thank you all for the help over the past year! Now to request full SpecOps access!

Hey all, So as I'm closing in on getting approval, I'm looking into a sound glove for my Death Trooper. I was wondering what you used to make the Death Trooper chatter? I was looking into getting a forearm mounted sound glove from HyperSpace Props on etsy as I like the configurable sounds that I could drop in via push button. Just wanted to hear what other approved DT's experiences have been. Thanks!

I appreciate all the help everyone has given me during the build! While I wait for word from my GML, during the suit up, I had a question about the shin armor. Am I able to cut the flap near the rear bottom and glue it in place? I think it would make things easier for me when suiting up as this is a clam shell style shin.

Thanks @Chaos. Working from home today, so I'll look into those adjustments. -I can confirm on the chest the recessed pill shape is painted flat black. The overhead hallway light with reflected off it at a weird angle. -Good catch with the thighs, I can add a second strap for each today or tomorrow. -I'll need my wife around to help with the abdomen/belt/codpiece adjustment and I'll need to get more snaps for that anyways.

Well...I did a full suit up, timed it to about 15 minutes with the help of my wife. I also submitted photos to my GML. Fingers crossed!

Well...it's been over a year since I started...but I just finished building the helmet today. Added the helmet liner insert and tactical pads to stop bobblehead movement and it fits comfortably with room for fans and power packs! I will do a full suit up tomorrow, January 5th, to get this groups' CDA's consensus before submitting for approval to my GML. Can't wait!

Well, I managed to buff out the excess clear coat yesterday thanks to @Chaos's advice. I ended up having to use the rubbing compound on a sponge drill attachement to knock it down. You would have to get VERY close to it to see any resemblence of what was there. Before After With that done, I was then able to attach most of the face and visor I cut out to the dome. Taking the top part of the face to a garrison members place to finish painting it as it's too cold to use the Tamiya spray cans in my unheated garage. Fits great on my large noggin'. Just need to work on getting the helmet liner installed to prevent bobblehead. Already put the power pack/controller for the tusk lights inside, holding it in place with velcro. Also got all the vinyl stickers on the blaster. This is also coming with to get painted for the scorched barrel end. So close, I can taste it! Hoping to get everything done before our big convention in April!

Hi Matt. I ordered a Jim Tripon undersuit as a two piece set and all the gaskets are included: elbows, knees, shoulders, neck...everything. From what I remember, his suits should be approvable to Level 2.

Picked up the rubbing and polishing compounds over the weekend. Going to attempt the clear coat fix this weekend when i'm officially on vacation. In the mean time, I grabbed some Tamiya Gloss Black airbrush paint for the last part of the face to paint with a fellow garrison member at his place. Another member was kind enough to print out the vinyl E-11D decals and will be shipping them to me. Big thanks to @Chaos for the files. Which leads me to my next question: what paints did any of you use to get the scorched look on your blasters?

Which type of cloth should I use to hand buff it out? I have a sponge drill attachment, but last time I tried buffing it out, I burned the clear coat.

So before we got to freezing temperatures, I tried my last bit of painting the top most face piece, and a section of the main helmet that needed to be sanded and redone because the clear coat formed visible drip marks. I masked off the good areas and just repainted and clear coated the area I needed (ignore the dust on the helmet, it came off after the picture was taken). Is there a way to buff this out, or am I just going to have to sand it down with high grit sand paper again and repaint/clear coat it? Also, while trooping our Thanksgiving Day parade in Downtown Chicago, a fellow garrison member told me he has a full paint booth setup at his home, so we are going to set up time in late December to paint the the face piece the gloss black that it needs. I'm also bringing my 3D printed E-11D blaster to paint the scorched end of it as he is really good with airbrushing. Which brings me to the meat of the update. Been working on the belt to more properly secure the boxes in place. I assume the placement looks good? I just need to secure the left most box, the leather pouch and attach the hidden 2" plastic clip on the other end to make it a functional belt.

Hi Ben, When I was using 2K clear coat, I did the following: -followed the amount of time to shake before, and after activating the can -had a warm, but not too humid day -used a small, portable spray tent with a filter and fan -did 2 light coats about 12 inches away, waiting 15 minutes between them, then did a wet coat (did a 2nd wet coat on areas that didn't look so good) -after waiting 15 minutes from the last wet coat, I moved the parts inside where it was consistently 68 degrees F with low humidity and let it sit for about 48 hours. I did let it sit for a week before doing anything else with it, but it turned out pretty good. Maybe humidity was your issue?

Small update: -Helmet: its been raining a lot up here so I haven't been able to apply the 2k clear coat on the areas I had to fix up. Hopefully this week will be less humid. -Belt: after taking a look at the belt I received, I just wasn't happy with how it was set up. So I bought a small roll of the ribbed rubber mat and cut it to the correct amount of ribs and am following the Jolly Rodgers build guide here: https://www.jollyrogers1942.com/death-trooper-build-reference.html Mainly, I didn't like how flimsy the pouches were attached to the belt, as well as the location of where to clip it together around the armor. I did craft inserts for the 3 pouches to make them look full out of spare corrugated plastic sheeting I had. -Blaster: I received the 2 missing parts from a friend in my garrison that 3D printed the inserts that were to go behind the yellow counter window and Hengstler Window. Unfortunately, while attaching the Hengstler window panel, I accidentally broke the Hengstler bracket, so now I need that reprinted. -Posterior/Cod piece armor: Finally got the right 1" elastic band to attach snaps to hold the two parts together. That's all for now, hopefully will get pictures in the next update.

Hi Jakub! Good choice with MCM files for 3D printing as many people have used those for their builds. Regarding the soft parts, have you looked over the CRL for everything? It looks like the "ribs" for elbows, poncho, neckseal/apron, abs, shorts and knees have this stated: "measure approximately 3/16" to 1/4" (5-6mm) wide." The bias tape you shared looks like it could work, as there is a video showing the actual pipe to be about 1/4" wide, though its a bit hard to tell. The main thing with the whole undersuit is it is very tedious sewing to do. Have you considered reaching out to Jim Tripon on facebook for the undersuit? It could free up time for you to work on other parts of the suit if that is a factor. Also, if you take good measurements in centimeters, his suits are very reasonably priced. I got mine done by him as a 2 piece and fits me great. It took slightly less than 2 months to get it from him.

@Chaos I'm getting those parts this Saturday at a troop from a garrison friend that 3D printed them for me. In the meantime, I managed to get the EL panels and controllers from EL Wire Craft today and managed to cut the panels into shape to fit inside the "tusks". I already put in a dark green lens I cut from a safety visor, and decided to try the panels instead of LEDs for a more uniform look. Took me about an hour to get it all done: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBcth3sMPv8/ That glow is pretty spectacular!