87ninefiveone’s Mudtrooper Build (Sean Fields - 3D Printed)

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

Hi all, I’m pretty pumped to start a new build. I’ve done an ANH TK, and ANH Vader so far, but will  go in a slightly different direction with this build using all 3D printed hard parts. I’ll be using models from Sean Fields over at Mudtrooper.co.uk, plus some of the recommend upgrades I’ve seen posted on that site as well. Here’s my build list:

Hard parts - Mudtrooper.co.uk - I did a rough slice on all the parts, and I’ll need about 7kg of filament. I plan on printing mostly in PETG for added flexibility and heat resistance. I’ve also got some carbon fiber PETG that will be used for more structural parts. Total cost for filament is around $150-200 range. I should also note that I have access to a large format printer at work and if things work out I can print the big parts in a single piece.

Soft parts - Imperial Boots Mudtrooper kit (tunic, pants, boots, belts, plasch, gloves, ammo pack, officer hat)

Boot and shoulder straps - plastic arms on Etsy 

Mask/respirator hardware - Yugoslav backpack, Amazon,  strap works 

Scarf - undecided, military surplus?

Weapon - undecided, but will 3D print and build myself

https://imgur.com/gallery/JK82AdN

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

 

Progress! All of the greebles except the respirator cartridges are now printed. I’ve also done the mask, goggles, and both biceps with about 800g of PETG. Fit is amazingly spot on without adjustment or scaling. Difficult to make a final judgement without the tunic on, but over a medium weight shirt it’s good.

Both of my shoulders are printing now. Positioning was tricky on those as my heated bed is only 220x220mm and I wanted to avoid tons of support and maintain as much detail as possible. I basically printed them upside down, so we’lol see if I have spaghetti or shoulders in the morning.

 

[merkava74[TX]]

Nice progress! Looking sharp! Remember to cut out the 2 larger rectangles at the bottom of the goggles.

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

Thanks for the tip. I was considering just gluing some rubber sheet into those areas to maintain the rigidity, not sure if it would pass the requirement or not though.

One of my shoulders came out fine, but the other had a partial nozzle clog and the print was flimsy and brittle so it will need to be redone. Will update with a photo later. 

 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

Lots to report today.

Imgur gallery link - https://imgur.com/gallery/NWpvkRG

Some goodies arrived in the mail.

Mask hardware. I also like the snaps on this thing. May come in handy for attaching the plasch.

More mask and helmet stuff.

Let this be a lesson to you future 3D printers out there. Spendy machines and filament do not guarantee results. The shoulders were printed on an Ultimaker 2 ($2500) and the biceps and back boxes were done on my Anet A8 with upgraded aluminum frame ($250-300). Which one looks better to you?

Sanded some stuff. 100 grit just to knock a few big issues down ( I’m looking at you shoulders...) and a light go over on everything else to promote bonding with the primer.

And primer! Two light coats, one heavy. Will sand and repeat later until smooth. I’m also also going to need to do some filling in a few areas and some additional cleanup of some stringing.

My shins are printing tonight. They’ll be PLA since it’s all I had for the large format printer at work. So they’ll be prone to melting in hot conditions and horrible to sand, but beggers can’t be choosers... or something like that. I’m also planning to print the helmet in a single piece. 1.4kg of plastic and 42 hours to print at 0.2mm layer height. Yikes! 

I’m pretty sure I won’t be going with IB for the soft parts as planned. As nice and professional as their stuff looks, I started looking around and I can do this costume for WAY less with not very long wait times from other vendors. I’ve got a Star Wars Reads day event on June 22nd that I’d like to debut this at since it draws a ton of people and last year we had 25 or so 501st members attend. I’m signed up for Vader right now, but Vader plus June heat in NC equals bad news...

I’ll post my plan for vendors once finalized in the next couple of days. 

[RAIDER[COTG]]

I really need to get a 3D printer.   Can you send me a link to purchase that cheaper one lolololol?

[Fivezero[TX]]

3D printers are the best! Hands down one of the best purchases I made in the last couple years.

