Kilika's ST Squad Leader Build (WIP)

[IRoS]

Hey! thanks for the response  I am only going for basic approval since its impossible to get Sahara beige and other colors where I live, therefore Im very happy to hear that Sean fields are OK for basic 😄 Hey would you mind sharing your printing settings? 

Thanks.

[Kilika]

IRoS,

I don't mind sharing what I have but ask that it be taken with a "grain of salt" as what I do works great for me but may not be so good for others.  I use a fill density of 15-20% which has seemed to be working well enough for me.  Print speed is around 50mm/sec.  I use ABS as my filament with a bed temperature of 100 and an end temp of 255.  I experimented with a lot of different temperature combos but this ended up working the best for my printer.  I am a big fan of Overture filament as that again seems to work great for my specific needs.  Bed adhesion also gave me fits which is why I like printing with rafts.  I then repurpose my rafts for making ABS glue/slurry as well as using it for tinkering and experimenting with techniques for painting/weathering.

I did end up getting a printing mat to help with adhesion and have had nearly flawless holds since then.  However that resulted in bed level issues which I was able to fix by baby-stepping the Z axis up to allow for the tip to clear and not grind against the print bed.  I have a CR-10S V2 so this was fixed by going to "Control" then "Tune" and moving up the Z axis slowly until it started extruding smoothly.

I hope that is helpful.  I will stress that for your printer the best thing is to trial and error as it took me about 8 months of printing before I started to get it into a "rhythm".  What is nice is that with what I have learned working on my kit I've been able to transfer over to other projects to include printing a Darth Nihlius mask for one of my kiddos for Halloween as well as making Christmas gifts for extended family.

One final thing to mention for this reply is that with Sean's files there is an issue with the hand plates.  There is supposed to be a "slot" near the edge by the knuckles that is not present in his files.  The bellow hyperlink is from Thingiverse and is a modified version of Sean's hand plates that includes the slot:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3750366

Hope all is well for those reading the post.  I am currently working on finishing up my left leg (anticipate being done in a couple of weeks as I only print over the weekend) and am working on general assembly/sanding of the armor.  I am planning on trying to post an update on chest, back, and abdominal progression in about two weeks with fingers crossed to have some rough "full armor" pictures in about a month or two.  Regarding soft parts still looking forward to my pants/kama getting in and need to construct the belt but progress is forward moving.  I hope everyone has a great rest of their week.

Cheers

Chris

[IRoS]

Chris! thanks so much for sharing your settings, just like you said it depends from machine to machine and its quite a learning curve to find the right settings for printing.

Also thanks for reviewing some of the files specially the hand plates I did see that the CRL clearly states the slot in them, thanks for the link.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of your build  

Thanks again! 

[Kilika]

Hello everyone,

I am glad to say that after much frustration, and several failed attempts, I finally printed out the final piece of my left leg's main "body".  Sean's legs come in four pieces with the shins coming also in four sections (neither of the shins are pictured here).  The Mrs. helped me with a quasi-fit test and, while it looks abysmal with all the tape, everything seemed to be fitting together pretty well. 

Sadly as The Dark Side Closet is facing a back log due to supply chain issues I decided to don a Christmas pair of pants and a hoody for a make-shift kama.  Not screen-acute but felt festive and cozy.

I am looking forward to getting everything assembled and more presentable now that I am basically done with my printing.  Going to take time with assembly and sanding so I'll post progress as it is made slowly and surely.  A big thank you for the armorer's guidance thus far and encouragement from all as it has helped greatly.

A very Happy Holidays to all.

Cheers

Chris

[Minimo]

Looking good!!!! Nice work!!!


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[KOtrooper]

I like the Christmas themed Shore! Thanks for the update.

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[Kilika]

Good day to everyone.

I do hope everyone had a good week.  I've been working on gluing pieces together and am biding my time as the weather is not favorable currently for sanding, let alone painting.  I identified in an earlier post that with Sean's V2 Chest the back upgrades require trimming.  I've marked this out with some masking tape to show the tapering I'll be doing on the lower back.

