wingnut65

Well done, Glynn! That is a lot of work to get it assembled!

Great idea on updating the holster. I've been working on my baton to get it to fit better. Even to the point that if I can find some rubber for the grip, I'd try a lathe to turn a baron a little smaller to fit into my AS Holster. I think you are on the right path... The thought of using some magnets in the holster to keep it in your style of holster has crossed my mind. Hmmmm....

😭 I know the time will have to come, but it is so shiny right now... Really shiny... Guess I need to start refreshing myself on weathering. Lightly weathering...

Am I the only one who hates going to the dentist? Well, it’s that time again… Dental Work to Feel the Breeze As a Stormtrooper, I really appreciate the openings in the frown that allow air into the bucket. My IPT bucket came with the frown closed up and tube stripe vents open. For CHiPs Approval, CRL Level 2 requirements include having the areas between the teeth cut out and have mesh behind the teeth. In order to make my life a little more complicated than it needs to be, I did a few more steps when opening up the teeth… The Quick Fix Earlier in my IPT Build, I discussed how my GML required me to fix my bucket to get the 8 cut outs in the teeth, instead of the 10 that I had. It only took 20 minutes with some ‘For Sale’ sign plastic, E6000 and gray paint and, Problem Solved! 207 Except, the OCD in me could not leave this alone since the teeth were not all the same size… Uggghhh! ELECTIVE DENTAL WORK NOTE: The following spacing adjustment of the teeth is OPTIONAL! You Do Not Have to Do This! However, the steps used for opening up the teeth to add the screen are informative. The size of the middle tooth is fine being slightly bigger. But I kept feeling that the rest of the teeth should all be the same size. I used some blue Imperial Adhesive Strips to protect the bucket and started planning the new teeth, keeping the first tooth size as the basis and re-spacing and adjusting the others. 208 The dental drill was used to drill holes around the new openings. The bucket material around the teeth is thick, so this took some time to keep things aligned. I didn’t have a saw blade small enough to fit in the small holes I drilled, but I had a well-used coping saw blade that could stand to be replaced. Using a vice and pliers, I carefully snapped off a piece of the blade that I could fit in my hobby knife handle. (If you did not want to adjust the teeth spacing, this is where you would just drill out the black recesses.) 209 A small needle file was used to smooth the edges of the openings. 210 Not bad for a beginning Dentist! 211 I used some filler putty from my model building supplies to fill the edges of the openings and to make the teeth straight. If it were only that easy in real life… 212 I trimmed down a nail file/emery board to fit between the teeth for sanding. A needle file worked well for fine tuning the corners. A coat of gray paint to make sure it looks acceptable, and we can leave the dentist chair. 213 I finished off the dental work with some black paint to touch-up the edges of the openings. Yes, I did paint the small strip between the teeth and the face. 214 Mesh Behind Teeth The CRL Level 2 calls for “Cut out areas of teeth are backed with black mesh.” The teeth have been cut out, now on to the mesh screen… During the Detachment CRL discussion on the screen, I found the highest resolution LFL promo photo I could find online and zoomed in to the mouth. This may be just my opinion, but the screen behind the teeth that I see is aligned horizontal and vertical, NOT aligned on the angle of the teeth. To me, this appears they used one piece of mesh covering the whole frown. 215 Hmmm… Now that I look closer at those teeth, the teeth are actually rounded and don’t have sharp corners. Guess I may need to get back in the dentist chair… I had some leftover window screen that looks to be the same scale. 216 I used a paper towel (kitchen towel) to make a template of the frown. I used that template to cut out the screen in the same pattern. Before I installed the screen, I painted it black and glued it black side facing out. Add some Imperial Blue Adhesive Strips and E6000 and let it dry and... 217 Success! The difference is noticeable! Opening up the teeth really allows more air to enter the bucket. 218 An inside shot of the finished bucket. I added my first fans from Tony to circulate the air. This setup works well for me. Foam chunks will get adjusted as I figure out how to get the bucket to sit and move better. 219 Brow Vent Painting While I had the black paint out for the edges around the teeth, I also painted the vent line under the visor. This is also a Level 2 requirement from the CRL: “Under the visor and above the lens, there is a black recessed curve.” 220 Next, I will bring share several troops where I’ve been Patrolling Tampa Bay! Thanks for checking in!