Your build is looking great, can't wait to see the end result!

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

19 hours ago, Raider said:

I really need to get a 3D printer.   Can you send me a link to purchase that cheaper one lolololol?

I wouldn’t recommend the one I bought. It was fine for a cheap starter kit two years ago when I got it, but for the money I’ve invested on safety related parts (on/off switch, a board that won’t start my house on fire, etc..) and a new frame to improve print quality there are better and safer alternatives now. The Creality CR10 and Ender 3 can both be had in the $200-400 range and do great prints with a bit of tweaking and patience. If you want to go a bit more expensive you can also pick up a Prusa MK3 kit for around $700 which will produce outstanding prints right out of the box.

It’s a fun hobby. There are a ton of files for free (Mudtrooper!) or paid stuff you can print, or you can go one step further and start modeling your own stuff which really takes it to the next level since the printer becomes more useful as a tool rather than a plastic doo dad factory. 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

So, a quick update on parts and sources. I’ve decided to can the IB package to save money. This was a difficult choice, but I hit a deer on the way to work Monday morning which ate into my budget. Luckily I only need to pay my deductible which is great since the damage to the car was estimated at $4500. But it did force me to start looking hard at ways to save some money on this build and I’m kind of glad for that. According to the revised spreadsheet I can basically do the whole build for the price of the IB kit I had planned to buy.

Pants and Tunic, jimiraquai, $165

Gloves, Amazon, $26

Imperial belt, etsy, $70

Shoretrooper belt, self made, 1.5” nylon strapping plus sewing

Boots, Etsy, (vintage soviet jack boots) $80 

Plasch and respirator hoses, Etsy, $63

Shoulder and shin straps, plasticarmsdealer on Etsy, $105

Leather ammo pack, plasticarmsdealer on Etsy, $55

Chest and Back — I had planned to 3D print everything, but I’m worried about these parts for two reasons. One, it’s huge and would require a ton of filament and time 100+ hours and 3-4kg of filament. Two, these are much more subject to bending and breaking given their location, use, and size/shape. So, I’ve contacted @Cantinasecurity (also located in NC). And I’m hoping to get a chest and back plate from him for $150 ish to round out the armor. Depending upon how my helmet print turns out I may also grab one of his helmet kits in the future as well to increase durability and accuracy. 

In other news, my helmet is printing at work over yesterday, today and into tomorrow. It’s being done as a huge single piece. 1.4kg of filament (~$35) and was estimated to take 45 hours (!!!!!) at 0.2 mm layer height. I’m printing it sitting upright so the only supports will be under the front brim and the top of the inside dome which should make finishing easier. 

More prints!

Main shin parts. This is a $30k, large format FDM printer that has a 1m x 1m x 500cm build volume. It turns out questionable looking prints, but it’s big and that’s what I need. 

About five hours ours into the helmet. 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

dang! i hit a deer at low speed and had to replace the entire front clip on my truck, which of course came out of a junkyard and was janky. 

 

[Fivezero[TX]]

1 hour ago, 87ninefiveone said:

Chest and Back — I had planned to 3D print everything, but I’m worried about these parts for two reasons. One, it’s huge and would require a ton of filament and time 100+ hours and 3-4kg of filament. Two, these are much more subject to bending and breaking given their location, use, and size/shape. So, I’ve contacted @Cantinasecurity (also located in NC). And I’m hoping to get a chest and back plate from him for $150 ish to round out the armor. Depending upon how my helmet print turns out I may also grab one of his helmet kits in the future as well to increase durability and accuracy. 

Yeah good choice on that. I recently decided to use my 3D printed Jumptrooper chest and other pieces as vacuum forming bucks in place of outright wearing it like I originally planned. Same conclusions you had, I was worried about it being too brittle and breaking from all the flexing that a chest plate endures. The helmet SHOULD be fine, though you will probably want to reinforce the inside. Better to be safe than sorry.

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

6 hours ago, Blackwatch said:

dang! i hit a deer at low speed and had to replace the entire front clip on my truck, which of course came out of a junkyard and was janky. 

