Aquatic Assault Trooper Reference Pics

[izzi[TX]]

West End Games: Battle for the Golden Sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

An expanded view of the image on the Star Wars Databank;

 

 

Star Wars RPG (WotC)

 

 

 

Other Versions of the Seatrooper: (Not enough to build a suit but still cool)

 

Star Wars #74 "The Iskalon effect"

 

 

Star Wars Legacy 32: Fight Another Day, Part 1

 

[Mr Fett[501st]]

So, without counting the modified Stormtrooper helmet from the old comics, there's 5 different variations of Seatrooper helmets in the artwork posted in this thread. This said, because I'm not a sculptor, if I get around to making a normal Seatrooper costume at some point, I think I'll just try using an existing Scout Trooper helmet and then doing some mods to it to make it look somewhat more "Seatrooper-like". The hard thing would be deciding exactly "what" to change, since every one of those pictures up above is a basically different shaped helmet.

 

 

Forehead "sensor array".....sometimes there, sometimes not. Rounded Scout ears....sometimes there, sometimes not.......sometimes a bigger lense area then normal Scout helmets, sometimes not.......etc, etc, etc.

[izzi[TX]]

I would go with the "Battle for the Golden Sun" version. It's the only version we have a 360 of the entire suit.

 

-iz

[Mr Fett[501st]]

Yeah, but in the top pic, it's the far away guy where you see the back of his head, and it just looks rounded. Can't make out any specific details ( if any ).

[Chef[501st]]

As with all the comic artworks, there is always a discrepancy in the level of detail that you see.

 

The artists (especially with older comics) never really consider that a bunch of anally retentive nerds with OCD are going to scrutinise their work in the minutest detail in order to build a costume from it, so there will always be differences, omissions and inconsistencies.

 

 

So we just have to live with this as best as we can.

 

 

If it were me, I'd use a standard scout bucket, add in the O2 pipes to the faceplate and the detail section to the forehead of the bucket. Depending on how anally retentive I was feeling at the time, I'd be tempted re-adjust the detail on the visor shroud, to the upright one, rather than the slightly slanted one that's on the normal scout bucket.

 

Visor bolts??? er. Undecided. They are certainly useful in keeping a scout lid together.

[Mithras]

As with all the comic artworks, there is always a discrepancy in the level of detail that you see.

 

The artists (especially with older comics) never really consider that a bunch of anally retentive nerds with OCD are going to scrutinise their work in the minutest detail in order to build a costume from it, so there will always be differences, omissions and inconsistencies.

 

 

So we just have to live with this as best as we can.

 

 

If it were me, I'd use a standard scout bucket, add in the O2 pipes to the faceplate and the detail section to the forehead of the bucket. Depending on how anally retentive I was feeling at the time, I'd be tempted re-adjust the detail on the visor shroud, to the upright one, rather than the slightly slanted one that's on the normal scout bucket.

 

Visor bolts??? er. Undecided. They are certainly useful in keeping a scout lid together.

 

I'd argue that we probably wouldn't need the bolts, but that they could be an option. Oddly, years ago, when we were creating the SWC over on Prodigy (ok... maybe more than a few years ago), we had a few Seatrooper roleplayers, one suggestion was that there would be no bolts, since the helmet would have to be an entirely sealed environment. We sort of went with that, since the entire thing seems to be completely enclosed and temperature controlled.

 

I'm not sure about that shroud. I look at it different times, and at some points, it looks very much like a standard Scout bucket to me; other times I agree, it's almost angled. But again, that might be a useful option to have, since such modifications might prove difficult but would not necessarily be absolutely required by the costume, particularly if one goes with the slightly more recent WOC interpretation. Of course then, it would appear that the snout is completely enclosed. No snout greeblies, just a solid enclosed rebreathing apparatus.

 

One other, point on the subject: I'd argue that the greaves shown in the WEG images are not consistent with those shown in the WOC D20 images and, consequently, could be "options" compared to the simpler greaves shown in the WOC interpretation. That could make the costume more approachable and more troopable for some.

 

It might be worth allowing either option in a CRL. "For a WEG: Imperial Sourcebook style look, use this option; for a D20 Star Wars option, use the following." The two should probably not be mixed. (Ie: If you're going to go the D20 route, then go whole hog: plain white cumberbund/pressure vest, enclosed snout, simplified greaves). As Boudicca mentioned earlier, we've had to do this in the Gunner detachment, because of the variants that appear in so many screen shots and canonical materials. It's allowed for a screen/canon accurate costume that is quite accessible without absolutely necessitating the home casting/sculpting of particularly difficult or impossible pieces of kit.

[Chef[501st]]

I agree....

 

As I mentioned over in your Swampy thread, the trouble with expanded universe stuff is that different artists draw different interpretations. This causes an absolute nightmare in terms of reference material for us.

 

We had a similar argument with the Snow Scout.

It was decided that the best course of action was to choose one and stick to that one as best as we could. Purely because consistency amongst our own costumes was more likely to lead to some new Source material being based upon them, rather than the artist just thinking something up. Yes... it's cause and effect.... but hey. It gets what we want.

 

 

So yes, you have the choice. WEG or WOC.

 

Personally, I can see why the WEG one wins over, mainly because there is more of a 360" all round depiction. I get this... it's more of a complete reference.

 

 

without absolutely necessitating the home casting/sculpting of particularly difficult or impossible pieces of kit.

 

But that's all the fun!!!

 

 

I will get around to the Sea Trooper at some point.... Got my Snow Scout to finish off first though.

[Tachyon[501st]]

Can I offer some thoughts on the Helmet?

 

The bucket for the seatrooper is a custom scuplt. The tubing around the back of the helmet sticks out too much for you to be able to close in the ear vents. If you just close them over, the lower part looks bulky and ungainly in comparison with the rest of the helmet and you'd have to beef out the top part, making you look like a bobble head.

 

If you cut the sides down though, you loose the structural integrity of the helmet and you basically have to rebuild it anyway. If you're adding the dome light on top, thats another huge section of the helmet that needs modding, and if not done correctly, it just looks too big or too small. The close up of Commander Aban's hemet in the WEG book shows that the shroud dosn't protrude much past the faceplate, not anywhere near as much as the normal TB. When talking about the helmet, and in sculpting it, I used primarily that Aban close up as it shows the most detail. As for the back, most SW universe helmets from that era (OT era) have little to no detailing on the back of the helmet, so I used the reasoning that there would be no detail there, and the far shot on the cover would be good enough. In talking with GMLs and LMOs, I've had their agreeance on this point.

[Chef[501st]]

You got any pictures of this Aban's lid for reference?

[Tachyon[501st]]

It's the fourth image in the first post. It's a little small, but it's the best detail image to work from.