General's Death Trooper Build!

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

Hello folks!  While this build thread was started in November of last year, I am doing a more in depth revamp starting as of today (6/29/2020) for future troopers and in hopes to get folks inspired to build their own Death Trooper.  

As normal, I have my build list listed below as well as the vendors I got my equipment from, even down to the various decals/stickers.  The list as it is currently below is the now more up to date of what the finalized build ended up being and I will even still include some of the learning curves I learned along the way.  

The route I went for this build involved 9 different vendors. For all the various parts.  The armor pieces and the helmet come from 850 Armor Works and since working on several clone trooper related costumes, I was familiar and equipped to work with ABS and having done my share of helmets, the resin casted helmet from 850 also was fun to work on.  Do note take note that there's a lot of love and work that needs to go into this kit to make it accurate to the films, but it is one of the cheaper kits out there.  There some modifications that need to take place as well as completely re engineering some parts, so, take that as you will for getting into this build with this particular armor. 

The 850 kit also comes with other additional accessories, all of which for the most part I intentionally replaced.  The 850 belt, arm missiles and shoulder+side buckles that comes with the kit just didn't match the quality standards I was looking for and thus they were not used for this costume, the detonator and corrugated rubber for the belt on the other hand were used. The belt accessories like the pouches, ammo boxes, and belt buckle, the left arm missile mounts, both the shoulder buckles and side buckles I purchased from The Plastic Arms Dealer.  Note, you're gonna have to get the rubber bands for the left forearm from PAD or another vendor anyways as 850 (at the time of this build thread) does not sell the bands.   The side arm holster I made from scratch and leather pouch was bought by a fellow leather maker on the DT build group on Facebook, however I am going to be making some as well, offering up my skills.  The inside helmet rim lining and canvas fronts to the belt pouches are from Armor Works and the lighting system in the tusks and neruo scanner is from UkswrathsSpeciality found on Etsy, (he also makes a stellar sound system which I will be getting soon enough).  My undersuit is from the Dark Side Closet, tailored to my body, but I do plan to do some small alternations to fit it more snug.  The boots plus spats are from Imperial Boots, and the gloves are from Endor Finders.  All 3 blasters that I end up with for this build (yes I am wielding all 3), the DLT-19D, the E11-D and the SE-14r side arm come from PremierProps on Etsy, whose PLA 3D printing is top notch and I have several blasters from them. I cannot recommend their shop enough and the shop has several build videos as well as good visual instructions, plus their turn around for blasters is superb. Those blasters come as raw kits and need to be assembled and filled in then painted, something I will get into later in the thread. Lastly, there are decals for the SE-14r and E11-D come from ChaosTrooper, also from Etsy.

[Devolver[501st]]

14 hours ago, GeneralSpeer said:

Hello folks!  It was recommended that I begin to do a Death Trooper build to gain some extra help on this build and also kit.  I am planning to do a regular DT and this is the breakdown of what I have.  

Armor + Helmet are from 850 Armor Works.  I know that I am already going to need to replace some accessories as well as buy some additional ones and I do plan to repaint the armor anyways.  Its a good thing I am going for a weathered look.  I gave my beef with Pete in saying that he needs to do better on the quality (like literally start over and make a better mold)  but I am going to stick with it as much as I can. 

The helmet has the two dents in it nearly gone (classic for an 850 look, can't miss it) and I already have begun the typical body work of clearing out the visor as well as drilling a hole for the light of the NSM Monitor and holes for the front tusks to put green LEDs in with lenses.  

Gloves: From Endor Finders

Boots: From IB

Death Trooper Under suit: From the Darkside Closet (Not arrived as of right now, still in production)

Regular Under suit + Balaclava:  I already have a few sets for my ARC Trooper so covered here.  

SE-14s and E-11D are bought from YourCustomStuff off of Etsy.  There is some assembly, sanding and filling to do but the kits themselves turned out beautiful.

Things I am needing to get still are the DLT-19 modified, still deciding between a few makers.  I also know, like I said, that I need to replace several of the accessories.  Things like the buckles and straps for the shoulders and chest, the belt and belt accessories, arm missiles, thigh padding, all from the Plastic Arms Dealer, and possibly a new thermal detonator from another maker.  I know for sure I need to buy the arm bands because those were not included.  And I will indeed be painting all the pieces because I know there is going to be some surface work to be done.  I will be looking around the forums to check on other 850 builds, but I will definitely be asking questions throughout.  