 

This was a low speed crash too. Maybe 20mph. I had just gone over a narrow bridge with a sharp bend, started to accelerate out of it and noticed Bambi’s mom was going to make a run for it. Slammed on the brakes and veered left a bit and hit her with the passenger side front corner of my car. Broke the headlight ($1200!!!), tore the bumper cover, trashed my grille and some bumper trim and put a nice dent in the hood. I have a clear vinyl protector on the front bumper which probably prevented even more damage. Funny part is, the vinyl protector is about the same price as a new bumper...

 

In project related news. I tried out some XTC 3D today. It’s a thin, clear epoxy which claims to elimate 90% of post processing on the package. I guess sanding is the other 10%...because you still need to sand. It’s supposed to be self leveling, but it still leaves a pretty bumpy surface that needs a lot of attention. It does sand better than the PETG plastic though, and it sands a billion times better than PLA. It seems to be good for filling large issues though and probably adds some strength to those areas. So maybe not a total waste of $25, but definitely not the cure all the package suggests. 

Primed and sanded from yesterday.

XTC 3D applied

Sanded and primed again....shoulders and biceps are almost there. Mask and goggles need more work.

 

[SpaceBandito[501st]]

OOoo that's looking really good!

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

Paint time. I checked with the local NAPA and Sherwin Williams about having a custom aerosol mix of Pantone 350U made up.....and then promptly crapped my pants (twice) when I heard the price.

So, how about locally available aerosols? I spent enough time in the paint aisle at Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart today to make people wonder what I could possibly be doing. Nothing matches what the web tells me is Pantone 350U and the CRL shots have different lighting and so much weathering it’s difficult to tell what the base color is. Reference shots are a joke since lighting is all over the place. So, I had no idea what color green to go with and bought three.

I think the bottom one? But then again top left and weathered in could work too? Top right looks too blue, but could work with ocre weathering...opinions welcome!

Helmet is done (printing) too! 0.2mm layer height, 45 hours...

Rough state. Fresh off the printer.

Minus supports, which had gone wavy. I had 5mm spacing between supports, I might recommend 3mm to prevent them from collapsing. 5mm was pushing it.

Light coat of primer after sanding for a bit. So much more work to do.

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

A bit more progress today. 

I glued up my shins. These are the Epire 3D version which are supposed to be a bit more accurate than Sean’s files and easier to print. I think the main gray section was about a 4 hr print at 0.2mm in PLA. The red upper detail sections were about 3hr each at 0.12mm in PETG, and the black knobs we’re done at 0.1mm resolution in carbon fiber PETG, maybe 15 min each,

A quick coat of E6000 on all parts to be assembled, a few minutes wait, assemble, clamp and wait again for 24-72 hours. Then they’ll be ready for another coat of primer and paint. 

I’m planning to line the inside of the shins with 1.5mm thick sheet ABS attached with E6000 that I have one hand. This will help with rigidity and also provide a flat glueing surface for strap attachment points since I’m too lazy to properly clean up the support interface on the back of the shins. 

I also started final paint on the goggles and a few other parts by sanding the primed surface with 400 grit sandpaper and then hand brushing testors gloss black enamel as a gas coat. The silver I’m using is Craft Smart Silver Guilding Paint from Micheals Craft Store. I’ve used it on previous projects and found it to work well. It applies way different from most enamels which is good and bad. The good part is that it self levels nicely and can be reworked when partially dry with a wet brush. The bad part is that it dries quickly and can be difficult to work with. 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

EDIT:

Have you looked in on this build?  Anthony is having success with is paint.

 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

13 hours ago, Blackwatch said:

EDIT:

Have you looked in on this build?  Anthony is having success with is paint.

 

Yep, his build is excellent. Very detailed and lots of good info. 

[merkava74[TX]]

On 4/21/2019 at 4:18 AM, 87ninefiveone said:

 

I think the bottom one? But then again top left and weathered in could work too? Top right looks too blue, but could work with ocre weathering...opinions welcome!

