PiotrRasputin's Death Trooper WIP

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

My garrison helper got back to me and did inform me the seam was held together with CA glue.

So I'm actually going to keep the parts that are still attached intact and order what he used from GlueMasters to reconnect the seams after cleaning them up slightly. Then I'll get the 2 part epoxy mix to line the inside of the helmet for additional strength.

In the mean time, I'll start the blackwash of the silver parts tonight to give them their weathered look.

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

While waiting for the CA Glue to arrive, I whipped up a batch of blackwash paint for weathering the silver parts.  I just used the Rustoleum Flat Black, sprayed it in a disposable cup, and mixed in a generous amount of water and mixed thoroughly.  Gave it a test run on the underside of the side grill as those won't be seen. I applied it lightly with a sponge brush then wiped with a shop rag I had.

Thoughts?  Definitely cuts down on the metaliacity as @DoggyDoc coined the term.

 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Yep! That's it!

[DoggyDoc[CMD-DCA]]

Looks great 

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

Had the day off from work, so I was able to attempt the dome repair.  Cleaned up the seams that split slightly with a dremel sander for a straight clean surface and applied CA glue and held it in place for a good minute.  Most areas took it well, so I added more on the front and back sides of the seams, wiping them down for a clean fill.  Once those held, I reinforced those areas with bondo and am currently letting it cure. 2 part epoxy will be applied after I give the bondo a light sanding on the inside.

 

While that is going on, I also finished up weathering the silver parts thanks to the feedback on the blackwash mix I made.

 

And to the wrap up this update, I cut and put in the wire grill under the side grill pieces with E6000. Will put the weed guard cloth underneath it when the adhesive cures.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

@PiotrRasputin Dan, good thing you used E6000 for the side vent screens, that gauge is too big, the screening is much smaller.

here is a reference photo

I and a few others have used this type of metal screen mesh patch before:

https://www.amazon.com/Window-Screen-Repair-Aluminum-3-Inch/dp/B000BQUTC2

 

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

Thanks @Chaos, removing them now.

Edit: Done!

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

Small but important update!

Got my custom boots in from Crowprops in a day early! They fit perfectly! Now all soft parts are done!

 

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

Happy 501st Day!

It's been a long month of sanding the helmet, followed by lining the inside with UV resin to add strength. But I'm pushing forward and was happy enough with the smoothness to give the dome a coat of the gloss black paint yesterday.  Checked on it this morning, and while it is very smooth to the touch, it has a hazy look to it.  This is the Enamel Gloss Appliance Spray from Rustoleum I used.    Not sure why it came out this way. It has been over 60 degrees up here around Chicago the past week with not too bad humidity. 

In other updates, I attached the "nose grill" and updated the smaller vent grills on the side. 

And just to change things up, I tried on my Jim Tripon leggings with CrowProp boots to give the shins a walk test around the house. 

It was a pretty comfortable walk and I didn't fall down. I do think some trimming on the top back area is in the future, but I'm not focusing on that right now. More so want to get the helmet done than anything. 

 

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

So I decided to try a 2nd coat of the gloss enamel spray paint on a small area of the main helmet I already sprayed 2 days ago to see if that would help with the haziness, and that seemed to do the trick in terms of making it have that smooth, glossy look.  I'm at work right now, so I'll post a picture later tonight.

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

So after letting the 2nd coat dry while I was out trooping for May the 4th events, I checked the dome out in the sun today and I'm still seeing the haziness when I initially saw clear, smooth coats after applying it.  I'm also noticing specks every so often.  

Not sure what I'm doing wrong.  I'm starting the spray before going over the dome, and hitting it lightly, with multiple passes.  As this point, should I just consider priming it white and start over?  This is the last part I need to paint before I can truly assemble the helmet.

