Artshot

Remove all of the return edge from the wrist end of the forearms, apart from a requirement for approval, it will help with fitting your hands, although I have to put my gloves on after this as there's no way they will fit before the forearms are on. After completing my forearms I put the biceps together in a similar fashion to the forearms, I tried to keep the bottom of the biceps a similar width or slightly wider size to the elbow end of the forearms, that way they show a more tapered shape. You may have to do some reshaping of the forearms and biceps using the boiling water method as there not exactly round when assembled, especially the biceps. After that I did the TD, mainly because I wanted to actually finish something

Okay then, after dealing with a few deadlines I had a few minutes (hours) to try and figure out a bit more of my Z6 Baton build. I have decided to try and keep the rotation point simple, I have made two spindles that will drop into the open "cup" areas at the end of the baton, since I want both spindles to turn at the same time and to the same angle, I had to shape them so that once there dropped into the "cups" they lock against each other, since I am also building in the ability for each "deflector" to pop out from the main body, I could not use one spindle through the whole build, even the shaped areas need to move against each other..........hope that makes sense. I also built in a wider "stop" so that a spring could be put between the spindle and the bottom of the "cup", in the final model the stop will be a sort of crescent shape so that it will allow the spindle and "deflectors" to only rotate 180 degrees when spun, I will build a stop into the "cup" to facilitate this. The top of the cup will have a top that will lock all the workings in place, a hole through the middle will allow the spindle to be fixed to the "deflectors". I have included pictures to hopefully make all of the above make sense. I have a few things I want to do to make the spindle area look the same thickness when extended, already working on that. While I have been running the pieces through "Shapeways" to test the parts integrity, I have come to the conclusion this would cost more that a couple of sets of armor to produce through them, hopefully somebody with there own printer will want to produce it one day. However I love a challenge, so at this point I am just building this as a personal challenge. When I eventually finish the modelling I will provide each piece as a separate file, print what you want, build the other bits yourself sort of thing, I might have to produce the main part of the baton in chunks to compensate for printers with smaller print beds......already know how I will do that As always, any thoughts are welcome.............on to the pictures

Congratulations on choosing the AM2.0.............Welcome to the club

I have had the same problem with my build with the bottom corners sticking out and affecting the movement of the back plate at the butt plate, I trimmed it back quite a bit and did a little bending via the hot water method, oh and I also levelled out the bottom edge where it joins the edge of the butt plate. Trying to reduce the curve of the armor where it attaches to the shoulder straps has been my next challenge, been trying to keep the length while fitting it closer to my body, more hot bath time.

I got to this stage before I took a break, looking forward to seeing how you approach it, the excess width on the armor pieces looks larger than other armors I have seen.

Nice baton build As somebody still trying to figure out the internals and spring loading the deflector arms on my 3d build, it's always nice to see a baton going together. Just wish I could figure out how to get the deflectors to pop out and spin.....at the same time

Why of why is my wallet not bigger.....definitely interested though

and that is what it's all about.

Still Here!! After a much needed vacation (Tokyo.....loved it) I am back and trying to get this thing finished, just got a little work backlog to clear, although I did have a few thoughts about the spinning/extending deflectors. 1) I have created the sockets on the "Shaft" to attach the deflectors to, currently I have created a hole all the way through for a dowel, this way both deflectors will be fixed together and rotate the same amount, I also created a plug to keep the pieces spaced, this plug will fit into corresponding sockets in the deflectors. 2) I am going to try and build a locking mechanism that will fit in the socket around the dowel so that the deflectors will only spin 180 degrees, hopefully if I can figure it out I will create a slight ramp or raised area inside so that as the deflectors spin, they go up and out.....wish me luck with that. 3) After looking at the link "mo3dprinting" supplied and studying how the spin of the deflectors was created, I may be able to fashion something similar, my only concern is that space is limited. 4) To create the lightning effect on the deflectors I was thinking that the deflectors could be channelled for fitting fibre optics, with a light coat of paint from the distance they would look like part of the main body, once lit, they would hopefully be bright enough to be seen through the paint. 5) As I run the pieces through Shapeways to check for errors, it's becoming increasingly obvious that this thing would be expensive to produce through them (more than a set of armor), so therefore when I finish I will put each piece in it's own file, that way you can print only what you need, also if somebody is going to try and print this at home with a smaller print base, I will chop the main shaft into sections, probably at each link on the length, to try to avoid any obvious seams. Okay, so if your still with me, here's some pictures As always, any and all advice is welcome, especially if you have any idea's on the release and spin function. Cheers Art

As somebody who only received his box of Stormtroopery goodness this year and is still putting things together, I truly appreciate those that have gone before, fine tuned, improved and generally made this place the font of all knowledge. Long may it last!

