Greg's R1 TK 3D print build

[Root2812]

Hi all, I'm really excited to have joined this group. My name is Greg and I'm from Minnesota. I've always wanted a quality stormtrooper armor and after I bought my first 3D printer this spring I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole and ended up finding this forum. I barely know what I'm doing with my 3D printer and don't really know how to modify or create any file yet but I was able to get a copy of the modified Niko files from TKModder421 for the helmet and I got the armor files from Akira-Yuming. I haven't touched the armor files yet because I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to size them properly (Maybe armor Smith app) but I did decide to take a try at the helmet. I printed a few test rings and realized the 100% sized was too small. I have a large head and wear glasses. I ended up printing the helmet at 102% because I didn't want to go too large to where my helmet looked comically disproportionate to my body. I am not exactly a small person though (6’2” 240lbs). After printing at 102% I was able to wear the helmet but I could barely get it on and I couldn't wear it with my glasses so I was blind as a bat. I just printed a few more test rings and have decided to print again at 107%. That should give me just enough space to put the helmet on and wear my glasses with just a few millimeters to spare. I really hope that my helmet doesn't look too big but it is what it is because I couldn't wear the smaller ones. I'm going to start reprinting at that size tonight. Have any of you had to go that size or larger on your helmets?

 

As mentioned, I got my very first 3D printer and I bought a Bambu Labs P2S and although the filament seems a bit more finicky I bought a bunch of white ABS after having watched some other armor builders on YouTube. I am finding that I wish I would have bought a printer with a larger print bed but the 256 by 256 is nice for most things I do. At 102% I only had to cut the dome and back into two parts but now I will have to cut the face as well. We will see how it goes. I'm sure I will ask lots of questions on this page about sizing and about all the not 3D printable parts. Speaking of which, I did purchase the audio/icomm system with hovi tips and amp/mic as well as some helmet fans from @ukswrath on Etsy.

 

My original goal for this build was to build an awesome Halloween costume that will bring a smile to kids faces and also make a really cool decoration for my game room when I'm not wearing it. But after having watched videos and read things on this forum I think I am going to try for 501^st approval when my armor is all done. Just the most basic level for now. I followed the local Garrison on Facebook and it looks like they have a lot of fun and it might give me more opportunities to bring smiles to people's faces which I enjoy. I am also an introvert so it would be good for me to branch out and interact with other people.

 

Thanks in advance for all the help I'm going to receive along the way. People on this page seem like a pretty awesome group.

Edited Friday at 02:41 PM by Root2812

[jsilvius[Staff]]

First off, welcome to FISD! We hope your build goes well and we look forward to having you join our ranks.

Next I will warn you that 3D printing Stormtrooper armor, while possible, is a lot of work, and there are better ways to do it.

With that said, while Jason ( @BigJasoni ) is no longer a member of the legion, his work lives on and his build thread is the bases that many members who go down this rabbit hole start with.
 

I wish you nothing but luck! As a 3D printer myself, I considered this route, but after the filling and sanding and filling and sanding and filling and sanding, I just bought a vacform kit.

 

I look forward to seeing you succeed where I could not.

 

James

 

[DarthBiscuit[TK]]

Full armor is a gift to introverts. I put mine on and start dancing, acting authoritative (like a good TK), and just having fun!

Good luck on your build!

[Sayless]

Welcome to the FISD! Excited to watch your progress on this build. I saw your comment on Greg's thread about the helmet mods and loved your take on incorporating magnets into the chin piece to make it removable for your glasses—super smart!

 

Enjoy the rabbit hole! Starting with ABS is a wise decision; its durability and post-processing capabilities make it great to work with (just be sure to wear a respirator as it's also super toxic). Just a heads-up that Akira's armor files have a few inconsistencies compared to the CRL, but it's completely workable with some time and patience. As others have said, 3D printing a full suit is a daunting task, but it's that much more rewarding when it all comes together. Take lots of photos!

