Sayless's 3D Printed R1TK Build Thread

[Sayless]

Alright, let’s get this build back on track!

 

I had a couple of obstacles I wanted to overcome—and I think I finally made some real progress. The biggest one being the dreaded thighs (yes, these again). After picking up Modsuhels’ files, I quickly realized (once again) that my pursuit of screen accuracy… was still a bit off. While the clamshell design actually works this time (unlike Akira’s, at least for me), the cover strips themselves weren’t quite right.

 

I probably spent a solid four hours staring at reference photos and comparison shots (fronts, backs… all mixed together) before finally coming to the conclusion: I’ll just make my own. And honestly? They’re still not 100% accurate—but they’re close enough that I can live with it. Let’s call it high 90%. 

 

To get there, I separated the original strips from the files in Meshmixer (don’t ask how long that took), printed those as a reference and took some measurements as I scaled these to fit me, and finally I designed my own revised versions of the cover strips themselves. 

 

From everything I’ve researched, Paul’s kit seems to be one of the most accurate out there currently for a lot of this bits, so I used his parts as a general reference—especially since I’m already incorporating a good portion of the Shoretrooper kit into this build anyway.

 

This, unfortunately, took a couple of tries to get my measurements dialed in. How's that saying go? Print twice, measure once? 

 

But, after a few (emphasis on "few") failed attempts, I was met with success! It only took me 3 attempts to get it right the first time.

 

I had planned to chemically weld the pieces together using acetone… but between the curved surfaces and underestimating how long it actually takes to properly set, that didn’t quite pan out. So instead, I pivoted to using a good 'ole plastic epoxy, which has been much more reliable.

 

I’ve also gotten a bit better with timing my vapor smoothing… and by “gotten better,” I mean I now set alarms on my phone or watch so I don’t accidentally melt parts into abstract art overnight. I'm hopeful this will make my post-processing a *bit* quicker.

 

Which more or less wraps up the thighs—which means…

We’re back to everyone’s favorite stage: sand → putty → primer → repeat → eventually paint. This go around, I'll skip sharing the boring parts, and we can just fast forward to paint. You might've even caught some peeks at some parts I've been slowly painting for the next build update/entry.

 

While I’m working through that, I’ve also got my printers queued up for the next project: the E11 blaster, which I’m planning to fully print in black ABS.

 

(Sneak peak of the assembled barrel)

 

I’m cautiously optimistic that sanding the blaster will be slightly less miserable than the armor has been… but we’ll see. That said, it’s almost fully printed, so expect to see that here shortly.

 

On top of that, a strong majority of the materials for my strapping system have finally arrived—which is exciting, because it means I’m getting very close to actually wearing the armor I’ve spent the last 4½ months building.

 

I’m finally starting to get the hang of this whole “armor building” thing… now let’s just hope it’s as accurate as I keep telling myself it is.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You may have already noticed, the coverstrips are not placed central , they are more to the outer side ridge corners. Also inner side thigh ridges sits lower. 

 

But with the shins there is no gap present and they touch the top ridge corner

 

Also thigh ridge is angled to a point, shin ridges are straight

 

Tend to be pretty loose and move around

 

[Sayless]

On 4/24/2026 at 10:03 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

You may have already noticed, the coverstrips are not placed central , they are more to the outer side ridge corners. Also inner side thigh ridges sits lower. 

 

But with the shins there is no gap present and they touch the top ridge corner

 

Also thigh ridge is angled to a point, shin ridges are straight

 

I swear, these thighs are going to be the bane of my existence! (..hah)

 

Here's the current back of mine:

 

I think it'll be close, but I'm redesigning the rear cover strips to be a bit longer as my earlier rendition came just above the bottom edge as previously shown. Angle wise, they are a bit more "outward" but not nearly as much as the Celebration reference shots. Looking at the shots from Andor(?), the files seem to be a bit more in line with those references, but still are a bit off.

