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Jason, I will need to check but I do know it was a riding pattern with jacket and all. -11, I really like that idea; however, one would need the Jodhpurs to do this and I do not have a set. I really need to get back on this costume.

Hello Jason, no I did not scale the belt, I do not believe it will make a huge difference but until I get further along in the build I wont know for sure. As for the printer, I highly recommend the Elegoo Mars 3 Pro. Very reliable and a bit larger of a bed. I also recommend the ELEGOO Mercury Plus 2 in 1 Washing and Curing Machine. This makes post print a snap and a lot less messy. My plan is to get the Peopoly Phenom L Massive-Format MSLA 3D Printer next year. after playing with the Elegoo, I love resin printing. I will be testing out some ABS "like" resin soon to see if this is a viable option for armor. BTW, I am using Denatured Alcohol for cleaning since 90% IPA is hard to find and more expensive. The DA works great.

The only thing I scaled was the abdomen. I think I went 10 % larger but I do not even remember now. If you do scale it, be sure to scale the detail parts at the same time. Also, I now have a new Elegoo Mars Pro 2 so some of these parts will be reprinted in resin (buckles, etc...). As for the lens, we can work it out, shoot me a PM when you are ready because I am also working on a plan for the shoulder straps and leg straps.

Thank you. I like it better than the paint method because it will not scratch or flake off the chin cup and you can still use the included chin strap.

ScaryGuy, thanks for the feedback. Here are the pics of the chin strap. Note this is the original multicolored elastic now dyed black.

I started with this. I had gouged out all the “chipped” weathering with a putty knife so just repainting would not allow me to reduce the weather. I needed to decide what details to remove and retouch. Once that was decided, I used 150 grit sandpaper to smooth the areas around the chipped detail then 220grit to blend. Once that was done, I masked off the areas I wanted to preserve and then shot a new coat of Sahara Beige on all the areas that needed attention. Using 320 grit, I feathered the new paint with the old then re-weathered with the burnt umber. Next, I mixed a brown and black wash and applied it to the whole helmet to blend everything. I believe this is closer to the desired level of weathering. Sometimes, my Mandalorian weathering level assumes priority. Anyway, I will clear coat the helmet tonight. Next, I vacuumed formed the lens. Next, I dyed the lens and the chin strap. This is a test lens after 15 minutes. The actual lens got dyed for 30 minutes and the chin strap for several hours. Once the lens was done, I test fit it with tape and installed the chin strap. I will get a better pic of the chin strap tonight as well. The Dye method worked great. Both the chin cup and the elastic multicolored strap are a nice shade of black. I used the Rit DyeMore graphite black on both, but I later did some TK lenses with Jacquard iDye Poly Fabric Dye and I feel it works faster and better. Dye bath temp is the only real hurdle, I stayed between 135°F and 140°F. Do not go over 150, just saying… So how do you guys mount your visor? Got any pics of the inside and how its mounted? Thanks for the interest.

Thanks guys, I see masking, sanding and painting in my future.

So, looking at the helmet, I may have gone a tad bit overboard on the weathering on the face. To me the sides and back look fine but the face looks a little bit busy. I did a quick photoshop side by side comparison. Left is how the helmet looks now and the right it what I would change it to look like. I am interested in your recommendations before I actually change anything. So, chime in and let me know what you think.

I sanded the bucks, then I gave them several coats of Primer. Once they are cured, it will be time to vacuum form.

Scaryguy, I am hoping to have it dyed this weekend if not before. Planning on doing the lenses at the same time to save the dye. Minimo, thanks but I believe I am good to go. I snagged some 1/2" black elastic just in case the RWB elastic does not dye well. When I dyed my nylon Alice pack for my ROTK crystal Patrol Pack I learned a lot about dyeing nylon and plastic so I think this will work out fine.

I applied a coat of burnt umber with a sponge. Rubbing off most of the paint was not as easy as I had hoped. Using a damp rag, I rubbed the helmet and almost none of the burn umber was coming off. Next, I used a scotch-brite pad and running water and that did the trick. Once I had the residue paint where I wanted it, I let the paint dry. Next, I masked and painted the blast shield decal with Montana Gold Red Orange. I weathered the decal then I mixed up some black, burnt umber, and water to make a wash and applied it with a brush over all the parts. Once the wash was dry, I did some final touch up painting then I installed the blast shield. I need to let this completely dry for 48-72 hours then pending any suggestions, I will clear coat. I also picked up some .04 thick clear PETG to vacuum form the lens. I will also be forming the lenses for Nico’s ROTK helmet at the same time. I sanded the bucks and then applied a thick coat of plastic wood. I also picked up some Rit DyeMore and powder Rit Dye. I will use this dye to tint the lens and dye the chin cup and strap. Thanks for the interest.

