mr paul

Whilst having a closer look at the breeches a while back it occurred to me that the added diamond patch sewn into the inside of each leg is not an intentional part of the design. I suspect it is was added later to allow some extra room in the knee/leg so the actor had more comfort and articulation when worn. This would also explain why these patches seem to have missed out on the breaking down and weathering process appearing to be new and clean compared to the rest of the garment. I believe the original intended design should have been tight to the knee like real world military jodhpurs. A couple of the images here show a pair of Shoretrooper breeches on a Captain without the additions to the legs. The fit is a lot tighter. This I believe is as it should be before the the adjustments were made for a better fit. The other images show a loose fitted knee with the unweathered fabric patches added. Likely added after the original pair of jodhpurs were broken down and the fabric discoloured. I suppose Ideally these diamond patches should not be added to the breeches unless necessary for fitting requirements. If possible I will be looking to remove the ones from my jodhpurs because they add extra fabric where it is not needed and misshapes the silhouette of the garment unnecessarily causing the knees to look too flabby. If I can sport the tighter fit without the need for these additions that would be the look to achieve. If I however do need the diamonds for a better fit then I may need to revise the shape of them as currently mine seem off. This is a Captain with the diamond patches missing from the inside of the knees. The inner seem continues straight down the leg. The fit is tight to the knee like real world jodhpurs. This is the same Captain viewed form the front. It is evident just how tight and fitted the jodhpurs should be to the knees without the additions to the inside. A pair of jodhpurs with the additions. Note the colour difference and the loose fit. A clearer image showing the sewn in patch and the colour difference. A grunt with the added patches. The baggier appearance is evident from the front.

If you are wanting to put the work in then you may as well sand it all back smooth and repaint it the dark brown.

I think I may have replied to your post in ST Fam as well. Your choice of brown colour is probably fine but having the brown layer textured is not the right order to do things. The brown coat should be smooth and glossy. The beige top coat should be textured.

The brown should not be textured at all.

A reveal of the rigging that holds up the abdominal armour and the correct attachment of the leather magazine pouch strap. At some point I will go into further detail regarding the materials and fastenings used for these particular parts and a build guide of how to put it all together. This will be especially relevant for our new kit nearing its release.

An interesting one. This picture was not set up deliberately. When I was editing the photos it occurred to me the pose matches that of Glynn Dillon's concept illustration in The Art Of Rogue One book. Ian Reach is kindly modelling the armour for me in this shot

Here is the full costume. I am making use of the open forearms and biceps plus the wide spine plate assembly and I have stretched the shins open myself for easier fitting. All the adjustments utilise the intending engineering of the screen used suits and is in keeping with what is seen on screen, in and out of the film and commercials. The kit comes will fully closed variants of the armour parts too. I prefer the beaten up and distressed post production look.

Some images taken from the other week at the photo shoot. Ian Reach was kind enough to model the armour for me.

Nice honest shot from the left side.

Some finalised pics of the seperate armour components. I know some of these have been shown before but they have been repainted so I photographed them again. Some new shots in amongst there and some insightful reveals. More on the way.

Real nice shot of the back of the armour. You can see the gaps in the biceps. I am sporting the expanded variant prints that simulate the stretched biceps. Using PLA we can't simulate the flexibility of the screen used armour but we have tried to mimic the appearance. This also assists with fitting/comfort if you have larger biceps. The correctly closed bicep variant is also available as an option. I kind of like this shabby look.

A favourite shot of mine from the recent photo shoot. One reason being the paint job holding up tremendously and looks very convincing but more than that the 3D modelling looks great. We know it is not 100% and although the artist has said to me in the past it will always be a fan made attempt, I think it is just stunning. The lines and fitting of the armour over the body, the scale and detail look authentic. And that was ultimately the goal of this project. The combination of the 3D printed parts and bench made parts makes it functional as a costume and in some cases more accurate as the materials used are along the same lines as what was utilised for the screen used Shoretrooper. Of course the correct or higher end soft parts and replica helmet alongside the armour obviously help to sell the overall look and authenticity of the costume. Hope you like. More pictures coming soon.