 

While I'm aware of some of the inaccuracies, I did go ahead and pickup a Hot Toys Artillery Stormtrooper to help with some references I'm struggling to find (namely the back plate, still) and this is what it's got in comparison:

 

I might try to see if I can finesse the files a bit down the road, or inevitably go about trying to design some of my own. I do like on the toy model that the thigh ammo boxes are offset by some added material. I'm sure this wasn't used specifically on screen, but, it would certainly help with adhering these to the thigh as there's minimal surface area for glue...

 

Appreciate the references as always Glen! 

Edited April 26 by Sayless
Pressed "Enter" on accident.

[Sayless]

May the Fourth be with you!

 

It’s not often I get to say that in my day-to-day life, so it feels fitting to drop it here today. Anyway… this is a bit of a little-big-ish update.

 

I’ve officially hit a wall with this build.

 

Shocking, I know.

 

After chasing what feels like every “most accurate TK file” out there, I’ve reached a point where I’m just… tired of spending money on files that claim accuracy, but miss the mark on the exact pieces I need.

 

So instead of continuing down that path, I made a decision: I’m just going to design my own.

 

I’m building these using the gallery references (Celebration photos/R1 photos), a ton of 4K screen grabs (thanks @fernferro for the help here!), and a Sideshow Artillery Trooper as a physical reference. In their current state… I think they’re getting close.

 

But I’ll be the first to admit—I’m very much learning as I go. My only real “formal” experience was a three-week crash course in Fusion360 when I reworked my thermal detonator. Blender? This is very much trial by fire.

 

Is this overly ambitious? Yes.

Am I probably risking my Halloween deadline? Also yes.

Have I gotten much sleep leading up to this update? Absolutely not.

 

Let’s move away from the wall of text (I’m starting to sound like Jason) and into what actually matters. The chest plate:

 

And the back plate:

 

These aren’t finished yet—but I think they’re getting close.

 

Still left to tackle:

• back greebles (cog + “II”)
• shoulder slots (currently the bane of my existence)
• general refinement and cleanup

Like others have done, the back piece will be designed as an insert to make printing more manageable. That’s really the core goal with all of this: Make it accurate—but also make it easily printable.

(First attempt (of 8), you can see some inconsistencies in the diamond recess that I’ve since corrected.)

 

I’m choosing to look at this as a minor setback for a much bigger payoff.

 

This is probably the second biggest undertaking in this entire build (first being to start). I have zero formal experience in this space—but honestly, it’s been a blast figuring it out along the way. That said, updates may slow down a bit while I go deeper into this rabbit hole. I’m definitely chasing perfection more than I was before… and I’m not entirely sure how far that’s going to take me.

 

As always, feedback is more than welcome (and greatly appreciated).

[Sayless]

Backwards progress update!

 

I essentially scrapped the files I previously showed… and started over.

...then I did that two more times.

 

However, after several failed attempts (and an unhealthy amount of staring at reference photos on airplanes), I think I’ve finally landed somewhere presentable. I also learned what a “matcap” was in Blender, which ended up being instrumental in helping me spot some pretty nasty high and low points throughout the surfaces. Once I finally understood what I was looking at, I was able to correct a lot of those inconsistencies—and honestly, I think the results are starting to speak for themselves.

 

Again, I’m by no means a professional modeler here. I’m just someone who got frustrated after spending a good chunk of money on files that still didn’t quite capture the look of the screen-used armor.

 

I’m not claiming these are 100% accurate… but visually, I do think I’m making solid progress.

 

The chestplate:

 

The backplate:

 

I’d still argue neither of these are fully “done” yet, and there are absolutely areas I could still refine depending on how many hours I want to dedicate. But provided I can get clean prints and finish them properly with paint and post-processing, I’m hopeful these should at least get me through basic approval.

 

That said, if anything looks off—or if I’m missing details—please don’t hesitate to call it out. I’m hoping to start test printing these at full scale relatively soon… assuming I can first figure out what keeps clogging my printer nozzles.

