C6 Clonetrooper tutorial and build from head to toe!

Hello Clonetrooper friends. I have completed my Clone Pilot tutorial and am moving onto
a Clonetrooper suit tutorial. I have been building these suits since 2005 and plan to share
some of my tips and tricks with you here. I have build around 10 suits for myself, friends and
local 501st members. Hopefully this tutorial can help you with your build. Maybe I can also
learn some new tricks and ideas from fellow board members.
Once the tutorial if finished the suit will be for sale. Please contact me if you are interested.
Please feel free to add to the discussion.

We are going to take a pile of plastic, reins and rubber and turn it into something like this!


These photos were taken a few weeks ago at Wonder Con in San Francisco.
As you can see, the suit can be made to fit troopers big and small.
The bigger troopers in these photo’s are around 6’1” and the smaller ones are around 5’8”.

I will anxiously be following this Darren . I may just have to buy a clone just so I can follow this.

Well I am dying to buy one just as soon as I finish my Jango build. This thread will be bookmarked for future reference.

And I will watch it as you go too. Thanks for these tutorials that you have been doing they are appreciated.

PM incoming re: finished set.

That is great !!Darren, I will be following the thread very closely for my build-up as well

Day 1
Trim out all the pieces and clean up as necessary. I like to use a belt sander to file most of the items down.
I purchased one for around $40.00 at Harbor Freight. I got one that can by turned upside down to sand
down the parts easier.
For the tight areas I use a dremil and for the straight lines I use a metal ruler and utility knife.
I also use a file to get those nice round corners. This is just a quick trim, we will do the final cleanup as
we move onto each individual piece. I spent about 3 to 4 hours on this step.

It’s is extremely important to use a pair of work gloves. They can be purchased at Wal Mart for around $10.00.
I nearly cut the tip of my finger off because I was not wearing my gloves.
I could have saved all that pain by just taking a few more seconds to grab and put them on.

Safety first!

Will be a fun thread to follow

Originally Posted by Jango 5204

Safety first!

Don't you watch Dirty Jobs.......its safety third.

look, if you're going to tell us about an injury you incurred during costume construction, you have to show pics of that too. i think that's an internet rule.

Originally Posted by DW Design

I nearly cut the tip of my finger off because I was not wearing my gloves.
I could have saved all that pain by just taking a few more seconds to grab and put them on.

This statement is worthless without pics.

I don't want to derail this thread but here you go.....
First two, same injury. Utility knife slipped and I was NOT wearing gloves.
Third photo, I cant remember. I think I was trimming plastic without gloves.
Fourth is from this week. It's from the sander. It was throwing hot plastic on my arm so I cut up a sock and used it like a sleeve. Then sock then got caught in the sander
.
.
.
.

Ouch! stay safe. Now, back on topic. what did you get done today?

the sacrifice for art! You have to have a little blood in your costume. That's what makes it yours.

Looking Forward to this thread! Thanks for doing this Darren!

love it.. thanks for doing the tutorials.

Ouch ! I never use gloves but will now. Thanks for the tool list, been wondering about what type of belt sander that would effective

C'mon, weekend is almost over & I haven't seen any updates! suffering information withdraw!

Originally Posted by Replicant Shadow

Ouch ! I never use gloves but will now. Thanks for the tool list, been wondering about what type of belt sander that would effective

I just picked up a cheap one at Harbor Freight. I think it was around $40.00.
Darren

I always wondered how we were supposed to do these pieces seamless the big question now is how much padding am I going to need to make these fit right.

I never knew about "fiber glass tape". Can I find it at Walmart? I have a OSCS kit and when I did my forearms I used the excess cutoff behind the back of the seam. I found there were spots where the excess strip had bubbles and didn't adhere. This tape method may just work out better for me when I do my legs and thighs. Thanks!

I've never heard of "fiber glass tape" either but I have used fiberglass cloth to repair cracked areas. I would lay down a thin layer of 2 part epoxy, lay the fiber cloth on it, press it down, and then smear more epoxy over it. Where can we find fiber glass tape? sounds like that way would be easier than what I have done.

I've layed fiber glass matting down too. This indeed would make it very easy.

The fiberglass tape can be picked up at Tap Plastics.

Thanks for the tip Darren. I'll do a search!

Darren,

Is this the same type of Fiberglass Tape?

I purchased this in Walmart instead of Tap Plastics.

