DarthBerry's Forest Trooper Build

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Aloha Spec Ops, I'm Luke, one of the Event Coordinators for the Pacific Outpost in Hawaii. I've done 30 troops in my Scout and decided to retire it after my ANH Vader got approved since it started to yellow due to the Hawaii sun. I was considering turning it into a shadow scout but this build looks really cool so I wanted to give it a try. I'll basically be painting & dyeing my Scout kit to match the proposed CRL. I think the boots will be the most work but still shouldn't be that bad. I'm planning to rattle can khaki and then sponge on green and the darker colors, then softly sand to show the white under on a few high points. I'll need to dye the straps, cod, boxes, and re-add the details.

 

Edited December 19, 2024 by DarthBerry
Photo added

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DWM]]

Hello, Luke! Glad to see you onboard here. Give it a shot and we'll help you along the way!

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Thanks! Today I painted the base coat and picked up the fabric dyes, paints, and natural looking sponges. I'm very excited to keep charging ahead!

[DarthBerry[501st]]

I started the sponge paint job light-to-dark, and hopefully can wrap it up towards the end of the week. The reference photos are extremely helpful but vary in darkness. I'm going for more of a light-see-the-khaki-underneath look based on the first reference photo.

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Green two out of three is down, just an olive green then black & brown to go.

[DarthBerry[501st]]

I added the darker green, brown, and dyed most of the components. The armor just needs some black detail, a black wash, and to reapply the decals. The dye didn't really take to some items so I'm planning to pick up some new webbing/etc. Happy holidays! 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

very cool paint! cant wait to see this come together. 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DWM]]

On 12/25/2024 at 9:11 PM, DarthBerry said:

I added the darker green, brown, and dyed most of the components. The armor just needs some black detail, a black wash, and to reapply the decals. The dye didn't really take to some items so I'm planning to pick up some new webbing/etc. Happy holidays! 

Nice!!!

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Thanks for the kind words, guys! I did some minor touch ups to paint the details and reveal some white underneath the paint with sandpaper while my girlfriend stitched the cod+shoulder covers & misc black webbing. Everything is just about good to go for a test fit once some E6000 dries tomorrow. If it all fits well then I'll just have to work on my nemesis - Scout Boots!

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Unfortunately, my Scout Boots were awful and need some major rework so I put the project on hold for a week. Today was just a trial to see how things look together so no Balaclava/gloves/detonator/shoes(lol) but things are looking pretty good. Once the boots are done, I'll do another suit up correctly. I know I blend right into the tree behind me, but trust me, I'm in the photos. 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DWM]]

Nice job! Yeah I figured the boots could be the weird part!

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Boots done! What do you guys think?

Action pose:

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DWM]]

@DarthBerry nice! Let me look over this with the team, I like it! The only thing that could require some changes are the boots with the black strap, it should go all the way around over the seam. I'll get back to you before that though!

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Sounds good! Any rework on the boots is a-okay with me since I've got plenty of extra materials. 

[RAIDER[CMD-DCA]]

How did I miss this thread? Nice to see this one so close!

[RAIDER[CMD-DCA]]

@IcyTrooper Do you need me to give this a review for any adjustments needed vs the text?

[DarthBerry[501st]]

More photos! Since many CRLs reuse images from other CRLs, if you guys do end up liking the armor, I'd still recommend reusing the following from the Shadow Scout CRL: Balaclava, Flight Suit, Gloves, Vest, Neck Seal, & Blasters.

[RAIDER[CMD-DCA]]

@DarthBerry Thank you for the extra (edited) pictures. I can give a more detailed look later this week but at initial glance the main areas I think we will need to see some adjustments on are the boots and the bund (particularly the crotch).

Boots, that black vinyl needs to be much tighter…and Im not sure the base boot your using is going to work. I need to double check later the upper parts of the boot vs the text later.

Crotch…looks like a “wrap” of sorts covering the old black crotch piece (?). It should be matching fabric as well but the weave on those doesnt appear to be the same. I feel like this is going to need to be redone. The curve stitch detail needs reworking also.

