3D Printed Rogue One TK Build Thread

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

53 minutes ago, Platinum Lex said:

omething very important that I wanted to ask which connects to the reason why I don't want super restricting armor is on how to prevent the armor from scratching. On my last build, I put some velvet-like padding or some soft material to my armor so that it wouldn't scrape on some parts, but I just don't know what else I can do to protect the paint or make it more durable. I'm not very experienced with clear coat, but would more layers help protect the armor? I'm still thinking and looking at other armors, but if anyone could help me with this ongoing issue I would appreciate it.

I have adhesive foam in some places on my FOTK and Sith armor, it stops a lot rubbing but sometimes it can chip and scratch. I guess you could paint it all with a final coat or two of 2K paint, this is a two part mix gets activated by a button then you have 24 hours to use it before it goes off. It's pricy but very strong, I used it on my Din Djarin build, but again you can still get the odd chip and scratch.

[Platinum Lex]

That's what I saw others recommending, but it's just way too expensive as it's 4-5 times more expensive than a regular can of Rust-Oleum. I think I'll layer on more light coats and try my best not to have any drips. I also have some adhesive foam and I think I'll just put more of it to prevent as much chipping as possible.

 

I printed out a shoulder strap out of TPU, and I really like it, the only issue being that the TPU I ordered seems to be just a tad translucent and reflective, and there was some stringing near the end, but other than that I really like how it turned out. I'm going to order some more TPU and probably print a bunch of miniature flexible gifts if I can't return this, but until then I'm going to start printing my armor.

Edited June 17 by Platinum Lex

[Sayless]

11 hours ago, Platinum Lex said:

Thank you for the photos, I did notice the trimmed belts on some stormtroopers while watching Rogue One earlier today, but I'm just sticking with Akira's non-trimmed files for now.

Something very important that I wanted to ask which connects to the reason why I don't want super restricting armor is on how to prevent the armor from scratching. On my last build, I put some velvet-like padding or some soft material to my armor so that it wouldn't scrape on some parts, but I just don't know what else I can do to protect the paint or make it more durable. I'm not very experienced with clear coat, but would more layers help protect the armor? I'm still thinking and looking at other armors, but if anyone could help me with this ongoing issue I would appreciate it.

 

Adhesive-backed EVA foam seems to be the go-to. White is preferable, though it's prone to staining, but several board members recommended it based on their own suits.

 

For the clear coat, Glen’s suggestion of 2K clear is the strongest route since the catalyst hardener helps prevent yellowing. However, the catch is that 2K might be too shiny for an R1TK. Also, be careful with multiple layers—if your clear is too thick, it’s prone to peeling. It's a common issue in the automotive industry right now. Because of U.S. environmental regulations (amongst other countries I'm sure), the old, highly durable (but toxic) paints have been replaced by thinner, eco-friendly formulas that are unfortunately much more prone to chipping. The same goes for spray cans. Paint's simply aren't made to be thick anymore, and because of that... you'll end up with a weaker bond.

[bTonyd]

@Platinum Lexi may have lost track of this thread but i will do my best to give you 2 small tips: 

 

1) 2k clear is the best in slot here but i've heard that it's highly toxic so beware, wear the best mask and spray outside. I will personally use 1k (the weaker option).

 

2) TPU shoulder strap was my go to as well but i gave up because of...well, layer lines. And you can't get rid of them on TPU. I will stick to PETG shoulder straps and white velcro or something similar though the mobility will be an issue. Hopefully it will be ok.

 

As a side note i am really, really struggling with thigh armor and especially calves. Any tips or pics are very, very appreciated. How can i scale perfectly the thighs? Right calf is a mess on Akira files since the front "band" is somehow detached from it and the internal closure of the calves are hard to strap and to fit (i still feel like Akira messed up my zip files since the cod plate and kidney plate were not present and i had to ask for them). 

 

Keep pushing and don't give up.

 

[Platinum Lex]

Hey Tony, thanks for the warning, I know scratching is probably going to be inevitable and 2K is just too expensive for me right now when it comes to paint, so I think I'll be sticking with just gloss white and gloss clear coat right now, paired with a whole lot of foam on the inside.

 

I really like TPU (It's so satisfying) and I took some shoulder straps from here on the forums, modified it a bit, and I print at a very low layer height so I'm really hoping that I can slide by with minimal sanding and painting. I'm going to see how others attached their chest and back together, and I know some have some strapping connecting the chest and back underneath the shoulder straps so that the weight isn't entirely on them, but I'll figure that out later.