[DoggyDoc[CMD-DCA]]

I had a bunch of problems with my clear coat not being very shiny and found that using a car polisher with a cutting compound followed by a buffing polish made it really shine.  Not sure if this is the solution for you but it saved me repainting. 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

if you used the Appliance enamel, let it cure for a week and then hit it with a polisher and polishing compound. its just like a car paint finish.  Also the Appliance enamel is designed to go on as a "wet" coat. Light coats without a complete wet coverage will create spotty areas. I had to practice 4-5 times on a scrap piece of plastic I had before I sprayed my armor. Also the recoat times are different than your standard spray paints, recoat withing 30 minutes (I usually use 10-15) or 1 week. If you recoat outside of 30 and before a week you'll get an orange peel look.

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

5 hours ago, Chaos said:

if you used the Appliance enamel, let it cure for a week and then hit it with a polisher and polishing compound. its just like a car paint finish.  Also the Appliance enamel is designed to go on as a "wet" coat. Light coats without a complete wet coverage will create spotty areas. I had to practice 4-5 times on a scrap piece of plastic I had before I sprayed my armor. Also the recoat times are different than your standard spray paints, recoat withing 30 minutes (I usually use 10-15) or 1 week. If you recoat outside of 30 and before a week you'll get an orange peel look.

I did use the Appliance enamel to give the outside more strength per your experience.  

So basically, light coat it with the enamel paint, wait less than 30 minutes, spray again, repeat until glossy?

Can I recoat it with the enamel paint at this point to fix this, or would I have to use the primer/filler to coat it all over, and resand it before trying again? 

Since I sprayed it before the 4th, I'll wait until Sunday before trying again.

 

In the mean time, i'll be getting my snap button kit for the armor by Wednesday, so I'll start connecting the shoulder and biceps together.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Dan,

If you are going to put another coat of the Appliance paint on the helmet, I would wet sand it done to 800 or 1000 grit, looks like you have some orange peeling. Clean it really good with mild degreaser let dry and sit for 5-7 days, then apply another coat using the "wet coat" method. You don't need a filler/primer, you just need a really smooth surface.

I would also spray it in an area void of dust and flying particles. Since the paint is thicker than most it dries slower and susceptible to things sticking to it.

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

Well...it's been a minute!  I haven't forgotten about you Spec Ops or my Death Trooper build.  Just was focused on getting stuff done for DragonCon and now that it is done, here's an update of what's happened since last time.

So back in May, I was painting the helmet parts to get the gloss black look.  After still getting the orange peel look, my garrison had an armor party in June.  I brought my kit and talked to more experienced troopers and they told me straight up to ditch the Rustoleum and either use Duplicolor (which I now have), or Montana Gold. I also have acquired the 2K clear coat.  When I wet-sanded it and applied the Duplicolor and 2K, I got myself a spray tent and fan and had a very cool/low humidity day to try my hand at it.  There was noticeable improvement, but I didn't give the 2K enough time between coats (only 5 min. as opposed to 15 min.)  Since we are in the high 60s/low 70s now in Chicago, I'm going to take another attempt at painting the helmet and other parts before winter.

But today was another big step.  I met up with my GML and brought everything over for a proper test fit and to get the strapping down. I had already connected the shoulders to the biceps and did the cording for those, so we set the snaps in place for the shoulders to the back plate near the neck. I also practiced walking with my Crowprops shoes, shins and thighs.  

I can move pretty comfortably in everything.  My next bit of homework is attaching the snaps for the kidney armor to the back armor. We think where we held it in place with duct tape for now is a good spot. If consensus agrees, i'll add the snaps for it it.  Then the butt armor will be added next,as we were referencing the Jolly Rogers 1942 Build guide, and attach it to the cod piece.  Then the belt afterwards.

Overall, I asked my GML what he thought, and encouragingly, he said, "You're close to being done." That was such a morale boost.  

Any feedback is welcome!

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

Small-ish update.

-I got the snaps installed on the armor, just need to buy the 1" elastic for the cod piece to attach to the posterior armor. 

