MikeRadness' Shoretrooper Niamos Variant Conversion Build

[MikeRadness]

Hey Pathfinders!

I've decided that because Andor (the series) is the best SW (imo), I want to build the version of the very best trooper (imo), the Shortrooper, featured in that series. I already have a Shoretrooper Grunt (Rogue One). So, this will not be a FULL build thread. But rather a "conversion" build thread documenting my journey to modify my existing kit along with some new parts that I hope will allow me to choose between different loadouts for various troops. That being said, if you are looking for a full build thread/walkthru, please check out some of the other amazing build threads already documented by some other Pathfinders.

I plan to take this:

 And convert it into this:

Using This:

 

I already had parts printed (Chest, Bridges and Bells) along with the straps and bell supports with plans to make a Shore Captain. However I like the Niamos variant better, so I'm shifting gears.

My Grunt kit is 3D printed using MPSB Files as well as MPSB hip Faulds and strapping. And I will be using the same for this conversion. If you would like a full breakdown of the Grunt I  will be using as my foundation, see here:

My Sidearm or E-11 blaster or "Andor blaster" (Whatever we are calling it currently) is an OxProps model that I finished a LONG TIME ago as well as a holster by The DarkSide Closet. I believe I will need to make some modifications to the blaster as well to be more accurate to what we believe is seen on screen.

So, watch here for build progress and Updates. I plan to power through this pretty aggressively since a lot of my work is already done. any comments, questions or hazing along the way is welcomed and encouraged.

More to come...

Mike AKA "MikeRadness"
ST-26300

[KOtrooper]

Awesome. One of the great things about the Shore is the coloring options we have.

Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk

[MikeRadness]

Ok, first up. Addressing the Hip-Plates (or Hip-Faulds). The CRL draft requirement reads "Connects in the back behind the Rear Belt Plate Assembly and rear straps are not visible". This is meant to address the Faulds seen being worn much higher in the Andor-Niamos variant than in the Rogue One Grunt and Captain. Niamos seen here:

So, I will walk through how I adjusted my existing Faulds to allow for them to be worn higher with no straps visible. I will also attempt to be as thorough as possible.

Here is how my Faulds sit currently for my Grunt. Full Straps present and visible with slugs and ammo pouch.

I first need to remove the Slugs and Ammo Pouch:

My Slugs were attached with a screw and washer, so that removal was easy:

The ammo pouch was riveted to the Faulds, so it needed to be removed by snipping the rivet.

I then replaced the rivet in the pouch by inserting a printed form and drilling a pilot hole. then replacing the rivet with a screw and washer. This will allow them to be attached and removed freely in the future based on desired load-out.

This did leave some ugly spots after removal that I will address later:

Next, I need to raise the Faulds. I plan to do this with additional snaps to hold them higher, but not require me to cut or modify the Faulds themselves. Again, to allow for different load-out options. First I marked with tape how low I could go with fasteners and still not have them visible when wearing the Faulds low (E.g. - when trooping as a Grunt) and have them remain hidden by the belt:

Then, after temporarily clipping the Faulds where I want them to be, I tested the placement by adding the belt to make sure it was where I wanted it, then marked and made holes for the snaps through my corset:

After making the appropriately placed holes, I added snaps to both the Faulds and Corset to allow for snapping higher in place. This will allow the Faulds to slide under the abdomen/corset and fastening from behind (I added some additional reenforced tape to hopefully prevent the Plastezote from ripping):

With it fastened in place, we have a small gap between the base of my abdomen tabs and the top of the Faulds.

Then, placing the soft-belt and backplate/hard-belt back, it sits just where I want it... No pesky visible straps!

A little Montana Gold - Sahara Beige touch up on those unsightly spots left after slugs and ammo-pouch removal as well as those new snaps and reenforced tape, and it looks just right:

Next up, I will tackle the Chest and Bells... see you soon!
-MikeRadness

[MikeRadness]

In this post I will cover how I did my Chest and Bells. I want to have different load out options, so a completely new set of chest and bells are needed to accommodate the different paint configurations. However, none of the steps I am going to cover in this installment are "Niamos Variant Specific", but... it is a necessary step to get to the variant steps. so, since I'm doing it anyay, I might as well cover it. The following parts were done using Mr. Paul's 3D files printed on a Creality CR10S-Pro V2 with PETG at 254-degree nozzle temp, 75-degree build plate, 15% infill. Along with that, I will need new straps and buckles which are also Mr. Paul's. Since this is not a complete build thread, I will not cover the entire 3D file prep process in-depth. But, here are my fully prepped Chest and Bells that were:

