Dogb's Deathtrooper WIP

[dogbertwrldrulr]

17 hours ago, DoggyDoc said:

I can. As long as the resin is still okay. It’s been a couple of years. 

If you’ve got the resin and it’s good, I would certainly appreciate the pieces.

[dogbertwrldrulr]

I got in the supplies today so I can remake my belt.  The one I have has too many buttons on it and is a little too thick.  I am going to cut myself a new length (and have some extra), and put a nylon belt inside the rubber so it fits better.  I plan on following the guide (mostly) that was linked way at the top of my thread.  This will also allow me to change the method of attachment for the small boxes and the buckle.  They are currently screwed in (boxes), and button snaps (buckle).  I plan on replacing it all with Chicago screws.  I also like the idea of adhering the top of this to my abdomen rather than the bottom of this to the top of the codpiece (current belt).  Depending on how it lays, I may attach the cod as well just so everything stays in place, but that's an easy fix later.

I also got in my paint so I can repaint the chest piece to hopefully fix the big scrape on there.  Going to have to test the paint on something else first to make sure it matches up with the rest of the non gloss black stuff.  The smaller bag is a new sling swivel stud as the one of my blaster apparently fell off at some point so I am going with a slightly more permanent solution by bolting it in, just have to figure out how to get the bolt down the barrel and then hold onto it.

[dogbertwrldrulr]

So I did a test paint on a plastic container to see how the TS-40 would look before I try to repaint one section of my armor.  Thoughts on how it turned out?  I think the color is a great match, but the armor is slightly shinier.  I am not sure if that is due to the differences in material or if the armor was clear coated.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

No need to clear coat the TS40, won't effect any approval at all. 

[dogbertwrldrulr]

I got around to making a new belt as the old one had a bunch of snaps on it that would have been clearly visible.  How did I do for placement and such?  The only items screwed into place are the buckle and small boxes, all pouches and the holster can move as needed.

Also, how do you keep the belt from falling down?  I can't seem to keep it under the abdomen, it keeps working its way down.  I thought about adding some nylon straps with buttons so it connects directly to the abdomen, but that seems like overkill.  Maybe I just need to tighten it up a bit?  It was slightly loose when I took these as I had to dress myself.  Do you attach the codpiece to it or let that hang?

I also have a TON more belt material.  Thinking about cutting it to length and selling my spare cheap in case anyone else needs any.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

This might help. Go to pages 20-23 for a solution. This is how I affix my belt.Armor Strapping.pdf

[dogbertwrldrulr]

8 minutes ago, Chaos said:

This might help. Go to pages 20-23 for a solution. This is how I affix my belt.Armor Strapping.pdf

I can't seem to download the file, can you PM it to me?  Or provide a direct link somewhere?

[dogbertwrldrulr]

Just now, dogbertwrldrulr said:

I can't seem to download the file, can you PM it to me?  Or provide a direct link somewhere?

Nevermind, browser needed an update and restart.  I got it now.

[dogbertwrldrulr]

50 minutes ago, Chaos said:

This might help. Go to pages 20-23 for a solution. This is how I affix my belt.Armor Strapping.pdf

Can I ask how you trimmed your thigh armor?  I read the whole thing and it says you pulled about 2" off the thighs.  What is the best way to trim up the fiberglass and hopefully not destroy the paint job?

 

And thank you for the document!  I am going to try and find something to put on the bottom of my abdomen as I don't have a 3D printer and the center section is "deep" because of the external shape.

[dogbertwrldrulr]

10 hours ago, Chaos said:

This might help. Go to pages 20-23 for a solution. This is how I affix my belt.Armor Strapping.pdf

Some questions on the harness system you built to hold up the thighs and ab/back.  Is there any reason you built a second harness for the abdomen/lower back instead of just gluing/sewing the straps to the tops of the shoulder on the thigh harness?  You could still make them adjustable like you have them, but instead of having a second harness, it could all be integrated into one.  I am building a thigh harness now (ran out of 2" nylon) and was going to toy with the idea of mounting the ab/back to it and see how it turned out.  I am thinking about having the female end hang from the top of the shoulder with just enough slack so it doesn't get crushed by the chest armor, then putting the male end coming off the ab/back.  I could leave a lot of extra nylon as needed on the male end as it will naturally hang under the ab which in turn gives it a lot of flexibility to go up and down as needed.  Alternatively, the female could be right off the ab like you did and the slack would go over my shoulders or tuck under and require minimal sewing at the top of the shoulder.

I know you have your ab section soft goods attached to your ab/back so that may be why it wouldn't work for you, but thought I'd run it by you to see if there was something else obvious I may have missed or not thought of.

[dogbertwrldrulr]

Some more progress tonight.  I don't know how I missed it but my ab armor had quite a bit of metallic paint rubbed off where it met the chest armor.  As this area is partially hidden and smaller, I thought it would be a good idea to test paint this area before repainting the metallic black portion of my chest armor.

Here is what the area looked like before painting.

This is after the first coat...it did not look good.  Second picture is the repainted part next to my test piece that I used to check the color/look before painting the armor. As you can see, it turned gray, but had no metallic look to it whatsoever.  It was also blatantly obvious where the armor had rubbed off previously.  I am not sure if this was a poor spray application, too thick, or too high humidity (thanks Florida), but it looked terrible.

Tonight when it was a bit cooler and had lower humidity, I put on one final coat that was as thin as I could spray it.  This coat turned out great.  Here it is next to the chest piece and its a perfect match.