[Platinum Lex]

Love seeing the progress, but just out of curiosity what are your plans going to be once you finish modeling the armor? Are you going to sell it, keep, it, give it out to the community?

I'm not judging your answer or anything I'm just curious because I'm interested in following your journey and perhaps using these files if I ever have to redo my armor (again...).

[Sayless]

2 minutes ago, Platinum Lex said:

Love seeing the progress, but just out of curiosity what are your plans going to be once you finish modeling the armor? Are you going to sell it, keep, it, give it out to the community?

I'm not judging your answer or anything I'm just curious because I'm interested in following your journey and perhaps using these files if I ever have to redo my armor (again...).

 

This is the (no pun intended) million-dollar question. Truthfully, I don’t fully know yet.

 

Right now, the main goal is simply to finish a set of files that I’m personally happy with. I’m now five months into this build and have essentially restarted multiple times because I keep finding things I’m not content with accuracy-wise (thigh armor, I'm looking at you).

 

A huge part of this process has also just been learning. A a little over a month ago, I had basically zero Blender experience, so a lot of this has been trial, error, and figuring things out as I go. At the moment, these are primarily being built as supplemental pieces to pair with the MPSB files since a lot of the geometry and compatibility already exists there. Out of respect for Paul’s work and licensing, I can see a use-case where modeling my own files makes sense, as I cannot (and will not) distribute the necessary mods they need in order to comply with the TK CRLs. 

 

That said, long-term? I’d absolutely like to eventually release my own files in some capacity.

 

Not because I’m trying to become a major armor vendor or anything, but because there really does seem to be a gap for highly accurate Anthology/New-Era TK files that are also printable and reasonably accessible.

 

If I ever do release anything publicly, I’d want it to be:

• heavily tested (working on this now)
• accuracy-focused
• easy enough to print
• and reasonably priced

Especially since the deeper I get into this project, the more I realize how many cool remnant/remixed TK variations could eventually be built from the same foundation (thank you Mando & Grogu). This is probably what excites me the most about this project if I'm being honest.

 

But that’s a looong road away. Right now I’m still in the: “Does this print correctly?” followed immediately by: “Why does this still look wrong?”
phase of development/modeling.

 

So short-term answer: I honestly don’t know yet.

Long-term answer: If I can eventually build something accurate, reliable, and genuinely useful to the community, then yes—I’d absolutely consider releasing them someday, but likely for a modest fee to help offset the absurd amount of time this rabbit hole has consumed.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

This looks like great work (without cracking out the reference anyway). Blender has always been a black art to me, I've had a couple of goes but it just doesn't compute. To think you got here from nothing in around a month is awesome.

 

I've made a few bits over the years, but always using CAD (fusion mainly). I've released those for free mostly as it's small bits and bobs. People will generally pay a fair fee, some sets have seemed "optimistically" priced but what do I know, people clearly pay for them. I have a couple of other bits I am sat on as I want to make sure I am happy with them on a completed costume first.

 

Paid, free, other, there's a gap atm. Non-Saga armour just isn't really available. Stuff is slowly starting to appear, but rogue one came out 10 years ago now! It's now abundantly clear that this is the styling for anything made that needs to feature stormtroopers going forward. Heck they even used them in TROS https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/508/lot/197721

 

 

[Sayless]

8 hours ago, themaninthesuitcase said:

This looks like great work (without cracking out the reference anyway). Blender has always been a black art to me, I've had a couple of goes but it just doesn't compute. To think you got here from nothing in around a month is awesome.

 

I've made a few bits over the years, but always using CAD (fusion mainly). I've released those for free mostly as it's small bits and bobs. People will generally pay a fair fee, some sets have seemed "optimistically" priced but what do I know, people clearly pay for them. I have a couple of other bits I am sat on as I want to make sure I am happy with them on a completed costume first.

