TFU Shadow Stormtrooper Rebuild!

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Ouch! You know, I didn't even think about the current with those. I'm gonna say I was thrown off by the fact they were LEDs and usually don't generate the heat we're used to...but then again, electrical is my worse subject! I have some time working on aircraft and any time it involved actual wiring I was like, well here's a challenge for today. May have to run separate batteries as you've done but perhaps one for lower body and one for upper body would suffice?

[Fivezero[TX]]

Yeah I hear ya, electrical is not my strong suit. I'm used to fixing existing circuits from all of our vehicle projects, but designing new circuits is a little outside my expertise. So been kinda winging it, but it's all good. All learning for new builds!

Anyway after some research and thinking, it looks like my issue is all of my lights are wired in parallel. I did this so if one died it wouldn't kill any others on each armor piece. Other issue is my battery is a 12v battery, which was great when I initially planned to reuse the 12V LEDs from my original build. The new lights need only need approx. 3V. So  the original plan was going to wire in resistors to bring the power down, but the resistors are creating way too much heat as a result (bleeding off too much power). Like I mentioned it works, but there is no way you could wear it without getting some nasty burns.

After some looking around it looks like if I rewire everything to put the 4 of these LED filaments in series (4 * 3V = 12V, current stays the same), I should be able to get away it. Still might need resistors to get the current dialed in, but the heat should be better since it is bleeding a lot less power to bring the voltage/current down. All of this means redoing the wiring completely.

As mentioned, I've ordered smaller AA battery packs to get this together enough for CRL photos and maybe a quick troop. Once the CRL is ready to go, then I'll start redoing the wiring (with some proper planning this time...) to make it a bit easier to troop in.

[Fivezero[TX]]

Well, got a test fit in yesterday! Not quite ready yet, got a few fitment issues to work out. Had two big issues, the TD mount came apart when I was taking everything off and the clear edge trim on the kidney didn't want to stay in place.

On a positive note, no issues with the lights/wiring. Also pleased with how the paint looks! Like I said a few adjustments to some parts and move some battery packs around to make things a little comfortable and it'll be good to go!

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Dudeeeee, that looks awesome!

[Fivezero[TX]]

Alright just about done with the fixes! All of the battery packs are in much more comfortable spots and fixed a few straps.

The biggest thing I didn't like was how little the chest and kidney lights were shining onto the rest of the armor. On the chest, I built up the hot glue a fair amount and glued the lights back on. I also added a little foam to push the chest armor out a bit. The effect is much better now!

 

For the kidney/butt lights I ended up coming up with this solution. I made up a separate belt to run underneath the main belt. Like the chest, I added some webbing behind this belt to push it away from the armor. Then glued on some of that clear edge trim to the webbing.

And the other big thing is the TD fell apart! So I drew up a new mount with an integrated clip and 3D printed the new mount. Since I am lazy and don't want to wait for paint right now,  I sanded it real quick and then used some aluminum tape to make it look nice. It's pretty dang close to the armor actually, but I will paint it eventually.

 

Only thing left is to test the new kidney light belt and make sure that works how I want it to. If it works out good, then I can try again for CRL pics!

 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

That lighting looks really good under the chest! Are you noticing the clear ABS and such is more brittle than the colored ABS?

[Fivezero[TX]]

Yeah the clear plastic is much more brittle than good ol' ABS. I'm not sure what plastic WTF used for this clear armor, but having used PETG, acrylic and polycarbonate for other projects you have to be careful. There were definitely a few cracks that I had to repair when trimming these parts...

So did the test fit yesterday with the new "light belt." The belt works but wasn't too happy with how the armor was behaving. The butt plate was moving around too much to get a consistent light effect. So I made some new straps and glued them in over night. Note the 37mm cartridge cases I'm using as weights...

Also noticed the straps on my ab plate that will clip to the light belt were way too far out, so moved those inward.

And here's the final look after another test fit today, pleased with the look now! Just have to hide the wiring. The main belt is sticking out a little farther, so now there's some exposed velcro, a little trimming and that will be taken care of.

 

So that should be everything fixed up.  I'll do another partial suit up tomorrow, make sure everything feels and looks good. Then I can try again for CRL pics!

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

I figured as much, I think when the color is put into the plastic it probably gives it some strength...or the additive they use to make it clear makes it brittle. Reminds me of when Lego was having QC issues with the red pieces a few years ago

That belt looks great now with the color! Glad you had those 37mm weights to hold that stuff down  

[Fivezero[TX]]

Alright, still not there... I'm getting there, but still chasing a couple fitment issues. Also started losing some lights, some of the butt connectors I used started failing and breaking the circuit. Also I finally had it with the AA battery packs, they are way too bulky. Also the connectors I used are way too large. It was just way too uncomfortable to wear. You'll also see that there are some wires hanging out in a couple spots.

 

So I decided to do some "minor" rewiring using CR2032 battery packs and smaller connectors. These should be small enough to keep every piece of armor self-contained. No more lengthy wiring going to the torso armor.

 

The big pivot I took was making some new shoulder bells. The current ones are just too small for me and are causing many issues, especially when viewed from the rear. So got the big printers warmed and printed a couple new shoulders!

 

Other than that, I had to re-adjust the chest and back. The back plate was sitting way too high and again looked awful. It also pulled on the chest affecting how the light was hitting the ab. So lengthened some straps and now that's all sitting where I want.

So I hope to get the wiring redone this weekend. I also hope to get the new shoulders trimmed and sanded down and hopefully get some paint on them!

 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Oh sweet on the new bells! I noticed in the game that they sit more along the bicep armor and kind of off the shoulder too, it is strange but maybe you want to have them do that too?!