Sayless's 3D Printed R1TK Build Thread

[Sayless]

10 hours ago, Sly11 said:

What a massive undertaking this is.

Certainly coming together nicely despite the few issues you've had with spaghetti prints and paint fry.

Looking forward to seeing this come full circle and you being approved.

 

Thanks Andrew! Excited for the day I get to submit my armor; still a long ways to go but I'm ready (mentally/emotionally more so than physically).

 

1 hour ago, ukswrath said:

This is outstanding! Absolutely impressive to me. 

Thank you Tony!! 

 

Super excited to be part of the FISD community, you guys are awesome! Currently chugging away on sanding, more priming, and hopefully tomorrow... my first "full test fit" to make sure everything is scaled properly. Can't believe how much I've done so far and forgotten to make sure it all fits, whoops.

[Sayless]

This isn’t quite the elaborate update I was hoping to post, but I have made some serious progress in the right direction.

 

One thing I’ve realized after reviewing more of my early prints is that my original mindset of “this can be fixed with spot putty and filler primer” really doesn’t hold up in practice.

 

For starters, 3D printed armor does not like aggressive sanding—especially with a DA sander and low grit paper. It tears up the outer walls and can even cause delamination (ask me how I know).

 

Don’t do this.

 

So… I’ve essentially reprinted just about everything, including the chest and back armor.

At first glance, this original chest plate looked decent (a bold word), but on closer inspection I realized I’d driven the soldering iron far too deep in a few spots for it to be worth salvaging. The lower chest peak had a cavity forming, and there were several areas with mid-print layer shifts. It might look fixable in photos, but given the time already invested, it was honestly faster and smarter to just reprint the part.

 

As many others have said: 3D printed armor is not for the faint of heart.

 

Here’s the replacement chest plate in primer. It’s not perfect (yet), as I’ll still be doing some spot putty touch-ups on a few low spots that only became visible after primer—but it’s already miles better than the original print.

 

A lot of that improvement comes from learning better seam placement and slicing strategies. Honestly, many of these issues probably wouldn’t exist if I’d started with a larger printer… but apparently I like creating my own challenges.

 

The new back plate still has a few lingering issues. I initially thought my nozzle had loosened, but after reviewing camera footage of the print, I realized that on larger parts my supports were actually breaking mid-print. That introduced more flex than I was comfortable with, which led to shifting and surface inconsistencies.

Some of the delamination I mentioned earlier from over sanding... but spot putty will fix this (well, I hope it will).

 

It’s a bit of a catch-22. Printing in larger sections reduces seams, but it also forces steeper angles and riskier orientations—which can (and have) lead to print instability and [far] more post-processing than I anticipated.

 

I’ve also primed all of the helmet greebles, and I went ahead and painted the vent backs. I’m not 100% convinced the color is perfectly screen accurate, but given how little of it is actually visible, I’m comfortable calling it “close enough.” The paint on these, ironically, came out flawless.

 

Meanwhile, the helmet itself is still curing. I’ve been checking daily by lightly pressing a fingernail into the surface to test hardness… which unfortunately means I now have four fingernail marks to sand out. Could be worse—but it’s definitely sitting there judging me while I work.

 

This is definitely one downside of Rustoleum compared to automotive acrylic systems. At this point I’m committed to this paint system for the helmet, since mixing paint types can cause reactions, but it does make me appreciate why experienced builders budget for higher-end coatings from the start.

 

And as I promised... here's my first unofficial test-fit, featuring what I'm jokingly referring to as my "low budget mimban armor".  The goal ultimately is to have a perfectly shiny suit, that may get a small bit of weathering as no suit in the SW universe is "perfect", right? But that's for a future date. Today, I think everything is scaled properly... but I'll let you all decide how off I am. I'm putting a small pause in continuing as this is a good point to make corrections if need be, rather than spending countless hours sanding and painting just to realize my scaling is off--feedback would be greatly apprecaited!!!

 

And if you've stuck through this update, here’s my first unofficial test fit—featuring what I’m jokingly calling my “low-budget Mimban armor.” I say that, as I realized when "suiting up" just how many different stages in the paint process I was with these various pieces, and just how many I still have left to even prime.

 

Fitment isn’t exactly perfect at this stage, which isn’t surprising since none of this has really been tested until now. On top of that, there are no mounting points, strapping, or real frame of reference yet, so my wife had to go into this completely blind with nothing but a roll of painter’s tape and the FISD R1TK galleries for guidance. All things considered, I think placement is close in most areas, but I know I’ve got an uphill battle ahead with the thighs and calves.