It's a little different but it may work. I would try it out and let us know how it goes.
Thanks, DW

Darren, the fiberglass tape you use is not sticky at both side, right... So the 2-part epoxy can be easily applied... Faroshuffle's tape is just like most of the scotch tapes with one side sticky and that is most i found locally as well... Which one is better, the sticky-at-one-side one and the one you use... besides, how wide is the tape gonna be...is the 25mm wide one ok or more wider ones are needed...

cheers,
frank

I plan on testing it out this coming weekend...hang in there guys.

thanks, bud, that is great

Wow you really are putting your blood sweat and tears into these but effort is really paying off.
Keep up the great work.

Originally Posted by darth z

Darren, the fiberglass tape you use is not sticky at both side, right... So the 2-part epoxy can be easily applied... Faroshuffle's tape is just like most of the scotch tapes with one side sticky and that is most i found locally as well... Which one is better, the sticky-at-one-side one and the one you use... besides, how wide is the tape gonna be...is the 25mm wide one ok or more wider ones are needed...
cheers,
frank

I am not sure why they call it fiberglass tape. It's not sticky at all. I think it might be used to repair boats? It's just what C6 came up with years ago and it always worked for me.

Day 3
Moving onto the remaining items that need to go seamless we will begin to
work with the thighs, forearms and biceps. Same as the calves we will try to
cut or sand a straight line on one of the two halves. Once one of the two seams
are looking good, tape it up and start on the second side. Use a pencil if need
to help with this process. The photo’s below show a set of unassembled pieces and
a set of finished versions.




Here is a closer look at the biceps. The back of the biceps are always a little thought
to get to line up. Don't worry, this can be fixed when we add the epoxy and fiberglass tape.

OK, now we have all the seams cut it time to start adding the insta-cure (super glue), epoxy and fiberglass tape.
Use masking or painters tape to tape all the part together. Add super glue to the inside seam.
Use the insta-set spray to help set the insta-cure.
After dried, add the epoxy and fiberglass tape to the inside seam. Then add another coating of epoxy to
the top of the fiberglass tape. Remove the masking or painters tape from the outside and fill in any gaps with epoxy.
Wait about a day and then sand the outside seams. Once seam is sanded add Bondo to outside seam and try to
cleanup and low spots or remaining blemishes. Sand and cleanup as needed. I use a Mouse Sander for this step.

Day 4
Sand and prime the seams as needed. You may need to add more Bondo. Another great item to use
is Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty. It good for the smaller holes. The nice thing is ready to use right out of the tube.
No mixing needed. This can be purchased at Wal Mart or any automotive store.

Once your seams are getting close I like to use Dupli-Color Filler Primer. This is a spray primer that I
have only begin to use recently. One of my R2 builder buddy’s suggested it.
It is a kind off expensive but it works great.
It can be found at automotive stores and costs around $8.00 per can.

Once again, keep sanding and priming until you are happy with the seams.
Once finished you should have a pile of parts that look like this.

Day 5
Take the two primered calves and spoons. Round the spoons off with a good size lip around the outside.
I like to use a large lip on the spoons. If you trim too much they will not hold well while trooping.
Trim out the trap door on the calves.


Now place the spoons into position. Draw a cut line for the spoons. Once again, I like to trim my calves
way up. It just more comfortable for me while trooping. You may want to experiment a bit on yours.


Finished trimmed pieces will look something like this.

Day 6
Cod and butt pieces. This piece consists of a vacuformed front and back. It also needs a piece of
plastic. This piece will be glued to the top of the butt area. The only reason for this piece is to keep
the back of the chest from slipping under the cod/butt while wearing the suit.
On the finished piece I have the right side connected with a pop rivet and
the left is connected with a nut and screw.

I always cut the front of the cod down. I usually trim about a 1 1/4” off.

Cleanup is always easier with a half round file.


Drill holes in both the front and the back pieces on both sides.
Check position and fit now with the use of screws and nuts.
This should fit snugly on you while wearing your black under suit.


Glue the plastic sheet to the back as shown. Use your epoxy for this.
Round the top edges to help of the glued plastic piece to hlep keep from getting poked while trooping.

Here are some finished photo to help show how it should look once assembled and painted.

Day 7
The stomach section consists of two different sides and a center piece. I also try to include extra
plastic to put behind the holes in the center section. It's not necessary to drill out these hole but
I prefer the depth that this gives the piece. Below is a photo of the kit pieces along with a finished version.

Use a drill to punch out the holes then clean up with a small file. I don’t add the extra plastic pieces
to the part until I am finished priming the final completed piece.