I still have to repaint the chest armor, but I am going to stop painting for a bit and work on my harness system.  I need something to hold my thighs better and then for the belt to attach to my ab armor, which in turn needs to be supported by something better than a couple of elastic bands.  Hopefully more on that this weekend when I get my sewing machine and start permanently attaching my nylon webbing.

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

On 7/24/2025 at 7:14 PM, dogbertwrldrulr said:

Can I ask how you trimmed your thigh armor?  I read the whole thing and it says you pulled about 2" off the thighs.  What is the best way to trim up the fiberglass and hopefully not destroy the paint job?

 

And thank you for the document!  I am going to try and find something to put on the bottom of my abdomen as I don't have a 3D printer and the center section is "deep" because of the external shape.

I figured out how much I needed to trim off the top edges of the thighs to keep them from pinching (it was about 2") So I put painter's tape along the top edges and measured 2 " from the top edges and just drew a new top edge. Then I uses a dremel with a cut off wheel to cut the 2" off. 

You can use any type of ABS or thick plastic material to cut a strip. My kit has the same bottom edge that is turned back and has a gap. The piece that I designed has a raised block that slides into the gap so that it can be epooxied to the inside of the lower abdomen. 

photo and file attached.

UPDATED abdomen belt extension piece.stl

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

On 7/25/2025 at 5:07 AM, dogbertwrldrulr said:

Some questions on the harness system you built to hold up the thighs and ab/back.  Is there any reason you built a second harness for the abdomen/lower back instead of just gluing/sewing the straps to the tops of the shoulder on the thigh harness?  You could still make them adjustable like you have them, but instead of having a second harness, it could all be integrated into one.  I am building a thigh harness now (ran out of 2" nylon) and was going to toy with the idea of mounting the ab/back to it and see how it turned out.  I am thinking about having the female end hang from the top of the shoulder with just enough slack so it doesn't get crushed by the chest armor, then putting the male end coming off the ab/back.  I could leave a lot of extra nylon as needed on the male end as it will naturally hang under the ab which in turn gives it a lot of flexibility to go up and down as needed.  Alternatively, the female could be right off the ab like you did and the slack would go over my shoulders or tuck under and require minimal sewing at the top of the shoulder.

I know you have your ab section soft goods attached to your ab/back so that may be why it wouldn't work for you, but thought I'd run it by you to see if there was something else obvious I may have missed or not thought of.

I wanted all my armor sections to move independently. example my upper chest and back sit squarely on my shoulders and move with my upper torso.

My abdomen and lower back are attached as the corset which is snug with my waist and twists with my lower back and abodmen.

My thighs need to be supported to keep the correct height and gap when I raise and lower my legs, climb stairs, sit down etc. The correct height is set based off my shoulders. This is where I chose to suppport them from.

I origianlly had everything strapped like a TK where everything was attached the piece above it and then hung below. for less complicated kits that works fine, but the weight of all the DT pieces plus the complexity of how the parts are supposed to move led me to my current strapping process. If you check out Paul's Shore Trooper, it is basically the same way.

[dogbertwrldrulr]

34 minutes ago, Chaos said:

I figured out how much I needed to trim off the top edges of the thighs to keep them from pinching (it was about 2") So I put painter's tape along the top edges and measured 2 " from the top edges and just drew a new top edge. Then I uses a dremel with a cut off wheel to cut the 2" off. 

You can use any type of ABS or thick plastic material to cut a strip. My kit has the same bottom edge that is turned back and has a gap. The piece that I designed has a raised block that slides into the gap so that it can be epooxied to the inside of the lower abdomen. 

photo and file attached.

UPDATED abdomen belt extension piece.stl 31.33 kB · 0 downloads

Gotcha.  I found some clear semi-rigid plastic yesterday at the craft store and am in the process of gluing it to the inside/bottom of my ab armor now.  With the slight curve of the ab, I think it will maintain the rigidity that I need.  The sheet is 8.5x11 with lots left over so if its a bit flimsy I can double up the section that hangs down that will connect with my belt.  I made it so it went 2" up behind the ab so the sheet/glue has plenty of space to "bite" into the armor and hold it up.  Once I have it complete and it actually holds the belt up I plan on posting pictures.

[dogbertwrldrulr]

27 minutes ago, Chaos said:

I wanted all my armor sections to move independently. example my upper chest and back sit squarely on my shoulders and move with my upper torso.

My abdomen and lower back are attached as the corset which is snug with my waist and twists with my lower back and abodmen.

My thighs need to be supported to keep the correct height and gap when I raise and lower my legs, climb stairs, sit down etc. The correct height is set based off my shoulders. This is where I chose to suppport them from.

I origianlly had everything strapped like a TK where everything was attached the piece above it and then hung below. for less complicated kits that works fine, but the weight of all the DT pieces plus the complexity of how the parts are supposed to move led me to my current strapping process. If you check out Paul's Shore Trooper, it is basically the same way.

Understood.  Right now I just want to get my thighs to stay in place, the rest seems ok for now, but I will want something better and will actively work on it.

28 minutes ago, Chaos said:

but the weight of all the DT pieces

This resonates so much with me.  I know fiberglass is going to weigh a bit more, but I was not really prepared for the weight of this kit.  I have no problem wearing it, but the individual pieces weigh so much that its hard to keep that good fit.

It's funny, the only piece that needed any major modifications was my belt (the guy I bought the suit from was smaller than me), but after I got that done I realized it sagged and connecting the belt to my ab made the ab pull down which messed with the look and then the codpiece was off and since the ab is connected to my chest, the whole rig pulled forward slightly.  Now I am working the harnessing to try and make life easier.