 

The thighs are currently on the tighter side, so my plan is to carefully heat-form them with a heat gun to gain a bit of extra room around the knee joint. The upside is that they actually stay up on their own right now. Once I add proper strapping connected to the belt/abdomen (which I haven’t started yet), that should help significantly with support and positioning.

 

The calves, on the other hand, are very loose. Either I need to start jogging and biking more… or I’ll end up adding some internal padding. I’ve already ordered the shin covers from Mr. Paul, which should arrive sometime next month, so that will complete the look and hide the front seam. Not pictured are the sniper knee and thigh ammo pack—both of which are printed, but painter’s tape was not enough to keep them in place for photos.

 

Long term, the goal is a clean, glossy suit with (maybe) very light weathering later on (because let’s be honest, nothing in the Star Wars universe is perfectly pristine). But that’s a future problem.

 

For now, my main priority is confirming scale and proportions before I sink any more hours into finishing work. If anything looks noticeably off, please don’t hesitate to point it out—I’d much rather correct it now than discover issues after everything is painted. I know it’s a little tricky to judge from just these photos (especially with painter’s tape holding more than half of it together), but any feedback at this stage is genuinely appreciated.

 

Because of that, I’m putting a temporary pause on armor progress for the rest of the week so I can make adjustments where needed. My goal is to get everything dialed in for Level 1 at a minimum, and ultimately Level 2 once I’ve added the remaining soft parts like gloves, undersuit, and boots.

 

In the meantime, I’ll be shifting focus toward the internal build and starting to order materials for the harness system—suspenders, nylon webbing, and what will likely be a copious amount of Velcro.

[Sayless]

I haven’t exactly made the progress I was hoping for, but we’re moving forward regardless.

 

After the test fit, I’ve realized I really need to start focusing on proper strapping—specifically suspenders for the abdomen, along with straps for the chest and back armor and a system for rigging the arms. The thighs and calves are still areas of concern, but I have a few ideas for those that I want to tackle later once I’ve sorted out the belt, which is still a bit TBD at the moment.

 

It wouldn’t be a proper update if I didn’t talk about the helmet.

 

This shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point, but… the paint reacted. Again.

 

After a lot of research, trial and error, and some troubleshooting, I’ve come to the conclusion that something in an earlier base coat is reacting with the newer layers. The reactions are appearing in the exact same spots, even after thoroughly cleaning the surface between coats with mineral spirits and isopropyl alcohol.

 

This happened after applying what should have been a light coat, which immediately began to run. At this point it almost seems like the paint has simply decided it doesn’t want to adhere whatsoever. I know Glen mentioned earlier it could be from a previous coat going on to thick, which is still a pretty likely reason for all of this. If that is the case, there's probably some uncured paint from those thicker coats somewhere in the middle of all of this mess.

 

Which leads me to the most current plan... which is to sand it back down to primer—and probably plastic in a few spots—and start fresh.

 

I’ve also decided that while we're at it to take things a step further and switch paints for the white.

 

I know I’ve mentioned my frustrations with Rustoleum as a "brand", but realistically a spray gun and booth just aren’t in the budget right now. Automotive spray options like Duplicolor are significantly more expensive, especially online. That said, I’ve gone ahead and ordered a six-pack of a different paint that uses an acrylic base rather than enamel, which I’m hopeful will eliminate the compatibility issues I’ve been fighting:

 

One of my other working theories is that the enamel top coats didn’t play nicely with the automotive-style primer underneath. I can’t say that’s definitively the cause, but between that and the still-off-gassing heavy coats, it's enough to warrant the decision to try a different system (or in this case, paint blend). The new paint arrives Wednesday, so in the meantime I’m pushing to finish priming the rest of the armor.

 

Which, of course, means returning to everyone’s favorite part of this process: spot putty and sanding.

 

I started by revisiting some of the more prominent pieces, like the chest and back plates:

 

These weren’t necessarily bad to begin with, but if I’m putting in the effort to make sure the helmet comes out right, I might as well hold the rest of the suit to that same standard. It’s definitely crossed my mind that fiberglass armor might have been less intensive at this stage, but after reading a number of those build threads, I think I’ve landed at roughly the same point they reach when dealing with pinholes and cracks. The main difference is that I’m battling layer lines while they’re not.

