Plasma Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 9 hours ago, Mandrake said: What I have to do is bend my foot into a angle to be able to get my foot to slide down through the boot and armour 'hoop' and then flatten my foot into the sole of the boots... hopefully that makes sense,at least you know you aren't the only one with the problem excellent job on the weathering of the helmet by the way,it looks natural and like it's meant to be there! At last - a fellow sufferer. I will have to wait until I have the boots to work it out. I bought some off eBay in the UK and someone is bringing them to me in Sicily in September to avoid the customs and excise and VAT that Brexit graciously gave me. I think I will have to deepen the section behind the heel by 1-2cm and work out some convoluted movement to get my foot in. I suppose there could be worse problems..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 9 hours ago, Mandrake said: excellent job on the weathering of the helmet by the way,it looks natural and like it's meant to be there! Thanks. The rest of the armour is printed and I am painting it now (photos soon). I definitely think "less is more" when it comes to weathering and rust. I am starting to understand where it may be applied on the rest of the armour. I must be getting into character already 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 Update. I am painting and weathering the rest of the armour. Here are the front/back of the upper torso. I went for more weathering on the back, deciding to keep the front a little "cleaner" looking. The fit of these seems pretty good on me. My question is regarding the straps: As they are shown here, the buckles are a little lower than the reference photos which show the bottom edge to be in a line with the small round black detail on the chest. I would like to have them as shown as, otherwise, I would have to shorten the straps and the slight twist needed to position the buckles would become more difficult. My intention is to glue the buckle and a short portion of the strap at that end and have the rest of the strap free floating so it can be tucked into the receptacles on the rear as I suit up. Is this placement acceptable or should I shorten the straps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 Some feedback would be appreciated before I move on..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 @Hask do you have any feedback for this Patrol Trooper? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikerScout007 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I would shorten the straps. At the end of the day, your GML is going to look at your pictures alongside the CRL pictures and judge accordingly. I have my buckles like you do with my Shoretrooper. So they (and the front end of the strapped) are glued in the front and then the other side of the strap gets pushed into the housings on the back armor when I suit up. Some people do the opposite and have the buckles velcro to the front (or use magnets). Maybe that option would work better? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hask Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I would agree on the straps but how does it look on you? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 15 hours ago, Hask said: I would agree on the straps but how does it look on you? Like this: I have more questions about this section but let's keep it on point for now. The straps - ok? I would prefer to avoid velcro in case of a problem with a strap or buckle which necessitates reprinting. I also want the straps to be flat against the armour and not visibly raised by using velcro. So, I will explore the magnet option (not used those before) and tuck the strap into the rear housing. PS. Sorry about the bad hair and stubble. Trooping is taking its toll already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hask Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I would shorten them a little so the end of the buckle lines up with the horizontal edge of the collar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 14 minutes ago, Hask said: I would shorten them a little so the end of the buckle lines up with the horizontal edge of the collar. Im not sure if this is a legit photo from the film: But if it is, I will line them up as shown - which appears the be the bottom edge of the buckle just above the circular indent in the chest armour which means shortening by about 1.5cm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Next related question: As you can see in the photos my large build means there is a gap between the front and back pieces. Is this acceptable or should I make an effort to bridge this with additional printed parts or styrene sheet for example? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hask Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 The sections on the back plate should be longer so you will need to add something there which to be honest I assumed you would. If you use something a tad flexible it will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 3 minutes ago, Hask said: The sections on the back plate should be longer so you will need to add something there which to be honest I assumed you would. Thanks Kris. It wasn't something I had thought about until this exercise of donning the armour. But yes, it needs some extensions to accommodate my pizza fetish. Maybe MrPoopie has something up his sleeve to help me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hask Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I know he used flexible parts on his backplate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Just now, Hask said: I know he used flexible parts on his backplate. I must have taken a stupid pill today. I have nearly finished the ab section you can see in one photo and yes, used MrPoopies TPU parts - which are great. I can print something flexible to bridge that gap. Brilliant! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 OK. I have attached the straps and buckles to the chest section and they line up nicely. Photo later when I have worked out how to add the side extensions to join the front and back. Meanwhile, The AB section is complete and now requires some braces to hold it up. I can work all that out. My question is regarding the belt. I have all the parts and will soon buy some leather (or faux leather) to cover the three boxes. In everyone's experience (and I know there are not a lot of us), where and how is a good place for the join in the belt? Should I try and hide it at the rear behind the TD or the front behind the big box. Any suggestions? Does anyone use concealed fixings to close the two ends or rely solely on velcro/magnets as part of securing to the AB section? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hask Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 My belt is attached to the bottom of the Ab section at the front and the closure is hidden behind the large box. Others have it behind the TD. I used very thin velcro. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Just now, Hask said: My belt is attached to the bottom of the Ab section at the front and the closure is hidden behind the large box. Others have it behind the TD. I used very thin velcro. Thanks - Thats sounds sensible. I shall give it a go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 So, the belt is going well. Next question regarding bridging the gap between the front/back upper torso armour. I have printed some TPU sheets for flexibility and intend to glue to the rear piece and velcro to the front. If properly trimmed, would this sort of arrangement be ok as it will be recessed from the main armour. Or, will it need to be flush with the armour? My second question regards the buckles. On some photos they seem to be attached to the front armour and on others to this bridging section (which seems to make more sense form a functional point of view). Is either arrangement ok? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPoopie Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 The side pieces can be set inset like you have it, just make sure that its' trimmed so that it doesn't stick out farther than the chest or back when underneath. I know it may be a bit too late but if those were my files there should have been an alternate back file that had the extra triangular sides removed and a TPU side that could be attached to it that would bend around to fit like you have shown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Thanks Justin. It's good to know I am on the right track. I just checked the files you sent me but could not see the bridging TPU section you mentioned. It doesnt matter now as I have made them. Its starting to come together nicely now. I can't wait to start policing the Empire.😀 Any thoughts on my second question regarding the buckles: On some photos they seem to be attached to the front armour and on others to this bridging section (which seems to make more sense from a functional point of view). Is either arrangement ok? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPoopie Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 The side buckles will be attached to the chest piece. If they were functional they would be connected to the elastic/cloth straps that are on the "wings" on the chest piece. You can see they in the images below. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 It maybe to late now, but what I did for the boxes to attach to the belt,was use small pieces of the belt itself ! If you match up the notches and dips properly it will sit flush and just glue everything in place,I've done a years worth of trooping and they are holding up perfectly fine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasma Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 30 minutes ago, Mandrake said: It maybe to late now, but what I did for the boxes to attach to the belt,was use small pieces of the belt itself ! If you match up the notches and dips properly it will sit flush and just glue everything in place,I've done a years worth of trooping and they are holding up perfectly fine Thanks. Its never too late. I actually used the rubber belt material to create the back and flap for the boxes (covered in faux leather of course). I haven't worked out how to attach them to the belt yet. Your method is an option and is indeed the way I reinforced the abs section - which was made using a rubber mat material the same as the belt. You are right - all those grooves form a great surface for glue! I made the leather boxes full of trepidation but I think they look ok in an Arts & Craft Patrol Trooper sort of way. The entire belt is nearly complete. Two things to address: maybe some small rubber strips in the baton holster to stop the baton falling through and some sort of support to stop the TD from sloping downwards due its weight on the belt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 I personally don't use the batton as a prop,so I've just used tape carefully placed so it sits in the holster,and if memory serves I think I screwed my TD in , although industrial strength / 3m velcro would probably do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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