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

Hi Greg. 
welcome to the FISD. You are in for an amazing journey and as mentioned above, is introverts really do change personality when armoured up. 
 

I look forward to following your build. 

[Platinum Lex]

Hey Greg, congrats on starting your journey, I'm happy you've got decent files (and not cheaper quality ones like I did). Can't wait to see your progress in the future.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Hello and welcome, good luck with the build, you can find other ROTK resources here 

 

[Root2812]

On 5/26/2026 at 10:54 AM, jsilvius said:

First off, welcome to FISD! We hope your build goes well and we look forward to having you join our ranks.

Next I will warn you that 3D printing Stormtrooper armor, while possible, is a lot of work, and there are better ways to do it.

With that said, while Jason ( @BigJasoni ) is no longer a member of the legion, his work lives on and his build thread is the bases that many members who go down this rabbit hole start with.
 

I wish you nothing but luck! As a 3D printer myself, I considered this route, but after the filling and sanding and filling and sanding and filling and sanding, I just bought a vacform kit.

 

I look forward to seeing you succeed where I could not.

 

James

 

 

Thanks James. I have done paint and body work on multiple classic cars so in theory these tiny parts should be less work but I will find out. Unfortunately I had shoulder surgery recently so I won't be doing any sanding for a few months. 

I ran into my first 3D printing issue yesterday on this set. I got a bad layer shift and now hear a squealing from my printer. I have 420 hours on this printer now and it had prompted me two weeks ago to clean and lubricate the Z axis screws which I did. I'm thinking the squealing is coming from the belts for the X&Y so I'm going to need to clean and lubricate those rods and adjust the belt tension. That's just my guess based on what I read last night and it makes sense so I'll have to watch some YouTube to see how to do it. 3D printing is fun but there's a lot to learn.

 

On 5/26/2026 at 10:54 AM, DarthBiscuit said:

Full armor is a gift to introverts. I put mine on and start dancing, acting authoritative (like a good TK), and just having fun!

Good luck on your build!

 

That sounds great. I am looking forward to trying it!

 

On 5/26/2026 at 11:11 AM, Sayless said:

Welcome to the FISD! Excited to watch your progress on this build. I saw your comment on Greg's thread about the helmet mods and loved your take on incorporating magnets into the chin piece to make it removable for your glasses—super smart!

 

Enjoy the rabbit hole! Starting with ABS is a wise decision; its durability and post-processing capabilities make it great to work with (just be sure to wear a respirator as it's also super toxic). Just a heads-up that Akira's armor files have a few inconsistencies compared to the CRL, but it's completely workable with some time and patience. As others have said, 3D printing a full suit is a daunting task, but it's that much more rewarding when it all comes together. Take lots of photos!

 

Thanks! Great advice. I just finished reprinting the main shell at the larger size and I can now get the helmet on with my glasses on and my glasses no longer rub on the lenses. This is a big win for me and now I probably won't need to do the magnets. At 107% the helmets are really not that much larger than it was at 102%. In total I think it's about 16 or 17 millimeters larger in each of the three directions. Side by side I can tell but putting it on my shoulders I can't tell. Which is good because I didn't want to look like I was in big head mode.

The ABS has been a bit harder to print but I did choose it for those reasons you mentioned. I was watching a YouTube channel called M&M prop shop and that's what she used on all of her cosplay. I also like that it holds up to heat a little better because the last thing I would want to do is leave my armor in my car on a hot summer day and have it be deformed. That's the main reason I chose not to do PLA. I also read on a few posts that the files I have for the armor do have some issues and a lot of people are using parts from a short trooper armor. I'm probably going to look into getting that file set to. The one piece I'm not sure what I'm going to do with yet are the shoulder straps. I saw some files shared here where a guy printed them in white TPU. I have not done TPU before and don't have any so I'm not sure how that's going to turn out. Well we will see.

