plankton’s Death Trooper WIP

[planktonimore[501st]]

Getting groovy!

I painted all the grooves and details and started strapping the armor. I got to test fit the upper body and the shins with the flaps now glued on. I still need to affix the shoulder buckles in the front. I’m not sure yet how I will close the shins in the back. But, heres some test fit pics!

Please let me know your thoughts!

[TooTall]

What brand of gloss black are you using. I plan on using 2k clear on my helmet since I have 2 cans and seeing that I have to paint my armor entire now. 

[planktonimore[501st]]

8 minutes ago, TooTall said:

What brand of gloss black are you using. I plan on using 2k clear on my helmet since I have 2 cans and seeing that I have to paint my armor entire now. 

I am using rustoleum painters touch 2x cover gloss black paint+primer on everything. There are nicer options out there but I’m cheap and I was able to achieve a result I am pleased with. I have been told the rustoleum high performance cans deliver a much nicer finish. That being said, I have not used a clear coat and since I plan to weather my armor, I am not worried about a perfect finish anyway.

[planktonimore[501st]]

Okay, big suit up day! The costume is nearly complete and I put the whole thing on to take approval photos when I discovered there was more work to be done.

For starters, I foolishly believed the shins would stay closed by themselves…yeah thats not gonna work.

Second of all, this costume is unbearable to wear in 77° F which doesn’t bode well for trooping, don’t know how much there is to be done about that but yeah. My mobility is also far worse than in my TK. That, I believe I can fix. Suggestions on mobility cuts and/or (😉) improvements to mobility in other ways as well as any other suggestions are welcome please and thank you!

[PiotrRasputin[TX]]

1 hour ago, planktonimore said:

Okay, big suit up day! The costume is nearly complete and I put the whole thing on to take approval photos when I discovered there was more work to be done.

For starters, I foolishly believed the shins would stay closed by themselves…yeah thats not gonna work.

Second of all, this costume is unbearable to wear in 77° F which doesn’t bode well for trooping, don’t know how much there is to be done about that but yeah. My mobility is also far worse than in my TK. That, I believe I can fix. Suggestions on mobility cuts and/or (😉) improvements to mobility in other ways as well as any other suggestions are welcome please and thank you!

For the heat, do you have fans in the helmet? That's a must.

For your torso, you may have to invest in an ice vest to help keep cool.  I did and it definitely helps take the edge off.  I got mine from Polar Products brand and it came with 9 reusable ice packs.  Depending on how hot it is and if you're inside vs outside, they can last a few hours.  

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

Looking good Trooper. Yes, the DT is a very warm and motion limiting armor kit.

I have fans in my helmet; Additionally, I used a construction helmet liner to provide more air flow around my head.

Most people complain about the range of motion in their upper legs and pinching between the thigh armor and cod piece. You can make the gap bigger between the thighs and cod piece by determining how much of a gap you need and trimming that amount off the top of the thighs. When you trim the top of the thighs, follow the shape all the way around so the appearance of the thighs shape remains the same. If you are getting binding or limited range of motion in your knee area, you can cut an additional amount off the top of the thighs and raise up the thigh armor, this will increase the knee gap enough to allow for a greater range of motion.

I am not sure how your torso armor is strapped but if you are having issues turning your upper torso, a way to increase the range of motion is to have the chest and back separate from the lower back and abdomen armor strapping. This will allow your upper body to twist and the lower armor to stay in place.

Issues occur with the helmet hitting the neck collar in the back when looking up. There is not much to do about that other than either making sure the collar is as close to your neck so that the helmet opening allows the collar to rise into the helmet opening. Or you can trim the neck collar's edge down some to give you more of a gap.

It took me almost twelve troops and experimentation to get all my armor strapped and sized so it gives me enough freedom of movement to walk up and down stairs, climb onto parade trailers, and be able to actually sit down. Even to this day I am still tweaking mt DT set up.

Shins, if clam shelled, definitely need a locking type closure. I use Velcro along the vertical split on mine and it works perfectly.