The center stomach section needs to be raised up higher than the two side pieces.
This is so you don't see any black under suit while trooping.
It help with the contour of the chest piece which curves up in this area. You will have to mark and cut a new trim line for this.

Using the epoxy glue this center section to the two side pieces. You should only do one section at a time
and allow to dry completely before moving onto the other half. I like to use large clips to hold the pieces
into place. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo here.
Once the center piece is good and dry we will now add the magic sculpt to the seam. Bondo will also work
here. I prefer the magic sculpt because it takes longer to set and can be sculpted with water while its still soft.


The magic sculpt will need to dry overnight. Once dried you can sand as needed. Once sanded, primer the piece.

Use epoxy to glue the small pieces to the back side. Your piece should now look something like the last photo attached.

Day 8
Today we are going to work with several different pieces for the suit. The shoulder bells, hand backs and finish
working on the right forearm.
The shoulder bells are fairly straight forward. Cut and sand the edge to get ready for the primer.

The hand back are the same, cut and sand as needed.

Now we are going to add the resin compad to the right forearm. Place the resin piece approximately 3/4”
up from the front along the inside seam. Add the magic sculpt and cleanup as needed.
Allow the magic sculpt to dry then sand and primer as needed.



Well at this point we should have more than half of the parts trimmed,assembled and primered.
We have worked on the calves with spoons, thighs, cod and butt, stomach, shoulder bells, biceps, forearms and hand backs.
This should leave the knees, belt, thermal detonator, chest and back, and elbows.

Originally Posted by DW Design

Day 6
Cod and butt pieces. This piece consists of a vacuformed front and back. It also needs a piece of
plastic. This piece will be glued to the top of the butt area. The only reason for this piece is to keep
the back of the chest from slipping under the cod/butt while wearing the suit.
On the finished piece I have the right side connected with a pop rivet and
the left is connected with a nut and screw.

I always cut the front of the cod down. I usually trim about a 1 1/4” off.

Cleanup is always easier with a half round file.


Drill holes in both the front and the back pieces on both sides.
Check position and fit now with the use of screws and nuts.
This should fit snugly on you while wearing your black under suit.


Glue the plastic sheet to the back as shown. Use your epoxy for this.
Round the top edges to help of the glued plastic piece to hlep keep from getting poked while trooping.

Here are some finished photo to help show how it should look once assembled and painted.

I'd like to see how this turns out. I'm using snaps on the OSCS set I'm currently working on but I'm afraid they will come aparts

Here is a quick recap. We have the calves with spoons, thighs, cod and butt, stomach, shoulder bells, biceps, forearms and hand backs all painted gloss white. My preferred paint is Krylon Fusion for Plastics. I use the Gloss White and it can be purchased at Wal Mart for around $4.35 per can. I have already used around 6 cans at this point in the build. Next we will move onto the chest and back pieces.

Hey Darren... question about connecting the cod and but together... you have it bolted temporarly... do you think a chicago screw would work? I could cap the outside end by epoxying the correct sized snap "cover".

Originally Posted by clonecollector

Hey Darren... question about connecting the cod and but together... you have it bolted temporarly... do you think a chicago screw would work? I could cap the outside end by epoxying the correct sized snap "cover".

No, the right side is connected permanently with a rivet. The left is done with a screw attachment. The screw is glued on the back of the inside and then you lock it together for trooping. A chicago screw would also work. I think C6 actually attached something larger to the screw to allow a easier time getting it to connection while suiting up. The good thing is once it connected, you know it not going to pop off. It's not 100% screen accurate but we do the best we can. You can also just use screws on both sides. This would allow the pieces to be broken down better for storage.

Originally Posted by DW Design

No, the right side is connected permanently with a rivet. The left is done with a screw attachment. The screw is glued on the back of the inside and then you lock it together for trooping. A chicago screw would also work. I think C6 actually attached something larger to the screw to allow a easier time getting it to connection while suiting up. The good thing is once it connected, you know it not going to pop off. It's not 100% screen accurate but we do the best we can. You can also just use screws on both sides. This would allow the pieces to be broken down better for storage.

Thanks Darren!

This gives me some new ideas. I plan to troop in my suit and I worry about the snaps comming undone (as well as being about to be disassembled for transport). I'll be taking out the snaps when I work on my suit again.

OK, we are moving onto the chest and back pieces.
They consist of two vacuformed parts, two resin shoulder straps and one resin drop in plate.
I also use a couple of white sheets of plastic and one small black piece for the back of the = marks.
First, clean up the pieces.