 

Paid, free, other, there's a gap atm. Non-Saga armour just isn't really available. Stuff is slowly starting to appear, but rogue one came out 10 years ago now! It's now abundantly clear that this is the styling for anything made that needs to feature stormtroopers going forward. Heck they even used them in TROS https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/508/lot/197721

 

Thank you tremendously! Blender has honestly been a hassle, truthfully.

 

Some of my earlier screenshots were visually “finished” pieces that I later realized weren’t even printable because of topology issues—which was a very humbling discovery. But I suppose that’s part of the learning process. Fusion, like you mentioned, definitely feels easier for more precise mechanical-style parts where tolerances matter. I actually used it for my thermal detonator redesign and the revised thigh cover strips as well.

 

And I completely agree that there’s a very fine line when it comes to charging for files. There are definitely some sets out there priced a bit… optimistically (including some I’ve personally purchased), and I think if you’re going to charge premium prices, the files really need to justify it through quality, support, accuracy, and proper testing.

 

Personally, if I do go that route (of releasing these files for sale), I’d rather offer something genuinely useful and reasonably accessible to the community than create files that only a small handful of people can justify buying.

 

And you said it best: Non-Saga armor is still a minority. I’ve spoken with several Legion members while trying to sort out parts of my build, and I know there are at least a couple other modelers actively working toward more accurate Anthology TK files as well. Honestly, I think all of that is ultimately a great thing for the community.

 

I’d absolutely love to throw my own hat into that ring eventually, but time will tell. Right now, the chest and back armor are honestly the “easy” pieces. The deeper I get into this armor, the more I realize just how intricate these suits actually are compared to the OT designs—but honestly, that complexity is part of what makes them so beautiful.

 

And funny enough, I literally just finished printing my newest chest plate attempt this afternoon. I only checked the printer camera remotely, but even through the blurry 480p feed… I’m honestly kind of impressed with how it turned out. I’ll update the thread with proper photos once I get home tonight.

 

EDIT:

As you can tell by my happy face... I got my scaling measurements wrong, and unfortunately... this means it's time for yet another 17 hour print. I'm also taking this opportunity to smooth out a high spot on the bottom edge of the chest plate which should hopefully close up the below gap between it and the abdomen armor.

 

Next post will showcase the proper scaled chest piece, and hopefully... the back piece (if I don't lose my sanity).

Edited May 21 by Sayless
Added photos of the first chestplate fitting

[Sayless]

This is the way.

 

After much deliberation with several Legion members—and after seeing some of the newer Remnant TKs on the big screen this weekend—it became pretty obvious that my models needed a bit more massaging. Most notably, the chest proportions and overall silhouette needed a bit less volume and softer contouring in a few areas.

 

So, back into Blender I went. I ended up making some fairly substantial revisions to the chest plate “pecks,” as well as lowering and reshaping the arch at the base of the chest itself since mine was sitting a bit too high for my liking. Similarly, I wanted to smooth out some of the line work on the back plate and refine the insert panel to better match some new reference material I recently got my hands on.

 

One of my primary goals throughout this project has been ensuring screen accuracy with practical printability and assembly—and that balancing act continues to be the hardest part of this entire process.

 

Updated Chest

 

Updated Back

 

I also finally went ahead and modeled the… honestly, I’m still not entirely sure what these are officially called. I’ve heard “side wings,” “chest bridges,” and probably three other names at this point, so until corrected they remain “side wings” in my head.

 

I’m still refining these a bit, but the current plan is to integrate some form of alignment pin system for mounting to the chest plate (I'll make mine "work" since I had started printing before this), while offering a few different attachment options for the back armor (snaps, velcro, etc.) based on suggestions from others.

 

And then, of course, it was finally time to start printing.

 

Even with the K2+ being as large as it is, these updated pieces unfortunately still didn’t fully fit my print bed once scaled to my frame. Because of that, I had to strategically split them in areas that should experience the least amount of stress once assembled.