1. Sanded with 80 grit to knock down the major print lines

2. Painted with 2 in 1 Filler Primer (I know some HardCore builders don't use primer... I'm not one of those...)

3. Sanded with 220-grit

4. Fill any remaining pinholes with Bondo Glaze & Spot Putty

5. Painted with black primer (I like to use different color primers to see the progress)

6. Sanded with 400-grit until super-smooth (some crazies will sand all the way to 1200 grit. I've tried that, don't believe it's necessary... but to each their own)

Once the parts are prepped and smooth, I coated them in a base coat of Montana Gold Shock Dark Brown to emulate the color of the original casted-armor:

Then I'll attach the Straps and Buckles before the next stage of paint:

Before I glue, I hit all contact areas with some 80-grit sandpaper to make a nice adhesion surface (e6000 has a tendency to pull away from smooth surfaces easily):

Next, liberally cover the area with e6000, staying away from the edges to minimize excess glue from squishing out... Avoiding as much post-cleanup as possible is my motto:

Clamp those suckers down good and let 'em set for a couple hours minimum before proceeding:

For the buckles I am going to use a combo of 2-part epoxy (I like Scotch-Weld DP100Plus with applicator gun) and e6000:

I put conservative amounts of the epoxy in the recesses and e6000 on the flat-contact surfaces:

Then clamp THOSE buggers down and let them set for a few hours:

 

Here's the chest with buckles and straps assembled:

I use Humbrol Maskol before paint to emulate big chips. But any latex "liquid mask "should do... and I've also heard of the "toothpaste Method", but have not tried that myself:

I don't go too crazy with the major chips. Just a few nice sized ones. The rest will get handled with additional weathering stages:

Once the latex dries, I fully paint with Montana Gold Sahara Beige:

Here it is with the Sahara Beige. I'll leave the latex masking on until all paint is finished:

Note: When painting with Montana Gold paints on broad surfaces, I use the #6 low-pressure "Fat Cap" (Green w/Orange). I find that even though it comes out heavy and fast, it coats much more evenly with minimal "spatter":

Coming up, Taping and Painting the stripes, weathering and finally strapping. See ya next time on "The Niamos Files"!

-Mike Radness

[Aradun]

This is great Mike! Thanks for taking the time to document your work.

[MikeRadness]

Welcome back to the Niamos Files! ST-26300 here to cover my journey through taping/painting the chest and bells.

First, I have to paint the Left Bell white/black stripe. I'll be using these paints for my Black and White:

I started with taping off and painting the black to match my grunt bell:

Next, I taped and painted the white... but apparently, I forgot to take in-prog pics (oops). The lines are NOT clean... I'm not happy. However, I think I can address it in weathering. You may also notice that the tape left some unsightly marks that I will also deal with in weathering. But the issue was, I didn't let the paint cure long enough before taping it up. I won't make that mistake moving forward. Patience is a virtue... isn't that what they say?

Ok, I did the left bell before I did the chest and right bell just to see the color. So here is the taping and paining of the left bell:

This turned out pretty good. I think I'm satisfied and ready to move on to the chest and other bell:

 

For the chest, I feel like the stripe height varies from the Squad Leader. Here's a side by side. I know the height difference may be slight, but I still feel it is different:

So, for my build I have chosen to go slightly smaller than the 5cm (approx.) outlined in the Squad Leader CRL. I went with 4cm:

I taped the right bell to match the blue paint height on the left bell. Here is my chest and left bell ready to go under the can:

After a few even coats of Montana Gold "Polar Blue", this is looking pretty sick:

I removed the tape and latex masking, then used some basic black acrylic paint to fill the chest recess and FINI (for now):

One closing note, I chose to extend the chest paint down the channel slightly as seen in the screenshot from Niamos. Thoughts?

Welp, that it for this installment. Next, I will be covering strapping... then weathering. And finally, after that I'll cover some slight modifications I'll be making to my "Andor Blaster" that I talked about in an earlier post. Until then, FOR THE EMPIRE!