 

After a while it started to feel a bit repetitive working the same pieces over and over, so I decided to mix things up and bring in the finished leg parts I had just plastic-welded earlier in the week.

Which reminds me—that was also when my Milwaukee M12 soldering iron decided it was time to retire permanently. So that was another unexpected delay.

 

 

The primer went on beautifully (as it usually does)… right up until I dropped one of the pieces in the yard.

Can you tell which one it was?

 

So for now I’m back in the familiar holding pattern of:

 

putty → sand → primer → sand → putty → primer

 

I’m letting the next round of spot putty cure before hopefully getting a coat of primer on later this evening. I also suspect I’m about to run out of primer again, which seems pretty on-brand for my planning skills.

 

Hopefully I’m a better trooper than I am a supply officer.

 

But, there’s still plenty left to tackle. I’ll probably move on to the forearms and biceps next for finishing work, but with any luck I might be able to knock out all of the helmet greebles before the weekend ends—you may be able to spot the forehead trim and one of the ear pieces on my Bondo station.

 

That would at least count as a small win for the Empire. Anyways, back to sanding/puttying and re-watching the first season of Andor.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

A tedious job, but you will win in the end, don't loose hope 

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

You got this Zach, getting close 

[Sayless]

On 2/28/2026 at 4:47 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

A tedious job, but you will win in the end, don't loose hope 

 

 

2 hours ago, ukswrath said:

You got this Zach, getting close 

 

Thank you, Glen & Tony! Honestly, if I hadn’t started this build thread here, I might have thrown in the towel after some of the headaches I’ve run into.

 

---

 

This is a quick update, and admittedly not one I’m thrilled about, but I want to document everything properly for transparency’s sake.

 

For anyone reading this down the road—whether out of curiosity or as a reference for your own build—heed this warning: buy the right paint from the start.

 

It doesn’t seem like it matters until it suddenly really does. Don’t just grab whatever’s on the shelf thinking, “Surely this will work.” I did… and it hasn’t.

 

Switching to Upol filler primer has honestly been one of the best decisions I’ve made (right up there with choosing Paul’s files). The original enamel-based Rustoleum, on the other hand, has been my biggest setback. Not only does it struggle to dry properly, but when it doesn’t dry, it absolutely refuses to sand cleanly.

 

 

At this point… I’m calling it.

 

Helmet #2 is officially retired, and I’m starting over for the third time.

 

Could I strip it down with acetone or mineral spirits and salvage it? Probably. But the time and effort required to get it back to bare plastic simply isn’t worth it, especially when I still have time to do this right. The bigger loss is the plastic, but there were already a couple of structural issues starting to show—like uneven glue spread across the chin section that’s beginning to separate from the face (maybe I'm self-justifying).

 

On top of that, the paint itself has been fighting me every step of the way. Any time a dry corner of sandpaper so much as brushed a section I wasn’t intending to sand yet, it would literally peel the paint back. Working the cheek vents was just as miserable; my file always seemed to find the perfect edge to catch and lift paint I thought was surely dry—but clearly wasn’t. It definitely didn’t help that even after nearly two weeks of curing, there were still hidden layers underneath that were gummy and semi-wet.

 

Fixable? Absolutely.
Worth the time investment? Not really.

 

So this is the official pin in Helmet #2.

 

Helmet #3 should finish printing by Tuesday evening at this rate, which actually lines up perfectly. That gives me time to putty, sand, and prep before my next shipment of primer arrives Thursday. The new acrylic-based paint is scheduled for Wednesday, so if everything cooperates, this next attempt could come together much more smoothly.

 

On the bright side, I’ve nearly finished painting all the other helmet components (ears aside), so once the new bucket is ready, final assembly should move fairly quickly, and we can put this chapter to bed.

 

At this point I’m less building a helmet and more conducting paint experiments. Wish me luck?

Edited March 2 by Sayless
Spacing

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Sometimes it can take more work to fix a piece than to start over again. Once you have issues in the paint I have found it very difficult to overcome it fully. Paint thickness, drying and types are the 3 biggest issues.

 

Like most things in life you live and learn and a lot is trial and error.

 

You have the right attitude and keep at it, you will get there in the end.

 

[Sayless]

42 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Sometimes it can take more work to fix a piece than to start over again. Once you have issues in the paint I have found it very difficult to overcome it fully. Paint thickness, drying and types are the 3 biggest issues.