Time for a few small updates. But first, what is … The Pain in My Back! The more I had my armor on, I realized I had a pain in the middle of my back. It moved when I moved with the armor, making me determine it was one of the corners of the Ab Armor. Visually, the corner of the Ab just kept curving around the circle and into my back. For my first attempt, I used a hair dryer to carefully heat up the armor till I could twist it a little with an adjustable wrench. But, this didn’t help completely. 193 Last result to get rid of the back pain, is to get rid of the piece of armor that is causing the pain. Before I got the saw out, I made sure this would be completely hidden behind the Ab Cover Plate and the Back Plate. A sanding block smoothed all the edges. 194 Problem Solved! No more pain in my back! The other side doesn’t bother me, yet… 195 Better Strapping! Back a few steps, I showed how I attached my 1” (25 mm) nylon shoulder straps. I made the straps a little longer for flexibility. 082 I’m glad I did. After wearing a couple times, I realized that I needed to cross the straps over my shoulders to form an ‘X’, instead of just having left and right shoulder straps. This has stopped the straps from sliding down and off my shoulders. 196 Since the straps were left long, I noticed a couple of the loose ends wanting to peek out from behind the armor. I know I could trim them off, but I like the flexibility of keeping them longer. I could get in the car and go buy strap adjusters that will keep this from happening, but I wanted to see if I could make some myself… I had some extra 1/16” (1.5 mm) aluminum from making TK Thermal Detonator Clips to give it a try. I measured the thickness of two layers of strap and drilled 1/8” (3 mm) holes 1” (25 mm) apart. I used a Dremel Motor Tool and a few cut-off wheels to trim open the holes. These are the three others after my first concept proved successful. Several cutting wheels gave their all for this project… 197 I trimmed the buckles to be 1-3/8” (35 mm) long by 3/4" (19 mm) wide. They fit perfectly! 198 Mission Accomplished! No more loose straps hanging out on a troop! 199 Securing My Shoulders In a previous post, I showed how I used a 1” (25 mm) nylon strap with Velcro to attach the shoulder bells to the shoulder bridge. But, this small single strap is very loose while I moved around, allowing my Shoulder Bell to flap and bounce all over the place. It needed help! 164A First, I removed the single smaller straps and replaced each with a 2” (51 mm) nylon strap. 200 This also allowed me to use wider Industrial Strength Velcro to make sure my shoulder bells don’t twist around or fall off while trooping. 201 There are two ways to keep the Shoulder Bells from flopping around when I troop. First would be to sew another piece of Velcro to the bicep of my jacket and add another to the inside of the Bells. Second option is what I did since I didn’t have the patience to sew Velcro on a sleeve right now. I may try that option later, but for now, I glued a piece of 1” (25 mm) elastic in a loop to the inside of the Shoulder Bells. Mission Accomplished! No more loose, flapping or falling Shoulder Bells. 202 With my black jacket, if I would not have shown this photo to you , you would not have ever noticed the elastic holding my bells on. Baton Issues – How to Keep from Scratching My Baton The Baton and Baton Holster as I received them, are very, very tight. I was able to determine that one end of the baton is very slightly smaller than the other. By twisting the baton around, there is one way the smaller end can slide into my holster. I’ve added a marker dot on my baton so I know how to align it when inserting in my holster. But, since it is so very tight, my baton keeps getting scratched and frequently needs a touch-up. 203 Since the holster has a very nice automotive paint finish, I decided not to touch it for now and instead to try and sand down the smaller end of my baton a little. I made a mess sanding, but not sure how much really was removed and how much smaller it really is. I sanded until it was easy to get it in and out of the holster. 204 I used a dental pick and heavy-duty wire bush to clean all the grooves of the baton handle. 205 Another coat of paint, and it was ready again to troop. 206 Well, it did make it easier to insert into and out of the holster, but after one troop, it still got scratched. Guess I need to work on another solution to prevent scratching completely! Hmmm… Next Up, a little more dental work…