-Mike ST-26300

[BikerScout007]

4cm looks good!  Really great job and that shade of blue is spot on

[ScaryGuy]

Shouldn’t the chest recess remain tan for the Andor version? That was discussed in the other build thread:

 

 

[BikerScout007]

58 minutes ago, ScaryGuy said:

Shouldn’t the chest recess remain tan for the Andor version? That was discussed in the other build thread:

 

 

Ah yes, that is true.  That should remain tan, @MikeRadness

[MikeRadness]

Hello again everyone! In this post, I'll be covering strapping. 

Here's a list of what I'm using:

1. Mr. Paul's Bell Supports

2. 15mm snaps

3. 2mm Rubber Crafting Cord 

4. Scrap sheet ABS

5. 2-Part Epoxy

First, I attach some male 15mm snaps to the bell supports (facing down):

For the bells I cut some rough squares out of my scrap ABS, drilled some holes and attached some male 15mm snaps:

Using the epoxy, I adhere the ABS squares to the inside of the bells like this (Sorry for the blurry shot, but I was moving quickly and didn't proof it before moving on). Top snap will attach to the bell support strap, bottom snap is for the bicep rigging:

Next, also using the epoxy I adhered the bell supports in like so (excuse the goopy mess and the unsightly backside, I did clean it up a bit before it cured. Thank goodness it's on the inside...):

here I measured where the Bells should hang and then marked where I wanted the snaps as well as the slit for the support tab. Using a leather punch, i made some holes where I marked, added some female 15mm snaps and cut the tab slit using a razor:

I installed the assembled strap to the support, sliding the tab thru the slit:

next I measured and cut the appropriate length of rubber cord that the bicep will hand from:

Here it is installed:

Fully assembled Niamos chest and bells! I think it looks DOPE! hope you do too...

This post was a quick one, next I'll be attaching the foam and weathering. I will also have the chest recess repainted Sahara Beige by then. Thanks for the catch @ScaryGuy and the confirmation @BikerScout007. Y'all come back now... ya'hear?

- Mike ST-26300

[MikeRadness]

Hi Troopers! I'm back again to cover foam installation on the chest real quick. 

The CRL calls for Plastezote or "Plastizote-like material" be used. On my first build, I was all-in and got some Plastezote. I don't have enough to make more shores, and it's not easy or cheap to get here in the States...  so, for this project I will be using the "Plastezote-like" 5mm EVA. I find it's a pretty close option.

From reference shots, I've decided I want my foam to hit these points:

I measure and roughly cut some foam to ensure it will hit the pre-determined points that I can glue in and trim up later:

Using E6000, I coat the entire area that the foam will adhere to, making sure not to get it too close to the edge. I don't want it to "squish" out when I clamp this in place. E6000 cleanup is NOT easy on the foam... (ask me how I know).

Once I have all the E6000 where I want it, I carefully place the foam making sure it hits the points I want, then use clamps and magnets to make sure it stays flush with the chest armor while it cures:

After the E6000 has time to set, I trimmed up some of the foam inside the chest like so:

here is the finished chest, take note that I have also corrected the recess color from black to Sahara Beige as was pointed out by ScaryGuy in my last post:

 

BONUS:

After reviewing Niamos reference materials closer and reading some of the posts in previous conversations, I realized my Left Bell stripe was not accurate. I had originally painted it to match my grunt bell specs... but we know that the stripe is slightly different than the other Shore variants. I took the opportunity to fix it by changing the black stripes to be the same width (approx. 1cm) and the white stripe was narrowed down to approx. 3.5mm.

This brought the whole stripe up on the bell (from the bottom) making it much more comparable to what we see in Andor.

Here is a comparison shot of my before and after (don't mind the lighting differences):

Next up, weathering!

- ST-26300

[MikeRadness]

Hey Pathfinders! Happy Thursday and welcome to the latest episode of the Niamos Files. In this post, I will be covering my weathering technique. A list of the items I use are:
1. Utility Knife Blade
2. 80-grit and 220-grit Sandpaper
3. Acrylic Paints (Burnt Umber and Black)
4. Brush
5. Water
6. A microfiber rag

First, Using the utility blade I chip and scrape edges, staying conservative. It's always easy to do more later, but not easy to roll back.

Using the same blade, I rough up the foam... gotta hit ALL the parts of these kits.