You will have some vac holes and double images in these larger pieces.
When cleaning these up you will need to do some extra work.
Here is the best way I can describe the two issues.

One, small holes in the vacuformed pieces.
The holes are caused by the mold. The larger molds have holes in them to help with the vacing process.
When you stretch the plastic over the larger molds they needs something to help with the suction.
The smaller molds don't need holes in since they not very tall. Stuff like the hand backs are only about a 1" in height.
The chest and back molds are 12" or 13" tall and almost the size of the 24” x 24” vac table.
The holes can be filled with bondo or magic sculpt from the outside then sanded clean.

Two, shadow areas on the vacuformed pieces.
The shadow or double images are areas that can be sanded down. This happens when you lower the hot plastic on the mold. It leaves a indention from where it first the hits mold. Then the plastic gets stretched around to the final size and the vacuum is turned on. This is done in a matter of seconds but the first image still can be seen in the final piece. Usually the bigger the piece, the more you see the double images. Use your mouse sander and 120 sandpaper to knock it down then smooth it out with 220 sandpaper.



Now trim the sides back on the edges of the chest and back piece. You will want to leave as much as possible for now. Once assembled you will need help from someone else to mark you final trim lines. This will need to be done with the cod/butt piece and stomach pieces on.

Now we are going to add the = marks to the right side of the chest plate.
I have create a template for this. It also has the = marks for the elbows.
Please PM me if you would like a PDF version of this.
First, trim the paper down to the corner marks.

Then turn the paper over and color area with a pencil.

Tape the paper into place and draw a circle on each end of the lines.

Remove copy then darken and connect the lines.

Drill holes.

Remove plastic between holes.

Clean up as needed.

Once piece is total finished we will glue the black sheet of plastic to the inside of the chest.

Now we are going to cut out the area for the shoulder straps to slide into.
This is done by placing the end of one of the straps on the vacuformed part.
Then trace the area which will be cut out. After that I like to add about 1/8” around the traced area. This will be my trim area.

Using your dremil cut out the two areas furthest apart then connect the holes per your pencil marks.

Test the opening with the resin strap. Trim and cleanup as needed. I should slide freely.

Do the same with the back section.


We are going to now add the resin drop in plate to the back of the piece.
You will usually need to sand some area of the resin piece to get it to fit properly.
I sanded 1/8” off the top of this one. I then cut the four corners out of the recessed area of the vaced piece.
This allowed me to glue the resin piece into place. I use the epoxy for this.
There is no right or wrong way to do this, you just need to get it secured into place.

this is a great tutorial. I have been sharing with my son. ;-)

Moving onto the elbows, trim and cleanup as needed. Included in the kit should be some extra
white and black plastic. The white plastic will be the straps and the black plastic will go behind
the = marks.

Print out the template that was include in the clonetrooper tutorial. This will give the placement
of the = marks.

Just like what we did on the chest marks we are going to use a pencil to transfer the marks to
the vacuformed parts. Color the = from the backside and trim out.

Tape the marks into place. Use a sharp pencil to transfer the marks.

Drill the end holes out.

Once the holes have been drilled, erase the pervious line and redraw them in. Use the holes to connect
the line. This will give you a cleaner trim line.

Cut and cleanup as needed.


Once finished they should look like this. I have droped the black plastic in the left one to show how it should look.
Primer and paint as needed but we wont and the black behind the = till later in the build.

Trim and cleanup the knees as needed. Included in the kit should be some extra
white plastic. The white plastic will be the straps and the small clips on the straps.
We will add the extra items once the foam and strapping system is done.
For now just trim, primer and paint the knees white. Also in the photo are a set of completed pieces.

All of the vaced pieces should be build, primered and painted white.
We will move onto building the strapping system and other stuff that goes along with these pieces.
Most of the items below can be purchased at Wal Mart. A complete list is in the PDF tutorial that was
included with the kit. The foam rubber used for padding is always the toughest item to find.
I get mine from Orchard Supply Hardware. It comes on a roll and they can trim it to the size needed.
I get the 3/8” thick stuff and get it trimmed to 24” x 18”.

Cut out the templates included with the tutorial and trim foam as needed. Save the extra scrap pieces,
they can be used later. I like to add them to the forarms as well as other pieces.


Use the white plastic included in the kit and make four squares per attached photo.
These will be glued to the shoulder bells and thigh’s.