 

Like most things in life you live and learn and a lot is trial and error.

 

You have the right attitude and keep at it, you will get there in the end.

 

Considering that little bit of sanding was approximately the entire Narkina 5 prison arc, it seemed fitting to pause and re-evaluate my efforts. 
 

I’d saying I’m trying to do better on this next one, but like Master Yoda said “Do or do not, there is no try”. Also, love the collection of Star Wars memes at your disposal. 😂

[jsilvius[Staff]]

@Sayless don't encourage him, we get enough from the meme squad.  That said, keep up the good work. I know that @BigJasoni has tried to dissuade folks because of how much extra time and effort is involved with the sanding, and priming and painting and sanding, etc to complete this type of build. But it has to feel good when you finally reach the finish line! Keep up the amazing work.

 

[Morgi[Staff]]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb jsilvius:

we get enough from the meme squad.

 

We've been wayyyyyy too quite lately. Everyone, please feel free to share some FISD-specific Memes in the meme thread 

[Sayless]

13 hours ago, jsilvius said:

@Sayless don't encourage him, we get enough from the meme squad.  That said, keep up the good work. I know that @BigJasoni has tried to dissuade folks because of how much extra time and effort is involved with the sanding, and priming and painting and sanding, etc to complete this type of build. But it has to feel good when you finally reach the finish line! Keep up the amazing work.

 

 

I had no idea there was an entire thread dedicated to memes, and unfortunately for my wife’s sake (who is not nearly as invested in Star Wars as I am), I’ve been laughing hysterically since you shared it.

I do wish Jason was still more active on the forums—I’d love to pick his brain about some of the 3D printed nuances, especially around rigging and long-term durability. I completely understand now why he’s cautioned people against going this route. It’s far more involved than I initially thought—and honestly, more humbling.

 

That said, there’s definitely a strange sense of accomplishment with each successful print… usually followed by a brief moment of existential dread when the next one fails. I wouldn’t say I can see the finish line yet, but I know it’s somewhere within reach.

 

6 hours ago, Morgi said:

 

We've been wayyyyyy too quite lately. Everyone, please feel free to share some FISD-specific Memes in the meme thread 

 

 

Keep 'em coming! I was scrolling at the red lights during my work commute this morning, and this one hit a bit close to home:

 

Thanks @gmrhodes13 for the laugh, this meme is honestly the most accurate representation of my entire build thread so far.

[jsilvius[Staff]]

7 minutes ago, Sayless said:

I do wish Jason was still more active on the forums—I’d love to pick his brain about some of the 3D printed nuances, especially around rigging and long-term durability. I completely understand now why he’s cautioned people against going this route. It’s far more involved than I initially thought—and honestly, more humbling.

Jason was in my Garrison, I still chat with him on FB now and again. Unfortunately for all of us, he requested to be retired last year and is no longer an active Legion member.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Gotta laugh 

[Shanester[TK]]

Nice work! I am always fascinated to see these printed costumes take shape.

[Sayless]

On 3/2/2026 at 11:14 AM, jsilvius said:

Jason was in my Garrison, I still chat with him on FB now and again. Unfortunately for all of us, he requested to be retired last year and is no longer an active Legion member.

Definitely a shame, but life happens and priorities change. I’m just glad my wife supports this hobby… so long as she hasn’t discovered the full cost of it yet.

 

19 hours ago, ukswrath said:

Gotta laugh 

Some of these memes are freakin’ hysterical!

 

4 hours ago, Shanester said:

Nice work! I am always fascinated to see these printed costumes take shape.

Thanks Shane! It’s been an awesome experience so far. I will say the most exciting part is the frequent camera checks to see if the supports are still standing, whether there’s been a layer shift, and so on. It’s like riding a low-budget roller coaster at the county fair—you never quite know what’s going to happen next, but that’s part of the fun.

 

---

 

Unrelated, but the new helmet is nearly done printing. I should have a small update later tonight, along with a funny story (at least I think it’s funny) to go with it.

[Sayless]

At what point does it officially become a problem that I now have three R1TK helmets?

 

Granted, none of them are remotely complete, but it is a little wild seeing all three of these sitting on my workbench.

 

To address the obvious elephant in the room: I didn’t realize I had ordered black PETG again until it arrived. My plan was to finish off the remaining third of a roll of white PETG that was already sitting in my filament dryer—which explains why the chin piece is white.