I use the 80-grit sandpaper to rough up the edges a bit more and scratch the surfaces... (apparently I didn't take a picture of that, sorry)
Here is the assembled chest and bells chipped and scratched (pre-grime)

 
For the dirt and grime stage, I personally use a mix of Burnt Umber and Black acrylic paint. Every trooper has their own preferences, I suppose based on where they are deployed. lol

My Method consists of the following steps:
1. Goop the paint mix into the crevices, seams and cracks

2. Use a damp cloth to start wiping and dabbing (I use the same cloth over and over for all my kits. nice and grimy)

3. Keep dabbing

4. Dab some more until it starts to look like this, natural and organic... shy away from "streaks"

5. Finally it starts to look like built-up dirt and grime. I continue this process over all the armor. 

After all the grime is applied, I come in with the 220-grit paper and "soften" some of the chips. I don't want all of them to look fresh. This kit has seen long-term action and wear. There should be "layers" of damage... telling a story. That's the effect I'm trying to achieve here:

Here's the finished weathering:


 
Next I'll be covering some conversions to my Andor Blaster and Belt.

See you in a bit!
Long Live the Empire!
-ST-26300

[MikeRadness]

Greetings Pathfinders!

Ok... I feel like I'm nearing the finish line. Today I'll be covering some belt and blaster modifications.

Here's my unaltered grunt gelt that I'll be converting:

The blaster is worn on the left-hip. So first I removed the 2 left-most (right in the pic) boxes to make room for the holster. It will be one large box and the long "hinged" box:

Here's the amazing holster made by The Darkside Closet (Mike Q does great work...):

Next, I slide the holster on the belt into the space I just made removing the boxes. It's a perfect fit and even covers the unsightly holes left by the removed boxes. Easy-easy:

Ok, on to blaster adjustments. Everything I've seen and found for on-screen reference are of the blaster "holstered" which coverers the "assumed" changes I will be making. Since we don't have real solid reference pics of screen-used blaster details I will be basing the changes I am choosing to make off of the Black Series Andor Shoretrooper box art. Here is the art with the differences I see from the blaster I originally built. Round greeblies near the rear charging port, a different charging handle, a short cooling coil, and additional bort deflector and the muzzle:


The blaster I originally built was designed by David O at OxProps. It's rad. And he's rad. When I reached out to him about this project, he QUICKLY designed some files for me to retrofit this blaster with the changes seen in the box art. Even though he made files for all the highlighted items in this pic, I will only be making the changes in green (for now). I didn't take a recent pic of the side of the blaster that will be getting the mods. So here is an OLD pic I took when I first built the blaster a couple years ago:

I removed the parts that are needed to make the changes I'll be doing today. The muzzle and the left-side "long" cooling coil.

Here are the files designed by OxProps that I'll be using. Muzzle, short coil and an additional barrel deflector (already printed, sanded and painted base black):

I slapped some Maskol (liquid latex masking) on the parts I will be painting Sahara Beige for some chipping effect:

I painted them Sahara and CA-glued them in place:

I hit the freshly beiged areas with some of the same weathering technique that I used for the armor and voila! FINI

I opted not to make these changes for now, although the files exist to do so if it is needed in the future. I left my original charging handle:

And here's the complete belt, holster and blaster:

This conversion project is COMPLETE! Tomorrow I will be doing a full suit-up and I'll post some pics. Thanks for following along to those that have been. Hope you find it useful!

- Mike (ST-26300)

[Aradun]

Mike, amazing job and fantastic documentation! This will be a great resource for those seeking to add this variant to existing kits.

[BikerScout007]

@MikeRadness -- 

looking amazing!  Like we were discussing the other day, gonna need pics!  Lots of pics.  You suited up with front and back (and sides for the Gallery).

Definitely will need pics of all the distinct pieces of gear for this trooper.  Chest, bells, hip armor, blaster etc.  

Let's get this CRL done!  

[MikeRadness]

And I present to you, the full Niamos Shoretrooper Variant!

Thanks to all of you that have been following along, giving advice and supporting my progress!

See you all on the front-lines. Pathfinders Lead the WAY!

Mike ST-26300

[BikerScout007]

Excellente!

I am drafting the CRL for the LMO in between mailing out racing shirts.   

I will let you know if we need anything else.  Great work, my man

[ScarifBeachBum]

On 11/5/2023 at 6:59 PM, MikeRadness said:

 

 

This post was a quick one, next I'll be attaching the foam and weathering. I will also have the chest recess repainted Sahara Beige by then. Thanks for the catch @ScaryGuy and the confirmation @BikerScout007. Y'all come back now... ya'hear?

