Death Trooper - Armour

[marktoots[501st]]

This thread will detail the armour of the Death Trooper and shall be updated with any new details/information that comes to light during the research and building of this costume.

 

Due to the complexities of the armour this post will reference further topics covering each of the individual armour parts:

 

Shins

http://forum.specops501st.com/index.php?/topic/5600-death-trooper-rou-armour-shins/

[dday[501st]]

Moving a previous topic to here, since it fits better here.

In researching the current armor makers I've started to dig into details of the actual armor parts and will detail here what I have found.

Initially the question I had was coverstrip or overlap, but as I looked this question doesn't hold up really. There is a very different answer for all parts of the armor.

I'll break things down by parts on how they are connected/formed. Please keep in mind this is not an absolute, only how I see it. This should initiate the discussion on this topic and to kick start us to get to the bottom of the way these things were built. This will help builders create a more accurate offering as well make sure that we are troopers are also going out there with a level of detail that the 501st requires.

Biceps:

Left front:

Right front:

Bicep back:

Conclusion:

Biceps are a single piece. The ridges on the outside and “coverstrips†are part of the form. There is no real inner portion of the bicep and it is held on with a connecting rubber band. You can clearly see this on the biceps back photo on the left side.

This can cause some issues with the thermoforming process, since there is an undercut as a part of the piece.

Forearms:

Left front:

Right front:

Left forearm back:

Right back:

No good photo I've seen. I'm going to assume here that the left back and the right back are similar.

Conclusion:

On the nice clear shot we have of the left back of the forearm, there is 100% 2 parts here. A top/bottom or front/back, however you'd like to call it. Based on where we see the back connection, it leads to the conclusion that the ridge on the front of the forearm is the second connection point.

The connection method in the back looks to be an overlap. The top/front side has a ridge built into it and the back/bottom simply slides under this. In the back the ridge and coverstrip on the front side are purely superficial and do not hold things together.

On the front, it's not clear how the 2 parts are connected. In the front photo of the right forearm, the line near the wrist looks like a single line. The front ridge looks like a single surface, which is confusing if the back is split. The parts look formed, and I know forming a single rounded part is basically impossible.

Potentially an overlap situation here as well, but I can't say for sure.

Thighs:

Left front:

Right front:

Back:

Conclusion: The thighs have a molded ribbing on the outside. On the inside is the rubber ribbing connected to the front of the thigh and it underlaps the backside. This allows for some level of adjust ability and ease in getting in and out of the piece. The thighs are held closed with a black rubberband about 3/4 of the way down in the film photos. The displays do not have these bands. This leads me to assume that the thighs are not glues shut.

 

Shins:

Left front:

Right Front:

Back:

Conclusion: Tough to tell. The back of the shin seems to have an inward facing overlap, similar to the way the original TK's are. There is a coverstrip sitting on top of a formed ridge.

The lower end of the shins (spats) seem to overlap the inside of the shin.

 

Overall conclusion:

Sometimes the parts look formed, sometimes they look molded. I'm certain that the parts are molded fiberglass. All cover strips are purely for visual effect. The shins and forearms are using an overlap on the inside for sizing purposes and on the outside or front edge they are a single piece. Thighs are vary similar with this overlap for sizing/easy of dressing with the overlap being on the inside utilizing rubber only on the inside. Bicpes are a single piece covering about 3/4 of the bicep. It is not a fully closed part. Held together with a rubberband.

Discuss and I will update this post if we get any updates/new knowledge through research.

[dday[501st]]

Major update...

 

Some have probably already seen this:

 

 

These suits aren't vacuformed, they are fiberglass.

 

Also on the left of the shin you can see the ribbing doesn't look like an additional piece, it looks like it's molded in. You can see how the ribbed area connects. It's not leaving a gap like it normally would if it was it's own piece of rubber. The inside of the thigh is however using real rubber and an overlap, held together with a rubberband.

[marktoots[501st]]

Major update...

 

Some have probably already seen this:

 

 

These suits aren't vacuformed, they are fiberglass.

 

Also on the left of the shin you can see the ribbing doesn't look like an additional piece, it looks like it's molded in. You can see how the ribbed area connects. It's not leaving a gap like it normally would if it was it's own piece of rubber. The inside of the thigh is however using real rubber and an overlap, held together with a rubberband.

Agreed. However I suspect the outer thigh strip of rubber is there to provide some flexibility in the armour when the wearer is mobile (bearing in mind they are highly mobile: running, etc). The inner rubber panel is overlapped by the armour and probably attaches to it forming a connection between front and rear plates. The cable tie/rubber band seen in the promo photo of the DT running through the water is probably there because the connection was not strong enough.

 

In support of this you can see velcro (the hook part) exposed at the back of the knee on the right side of the photo in your post.

 

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[marktoots[501st]]

 

If you look at the thigh armour from this angle you can also see the velcro I mentioned (Circled in red).

There is an extension of the rear armour plate that wraps around the inside of the thigh and is overlapped by the front plate, and in fact in this photo has previously snapped off (Circled in blue). You can also see that the inner thigh rubber passes behind the front thigh plate (green).

 

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[dday[501st]]

If you look at the outer section of thigh, this ribbed section isn't likely rubber.

 

It's actually a part of the fiberglass thigh. There is no gaps at the bottom of the ribs like there should be if it was glued in rubber. There is also no distortion like there would be if it was pressed down so hard for gluing to remove the gaps.

 

This is why I think the outer ribbed area is actually molded as a part of the thigh, whereas the inner section is actual rubber and underlaps, and as you mentioned is held closed with the velcro/rubber bands, depending on the scene.

[marktoots[501st]]

I don't disagree that it is an integral part of the armour However I suspect that with the armour being fibreglass the rubber has been laminated into the glass during the moulding process rather than being glued in afterwards.

 

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[marktoots[501st]]

It would be great to find a source of the rubber material. I have sent a fair amount of time trying to locate something with the same profile but so far have not had any luck

 

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[dday[501st]]

I don't disagree that it is an integral part of the armour However I suspect that with the armour being fibreglass the rubber has been laminated into the glass during the moulding process rather than being glued in afterwards.

 

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Interesting theory about actually molding a rubber strip into the part. I'll have to talk to some fiberglass people to see what they say.

[riva[TX]]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 2:04 AM, marktoots said:

It would be great to find a source of the rubber material. I have sent a fair amount of time trying to locate something with the same profile but so far have not had any luck

 

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Do you think it's the same rubber from the waist belt?

[Stormtrooper in death]

Hi, I want to buy armor kit of DT from 850 armor works.... is it good shop where to buy it? Thx