Kilika's ST Squad Leader Build (WIP)

[Minimo]

Hey Chris, not sure if you have seen these?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kilika]

Good afternoon everyone.

Happy Easter to all.  First a thank you to the Detachment staff for hosting the Virtual Armor Party last weekend.  It was nice to see several of the faces behind the posts and the immediate help Minimo provided with the buckle picture was appreciated. 

As Sean's files aren't accurate with the Squad Leader's belt buckle I had to modify the end attachment.  I did this in a ghetto fashion using some of my kids molding clay to make an impression of the back end of a chopstick.  I then poured into the mold ABS I had melted down to a liquid consistence and let that dry/harden.  While not perfect, it met the intent.

Over the past few weeks I have been working on finishing the modification on my back.  Looking purely at the back box the four greeblies above the recesses need to be added as do the circular/square cut outs above the left recess.  The circular greeble under the mid-section is also missing as is the rectangular cut out near the bottom right.  I simple cut out the circular/square cut outs and the lower right recess.  The center circular greeble is a repurposed E-22 knob from Sean's Files. 

Of all the things missing, the rectangular recess on the mid-right is actually present however there is also one on the left side that needed to be filled in.

 I wanted to see how everything was coming together/how my "rigging" was holding up so I got the Mrs to help me gear up from the waist up.  I have Velcro T-straps for the upper chest/back and pauldrons.  I also have strips connecting the pauldrons to the biceps.  All "seem" to be functional during low-stress testing.

Immediate critiques are that the chest plate was ridding a little high and thus over shooting the center abdominal plate causing a gap.  Additionally I did not account for weight distribution with my belt boxes thus resulting with the belt sagging in the center. 

For my boxes I made small cuts in the belt itself and attached the boxes via screws.  This was done two-fold, first drilling into the boxes with a bit slightly smaller than my screw then coming back to screw the belt to the box.  As the center buckle, not pictured, is to thin for this I am going to Velcro it on and see how that works (cautiously optimistic).  To circle-back to the belt sag, I think I'm going to look at finding a way to secure the back of the belt to the back of the center abdominal plate (likely Velcro) to bring that back up.

You'll note from the sides that I am popped-collar cool as my bucket didn't go over the neck seal.  I wasn't wearing my balaclava either so you'll be able to see the hairs of my chinny-chin-chin peaking out as well.  Speaking of peaking, my Velcro is slightly exposed on the chest buckle but nothing that can't be fixed by proper positioning. 

I re-attacked my lower abdominal sections as it was not as smooth as I wanted.  As a result I need to go back and get my "black line" back on both sides however that section is obscured by my arms so you won't be able to see it well in these pictures.

From the back the neck-seal mishap is obvious, but so is the fix for that.  The lower abdominal armor hasn't yet been shaded as I was fixing out some "smoothing" issues.  From smoothing out/painting the back I still need to ensure I get the lower recess to black (the alcove below the left back box).

Overall happy with the progress.  I do hope everyone has a good start to their respective weeks.  Thank you for taking the time to look over the post.  Any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Cheers

Chris

[Minimo]

Looking good Chris!
The only thing I would currently recommend and this has nothing to do with basic approval is:
-Shorten the distance between shoulder and chest.
-Maybe bring up the biceps a tad, look like they are right on the edge!

Almost there!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kilika]

Good afternoon everyone,

I do hope your weekends are going well.  Taking Minimo's advice I moved in the should bells as well as raised up the bicep connection points.  Honestly I still need to tweak this a bit but I do think it is better than it was before.  Bringing everything together I have the following pictures:

Before getting kitted out the family cat was trying to kitten up:

I'm thinking of pressing with applying soon.  I still want to do some more weathering, as well as the aforementioned strap-resecure, but think I am standing a decent chance for Level 1.  As always, thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated.  Thank you all for your time and the support.

Cheers

Chris

[Minimo]

Great work Chris!!! Some extra weathering on the shins and kama and I think you are ready!!! Good luck with the approval and keep us posted!!!!

[Kilika]

Good evening everyone,

I do hope your respective days have been going well. I am very pleased to announce my Sean Field's Shoretrooper Squad Leader was accepted and I am now part of the Golden Gate Garrison

Thank you to all the members that supported me during the build with a special thank you to KOTrooper and Minimo.  The process went a lot smoother with your guidance and I am grateful for your help (thank you Minimo for all the picture references).

I am going to do my access request update then spend some time trying to consolidate key points from my WIP into a basic augmentation guide for those that are considering using Sean's files.  My intent with this will be to hopefully make things a bit easier to know general assembly as well as what needs to be added, or in some cases removed, to better align with the CRL.

I wish all the other Shores the best with their builds.  It can be frustrating at times but it is well worth it when you hit the finish line.

Cheers

Chris

[KOtrooper]

That's awesome! Congrats Chris! Have fun trooping!!!

[Minimo]

Woot woot! Grats!!!

[TreeHuggerMatt]

nice one!!