We are now going to make the suspenders and apply the velcro to the stomach and cod/butt pieces.
The suspenders are made with 1” thick woven non roll elastic. Take one package which is 1 yard
long and trim off 3 1/2”. The remain 32 1/2” will be one of the suspenders. The 3 1/2” pieces will be used
for the shoulder straps. Using the black heavy duty velcro trim and attach to the end of the suspenders.
I use super glue here to get it to stick. I have used this method for years and it has always worked well.
If you are handy with a sewing machine purchase the sewable black velcro and attach it that way.



Apply the other half of the velcro to the inside of the stomach piece. Also add two large white squares to the
outside of the piece. Use the photo below for placement.


Slide the stomach piece into the cod/butt piece. The idea is that you would put the cod/butt piece on first.
Then you will side the stomach piece in and it will attach and hold together with the white velcro.
Then the pieces will be held up by the suspenders. The belt would then be put on and hide the seam where
the pieces come together.


Now move onto the shoulder straps. Take the remaining 3 1/2” pieces, add a snap to the end of one side and the velcro to the other.
Don't push to hard when attaching the velcro to the shoulder strap, you may want to move the placement
later once the suit is complete.

You will need to find something to attach to the ends of the resin shoulder straps. You will want it to be big
enough so the straps don’t slide out. I got this rubber for my old place of employment. Your best bet would be
to hit the 99 Cent store or Dollar Tree. Just pick out something that is soft, spongy and can be cut and trimmed
easily. Only do the back one for now, we just need it to hold the strap into place. You would then add to the other
end once the suit is complete. Once this is done the front and back pieces will not be able to be taken apart.


*If you have NOT sized and cut the chest and back pieces move onto the next post*

If you have NOT sized and cut the chest and back pieces hopefully this will help.
When building a suit, you want the chest and back to fit as tight as it can, but you still need it to be comfortable while trooping.
The idea is to trim it back where the two pieces come together on the sides. To do this correctly you will need help from another person.
You will also need to have the stomach and cod/butt pieces assembled.
1. Put on you black undersuit.
2. Put the cod/butt piece on, then the stomach with suspenders.
3. Slide the resin shoulder straps through the back piece. Place back piece into position on you body. Have helper hold in place.
4. Slide the resin shoulder straps through the front piece. I usually have around 16 visible notches on the shoulder straps.
5. With the help of the second person, draw a line in pencil where the pieces should be trimmed.
6. Remove pieces and trim as needed.

Once sized then finish the back piece by adding the white plastic pieces.
Add the two white plastic pieces to the back plate. Once finished we will add velcro to them. This will hold the front and back pieces together while trooping.

great details Darren! Can't wait to get started myself with the kid.

Now we are going to finish the chest and back pieces. Once the chest and back have been sized, finish the back piece by adding the white plastic pieces per previous post.
Once finished we will add velcro to them. This will hold the front and back pieces together while trooping.



I always try to line up the top of the curve for this. Once the top is lined up, stick them together. Peel the other half of the velcro and stick into place. Also glue the black plastic into place from the back for the = marks on the right breast.


I had to trim the bottom a little to get them to set and line up perfect, remeber these were scuplted by hand and small adjustments like this are common.

This is how the back of the straps will be held into place.

The front ones should look like this right now.
* I usually now add the foam padding to the other end of the resin straps now. I am not doing it for this kit because it will be shipped. The final owner of the suit will need to complete this part.*

OK, moving right along to the arms.
First we are going to finish the shoulder bells. Each shoulder bell will have the snap glued down with the epoxy. Don’t forget to scuff up the area before adding the glue.
Also, once dried add another coat of epoxy around the edge of the plastic. This will need to be really secure for trooping. This will snap together while trooping with the
the resin shoulder straps. Hot glue the two pieces of foam together and hot glue the 1” black elastic to the bottom. Then hot glue the whole piece to the shoulder.
The elastic will go under your arm pit while wearing the suit.


Biceps, hot glue the two foam pieces together and add a piece of the 1” black webbing. This is the same material we will use to make the garter style belt.
You can also use your mouse sander with 220 sand paper to round and cleanup the rough edges of the foam.
*Once we are finished with the suit and weathering, we will epoxy this to the shoulder bells.*



Moving onto the elbows, we will use the black foam, 1” black elastic, white plastic for the straps and small black plastic for the = marks.

Hot glue the foam together and the black 1” elastic to the bottom. Then hot glue the piece to the elbow. Glue the black plastic to the inside of the = marks.

Final step is to use the epoxy to glue the white plastic to the elbow.

Use the 1” black webbing and hot glue to the bottom of the hand backs.

