FarEast

Next up was the hard belt - The thermal detonator and pringle can were up scaled to 108% from Sean's original as they were too small in comparison to the movie props. Again I have to thank Paul Prentice who diligently researched this and with those finished assembly and modifications could begin. The hard belt needed to be shaped to meet the contours of the armour and it turned out that my recycling bins in the kitchen were a perfect match! The thermal detonator was modified using 0.2mm Tamiya PlaSheet and then CA glued into place. The same was done for the strap line on the Pringle can as it would sit too low on the hard belt if done the original way. Also additional detailing was added to the top of the can - apparently there are two types of detailing from reference photos and I opted for this one. Let the painting begin! Next on the list was attaching the ammo boxes from Paul Prentice to Rob Kittel's amazing belt and buckle system.

Sorry for going dark on this build - lots and lots have been happening on it and just didn't have enough time to update it! So the next step was to get the shoulders and strapping to movie accuracy! Que - Paul Prentice who offers the most accurate models on the market! So the first job of the day was to sand back the paint and build a ramp to launch the strapping so it leans over at an angle and also a new mount with raiser for the buckles. This was achieved by making a frame using off cuts of PETG plastic sheet and then filling it with automotive filler. Once cured it was sanded to shape, repainted and the strapping attached at the front with bond. As you can see the angle is perfect and swoops up and over the shoulders and tucks into the slots on the back plate The buckles and foam were then attached to the sides of the armour and weathered.

All that's left is to paint it weather it and distress it!

Last part to make were the backpack greeblies - again many thanks to Lance who pointed out that the boxes were actually angled. Also several of the parts required some attention to get the shape correct. Lot of little parts all available from Sean Field's files Chop - Chop! Primed and ready to go!

Stoo Collin's recommended that I add two more additional details to the build - the most significant being that the side stripe continues up and over the top of the backpack. So to do this I made a mask of the top of the backpack. I then transferred the tape to 0.3mm Tamya PlaCard and cut out so that I would be about 5mm short from the edge and the remainder was trimmed to fit so as to create the lip. All of it was bonded with superglue. The bottom of the backpack has a much larger plate that is clearly visible in many of the photos of the movie costumes. I went about this in the same manner Once the glue has cured it was given a light sanding and then primed ready for the base coat.

So the last piece to bring the build log upto date was the backpack - Now first of all I want to say a BIG thank you to Paul Prentice and Stoo Collins whom really helped me out with a lot of the additional detailing and without them this part wouldn't be what it is - the upgrades are relatively easy to make with the right tools and materials so I'm hoping this helps others who are building Sean's incredible armour to tweak theirs - I'm potentially going for a Level II grade armour so hopefully these upgrades won't be in vain. The two backpack parts took an insane amount of time to print mainly due to all the support structure but I'm glad I took my time! Finished one! And on to the next! The parts beautifully mesh together. A few defects but those will be sorted out with automotive body filler. The edges seemed to finish within minutes compared to the backpack! More filling! But finally I had a complete backpack - I was a little confused where to go from here but it kind of started to make sense after looking at the cutting template and such. First things first were the small details on the backpack - holes, raised parts and indentations The should harness mounts have two indentations at the back on either side so I decided to remove the mounts and start again.

So now it was time to move on to the arms, Shoulder bells, Biceps, forearms and hand guards. The forearms went together very nicely - left no post processing, right ready for paint. The fit was perfect on the right arm but due to my accident the left forearm was a very tight squeeze but with a bit of sanding on the inside all was good! The hand plates I increased the size by about 2% as I have large hands - again it worked out pretty good - just need the gloves! Both biceps received a base of Sahara Beige Then the right side got the Toyota red treatment The shoulder bells were a real PITA to print but I got there in the end! From here it was just a matter of painting, weathering and distressing. Also making sure everything fitted correctly!

So with the bucket complete its time to work on the upper torso and back! The first task was to correct the minor details in the build to make it more screen accurate. First of the easy one - the armour needs to flick up a little higher at the ends. As well as making the lines to the front of the armour more straight rather than curved A bit of automotive filler and a bit of sanding and its all good! Next step was a little harder and that was to widen the slots on the front blast plates. Some serious cutting and dremel work needed! More sanding then followed by a heavy coat of black automotive primer. I let this cure for several days as I wanted it to be fully hardened ready for the base cot of Beige Brown. Again I let this cure before applying the Sahara Beige. After more waiting for curing and a little light sanding to remove drips and thickness differences it was to apply the Nordic blue markings. annnnnnnd more waiting! Very happy with the finish however this is way to clean!

Paul, just want to thank you for taking the time and the effort to log your build - It's really helping me with mine!