Welcome to the boards! I'm looking forward to seeing your build progress. We always need more Death Troopers!
Nice call on getting the Dark Side Closet and Endor Finders parts, you can't go wrong with either.

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

 

1 hour ago, Devolver said:

Welcome to the boards! I'm looking forward to seeing your build progress. We always need more Death Troopers!
Nice call on getting the Dark Side Closet and Endor Finders parts, you can't go wrong with either.

Indeed we need more Death Troopers.  So far in the GGG, I think I am the only member working on one.  Is there a specific section I should be looking at for 850 armor builds or just pursing the forum till I find what I need?  Last thing I want to do is tear my hair out over some plastic.  xD 

[Devolver[501st]]

Just now, GeneralSpeer said:

 

Indeed we need more Death Troopers.  So far in the GGG, I think I am the only member working on one.  Is there a specific section I should be looking at for 850 armor builds or just pursing the forum till I find what I need?  Last thing I want to do is tear my hair out over some plastic.  xD 

I have seen some pretty good 850 builds here on the forums for sure. Just take a look around and they are relatively easy to find.
I would also recommend joining the Death Troopers Build Group on Facebook if you are on that platform. A mixture of this forum and that group will put you on the right path for sure.

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

1 minute ago, Devolver said:

I have seen some pretty good 850 builds here on the forums for sure. Just take a look around and they are relatively easy to find.
I would also recommend joining the Death Troopers Build Group on Facebook if you are on that platform. A mixture of this forum and that group will put you on the right path for sure.

Already am a part of it, but thanks for the info!  I'll continue to upload my progress as I go.  

[RAIDER[COTG]]

Welcome @GeneralSpeer!!!  Will follow along.

[wook1138[TX]]

Good luck on your build.  I have recently built an 850 kit (with an Armoryshop bucket) - my build is here on this forum.  There are some challenges and concessions on the way to the finish line. 

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

22 minutes ago, wook1138 said:

Good luck on your build.  I have recently built an 850 kit (with an Armoryshop bucket) - my build is here on this forum.  There are some challenges and concessions on the way to the finish line. 

I'll definitely be using that as a reference then!  Thanks!  

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

Post update on 6/29/2020.  This was the first test suit up I had done with the upper body as well as the helmet and gloves.  By this point, the hand plates were cut and complete, they just needed to be painted and weathered.  Of course though, as folks would point out, the biceps and ab plate are a little too high.  Ideally, the ab plate needs to show some of the horizontal ribbing detail at the top center and the biceps have recessed lines that match up with the lines on the shoulders.  Something else to note is that the E11-D that is in the photos is not the one I end of with.  As you can also see, I began drilling out the visor on the helmet and you may notice there was a circle drawn on the front.  This is because 850's helmet casts while good bases are not perfect.  Consistently, there are 2 dents that are present on the cast, one in front, the other in back.  Other 850 DTs know this issue and the best way to fix these dents is taking a ceramic heat gun and to heat up the dents while taking and pressing a tennis ball from the inside.  It may sound weird and crude, but it works.  This takes a bit and I strongly advise doing it outside or in a ventilated area.  Certain resins when heated can sometimes release not pleasant stuff to breath; to that end, also do not use a hair dryer.  A hair dryer will not heat the resin to the temperatures needed to soften the material to mold it, you can go buy one for like $25 or if you know someone who has one, you can ask to borrow it.  The nuroscanner also comes secured to the helmet (something I personally might fix later with a new bucket but it's an optional upgrade for me personally).  

Edited June 29, 2020 by GeneralSpeer

[Devolver[501st]]

Looking good!

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

Because there are some pieces to cleanup/modify with an 850 kit to make it approvable, this is more or less the progress on other small parts. The hand plate and shoulders just needed some trimming cleaning up, the biceps, some trimming and assembly, there will be either ABS sludge or bondo or both to fill in seams and make the connection more robust (yes I plan on repainting the entire armor), and the back plate I had to rip apart and flip upside-down the section where the detonator attaches. There will be some cleanup on the seem to make it one piece again, but that is easy enough. Last nights task and a half was getting the formarms more or less in a ready state for a hot water bath to increase the curve and ready for assembly. I am waiting to get new missiles for the left arm as the 3D printed ones from 850 are not that great and need to be replaced. Other than that, things are going well for this build!  And because I live in CA and more so in general it is a good thing to do, I am waiting to get all my pieces trimmed up the way I need so I can do one in bulk water bath to save water.  I may be a Death Trooper in the making, but I will be one that cares ? 