Another modification is the upper connector.  It's purpose is to bridge the back to the chest.  The problem is that it is really long and actually doesn't fit properly with either the collar or the chest.  I actually snapped off the "under support" present on each connector as it was already to long.  Additionally, I have marked off an area that will be cut off with Sharpie.  Unless I am mistaken, there is a gap between the chest and back that is bridged by the shoulder straps.  Where I have it marked allows for the gap to exist.

For comparison I have included the collar in this picture.  As it is, the back/front are going to overlap each other so with coupled with needing the gap, trimming will certainly be requrired.

I do have a question I would appreciate consulting with the armorers on.  In regards to the collar placement on the front I believe it is supposed to almost go flush as in the first picture.  Is this accurate or is it more "up" as in the second picture.  I ask because I saw it half-way on a photo in one of my Rogue One picture books.

Another question I would appreciate help/insight on.  For the raised ridge on the abdomen's sides, roughly how long is it?  Sean's files have a very subtle ridge but it certainly doesn't look CRL/picture accurate.  By contrast I have a scrap piece held up to the abdomen in the picture for comparison.  I think if I have something roughly 1/4 inch longer than the current scrap piece it may look ok.  Additionally, what is the best recommendation for the black strip behind the raised section?  Is it a recessed indent or painted area?

The help and guidance are appreciated.  Thank you for your time and for reading my post.  I do wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Cheers

Chris

 

[KOtrooper]

Hey, there is a gap at the shoulders so it's good to trim that part. The front and back attach via nylon webbing only.

The collar placement looks ideal in the first photo. I'd go with that.

Great progress!!

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[Minimo]

The black abdomen strip is indented. Here are some screen used pics for reference.



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[Kilika]

Good afternoon everyone.

First I would like to say thank you to both KOtrooper and Minimo as the guidance is always appreciated. My lovely wife got me a Dremel for Christmas and I had some fun tinkering with it earlier. I was able to trim up the sides of the back as well as cutting the excess from the upper connectors. I now have the gaps present on both sides between my chest plate and back (thanks to KOtrooper for the clarity on this/collar placement as it is looking good as a WIP). 

Earlier last week my wife also helped sew the nylon pieces together for my belt along with making some t-straps for the shoulder bells, chest, and back. Like everything else, I am looking forward to tinkering with that as well as playing around with nylon scrapes and belt attachments.

Thanks to Minimo's reference pictures I am working on solutions to a lack of an indent on the sides and will share my findings when I have something tangible.

Cheers

Chris

[Kilika]

Good evening everyone,

I hope your respective days are going well.  I'll be gone for a bit due to business and thus won't have updates for a bit however I have been able to make some progress.  Regrettably I don't have many pictures as I forgot to take them prior to packing everything up to be out of my wife's way >.<

I've been working on assembling the back and making modifications that aren't present in Sean's files.  Specifically I have been using the rafts from my 3D printing to craft the rectangle bits above the left and right back recess boxes as well as making the two recessed areas (two for each side) behind the back's buckle slots.  I will provide pictures next time I post to make it more clear about these modifications.  I've also been working slowly on the abdominal section.  As the raised diagonal section is not very pronounced on the files I sized up the Z-Axis of the forearm connectors and then trimmed off the "knobs" used to slot them into the forearm files.  I then used ABS glue (raft bits with acetone) and clamps to secure them to the abdominal sides as is pictured below.  I'll need to use my Dremel to trim the corners off the re-purposed forearm connectors but they seem to be meeting the intent of what I needed them to do.

While I had a progress check photo earlier, I got my lower body soft parts in from The Dark Side Closet and was excited to try it again with those.  The bucket is going through some repainting which is why the black is present.  While I did initially sprayed black on the side recesses of the bucket, I repainted those areas Sahara Beige again and will get the darker fill through the weathering phase.  I had missed the black under the lens/blast shield area and the eye bags needed a brush up so those have been properly fixed.

Additionally, I made progress on the greaves.  At this point I need to work on sanding them as well as working on attaching the straps which differ from what is pictures.

All in all it seems to be coming along well.  Again, apologies for lack of pictures but when I get back from the trip I'll provide some more detailed explanations/pictures of the back progress and modifications I spoke about.  I hope everyone has an enjoyable end to their week and a great start to their weekend.

