WIP - From Vader to Death Trooper

[Catalyst1945[501st]]

This marks the start of my Death Trooper build journey.

Hi, I’m Jacob, and I’ve been trooping as Darth Vader with the Knightfall Garrison for almost a year now. It’s been an incredible experience bringing such an iconic character to life, but I’m ready for a new challenge.

I’ve decided to go with the Death Trooper for my next build. Standing tall at 6'7" (201cm), it felt like a dream come true seeing these towering, ominous troopers on the screen back in 2016. They have a commanding and intimidating presence, which lines up perfectly with what I desire in a costume; a trooper that lets me blend into the ranks and troop as a grunt, rather than always being a celebrity figure like Vader.

At this stage, I’m looking into vendors and have been recommended Jim Tripon, who accommodates taller builds like mine. I don’t have much experience with painting or sanding, and space is a bit of a limitation for me at the moment, so I’m definitely open to suggestions for vendors or help with finishing work.

In terms of TX versions, I'm aiming for the plain trooper without the additional pauldron or chest rig. Once I get a better idea of the parts I actually require, I'll start working on a more detailed parts list. I’m eager to avoid the purchasing mistakes I made with my Vader build, so I’ll be taking my time and documenting every step of the way.

Parts List:
Here’s what I’ve identified so far. I’ll be updating this as I go:

• Helmet: Jim Tripon
• Armor hard parts (chest, arms, legs, etc.): Jim Tripon
• Undersuit: Jim Tripon
• Gloves: EndorFinders
• Boots: KeepTrooping or CrowProps
• Belt and pouches: Jim Tripon
• Blaster (optional): 

[Catalyst1945[501st]]

The more WIP's I look at, the more nervous I get when I think about painting. To those who've painted their own kits, what was the difficulty like? Is it simple enough to do with spray paint for a first-timer?
I'm considering looking for an Anovos helmet or something similar so I can avoid having to paint my own, as I'm really not confident.

After asking a couple of TX's in my local garrison, I've decided to go for the full Tripon kit, and try and seek someone out to paint the whole kit.

[DoggyDoc[CMD-DCA]]

Hi Jacob, welcome to spec ops. Jim makes a great kit, you won’t be disappointed.  You will find a big difference in the reactions between Vader and the death trooper. Lots of fun to wear. 

[Catalyst1945[501st]]

Okay, after reading many WIP's, I'm feeling more confident in my ability to put this kit together, although I expect it'll take me a while. I do have two questions for those with Tripon kits:

1. Do the pieces come fully ready to paint? I'm not sure if I've just missed the sanding step in some people's WIPs or if they're ready for painting immediately.
2. What additional parts are required to complete the build that Jim doesn't provide? Webbing is one that springs to mind. I've also seen that some people opt to attach the shoulder bells to the chest armor instead of the shoulder itself. Is that necessary?

Cheers!

[DoggyDoc[CMD-DCA]]

Hey Jacob.

 

Jim’s pieces will need prep work before you can paint. You will need to fill pinholes with Bondo, or UV resin in my case, it will need sanding and then prime , paint and clear coat.  The shins will need to be attached in the front and filled and sanded.
Jim’s Kit comes with most of what you need but many have upgraded things like the belt buckle, belt boxes, shoulder straps, buckles.

on Jim’s kit, I have a hard time envisioning attaching them to the chest as they will sit too far forward. 

[Mal86]

On 9/30/2024 at 5:54 PM, Catalyst1945 said:

Okay, after reading many WIP's, I'm feeling more confident in my ability to put this kit together, although I expect it'll take me a while. I do have two questions for those with Tripon kits:

1. Do the pieces come fully ready to paint? I'm not sure if I've just missed the sanding step in some people's WIPs or if they're ready for painting immediately.
2. What additional parts are required to complete the build that Jim doesn't provide? Webbing is one that springs to mind. I've also seen that some people opt to attach the shoulder bells to the chest armor instead of the shoulder itself. Is that necessary?

Cheers!

I echo everything Gerald said, except I think he thought you meant attaching them to the chest piece, veruss the armor in general.  If that is what you mean, then I agree with him.  If you meant the armor in general, then this is my thought:  On the issue of attaching the shoulders, if you are going for Level 2, you'll need to attach them to the armor.  Otherwise, they won't sit high enough.  Attaching to the armor also keeps the gap consistent as you move.  Lastly, the shoulders and biceps are generally connected to each other. So, keep in mind how well the attachment points work with movement, if you do it another way.

[Salwii[TX]]

On 9/30/2024 at 11:54 PM, Catalyst1945 said:

Okay, after reading many WIP's, I'm feeling more confident in my ability to put this kit together, although I expect it'll take me a while. I do have two questions for those with Tripon kits:

1. Do the pieces come fully ready to paint? I'm not sure if I've just missed the sanding step in some people's WIPs or if they're ready for painting immediately.
2. What additional parts are required to complete the build that Jim doesn't provide? Webbing is one that springs to mind. I've also seen that some people opt to attach the shoulder bells to the chest armor instead of the shoulder itself. Is that necessary?

Cheers!

Hello fellow DT Brother

I've connected the Shoulder Bells and Biceps together with the upper Back Plate. I used a 5cm (2") black Elastic to connect them. So they're in place the whole Time, but if i should stuck somewhere. The Elastic try to avoid a ripping off the Armor.

And i'm able to put the full upper Body on by myself.

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers

[DoggyDoc[CMD-DCA]]

I think the shoulder placement looks fine from the photo but the resolution isn’t great. 
‘Your method of attachment seems to be correct as well 

[Salwii[TX]]

i've downscaled the picture for the Forum (don't wanna "waste" space for the forum). i can make detailed pictures if someone want some.

[PiotrRasputin[501st]]

6 hours ago, Salwii said:

i've downscaled the picture for the Forum (don't wanna "waste" space for the forum). i can make detailed pictures if someone want some.

If you have an imgur.com account, you can upload the pictures there, then copy the "Direct Link" and paste it in the forum to have bigger pictures without using up your forum space.

[Salwii[TX]]

5 hours ago, PiotrRasputin said:

If you have an imgur.com account, you can upload the pictures there, then copy the "Direct Link" and paste it in the forum to have bigger pictures without using up your forum space.

Thanks for that tipp. i'm not really good at forums and technical stuff.