Mudtrooper / Mimban Officer Build - I think it's possible!

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The Story So Far

Allow me to walk you through a journey, deep in my addled brain, a short walk past the halls of sanity and into obsession.

Two weeks ago, I started thinking about my line officer kit and some options to add to it for various troops. The trenchcoat rules, so I ordered one from @Wombat on Etsy. I also thought about maybe some armor, a la Veers, because who doesn't love Veers? One of the Empire's most competent officers, and stylish too! But then I realized, I can't put both of those together. I'd either wear the trenchcoat or the armor.

But wait! There's an officer with a trenchcoat and armor! The Mimban Officer! Well, there we go then, no brainer. So I started searching for the armor, only to discover that, you know what? It's the same chest piece as the Mudtrooper, except it has a rank bar. And anothe thing, that Mudtrooper is dirty, and grimy, and sweaty, and muddy, and beautiful. Now, I'm a reenactor, so getting gross and dirty is kind of my thing. And as a Soviet reenactor, I already have a collection of plash-palatkas, so I'm already ahead!

But that kind of defeats my original purpose, which was to add some other kit to my officer so I'd have options. But what if....

So, I've spent the last week diving into the Mudtrooper, and the Mimban Officer, and I think I can manage both with a few extra pieces of the mud kit.

Kit

I already have a Line Officer uniform, although I lost weight and it doesn't fit. That's okay, since I'm having a new one made by Clothears. But the pants are easy to fix, and the tunic is optional for the Mimban officer. I bought the Trenchcoat. I went to Etsy and ordered goggles and the Yugo mag pouches, plus I'l get a few of the other pieces from PhiloProps (new belt buckle to paint, hat greeblie, silver-clipped code cylinders). I'll order some rank badges from @Alay at some point soon, too.

I have a few choices for armor; @jimmiroquai or WTF, or maybe @Cantina Security (it looks like maybe he's starting that?). The trick is getting the chest piece to work, with a collar, wihtout needing the back armor, but also having the back armor for the Mudtrooper. 

This is what I've seen as far as Mimban Officer armor goes, with most of the back piece missing, and some y-straps to keep it in place:

The other thing I've seen is the back armor without the boxes/respirator bits on the back, although I like that less and feel like it'd be harder to mod.

I'll have to buy a back piece for both, but the goal is to use the same chest piece for both. There's really no reason not to, I just need to find the right armor supplier who can work with me on it.

As for the rank bar, I thought of two options there. One is, obviously, magnets. My only worry with magnets is that I'll also have magnets on the rank on the coat, but I don't think it should conflict. If I can't get magnets to work (and does anyone even know how they work?), I'll just cover the rank bar with the Yugo mag patches. It's right where they go anyway!

The other thing I'm pondering is getting two right-arm pieces so I can be a medic when I feel like.

The scarf is already ordered and works for both, goggles either come with the kit or are easy to get. I have lots of plashes, so I just need to dye one. Gloves are easy to get. Some of the buckles I may need help sourcing, but I'll figure that out when I get to that point.

The Mudtrooper uniform, ideally, I could make myself, but so far I've not been able to find a pattern. Jim sells one, I know Imperial Boots sells one, but they're pricey. Maybe Etsy.

When it comes to weathering, my inclination is to naturally weather the soft parts (e.g., sleep in it in the mud), and using various techniques well documented throughout for the armor. We'll see how well that works when I get it.

No idea on which of the three guns for Mudtrooper, but that's likely my last purchase.

Help from the Legion

So here we are, my big ol' effort post, and probably months away. Why bother?

Because I need help.

I need to check my sanity, for one. Do y'all think my plan is sound? Will I be able to use the same chest piece for both? How hard will it be to source a back piece for Mimban Officer that will work with whatever source I go with for armor? (I have reached out to Jim and Matt Nelson (with WTF) but I'm not sure if I'm communicating what I want well enough.) I'm not sure what material is best for this, resin, fiberglass, ABS....

Two, any source info for other parts I might need (buckles, especially) would be great.

Thank you!

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Got my scarf (and goggles for the officer)!

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Anyone have a good source for the Rogue One/ Solo style embroidered patches? I know Anovos sold them briefly, but I can't seem to find them anywhere else.

[areilly]

On 4/4/2019 at 1:20 PM, xAlpha said:

Anyone have a good source for the Rogue One/ Solo style embroidered patches? I know Anovos sold them briefly, but I can't seem to find them anywhere else.

Search for Jim Lau's posts on the Mudtrooper FB page, I think he's still selling them - they're the proper embossed plastic type (R1/Solo didn't use embroidered).

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Well, I've made a spreadsheet with all the costs and sources, so I guess it's real now!

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Chest/back armor ordered! WTF has a sale going now for Celebration, and the flex resin just looks amazing.

I also ordered my rank bars from Alay, and my other officer bits are on their way from Philo in Italy. Also have the mag pouch on its way, which really just leaves the coat once the supplier gets that finished.

Once I get this done, I'll order the other parts for the Mud Trooper and start working on the tunic and pants.

[xAlpha[TX]]

I got a sample of some olive bull denim. How's the color?

(With and without flash, just in case.)

[RAIDER[COTG]]

18 hours ago, xAlpha said:

I got a sample of some olive bull denim. How's the color?

(With and without flash, just in case.)

@rickyboyblue @Tarrif???

I'd help but I have a degree of color-blindness honestly.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

its hard to tell, even looking at it compared ot the natural light photos taken behind the set outdoors.   Puis you are going to weather the hell out of it.  

[xAlpha[TX]]

Yeah, I think at the end, weathering it means as long as it's basically right, it should be fine. I'm going to try to wash this sample a couple of times, maybe leave it in the sun to fade, too, to see if I can get it closer to "drab", but I suspect either way this is the fabric I'm going with.

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Mail call!

 

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Just bought fabric and a pattern from @amcclary's Etsy shop!

And, since I've lost weight, I've had to clear out my closet of work clothes. Found a few pair of black cotton workpants I'm going to modify.

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I got my belt boxes and belt buckle today, and I bought some paint. If the weather improve this week, I'll be able to paint them.

 

Edit:

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MORE STUFF!

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

You just made me realize that I ordered the wrong arm patches....doh! 

Can I ask where you got those?

[xAlpha[TX]]

Jim Lau, on Facebook.

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I got my long drop box today. I think I understand how to hinge it, but if someone has photos, I'd appreciate it (I think it's used in some other kits).

For painting it, I thought I'd do silver first, then use toothpaste as a mask before making it green. That way it appears like it's metal, same as my other painted parts.

Also loving this forum re-org, way easier to find all the mud threads!

[xAlpha[TX]]

Well, I can now add "dyeing leather" to my resume!

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Did a little weathering today:

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Well, I pushed up my order with Walt, made it for the whole mud trooper kit. Hopefully soon!

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I got my Plashes yesterday (I ordered 5 because I need 4 for reenacting, and one to dye black for this project), so there's that. Also looks like Walt has started pulling the armor.

[xAlpha[TX]]

So the premise of this whole thing was to share the armor, but I'm still waiting on the armor and yet, I had everything else for the officer. So I guess the experiment is a failure, because I ended up ordering officer armor from Intergalactic Supply (@Cantina Security), and submitted my officer today:

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Well done!!

[Devolver[501st]]

You look great! That kit has a great mix of real-world WWII era elements meets Star Wars.