Stealth Trooper "How I Did It" guide

[drlostdude]

I started my sith journey at the Sith Training Temple as a Vader in May which has no tuitorials but plenty of "How I Did It" guides. I think those are immensely more useful to learn from because it reminds you that there are many ways to do something. So I have one of these threads on the Spec Ops site and another on the STT and now one here which I don't mind at all, I enjoy the feedback and sharing my triumphs and mistakes.

 

Here we go!

 

Test fitting the sides

 

 

I had to put lots of tape on the inside to keep the back from hinging under the front piece when I put the dome on. Its a very very snug fit.

 

today I will sand the middle edges of the back half so it site more flush with the front. As you can see in the first two pics, there is not a straight line across the top so I will trim that to be flush. I am using the crease between the bottom tube and the vertical face to line the sides up. I'll show more of my progress laters.

[Darth Voorhees[501st]]

Cool, i saw your "how i did it" thread on the STT, pretty cool stuff, looking forward to your progression with this!

[drlostdude]

Heres a little more of what I've done. The ears are on, I found after testing again that I wouldn't need to trim the top. I sanded down the sides of the back to get it to fit a little better and then rounded the ears. The back of the ear on the right side of the helmet (your left) is really sanded because the ridge is higher than in the front so I did the best I could there.

 

 

I took the Dave's Garage washer idea and ran with it as you can see.

 

 

I also dremeled the front and tomarrow I will get a small file to finish it up. Using the dremel was scary and I almost had a heart attack a couple of times. I don't like how the ABS mounds up and gets in the way. This is really really thick ABS too as far as I say.

 

The bottom of the ear pieces are going to either be glued or screwed and that will draw the helmet up very snug. I was planning on using two screws for each half so can someone answer if thats approved, its not that I'm anal its just the people who say yeah or nay may be.

 

I'm also scared about the ABS glue due to the warping horror stories I've heard. I may glue it, clamp it, and then throw it in the refrigerator to keep it from getting too hot. We shall find out tomorrow!

[drlostdude]

Frown is cut out but the flash on the camera makes it look dull and pics up dust. No flash is a little blurry too. I'll figure something out.

 

 

 

I used two small chainsaw files, one round and the other triangle shaped. Then an exacto to shave off whatever was hanging.... Then the files again to fix my mistakes. It was a really long process but I think files are the way to go, ultimate control and this plastic is awfully thick to cut with an exacto knife alone.

 

I'm trying to fit the helmet and I'll have to use a lot of clamps because it is a tight fit and there are a few bulges. I may put it in the refrigerator when I use the clamps and ABS glue so that way I avoid the melting problem. I may also be thinking along the wrong lines since I've never used the stuff, I'll test two pieces tonight and see what happens.

[drlostdude]

I must say, I made a worthy attempt to glue my helmet together yet it was merely an attempt. I thought disaster had struck. I applied the glue both the top and the bottom, then I set the helm but it was really hard to adjust because the glue was already setting. So I was able to get it aligned properly but some of the glue was pushed a smidge too high on the dome. Heres a pic with my clamps in place.

 

 

 

I thought, Well Crap...... but I remembered I had the trim so I put it up for reference and I think it will be fine.

 

 

 

So perhaps it was crisis averted. Anywho, I've kept going back with a cool rag to make sure that it didn't get too hot. I don't think it will be a problem thought.

 

Hopefully someone will come along and tell me I was being too anal and that the glue problem is normal. Also, how did I do cutting out my teeth? I'm going to med school but perhaps I should be a dentist?

 

(These posts are pretty much copies from the Spec Ops site but I figure, why change it if it isn't broken?)

[Murray1134[501st]]

You might be able to hide some of that once the brow trim is in place.

[drlostdude]

Here is the progress on my helmet, so far there is only the painting, mirror lenses in the mail, and screwing the bottom of the earcaps. I'll use two screws, one for each side.

 

 

Here is my armor which I worked on some, I really like the way I found to hang it

 

[Major[501st]]

Looking good, I'm starting to assemble my helmet.

 

 

Robert

[drlostdude]

Looking good, I'm starting to assemble my helmet.

 

 

Robert

 

make sure you take your time and I recommend masking the glue area with blue painters tape as others suggested. The only reason I didn't was when I tried I couldn't get it right. Next helmet I assemble I'll have an extra set of hands.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Looking good Kory! I'll come clean and be frank that I have an aversion to the FX helmet, but I can at least gush appreciatively over how the rest is doing. Thumbs up!

[drlostdude]

Looking good Kory! I'll come clean and be frank that I have an aversion to the FX helmet, but I can at least gush appreciatively over how the rest is doing. Thumbs up!