 

*6/29/2020 update* 

While I did have some heat forming to do, hot water baths never really took place, mainly because it proved ineffective to me or I just go to inpatient.  I ended up using my heat gun again but made sure to have it on a low heat to not melt the plastic and continue to use in a well ventilated area.  I unfortunately don't have a picture of the back plate, but if you get an 850 kit and follow this thread, you fill find that the shape of what you have is incorrect to what is from the film.  I do not know why the vendor made it this way or what they saw, but is one of several nuances to this costume.  My goal however is not to complain about it, but to go more in depth to help others.  To start, you would need to cut the backplate in two places.  One at the top of the triangle, leaving room beyond the curve and then at the bottom edge of the triangle.  You would then need to flip the detonator section around and glue both halves back together.  I would highly suggest adding plastic to the inside for strength and then you can add bondo work to it on the front to make it "one piece".  Keep in mind that you will need access to the detonator rest still from the back, if you decide to screw/bolt in the detonator.  

For the biceps, its 2 halves for each arm, not one piece.  The side that shows towards the front is the side that I glued over the back half.  There will be some shaping you will need to do the back half in order for it to fit.  This is one of the few pieces that did ok with the hot water bath, but what held the shape and is acceptable from what I had found was a piece of black elastic webbing on the inside to hold the shape and to close it around the arm.  

The forearms were a bit of a head scratchier at first.  Several things had to be done to the base of both of them.  First off was removing the excess material for the inside plate, allowing for there to be a curve.  Next was actually fitting the guards, something that is trial by error really and using tape is a good method for doing so.  Wook1138, a fellow DT here on the forums who also has  a 850 kit goes into further detail on how the base forearms get re-fabricated, but it involves cutting at certain points the vertical raised section on each forearm and reshaping it to correct it.  

The shoulders are pretty self explanatory, same with the hand places.  Trim, clean up edges, paint if desired.  

Edited June 29, 2020 by GeneralSpeer

[nanotek[CMD-DWM]]

Welcome, looking forward to your build. I know it was just a quick fitting but remember to lower the biceps a bit as they are not supposed to sit up that high. If you have any questions please shout out! Will be following your journey

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

24 minutes ago, nanotek said:

Welcome, looking forward to your build. I know it was just a quick fitting but remember to lower the biceps a bit as they are not supposed to sit up that high. If you have any questions please shout out! Will be following your journey

Already got it. I know the biceps are meant to be lower, but thanks for the heads up!  ?

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

Lots more work has been done, and I am excited to share.  First off has to do with the weapons, of which I am doing all 3, the SE-14r, the E11-D, and the DLT-19D.  All three are assembled, with a few greeblie bits remaining on the DLT-19D.  Sanding for these weapons await and then I have to wait for better weather to prime and paint.  

 

The next parts revolve around the arm guards, specifically, the left one, as there is more to do with it.  Aside from heating up the plastic with a heat gun and giving it a more exaggerated curve to fit better to my arm, I also glued the halves in place and attached the missiles and arm bands (both are still removable if needed).  The next step after assembling the right forearm is I plan to fill in the gaps with some either epoxy clay or putty of some sort and sand it down.  I plan to repaint the entire armor anyways so I might as well make it look nice.  

After taking the tape off and doing a little reshaping, this is where the forearm is at.  The missiles featured are from the PlasticArmsDealer, same with the rubber arm bands.  The arm bands do not come with the 850 kit and the missiles that did come with were not that great, nor were there screw holes/screws available.  These are much better I will be taping the missiles off when it comes to painting.  

The next part that is in progress is fixing the chest, specifically the warpage that happened in the pulling of the armor (I assume).  To fix this, I do a pattern layout while adjusting the line that needs fixing to be straightened, and then cut out a piece of 1/16th inch polystyrene plastic.  This was then glued to the chest and I will blend the edges in with more putty or epoxy clay and sand.  Photos are that great, but the concept is illustrated at least.  