And then this isnt as big a deal but it will need fixing…I believe the visor side decal should be black (not grey)…as well as the snout bridge decal…no grey in the references. It is more just the black lines with the camo visible in between.

If you are looking to meet level 2 standards, let me know because there would be other adjustments needed for that.

[DarthBerry[501st]]

2 hours ago, RAIDER said:

Boots, that black vinyl needs to be much tighter…and Im not sure the base boot your using is going to work. I need to double check later the upper parts of the boot vs the text later.

Thanks for the review! I'm not gunning for L2 with this old kit, I would be extremely happy to be the CRL for a bit and then have someone else make a sweet L2 and take new photos.

As for the boots, the leather-like material I had on hand did not stretch like I wanted, I'll redo with vinyl. Please let me know on the base of the boots, I didn't see anything in the draft CRL that would prevent this pair from L1 but these were not my original Scout Boots. 

2 hours ago, RAIDER said:

Crotch…looks like a “wrap” of sorts covering the old black crotch piece (?). It should be matching fabric as well but the weave on those doesnt appear to be the same. I feel like this is going to need to be redone. The curve stitch detail needs reworking also.

The reference photos for the Forest Trooper makes it look like it's a narrower codpiece than typical, so I emulated the old codpiece I had (I got it used) with a covering. After looking at my photos though, I don't like the olive green shoulder and cod as much as I thought I would. I think they stand out too much. I'll paint the original black codpiece to match the armor like the L2 suggestion. The original stitching will show through better that way and the materials will be the exact same.

2 hours ago, RAIDER said:

And then this isnt as big a deal but it will need fixing…I believe the visor side decal should be black (not grey)…as well as the snout bridge decal…no grey in the references. It is more just the black lines with the camo visible in between.

I agree, I was attempting to follow the draft CRL where it says "Scout style details are present, either painted or decals." I thought adding my old decals would be the best way to do that, but I ended up trimming the sides off the snout details and painting the back trapezoids all black to get closer and that still wasn't quite enough. I might as well add the black blinder symbol on both sides of the blinders if I'm doing it! 

Perhaps adding some text to the draft CRL along the lines of this would help inform GMLs: "Grey details are revised to be either without the grey or entirely black. The grey should be removed from above the snout area and the trapezoids in the back should be entirely black."

[DarthBerry[501st]]

I got the original cod & shoulder loops painted camo. Nose & blinders painted black to match decals. Just need to get some legit vinyl and I'll redo the boots and take new photos.

[RAIDER[CMD-DCA]]

@DarthBerry Cod looks much better.

Regarding the helmet decals, just to be sure you're looking at the correct draft...the finalized text reads this for Level 2:

• Details are the correct color and placed as shown.

I think specifying as black is fine but there isn't any mention of gray...the "placed as shown" would direct to the CRL photos which should have the black regardless to match the reference images.

This would leave the boots...I would like to see a side profile of what you're using for the base boot to make sure that's going to work before you get to far into re-doing them please.

And then lastly, the DCA team has looked at your build so far and, to be transparent, the camo paint method using a sponge is being discussed.

My personal imput...there are parts where the camo looks pretty good...and then other parts where you can tell it was sponged on.  When looking at the reference images, I personally feel possibly airbrush would be a better way to match...with some subtle "splotches" (mostly on the chest)...but generally speaking it isn't that "splotchy" imo.  I think you are spot on in that this isn't a camo style like the Kashyyk Clone...so you're definitely on the right track.  Possibly other DCAs can chime in, but that's my 2 cents fwiw.

[DarthBerry[501st]]

Right on, thanks! I was getting crushed by work for a few weeks but back at the hobby for now. 

For the details, I think my concern was just whether the intent was to let grey details be acceptable for L1, since it's only required to be correct (black) in the L2 language. No problem either way to me! 

For the paint, the graphics from the game are really old and not detailed so I felt extrapolating the "splotchy" that's pretty clear on the bigger and more detailed items would be the intent. If the team feels different, please let me know which part you think is the least accurate and I'll give it a repaint to test another style and see what you guys think. 

Here's the boots, I don't see anything in the Draft CRL that would prevent the soles from L1 approval but open to input! I've still got to make the toes cleaner if the sole is okay.