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Shrapnel

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
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About Shrapnel

Member Title

  • Position
    Expert Infantryman

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male

FISD Info

  • EIB Awards
    1
  • EIB Cohorts
    ANH-S

Standard Info

  • Name
    Simon
  • 501st ID
    77177
  • 501st Unit
    Dutch Garrison

Recent Profile Visitors

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  1. Hey Joseph, thanks for the tip! I've used something similar on previous projects - a fine finishing filler/putty that comes in spray cans. But this is the first time I've seen a 2 in 1 filler and primer. Will check it out
  2. Some replies: - the textured pad - I noticed the slight curve but hadn't realised that was why they were vertical. Nice idea. I'll try printing them again, see if I can capture more detail. Thanks for the tip! - the imperial cog... I had not noticed that they were on the actual props. Good spot - so the First Order is re-using a load of old imperial tech! - the threads - yeah, I have no idea what to suggest. I'm new to 3d design (I started learning 123D last week so I could print a scope for my megablaster - more details on that later) and the one thing I've discovered is that I need to be very careful with measurements when mating one part to another, to allow some clearance but not too much. - black/white eyepieces - after staring at that photo, I'm starting to think that you are right, that the shape underneath is caused by the support structure. Which means, when compared to your design screenshot, that I should be able to sand the underneath to create the right surface to mate with the black part. Good to know. I have a little upgrade to the binocs on order - I'll post photos after it's arrived and I've installed it
  3. Hi Germain, I've printed out your quadnocular parts (great design work, and thank you). My objectives thread will not mate with the thread in the binoculars body. Very tight, I can get one or two of them about 1mm in before they start to jam. As mentioned in my build topic, I'm going to try sanding the thread on the objectives to reduce the diameter of the thread. Hopefully that should work.
  4. A couple of other points. I also printed the thumb pad horizontally - it seemed logical. And they came out ok. And the handle kit: Which was fun to build... Next up is to start filling the joins then sand and bondo and sand again to prepare the surface of the left and right white binocular parts for painting.
  5. Some other points about the design: The vast majority of the parts fit perfectly. Great design work. The white eyepieces - I rotated these and printed them horizontally. Two reasons: firstly, it meant that all the support structures were underneath, where the marks they leave would not be visible. Secondly, the upper surface is finished nicely by the printer in a horizontal position like this. I'm not sure if this is a result of the printing (above) or a slight kink in the design. Either way, my parts have a very small gap between the white and black parts of the eyepiece. Again, this is not a big deal and I will fix this with careful application of heat to gently bend the PLA into position. I printed the objectives with no supports (listed optional) and they came out great. Unfortunately, with my prints, the objectives' thread did not fit into the screw thread of the binoculars body. Yes, I read Germain's note about the direction of the threads :-) Very very tight fit. One of them, on the right side, does begin to screw in but then jams after a mm or so. Plan is to try sanding the threads on the objectives to reduce the diameter then try again.
  6. First up - thanks to Germain. These files are amazing, compliments on a really great design. I've got a small printer - a Flashforge Finder - with a 14cm cubed print bed. It makes great PLA prints but I do have to get creative with extra slicing to make large items fit the small print bed. I printed out all the quadnoculars parts over the last 6 weeks or so, with only a couple of misprints. Surprisingly, the black prints look much much nicer than the white, although I wonder if that is because shadows and thus lines are easier to see on the white. The quality of the Germain's design is exceptionally high. My printer, however, does create a sort of stepped surface when printing almost horizontal planes. These will be sanded out in the finishing process. The bulk of the parts were printed at 0.18mm per layer. The black hinge was printed first and was straightforward to put together, mostly thanks to Germain's excellent instructions. I love the functionality of the range finder. The front and rear sections with handle mounts were too large for my printer so I had to slice off the handle mounts and print separately. I don't see this as a big challenge - the white body needs to be filled, sanded and painted anyway due to being printed in 3 sections. Photo showing the print lines on the white body parts. I think temperature plays a part in creating smooth PLA prints - when I starting printing the first white blocks back in Feb, it was cold and I would ventilate the room by opening the window. These first parts showed a lot of uneven print lines. Since reading more about PLA online, I've tried to stabilise the temperature around the print job and to keep it warm. I now keep the window closed and have enclosed the sides of the printer with plastic sheeting. I've even made a roof for the printer to keep in warmth and I keep a light pointed into the print space to add warmth. The increased temperature is noticeably - probably around 30 deg C - and print jobs now appear much smoother. I will be filling joins, sanding and painting so this is not a really big deal. Top tip for putting the body parts together (from my gf!) - jam the screws onto the end of a long wooden skewer, then lower them into place inside the body before securing. I love these small details... but I do have to ask - why an imperial cog and not the FO logo?! ;-)
  7. Just found this thread - compliments on your design skills but, most of all, you did a beautiful job of finishing and painting the pack.
  8. Some photos of the megablaster so far. At some point I'd like to add a scope and maybe stand, but the project is on hold over summer due to holidays and other commitments. .
  9. Progress so far... The bulk of the build is complete. Still working on the area between the stock and the trigger - need to complete some details there, then bondo the area and get it ready for painting.
  10. Got busy this week cutting and building the angled shapes between the trigger and stock. What I call the vent boxes. Using my Sketchup build, I made a cardboard model of the vent box area. Based on these dimensions, I cut out all the parts required from 6mm multiplex wood. Then glued and nailed it together. I designed it with a groove cut through the middle so it slides onto the blaster body as one component. This means that the flat plate at the bottom is one solid piece with no cuts or joins. Just creates a neat and tidy finish. A top plate cut from plastic will then be bondo'd over the top. There is a small angled block between the vent boxes and trigger area. I cut and shaped this from one block of wood. As with the vent boxes, I cut a groove through the middle so the block slides onto the blaster body. .
  11. I actually got to look at a photo of a screen-used vest laid out on the ground, so the details of the straps were quite clear. Here's a photo I took while making my straps - hopefully it shows enough detail. Left of the measuring tape are the parts you need. Measuring tape is in CENTIMETRES! Right of the measuring tape are the finished straps. And a close up of the vest: Pouches (although I heard they are supposed to have elastic across the front) And just for the record... screenshot from TFA...
  12. I made 5 heavy weapons vests last year. Your best bet is to get a Flyye Law ENF vest via ebay, take it apart and convert it. I can send some instructions if you're interested - it is a little time-consuming but it's not hard to do. Just some measuring, sewing and riveting. Here's a photo of me and my vest. I've upgraded it with side pouches since this photo was taken.
  13. Just got the barrel finished. Now working on the boxy vent part behind the trigger. Hope to get that finished this week.
  14. Hi Carlos, Are you in the FB FO stormtroopers group? Thought I saw your name there a while back. Anyways, here are the dimensions I used. They are all estimates. What I did was measure the size of my FO thigh armour in real life. Then, using the photo of the heavy weapons trooper in the TFA Visual Dictionary, I measured his thigh armour in millimetres. Divide one by the other to get a conversion number. Then I measured the blaster in the Visual Dictionary photo and multiplied by the conversion number to get a real-life size estimate. All sizes in millimetres. This was my plan, but some measurements got adjusted here and there as I went along.
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