I have a feeling I am going to be giving you a lot of my money.

Welcome to the AM 2.0 club

Just a few observations from the attached photos of the new "Hawaii" Trooper.....sorry, it has that look to me Looks to be some sort of grey or black connection between chest and back pieces. More of a pronounced raised area on the hand guards, near the wrist end. Thigh/Knee ammo pack looks to be in a different fixed position. The belt now looks to be attached or fixed along the break line between chest and cod piece. Of course all of these observations could be wrong, one cleaner photos arrive.

I like the way you have continued the damage into the TD bracket, it's little details like that which make a great build, exceptional

Sketchup is pretty good for modelling, and free

Update Coming Soon.......ish. Stupid work getting in the way again.

Doh!

Ah, I thought somewhere there may be something similar, not being in the 501st yet meant I could not check.

Just had a random thought (it happens a lot at work), is there any feasibility in having a map function with members locations on it ? (just for states or counties etc) I have seen a few sites that have a similar function, just thought it would be handy if somebody was planning a get together or armor party. Random thought over.

Morning All As I continue to build my AM 2.0 armor I have come across a little problem that I thought I would seek some advice on. I would normally just add this post to my build, but it might get lost amongst everything else in there. Anyway, as a diversion from trying to sort out my upper torso and shoulder connections, I thought I would trim up my thighs, and noticed this. As you can see, the return is a slightly irregular, easily sorted by trimming it back to my regular width of about 5mm which I have used on most of my armor returns, however I was confronted with this. As I hope you can see, as the armor was formed it looks like the return has started to change from the regular 90 degree angle to almost lying flat with the outer edge, it would not normally bother me, but the area is at the front and not at the rear, where I expect to trim some out for better mobility. My question is, should I try to form a correct 90 degree angle with my sealing iron, or am I just being picky, I am thinking it will look more pleasing if the angle is 90 degrees..... I tend to overthink the small details, which explains how after many many months, I have still not finished my build. Oh, and while I am at it, I have trimmed the front raised area to 20mm on each side, when applying the cover strip is it preferred to get it to follow the actual edge of the raised area as much as possible ? That's about it, as always any and all feedback is appreciated.

Well, time for another update, which has been long coming as I keep getting distracted by bright & shiny things. After putting the six holes in the Ab and Kidney pieces I joined them together using the traditional method of webbing and rivets, I tried to get the two pieces as tight together as I could as I know they will begin to stretch at some point, typically I forgot to take a photo of the interior. However, here's the exterior. And to complete the two pieces, here's the right side. While I was at it, and borrowing from other builds, I created a tongue & groove fitting on the interior of the right side, luckily using black plasticard that I had handy, I will still have to fashion an interior Velcro strap to keep everything together, but now when the side is closed, it will not slip up or down and ruin the straight join. So, now that the Ab and Kidney pieces are joined, I decided to return to my troublesome back plate, from previous instalments of my build you may have noticed it was giving me trouble, mainly because it has two spur like edges that protrude around the top of the kidney piece and the upper strap to shoulder edges were turned in a bit too much, making the piece stand a bit out from my back. So, with elastic in hand I made the two outer straps (the inner are regular webbing), I figured that the inner would keep the back and kidney close together whilst the outer would allow some stretch when I have to bend, otherwise I think the stress would pop the snaps and I may leave a trail of armour behind me....literally. The second photo is just to show how I fixed each snap to the elastic strapping, I doubled it over and tidied up the edge with E6000 Fray Lock (just happened to have a tube), this stuff is great, not only will it seal the ends but I also used it to glue the loose edge of the strap down, I also put a dab of it on each point where a snap goes through the webbing or elastic. And here's what it looks like on the outside. After doing all the gluing I decided to give the back plate a hot bath to try and make it fit a bit better, I think I have managed it, despite the slightly boiled hands.......hope it was worth it. Just to finish, and because I wanted to do something easier, I glued on my button plates, it annoys me that the four button plate is not in line with the ridge on the armour, but its in line with the raised area. And, that's that, for the moment. Enjoy.

Great read as always.

For small holes like the ones for attaching the cod snaps and ab/kidney rivets, I used a piece of tape over where I wanted the hole, marked the centre with a pencil, then used the tip of a scalpel to make a tiny pilot type indentation, then used a small screwdriver (I have a set of small jewellers type screwdrivers, which were really cheap) to slowly bore a hole through manually by using slight pressure as it goes, never force it. I tidied up the hole with a small round file, which can also be picked up cheap, I know it's a slow way of doing it, but I have had runaway drills before and don't want to risk screwing up. Incidentally the Jewellers Screwdrivers & Files come in very handy when assembling your blaster.

Congrats, very nice clean build.

Looking forward to seeing how this comes out