First Time 3D Printed ROTJ Scout Trooper

[wegotdeathstar]

Small update

Ordered a pair of boots from Crowprops and a kit from Studio Creations. I had a hotend malfunction on my printer and took it as a sign to pivot. Looking forward to BBB! 

Question for armorers: I am looking at purchasing the suede for the riding patches and butt flap and wondered if either of these options work? I am not familiar with this material at all. Thanks for the help! Option 1 Option 2

Still intend on finishing my 3d printed helmet from JS, but also considering a Moncal or RS. If anybody has insight on which of those options is lighter, that would be greatly appreciated! I am sort of leaning Moncal for the enjoyment of building it. 

Thanks, all! 

[Harbinger]

I think you want cow suede (option 1).

[Chopper]

If you get the all abs helmet from RS, then that one will be lighter. There's also their red label helmet, which has a fiberglass back section, similar to how the mon cal helmet uses a rotocast back section. 

I believe you want option 1 for the suede.

[wegotdeathstar]

Thanks for the help, y'all. I ordered the option 1 leather this morning. Does RS still sell the red label version or is that something I would find secondhand? 

[Chopper]

I don't see the red label currently listed on the RS website, just the ABS one, so you may need to ask them via email if it's still offered.

[wegotdeathstar]

14 minutes ago, Chopper said:

I don't see the red label currently listed on the RS website, just the ABS one, so you may need to ask them via email if it's still offered.

Sounds good, thanks!

Update: they said it is no longer available.

[Aradun]

Sounds good, thanks!
Update: they said it is no longer available.

That’s good to know! Thanks for checking and passing the info along!

[wegotdeathstar]

BBB day has arrived! Stoked to get started. I also did some tailoring on my undersuit. Legs are much better. Still need to do the arms so they are not so baggy.

Question for armorers: I ordered 1/8" rivets and wanted to double check that this is the right size? Pic attached. Thank you!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chopper]

The 1/8" measurement is not for the flange, it's the center indent portion. There was a period where certain vendors were including rivets that had gigantic flanges, so, as a result we had to include the proper rivet size in the CRL.

This might help:

[wegotdeathstar]

The 1/8" measurement is not for the flange, it's the center indent portion. There was a period where certain vendors were including rivets that had gigantic flanges, so, as a result we had to include the proper rivet size in the CRL.
This might help:

Thanks, [mention]Chopper [/mention]! I believe I'm in good shape then.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wegotdeathstar]

Question for folks: any recommendations for which glue to use for connecting hook and loop to the ABS? I used some Bob Smith's super glue on a test piece of ABS and the velcro ripped off everywhere the glue wasn't. Thanks!

[Chopper]

Attaching fabric to plastic with glue doesn't always work so well, as you've discovered. The fabric usually just absorbs most of the glue and the bond isn't great. Most folks use the adhesive velcro type, which works fine as long as the surface is clean and smooth. What part are you trying to attach the velcro to?

[wegotdeathstar]

16 minutes ago, Chopper said:

Attaching fabric to plastic with glue doesn't always work so well, as you've discovered. The fabric usually just absorbs most of the glue and the bond isn't great. Most folks use the adhesive velcro type, which works fine as long as the surface is clean and smooth. What part are you trying to attach the velcro to?

Ah, that makes sense. I am trying to attach velcro to the inside of the armor (e.g., the forearms) and then another piece to the strap. I've been referencing the tips for securing armor thread.

Would it be best to use sticky velcro for inside the armor and sew the mate to the elastic strapping? 

[Chopper]

2 minutes ago, wegotdeathstar said:

Would it be best to use sticky velcro for inside the armor and sew the mate to the elastic strapping? 

Yeah that's the way I did it. Sticky velcro on the plastic parts and the non-stick velcro sewn onto the strapping.

[wegotdeathstar]

3 minutes ago, Chopper said:

Yeah that's the way I did it. Sticky velcro on the plastic parts and the non-stick velcro sewn onto the strapping.

Awesome, thank you! 

[Aradun]

E6000 is another option because it’s viscosity is thicker than contact cement, so it doesn’t get fully absorbed into the Velcro. I even used it to attach the Velcro to my undersuit so that I didn’t need to seem rip my sleeves etc. The key is to use weight on it while it dries.