 

Thanks man, and at least now I know what kind of helmet it is as it wasn't advertised where I bought it. My only complaint with it so far is that the plastic is a little thin where the aerators go but it only needs to be so strong. Its also a little unwieldy to put together all by your lonesome but thats a problem with the assembler.

 

I have to put a brake booster on my camaro so I can drive it to a collision repair place but I hope to make the neck seal and figure out the legs very soon. Also start thinking about padding the helmet. I'll be using stiff sponges and covering them with underarmor type material, same as I'm using for the neck seal.

[drlostdude]

Heres another update. I got my paint today and I couldn't wait to paint it.... Actually I did wait, then I couldn't stand it anymore.

 

 

 

I'm also getting closer to taking a decent picture. The first is with flash, the second without.

 

Heres two pics of the Foam padding system I developed friday.

 

Its sponge, covered with underarmor type material, and velcroed into place for easy removal and adjustments. It fits great! My neck is just too short for a full range of motion.

 

Here is a neckseal I've been making as well as the glove I will use for the final. I went to a LAN party saturday and wore the suit as a test run to see what needs adjusted. I'll post pics once my friend sends them to me.

[drlostdude]

Here we go. Bottoms of ears are screwed on. Those screws will be painted flat black like the rest of the stuff that needs painting. Added the trim along the bottom and I fixed an earcap.

 

 

 

And a profile

 

[drlostdude]

Its been a while but quite a bit is done. I've cut the vents, painted them, and added screen.

 

I messed up big time, see if you can guess where! (hint: I'll need to order another decal)

 

 

 

 

 

And the messy interior

 

Cheers! I just need to suit up and take pics for approval I suppose.

[drlostdude]

Well, we're almost there. One problem, I have no weapon! I'll be making that sometime....

 

I still wanted to get some pics in anyways.

 

 

 

 

And I had a little fun

 

Its a lot of hard work though

 

There are still some adjustments to be made. Any criticism, good or bad is welcome. Thanks for watching and I'll post my blaster once I finish it... Its really hard to focus the energy just right, so far its just set for stun

[TX-8687[501st]]

looking awesome man, i'm working on my TX too!!!!! i'll take some more pics of mine on!!!!!!!! everything is looking good man!!!! keep it up!!!!!

[Major[501st]]

That looks reallly good. I have been taking your advice on the painters tape, almost have my helmet done.

 

 

Robert

[Sandman[TK]]

Looks fantastic Kory. Amazing job.

[kiyotei[TK]]

very cool looking. I have one question, in your very first photo your helmet appears to be split in half vertically, was that how it came? I have not seen a helmet like that before.

[Dogma238]

Nice work, maybe I my have to get a set of "stealth armor" as well.

[Murray1134[501st]]

Looks good to me. Only thing I would recommend is to put a strap running under your shoulder bells to get them from shifting.

 

[drlostdude]

Thank you very much for the kind words. It was a lot of fun to do, its really shiny and I still have to polish it!!!

 

There are many flaws which I know about but no one else will probably notice. Some words of advice are to mask anything when you are going to use ABS glue... It drys white and is very noticable. Small smudges of ABS glue take a little bit of looking to see but they're there. I will try wet sanding one and polishing to see how that turns out.

 

I know that people with white armor do that and it looks nice but I own a black 1979 Camaro which I helped do the body work on and sent to paint. With a black paint job every little imperfection sticks out like a sore thumb. Luckily those two or three weren't too noticeable Unfortunatly it has suffered a collision which I may or may not bother fixing.

 

kiyotei: It came like that, three pieces. Front, the back, and the cap. I have just recently started costuming so I can only guess as to what it may be. From what I gather it is probably called and FX style. It is not a "cap'n'back" two piece which is what I believe is the TE2. Any clarification on that would be helpful vets.

 

Murray1134: I'm assuming you mean the strap being held on in the pic with the clamps? I have that strap but it is velcro and a pain. I have snaps which may be too hard to fix right. I see yours may be attachet permanently which might work well and I haven't thought of that.

 

I also believe that the stealth trooper will make an appearance in Force Unleashed so everyone can enjoy! I'll post if I can find verification on that. Thanks for watching and I'll post more as I mod the suit to be comfortable. Everyone gets a good laugh when I try to bend down to pick something up.....

[Murray1134[501st]]

Murray1134: I'm assuming you mean the strap being held on in the pic with the clamps? I have that strap but it is velcro and a pain. I have snaps which may be too hard to fix right. I see yours may be attachet permanently which might work well and I haven't thought of that.

 

That would be the one. I leave my bell and bicep attached all the time, and put them on as one piece. The shoulder/armpit strap is permanently attached. It keeps your bells from flopping around whenever you lift your arm.