ScaryGuy thanks for the information and the link. So just over a week ago the chin strap arrived. I am getting some Rit DyeMore today and will be attempting to dye the chin cup and the strap black. I will have pics later. Continuing with the helmet. I am more and more regretting not painting the helmet black first then Sahara Beige. Among other things, it would have made weathering much easier. First, I did not like the gaps that were visible on the helmet, so I applied some filler then masked off the helmet and re-sprayed the Sahara Beige. Next, I masked off the helmet and airbrushed all the black details. I painted the detail above the eyes and under the brim with a signature brush. Next, I masked off the helmet and re-sprayed the Sahara Beige over the filled in gaps. Weathering…. So, this is not how I would choose to weather but it is what I have to do since I did not spray the helmet with black first or use black filament when I printed it. The layer of Sahara Beige is fairly thick and sanding through it to expose the paint below is not really an option, so I broke out the putty knife. Scraping and dragging the blade along the helmets raised edges and some of the flat spaces produced the desired effect. If only the base layer was black rather than grey…. Oh well, since I was going to paint in the exposed grey, I may as well be correct and paint it with a dark dark brown. I will let the dark brown dry overnight then I will be ready to do some rubs and washes. Thanks for the interest.

Joe, are you going to paint or dye the chin cup?

Perfect, thanks Cricket. I do have those on my helmet but the wording was a bit confusing. BTW, your new backpack with lights and sound is awesome.

Guys, thanks for the information. So, jumping the gun a bit when I painted the bucket. I can paint the underside of the brow in black, but the masking is going to be a pain, should have painted it black first then masked and painted sand. Anyway, looking over the CRLS, what is this talking about? Pictures would help? (Optional) Under the blaster shield and above the lens, there is the black recess curve, at each end there are 3 oblong shaped recess each 5mm x 3mm. -11 I just looked over your WIP. If you still need some of those paint questions answered, go to Mr. Pauls Shoretrooper Build Facebook Page, Photos, Commissioned Helmet Paints. Lots of good images from a variety of angles. Also, have you found a suitable (suitable= available and cost effective) alternative for the Ford Nordic Blue? Lastly, thanks for the suggestion on EpoxAcoat, I will try the bucks without it first and see if I can get some good pulls then, if needed get the EpoxAcoat and reprint the bucks for round two. ScaryGuy, is there a paint guide for the armor and helmet that shows the width of the striping on chest, shoulder bells, biceps, and forearms? Also is there a template for the Armoured fauld? Thanks for the interest.

-11, I printed the bucks with thick walls and 35% infill. The bucks are not huge so I think they will survive one or two pulls. I will also be coating them with bond or something similar to adda layer of protection. There are a few videos on YT about vacuum forming and using 3D prints as bucks. The plastic I will be using is fairly thin so not a ton of heat for any period of time. As for the Montana Gold, I guess I will give the next can an extreme shaking and see how it does. ScaryGuy, I though the powder effect was what we were striving for? I could be wrong, but I seem to recall some pics from Mr. Paul that showed a texture to the paint? Thanks guys for the information.

-11 thanks for the suggestions but Tarok is correct. I have the buck printed and need to clean it up before vacuum forming the lens. The apprehension is that my vacuum forming machine is 24” x 24” and the plastic I will be forming is very thin and is 24” x 48”. I will only have two attempts to get this right unless I buy more plastic. Then there is the dying of the plastic. Honestly its not a big issue just something new for me (the dying of plastic not the vacuum forming). I have used the face shield lens from many of my Mandalorian T-visors but trying to get that to conform to the buck will prove problematic at best. This is the shied lens I am speaking of: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VECKRO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Tarok, again you are correct, I used the face without the bags and the buck with the bags since it looks more accurate to me. I do have a friend who says there are ways to thin the XTC 3D but at ~$30.00 per 24 oz, the plastic wood filler is way more cost effective and is easier to work with. -11 is correct that it is water soluble, but I do not wet sand after I apply it to the armor. Thank you both for the suggestions. BTW, does yalls Montana Gold come out of the can extremely powdery? I had to use a whole can to just paint the helmet. Ok so pics, here is the helmet painted. Obviously, I still need to paint all the details, add the greebles, lens, and blast shields then weather it. Thanks for the interest.

