FarEast

I'm at a loss for where I need to be looking for reference materials n what I need to modify on my armour to get it to level two - or even level 3. I'm feeling a bit lost without visual aids.

Yes, which according to reference is incorrect so I took a look at other SDS armour builds here and replicated what they did. As for the seams - actually it was a pretty big gap (3mm) as I have large thighs and to accommodate them the armour was built by SDS to fit me. I might sculpt a seam line in.

So last night I did the scary job of cutting back the trim on the thigh armour that goes all the way to the bottom - because the trimming is of a different type of plastic it’s bonded pretty strong to the main armour and even careful sawing left holes in the armour. I filled these with ABS putty base from the original belt backer. first heavily filling the back of the thigh armour to give added strength and then to the front. This morning the putty had cured enough to add another layer. once this has fully cured it will be sanded back and then polished to hopefully match the rest of the armour.

Rivets it is then!!!! or maybe Chicago screws - in the CRL though it says snaps can be used but no colour is given

Today I was in Ebina watching my son play football so I decided to use the down time constructively and really make some inroads on the T-21 after Sean lit a fire cracker under it! One of the most tie consuming parts was the cooling fins inside the jacket, DONE! Along with the muzzle break, sights and other detailing! Also the main receiver got finalized, once those are printed the actually build will be about 95% complete and will only require 'StarWarsification' The outer barrel jacket is well on the way to completion!

Right Chicago screws it is then! Next up getting rid of the screws on the sniper knee! While that's curing time for an easy one - totally non functional.

So this project stalled due to the issue of the barrel taper and I thought that it wouldn't get off the ground again. Thankfully my friend Sean Fields creator of the Shoretrooper 3D files that I've been using came to my rescue today and whipped me up this! This has basically jump started this project significantly as I have pretty much everything else ready to go on the frame!

Its a photo distortion - if you look at the photos one of them is me measuring the the TD cylinder tube its just under 190mm and then with the end caps its spot on 190mm I think the next step I need to take is start taking photos of each part and get feed back on if needs changing or modifying for Level 2 CRL clearance. That way I can just make a job list and work my way through it.

Annnnnnd done! Again many thanks for pointing that out!

Roger that sir! Many thanks for that!

Jut the kind of feed back I was after! I'm not entirely sure what that actually means is there any photos show how they should align - it will be an easy fix!

Any feed back on this would be very much appreciated - from reading the CRL the belt, holster and Thermal Detonator now meet all the requirements for Level 3 so conformation of this would be greatly appreciated and that way I can move on to the next part of the upgrades. I'm actually only aiming currently for Level2.

Last on the job list today was the Thermal detonator - the clip was just not acceptable and so it was time to do a work over on it. Time to remove that horrible clip! I wanted to make sure that it met the specs so measured everything up - the last thing I wanted was to rebuild the whole thing from scratch. Time to get building! So with that done it was time to see how it looked: Ignore the plate sticking out on the right - I know you can't now I've said it haha So all the jobs I planned on doing today are complete - along with another part of the Shoretrooper just finished printing!

The next step was a simple one - modifying the SDS holster Loops are bad (unless you're building an Inferno Sqd. build and they seem to have loops!) Snip Snip! These were then attached to the belt using white headed snaps.

Well it seems that my original build thread has disappeared and what with the photobucket nonsense it kind of makes sense as all the photos had disappeared to. Anyway the original build thread is still available - without photos over on the Japan Garrison page here: https://501st.jp/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1851 So today I was able to put some creative talent in the SDS armour to bring it up to spec for the 501st and with the first project being the belt and everything that attaches to it as it required the most work. So with a Rob Kittle belt from Imperial Issue.......hmmmmm yummy! First job was to remove all parts from the solid ABS SDS belt. With the ammo packs free it was time to remove the buttons. With all the parts separated I could go about modifying the abdominal joining point and prepare the soft belt for mounting. From there it was about reattaching the parts

All that's left is to paint it weather it and distress it!

Last part to make were the backpack greeblies - again many thanks to Lance who pointed out that the boxes were actually angled. Also several of the parts required some attention to get the shape correct. Lot of little parts all available from Sean Field's files Chop - Chop! Primed and ready to go!

Stoo Collin's recommended that I add two more additional details to the build - the most significant being that the side stripe continues up and over the top of the backpack. So to do this I made a mask of the top of the backpack. I then transferred the tape to 0.3mm Tamya PlaCard and cut out so that I would be about 5mm short from the edge and the remainder was trimmed to fit so as to create the lip. All of it was bonded with superglue. The bottom of the backpack has a much larger plate that is clearly visible in many of the photos of the movie costumes. I went about this in the same manner Once the glue has cured it was given a light sanding and then primed ready for the base coat.

