Aradun

Great adjustment on the cod piece. Looks really good now. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for posting the comparison Corey. I’ll definitely pick up a pair when it’s time to redo my boots.

Aim for center, but if it’s a little off center, I’d wait until you suit up so that the armorers can evaluate the look to see if it needs to be addressed. If you’re really concerned that it might be an issue, suit up in your undersuit, flak jacket, and bund and post a pic for the armorers to evaluate. This way you can address any potential issue now during the build phase. The armorers here are spot on among the best in the Legion. They won’t steer you wrong.

Welcome to the Pathfinders Rob! Looks like you're off to a great start with a solid build. Here's my two cents. When putting together your bund and attaching your pouches keep in mind that the bottom of the bund should rest on top of your belt. I only make mention of this because it looks from your photo of the bund that the bund it is a little over 10" from top to bottom. The ideal length should be about 8"-9." If your bund has any extra real estate, make sure that the extra is tucked under your chest and back armor and not tucked behind your belt. Once you suit up the the first time and post pics, the armorers will give you feedback if any adjustments to the bund is needed. Keep up the great work and looking forward to seeing you suit up!

These are what many use. https://smile.amazon.com/Bluemoona-Sets-54x25mm-Holster-Sheath/dp/B07MR3CQCC?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

So it’s just about finished. I’m just waiting on delivery of some translucent red acrylic for the scope lenses and I forgot to make the disc on the left side of the grip silver, but here it is. For my first completed 3D printed prop, I’m quite pleased. If anyone sees any issues that I may have missed or overlooked let me know.

Printing it on its side so as to avoid supports, I scaled x&y to 95% and z to 90%. I used a solid fill because the mounting potion where the screws go still came out too far so a little dremel work, green stuff, and screw heads and I was back in business. Thanks [mention]MrPoopie [/mention]

So I went with the flat black for the cooling fins as it provided the best overall look. The bare metallic parts were a little too bright for my liking and too new looking, and adding graphite to it didn’t do much to the finish. So I hit it with Matt clear coat and then applied the graphite and that did the trick. It dulled the finish and gave it a more weathered look. I then hit it with another shot of matt clear coat to seal the graphite. You can see the difference from the photo in the post above. Mounting the scope presented a challenge because it sits slightly above the top of the receiver not leaving much surface for e6000 to provide a solid connection. I figured this would be a weak point during a troop with the scope knocking into things etc., so I went with rare earth magnets. I put two 1/2” x 1/8” mags on top. Forgive the fudged paint around the magnets. After I had them set I nudged one and they snapped together dragging e6000 everywhere. Won’t be seen so no big deal. For the scope,the mags need to be flush mounted. So I took a 1/2” drill bit, and heated the flat side with a blow torch and then pressed the bit into the base of the scope to create the indent to recess the mags. Worked great. In hindsight, I would have flush mounted the mags into the receiver and covered them so that they were completely hidden, then just surface mount the other mags onto the bottom of the scope. That way I could have just removed the scope and swapped out the barrel shroud to convert it to a DLT19 for my TK. Live and learn. I might do it down the line, but I only intend to use this with my Scout for now. Once the e6000 sets on the mags I’ll post up some photos of it complete.

[mention]BikerScout007 [/mention] see, I DID paid attention to your sage advice, and am always ready to share it. I didn’t heed it, but I did pay attention [emoji1787]. Truth be told I should have. I was thinking of you on Tuesday, as I tried to navigate two flights of escalators for the first time [emoji6].

I went with the Husky 35 Gal. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-35-in-Rolling-Tool-Box-222167/205053257 It fits my entire kit and the utility tray is nice because it keeps things like my lint brush, emergency repair stuff, my trading cards, imperial citations, etc. all nice and secure. Mickey’s tote is good to because you can just pick it up and go and not have to worry about navigating escalators or waiting for elevators at cons and the like. Just keep in mind that every tote is configured a little different and sometimes even though two totes might be the same volume, an inch or two shorter in w, l, or h can make all the difference in whether everything fits. There’s a thread here where scouts shared what they use to haul their gear if you want some ideas. http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/21153-packing-for-deployment/&tab=comments#comment-193523

If you haven’t connected yet, reach out to the Ohio Garrison. https://www.ohio501st.com You’ll likely find local help, armor parties, etc., which will be a big help to you in your build process. Start a build thread here when you’re ready, and you’ll find loads of help from the best armorers in the Legion.

I used a little piece of hook and loop to secure the faceplate closed on my RS bucket for the same reason. It was just a little lose. You don’t need much hook and loop and I only did it to one side. You may need to play with where you mount it depending on how the gaps are between the faceplate and the bucket when closed. Hence why I only did one side. The gap on the other didn’t allow the h&h to make contact, but like I said one side is enough anyway.

