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[Vaktimus]

Hi there, this is going to be the thread for my armor WIP, I have already been hard at work but only am just now getting around to doing the WIP.

I am 3d Printing all of my pieces, I originally came down this path with a helmet and then fell down the rabbit hole of just doing a whole suit. So i have been collecting things I could print and have purchased a couple of STL's as well to help me solidify the look I want.

The inspiration image from mando maker


Then I got to work printing and sanding, and sanding some more and priming and sanding.

I quickly discovered that people were not kidding around when they said that these things take an absolute ton of sanding.  I ended up buying a mouse sander after the helmet was done and It made the big sections of armor WAY easier to tackle.

Progress SO FAR. 


Currently working on the chest and ab panels, and got the first part of the gauntlets printing now. I am very intimidated by the intricate sanding that I will need for them to get the smooth and sharp.

[Vaktimus]

So started to work on my chest and made some recent progress even with the weird up and down weather.

I had some issues printing the chest as I had to slice it up to fit on my print bed and I had some warping which led to some huge gaps when I glued it all together.



In to save the day was a ton of bondo and 2 part epoxy.  In the end with a ton of sanding it seemed like it was working well.



Little did I know I didn't do a great job dealing with the seam and I couldn't rally tell until the first coat of white and I ended up with a huge line, so I had to sand down and refill and sand a ton more and eventually it came out alright.




 
I have things mostly done now, at least done to the point where they have a good base coat on .

My next steps are soft kit before I dive back into the armor to seal it and start on the weathering.

I am not sure how to weather the white without it either turning into a grey smudged mess or not really being enough weather to look like ive done anything, any suggestions or reference images would be welcome.

[beardad1980]

Beautiful color scheme. I like the clean look for this one rather than weathering. I've weathered mine to hide oops. Lol. But this one looks like clean would be the way to go.

[Vaktimus]

Update after a long time, I finally have some armor mounted

I used Velcro.

I haven't mounted the chest plate yet only because I am going back and forth on the sizing.





I am not super sure about  the placement of the thigh armor, but I am worried if I move them up I am going to crowd out the above space for pouches and holsters and such.

[Vaktimus]

Finally got my gloves in the mail (I plan on removing the decorative buttons) , thinking about how to attach my hand plates but after asking around they were too big so I  printed up a quick smaller one from thingiverse.

Not sure if the new one is perhaps TOO small now, always the case when trying to figure out sizing.

Original Handplates



Newly Printed Hand Plate

[Second Son]

Smaller ones are a better size. I like the new ones, different but still follows the same basic design language.

[Kandosii Tor]

Agreed. Once those gauntlets are on there with the handplates, they'll look perfect.

As I was looking at the thigh plates, they look as though they will need additional shaping/curvature. They seem to be floating off your legs.

As for placement, the plates shouldn't interfere too much with pouches, I wouldn't think. I think they would look better about an inch or two higher.

The kit's looking good though! Keep at it!

[Vaktimus]

Lots of progress since the last post, I got to actually kit up (partially) for the first time. It really showed me that I am a long way from being ready but at least when I put it all on I feel like I've really accomplished something.

I heat formed my thigh armor some more, and it sits a lot better.

Thinking of getting rid of the knees and doing shin and top of boot armor since the gaiters I have are a bit to o short to cover the laces of my boots and getting the knees to not look like they are floating has been hard.

Noticed as well in the pictures that my shoulders are not quite even, but I did put this on by myself and In a weird order so I guess that will get better with time and practice.

Still need a back plate, not sure the sizing on that one so I have been putting it off.

I snapped my ab plate putting this on, which was a huge bummer but I should be able to fix it easy enough. can't be too rough with the purely 3d printed pieces. Next time I print I will have more infil.

(Full kit)


(side view)

[Second Son]

That first full kit-up is pretty magical. Fiberglass the back side of the printed parts. Check with your ruus'alor - you can probably use this chest plate without the ab extension.
Shins+boot plates and the thighs would work just fine.

Looking good, keep pushing.