 

 

Bottom one looks about right as a base. You might also want to consider using a black primer. This green will give it more depth over black compared to white or light grey primer. With weathering, and finally grey misting, it will look the part. Don't fret over getting 350U. Not worth the hunt, and you won't see it as a consistent colour in the end anyway as this is weathered armour, unlike a Magma for example where a particular shade of red makes all the difference. 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

15 minutes ago, merkava74 said:

Bottom one looks about right as a base. You might also want to consider using a black primer. This green will give it more depth over black compared to white or light grey primer. With weathering, and finally grey misting, it will look the part. Don't fret over getting 350U. Not worth the hunt, and you won't see it as a consistent colour in the end anyway as this is weathered armour, unlike a Magma for example where a particular shade of red makes all the difference. 

WThanks for the opinion! I think I’ll use the bottom olive green one as the base coat and maybe use the other two as some mottling along with the normal acrylic washes. 

I went out and bought a sewing machine tonight so I can make the goggle strap and the ST belt myself. I haven’t sewed since home ec back in seventh grade about 25 years ago. Should be an adventure.

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

I have sewn! (Sort of).

I also learned that E6000 permanently damages whatever plastic welding shields are made of and is a handy paint remover for my silver finish. None of which matters because...weathering! Ill be adding foam for the outer seal,  matte black paint in the recessed cheak area to simulate the cutout and then weathering this up to finish it off. 

If anyone is interested, the 40mm triglides on the strap are my own 3D printed design. You can find them on thingiverse by searching Mudtrooper or my screen name. There’s a few other useful printed strap components posted there as well.

Any tips for attaching the strap? My lens is glued in with E6000 and I’m currently just planning to glue the webbing end tabs on the strap to the lens. I wish I had epoxied in a d-ring or something though. 

My gloves also came today. I ordered these on Amazon for $26 shipped and was then surprised to see that they came from England and only took a week to get. These apparently run small. I got L size and they’re a tight fit. I would advise to order a size up.

Almost ready for paint. I did some spot filling on the helmet, it’s still needs work. Shoulders, biceps, shins and TU are ready to go though.

Paint test!

This paint is too yellow for my liking, but by the time I get some weathering on there it should be fine.

My ammo pouch and shoulder/shin straps from PlasticArmsDealer (is he on here?) arrive tomorrow in the mail. Plasch, boots and respirator tubes are somewhere between here and Kiev as well, so I’m hoping they show up in the next week or so.

I’ll be ordering my tunic and pants from Jim as soon as my wife comes home from a business trip and can help me with measurements thIs weekend. And that just leaves the chest/back armor to procure. CantinaSecurity is supposed to have his production ready in the next few weeks, so I’m hoping for that but I’m also still debating 3D printing it to save some dough and get this build done faster. Long term I would like to upgrade to Jim’s kit anyways.

 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

Today I ordered my pants and jacket from Jim. He said a week turn around plus shipping which I thought was nuts. I’m generally excited to get anything from a 501st vendor in less than 6 months so a few weeks or a month sounds great! I also ordered my officer belt from Darmans Props on Etsy.  I’m pretty sure he also made my TK neck seal or my TK holster (I can’t remember) 4-5 years ago. He has a pretty nice Etsy shop for his leather work these days so check him out.

My straps and ammo pouch from PlasticArmsDealer came in Friday. 

Soviet boots, poncho, and respirator hoses from the Ukraine should arrive next week too (< 2 weeks from ordering).

I also finished up my strapping on the goggles and respirator.

Im applying the foam to the goggles tonight and hope to finish them up this weekend. 

 

 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

More weekend progress and packages in the mail. 

 

[SpaceBandito[501st]]

Very nice ??! 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

Another weekend down, some more minor progress on bits and pieces. First off, som progress on the respirator. I need to find some metal mesh I’m happy with for the mouth and filters still, but it’s coming along decently.

My shoretrooper belt buckle arrived as well so I was able to apply Velcro to the belt and test fot some belt boxes I modeled up. If anyone needs belt boxes, upper or lower, I’ve made the files freely available on thingiverse. I’ve also modeled up a number of pieces of strapping hardware that aren’t readily available but necessary for the build. Just search my screen name or mudtrooper on thingiverse and they should come up.