Next was a quick one as it took to getting the shoulder straps and buckles read.  I removed the necessary rubber bits and trimmed the back end to fit into the shoulders.  I still need to sand down the thickness to make them fit.  Then, I rub and buffed the buckles and I love the effect, with it looking slightly weathered, and I am glad I can make these work.  I will be thinking about replacing the buckles that go on the underneath side of the chest as the the resin buckles that come with 850's kit are going to involve some reshaping.  If I can get them to work, great, if not, then its back to PlasticArmsDealer.  

To close for this post, I am extremely proud of the work done so far, and I lastly want to top it off with some shots of my workbench of not only the parts I need to sand and fill, weapons and even the detonator included, I also cut out the visor in the helmet and am working on cleanup around the edges.  I have done one side of vents with the other side needed to be done, but so far, this has been going really well and I cannot wait until the body work on the helmet is complete, including sanding, bondo work, and cleaning up some left over resin bits in crevasses.  

As always, your continued comments and critiques are always welcome and could help making this a whole lot better =D 

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

It's been a bit, but this long post describes the immense amount of progress that has been done on this build, so this might be a bit of a long post.  

The helmet has been a labor of love.  The dents have been sorted, I cleaned up the groove on the right side to make it more even, (more than the photo shows) and then the work of the rinse and repeat process of filling and sanding... an oh so much fun process ???

And I am pleased with the result of the bodywork, especially from where it started out of the box.  And at same time going through this, the weapons were also getting the same treatment.  

I decided at this point it was completely needed to do a test fit, and an excuse to try on some new gear, so, I dawned the boots, shins, abs, chest, forearms, and helmet for a couple of shots.  Because Darkside Closet is still working on the undersuit, some jeans and a hoodie served their purpose.  I am liking how 

The armor felt great and of course, final tweaking will need to happen with all the pieces, but I am most pleased.  The next parts was painting my gear, or most of it anyways.  It personally think that while the plastic is an alright level of detail, it doesn't capture the essence and feel.  Plus, since I have different colors of plastic already attached, I kind of need to paint it now. 

For the pieces that didn't require modifications, I started with a Rustoleum gray primer, standard not filler.  I wanted to make sure that the top coats of paint had something better to stick too.  Parts like the shoulders, posterior, and cod piece were ready to go.  The helmet was also included in the bunch.  

And next, I applied a brownish camo layer to all the pieces.  I only have it with pics on the helmet, but it will tint the black layers above just slightly.  

The next task was the base layer of paint.  For whatever reason, I decided to use a semi gloss black and then layer it with a high gloss black.  I don't know my reasoning, but it worked and I like the result.  With the helmet, it was my main testing subject, and as a final measure, I sealed it up with a high gloss clear coat to seal in the paint job.  

 

Next working on the asymmetric painted details on the helmet, and I decided to given it a wirl and use an airbrush machine, which was both nerve-racking but tons of fun at the same time, as it was my first time ever using the machine, and the results are fantastic!  

After this, I took a break from the armor and focused on the weapons, specifically painting the SE-14r and the DLT-19D, and I went ahead and weathered them with flat black as a base, and spattered some Seargent branded metallic silver all over and sealed each with satin clear.  And then turned out very well.  The E11-D I discovered after laying down some paint isn't quite smooth enough so I will need to do some more filling to perfect that.  

The belt replacement and parts arrived from PlasticArms Dealer, and the canvas pouches are on their way, but it turns out I will have to remake the holster I had ordered from another vendor as it doesn't fit around the belt ?.  Woops, nothing with a bit of good old fashioned leather working can't do.  But that will be for when I get those supplies in.  

 

The remaining pic I have for this post is the first step of weathering the helmet, which basically has simulated etches using the same silver paint used for the blasters.  And while I was nervous to weather this fine paint job, I was superbly happy with the first layer of work that was done to get this beast of a project closer to being finished.  I am proud of the work done so far and as always, comments, questions, and critiques are all welcome.  

[Halycon[PR-CMD]]

Awesome progress Chris, i like the gloss of the helmet... you seem to be on a good way!

Would it be possible to post a picture with a higher resolution and not that small?