Cheers

Chris

[Kilika]

Good evening everyone,

I do hope your day has gone well.  I am back from my work trip and starting to plan out what progress I want to try to make over the weekend.  I did get my visor hot-glued in:

I've also been working on the back, specifically with using wood filler to help smooth out some of the joints to the different parts of the print.  I used several pieces of printed rafts for the back to make a top layer to allow for the circular indent to be present.  While it looks pretty rough in regards to texture, it actually is pretty smooth to the touch:

I still have a lot to do with sanding, smoothing out, and then resin work but the back is slowly coming together.  I also went to the My Paint link Minimo provided me near the start of my build and got the Nordic Blue ordered and am eager for it to come in next week to play around with the shoulder bells.  I am currently working on the black foam and would appreciate some guidance.  The preferred material is black plastezote/plastezote-style material per the CRL.  I ordered some from Amazon but the order was cancelled by the seller.  I got another foam piece ordered in but I don't think it is up to snuff.  In the below picture, the big piece is what I got from Amazon.  The smaller square is what I think to be a plastezote equivalent.  Can a better trained eye let me know if either of the material is acceptable for the chest/back lining?  I am thinking the smaller square is the material I need to get which means I will re-purpose my bigger patch for other uses besides the build while I try to source the smaller. 

I am hopeful to have some more pictures over the weekend showing general progress along with focusing on adjustments I am making to the back boxes to ensure CRL compliance.  As always, thank you to those taking the time to read the post.  I hope your day ends well.

Cheers

Chris

[Minimo]

If you can’t source plastezote, neoprene is also acceptable!


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[KOtrooper]

I'd get a roll of neoprene. You can use it for the chest, back, and the backer for any future hip armor. 

The samples you sent a picture of don't quite cut it, in my opinion. Your local GML might feel otherwise.

[Kilika]

Good morning all.

I have the day off today so was doing some work on the build before the family gets up. First, thank you as always to KOTrooper and Minimo for your help with my prior question regarding the chest material.  I was able to procure neoprene easily and will toy around more with that when I get back to the chest/back.  I've been making progress on my greaves lately.  I had been working on sanding/smoothing it out with wood filler followed with a light resin coat.  Sean's files essentially boil down to 9ish pieces per leg excluding buckles/straps.  For my buckles/straps I ordered them from Mr. Paul.  The pieces are four sections for the leg itself followed by three for the shin, a "topper", and then the back cover prints in two parts (thus the 9ish).  I described how I assembled it in an earlier post but I basically glued all the sections together with ABS slurry followed with filling gaps with wood filler/thicker ABS slurry.

Then painted.

The little "rectangular knobs" on the top/inner/side are where the top buckle is placed.  I presume it lays more closely if you use the one Sean provided but I didn't have any issues with the ones I got from Mr. Paul.  I just glued them down with E600 and clamped them.  In contrast to the prior picture, I have the greaves switched up (the right greave is on the left side of the picture and vise-versa to show the buckles). For securing the straps, I used small velcro strips as pictured.  They seem to be holding up well enough and gave me the "give" I needed to get the leg in during my testing.

I still need to touch up paint and weather them but am generally pleased with how the greaves have progressed.  I am currently working on sanding/smoothing out the abdominal area which is my next focus.  I did deviate a bit as I got in my Nordic Blue in and got the upper part of the shoulder bells painted.  I am pleased with the progress although they share the same need for paint refinement/weathering as the greaves.

As always, thank you all for reading my post.  Thoughts and feedback are appreciated as I continue to refine and improve the build.

Cheers

Chris

[BikerScout007]

Greaves look great!  

Only thing that's jumping out at me is that the black lines on your left shoulder bell, particularly the bottom one, look a wee thin.  Compare to the screen used:

Everything is coming along great!

[Minimo]

Hey Chris! Awesome progress!! I agree with Mickey on the width of the lines. I had issues with mine as well, they are not standard widths because not all kits are the same. Theo came up with some black magic math to get in the ball park, but ultimately do your own measurements and try to mimic screen used pics. Here is the section I am referencing from Theo’s WIP:



Here is some additional references from Paul’s WIP:



And lastly from mine:





Keep in mind all these measurements were for our specific builds. Good luck!

