VC_Trooper

Managed to knock out the small pouches a few days ago: Progress has slowed on the armor due to the cold weather... The extreme cold makes me wary of spraying in the garage so I'm focusing on smoothing as many parts as possible while I wait for the temps to come up so I can keep priming and painting.

Baton After the time spent working on the jacket I wanted to take a little break from sewing, while the printers are cranking away at armor pieces I felt the need to finish something smaller and quick to feel like I'm making progress. The baton pieces printed up quickly so I threw them together using PVC pipe for strength. After filling the print lines and priming I hit the grips with multiple coats of black PlastiDip to give it a nice rubbery look and feel. The metal was done with Silver Leaf Rub N' Buff. The pictures really don't do this justice as the metals do look like metal and the Rub N' Buff went on in a way that seems to have weathered it how I think these would have done. I'm pleased with how it's turned out.

Thanks for the kind words everyone That's a really good point I hadn't considered... here in Denver the weather is currently really cold so I think I'll wait until the chest, back, and abs are done to see where the jacket will be visible and either modify this one to add cooling features, or keep this as-is for cold weather and make a summer/indoors version later... That was my concern but I think you guys are right, the pants should be pretty simple to make from scratch. I'll work on those after I knock out some actual armor pieces...

Jacket I decided to start with what I considered the hardest part of this build. With the lack of options for easily accessible patrol trooper jackets, I figured I'd learn how to make my own. I had zero experience sewing going into this but my wife had an old sewing machine sitting unused in the basement so I commandeered it in the name of the Empire and got to work teaching myself how to use it. My first challenge was figuring out how to create the ribbed sleeves. I tried a few different approaches before settling on a 2 way stretch faux vinyl and 1/4 fabric backed foam. You can see my test piece here: Once I was happy with the technique I bought a Long Sleeve Shirt pattern off of Etsy and began winging things. Using reference pictures and looking at photos of ArmoryShop's jacket I put together a template and got to work... I sewed the pattern using scrap fabric to test sizing and decided to shorten the sleeves by a couple of inches to ensure a good fit. Once the main panels were sewn together I added a cotton liner for comfort and warmth for the Colorado winters. My plan is to layer lightly under in summer and use thermals for the winter to hopefully remain somewhat comfortable while trooping. It will need some adjustments once the armor is complete and I can do proper fitting but I'm happy with the result so far My understanding is the Uniforms Wearhouse pants I've seen others use won't qualify for level 2 due to the pockets (please correct me if I'm wrong) so eventually I will plan on sewing my own pair of pants to level 2 requirements, but for now I want a break from the sewing machine...

Ever since I finished my Stunt TK kit I knew I wanted to build more armor. After multiple delays and bouncing between potential choices I settled on the Patrol Trooper. The moment I saw this armor I fell in love, meshing the original Stormtrooper design with Scout aspects gives this design the best of both worlds and feels a little like an HD version of a TK, easily recognizable as a Stormtrooper variant but hopefully with more mobility. After doing research reading all of the great build threads on here and with the limited options available I decided to go the 3D Printed route for this build using MrPoopie's files. I fully intend on building this to Level 2 requirements from the very beginning so any feedback or recommendations as I go will be greatly appreciated! I also like the organization on Ruthar's thread so I am going to use a similar approach here to make it easier to jump to specific parts of the build. Contents Soft Goods Jacket Accessories Baton