 

Those sections were later glued, plastic welded, and will get brushed over with some acetone slurry for a bit of added strength before I move into sanding and priming.

 

Printed Chest

(Vapor smoothed)

(Quick 220 grit pass before primer/filler)

 

Printed Back, Insert & Greebles

(Raw off the printed)

(Quick 220 grit pass before primer/filler)

(Insert panel with greebles, no post processing yet)

 

Honestly, seeing these printed at scale for the first time felt like a pretty major milestone.

 

Now that most of this is finally in a workable state, I’m moving on to modeling the thighs, cod, and posterior armor in between my sanding and primer sessions—which honestly serves as a pretty good mental break from staring at topology lines or sniffing primer for hours at a time.

 

Oh—and because apparently I didn’t already have enough going on with this build, I also printed Greg’s newest helmet files.

 

I figure… fourth time’s the charm?

 

I’m in absolutely no rush to complete this helmet since my previous version would probably be more than enough for basic approval (minus a few little tweaks to complete), but there are still a few mistakes on it that I’m personally not thrilled with—so now feels like the right time to correct those while I'm still relatively motivated.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Once you see something it can't be unseen, bane of existence for those who have an eye for detail, keep up the great work, I'm sure those that follow will love to get their hands on your files.

 

You do have quite a large curve on your wing closure, they should be much straighter, references below

 

[Sayless]

24 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Once you see something it can't be unseen, bane of existence for those who have an eye for detail, keep up the great work, I'm sure those that follow will love to get their hands on your files.

 

You do have quite a large curve on your wing closure, they should be much straighter, references below

--snip--

 

You're totally right! A lot of the reference I've been staring at are from various angles, so it's "guessing" where the curve is supposed to start and end. How's something like this? I didn't have to modify it too much, as part of the issue was also the angle I got the screenshot from, but this seems to line up a lot better.

(Side note: the angle presented has the back being at a 90 degree angle, as it was easiest the model this way vs with the back being angled inward like when worn)

 

I've become a bit snow blind staring at this armor for weeks now. Aside from completing my own R1TK, I'm in no rush to complete this project, meaning I have all of the time in the world to tweak things. :) Appreciate all of the help Glen! I'm sure I'll be reaching out to you for some feedback once I get further along with the thighs...

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

40 minutes ago, Sayless said:

 

You're totally right! A lot of the reference I've been staring at are from various angles, so it's "guessing" where the curve is supposed to start and end. How's something like this? I didn't have to modify it too much, as part of the issue was also the angle I got the screenshot from, but this seems to line up a lot better.

 

 

I've become a bit snow blind staring at this armor for weeks now. Aside from completing my own R1TK, I'm in no rush to complete this project, meaning I have all of the time in the world to tweak things. :) Appreciate all of the help Glen! I'm sure I'll be reaching out to you for some feedback once I get further along with the thighs...

Happy to stick my nose in 

 

Just enlarged this image, looks to be straight across the bottom with an ever so slight curve at the top maybe

 

Wait I found the image I was looking for, it's pretty straight

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looks to bend easily too

[Platinum Lex]

What part are you going to be working on next? Just wondering if you have a plan or agenda on what's next. I have zero modeling skills but if there's any way I can help out I'd love to, I think this a great project and I can't wait to see the progress.

[Sayless]

8 hours ago, Platinum Lex said:

What part are you going to be working on next? Just wondering if you have a plan or agenda on what's next. I have zero modeling skills but if there's any way I can help out I'd love to, I think this a great project and I can't wait to see the progress.

 

Good question!

 

From my last update, I actually ended up completely scrapping the original chest bridges/side wings and remodeling them from the ground up. I’m much happier with where these landed in the long run:

 

As for what’s next, my primary focus right now is the thighs. That’s the biggest piece standing between me and getting my own armor to a point where I can pursue basic approval, so it’s been getting the majority of my attention over the last week and a half.