So some parts finally came for the helmet and printer so I was able to get some work done on both. I started off with a motorcycle bubble lens but due tot he safety requirements trying to heat these to shape pretty much results in them melting. So after an unsuccessful attempt at getting it in to the helmet I went and picked up some Clear Smoke PVC. This can be heat to just 50c and bent into shape so a hairdrier with the air intake partially blocked will do the trick! After cutting to shape I then used Bluetac to hold it in place at either end of the eye slits and took the hairdrier to it - when pliable I then bent the tops over the brow and glued the bottom in with clear hot-glue. I also installed the chin strap with three holes - now this is nylon and the initial painting just flaked off - Sharpie for the WIN! The final task for the evening was to position the internal padding and check the fit to see if there was any areas on the inside that might require sanding back or smoothing, Just a simple case of masking tape folded in half to stick them in. Eyes obscured - Check!

So the endless march continues - The last parts of the Chest plate finished while I was painting the helmet and I started to put the parts together. Now having looked at other build threads and the reference photos I can see where I'm going to need some re-sculpting and actual cutting and reshaping. Spiders! I after bonding one of the side strips that go on the bottom ends, I had to cut them off as from the photo references there is a considerable step between the two plates. Also the central line between the two rectangles on the central plate will need to increased to about 1cm and also the gap on the left and right sides of them - finally I'll also need to add a square in the central line. Not really a problem for any of those sections - although I think it would have been an easy fix in the 3D files.

It’s called Methylene Dichloride and it melts the plastic and creates a chemical weld - you need to use it in a well ventilated area.

Thank you - obviously need to close the angled vents on the side add visor and chin strap but can you see anything that I need to address?

The next step was to make the Scarif Logo on the blast shield, I have a Silhouette cutter so I just fired up the software and cut a printing mask out. I used shield tape to wrap the helmet - the last thing I wanted was Red Toyota paint everywhere! So with the paint finally cured it was time to get weathering and this stuff comes out at a bit of a rate! while it was tacky I ran some heavy grit sand paper over it, then once cured fine grit to give it a slightly faded finish. Due to my other job - I have a whole arrangement of pigments and weathering products at hand so naturally grabbed the following: Oil Paints -Blacks, Browns and Beiges Tamiya Panel Line Inks - Black Tamiya Panel Line Inks - Dark Brown Tamiya Panel Line Inks - Brown Mig Weathering - Engine oil Mig Weathering - Wet Mud Mig Weathering - North Africa Dust The trick is to work slowly letting each level dry fully and seal before starting the next. starting with the Darkest first. I'm still waiting on the lens as well as the chin strap, as well as the internal padding. So here is the finished product!

A few more bits came off the printer this morning - and I also got the call from the paint shop! After a kick drive in to Yokohama I was home in no time and with daylight being in plenty supply I busted out the rattle cans! I had to test each one as they had come loose in the back of the car - so decided to mark them so I wouldn't make any schoolboy errors! So straight after spraying the tone is a little off however they told me that as it dries it will match perfectly. About 30 minutes later the paint is starting to change colour and the match is there!

Breakfast done and the kids off to clubs went and checked on the printer, last part of the left side was finished. so immediately cleaned the print bed and set it off again on the last left piece for the armor and also the first right plate. Fabrication also began, god I love it!

So with my samples in hand I headed down to the custom paint shop - they asked me a whole heap of questions regarding the paint and asked if I was ok with them scratching off parts to run through the machine. He took one look at the red and grabbed a can of T-16 - 3E5 straight off the shelf, yup they know paint! Interesting that its HOLTS - although I believe its actually owned by a Japanese company as its huge here. So after filling in the forms and parting with my Imperial credits they told me that it would be ready in a day unless the weather was bad - they need natural sunlight to make sure that the paint is an exact match! So now I'm waiting for that phone call as its a beautiful day!

Many thanks for that! Can you recommend any software that will allow measurement of the actual print files?

So the long march continues! One of the parts wasn't such a good print but probably faster and easier to clean it up with automotive filler than to print another. I spoke to Sean Fields about the fit and it turns out that we are about the same build, so hopefully there we be no sizing issues!

Again thank thank you so much for those as they won’t just help me but the rest of the Japan Garrison if anyone else builds the Shoretrooper!

So I have discovered 3 simple rules when using PETG with the printer Rule #1: Don't touch the printer! Rule #2: Don't touch the printer! Rule #3: Clean the printer head after each print! Also I've started using Slic3r PE rather than Prusa Control. So yesterday I got home and FINALLY I have a print of the central chest plate! Also a huge thank you to member TK8271 Rogue Trooper for sending me the paint matches for the Shoretrooper build! I can now get these mixed to match perfectly! As you can see although they probably use the same pigments in the FLAME Paints equivalent the weight is very different! So with the central sections now printed I can bond and see what the sizing is like. Excuse the bed hair - it was 4am here and I was more interested in getting the build moving along and the next print file running!

How does it hold up for trooping? Obviously excessive ambient heat isn't an issue for you.

Sooooooooooo .....................................what are you using?

Guys are you using ABS, PET or other materials when printing - I'm currently using PETG as it seems the go to filament for Cosplay in Japan but I seem to get a lot of print failures. Would ABS be a better option - I read you need to have the printer in an enclosure to maintain warmth in the print to prevent heat expansion or is it perfectly fine to have it in say your living room, office, shed and let it just print away?

Out of curiosity what materials are you printing from?