Sixes

I've gone ahead and followed your build thread - feel free to tag me with any questions you have. I'm usually pretty good at responding in a timely manner. I should note that this kit hasn't been approved yet (just need to iron out a few things) so I'm probably not qualified to answer any questions regarding accuracy, but I've been 3d printing armor for like 3 or 4 years now so I'm a useful resource in that regard:)

Yeah, that's normal. If you keep an eye out you can see that happen with most troopers' armors (it's especially bad with clones). It's not really a huge deal, just takes some getting used to. You could certainly try taking a heat gun to it, but my chest piece is about as tight as it can get and that issue still shows up. Here's a decent photo of me in my kit for comparison: What I would suggest to mitigate this as much as possible is to figure out the sizing of your ab piece first, and then size your chest/back to the same scale. It should fit pretty close, just make sure you're able to take a deep breath without something popping out. I would also recommend figuring your rigging out as early as possible so you can get a good sense for how the kit feels to wear before you've spent hours sanding and painting something that might not fit. I was not given any of that advice when making this kit and the only reason it worked out first try (mostly) was luck.

Not to my knowledge. Having finished the whole kit, the back piece is by far the most cursed part to assemble. While I'm here, I should mention that the "backpack" pieces are not 501st approvable as they exist in the folder. Fortunately, a kind soul made the necessary changes and put them on thingiverse. I saw on your build thread that you learned about the hand plates the hard way but I didn't see anyone mentioning this other issue so i wanted to make sure. Honestly, if you're not hell-bent on using Sean's files exclusively, you could always kitbash with files from other sources (such as the galactic armory files) to make your life a bit easier. You'd just have to make sure the sizing looks good since it might vary between the two versions.

Okay, found the solution. The issue was in fact that seam allowance is not included for the front piece in the current pattern. I cut out another piece with seam allowance included and it works perfectly. When adding seam allowance to the front piece, I basically offset each face by 5/8" except for the top edge of the eyelet facing, as you can see below.

Here's a better photo of my draft so far. The difference in height is ~1" on the top and ~.5" on the bottom. It should be noted that I scaled the whole pattern down by 90% vertically since I am short, but kept the width the same.

I did not add my own seam allowance. I actually just went back to the original pattern, and looking at the eyelet facings, the one on the back is clearly taller than the one on the front: I scaled the front piece up to 105% of its original size brought them even. It was also apparent that the front piece was a lot thinner that it was supposed to be, so I scaled it uniformly, not just vertically. I think this looks more correct: As I'm writing this, I'm wondering if you included seam allowance on the back pieces but not the front piece? I have plenty of muslin left over, and haven't started on the other leg yet, so I can cut out another front piece with seam allowance added and see if that fixes the problem.

Just a quick question about something I've run into while working on my muslin: it seems there is a large difference in height between the front and (assembled) back pieces. Looking at the pattern svg in Inkscape, it's a roughly 4 inch difference (3 when taking into account the 5/8" seam allowance when the two back pieces are stitched together). Is this intentional? From the pictures in the tutorial, it looks like the top matches up, unlike what I've ended up with here: I'm just going to continue to work on this draft as if it's supposed to be like this, but your input would be much appreciated.

I'm glad! Surprised there wasn't a tutorial already! Depending on what other weird surprises the SF files hold I may do more tutorials.

I made a quick tutorial about these mods. Hope it helps!

A bit of context for people who have no clue what I'm talking about: with Sean Fields' files, there is a version 2 chest, but not a version 2 back. The version 2 chest is incompatible with the version 1 back, but Fields included a few files that can be used to modify the version 1 back to make it compatible with the (more accurate but still not completely accurate) version 2 chest. This is a quick guide describing how to handle these mods in detail, including things I would do differently if I did it again. I recommend reading this guide in its entirety before doing anything. It will save you some time :‎) Step 1: Print and assemble the version 1 back, but leave out some parts. THIS IS IMPORTANT: do NOT print or assemble these items from the original back files: 07 - collar 08 - left side panel 09 - right side panel 10 - upper straps 11 - left upper catch 12 - right upper catch These parts will all be replaced by parts from the retrofit files, so assembling them will be a complete waste of time and resources. You should also print the retrofit files. Step 1.5 (if you screwed up): If you did assemble the version 1 back in its entirety before you realized you screwed up, you'll need to carefully remove the above parts with a rotary tool. GO SLOWLY, and if you are in doubt, hold off on removing material until you're sure it needs to go. It is much easier to remove than to add. Swap out the rotary tool's cutter for a sander, and carefully remove the tabs left behind by the previous parts. Step 2: By now the previous parts should be removed. We are now ready to use the cut guides. This modification is very nice because it widens the arm holes (more mobility, yay!). Here's how the cut guides line up to the build: Notice how they latch on to parts of the back: Also notice how this cut will make the back piece fit with the new bottom parts: Mark the areas to cut with a wooden pencil and get rid of the cut guides. Take the rotary cutter and cut along the lines. Again - I cannot stress this enough - GO SLOWLY. Step 3: Time to attach the new parts! Here's how they line up (ignore the scaling of the shoulder parts - I forgot to scale them before printing): You're done with the retrofit! I'm so proud of you. Your next steps are to smooth out your part in whatever way you see fit. You'll definitely have to spend more time smoothing the part due to the cuts you made, but it will be well worth it :‎)

NEVERMIND I CRACKED IT! Give me a second and I'll take a photo for the next person who comes along with the same question. Just need to sand the guides so they sit flush against the part.

Sean Field's files includes a V2 chest, but only provides a V1 back + parts for making it work with the V2 Chest. I went in with this in mind and the back V1 is all put together (and looks very cool), but after printing the retrofit parts I discovered that I have no clue where to cut. There are cut guides but I cannot for the life of me figure out where they actually fit in. Most of the parts themselves make sense to me, it's just those blasted cut guides. Any help (or, dare I ask, a tutorial) would be deeply appreciated!

Thanks for the advice! I did see that the SF files have some inaccuracies. Right now I'm trying to get this done quick and dirty* without worrying about certification, and then I'll go back and make the necessary changes. *(my friend is going to FanX as Jyn Erso and I think it'd be fun to match, but that also means cutting corners to get it done in time)

Hi! I'm just getting started on my shoretrooper build. I've been working on a clone trooper over on those forums and everyone recommends getting a vac-formed ab/kidney section over 3d printing due to problems with "chewing" (where the ab plate slowly chips away at the chest/back due to friction). Is the same true here? I know I saw a build here where someone DID print the whole thing (minus those fun little hip plates). I'm using Sean Field's files and would really like to not shell out a ton of money toward a vac-formed one. (Side note: the kind folks over at the clone trooper forums also recommend to get the shins vac-formed as well, but clone armor is a lot more intense in that region so I'll probably 3d print them for the shoretrooper. Any advice for other pieces I should consider outsourcing would be deeply appreciated)