Couldn’t help but notice your Cylon Centurion in the background Christina. Very Cool! I haven’t seen one of those in a very long time. Nice work on the ST!

Me too! I’m wrapping up work on my DLT-19X and really like what you did. The dust thing is cool. I think if I leave it in my boys’ room for a week that that should do the trick. [emoji6]

Wow! It’s great to see you finally suited up John. It’s been a long time coming. Looking good brother! I’m sure [mention]Chopper [/mention] or [mention]Retrofire [/mention] will be able to offer suggestions for making your blaster more secure. I personally use magnets, but my blaster has rare earth magnets cast into the rubber.

They look really good! Good call on not stitching the tabs all the way across. That last 1/2” or so is a bear. I know I lost a couple of needles on mine before I just left the ends unstitched. Won’t be an issue for approval or trooping. This is just a suggestion, but for the corners of the flaps and bottom of the pouches, try to take a pencil and see if you can work the material for the corners out a bit. When you sew it inside out, and then turn it right side in the corners don’t always pop out and you end up with rounded corners. The pencil will help to work that material out and you can gentle erase any marks left by the pencil. Again, just a suggestion.

You da man Justin! Thank you. The nice thing is that it's a relatively small part so printing a few times to catch the proper scale is not big deal. Thanks for the file.

Okay, so we’re all used to minor repairs and fixes that need to be done after a troop. Well, during today’s troop, this happened. As Darthvoorhees isn’t making these anymore, does someone have or can someone recommend a decent 3D print file so I can replace the scope bracket?

Your work is always incredible! Great job on the weathering!

So here are some pics of weathering completed and partial assembly. Scope: Stock and Receiver: Barrel Shroud: As mentioned previously the 1/2 copper pipe is perfect for the barrel itself, but an American dowel is not comparable to the metric dowel needed for this build. I wrapped three pieces of duct tape around the dowel to get a nice snug fit. Once my e6000 dries I plan to leave the barrel and barrel shroud unglued so the the DLT-19X can easily be disassembled for transport. The shroud has a really snug fit into the receiver so I don’t anticipate any issues trooping. I’ll be posting up some pics later this week for feedback on the cooling fins. Using graphite on the prop makes the semi-gloss black fins really stand out and I’m not crazy about the look. So I have four finished versions to see how best to get the fins to blend in better with the finish. In order from left to right taken in full sun: Semi-gloss black Semi-gloss black with graphite Flat Black Flat Black with graphite I’m leaning towards flat black because it looks like natural rubber and the original windshield wiper blades, but will post pics against the barrel shroud later this week once everything dries and sets for feedback and opinions.

Phil! I’m stoked to see you finally all suited up! It’s been a long ride but you made it to the finish line. Way to hang in there brother! You look good and nice job on the weathering. The armorers will give you the expert feedback, but my two cents...once you get your shoulder bells sorted you might want to raise your biceps armor just a smidge to create a little more separation between the bicep and forearm pieces. All in all fantastic work. I can’t wait to hear word of your approval!

Fantastic! You look incredible. Well done.

Figured it out you did. It was worth the wait! Amazing job Christina. Glad to hear you are on the mend too.

You love doing it because when that kid’s eyes get wide with awe at the site of you, you know it was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. You love it because when that guys asks you where you bought your costume and you grin from ear to ear under your bucket as you see his jaw drop when you tell him you made it. You love it because you’re making a difference raising money for charity dressed as the plastic spacemen you love. Hang in there trooper. You got this!

Once printed I coated everything but the grip in XTC-3D. I didn’t want the resin to fill in the grip details. I’m not sure I’m sold on this stuff, but it may be a lack of experience. I found it to get tacky way too quickly for my liking making it difficult to work with. Haven’t touched it since. Sanded any “runs” from the XTC-3D and used Wood Filler to fill in those deeper print lines. After sanding that I gave everything 2 coats of Primer Filler allowing for a day or two cure time between coats. Won’t bore you with photos of sanding, priming, filing, etc. We all know the drill here [emoji6]. The main body prints in two halves for the model so there’s a seam line that needs attention and work. The back half of the body also needs to be seamed and filled once attached as well. No big deal. Once everything was sanded, primed and ready to go, I gave all the pieces 2 - 3 coats of metallic paint as an undercoat. The only parts that did not get painted metallic were the Bakelite portion of the grip, the stock, and the cooling fins for the barrel. They were painted with 2 coats of semi-gloss black. Didn’t photo everything painted in this state but did get a pic of the barrel before hitting it with flat black. The metallic undercoat is for weathering. You could skip this and go right to black and then just dry brush your weathering, but this makes for a nice effect because like ST armor, using a little Maskol or Toothpaste will create a nice chipping effect, and scratches and dinks that happen naturally will reveal the metallic finish underneath as well. You can use some 400 Grit sandpaper to remove paint here and there along edges to also reveal the silver undercoat.