I am going to take lots of photos and post as many as I can. I took one with the webcam on my computer but no matter what I did the forum kept saying the file was too large. I'll try taking them on my phone and posting them through the browser on my phone. Does white armor.net have its own app? That might make it easier... I'm not very tech savvy

 

On 5/26/2026 at 12:35 PM, Doggydoc said:

Hi Greg. 
welcome to the FISD. You are in for an amazing journey and as mentioned above, is introverts really do change personality when armoured up. 
 

I look forward to following your build. 

 

Thanks! I am excited too!

 

On 5/26/2026 at 3:54 PM, Platinum Lex said:

Hey Greg, congrats on starting your journey, I'm happy you've got decent files (and not cheaper quality ones like I did). Can't wait to see your progress in the future.

 

Thanks. With all of my auto body projects I learned long ago that if you start with a good base it makes the whole project easier so I wanted to start with the best files I could get. 

 

On 5/26/2026 at 5:19 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

Hello and welcome, good luck with the build, you can find other ROTK resources here 

 

Thanks. I looked though that page a little bit the other day. Very useful. 

Edited Friday at 03:19 PM by Root2812

[Sayless]

2 minutes ago, Root2812 said:

The ABS has been a bit harder to print but I did choose it for those reasons you mentioned. I was watching a YouTube channel called M&M prop shop and that's what she used on all of her cosplay. I also like that it holds up to heat a little better because the last thing I would want to do is leave my armor in my car on a hot summer day and have it be deformed. That's the main reason I chose not to do PLA. I also read on a few posts that the files I have for the armor do have some issues and a lot of people are using parts from a short trooper armor. I'm probably going to look into getting that file set to. The one piece I'm not sure what I'm going to do with yet are the shoulder straps. I saw some files shared here where a guy printed them in white TPU. I have not done TPU before and don't have any so I'm not sure how that's going to turn out. Well we will see.

 

ABS is definitely harder to print and causes faster wear and tear on your machine, but the trade-offs are totally worth it in my opinion. M&M Prop Shop is awesome! That's actually where I learned that ABS and ASA are superior to most other materials for these builds.

 

A lot of us use Paul Prentice’s Shoretrooper files ("Mr. Paul's Shoretrooper Build") for the abdomen, shins, and all the arm pieces. I haven't finished my armor or applied to the Legion yet, so saying "us" is a bit of a stretch, but his files are easily the most accurate ones out there right now. They're the most expensive files I own, but compared to others I’ve bought firsthand (including Akira's), they are absolutely worth the price. Plus, you can always build a Shoretrooper next anyway.

 

Shoulder straps are definitely an interesting obstacle. I’m not sure how strict the GMLs are on TPU-printed straps, but Jason Glisson shared some awesome ones that can be printed in TPU. Akira's straps are also good, but don't offer a range of flexibility if you need to scale them up.

 

The absolute "best" approach would be to print them in a rigid material like ABS, finish them like any other part, and then cast/mold them in rubber so you don't have to worry about layer lines being an issue. Granted, that's a pretty tedious process, so there are always Etsy vendors who sell them already molded in white if you want to save yourself the headache.

 

2 minutes ago, Root2812 said:

I am going to take lots of photos and post as many as I can. I took one with the webcam on my computer but no matter what I did the forearm kept saying the file was too large. I'll try taking them on my phone and posting them through the browser on my phone. Does white armor.net have its own app? That might make it easier... I'm not very tech savvy

 

Unfortunately, the forum has strict file size limits to keep web hosting costs manageable, so your best bet is using an external image hosting site to share photos. A lot of folks used to use Imgur, but since it is now restricted or banned in the UK, Flickr is a great free alternative. I personally use Google Photos because I pay for ample storage, but there are plenty of other free hosting sites out there.

If you prefer using mobile apps, WhiteArmor is compatible with Tapatalk, but the exact same image size restrictions will apply there too.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Hey Greg welcome to the FISD!