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[Kilika]

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your days are going well.

I've been making steady progress on the build but first want to provide updates on the shoulder bell issue identified by Mickey and Minimo's observations.  From looking at the provided math from Theo's post my black lines where both 1mm and 2mm off respectively from what my build should be showing.  Fortunately, my white stripe was roughly 3mm bigger than it should be allowing for me to properly rob Peter to pay Paul.  I would appreciate a "second look" as it is easy to miss these things after looking at it so long (outside observations are truly appreciated).  In regards to length, the top black is roughly 1.5-2mm bigger than the lower.

I've been working on the belt and abdominal areas recently.  I have the back belt plate nearing completion as are most of the boxes.  The belt buckle is giving me some issues though.  Sean's files need modification as the inner clip isn't long enough to "fill" its central plate.  Additionally, the "pin" on the left side isn't the same as the Squad Leaders.  The associated pictures are first of the back belt plate.  Next are the pieces I have for the belt buckle which include the main piece, the inner clip, and an "extension" I jury rigged from one of my printed rafts.  The following picture is all of them together.  The last two pictures are a close up of the belt pin from Sean's files followed by a comparison picture "borrowed" from Scary Guy's Vanguard approved kit to show what I'll be working on modding the pin to.

The picture may be small, but you can see the remaining "three pin" section from Sean's files aren't a match.  I am looking to remove the top of the Sean pin, leaving the middle to serve as the "new" top for the modified pin.

The abdomen is a labor of patience as I've been working on smoothing it out through sanding, and wood filler.  The diagonal ridge on the sides is not a predominate feature on Sean's files so I lengthened them by taking the STL file for the forearm connectors and increasing their Z-Axis.  I then glued it to the sides via ABS slurry and clamps.  To help with the recess behind the ridge I took old pieces of printed rafts and made a "stair case" to form the recess.  Currently, I am working on filling in the steps of the stair case to allow for a smooth and clean look. 

An inside look of the back/sides for comparison.  I am looking at doing some internal fiberglass work on the inside to add strength.

I opted for the opening to be in the front.  This is because it actually works well with Velcro joining the sides with the center.  In the prior picture you can see my Velcro strips on the upper parts.  I need to add strips for the lower to help re-enforce it but my current trials with security have been successful.

I've also been working on the back boxes.  I have pictures of the progress on the right and plan on adding the left box later.  The first picture shows the five parts from Sean's files that make the recess.  Not included in the STL files is the ridged strip.  I am working on crafting one which is why the wood filler-raft piece is present.  The second picture is a mock up of their respective placements.

A question for the armory staff.  The CRL says that the vent details "may be cut out and backed with black foam. If they are not cut out they must be painted black in between the slats."   As I cut mine out, should I back the top vent piece with foam or the back of the "squared" piece?  Additionally, is neoprene ok for the foam backing?

As was/is the case with the should bell, if any more experienced eyes see something I am doing wrong, or questionable, please let me know.  Such help and guidance is most appreciated.  As always, thank you for reading my post.  I do hope everyone has a good weekend.

Cheers

Chris

[Minimo]

Tons of progress, coming along nicely! The width of the lines look better! Are they the same width throughout? It may be a visual distortion in the photo?

For the back vents, black foam should def work, you just don’t want to see through them. Here are some pics of those:





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[KOtrooper]

I think your shoulder bells look fine. The lines aren't very crisp (like paint bled through the tape). However, roughing parts up with some scrapes or battle damage might even out the look.

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[Kilika]

Good evening everyone,

I do hope your days are going well.  As always, thanks to Minimo and KOTrooper for their thoughts.  To respond to KO's comments from my prior post, she is spot on in that the paint lines were not as smooth and will be redone when I get to a "repaint" phase for the entire set.  In the past couple weeks I have been working more on the abdominal section.  I got the system to "connect" well with velcro and was working on fine tuning the fit and smoothing out the sides.  I also have been working on tinkering with the back boxes.  For those familiar with Sean's files you will see that he has several folders to include two "kit" folders for the back boxes.  From my observations in Cura, the kit folders "i.e Jim's Kit" are specific to those builds won't fit properly.  Thus, best to use the back box files unless you have one of those kits. 

