Airborne Trooper

Everyone wants to wear a pauldron, backpack, and carry a big gun but not deal with any of the dirt. Sandtroopers do it right!

I worked on my thigh shims this past weekend. Threw on another coat of ABS paste yesterday afternoon and will do the final sanding today. If I have time I'll post update pictures of them later tonight.

I still need to change my elastic hinges. I wonder if I put CA glue around the holes on the nylon, if it would strengthen it enough to not allow it to deform like yours did.

Looking good!

Cantina sergeant? Are you going for SWAT?

I had to shorten mine about an inch and a half. While doing so I also did the ANH style notches. Check out Panda's Stickied build thread and he talks about how to do both. The initial cut is on page one and the ANH is referenced later in that build. I tried doing return edges and it looked like crap so I got rid of them all together

I think that looks normal so don't worry about the wrists. As far as the thighs go, pull them up as high as you can comfortably. If they still come past midway of your knees you may want to consider trimming the top. If they cover your whole knee up like mine do because I'm only 5'5" you definitely need to trim the top and benefit from cutting out behind the knee as well.

Bottom by the wrist for sure. Top is optional. If its tight, remove the top as well.

Did those ANH notches come pre-made with TM armor or did you do it on your own? Looks fantastic!

Trim the finishing strip on the top of your biceps as you want them flush and to not overhang past the edge. You can either round the finishing strip ends or do a \__/ type of end.

First coat of ABS paste was added last night. I have to use quit a bit to get both thighs filled and It's going to take at least 2 to 3 coats on one of the thighs to get it right. A lot more of a PITA than the kidney shims, that's for sure. Had to make extra ABS paste. Good thing I've kept every scrap

You can trim down that return edge quite a bit on the bottom of the thigh. You want the thighs to have the finishing strip to run center with the knee cap. It's ok if it turns outwards at the top a bit but you really want to aim to get it straight as possible. Look at www.looksirdroids.com for some really good reference photos. It'll all make sense! Since you're going sandy, pick a sandtrooper you like the most and try to emulate it as much as possible. Even if you don't go SWAT, you at least have a model for reference so you know you're on the right track or not.

In theory you should cut equal parts or as close as possible off both sides. So for forearms as example, cut and leave 7mm on one ridgeline and 8mm on the other. Leaving exactly 15mm when butt joined and perfectly fitting a 15mm finishing strip on top.

I wish I had this problem but it looks like your kidney is too big. You have some gap there that may be worth trimming it down some. You can see it on the profile shots.

I don't see what all the fuss is about? Looks good to me, just cut the / \ and \ / on the ends of the finishing strips. Any "rat chewed" ends can be fixed with a little sandpaper. Ask a mod to move your thread to the ANH build section so you can get more eyes on your build. Don't undersell yourself, there's no reason why you CAN'T achieve Centurian on your first build. Tons of people have done it. Don't know about you, but I can't afford several sets of armor so my TD is going as far as I can possibly push it.

Added some more E600, magnets, and clamps this morning before heading to work. Hopefully it will have cured enough for me to start applying the ABS paste tonight. I have a mason jar of it from shimming my kidney. I have kept all my scraps so I have plenty more material to use if I run out. I think bondo wouuld be easier but I don't want to have to deal with paint matching the MTK.

I grew up in GA and never went to Dragon Con My mom and sister still live there so maybe next year I can travel down and troop with you. I'm interested to see your progress with your thigh is coming. I added more E6000, clamps, and magnets to mine this morning hoping that I can start applying ABS paste tonight.

^ What Josh said.

I don't think it looks that bad and remember, you're going to hide that with the finishing strip anyways. Don't over stress certain areas because like me, you're going sandy and things are a little more forgiving and can be hidden with some well placed weathering.

The material that came with the kit is meant for cover strips. Your scrap is going to be all over the place. Basically a big large piece of ABS is vacuum formed over a mold piece. So some parts will be thinner than others. Use the scrap for inner strips or buy extra abs and have the best of both worlds.

Well if you ever find yourself trooping in upstate NY I'll smoke a pork shoulder butt for you

I used CA glue on the thin For Sale sign so removing it left a bunch of little pieces. Using E6000 on the replacement and slathering it on. Smoked pork tenderloin and corn on the cob for dinner tonight!

My wife is in a good mood, the kids are taking an unbelievably long nap, pork tenderloin is on the smoker AND I have today off so trying to be productive while I can!

Well I hauled butt to the local hardware store and got 2 of these signs Thought it was fitting since I have been cigarette free for 2 years thanks to vaping. To show the thickness compared to a strip of plastic supplied by MTK (MTK on the left and sign on the right):

I had a feeling you were going to say that! Alright, I'm going to the hardware store then to get something a bit stronger than the paper thin For Sale sign I'm using now. I really didn't want to have a tad larger 2" cover strip anyways.