Strap in, this is a loooong update!
For starters, thank you Chuck! Excited for the possibility to join the Tampa Bay Squad here soon, fingers crossed this next bit goes well.
Also, Glen, this is super helpful! I did find that with brake cleaner (and some elbow grease) I can scrape off *most* of the enamel paint but funny enough (maybe not funny?) it doesn't seem to have any visible adverse affects on the primer coat... I suppose I'll find out later down the line if that holds true, but I do believe I'll try my hand at a weather bucket with my spare helmet for some garage decor.
Now, while waiting for spot putty and primer to dry, I’ve been doing what many others here have done—spending some time studying the gallery to make sure I haven’t missed anything. That exercise quickly reminded me just how much I still haven’t completed… and the list is longer than I’d like to admit.
I’ve also taken a bit of creative liberty with parts of my armor and made a few retroactive changes that I think will benefit me when it comes to troopings and conventions. From reading through other build threads, it seems the Empire strongly discourages pockets, so I found a Rogue One/Non-Saga thermal detonator file on Thingiverse that was modified to allow for some concealed, “in-universe” storage.
Granted, this does mean there’s now a non-zero chance my keys & credit card might detonate… but I’m willing to take that risk.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the original belt mount I printed for it, so I went ahead and reprinted that as well—this time changing the orientation and printing at 0.16mm layer height instead of 0.20mm. For a piece that will never actually be seen, I think it turned out pretty good (old=white; new=black).
Of course, that’s a pretty small task compared to the rest of the parts I had completely forgotten about, which brings us right back to everyone’s favorite stage: Bondo spot putty. Again.
At the moment, my back porch has become what I’d describe as organized chaos. I currently know where everything is… but it definitely looks like I’ve created a disaster zone. Normally I’d be doing this stage in the comfort of my garage, but I’ve gotten into the bad habit of forgetting that sanding in there means coating my car in plastic dust. So for now, the hot, humid porch it is.
That said, a couple of good things have happened and we’re finally taking a big step in the right direction, because the new helmet is well underway. Actually, it’s probably easier to just show you.
If I could stop right here at the primer stage, I’d probably be much happier in life—but apparently I’m a glutton for punishment. So it’s back to sanding, spot putty, and, you guessed it: more primer.
And I almost forgot the eye bump. I briefly considered skipping it entirely (which would pretty much rule out Centurion down the road), but ultimately decided to go for it. Here it is in all its glory. Compared to my last attempt, I centered it a bit better and went with a wider, more even hump, which feels slightly less aggressive than the previous version. I
Now, comparing this to the reference photos from SWC 2022…
I personally don’t see much of an eye bump at all. I know some people say it’s blatantly obvious, while others question whether it even exists in the first place. Either way, the debate seems to go both directions. At this point, though, I’ve committed to it—and I’m not turning back now.
Which brings us to my favorite part of this update: the white paint.
Okay, maybe not my favorite part, but it’s definitely the stage I’ve been looking forward to since the last fiasco (first photo in today's post) with the original enamel paint I was using. This time around, I’ve officially switched over to an acrylic-based paint.
Don’t mind the mic tips and vocoder hiding in the background… we’re getting close.
Coincidentally, both the old paint and the new paint are from Rustoleum, but the results so far have been very different… in a good way.
The initial “dust” coat went down flawlessly!
Well… almost flawlessly. I’ve been having an issue with one particular ear (see below) where both the primer and now the paint seem to be reacting the same way, creating a small “bubble” effect. At this point I’m tempted to just reprint it, but I’m going to try sanding it back first and see if that solves the problem. My guess is that something contaminated the surface—either oils from my hands while handling it or possibly some leftover Bondo dust I didn’t clean off well enough.
Either way, the plan is to sand it down and see how it behaves before making any drastic decisions—back to the big pieces.
I got a *little* ahead of myself with the excitement and may have gone slightly heavy on my last coat, which resulted in two small runs—one on the chin piece (the more obvious one) and a minor run on the left side of the face above the teeth insert. Thankfully both look like they’ll sand out pretty easily tomorrow. The plan is to smooth those out, apply a light touch-up coat, and then move on to clear coat this Friday.
Honestly, things are finally starting to come together. In hindsight, I probably should have tested this new paint on something easier to fix or replace—like a hand guard—but apparently I enjoy making things difficult for myself. After all, if I didn’t like a challenge, I wouldn’t be 3D printing this entire suit from scratch.
If all goes well with the touch-up coat tomorrow, I’ll post another quick update.
In the meantime, I’ve ordered the HIPS material for the belt, which should wrap up most of the remaining armor work. I still need to pick up boots, gloves, and a neck seal, which I plan to order from KeepTrooping during their next drop. Unfortunately I’ll be out of town around that time, so there’s a chance I might miss it and have to wait for the April drop instead.
Between now and then I’ll keep working through the remaining spot putty stages on the various armor pieces (I've made little progress on the arms), but at this point the finish line is finally starting to come into view—and I’m ready for it.