 

But honestly, it’s not a big deal. Everything will be painted in the end anyway, and with this one I actually plan to paint the interior black, so it should work out just fine.

 

This time around I’m taking a page out of Greg/@TKModder421's playbook. Because of the issues I’ve run into previously, I’m opting to finish all of the individual helmet pieces separately before assembling them—similar to how he documented his process in his build thread.

 

After rewatching Andor S1, Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka while sanding what feels like half the armor in the galaxy, I’ve really started to appreciate how pronounced the edges and panel gaps are on the screen-used armor. Obviously the real suits aren’t 3D printed, but I think this approach will help me get surprisingly close to that look.

 

There were a few minor printing issues, most of which were related to support placement (and can easily be fixed). A 256×256×256 build volume can accommodate Nico/Greg’s files, but ideally you’d want a larger print bed to orient some of these pieces more optimally.

 

Overall, I’d give this print about an 8.5/10. It’s not "perfect" (yet), but I’m extremely happy with how the back of the helmet turned out compared to my previous attempt—which, as some of you saw earlier in my build, was… less than ideal.

 

For anyone following along or attempting these files themselves, here’s how I oriented the different pieces on my print bed based on what worked during previous attempts—and the physical limitations of printing at 100% scale on a 256 bed.

(Wife took the last photo for me.)

 

The next step is a light pass over all four of the pieces with 120 grit to help the spot putty adhere better.

 

Then, my new cans of primer should still arrive Thursday, and the acrylic-based paint is scheduled for tomorrow—so fingers crossed everything lines up. I also need to settle on a better adhesive for assembly. Up to this point I’ve been using Gorilla Glue Gel, which has produced… mixed results. Sometimes it works flawlessly. Other times I’ll be walking through the house with a print in my hand and suddenly half of it falls to the floor because the glue decided it was done participating. Suggestions welcome!

 

Anyway, that’s my “mini-update” as promised.

[jsilvius[Staff]]

I also need to settle on a better adhesive for assembly. Up to this point I’ve been using Gorilla Glue Gel, which has produced… mixed results.

I have had really good success with the Gorilla 2 pat epoxy. It takes a bit longer to setup, vs the gel glue, but it has been solid. I've also used JB Weld 2 part epoxy as well with good results.



Sent from my SM-S938U using Tapatalk

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Sayless said:

At what point does it officially become a problem that I now have three R1TK helmets?

 

Granted, none of them are remotely complete, but it is a little wild seeing all three of these sitting on my workbench.

 

Options 

 

 

[Sayless]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Options 

 

Would this be considered a Remnant TK? Or is this just one of the troopers from Obi Wan? Granted, not going for 100% accuracy with spare helmets, but I do love this dirty/worn look. 

 

2 hours ago, jsilvius said:

 

 

I have had really good success with the Gorilla 2 pat epoxy. It takes a bit longer to setup, vs the gel glue, but it has been solid. I've also used JB Weld 2 part epoxy as well with good results.



Sent from my SM-S938U using Tapatalk
 

 

Funny enough, I have a brand new thing of Gorilla 2-part that I hadn’t even considered using for the helmet… was planning to use it to fix some of the cover strips to my shins and arms, but this is genius. I’ve got some mixing in my future. 

Edited March 4 by Sayless

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

18 hours ago, Sayless said:

Would this be considered a Remnant TK? Or is this just one of the troopers from Obi Wan? Granted, not going for 100% accuracy with spare helmets, but I do love this dirty/worn look. 

Yes, but there are a few different versions so we will have to see what happens with the CRL, are some differences in accessories, holster, end cap paint, pauldrons etc etc depending on which show. There is a remnant with RO style armor & helmet and also a RO style armor, Anovos OT helmet and OT boots. 

[TK 33773[TK]]

Can't wait to get you in the tampa bay squad. Keep up the good work. 

[Sayless]

Strap in, this is a loooong update! 

 

On 3/5/2026 at 2:43 PM, TK 33773 said:

Can't wait to get you in the tampa bay squad. Keep up the good work. 

For starters, thank you Chuck! Excited for the possibility to join the Tampa Bay Squad here soon, fingers crossed this next bit goes well.