[Root2812]

4 hours ago, Sayless said:

 

Unfortunately, the forum has strict file size limits to keep web hosting costs manageable, so your best bet is using an external image hosting site to share photos. A lot of folks used to use Imgur, but since it is now restricted or banned in the UK, Flickr is a great free alternative. I personally use Google Photos because I pay for ample storage, but there are plenty of other free hosting sites out there.

If you prefer using mobile apps, WhiteArmor is compatible with Tapatalk, but the exact same image size restrictions will apply there too.

 

Thank you! I signed up for Flickr and I will see how it goes. 

 

3 hours ago, ukswrath said:

Hey Greg welcome to the FISD!

Thanks! I am glad you found my build thread. I am excited to use the kit I ordered from you. It should arrive tomorrow!

[Root2812]

Thanks to some help from @Sayless I can now post pictures. As mentioned before, I started with 102% on @TKModder421's modified Niko files. After trying a few test cuts I thought that would work but I learned my mistake was not taking into account the flange where the dome and the back meet. With my head pressed up against that flange my glasses still rub the lenses and would have put holes in them. I looked into options to help me put the helmet on better because I couldn't even get it on without my glasses off. I'm blind as a bat without them so I needed to change things. I reprinted at 107% which may have been a little more than I needed but at only about 15 millimeters taller, wider, and longer than 102% it was hardly noticeable visually. And now I have room for padding in the back and my glasses clear when I put the helmet on and wear it. Below are some pictures I've taken of my progress so far.

 

My printer is 256 by 256 and I'm new to it so in my first attempt at printing the helmet I cut the back right down the middle. This made the most sense to me but I learned that ABS warps when there's not a lot of structure so after 4 attempts I gave up and changed my plan. The first photo shows where I cut it the next time and how I used a piece of one of the failed prints as a backer for strength (picture 2). This worked pretty well because the majority of the seam would be hidden by the ear. Because I'm using ABS and I'm bonding things together with acetone I think the joint would have been pretty strong without the backer but I used it for Peace of Mind. That worked out well other than being too small.

 

I resized the files and used the measuring tool in my slicer to figure out which percentage would work well with what I had learned and the 107% looked like it would so I did a test cut. That fit pretty well so I went ahead and printed the bulk of the helmet. I haven't printed the chin yet but I think I'll be able to get this one on even with my glasses on. But if I run in to the same issue I had with the 102% I'll go back to my original idea of using magnets to hold the chin on. Putting the face and back together I can set this on now and not have my head touching the back and still have room for my glasses. I think I'm happy with it. You can see the 102% and the 107% side by side in picture 3.

 

Because the back wouldn't fit still I knew I needed to cut it. I rotated it and decided that cutting off multiple small pieces to bond back on would be better than trying to line up two larger pieces. I also ended up needing to cut a little bit off of the face. Pictures 4&5 show the small pieces I clipped off. By cliping small pieces the larger pieces kept their shape and didn't warp so the small ones fit up perfectly. The acetone bonding should be simple and the majority of these seams will be hidden behind the ears too.

 

The last picture shows some damage to the vent on one side of the face. I had a layer shift that was in the worst possible spot. I'm going to try and fix it with the file but I might end up reprinting this piece. I have to do some maintenance on my printer first. As mentioned above, I'm new to 3D printing, this printer is new and has 400 hours on it now, and is due for some maintenance.

 

So far I'm happy with the progress. I was afraid the 107% helmet would look clownishly large but side by side to the smaller one and looking at myself in the mirror I think it will be just fine. Once its all bonded together I will post a picture for your opinions.

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 08:44 PM by Root2812

[Root2812]

I decided to add a few more pictures so you can see the size difference between the 102% and 107%. 102% is about 5mm bigger than 100% would have been, so hardly noticeable. Please forgive the pictures. Its hard to do with the helmet in pieces and with only one functioning arm.