-I've also wet sanded the helmet again with 1000 grit sandpaper as I wasn't totally satisfied with the clear coat and slight orange peel look it still had.  Will do the painting on the dome this Sunday since the weather looks good.  I'm also waiting for a resin re-print of the Front Insert (or top most angular part of the face) as I noticed a defect on a section that didn't come out right.  Once that is in my hands, and painted, I'll 2K Clear coat that and the helmet the same day.  In the mean time, i've secured the middle section of the face and installed the tubes. So close to getting to wear it!

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

While waiting for good weather and low humidity, I kept working on the E-11D Blaster and I have I would say, 99% of it assembled!   Anyone know what kind of black paint should be used for it (matte, flat, etc.)?

 

The only parts I'm stuck on and need advice are for 2 sections where you could light them up.  I am going the vinyl sticker route as I don't have the time or patience to do a light up blaster.  This is an MCM Blaster print, but apparently, there are inserts or something that is supposed to fill the "windows" so the vinyl stickers can be added to.  Unfortunately, I do not see the parts for these 2 sections in my zip file that I got when I purchased the plans. Any suggestions on what I can put in these areas so I can add the vinyl stickers?

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

The cutouts were designed to be backed with yellow or red acrylic printed panels for illumination from behind by LEDs. Since you are going the decal route, there should have been 2 files included to use to print the acrylic pieces. You can uses those and print in your PLA etc to insert and then place the decals on. The file names are:

R1DT Blaster - Hengstler - Acrylic Panel.stl

R1DT Blaster - Barrel - Acrylic Display Panel.stl

If you don't have these files. I made similar ones when I built my E11D way back when.

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

13 hours ago, Chaos said:

The cutouts were designed to be backed with yellow or red acrylic printed panels for illumination from behind by LEDs. Since you are going the decal route, there should have been 2 files included to use to print the acrylic pieces. You can uses those and print in your PLA etc to insert and then place the decals on. The file names are:

R1DT Blaster - Hengstler - Acrylic Panel.stl

R1DT Blaster - Barrel - Acrylic Display Panel.stl

If you don't have these files. I made similar ones when I built my E11D way back when.

I double checked the zip file, there's neither of these in there. Not sure why they weren't included. 

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

@Chaos I'm getting those parts this Saturday at a troop from a garrison friend that 3D printed them for me. 

In the meantime, I managed to get the EL panels and controllers from EL Wire Craft today and managed to cut the panels into shape to fit inside the "tusks".  I already put in a dark green lens I cut from a safety visor, and decided to try the panels instead of LEDs for a more uniform look. Took me about an hour to get it all done:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBcth3sMPv8/

That glow is pretty spectacular! 

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

That looks great. I thought about using EL Panels, but when I took a look at the Anovos helmet, it had the 5mm holes drilled out in the tusks and the "concept" art for the DT had the green light as a single point with radiation (like an LED) so I opted to used the LED path. We never saw the tusks illuminated in the movie or Mando series. There was a screen that was cut out when they were in the cave looking for Jyn where the tusks were lit. 

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

Small update:

-Helmet: its been raining a lot up here so I haven't been able to apply the 2k clear coat on the areas I had to fix up. Hopefully this week will be less humid.

-Belt: after taking a look at the belt I received, I just wasn't happy with how it was set up. So I bought a small roll of the ribbed rubber mat and cut it to the correct amount of ribs and am following the Jolly Rodgers build guide here: https://www.jollyrogers1942.com/death-trooper-build-reference.html 

Mainly, I didn't like how flimsy the pouches were attached to the belt, as well as the location of where to clip it together around the armor.  I did craft inserts for the 3 pouches to make them look full out of spare corrugated plastic sheeting I had.

-Blaster: I received the 2 missing parts from a friend in my garrison that 3D printed the inserts that were to go behind the yellow counter window and Hengstler Window.  Unfortunately, while attaching the Hengstler window panel, I accidentally broke the Hengstler bracket, so now I need that reprinted.   

-Posterior/Cod piece armor: Finally got the right 1" elastic band to attach snaps to hold the two parts together.

 

That's all for now, hopefully will get pictures in the next update.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Awesome news on your progress.