This should complete the upper half of the suit! We are getting close to the end!

Moving onto the bottom half of the suit the first thing we will make is the garter belt.
This made from the 1” black webbing. This is not a pre packaged item. This is purchased by length and is on a roll.
It can be purchased at some Wal Marts and any fabric store.
Also pick up a 1” plastic belt buckle. Cut the belt to your size needed and also cut a couple
of pieces for the garter. I cut my belt at 50” and 11” for the garter. Attach a snap at the end
of each garter. Loop the other end over and super glue together. This can also be sewn if you
are handy with a thread and needle.



Now we are going to add the snaps to the thighs. Scuff the are up and epoxy the snaps
per the position below. Just as we did the other snaps, add addition epoxy once dried
for a second coat around the edges.


We are going to skip past the knees and move onto the calves.
Apply the velcro to the edges of the spoons. Then apply the velcro to the main pieces.



The velcro also has a tendency to pull off when taking the suit off after trooping. I like
to add some super glue to the edges for extra support.

I wanted to extend a big thanks to everyone enjoying this thread.
I currently have this on 4 different forums.
I got a email for Photobucket that I have exceeded my 10 GB of image use per month.
I had to upgrade to Photobucket Pro to keep the photo links up!
Thanks, Darren

Now we are going to build the knees. Your knees should already be trimmed, cleaned up and painted
white. Once again, I use this special plastic that I get from my old place of employment. It is flexible,
strong and paints well. It not something I can purchase, it packing plastic for large sheets of film. They
just toss it in the trash once the film is loaded so like I said, it’s free. I try to include this plastic in all my
kits. If you need any please just PM me, I can send you some for free you just need to cover the postage.
I tried .09 styrene and it did not work very well. I packed my suit for a event. Once I arrived and unpacked
I found the styrene had snapped on one of the knees. I had to replace the straps once I got back home.

First, hot glue the tie looking shape per the photo below. This will be your knee pad.

I use hot glue for all of the foam pieces and epoxy for the plastic one’s. Hot glue the foam in the
center of the knee. Epoxy the plastic strips to the vacuformed knees. Before you epoxy this strip,
check to make sure this will fit around your calves. Nothing like building and painted a set of knees then
not being able to slide them up and over you calves. I have done this before, it’s not fun.

Hot glue the strip of foam into the knee.

Hot glue the long strip vertically per below. This is to help keep your knees straight while trooping.

Take the other strip of foam similar to the one used in step 4 and cut it into three pieces.
We will hot glue the two smaller pieces to the left and right of the long vertical one. The idea here is to have
a flat horizontal area to hot glue the next piece to.

We will continue and finish the knee’s on the following post.

I use the 1 1/2” black non roll elastic for the knees. Cut and hot glue to the foam pieces per below.
You want this to be tight enough to fit snuggly, it needs to hold the knee’s up while trooping.

Hot glue into place.

At this stage your pieces should look something like this.

Now we are going to move onto the small clasp detail on the white strap. I know my version is not
100% screen accurate and this can be skipped if you like. It is kind of a pain to get his to stick and stay
into place. It is on the curve and I have had them pop off in the past. I have considered airbrushing
this detail on. If you do, please send me some photo’s, I would love to see how it turns out.
Attached below is the best digital file I can find of the detail. I think the outside detail may be different.



Once glued on your knee’s should be complete. Only thing left if the air brushed weathering which
will be the last step of the build.

I think we have covered all the vacuformed pieces. Now we are moving onto the belt.
This consists of resin boxes and a rubber belt. If you have the latest version of the belt most of the resin boxes
are already attached to the rubber belt. This process is done while casting. We have found that if done together
it makes for a great sturdy one piece design. The back boxes are still separate to allow placement on different
size troopers. Larger troopers may want to place the boxes further out than smaller troopers. The back boxes are
attached with screws and washers. I forgot to add the scews in the photo below but are needed for completion of the belt.
We use two clasps found at Tandy Leather for holding the belt together. A scratch build thermal detonator is then
clipped on and the clasps are hidden by it.

The belt may need some cleanup. The extra rubber on the resin can be cleaned up with a mouse sander.

The belt is around 47” long. For a accurate sizing you will need help with this part. Put on the cod/butt piece and
stomach piece. Center the belt and wrap it around. This is best done while standing in front of a full size mirror.
Have someone mark where the center comes together. Double check twice before trimming. Once trimmed the two
pieces should almost touch. I have about a 36“ waist. I mark my cut line around 9” from the last square on each side.
The final size of my belt is around 41”.