My New IPT Transport In order to see how much cargo capacity I would need for my Patrol Trooper armor, I tried to see if it would come close to fitting in my small TK Transport. Nope! Even without the bucket, the armor is just too bulky to fit. 188 I need to use a smaller bin to get everything in since I drive a sporty car that has limited trunk access. The standard 50-Gallon Imperial Transport Bins will never make it in my trunk or in any of my doors. I’ve tried when I offered to drive for a troop… So, after several shopping trips and seeing what is available, I ended up at Home Depot, one of our local building supply stores here in the States. They had the half-height Husky bin that might just work, but I can’t understand why the smaller bin is more expensive than the bigger bin - $49.00 vs $59.97? 189 Further examination of this bin and I realized the tray is missing from inside. And, the foam rubber on the handle was ripped. Lucky for me, I’m not picky! So, I found a manager and discussed the deficiencies of this bin. Manager listened and agreed it was defective merchandise, but had no clue how to make a fair value of the bin. I offered $30 and it was accepted. I wasn't worried about the missing tray as I knew I wouldn't have space left to actually use it, if I did have it. 190 I was so thrilled after going through that much effort to see that this bin will easily fit in my trunk! WooooHoooo! 191 Best part was that, except for my bucket, my Patrol Trooper armor fits inside. With having a small car, I am used to having a bucket bag for my TK, so this is something I can accept. 192 As Edo mentioned the desire to be able to disassemble the armor for storage, I store my belt inside my Ab Armor. Have Bin, Will Travel! Let’s Go Trooping Sometime!

Thanks, Edo! Legendary? Hmm.... Wow, Thanks! Those are great questions. I have been fortunate to have had helpers available when I suit up to help with my Chest and Back Plates. Last weekend, I had a group of Squadmates around me wanting to see the new armor and I had them help me. (1) Yes, I am worried about suiting up by myself, because the Back Plate is a little heavy and needs to be fitted with the Chest Plate. I am so afraid I will drop it as I try to fit it with the Chest Plate. Therefore, I am planning to add a strap around my chest to allow me to put on my Back Plate and have it held in place with no worries of me dropping it. (2) I have my belt removable from the armor, just as you are suggesting for ease of storage. I have industrial strength Velcro around the bottom of the Ab Armor and around the top of the belt. I have no worries sitting the armor down on the belt and boxes. The boxes and TD are so rigid, the armor just stands up. To suite up, I attached the belt to the Ab Armor and set it on the floor so I can step into it to put it on. Here's a picture from earlier in the build, showing it all sitting fine on the belt, boxes and TD. This even has the added weight of the rest of the armor and there is no issues. 144 Thanks for checking in! Keep the questions coming!

Shoulder Bridge Update When wearing my armor with my bucket, I had a hard time seeing out the eyes. My bucket was so high that I could not look down or turn my head. Starscream noticed this and fixed his shoulder bridges to allow the shoulders to sit lower and give more room for the bucket. (Thanks, Edo for refreshing my poor memory on where I saw this!) The Neck Ring is attached to the Back Plate. You can see the Blue cured line where the back plate meets the neck ring. The Green curved line is closer to where my shoulder really sits. That space noted with the Orange line, is extra and is pushing everything higher. 177 This shot is from one of my test fittings and it clearly shows the shoulder bridge sitting higher and it is elevated above my shoulder. 178 Patrol Trooper X (fill in name later) showed how he/she trimmed a curve out of this extra armor to help lower the whole shoulder bridge, resulting in also lowering the bucket. Genius! 179 I hated to do it, but this seemed like a logical way to improve the fit of my armor. I used a coping saw to trim the excess. (I added a dowel before, to help reinforce the neck ring. Had to replace it a few minutes after it was trimmed.) 180 Ouch! But, it does give better clearance! 181 Trimming the armor exposed the inside construction, showing that there is a factory seam at this point. To strengthen that seam, I cleaned out the seam plastic and the honeycomb filler to allow me to insert a wooden dowel. Once the area was opened up, I coated the dowel in glue and pushed it into the space. This did add strength to that area. 182 Connecting the Chest Plate to the Back Plate showed where this shoulder curve overlapped the front half of the shoulder bridge. 183 Using the coping saw, this was also easy to remove. 184 The final results were just what I had hopped for. The shoulder bridge was now sitting right on my shoulder, lowering the neck ring and allowing more space for the bucket! Success! 185 Shoulder Bridge Alignment I that fitting photo above, I realized the front portion of the shoulder bridge was not aligning with the back shoulder bridge. This just took a little heat from a hair dryer till it was flexible and then just held it in place until it cooled. Much Better! 186 Finished and Ready to Troop! Oops. I forgot to post this in the last post… This is my completed armor build, ready for me to suit up for the first time to take my submittal pix. Those pictures were a success and I was approved a short time later. 187 Now, how am I going to transport all this armor? And how can I fit it in my small car??? Stay tuned…!