- Mike ST-26300

The blue stripe on this is wrong. The only place where the Sahara Beige intersects it is in the middle (unlike the Specialist Shoretrooper.) I got that from both photos and the Black Series figure. Also, the weathering seems to be a bit heavy for Niamos Shoretroopers which are nearly pristine other than some dirt.

 

[MikeRadness]

The blue stripe on this is wrong. The only place where the Sahara Beige intersects it is in the middle (unlike the Specialist Shoretrooper.) I got that from both photos and the Black Series figure. Also, the weathering seems to be a bit heavy for Niamos Shoretroopers which are nearly pristine other than some dirt.
 

I’m not sure I agree. If you look here, the striping does not intersect in the channels imo. It does continue down the side of the channel, but it does not make a continuous stripe. And the weathering was done to match the weathering on my grunt so I didn’t have to make an entire new kit.


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[MikeRadness]

I’m not sure I agree. If you look here, the striping does not intersect in the channels imo. It does continue down the side of the channel, but it does not make a continuous stripe. And the weathering was done to match the weathering on my grunt so I didn’t have to make an entire new kit.


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To me, The stripe ends here quite clearly (red arrow) and the channel is the color of the base armor (yellow arrow)



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[BikerScout007]

I was coming here to post this pic

Looks divided up the same way as the other troopers.  I don't think the Black series figures are going to get that level of detail right, it's a little too precise for a mass produced figure

The weathering -- in bright sunlight a lot of the grime gets blown out.  And I think we can all agree the color on the beach scenes of Andor is very blown out.  So much so that this blue looks almost white in some shots.  I see pics of my own ST in bright sunlight and I'm always like "damn I look like I just came out of the box."  But I'm willing to debate this point.  

[ScarifBeachBum]

12 hours ago, MikeRadness said:

To me, The stripe ends here quite clearly (red arrow) and the channel is the color of the base armor (yellow arrow)



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Agreed. I think you're right that the channel is Sahara Beige, but the side is painted. I had a hard time telling if you had the sides of the channel painted in that photo. I think the thing that threw me off was how wide the side channels are on that kit.

[ScarifBeachBum]

12 hours ago, BikerScout007 said:

The weathering -- in bright sunlight a lot of the grime gets blown out.  And I think we can all agree the color on the beach scenes of Andor is very blown out.  So much so that this blue looks almost white in some shots.  I see pics of my own ST in bright sunlight and I'm always like "damn I look like I just came out of the box."  But I'm willing to debate this point.  

I wasn't taking issue with the grime but rather the heavy "chocolate chip" weathering that seems inconsistent with what we've seen on screen (and behind the scenes) for Niamos Shoretroopers. That's all that I meant by "pristine." I understand that Mike did this to be consistent with his Grunt kit, but it does not accurately represent the kind of weathering we have seen on screen for this.

[MikeRadness]

I wasn't taking issue with the grime but rather the heavy "chocolate chip" weathering that seems inconsistent with what we've seen on screen (and behind the scenes) for Niamos Shoretroopers. That's all that I meant by "pristine." I understand that Mike did this to be consistent with his Grunt kit, but it does not accurately represent the kind of weathering we have seen on screen for this.

I was Following the draft CRL which states “moderate weathering” just like all the other shore variant CRLs. Figured that would allow me to build a variant without having to build an entirely new kit. Which doesn’t seem like it sits well with you. I’m not exactly sure why you are taking up issue with my build.


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[BikerScout007]

Okay everyone, let's keep it focused and positive.  There are no egos in CRL creation.  We do whatever is best for the Detachment and the membership as a whole.  

This trooper has been on my slate since the beginning of this term and now we are almost at the end.  I want to get this done.  That's my goal.  Whoever gets to the finish line first is not my primary focus.  

Okay so here are my thoughts -- I think for basic, typical amount of Shoretrooper weathering is fine.  We do want to encourage current STs to be able to mix and match parts to add other CRLs to their roster.

But... it's also pretty clear from the screenshots that this trooper in particular doesn't look as rough as some of the grunts that he shares scenes with.  My guess is since they were using some new colors they had to completely repaint and reweather portions of the armors that have been around since "Rogue One".  This would be a Level 2 thing.

I've already expressed my concerns to Mike about the helmet being a bit heavy on the black wash, and he's going to address that.  We can take a look at the chocolate chips and see how much they need to be knocked back.  I can photoshop them out too