Here are some comparison images. These photos were not posed intentionally however they do kind of match up and I think show a similarity in the silhouette and shapes of the armour. Hopefully a convincing likeness. I think so. Screen used armour pic taken at the Rogue One premiere. Armour on the right uses the open bicep variant model. Also first time reveal of full armour being worn. More to come. Screen used armour picture taken from the Rogue One demo reel. Image has been flipped horizontally. Armour on the right uses the open bicep variant model. Screen used armour image captured from the Walmart shoretrooper commercial. Shoretrooper armour on the right is modelled by Ian Reach. Biceps are the closed position variant.

Trying out the E-11 from Praetorian Blasters. This thing packs a punch!

What was presumed a snap fastener by some back in 2016 is in fact a support for the top edge of the shoulder bell to sit on. With the aid of the elastic it keeps them high and close the shoulder bridge preventing the bells from sagging and slipping down the arm. In the images below you can just see a glimpse of the support from under the edge of the shoulder strap. The same thing applies to the At-Act driver, Tanker, Stormtrooper and Deathtrooper. Creating a uniformed and tidy silhouette across all the armours.

Some peeks and candid shots of the armour taken from last weekend. My good friend Ian Reach popped over to be a model for me and to road test the armour. Thanks to Joe Powell I also got to try on my kit for a photo shoot. More images will be released soon.

Hi mate and thanks. Yeah I suppose the armour is about as finished as it will ever be. For now anyway lol. I think we are happy with it. It looks great in the photo shoot yesterday and certainly ticks all the boxes visually. Also it's comfortable and dresses well which is good as we spent a lot of time getting the internals accurate as well. If you look on the back of the shin straps (on the inside of them) you will see a stepped layer. Not sure if that comes across in my pictures.

A huge thank you to Joe Powell who came over today in the blistering heat to model the armour for a photo shoot. Gutted the shins would not fit him so I had to get in it. He did a great job on the camera. Here is a sneak peek.

Thank you mate. Glad you noticed that as it's been a balancing act between too much and too little whilst bearing in mind how it needs to appear under dim and well lit environments. The images also give a glimpse at those stepped stripes on the rear of the shin straps.

My Favourite colours

Repainted the forehead today as I needed to repaint the emblem (forehead not weathered in the picture) Not only did the colour need revision which was corrected a couple of weeks back and covered in my earlier posts but the shape and size of it too. Nothing is simple on this Shoretrooper. My talented friend Ian Reach with his eye for detail drew my attention to something that needed looking at closer and Christian Walker from my costuming group custom made some stencils made to my spec. Great to get the dimensions/shape and positioning locked down at last.

I'll leave that all up to you how you word it if you decide to change it. The Shoretrooper has an orange spot on his head and it looks so cool man. Gorgeous.

Hi bud. TBH I assumed it was red and rarely looked at it in any depth. I saw a red bicep and figured the emblem was the same. Lighting can explain any anomalies I may be seeing so red it is. Also the emblem on the ATACT was very red in the one reference image available so once again reinforced my assumption. Looking back over reference though with orange in mind and I am seeing different results. Fab! I think i use a lot of your LA Auto show images for our build if those public ones are yours? I was looking at those this morning. Were the armours displayed in roofed booths? There are a number of ref images where it does indeed look red and I think because of the shade cast by the booths they were displayed in. Yeah I get the CRL's have to have some give in them and I agree with that. You are a charity costuming group and it has to be accessible by all. Something like the colour of the forehead emblem I feel is significant enough of a detail to include in level 2 so thanks for acknowledging that. I think it at least needs to be looked at again to some extent if that is what higher levels are about. Not sure what your level 2 requirements are for colours. Maybe they are open ended too. Apologies have not looked recently. I do feel though that orange is orange and red is red and the 2 should be at least distinguishable enough from each other to show there is a difference between the 2 colours being used on the armour. It seems the ST is a very colourful trooper and the orange emblem really gives a different feel to the overall look of it. I am using spicy orange. I hear blood orange from Montana is a close match although a tiny bit darker than the spicy. Spicy orange has to be custom mixed.

Anyways moving on. Side project this week was giving my Rogue One Praetorian Blaster a paint application at long last. Still some tweaking and some battering to do around it but pretty much what i needed to tie it in with the costume. Also really pleased to have been sorted out with the correct snap hooks for the R1 E11 sling. Totally the found part and not the cheaper Ebay variant with the slight differences. So can put those to bed. Whether I will use them is another matter as not sure how the sling was attached to the front of the blaster as yet. Might be through the bayonet lug but not sure.