Picture Time! This was the first time I had everything suited up. I mentioned before that the temporary boots and chaps that I started with were a royal pain to get on, so I decided since I had put everything on, I would take pictures from all sides in hopes that I was satisfied enough to submit. Full disclosure, I was going on a cruise within a week and I pushed to see if I could be approved before I left… Well, these were good enough and are the pix that my GML received! I only had two items to fix on the first round. 165 My biggest complaint is my temporary boot chaps are so flimsy that the leg armor was sitting down on my boots. That issue has since been resolved, but that was not an issue for my GML. 166 167 168 169 And it looks like these pix were taken before I repainted to top of the chest button panel black. 170 171 Do I Wait or Do I Fix! At the time I submitted my approval pix, Pathfinders were working on revising, updating and correcting the Patrol Trooper CRL. One item my GML noticed was an item that was going to be revised, but wasn’t yet. That was the note that the painted Ear Rank Bar (at that time) was noted to be on the front. Mine was on the back as it really should be… GML Said I could either wait a couple weeks for the CRL to be revised, or make the change. Second item which I had no answer for, the CRL calls for “A total of 8 cut outs in the teeth area of the frown”. He pointed out that my bucket had 10 cut-outs, as he considered the small ones on the ends as cut-outs. I do not know if this will become a broader issue for more Troopers, or if it was just for me. If others have this issue, we may need to look at the wording on the CRL to count the teeth and not the openings. 172 TIME TO FIX IT! I was still hoping to get all the requested pix submitted before I left on a cruise the next week, so I decided to make the changes that were requested. Gotta make the Boss happy! Popping the Ear Rank Bars off was easy. A little E6000 to put them back on and then on to the teeth… 173 I do plan to eventually open up the teeth for ventilation and for Level 2, but just to make it easy on myself at this time, I decided to just cover up the outside two openings. I went back to my go-to material, the trusty For Sale Sign plastic. And, it is easy to cut with scissors and bend at the end. 174 A little E6000 and a little gray paint and the 9th and 10th openings just disappear! 175 20 Minutes later and updated bucket photos were submitted to my GML. 176 That evening, I received an email from my GML approving Imperial Patrol Trooper TB 50297! Mickey informed me that I was the Sixth approved in the Legion and the First approved Imperial Patrol Trooper in Florida. Cool! Thanks, Boss! Stay Tuned… More to Come! The armor may be approved, but the build isn’t quite finished, yet. I still have some tweaks to go!

Thanks, Kris. I just had to get a few projects done in the garage before I could get back on the computer. I still have more to add...

Brain Freeze! They say that the memory is the second thing to go, and I think mine left the station a while ago. While checking to see which pix I have shared and still need to add, and I realized that I have already posted all the Fitting, Strapping and Velcro updates that I planned to add. So, a couple small items before submittal pix! Bicep and Forearm Armor My jacket was provided by Armory Shop and it came with the soft side Velcro already sewn onto the sleeves – one at the Bicep and Two on the Forearm. Thanks, Denis! I cut some pointy side Velcro and attached it to the matching piece on the jacket. Then it was just peel-n-stick to the armor. I did check the CRL and Promo Shots to make sure how they go. 160 Then, I used a Sharpie to label inside each for left or right, and which end is up. I tend to keep them attached when not trooping. Felt Protection I know, I know, I know… Eventually I will have to weather the armor and it won’t matter, but the CDO in me wants to keep the armor from getting damaged. I started with the shoulder bells to add a layer of felt inside to act as a buffer when rubbing against my bicep armor. All it really needed was a good coat of white glue. 161 I also added a strip of felt around the bottom of the calves to keep my boots and boot armor clean. At least, for a while… 162 And another strip along the bottom of the chest and back plates to keep my girdle looking good. 163 Last item to resolve is how to attach shoulders to the armor. For this, I just glued a strip of 1” (25 mm) nylon strap to the top and added Velcro to the other end to attach under the shoulder bridge. But I had to change this later… 164 Visible in this photo is my labeling system. I have these inside each piece of armor for 1) to remind me which side is which, and 2) puts my name on it, in case it doesn't make it into my bin after a troop. EDIT: 164A Next up, let’s see how the Submittal Pix turned out and what were the results…

Congrats, Edo! Glad to hear we have another IPT in the works! I hope mine and the other WIP threads can help you along. And, if you have a question on how to make something work, just ask. As we create these Work In Progress threads, sometimes what we want to say in our head and in pictures, might not come across. Please ask! This is a really fun armor to wear. I brought it out for the second time on Sunday for a large Squad troop. I got so many compliments from other Squadmates saying they loved the armor. Two were interested in more info to consider it. The public loved it, but it was just another Stormtrooper to them. And, we have another IPT kit in my Squad, now that Btabc got his BBB. Go Forth and Build!