Both of Sean's boxes need a little reworking to be in compliance with the CRL.  As stated previously, the right does not have the ridged strip.  I am making one with a piece of ABS raft, a thin layer of wood filler, and combing through the wood filler with a "tactically requisitioned" Beyblade pull string I "borrowed" from my sons.

I need to smooth out the sides so only 17 ridges are present but it seems to be working for now.

For the left box,the tube running up the left side of the box and across is not present.  To fix this I am using tubing from when I replaced my printer extruder due to a catastrophic failure.  To get a proper bend, a piece of a coat hanger seems to be working, for now, as pictured:

A better fit:

Also working on experimenting with burnt umber.  What I have pictured here is a bicep that was printed to big but is being used as a test piece.  As it was a test piece, I gave it a "chocolate chip cookie" treatment to see how it would look across different edges and areas.  I started doing the technique Christina described in her build of using the chip brush to apply and then wipe off the excess.  While I will not be at her level, her advice resulted in a test piece I was happy with and look forward to experimenting with further.

Finally, I did some rough fit testing.  I still have a ways to go but want to say thank you to everyone for the support (special "thank yous" to Minimo, Mickey, and KO).  I will be identifying some things I noted need work but would appreciate any other general thoughts I might be missing. 

First from the front, the visor on the helmet is to low and off-kilter.  I had it roughly tapped and this will be fixed when it is properly secured.  I haven't gotten the pauldrons secured yet but am planning on doing a T-strap between them and the chest/back.  Because of not having the pauldrons, the biceps were not as high nor did they want to say oriented.  I'm still working on the belt in regards to the buckle and attaching the boxes.  You'll see in the side picture the belt is clipped with half of a clothes hanger courtesy of my middle whom wanted me to have a "clamp" for the build.  My pants bunched up too so I need to pull them through a bit more with the greaves.

With the back I need the belt to fit better which I believe will be the case when I get it secured.  I also misaligned my velcro on the greaves so you can see the back velcro showing on the lower right.  The chest/back need work to include adding the neoprene.

From the right side we see a great picture of the belt clip my son provided.  The chest/back are misaligned at the bottom connector as I need to length the collar on both sides to better reach the chest plate.  This should help close the visible gap between the collar and the chest plate as this will allow for the sides to align with the back tap overlapping the front slightly.

Same issues from the left as with the right but I would appreciate thoughts related to the "gap" that should be present between the top of the chest and back plates.  The gap is not wide at all and I think I need to shave off some from the front.

And one final one with the E22 for the fun of it.

My current plan of attack is to work on getting the center belt buckle to be accurate with the CRL while working on finishing up the belt.  Then working on the chest/back modifications, then reviewing the entire build for repainting and weathering.  As always, thoughts and guidance are appreciated.  I do hope everyone has a good rest of their week and thank you for reading my post.

Cheers

Chris

[Minimo]

Hey Chris! Nice work! Some interesting mods happening there, looking fwd to seeing how they turn out!!!

I think it’s looking really good. Since the helmet looks to be far along, here’s what popped for me. You may have already known, but just in case!!!





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[Kilika]

Good evening everyone, 

I hope your weekends have all gone well. To respond to Minimo, I appreciate the highlights on the bucket.  I hadn't forgotten the snout recesses but honestly had with the other identified areas so thanks for that. On that topic, are the snout recesses painted black or more "weathered" with oil paints?

On the perspective of oil paints, I would appreciate thoughts on if what I did with the belt boxes is acceptable. I have the abdominal plate with a flat Sahara Beige present as a contrast to the boxes which are burnt umber oil paint over the Sahara Beige. 

 

I appreciate the upcoming thoughts/feedback and I will plan on posting an update in a couple of weeks based on how the chest/back and front belt buckle are coming along.  I hope everyone has a good start to their week.

Cheers

Chris

[Minimo]

Good evening everyone, 
I hope your weekends have all gone well. To respond to Minimo, I appreciate the highlights on the bucket.  I hadn't forgotten the snout recesses but honestly had with the other identified areas so thanks for that. On that topic, are the snout recesses painted black or more "weathered" with oil paints?
On the perspective of oil paints, I would appreciate thoughts on if what I did with the belt boxes is acceptable. I have the abdominal plate with a flat Sahara Beige present as a contrast to the boxes which are burnt umber oil paint over the Sahara Beige. 
 