For the armor, I used clamps to ensure a good bond between the armor and Velcro. And for the undersuit, I slipped a thin sheet of plastic in the sleeve and leg (in case the glue bled through the suit - the plastic sheet would be easy to remove if it did). Then I glued the Velcro in place, and set a 20 lb weight on top of it while it dried. I have not had any issues, and my kit is about 2.5 years old.

All that being said, Chopper’s way is a much easier solution so I’d start there. I wanted to throw out an alternative just in case.

Edit: Reread your post and realized you were talking about strapping.  This is the method I used for securing the armor in place to the undersuit so things didn’t shift and move around while trooping.  

[wegotdeathstar]

7 hours ago, Aradun said:

E6000 is another option because it’s viscosity is thicker than contact cement, so it doesn’t get fully absorbed into the Velcro. I even used it to attach the Velcro to my undersuit so that I didn’t need to seem rip my sleeves etc. The key is to use weight on it while it dries.

For the armor, I used clamps to ensure a good bond between the armor and Velcro. And for the undersuit, I slipped a thin sheet of plastic in the sleeve and leg (in case the glue bled through the suit - the plastic sheet would be easy to remove if it did). Then I glued the Velcro in place, and set a 20 lb weight on top of it while it dried. I have not had any issues, and my kit is about 2.5 years old.

All that being said, Chopper’s way is a much easier solution so I’d start there. I wanted to throw out an alternative just in case.

Edit: Reread your post and realized you were talking about strapping.  This is the method I used for securing the armor in place to the undersuit so things didn’t shift and move around while trooping.  

Thanks, @Aradun! I have some E6000 on hand from another project and will give that a shot for attaching the velcro to the undersuit. I appreciate the tip. 

[wegotdeathstar]

Got my EC-17 from BlasterWorks and @jfencl1. Really loving it! 

[wegotdeathstar]

Been chipping away at some armor pieces over the last few days. Hoping to do a decent job documenting for future scouts to follow along.

 

Upper arm armor

The sides felt a bit flimsy and so I added some 3cm x 6cm ABS scraps to reinforce this area. It added a bit of rigidity and I was happy with the result. I glued these on with gorilla glue and clamped for a couple minutes. I attached adhesive loop to the inside of the armor and then stitched black hook to 2" elastic.

 

Forearm armor

This was pretty straightforward. Cut holes, attached adhesive white loop to the armor and sewed black hook to the 1" elastic. 

 

Knee armor

Same deal here. Adhesive white loop inside the armor and black hook sewn to the 3/4" elastic. 

Question for armorers: I approximated the location for the optional upper strap based on this photo. It's approximately 15mm from the top groove and 10mm from the outer edge. Does this look right?

 

X marks the spot

[Chopper]

Your rivet placement looks fine to me. 

Also, I did the same reinforcement on my bicep armor too and it has held up well over the years. 

[wegotdeathstar]

1 hour ago, Chopper said:

Your rivet placement looks fine to me. 

Also, I did the same reinforcement on my bicep armor too and it has held up well over the years. 

Awesome. Glad to hear it's holding up!

[wegotdeathstar]

Drawing a rough pattern for the riding patches. I'm thinking the curve towards the bottom should be a little more gradual. Thoughts? Still need to tailor the arms a bit.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chopper]

The front riding patch pattern in the photo should work just fine. 

How does it look in the back?

[wegotdeathstar]

23 hours ago, Chopper said:

The front riding patch pattern in the photo should work just fine. 

How does it look in the back?

Thanks, @Chopper. I need to redo the back pattern. I'm having the hardest time making the right shape.

I've started working on my tank and fitting it to my back piece. I know it's okay for there to be gaps, but I would like it a little more flush. I have two questions:

1. For Studio Creations armor, is the bottom of the tank supposed to sit flush on the bottom "hump" and a rivet goes through both? I can provide further clarification if needed.

2. Sort of depends on the answer to the first question, but I'm wondering if I should attempt to close the gap for the bottom of the tank. It's about 7mm from the edge here.

Thanks!

[Retrofire]

If you can close the gap cleanly then go for it but it's not crucial for approval. All the ROTJ tanks showed flaws in one area or another. For the SC you want the tank to sit as flush as possible but again it doesn't have to be "exactly" flush to the end of the back armor hump. I would recommend against putting a rivet through both pieces as you want the rivet to be in the bottom, center of the tank as shown in this picture. Before you glue the end of the tank to the back armor make sure attach a "blind" rivet in this area. When you place the rivet make sure to pre drill the hole and add a backing washer to keep the plastic from cracking.