 

On 3/4/2026 at 4:20 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

Yes, but there are a few different versions so we will have to see what happens with the CRL, are some differences in accessories, holster, end cap paint, pauldrons etc etc depending on which show. There is a remnant with RO style armor & helmet and also a RO style armor, Anovos OT helmet and OT boots. 

Also, Glen, this is super helpful! I did find that with brake cleaner (and some elbow grease) I can scrape off *most* of the enamel paint but funny enough (maybe not funny?) it doesn't seem to have any visible adverse affects on the primer coat... I suppose I'll find out later down the line if that holds true, but I do believe I'll try my hand at a weather bucket with my spare helmet for some garage decor.

 

---

 

Now, while waiting for spot putty and primer to dry, I’ve been doing what many others here have done—spending some time studying the gallery to make sure I haven’t missed anything. That exercise quickly reminded me just how much I still haven’t completed… and the list is longer than I’d like to admit.

 

I’ve also taken a bit of creative liberty with parts of my armor and made a few retroactive changes that I think will benefit me when it comes to troopings and conventions. From reading through other build threads, it seems the Empire strongly discourages pockets, so I found a Rogue One/Non-Saga thermal detonator file on Thingiverse that was modified to allow for some concealed, “in-universe” storage.

 

Granted, this does mean there’s now a non-zero chance my keys & credit card might detonate… but I’m willing to take that risk.

 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the original belt mount I printed for it, so I went ahead and reprinted that as well—this time changing the orientation and printing at 0.16mm layer height instead of 0.20mm. For a piece that will never actually be seen, I think it turned out pretty good (old=white; new=black).

 

Of course, that’s a pretty small task compared to the rest of the parts I had completely forgotten about, which brings us right back to everyone’s favorite stage: Bondo spot putty. Again.

 

At the moment, my back porch has become what I’d describe as organized chaos. I currently know where everything is… but it definitely looks like I’ve created a disaster zone. Normally I’d be doing this stage in the comfort of my garage, but I’ve gotten into the bad habit of forgetting that sanding in there means coating my car in plastic dust. So for now, the hot, humid porch it is.

 

That said, a couple of good things have happened and we’re finally taking a big step in the right direction, because the new helmet is well underway. Actually, it’s probably easier to just show you.

 

If I could stop right here at the primer stage, I’d probably be much happier in life—but apparently I’m a glutton for punishment. So it’s back to sanding, spot putty, and, you guessed it: more primer.

 

And I almost forgot the eye bump. I briefly considered skipping it entirely (which would pretty much rule out Centurion down the road), but ultimately decided to go for it. Here it is in all its glory. Compared to my last attempt, I centered it a bit better and went with a wider, more even hump, which feels slightly less aggressive than the previous version. I

 

Now, comparing this to the reference photos from SWC 2022…

I personally don’t see much of an eye bump at all. I know some people say it’s blatantly obvious, while others question whether it even exists in the first place. Either way, the debate seems to go both directions. At this point, though, I’ve committed to it—and I’m not turning back now.

 

Which brings us to my favorite part of this update: the white paint.

 

Okay, maybe not my favorite part, but it’s definitely the stage I’ve been looking forward to since the last fiasco (first photo in today's post) with the original enamel paint I was using. This time around, I’ve officially switched over to an acrylic-based paint.

 

Don’t mind the mic tips and vocoder hiding in the background… we’re getting close.

 

Coincidentally, both the old paint and the new paint are from Rustoleum, but the results so far have been very different… in a good way.

The initial “dust” coat went down flawlessly!

 

Well… almost flawlessly. I’ve been having an issue with one particular ear (see below) where both the primer and now the paint seem to be reacting the same way, creating a small “bubble” effect. At this point I’m tempted to just reprint it, but I’m going to try sanding it back first and see if that solves the problem. My guess is that something contaminated the surface—either oils from my hands while handling it or possibly some leftover Bondo dust I didn’t clean off well enough.

 

Either way, the plan is to sand it down and see how it behaves before making any drastic decisions—back to the big pieces.

 

I got a *little* ahead of myself with the excitement and may have gone slightly heavy on my last coat, which resulted in two small runs—one on the chin piece (the more obvious one) and a minor run on the left side of the face above the teeth insert. Thankfully both look like they’ll sand out pretty easily tomorrow. The plan is to smooth those out, apply a light touch-up coat, and then move on to clear coat this Friday.