Once cut we are going to add the clasps. These are called Buckle Back Ring & Hook 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" and you will need two of them.
I get these at Tandy Leather. They can be found here on line.
Tandy Leather Factory - Buckle Back Ring & Hook 1-1/2" to 1-3/4"

Bend one of the pointed ends over and on the other clasp cut the pointed end off.

Place clasps into position and mark with a pen. Then drill holes into the rubber belt. Slide rivets in and attach per
photo’s below. Washers will need to be used to hold into place.

We will complete the belt on the following post.

The belt should be assemble and all the resin boxes should be cleaned up and ready for paint.
I use the same paint for the belt as I do for the rest of the suit. Gloss White Krylon Fusion for Plastic.
The boxes should be primered before painting. The rubber belt does not need primer.
Tape off the rubber belt. You don't need to worry about the rubber exposed below the resin boxes, as long
as you dont go crazy with the white paint those small areas should be fine.

Primer the resin boxes. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo here.

Paint the primered resin boxes white.

Remove the tape and paint the back of the belt white.
* It is important here to only use a couple of light coats. To much paint on the rubber will cause cracking
when the rubber flexes. If done correctly it should look like this. Try painting the back first to get a good feel of how much paint to use.

Once dried, move onto painting the front.


When completely dry, we will move onto adding the back boxes. I use two screws and washers for each box.
Make sure to use screws that are not too long. You don't want them going all the way through the resin boxes
and coming out the front. If you are using pointed screw there is no need to pre drill any holes. Just go slowly
and make sure to use washers.

Well, your belt should be done and your finished version should look like the photo’s below.

Now we are going to scratch build a thermal detonator. The only piece I include for this is the white plastic.
I know some people offer these as kits so if you don’t feel like building one please PM me for a link. If you do
want to build your own you will need to gather these supplies. Pick up some PVC pipe, you will need it to be
2” size and 10” long. Bankers Clips, I use to be able to walk into Office Max and pick these up. The last time I
needed some I could not find them. I ended up getting them on Amazon.com. One package is all you need.
You will also need two rivets and washers (sorry, I forgot to add them in the photo below).

Cut the PVC pipe down to 8 1/8” and also cut 3 pieces down to 3/8”. Take the plastic included in the kit. Cut two
large round circles, two rectangles and two small round circles. These piece will be the inset items on the detonator.
Also cut one long rectangle and 7 smaller ones. These will be for the buttons on the front.

Trim the banker clips down and round off the sharp edges. Drill two holes in the back of the detonator. I make mine
3 3/4” apart. It’s always a pain to drill the holes in the banker clips. I use a hammer and sharp screw to get these going.
Attach the bakers clips with the rivets and washers.



Take one of the 3/8” pieces of PVC pipe and cut it in half. Place it inside the detonator per the photo below. It’s much
easier to place the large round circle in correctly with something to rest it on.

Once glued together it will look like the photo below. Another small piece will be added to the center area. Please see
photo’s later in the build for this. I just pick a interesting shape to add to it. Like I mentioned before the Dollar Tree or 99¢
Store is always a great place to find interesting and cheap items for all sorts of prop projects.

Mark and add the two round 3/8” PVC pieces to the main body. You will need to cut them in the back to get them to fit.
This will leave a open section in the back. This area is not seen while trooping.

We are now going to attach the buttons to the front of the detonator.

Super glue the 7 buttons to the long strip. Once dried, attach the competed long strip to the main body.
Use the magic sculpt to do this.


Once the magic sculpt has had a full day to dry, clean up and sand as needed. Once finished add primer to the piece.

Once dried, paint white. Below are the photo’s of the finished detonator.

Here is a quick recap.
We should have everything done that was included in the kit. The only items left are the helmet and the boots.

As you may know, this build will be for sale once finished.

If you are between 5’ 10” to 6’ 2” and between 185 lbs to 215 lbs this suit will fit you perfectly.
To sweeten the deal I will also include two helmets and a DC-15 long rifle.
Please PM me if you are interested.
The extra helmet is a E3 Clonetrooper and the DC-15 is a light weight 3 piece rifle I purchased years ago.
Con season is upon us and this suit will be complete and ready to wear with a week or so!

Before we move on we still need to add some details to the knees, elbows and cod.
I use primer on these items. The idea here is to give the illusion that some of these areas are recessed.
The goal is to give these areas some minor but realistic depth.

