Lt. Dan´s Death Trooper WIP

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

@ChaosThe idea is to cut the angular extension from the outer shin and glue it to the inner shin. This would also make the putting on of the shins more comfortable!

 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

@Lt. Dan that will work! If possible clamshell the outer shin over the inner shin, makes the closure less noticeable (not a CRL or approval requirement)

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

So finally reworked the shins and forearms today. My best friend at the moment: the Dremel. This multitool is really great for exact cuts! I´m really pissed, because I have to rework nearly every single part of my armor. Exactly what I did not want, as I ordered a "ready to wear" kit. You only need to strap it they said, haha?

But complaining is useless, I have to get the parts to fit. Ok, I cut the angular extension of the shins and also the  support edge of the inner shin to reduce the inner diameter to make them fit better. As said, the angular extension will be glued now to the inner shin. Reworked also the upper raised strip, because on the inside it wasn´t sanded before painting. Now everything fits together properly!

Same for the forearms. First I glued the complete clamshell seam to get a smaller diameter, then I cut them in length a bit, added a slight curve on the lower inside wrist area and increased the radius of the upper elbow area to make them fit. Before I did that, I was not able to fold the arms. I have no idea what they did with my measurements when printing these parts? Finally installed the aluminum rockets.

Next step will be covering these parts with Plastidip inside. That will also remove the whole cutting lines and small damages from reworking and give a smooth surface.

 

 

 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Nice work Dan, so you decided to glue your forearms instead of leaving the inside seam clam shelled?

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

@ChaosYes, that was the only way to make the diameter reasonably fit my forearms. Besides, they seemed too fragile to me so I rather fixed them.

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

Next major construction site: the thighs. Velcroed them together to see if they fit. All in all they did, but I can´t put my legs together or walk, as the thighs rub at each other and make squeaking noises. I have to contact my best friend the Dremel again to cut some material?I think I´ll also replace the inner ribbed section which is now part of the printed thigh against rubber material. That´ll give more movement in that area I hope!

 

 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

3 hours ago, Lt. Dan said:

Next major construction site: the thighs. Velcroed them together to see if they fit. All in all they did, but I can´t put my legs together or walk, as the thighs rub at each other and make squeaking noises. I have to contact my best friend the Dremel again to cut some material?I think I´ll also replace the inner ribbed section which is now part of the printed thigh against rubber material. That´ll give more movement in that area I hope!

 

 

@Lt. Dan hey man, it looks like your thighs are not rounded enough. Food for thought, if your armor is 3d filament and you are willing, take a hair dryer or heat gun on low, put your undersuit gaskets on and from the inside gently heat the inside areas "Gently" then when they are warm enough to flex, wrap them in place around your thighs. Once you get a good fit, you can then mark and trim the ribbed areas to fit. For appearances, try and keep the (CORRECTED) outside ribbed area narrower than the inside. A lot of people, to include myself, made the circumstance adjustments and sacrificed the inner rib width to make our thighs fit. You can then glue the outer sides, and clamshell velcro the inside so they are easier to put on.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Also, if at all possible to make the ribbed sections opposite and even.

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

1 hour ago, Chaos said:

For appearances, try and keep the outside ribbed area wider than the inside.

@ChaosBelonging to the CRL and nearly all pics of DT's I saw, its vice versa!??

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

1 hour ago, Lt. Dan said:

@ChaosBelonging to the CRL and nearly all pics of DT's I saw, its vice versa!??

Apologies, I was still working on my first cup of coffee this morning, you are correct, the outside is narrower. 

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

The tip with the warming of the thighs was worth its weight in gold! That really worked fine, only a bit warm between the legs?Radius adjusted and cut some material on the inner side of the front plate. No rubbing anymore! I think I don´t need to have the thigh and front plate seperated, because I can put my feet through it easily to put them on when velcroed. I think I´ll glue them together with E6000 instead of velcro. Will also give more stiffness to the parts. I have ordered some buckles and nylon straps that I´ll guide up to a harness to hold the thighs in place.

 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

@Lt. Dan outstanding news! I've tweaked my armor pieces a lot over the years, it's a never ending process but each one gets us closer. He'll even the suits made by the pros for the movies were constantly getting repairs and adjustments. Looking forward to your completion. 

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

Since I unfortunately have no space in my helmet, but still want to use my Ukswrath sound system, I decided to accommodate the equipment in the back armor. Enough space there and the best, I can use the side vents for the speakers. Just have to cut the recesses with my Dremel and place the speakers behind. They´ll fit exact from the measurements. Some mesh should prevent visibility. Instead of the cable guided headset which came with the set, I´ll order a bluetooth one as I don´t want to have a cable up to the helmet. Just did a pre-setup to see how it´ll fit!

 

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

Turned out great with a 3mm drill. Speaker fits exact. A bit of mesh and touch up and that´s it!

 

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

Got these from Paul Prentice and some pics how to attach the shoulder bells with the brackets. But I can't figure out how to attach them onto the back armor? When I´m right I have to cut the front part to make them fit for a DT, because they originally are made for Shore Trooper armor?Anybody use these and can upload a pic of the setup? Maybe @Chaos?

 

 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

@Lt. Dan post a picture from the side of your front and back armor joined. That way I can help. I use a tab set up like Paul's but it's just the tab with no fore/aft extension. 

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

@Chaosno worries, figured it out by myself?Just cut the extension and adjusted the radius of the tab. In the meanwhile I rubberized the inside of the body armor parts with Plastdip. Used that stuff the first time and to be honest, I expected a bit more! But result is fairly ok for the purpose I think!

 

[SrtWnab]

Looking good @Lt. Dan bout to breakout my little friend the dremel today to cut the rubs off my thighs and add the rubber in. That thing is really worth its weight in gold huh. 

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

First partial leg parts wear test and first optical progress after cutting, reworking, repainting, glueing and several test fittings which hurt my back from bend over all the time? Had to stuff the shins with foam pads to prevent twisting. Somehow my shinbones are crooked a bit and the shins always rotated to the outside, but now I got them fixed in place. Went some stairs today to test and it seems pretty well! Now its time to get my harness together, so that I do not always have to hold the thighs up?

 

 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Put your cod piece in place when you're fitting, I ended up having to trim the tops of my thighs so they didn't rub and pinch my boys ? Better to find out now than on a 2 hour trooping 

[DHKnecht]

Lt. Dan - can you show some pics of how you mounted the shoulder bells with the brackets?  I saw the same ones you got and wonder how they look/work/assemble.  Thanks!

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

1 hour ago, DHKnecht said:

Lt. Dan - can you show some pics of how you mounted the shoulder bells with the brackets?  I saw the same ones you got and wonder how they look/work/assemble.  Thanks!

@DHKnechtdidn't install them yet, just cut the extension and adjusted them to the radius of the back armor shoulder section. Basically in the end it looks like on the attached pics that I got from Paul. Haven't got decided whether to glue or to velcro them?

 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

hey Don dont know if you saw but there is a LFT armor party in about two weeks , it was just posted to the forum last night. 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

Daniel almost everything twists to the outside, and with my kneecaps already rotated out, anything I wear on my shins especially the Rebel gaiters for multiple costumes wind up sideways. years ago fitting clones here in my garrison we had all sorts of things including foam and velcro to keep things in place below the kneecaps which were their own nightmare. 

[Lt. Dan[501st]]

While I was working on the shoulder straps setup I was wondering where the exact location of the buckles is? CRL doesn´t state this exactly. I just fixed them with clamps to see how they might fit. Too low or a bit higher? I use the Paul Prentice straps with 13 visible ribs now.