 

Honestly, things are finally starting to come together. In hindsight, I probably should have tested this new paint on something easier to fix or replace—like a hand guard—but apparently I enjoy making things difficult for myself. After all, if I didn’t like a challenge, I wouldn’t be 3D printing this entire suit from scratch.

 

If all goes well with the touch-up coat tomorrow, I’ll post another quick update.

 

In the meantime, I’ve ordered the HIPS material for the belt, which should wrap up most of the remaining armor work. I still need to pick up boots, gloves, and a neck seal, which I plan to order from KeepTrooping during their next drop. Unfortunately I’ll be out of town around that time, so there’s a chance I might miss it and have to wait for the April drop instead.

 

Between now and then I’ll keep working through the remaining spot putty stages on the various armor pieces (I've made little progress on the arms), but at this point the finish line is finally starting to come into view—and I’m ready for it.

[Sayless]

A small mid-week progress report after a few hiccups on Sunday.

 

For starters, the helmet is "essentially finished." The white paint portion is completely done, and the plan is to apply SprayMax 2K Glamour Clearcoat this Friday.

 

In the spirit of full transparency, after fixing the run on the chin piece (which I sanded and repainted flawlessly, I might add), I promptly dropped it in the yard. So after waiting another 48 hours for the paint to cure enough to sand, I repainted it yesterday and now—finally—it’s done. No notes.

 

That means all of the white paint on the helmet is officially complete, which is honestly a beautiful thing to see. Switching from the enamel-based paints to acrylic lacquer has been a night-and-day difference, and the finish has been far more forgiving to work with. Once the armor portion of the build is finished, I plan to go back and update my original post with a breakdown of all the products I used—including what worked well and what I’d recommend others avoid based on my own experience.

 

While enamel paints clearly weren’t the right choice for larger pieces like the overall helmet, I still found them useful for smaller details like the brow trim and helmet greebles (we'll circle back to this soon).

 

The downside is that enamel simply doesn’t dry fast enough, and I ran into curing issues again. The top layer would appear dry, but underneath the lower coats were still soft and almost gummy. I managed to capture a photo of it below, which shows exactly what I mean—the surface looked fine (minus the wrinkling), but even before I could get to sanding you can see the lower layers still haven't fully cured (hence the finger nail indents and fingerprints).

 

Because of that, I ended up just reprinting the brow trim, which is now back in the familiar cycle of spot putty (current) → primer → spot putty again.

 

Fortunately, the brow is such a small piece that it wasn’t much of a setback. The file only uses about 30g of filament and takes roughly an hour to print at 0.12 layer height, so it honestly made more sense to just reprint it rather than keep fighting the paint. This will inevitably get sanded down and primed tonight, since that stuff tends to dry pretty quick. 

 

The rest of the armor is now in its final spot putty stages, which means it should be ready for primer by Friday.

 

The plan is to attempt to coat all of the current parts with primer, which means tonight and tomorrow will involve copious amounts of sanding. At this point I’ve gone through eight tubes of spot putty, and I’m personally ready to move on from this stage unless it's for minor fixes.

 

My back porch has basically become a tripping hazard at this point, but it shows progress is happening. I’ve also started permanently attaching (with CA glue) some of the smaller components, like the chest and back trapezoids for the shoulder straps, as well as the "O II" design and it’s finally starting to resemble actual armor. This of course meant more putty.

 

There were still a few areas I wasn’t completely satisfied with—probably more than a few—so those received yet another round of putty. At this point I *believe* I’ve filled just about every minor crack and pinhole I can find, and with my stock of spot putty running dangerously low, I’m comfortable calling it good (I think).

 

The rest of the larger armor components have received the same treatment and should be ready for primer (or a second coat in some instances) alongside the other pieces.

 

Compared to my earlier prints of Akira’s models, I still stand by the statement that Paul’s parts are simply just… better. I’ve admittedly had a hard time justifying the $200 USD price tag, especially since I currently have no plans to build a Shoretrooper, but the difference in quality has been noticeable. These parts have required minimal post-processing, and the overall fit and finish has been phenomenal.

(Pre-spot putty touch-ups to my printing seams)

 

That new-found attention to detail has also made me realize something I had overlooked earlier…

 

After sharing my thermal detonator in my last update, I realized I had accidentally printed the wrong length version. The file included both a short and long option, with the longer version being closer to the CRL requirement of roughly 8 inches.

 

So naturally, I reprinted it.

 

And promptly ran out of black filament midway through the print—hence the white section near the top. Fortunately I caught it in time and was able to finish the piece.