 

I haven’t modeled the rear cover strip yet, but I wrapped up the front strip last night. Once the rear is finished, I’ll move on to determining exactly how the parts should be split and assembled.

 

The goal is for the front cover strip to function as the overlap piece for the lap joint. While not entirely screen accurate, I also plan to incorporate slots for magnets to aid with alignment during assembly and wear. The rear will follow a similar approach to what we see on screen, with the excess material wrapping behind the rear cover strip and securing with Velcro or a similar fastening method.

 

There’s also strong evidence to suggest the lower trim strip was originally manufactured as a separate component, but very little evidence that it was intended to be removable. For my own sanity—and because I eventually have to wear this thing—I plan to attach that section with magnets as well to simplify alignment and dressing.

 

Current roadmap looks something like this:

• Finish thigh assembly and rear cover strip
  • Design lower right thigh ammo boxes (and mounting system)
• Cod armor
• Posterior armor
• Shoulder straps
  • 90% complete, but need to tweak them for mounting options
• Potentially revisit the belt/ammo boxes
  • BigJasoni has some awesome free files available, but I want to address some of the assembly of them

Long-term, I also want to revisit the arms, abdomen, and shins. I already have files that work extremely well for those areas, but I have some ideas for improving printability and wearability that will likely become their own separate project down the road.

 

Overall, I feel like things are progressing pretty well. The next couple of weeks are going to be a bit hectic between work and life, so my modeling time is about to take a hit, but I think I’m finally at the point where I can see the finish line—at least for this first round of armor!

[Platinum Lex]

That’s looking great, keep it up. I understand the balance between work, life, and modeling, but I think you’re making great progress.

I know you mentioned basic approval on there, but are you planning on making this armor reach level 2 or level 3 accuracy?

Keep it up.

[Sayless]

12 minutes ago, Platinum Lex said:

That’s looking great, keep it up. I understand the balance between work, life, and modeling, but I think you’re making great progress.

I know you mentioned basic approval on there, but are you planning on making this armor reach level 2 or level 3 accuracy?

Keep it up.

 

Thank you!

 

For the modeling side of things, I’m absolutely using Centurion/Level 3 as the benchmark. If I’m going to spend the time modeling parts, I figure I might as well aim for the highest level of accuracy I can reasonably achieve. In the meantime, I’m still utilizing a good amount of Mr. Paul’s files for areas I haven’t tackled myself yet, and given the quality of those pieces, I don’t think Centurion is an unrealistic goal at all.

 

Originally, my personal sights were set on basic approval, followed by Expert Infantry down the road. But the deeper I’ve gotten into the references, and with the help of several phenomenal members of the community providing reference photos and feedback, I honestly don’t see a reason not to aim for Centurion from the start.

 

I’ve already ordered all of my soft parts from KeepTrooping (flight suit, boots, gloves, and neck seal), and my E-11 is fully printed and just waiting for assembly and paint, so a lot of the major boxes are already "checked".

 

Similar to what Paul accomplished with the Shoretrooper, my goal is to hopefully create the most accurate 3D-printed Non-Saga/Rogue One TK that I can. Those are some incredibly big shoes to fill, but I think it’s a worthwhile goal—and even if I fall short, the armor will be significantly better than where I started five months ago.

 

At a bare minimum, I feel very confident about reaching Expert Infantry. Centurion is the real target, though, and if all goes according to plan, I’d love to be one of the relatively small number of members who have achieved it with this particular armor variant. Schedule permitting, I’m hoping to submit for Legion approval  as late as mid September. We’ll see how many side quests I create for myself between now and then...

[shashachu[TK]]

I have no plans to make a R1TK but I love this build thread. The very definition of "well that escalated..." :) 

[Sayless]

1 hour ago, shashachu said:

I have no plans to make a R1TK but I love this build thread. The very definition of "well that escalated..." :) 

You could say that again...

 

I probably re-read my own thread once every other week (narcissistic?), and it's been a spiral from then to now. Thanks for checking it out!