In this photo, you can see how I eyeballed the thigh measurements, or the chest in this example, where I imported a photo of myself, scaled it, and tried to get the proportions right. I then went and measured my thighs again in order to make sure nothing would be too tight or too loose. I am willing to accept some reprints but I hope I won't have to. You know what they say, print twice, measure once.

 

 

I haven't even gotten to the calves yet when it comes to printing, and I noticed some issues right off the bat. First off, the two calves are different, with one being two parts and another being three with that front bevel being detached like you said. I plan on installing some Velcro or elastic to the inside of the calves, with the elastic being tighter in the front than the back. Also, the sniper knee plate just doesn't have a great connection point so it's just going to be slapped on there with some glue. I'm interested in seeing if and how Sayless will tackle this if he's going to add a notch or connection too.

[Platinum Lex]

I was looking for a good undersuit for my stormtrooper and messaged all the vendors I saw on the list. I messaged Sheev's Emporium prior to reading that he was not a reliable seller and what he messaged me was INSANE. I asked him for the undersuit and the price just to get a reference, and he then sends me a FULLY AI response that barely responds to my question, then has the AUDACITY to ask for $3,800 for just the undersuit? Absolute show.

I'm most likely going to order an undersuit from KeepTrooping or DarkSideCloset if they respond so if anyone knows how long it normally takes for an undersuit from one of these two to arrive I would appreciate it, thanks.

[Platinum Lex]

I'm finishing up my first helmet at the moment and am realizing that at this rate, I won't be able to finish an entire set of armor by Halloween once school starts up, so it will either put a lot of pressure on me, or just take it all off, who knows?

For the lenses of my helmet, I've heard about Paul's lenses, although I haven't checked the price and they might be too expensive. I can mold my own lenses as I have a visor buck with the files, but I need to think about the lens material, from which I have two options. Option one is a darker, more green welding visor that looks good and the color is great, but it has close to zero visibility and it turns the world completely greyscale but with a green tint (greenscale would be the word then?). Option two, however, can be formed with my makeshift lens molder thingamabobber, it's easy to view through, and I almost always have some on hand, BUT, it's a little less green.

Here are some photos of the second option that I think I might go for to show how green the lens it, but when light doesn't shine though one side, they look the same.

If anyone has any advice or know what material they used for the lenses in the helmet, I would appreciate it, and I'm slowly chipping away the helmet and I haven't even started printing the armor yet sadly. Now that I have more orders, including one from a trooper here on the FISD, the unfavorable weather, and a little less motivation than when I started, my work is going to dwindle a little until I can get a solid hold on my plan and start working it out without interference.

[Sayless]

In my last helmet, I actually use a welding visor too, but I ran into the exact same issue—it’s just a little too dark for casual wear.

 

If you're looking for alternatives, @11b30b4 has an awesome tutorial on vacuum forming and dyeing lenses. For that method, you'd just need to use some relatively thin, clear PETG:

 

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure if Paul actively sells his lenses right now (I think he only does limited or occasional runs). Plus, there's another minor hurdle: his lenses are specifically designed to fit Nico's original files. Because Greg/TKModder reshaped the eyes to be asymmetrical (one side has the little "bump" as a homage to the originals), Paul's might not fit perfectly. 

 

Another option—if you have the gear for it—is resin printing! I'm actually in the middle of testing this out firsthand right now, so the jury is still out on whether it's a perfect viable option, but it could be worth a shot.

 

FWIW: The helmet is definitely going to be your most time-consuming component, so don't let it discourage you or make you think the rest of the armor will take just as long! Remember that bigger pieces like the chest have a relatively smooth shape, so the post-processing is minimal by comparison. Parts like the back do require a bit of extra work due to the shapes, but I still found it way easier than tackling the helmet.

[bTonyd]

Hi @Sayless, i'm in the process of doing TKModder's helmet and i'm struggling to find a good welding visor (at least in my country). I do not mind the darkness, i just want it as accurate as possible. Any links or suggestions for it?

 

@Sayless@Platinum LexAs a side note and off-topic but still regarding the build itself: painting the helmet and armor. What spray cans/paints did you use for the grey(s) and blue? (Abdomen, helmet, thermal detonator)

 

Thanks!

[Sayless]

2 hours ago, bTonyd said:

Hi @Sayless, i'm in the process of doing TKModder's helmet and i'm struggling to find a good welding visor (at least in my country). I do not mind the darkness, i just want it as accurate as possible. Any links or suggestions for it?