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

1 hour ago, Halycon said:

Awesome progress Chris, i like the gloss of the helmet... you seem to be on a good way!

Would it be possible to post a picture with a higher resolution and not that small?

Sure thing!  is there a specific photo in mind or in general make em bigger and higher res in the future?  

[Halycon[PR-CMD]]

55 minutes ago, GeneralSpeer said:

Sure thing!  is there a specific photo in mind or in general make em bigger and higher res in the future?  

Just if you click on em to get a bigger picture would be much better to see more details

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

54 minutes ago, Halycon said:

Just if you click on em to get a bigger picture would be much better to see more details

I shall see what I can do.  I will definitely keep that in mind for future posts

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

It has been a while since I've done a build post, but I have made a tone of progress and I am pretty proud of the work done so far.  Here is what I have done.  I apologize ahead of time if the images are not large enough.  Resizing them has been interesting on my end and believe it or not it is the "huge" thumbnail settings from Imgur.  

After the first layer of weathering, I added mesh right behind the vents and securing them on the inside using foam to make sure I am not being poked in the face, because that's no good ???.

I then took to the next stage of weathering, for most of the parts.  I used a method of hairspray with foot powder and wiped off a bunch of it.  (This is an image that shows it covered in all the crevasses).  The helmet show before and afters of the base application and then after wiping a bunch of it off.  

Not long after the weathering process, I received my undersuit from the Darkside Closet and it fits amazingly!  I then did my very first test fit with most of the pieces, learning where to apply the strapping, velcro, and other tweaks.  

 

After the fitting, I fixed up the sides of the chest, realizing there was a inner plate that connects the front and back on the sides.  And of course, drilling the holes for where the side buckles will eventually be installed.  

After installing the buckles, I got the chest plate ready to do the two-tone paint design and the end result (done at the bottom) I like a plenty.  

Next was moving onto the thighs.  These were a process to work on but oh so much fun.  For the outer rubber sections, that would face the outside of the legs, I glued and riveted on nylon webbing to the rubber directly and glued the to the inside of the thigh and hamstring plates.  Next, I gave the inside rubber parts the same treatment, with one side of the rubber having velcro instead being the exception.  The reason I chose this a closure system is to allow for flucuation as I am on a new workout regiment and thought this would be better for long term trooping.  I also have straps installed (not shown in this pic) that will connect with a belt while trooping.  

Next was finally doing the belt and getting that all in place.  I have opted to do velcro for the closure system in the back for fluctuation and of course, getting the placement correct for all other parts.  

I am so excited for this bit!  This was my second test run with everything on!  It looks better than I had hoped for!  But of course, there a few things I know to adjust/fix/tweak.  The first part is making sure the right shoulder front line meets up with the top line of the biecep (something I have already fixed but not shown).  The second part is I will be weathering the chest, abs, back plate, and thighs to be be more in line with the weathering I already did on the other parts.  With the belt, I am going to be adding velcro and a series of 10-15 1x3ish inch stripes to add structural integrity for the belt and to also help keep it up.  I will also be adding foam inserts on the inside of the pouches to help keep them in their form and not flop as well as add a plastic backing to make sure they stay straight.  All in all I am very pleased with how far I've gotten.  

The last thing I've done is install the green tusks discs which were 2 layers of green acetate plastic with 2 layers of wax paper glued behind it.  I then installed lights that were part of a pack that came from Ukswrath, (later I will be getting and installing the sounds system, for you know, a more authentic experience.  But that has been the latest work I've done.  With being so very close to the approval stage, I am so very excited for how far I've gotten but I am also asking for critiques, tweaks, adjustments, and any other things to add that can be addressed for you to let me know.  Thanks!  

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Chris,

Your build is coming along great and I appreciate the detail that you are putting into your build thread. I can't wait to see it completed.

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

1 hour ago, Chaos said:

Chris,

Your build is coming along great and I appreciate the detail that you are putting into your build thread. I can't wait to see it completed.

Thank you!  Any advise or details you can see or suggest to tweak/add or adjust besides what I've mentioned?

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

I'll take a closer look when I get up and have some coffee in the morning.

[GeneralSpeer[TX]]

it is finally onto the approval phase.  Wish me luck!

b

[Atraxas[TX]]

Looking good  GL !!