-11, thanks for the suggestions. I love Charleston, I lived in Irmo for several years and we would vacation in Charleston as well as Lake Murray, Wrightsville Beach and Sliding Rock in NC. Absolutely, if we head to the beach, I will hit you up. My fiend and I are working on his Rogue One TK currently and I only have limited time to work on the Shoretrooper. I didn’t take any pics this week, but I have most of the helmet assembled and ready for paint. As for glue, I am using a thicker CA glue along with an activator and that is working out great. I am reinforcing most of the seams on the inside when I assemble stiff so I think it will all stay together. As for Bondo, I was trying to stay aware from it since it has a tendency to crack when flexed and flexing is one of the reasons I used PETG. The use of the plastic wood filler was an attempt to avoid XTC 3D, I hate that stuff and the loss of detail you get from it. Everything considered, the wood filler did a great job and the print lines are all but invisible now. The primer will seal the wood filler and the paint will stick to the primer, so I think I am all sorted out. Gove the level of weathering that will be needed, anything I miss will be covered by the weathering, but I try to get a nice-looking product before weather just in case. I will try to add some pics in the near future. I am a little apprehensive about making the lens for the helmet, but I not concerned enough to not give it a try. Again, thanks for the comments.

Hello everyone, over the weekend I finished sanding all the helmet parts and applying the plastic wood filler to them. Once the plastic wood was dry, I hand sanded all the parts with 220 grit. Next, I rinsed the parts, let them dry, then sprayed on several layers of primer. Once the primer was dry, I looked for imperfections and sanded some more. Next, I sprayed another layer of primer. I am able to slowly (between layers) work out some of the imperfections. The larger ones will require body filler. At this point it looks like the lower neck ring section will be the hardest part to fix. More pics coming soon. Thanks for the interest.

Yes, I know I have been neglecting this build. Life happens… I continued work on the helmet. I glued the all the lower portions together. Next I coated the sanded dome with Plastic wood filler. I will hopefully have more pics soon. Thanks for the interest.

Update 6/5/20, I sanded and assembled the chest plate. Test fit with the chest plate and abdomen. The size looks good to me but Its hard to determine while wearing it. I have continued to print additional parts: Left bicep Left forearm Left shin I built 3d models for the Belt Boxes and printed them I also reprinted the helmet, this time in PETG and started assembly I also reprinted the back plate; the previously printed back plate had some issues with orientation and distortion. Well that’s it for the update. Thanks for the interest.

Update 5/7/2020 I printed the chest plate parts as well as the cans. I switched over the COEX PETG in gunmetal grey and I must admit, I love this filament. Anyone in the US, looking for a good consistent and very accurate filament made in the US, I highly recommend COEX. Previously printed was the backplate parts, The abdomen parts, the back cover parts, and the neck and sides parts. Since Mr. Pauls files did not come with buckles, I needed to modify the SF buckles to work with my parts and be more accurate. I performed a small paint test on some scrap parts since I was concerned that the paint would not stick to PETG and/or that using different colors of PETG may affect the look of the paint. Lastly, I wanted to test paint on urethane rubber since I will most likely be making my own straps. After using a basic grey automotive primer, the paint stuck to everything and the different colors of PETG did not affect the paint. The paint did crack and chip on the urethane rubber once flexed. I will need to continue to experiment with the urethane rubber. I have no idea how everyone else is getting paint to stick to the flexible straps they are using? Next, I decided to begin sanding and assembly with the abdomen. I sanded all the parts with 150 grit and then glued them together. After the abdomen was assembled, I reinforced all the seams with a 1” strip of ABS and/or styrene heated, shaped, and glued on the inside of the armor. Next, I have sanded and assembled the back hard belt. I have test fit the abdomen and once I assemble the chest and back plates, I will add more pictures. The abdomen can be flexed open and surprisingly it has not cracked on the seams, but I expect I will be just sliding the abdomen on over my head. Its best to not tempt the seams. Once all the armor is assembled and test fit, the outside seams will be filled, and everything sanded to 220 before painting. I have also decided to reprint all the helmet parts in PETG to avoid all the lay separation issues with the ABS prints. I have also reworked a different buckle for the shins. So, more printing is in my future. That’s it for the update, thanks for the interest.

