Leaderboard

Look who’s back. @TKNick8350, @jsilvius is correct. I retired last year due to a myriad of issues and my increasingly busy life, but a sudden resurgence of interest in New Generation Armor has brought me back from the dead. There’s some incredible things going on right now and I’m excited to see what pans out. Regardless of my current status, I’ve still been helping people with their builds and frequently respond to DMs. If you want some assistance, please reach out and I’ll be happy to help.

I’ve been… busy. Mostly printing. Mostly sanding. Mostly reprinting things I had already convinced myself were finished, and realizing in writing this post, that statement couldn't be farther from the truth. A few updates ago I proudly declared in true Michael Scott fashion, “I declare, the models are finished!” which turned out to be… wildly optimistic. Unfortunately for me—but hopefully beneficial for anyone building these down the road—I’ve continued refining nearly every piece. I have a bad habit of seeing something that’s 90% right and immediately convincing myself it needs to become 95%... or close to 99%. The biggest revision this time around was the back insert. Yep, same one I've been chasing since May. After digging through some additional reference photos, I realized the recess/cavity was a bit too deep. The “II” details should sit nearly flush with the surrounding lip, while the five horizontal ribs protrude just slightly beyond them. It isn’t a dramatic change, but it’s one of those little details that kept bothering me every time I looked at it. So naturally, with the back armor now nearly ready for its base coat (minus a few touch-ups here and there), it was time to move back to the absolute bane of my existence… The thighs. Surprisingly, the actual design wasn’t the problem this time, printing it was. My first test prints in PLA fit and functioned exactly how I’d hoped, which was an enormous relief after everything these parts have put me through. Then ABS decided to remind me that overhangs actually require proper supports. Who would’ve thought? Thankfully, after tweaking a few settings and giving the printer another shot, everything came together exactly as intended. (Ugh… vertical photos throwing off my groove.) One of my bigger regrets earlier in this build was spending the time to fabricate a belt out of HDPE. It worked, and truthfully, I'm still actually quite proud of it if I were going in a slightly different approach. But somewhere along the way, this project quietly evolved into asking myself a different question: “How much of this suit can I actually 3D print?” So… naturally… I modeled the belt too. And in typical fashion, I repeated this step exactly five times until I got the results I needed. Using the behind-the-scenes Andor photos from the FISD gallery as my primary reference, I tried to replicate the proportions as closely as possible while still making something practical to print and assemble. I didn’t quite get enough time over the weekend to remove all of the supports, or even attempt to sand it, but here’s a look at the Blender renders along with a few close-ups of the boxes that are currently being reprinted in resin. And for reference, here’s the enhanced gallery image I based everything from. Working from a single photograph at a less-than-ideal angle makes proportions more art than science, but I think it landed surprisingly close. The only real liberty I took was making the two center boxes separate pieces. It’s entirely possible the production belts molded these as one component—or simply glued them together afterward. Without seeing the backs of the pieces, or talking with team that originally built the armor, it’s hard to know for certain, and frankly… that’s one rabbit hole I’m trying not to disappear down. With all of that out of the way, I finally lined everything up last night just to see where I actually stood. For the first time since starting this project… it finally feels like I’m building a Stormtrooper instead of a collection of individual parts. There are still a few pieces missing from this photo (the newly printed belts being one of them), but they’re all sitting elsewhere in my "workshop" (really, a glorified garage with A/C) waiting their turn. By the end of this build I’ll probably do a dedicated “Hall of Shame” update showcasing all of the failed prints, duplicates, redesigns, and abandoned parts I’ve accumulated over the last six months. Trust me… there’s a lot I’m not showing here. So, what’s left? At this point, the roadmap is actually pretty straightforward: Final primer of most of the parts and some obvious touch-up work Internal strapping and snap installation Full test fit (I'm the most excited for this) Base coat Final assembly I’m planning to tackle the internal strapping before moving fully into paint so I can verify everything fits the way I intended. I’d much rather discover a problem now than after everything has already been painted... as I'm getting a bit tired of reprinting things that are too far along. There are still a handful of pieces I’m not completely satisfied with—mainly the cod and posterior, which are leftovers from my early Akira-printing days. Those will almost certainly get revisited before I submit for approval, but they’re no longer preventing me from moving forward even if I do end up sticking with them temporarily... As I mentioned a few updates ago, I’m still very much in “go mode.” Originally, my goal was simply to have everything ready for a Halloween costume party. Now… I honestly think I might beat that deadline. Six months ago, I thought the hard part was learning how to 3D print. Turns out it was randomly deciding to learn Blender. Now that the modeling is (mostly…) behind me, it’s finally time to build the Stormtrooper I’ve been imagining since December. My soft parts should be shipping any day now, the finish line is finally in sight, and if everything continues going according to plan… I might actually be submitting for Legion approval a little sooner than I originally expected. Fingers crossed.

File Name: Stormtrooper Fly Swatter Designer: @addicted2create Last Update: 14/07/2026 File: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3051236-stormtrooper-fly-swatter-star-wars-the-empire?from=search#profileId-3432563 Description: May the accuracy be with you (or not)! The only fly swatter with a built-in excuse! Miss the fly? No worries, the Empire has your back. With the Stormtrooper fly swatter and the ironic handle print "Imperial Precision", every miss becomes a cinematic inside joke. Material: PETG (highly recommended for the necessary flexibility and durability when swatting! PLA breaks too easily). Images:

Thank you @gmrhodes13

Not sure if I am allowed to post this but excitement is taking over. After 16+ years of trading and over 25 years in the hobby I have finally set up my own website! It is a works in progress so it will evolve over time but I’ve made a good start. All my helmets have a lineage section of what it was cast from accompanied by photos and credits. Check it out! http://castfromoriginal.co.uk Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks @joebee Added to the process line!

Link added. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Brent, Thanks for your patience while we looked at your blaster repairs. The blaster definitely looks better and will pass for level 2 (EIB) approval. There are still some print lines visible around the hengstler eagle emblem that we would want cleaned up for Centurion level approval however. We know that they are typically more visible in photos than with the naked eye, but at level 3, we want everything to look as good as possible. With this completed, the only remaining item to get your EIB approval is the positioning of the thermal detonator. We just need you to adjust the positioning of the control panel so it faces backwards. Your thermal detonator control panel is facing a bit too much upward instead of to the back. This can be corrected by carefully unrolling the lower portion of the clips to roll the thermal detonator down. CRL L1: The white control panel raised ribbed pad faces the rear, with the controls/round washer style detail closest to the right end cap. References