This week, we’re rocketing to the end of our build for this Stormtrooper. With all the major assembly completed, it’s now time to get the little details and fittings finished up.
While we’ve been working on all the major parts independently, it’s now time to make sure that everything fits together so that as a whole, this stormtrooper looks like it should. After the body’s completed, we’ll be just about done, with just a couple of more things to finish up.
First up: the Abs plate.
We assembled this last week, putting on the details, but we didn’t paint them up. In older stormtrooper costumes, you’ll usually see black buttons, but in reality, they were blue and grey, and painted on. I hand-painted these on, and I’m mostly happy with them. I think the blue might be a shade too light, but that’s something that I can fix later if needed.
Next up: straps.
This has been a bit of a trial-and-error process for me, first learning how the snaps go together, but also how long each of these should be. I installed a strap across the shoulder bell, so that they’ll stay put on my arm while I’m wearing them.
The Abs plate got some extra treatment as well:
While I was trying on the Chest plate with the Abs, I found something funny: I’m a bit too tall to be a stormtrooper. The Chest and Abs are supposed to overlap a bit, and when I put these on, they *just* meet. This has been a bit of a problem with my regular armor as well, so I installed three straps that holds everything in place: one in the center, with two on the sides.
This actually works really well - the chest will pop under the abs plate only if I really bend backwards, which isn’t something that I do all that often, and the three straps hold everything right in place.
Next up: Thighs.
These are still problematic, because they’re too small. I’m still trying to figure out how to close them in back. I’ve stripped off the rear cover strip in back, and I’ll have to figure out something for the future. In the meantime, I’ve installed a snap point for where it’ll connect to the abs plate with a strap.
While doing this, I figured out something that didn’t occur to me earlier: the snap plates, which I cut with a razor, have sharp corners. Before I popped these on, I took a sander to the edges, and beveled them down a hair, so I don’t get stuck with the points.
I can’t do too much with the ones that are already installed, but I used my dremel to get what I could.
Finally, I did some work on the belt.
I should have trimmed this a little more on the edges, so I trimmed a bit off on either side, which brings it in line a bit better. I also added on the covers, which hide the points where the plastic is joined to the belt.
With all of that done, it’s time for a test fit. Next week!
Past Installments:
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