Cricket, thanks for the comments. Yep i did find the files for the clips during my investigation. As for comfortable with the hot end now, I can say with confidence that I am well versed on it now. If you order the heat break, just get the standard steel E3D heat break for the V6. there are a few sellers here in the US that I have them in stock. I have heard good and bad things about the titanium versions. Also I read somewhere that the Micro Swiss V6 heat break also has the expansion chamber. This video can better explain the issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSPPrb0J8CY

There are many reasons I love 3D printing, one of them is the unexpected issues I run into and expanding my knowledge about 3D printers to diagnose and fix the issues. So, I ran out of PETG and since everyone in the world is in home quarantine, the availability of PETG from my primary supplier (Matter Hackers) was projected to the end of May. To further compound the issue, there is the obvious halt of most trade with Asia so some of the other brands of filament I would normally use are also limited, and to drive the nail in the coffin, I really wanted to switch colors from black to something else so I could re-enable my filament sensor. So, even on Amazon, there was very little PETG to be found and most of what was available was in black and was selling for almost $50.00 a roll. When I purchase my original PETG from Matter Hackers it was $24.99, so at close to double the price was not a prospect I was interested in. Next, I looked for local (in the USA) manufacturers and there are quite a few. These guys are also a bit more expensive but not unreasonable. So, I did some research and settled on COEX. I ordered 4 rolls of gun metal grey PETG from them and since I needed a roll of PLA for some detailed parts, I added a roll of light brown PLA. Once the filament arrived, I decided to print the detailed parts in the PLA first and this is where the problems really began. The print failed about an hour into it. Basically, the filament got stuck in the hot end. When I tried to unload the hot end, the filament broke just above the PTFE tube and below the bowden drive. This meant that a complete disassembly of the hot end was required. Not really knowing what I was doing, I managed to disassemble, clear and reassemble the hot end and re-start the print. Failure #2 at the exact same point occurred. So, I though that perhaps the filament was the issue. This had me concerned since I just purchased 5 rolls from this company and everything, I found out about the company eluded to extremely tight tolerances with their filament. The industry standard is a Dimensional Accuracy: ±0.05mm and COEX states that their filament is ±0.03mm. There is evidence that they are actually ±0.02mm, which is amazing. Further, they use very high-end product to make their filament and no fillers. Regardless, I decided to go back to what I know works and used my Prusa PLA that came with my printer and resulted in failure #3, at nearly the same point. Well crap, what in the hell is going on here. Perhaps the model is flawed, and this is causing the failure. Running several tests on the model did not reveal any issues. The parts I was printing were the nose and cheek vents from Nico Henderson’s Shore Trooper helmet. Then I remembered that I had successfully printed these parts in ABS at .2mm. However, I did not like how the parts came out and wanted to use PLA and .1mm layer height. So, I tried a final print with the Prusa PLA and failure #4 happened. If you have not been keeping count that means that I disassembled, cleared and reassembled the hot end 4 freaking times. At this point I have ruled out the filament, the model, and the slice g-code. The only thing left was the printer. I know all the parts of the hot end were clean and cleared (including the nozzle) since I took it all apart 4 times. To the internet I went in search of answers. What I learned was that among other possible issues, the most probable one is that if you are printing a model with significant retractions, the Prusa E3d V6 hot end could be the issue. First, the most significant physical difference between a standard E3d V6 hot end and the Prusa version is the heat break. Prusa introduced a small expansion chamber inside the heat break to compensate for the multi material upgrade. My printer was purchased as a I3 Mk3 but all I3 printers after the I3 Mk2s all come with the newer heat break. On the 4th disassembly I took a picture of the filament. Here you can clearly see the expanded filament that was inside the heat break. To compound the problem, there was also the possibility that my PTFE tube may have a very small amount of travel in it. E3d has a fix for this. A little blue collet clip locks the bowden coupling and stops all movement of the PTFE tube. So, what was happening was due to the retractions and level of detail, the filament would retract into the expansion chamber and becomes annealed. Therefore, attempting to unclog the nozzle with an acupuncture needle as well as cranking up the heat all failed to clear the jam. Again, there was also the possibility that my PTFE tube was traveling during retraction which could provide a small gap for the filament to harden in as well. So, I ordered a standard E3d heat break and when it arrived, I needed to disassemble the hot end for the fifth time. Unfortunately, two additional problems came up. First, I stripped out the set screw for the thermistor so removing that screw was now impossible and second, I broke the Prusa heat break off inside the heat block. Figuring I really needed to a second hot end as a spare, I ordered another Prusa hot end as well as some collet clips and 2 meters of PTFE tubing. Once I had all the parts I switched out the Prusa heat break with the standard E3d one and printed out the detailed parts that had previously failed and presto, problem solved. Next, I printed the back box detail parts and the pringles can detail. All of these models I built in Tinkercad. Now I am printing the chest plate and cans, then its on to the appendages. Thanks for the interest.