 

@Sayless@Platinum LexAs a side note and off-topic but still regarding the build itself: painting the helmet and armor. What spray cans/paints did you use for the grey(s) and blue? (Abdomen, helmet, thermal detonator)

 

Thanks!

I used this one off Amazon, not sure how globally it’s offered, but may benefit you and others, like PlatinumLex:

https://a.co/d/0iPK97Tk
 

It’s a bit more on the darker side, but I’ve been somewhat able to see out of it. 
 

PlatinumLex showed off his paint selection I believe on an earlier page, but Rustoleum Granite seems to be the consensus for grey amongst several of us, and for the abdomen (and other blues) a “royal blue” shade seems to be a close match. I just bought the $5 Home Depot-brand for this. It’s a decent shade, but might be a bit bright. I’m going to end up looking for a comparable color from Behr, which if I can find it, will likely be one I suggest to others too. 

[Platinum Lex]

Thanks for that, I might try resin printing the lenses, but the link you sent for the welding visor is actually the second option I was talking about. I use that to form easy OT lenses every now and again for casual cosplayers.

 

I want to set a small challenge for myself to aim for a level 3 helmet (I know I’m getting ahead of myself a bit) because it’s what people are going to be looking at the most.

 

For the spray paints, I’m using Rust-Oleum gloss white, and Brilliant Blue and Satin Granite for the other colors.

[bTonyd]

@Sayless@Platinum Lex Much appreciated for the links and paints. I will try my best to search similar things here but it's getting harder and harder (no Rust-Oleum, no Bondo spot and putty, etc). At least i know what to look for in similarity.

 

One small question for @Platinum Lex: how do you deal with the abdomen buttons and the spray can? Do you use the spray can and mask with tape all around the abdomen? What's the strategy for small details?

 

TKModder's helmet model after Nico's is extremely modular and everything can be easily spray canned and added individually which is a dream come true but i'm not so sure about the abdomen. Thermal detonator is easy to figure out as well i think, since it's a bigger area.

 

Cheers and thanks again

[Platinum Lex]

First, to answer Tony's question, the way I did my abdomen the first time was by using an acrylic paint (which wasn't even close to the right color looking back at it now), and for Akira's armor the abdomen details that hold the circles are separated from the main body. If I were to design the abdomen, I would do what he did by separating the abdomen details, but I would have the circle details separated and be able to be painted and glued behind the circle openings, similar to how the tube stripes for the helmet work for the updated helmet, which I will circle back to later in this post.

I finished a prototype of the helmet, and I say prototype because the helmet sadly doesn't fit, but it also isn't as good as I want it to be, and I'll give it about a 7/10 for what I could have done with my skills and materials.



I'm decently happy with the helmet, but there are three main issues that I'm going to point out on this post that I want to improve for my next helmet attempt.

#1: The lenses
I used the flat lenses from my second lens option I mentioned earlier, but the main issue I encountered with these is that I could not get them to stick to the inside of the helmet at all. I printed a visor buck and am going to try to see if a visor conformed to the helmet will work better, and if not that I might be having some more issues to worry about in the future. Since there was almost nothing for the visor to hold to, I tried super glue originally but then decided that hot glue might be the way to go, but I made one noticeable mistake. As you can see in the photo, some of the hot glue seeped underneath the visor and is visible on the outside of the helmet at most angles, and while it isn't that bad as long as you don't look at it, but it still bothers me to look at.

 

 

#2: The tube stripes

The way I printed the helmet resulted in some jagged edges on the tube stripes that gave me some difficulty sanding down, so while they do look fine from about 5 feet away, if you look at them up close or from the side, they become very noticeable and it's something I want to work on for my next helmet, which did come out with better lines this time. The blue backer underneath the cutouts came out completely fine and I'm pretty happy with the color choice as it's not too light.

 

 

#3: The gaps
The gaps between the dome and the base, along with some slight gaps between the ears and the sides (which I don't know the right distance) are a detail that I noticed after assembling my helmet. I painted all the parts individually and put them all together afterwards, but some gaps were just too big and I want to be able to align these better, especially the ears. Since I paint over the connection pieces on the ears, I think it makes some not fully push in which causes that gap because it didn't have the problem when test-fitting after I printed them, but at least I know now how to solve this.

 

 

I added some more things that were required, such as a grey mesh backing behind the teeth, mesh in the aerators which was difficult and I don't think it's the right mesh, and in certain lights the helmet really does have an orange peel texture as didn't wet sand the clear coat as to not risk accidentally sanding the white paint as I'm not weathering this and want as little marks as I could.