I'm going with Velcro for attaching my boxes, sewn on the belt and adhesive on the backside of each box after paint.

I also completed the chin strap using some random strapping parts I had laying around. My plan is to model up something to hold a d-ring on each side of the inside of the helmet and then strap these and the respirator to that d-ring to retain everything. We’ll see how that goes later.

Got some paint on the helmet finally. I bought plasti dip for the trim and inside but I didn’t like how easily it scratches off so I went with matte black for the trim and interior.

And finally, I dyed the cape/rain coat thingy black. This was a half day long process and involved a lot of hopes and prayers since my wife threatened my life if I damaged the washing machine. My process was as follows:

1. Warm water normal length wash with double rinse cycle.

2. Rit color remover. Three boxes in a half full washing machine. Hot water, long cycle, double rinse. Please note, this step smells horrible. I opened a window in our laundry room and put a box fan in it to get the smell out. Luckily, after this step it doesn’t hang around. This step only removed about half the color from my fabric. I think 4-5 packets might be necessary for complete color removal.

3. Repeat step one.

4. Rit dye. I used three bottles of the black liquid dye in a half full washing machine. One cup of table salt pre-dissolved in hot water and a few mL of dawn dish soap (don’t over do it). I set it for a long cycle, let it agitate for 10-15 min. Paused the wash and let it sit for 30 minutes. The started it back up, agitated for another 30 min and the went with a double rinse cycle.

5. Repeat step one.

6. Tumble dry on medium.

Before:

After:

My thoughts on the dye process.

The process is washing machine safe and required very little cleaning afterwards. There was no staining, even on the white plastic agitator. 

Using another packet or two of color remover (4-5 total) and dye (4-5 total) may have achieved a better result. Rit says not to bleach your fabric as it may cause damage...but they’re also trying to sell me color remover. I think in hindsight I should have gone with a bleach wash after the color remover step to try and get more color out. I was also a bit short on salt and only had about 3/4 cup available compared to the recommendation of 1 cup. The package instructions also weren't too clear on whether to use 1 cup of salt for each container of dye used, or to just flat out use 1 cup of salt no matter how much dye or what the load size was, so there's so ambiguity there. After doing a bit of post-process research it appears that the salt's job is to increase the ionic strength of the dye bath and help drive the dye out of aqueous solution and onto the fabric. I suspect this may be the primary reason I didn't get a true black color from the dye bath. I saw necessary salt use rates in some articles as high as 30-100 g/L (3-10% weight by volume). Using Rit's recommended 1 cup of salt per package of liquid dye my ~10 gallon washing machine load would have been on the low end of that range had I followed the instructions and used 1 cup per package of dye. Live and learn. 

In the end, my dye job ended up more of a dark charcoal gray than black. I’m okay with that, but something to note for the future.

 

 

[87ninefiveone[501st]]

I’m closing in on final assembly. I finished up the mask and respirator and completed the lower belt this week. The upper officer belt from Darman on Etsy arrived as well and my coat and pants from Jim are supposed to arrive next Thursday! That just leaves me with the chest and back armor to procure, which I’m hoping to get from Cantina Security still. Then it’s final assembly time, apply weathering and clear coat and that should be it.

Toyota red duplicolor on the bicep, yellow acrylic paint for the stripes. 

Completed self made lower belt, upper belt from Darman props.

I need to rub off a bit of stray E6000 above the right side disk (or cover it with weathering).

I ended up cutting the mouth slots with a dremel and needle files. I’ve been avoiding that since day one since I thought it would weaken the print in that area. I’m happy to report that it’s not an issue. I also found some nice 30 or 40 mesh stainless steel filtration mesh for the respirator in a scrap bin at work. I had to cut the stuff with shears but I’m really pleased with the look even if it’s not at all screen accurate. The photos don’t do it justice. I need to stick some black cloth or more mesh behind the mout and respirator openings though.

Ta da! The tubes are just stuck in the holes right now (right side is about to fall out here).

The first official try on!