 

There isn’t much more progress to report beyond continuing to power through the finishing stages. I’ll be out of town next week, so updates will likely pause for about two weeks aside from any small progress notes.

 

The helmet should (again, weather permitting) receive its 2K clear coat this Friday, and then I plan to give it ample time to properly cure before touching it again. With any luck, I’ll be able to begin final helmet assembly when I return next weekend.

 

In the meantime, a few other things are already in motion:

• Waiting for HIPS material so I can form and build the belt

• Parts from Mr. Paul, including shin cover strips and metal shoulder bell supports

• Planning the internal strapping and harness system

The metal shoulder supports should give me a solid mounting point for snaps, which I plan to use with nylon webbing (and possibly some elastic) to connect the shoulders and biceps to the torso.

 

I’ve been intensely studying several other builds—particularly @11b30b4's build thread, @BigJasoni's build, and @TheRascalKing's—for ideas. With there have been some newer discoveries around certain interchangeable parts between ST and TK armor from MPSB (arms, calves, abdomen), it’s now possible to rig things much closer to how the suits appear to have been built on screen. That said, I still want the final setup to be comfortable and practical for trooping, so I’ll likely incorporate a few personal tweaks.

 

One area I’d really like to document clearly in this thread is my take on the strapping system, since there are still a few grey areas—especially around how the cod and posterior armor should be secured.

 

So, where does that leave me?

 

Right now the helmet is ready for clear coat, and the rest of the armor is entering its final primer stage this week (provided there aren’t any major touch-ups required).

 

Once primer is finished, the next big milestone will be dialing in the strapping and fitment before moving on to base coat and clear coat for the armor itself. This is an area I expect will prompt the most questions, as frankly, I have no idea what I'm doing, but I feel like this is the right approach instead of attempting strapping on fresh paint. My logic here is that if I mess something up... it's just primer, right?

 

Despite a few setbacks, I’m still comfortably on track to have the suit completed before my office Halloween party, which means there’s a decent chance I might even make it to a local con or two before then—assuming everything goes according to plan.

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

12 minutes ago, Sayless said:

A small mid-week progress report after a few hiccups on Sunday.

 

For starters, the helmet is "essentially finished." The white paint portion is completely done, and the plan is to apply SprayMax 2K Glamour Clearcoat this Friday.

 

I've been loosely following along and boy howdy do I have a lot to say, but let's start with the important things:

- Your head is in the right place and the research is coming together and looking great! I've been planning a revamp of my suit with printed parts for a while now and just haven't gotten through the sanding and prep.

- I would absolutely not recommend 2K clear coating the suit. It makes it too glossy for accuracy, and you'll just need to sand through clear and white when you get cracks. Clearing my ROTK is one of my biggest regrets on the build. 

 

Good luck!

[Sayless]

4 minutes ago, TheRascalKing said:

 

I've been loosely following along and boy howdy do I have a lot to say, but let's start with the important things:

- Your head is in the right place and the research is coming together and looking great! I've been planning a revamp of my suit with printed parts for a while now and just haven't gotten through the sanding and prep.

- I would absolutely not recommend 2K clear coating the suit. It makes it too glossy for accuracy, and you'll just need to sand through clear and white when you get cracks. Clearing my ROTK is one of my biggest regrets on the build. 

 

Good luck!

 

Thank you for the insight—I’m always happy to hear pointers, tips, or corrections if you have the time!

 

My current thought process is to only use the 2K clear on the helmet. For the remainder of the armor I’m leaning toward a simple 1K automotive clear, mostly for cost reasons but also to avoid going too glossy (like you stated). I do agree that the screen-used armor doesn’t have that "high-gloss sheen", so I’m still trying to figure out the best balance between protecting the finish and replicating the look.

 

One idea I had was doing a mid-grit wet sand and light buff, rather than the full 1000 → 1500 → 2000 progression that would produce a mirror finish. That way the coverage is even but the final result stays closer to the screen-used appearance, while hopefully helping prevent the paint from yellowing over time.

 

Good point as well about potential cracking. I’ve already had a couple issues with my abdomen armor developing cracks due to poor reinforcement, and even just redoing the primer on those areas has been… interesting.

 

Looking forward to seeing future updates on your own ROTK thread as well—it’s been an awesome resource to follow. I actually borrowed a couple of your Rustoleum color choices along the way.