Update 4-10-20 Since I was having the issue with delamination with the ABS, I decided to give the PETG a try. Switching to PETG comes with 3 issues based on my searching on the internet. 1. PETG will stick to your build table and can cause damage when you remove the objects. 2. Most adhesives do not work with PETG. 3. Most paint will not stick to PETG. The PETG I am using is Matter Hackers MH Build Series PETG black. So, for the first issue I printed some sample objects and they adhered to the powder coated table just fine and when I removed them, they came off just fine. So, issue #1 was unfounded; however, I was experiencing the printer repeatedly telling me to unload and reload the filament. Searching the internet, I learned that the black PETG can cause the filament sensor to act up and not recognize the black PETG. Easy fix was to disable the filament sensor for this filament color. Issue # 2 took a bit more time and money. After an exhaustive search on the internet I learned that some people had good results with CA glue and others had good results with gorilla glue. I needed to find an adhesive that would not require items to be clamped under pressure for a significant amount of time. I fond some people had good results with MEK chemical bonding, and some had good results with acrylic adhesive. A 2011 pdf document on Loctite’s web site test numerous Loctite brand adhesives on a variety of plastics to include PET and PE. Loctite has an industrial polyolefin two-component dual cartridge adhesive called Loctite AA3035. Several other manufacturers have similar products and all of them are in the $50.00 range and require an application gun and mixing nozzles. Given the cost involved and not a lot of real data to know what would work and what would not I decided to do my own test. I made several 30mm x 50mm x 5mm blocks to test a butt joint with a variety of adhesives and methods. Once printed, I sanded (150 grit) the edges that were to be glued. There may be other products that will perform just as well or better, but this is what I decided to test. Why a butt joint? Because after having to split most of the models up for printing, they would need to be glued on the edges and remain rigid. Specifically, the abdominal plate was of particular concern to me. I test the following adhesives: CA Glue (FastCap 2P-10 thick) CA Glue with Activator (FastCap 2P-10 thick and FastCap 2P-10 Activator) 2-part Paste Epoxy (PC-7) MEK Methyl Ethyl Ketone (Klean Strip) Epoxy Plastic Bonder (Loctite) 3D printing pen with PETG filament Polyolefin Adhesive (Loctite AA3035) The test I wanted to perform was to glue two of these blocks along the 30mm sides and let them sit for 24 hours then place the outer edges on supports and apply weight to the glued seam. If the glue held up to 27 pounds, then I would attempt to snap the two blocks apart by bending them. So here are the results and some of them surprised me: 2.6 lb 4.12 lb 7.12 lb 8.23 lb 9.34 lb 10.45 lb 27.6 lb CA Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass CA + Activator Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass PC-7 Pass Pass Fail MEK Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Fail Epoxy Loctite Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass 3D print pen Pass Pass Fail AA3035 Loctite Pass Fail Only the CA, CA + Activator and the Loctite Epoxy Plastic Bonder survived test #1 27-pound test. They all failed test #2 (snap) and came apart at about the same amount of pressure. Next, I decided to back the joint with another block and apply it with CA glue. This created a bond that I could not snap. So, it looks like CA glue on a sanded part and backed with something like small piece of HIPS CA glued to the seam will created an unbreakable bond. I am fairly sure the PETG will fail before the glued seam will. I honestly thought the AA3035 would provide the best bond and CA glue the weakest, but it was just the opposite. While all this has been going on, I have been busy printing. The Abdominal plate parts are all printed. And I am in the process of printing the back plate. I will be testing paint adhesion on the PETG in the coming days. I have gone through the 4 rolls of PETG I ordered from Matter Hackers and when I looked yesterday, PETG was on backorder until late May. Amazon has their brand in stock but there are quite a few bad reviews for their PETG so I ordered some gun metal grey PETG from COEX LLC. Never used them but they are an American company and make their own products so no backorder issues and good customer service when I called them. I will need to test to make sure the CA glue will work with their PETG but I expect it will. Should have the new filament in the next week. Since I am working with Mr. Paul’s files the back plate does not come with the back box detail greebles. I have the greebles from the Sean Fields files but they are not completely accurate. So, I built my own 3d models of the detail parts, I will make the tubing for the left box out of a two-part epoxy putty. That’s it for the update, stay safe everyone and thanks for the interest.