mgabriel74 Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 (edited) Hello all, Here is my build journey. Just to recap, I'm from South FL looking forward to be part of the 501st Everglades Squad. I started my build in January-2024 (except for the helmet and Blaster, which I printed in 2023). It took approx. 10 kg of PLA filament. I used 3 Artillery Sidewinder X2 and 1 Creality Ender 3 V2 on this project. Along the way, I had to re-print some parts to ease wearing them, but overall was a straight process. I hope this post can motivate others to do their own build and join this AWESOME community. I have to thank Joe @Minimo and @KOtrooperfor all their kind support and motivation!. Is important to note that these files at 100% were modeled for a 5'06" 165 lbs person, which I'm not. I'm 6'00" 190 lbs, so I had to increase the scale to 115% (just as a reference). I strongly recommend to use "Armorsmith" to save time and money printing your build to your actual dimensions. I still have some work to do, weathering the hips and hand plates. the EVA Foam front & back covers on the chest piece, and attaching the M54 Pouch to the Abdomen piece using snap buttons. Helmet was a single print. The visor was printed separately. I initially printed the chest V1 (old version), but the realized a V2 (shown below) was available, so I printed. The Back part including all the required details per CRL is in Thingiverse. Do not print the one in the folder to save you time and money, plus to have the correct version. Image below with my son at an Armor Party (Apr-2024) with the Everglades Squad. Shout out to Eric Elg for his kindness and help!. For the undershirt, I found this fabric at JOANNS and saw it myself (for the 1st ever sewing) so, don't kill me! LOL. There is certainly room for improvement, but I'll have fixed/cleaned soon. I "tried" to follow some weathering techniques, and here are some of the results. Again, will do my best to improve it as we go along... I added two 5v fans using the 2000mAH Lipo Batteries, a small on/off switch and step-up boards. The parts shown below are hold with neodymium magnets, to ease the assembly and storage of the costume. I Just as a reference, I used BEHR "Dark Truffle" Flat spray paint on the entire build as the base color. The use a mannequin helps a LOT to properly align things and adjusting here and there. Highly recommended! I This is picture BEFORE weathering my bucket! I ordered my pants with Darkside Closet on facebook. They should arrive by the end of this month (HOPEFULLY). My goal is to wear it in July and submit my build for approval. Thanks! Edited June 6 by mgabriel74 to add pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimo Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Woohoo! Coming along Gabriel! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgabriel74 Posted June 8 Author Share Posted June 8 @Minimo I recognize is not perfect but I feel good with how is coming along... Thanks Joe for your support and inspiration! GO GRUNTS!!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOtrooper Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Your build is looking great! Undershirt looks fantastic! Did you have to sew the ribs or was that all just in the fabric?Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgabriel74 Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 Hi @KOtrooper, Thanks for your message. I was able to find a fabric with very similar characteristics in JOANNS. Thanks to @Minimo, I modified the undershirt as shown below. so the ribs are in a vertical direction in the upper chest area only. And this is the most recent picture with everything weathered. Can't wait to receive the pants from DarkSide Closet, to submit my build. SuperCon (Miami) is around the corner and I'm hoping I'll be able to troop with my Son, as I promised him!. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgabriel74 Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Hello All, I received the pants (level 1) from The DarkSide Closet, and I'm SUPER Happy with the fitment. Here are 2 pictures for your reference. Now I can submit my build for approval. Wish me luck and THANKS again to all of you for posts, comments and suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimo Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Good luck!!!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgabriel74 Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Thanks a lot @Minimo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgabriel74 Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 Hello All, Quick update. Thanks to @Kilika Chris, who remind me about the hand plates. I noticed after his message that I had the old version; So, I printed them yesterday night, sand and painted them today and, now I should be ready to submit. Small detail, BUT it gets you a bit closer to the CRL. Planning to take my pictures set tomorrow morning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgabriel74 Posted June 30 Author Share Posted June 30 All, Here are present to you my build. I'll be more than glad to share what I have learned in the process of building this Sean Fields files project. I submitted today to the FL Garrison. Will keep you posted!. Thanks once again, to all the great people who helped me to achieve this personal goal!. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgabriel74 Posted July 2 Author Share Posted July 2 This is sooo rewarding... Can't wait for my approval!. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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