So the last piece to bring the build log upto date was the backpack - Now first of all I want to say a BIG thank you to Paul Prentice and Stoo Collins whom really helped me out with a lot of the additional detailing and without them this part wouldn't be what it is - the upgrades are relatively easy to make with the right tools and materials so I'm hoping this helps others who are building Sean's incredible armour to tweak theirs - I'm potentially going for a Level II grade armour so hopefully these upgrades won't be in vain. The two backpack parts took an insane amount of time to print mainly due to all the support structure but I'm glad I took my time! Finished one! And on to the next! The parts beautifully mesh together. A few defects but those will be sorted out with automotive body filler. The edges seemed to finish within minutes compared to the backpack! More filling! But finally I had a complete backpack - I was a little confused where to go from here but it kind of started to make sense after looking at the cutting template and such. First things first were the small details on the backpack - holes, raised parts and indentations The should harness mounts have two indentations at the back on either side so I decided to remove the mounts and start again.

So now it was time to move on to the arms, Shoulder bells, Biceps, forearms and hand guards. The forearms went together very nicely - left no post processing, right ready for paint. The fit was perfect on the right arm but due to my accident the left forearm was a very tight squeeze but with a bit of sanding on the inside all was good! The hand plates I increased the size by about 2% as I have large hands - again it worked out pretty good - just need the gloves! Both biceps received a base of Sahara Beige Then the right side got the Toyota red treatment The shoulder bells were a real PITA to print but I got there in the end! From here it was just a matter of painting, weathering and distressing. Also making sure everything fitted correctly!

So with the bucket complete its time to work on the upper torso and back! The first task was to correct the minor details in the build to make it more screen accurate. First of the easy one - the armour needs to flick up a little higher at the ends. As well as making the lines to the front of the armour more straight rather than curved A bit of automotive filler and a bit of sanding and its all good! Next step was a little harder and that was to widen the slots on the front blast plates. Some serious cutting and dremel work needed! More sanding then followed by a heavy coat of black automotive primer. I let this cure for several days as I wanted it to be fully hardened ready for the base cot of Beige Brown. Again I let this cure before applying the Sahara Beige. After more waiting for curing and a little light sanding to remove drips and thickness differences it was to apply the Nordic blue markings. annnnnnnd more waiting! Very happy with the finish however this is way to clean!

So some parts finally came for the helmet and printer so I was able to get some work done on both. I started off with a motorcycle bubble lens but due tot he safety requirements trying to heat these to shape pretty much results in them melting. So after an unsuccessful attempt at getting it in to the helmet I went and picked up some Clear Smoke PVC. This can be heat to just 50c and bent into shape so a hairdrier with the air intake partially blocked will do the trick! After cutting to shape I then used Bluetac to hold it in place at either end of the eye slits and took the hairdrier to it - when pliable I then bent the tops over the brow and glued the bottom in with clear hot-glue. I also installed the chin strap with three holes - now this is nylon and the initial painting just flaked off - Sharpie for the WIN! The final task for the evening was to position the internal padding and check the fit to see if there was any areas on the inside that might require sanding back or smoothing, Just a simple case of masking tape folded in half to stick them in. Eyes obscured - Check!

So the endless march continues - The last parts of the Chest plate finished while I was painting the helmet and I started to put the parts together. Now having looked at other build threads and the reference photos I can see where I'm going to need some re-sculpting and actual cutting and reshaping. Spiders! I after bonding one of the side strips that go on the bottom ends, I had to cut them off as from the photo references there is a considerable step between the two plates. Also the central line between the two rectangles on the central plate will need to increased to about 1cm and also the gap on the left and right sides of them - finally I'll also need to add a square in the central line. Not really a problem for any of those sections - although I think it would have been an easy fix in the 3D files.

The next step was to make the Scarif Logo on the blast shield, I have a Silhouette cutter so I just fired up the software and cut a printing mask out. I used shield tape to wrap the helmet - the last thing I wanted was Red Toyota paint everywhere! So with the paint finally cured it was time to get weathering and this stuff comes out at a bit of a rate! while it was tacky I ran some heavy grit sand paper over it, then once cured fine grit to give it a slightly faded finish. Due to my other job - I have a whole arrangement of pigments and weathering products at hand so naturally grabbed the following: Oil Paints -Blacks, Browns and Beiges Tamiya Panel Line Inks - Black Tamiya Panel Line Inks - Dark Brown Tamiya Panel Line Inks - Brown Mig Weathering - Engine oil Mig Weathering - Wet Mud Mig Weathering - North Africa Dust The trick is to work slowly letting each level dry fully and seal before starting the next. starting with the Darkest first. I'm still waiting on the lens as well as the chin strap, as well as the internal padding. So here is the finished product!

A few more bits came off the printer this morning - and I also got the call from the paint shop! After a kick drive in to Yokohama I was home in no time and with daylight being in plenty supply I busted out the rattle cans! I had to test each one as they had come loose in the back of the car - so decided to mark them so I wouldn't make any schoolboy errors! So straight after spraying the tone is a little off however they told me that as it dries it will match perfectly. About 30 minutes later the paint is starting to change colour and the match is there!