WOW! Life really knows how to get in the way of other fun activities. I took a week away from this thread and then came Halloween and then Thanksgiving and Christmas and now, we're well into 2020! How can that happen?? Kris reminded me a while ago, but Life just kept coming at me. Hope you all are doing well! I had to refresh myself to where I left off and see I don’t have too much more to share before I took my submittal pix. Yes, I passed! But, before I continue on with strapping, I’ll continue the previous post and show how I spent some more time on my EC-17 blaster. I’m still not close to Starcream’s, but I am happier with the finish. Fixing wingnut’s EC-17 Blaster Build Here is how I quickly finished the blaster before taking approval pix. It can pass for the 6 foot/ 2 meter look or even holstered, but not up close. Being my first build of anything 3D Printed, I have things to learn. Notice all the print lines that I'm not satisfied with. 150 I picked up a can of Filler Primer that other’s mention using to fill in the lines. I remove the scope to make it easier to fix all surfaces. Let’s get sanding… 151 This is going to take a while… Probably would have been easier if I didn’t paint it black first… 152 It wasn’t until the first coat of primer that some bonus pieces became more visible around the cooling fins. There was also a long line left at the edge of the flashing that I didn’t completely remove. Yes, this would have been easier cleaning this up before it was assembled! 153 I also found an extra piece under the muzzle 154 Not perfect, but much better than first attempt! 155 156 157 RUBBER BELT OOPS! – TIP: Reinforce Your Belt! As I opened my bid at my First IPT Troop, my rubber belt had ripped between slits for the boxes. Luckily, I had a crash kit with Super Glue and black Gorilla tape. This worked, but after the troop, another slit was starting at another box. 158 This belt material is thin and really needs a layer of reinforcing behind it to prevent rips and tears. I’ve heard suggestions of adding a layer of vinyl, leather or plastic. I used some thin plastic from a For Sale sign and a thick layer of E6000. I will probably add this to all the slits in the rubber for all boxes. 159 Learn from my experience and prevent unexpected repairs! Thanks for visiting! Still to come… Fitting, Strapping, More Velcro and updates for Level 2

Thanks for the kick, Kris. Got sidetracked with a big deadline at work and finding a few days in a row that I could rearrange my garage workshop. I will start working on the updates for the build. I've had my IPT out three times, so far. Lots of fun!

Patrol Troopers are Multiplying! I am thrilled to see more Patrol Trooper BBB’s arriving and armor kits getting built. I think Hask may have set a record for time from Box to Pix. I can’t wait to see Imperial Patrol Troopers popping up at troops as a normal occurrence. As we get more kits being built, I’m sure there will be many others like me who knew nothing about what an EC-17 Hold-out Blaster looks like, let alone how all these puzzle pieces go together. So, before I continue with my build, I’d like to present… Assembling Armory Shop’s EC-17 Blaster Kit The EC-17 Blaster is 3D printed as 15 separate pieces, nicely packaged together in one zip-lock plastic bag. Several of the pieces had extra flash that needed to be trimmed off. All pieces need to be sanded. 145 After looking at some Biker Scout’s Blasters, I figured where all the puzzle pieces went to make it look like it should. Several of these pieces have started to be sanded. 146 Note: Please feel free to share this diagram to help others! Just a little persuasion and the pegs will click in the holes. I only used Super Glue to put the rest of the pieces together as diagrammed above. 147 After several coats of Satin Black, I used a silver Sharpie marker for light weathering. 148 This build only took about 2 hours to complete, with most of that time watching the paint dry. Not bad for a first time 3D print build project. I really need to use the filler spray paint and refinish my blaster to get rid of the print lines. Something more like Starscream's Blaster, which is a thing of beauty! 149 This EC-17 Hold-out Blaster is now ready for patrolling the streets! Go Forth and Build!