I appreciate the upcoming thoughts/feedback and I will plan on posting an update in a couple of weeks based on how the chest/back and front belt buckle are coming along.  I hope everyone has a good start to their week.
Cheers
Chris

Hi! For the recess, they are black. This is the best pic I could find where you can see the difference (notice the side of the wedge is sahara):


For the weathering, there will be some leeway based on personal preference. My best recommendation would be used screen used pics, side by side, to get as close as you can.

On a personal note, I went a bit heavy on the umber and regret it for the same reasons you annotated. I wish I would’ve used more black, and it’s on my bucket list to change it.


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[Kilika]

Good evening everyone.

I do hope every has had a good weekend.  I've been experimenting with painting and have worked on the bucket a bit.  I addressed the "lack of black" that Minimo helped identify as well as some slight modification to the blast shield.  With Sean's files as is the blast shield is slightly raised above the top visor.  The blast shield itself has rectangular protrusions on the back that align with rectangular slots on the blast shield attachment (the attachment is the connecting piece between the blast shield and the bucket).  By trimming a small bit from these rectangles, the blast shield now sits at the level I cross-referenced with screen-acurate pictures.  The below picture was taken just before I did the modification so if you zoom in you can see the subtle gap between the blast shield and the top of the visor.

The back recess boxes have been progressing nicely.  Pictured here is the current state of the left box.  I had some paint wear with the insertion of the tube so I did another spray and it is all properly black.  I also trimmed the excess tubing coming out of the box, while adding some "securing" E600 on the other side to help keep it in place.  Both the left and right boxes fit nicely in their respective recesses in the back.

Progress is coming along also on the belt.  My main hold up right now is the center buckle as I haven't been focusing on it as much as other pieces.  I also took my drill to the back plate to provide channels to then add some securing screws (two for the thermal detonator and one each for the boxes).  The belt itself is sewn, I just need to finish up the center buckle then start attaching the boxes.

From looking over my abdominal set I think I'll be doing another go over to help smooth out pieces using what I have learned from the chest/back.  The separate pieces have all been secured with ABS slurry but I've been going over the pieces with wood filler to help fill gaps and make it "smooth".  I need to make some more modification on the back.  This includes redoing the four "bumps" along the upper recess boxes (two each side).  The ones I jury-rigged look bigger than they should be so I'm planning on taking a second crack at it.  I have marked out in black other mods still needing to be cut/added.  What follows are top and bottom pictures of the back piece:

Next I've got a rough-360 of the chest and back.  I've drilled a holes through the collar into the center chest plate to act as anchor points.  With how the chest plate slopes I extended the collar with bits of ABS melted into a play-dough like consistency and molded into the desired shape.  I am still working on smoothing it out but it has resulted in closing that respective gap. 

The sides are now aligned properly following the collar modifications.  However, using the modified Version 2 files results in no gap between the top connectors.  Even having shaved off part of the back, the gap is still narrow when compared to screen-accurate pictures.  I am looking to shave off a section of the front on both sides.  This will provide the needed space for the top gap to be more accurate.  Using my top straps as a unit of measurement the current gap is 2 greeblies long.  My modifications will make the gap roughly 4 greeblies long.  Most of the pictures I've seen have a 5 greeble gap however doing that will make the gap look to big on my body, thus going with the "4-wide" and see how that looks.  The third picture shows me pointing at the upcoming cut point.

If any armorers have feedback please note I'll specifically address those comments in my next post, as I have been accustomed to do, but provide the close-loop understanding of your feedback with the "Thanks" button.  I am hopeful to post substantial progress on the chest/back in my two week follow up (looking forward to the armor party on 9 April).  My current hope is to get everything "first draft done" by the end of April with touch-ups and corrections done by the end of May with applying for membership at the end of May to mid-June.  As always, thank you all for your time and for any feedback you may be able to provide.  I hope everyone has a good start to their work week. 

Cheers

Chris