Here's another photo of the helmet with scale to my hand (maybe it'll fit without my glasses?).



I'm going to take a small break from the stormtrooper project in order to practice on a different helmet, but hopefully I should be done with it rather quickly and I can get to working on the main helmet, as I'm starting to create a checklist of what I need to get done and how hard it should be, which really helped manage my time during my last build.

Edited June 29 by Platinum Lex

[bTonyd]

Much appreciated for the info.

I will try to add some things here as well:

 

1) Tube stripes: i have the exact same issue on the helmet and want to add some Miliput and sand a bit but not too aggressively. I want to be as clean as possible with those stripes. I don't want to proceed with white at all, only filler primer until im satisfied with them.

 

2) Gaps: i'm not entirely sure but some gaps are acceptable on helmet. I have a lot of gaps on TKModder's helmet as well but 90% of them, they seem like they should be there. Not entirely sure which ones though. Somebody with experience can confirm here.

 

3) Lenses: still struggling to buy some, can't help you here yet but i will be careful as well on messing them up. Maybe give E6000 a chance in the future. Hot glue is amazing too.

 

Cheers and don't give up!

 

 

[Sayless]

Chiming in here, and I completely agree with @bTonyd!

 

Greg's mods are fantastic, but they definitely keep you on your toes and require a few test fits to get everything sitting just right. You’ve already done an amazing job addressing most of it, but I wanted to share a few friendly tips from my own experience that might help:

1. Lenses If you haven't tried it yet, E6000 is an absolute lifesaver for this instead of hot glue! It’s super budget-friendly (around $6–$7 a tube) and you can easily grab it at Walmart, Home Depot, or Michaels. It's officially my go-to strategy for my builds now. Just a quick heads-up: it does have a pretty strong scent that likes to hang around for a bit, so definitely vent the room, and your helmet!
    

2. The Tube Stripes These little guys are notoriously tricky on any FDM-printed helmet, so don't sweat it—we all struggle with them! My favorite trick is to generously backfill the cavities with spot putty. It’s always easier to sand away excess putty now than it is to try and add more after your base coat is down. Also, if you can get your hands on some small hand files, they work wonders for dialing in those crisp, sharp edges much better than wadded-up sandpaper. I've been using these: https://a.co/d/0bRt1Qrc
    

3. The Gaps The best advice here is just to take your time and test fit often. Materials like PETG can warp just a tiny bit, and it’s surprisingly easy to accidentally over-sand a spot.

   • For the trim: Try filling the area with some filler and gently scraping it back until it sits perfectly flush. It worked beautifully on my dome-to-back lip, which seems to be your same issue!

   • For the ears: You absolutely hit the nail on the head here. Those alignment studs Greg designed are brilliant, but they don't quite leave room for layers of paint. Taping them off to keep the plastic bare is the right move for a perfect fit and a strong glue bond. (Or, you can just lightly scuff the paint off the studs with high-grit sandpaper afterward).

Honestly, your build is coming along beautifully! For what it's worth, I used this mesh (https://a.co/d/04NzSWRj) for my own teeth and mic tips. While the scale is a tiny bit closer to the teeth than the mics, it is such a minor detail that I’m sure you’ll sail right through basic approval (and probably even higher tiers) without a hitch. I'm actually chatting with someone now about a tighter weave for the mics, but we haven't found anything definitive yet.

 

You are making massive strides with this project. Like Tony said, keep your head up—you've got this!

[Platinum Lex]

Thanks, since the was a half-scale helmet the tube stripes didn't come out as good, but for the full scale helmet they came out much better to the point that I don't even think I'll need to add that much putty. I printed out a buck for the lenses, and I looked at the tutorial you mentioned in the thread, but at the moment I don't have that much space in my workstation so I think I'll stick with my makeshift mold for now.

I'll work on the connector pins, or just take a couple off as I did with the face and back to make it easier and only keep the main ones. For the mesh, I think yours is very similar to the one I use, and it looks alright for half-scale, but much better when I tried it for a full aerator, same with the teeth. Speaking of the teeth, for this helmet I painted them the same satin grey, as they can be either dark grey or black, and I'm wondering which is more accurate. I have some charcoal grey, which is the grey that the clones use, as a darker option but if there isn't a more accurate choice I think I'll just stick with black for next time.

I know I said I'm going to do a clone next, but at this point I really don't know. I need to first get past some health complications because they're making other people mad, but once or while I get through that, I'll work on whatever I feel like.