First we will start with the knees. I use some 1” painter tape to start with. Center it along the back of the strap.
Once centered, apply more tape to the top and bottom of the 1” tape. Remove the 1” tape to reveal the area
we will be painting. Tape and mask off the rest of the knees. Paint using primer. Once dried move onto the small
areas on the buckle. Tape off and paint the two small lines in both buckles. I guess this could all be done at the
same time with the back stip but it’s kind of a pain to do together.


Tape off the recessed area of the cod. I am not sure if this area is gray in the movie. Perhaps only on E3 Clones
it is gray (see photo below). Paint using primer. Once total finished, we will tone this down
with some fine sandpaper. The sandpaper step is not done until we airbrush and weather the entire suit.


Now we are moving onto the elbows. We are going to add two small lines across the staps. Tape off per the
photo below. Don’t remove the center tape for this one, see below for the final photo’s. Paint using primer.

Once finished all of your items will look similar to the photo’s below.

We are going to make our Clone boots. I must point out I don't supply any of these items.
I also have to start by thanking fellow 501st member Mike Harrison TC-1536.
He is the one that came up with this idea and original boot tutorial in which I made my boots from.
But I must admit, I've made a few special modifications myself.
The shoes I get at Wal Mart. I choose them because I like the soles. They are inexpensive and run around $18.99.
While you are there also pick up a some Fabri-Tac. You will only need one bottle. The white fabric can be purchased at any fabric store.
I am not sure of the what kind fabric this is, I just picked something that was thin and had a nice vinyl feel.
The size needed is around 14” x 50” which runs around $10.00.
The plastic straps and buttons pictured below I had cut out on a water jet machine. I would love to be able to offer these for sale but can’t. I don't have
access to the machine anymore. If you want the PDF files I used please send me a PM. I will send you the files. The files can be printed out and traced onto a sheet of styrene or plastic.
You will also need some medium size rivets and washers.


Making these boots is something new and the templates used for cutting out the fabric are not included with the printed version of my tutorial.
If you want a PDF copy, please PM with your email info and I will send you one. Remove the laces and tongue from the shoes.
Trim out the fabric from the templates.

I started gluing the first two large pieces down when I realized I forgot to add the small piece of stretch fabric
to the opening of the shoe. This does not need to be white, black will also work since this area get covered up.
You might have some extra left over from the suit build. Super glue this piece per the photo below.


Now we can start gluing the fabric to the shoe. Start by applying a large amount of glue to the inside
of the fabric. Use the Fabri-Tac for this. The more glue the better. Wrap the fabric around the back and have
it meet up per below. It's important to cleanup any excess glue while its still wet. Once dried it thought to get off.


Now add the front piece that goes up front. You will need to stretch and hold this down while the glue sets.
Once dried, clean up all the way around the shoe. You can do this with a exacto knife or dremil. If you use a dremil
make sure to wear a mask. The toxic fumes that come off the rubber soles are just terrible.


We will finish up the boots on the next post.

Moving on, we are now going to add the upper front strip and the two small boxes.
The upper part of the strip must be trimmed down for you foot to fit in properly.
Try the boots on right now and trim as needed. Also glue the small box to the top of the
big one and then glue them to the boots.

Now we are going to add the fabric to the inside of the straps. First use a heat gun and curve
the straps to the desired angle. Once done, super glue the cloth to the inside of the straps.
This area takes a lot of punishment while trooping so I also add a bead of hot glue around
the edge where the fabric meets the plastic.

Once completely dry, we will now attach the straps to the boots. Find the center of the straps
and drill a hole in each side.

Put the boot on and place the straps into place. Keep in mind that you will need to be able to get
these boots on and off. If the strap is too far back, your foot wont fit. Have someone help you
and with a pencil mark the holes. Drill the holes in the boots.

Once the holes are drilled cut out the foam inside of the boots where the rivet will punch through.

Using the rivets with washers attach the plastic strap to the boots. Once attached I always add
a couple of drops of hot glue to the inside of the shoes over the rivet and washer. This is just to keep it
rubbing up against your foot while trooping and causing any problems.

Since the rivet is now in place, there is a small bump from it on the outside of the strap. Drill a small
area to allow the button to fit flush against the straps.

Super glue the button pieces to the boots.

If done cleanly, you really shouldn't have to paint the plastic areas. The boot will get airbrushed and
weathered later.

OK, now we are going to cleanup and build the helmet.
In early 2005 C6 and I attended Wonder Con if San Francisco. C6 wore his newly completed E2 Clonetrooper. While trooping he was stopped by a employe of Lucas Film. The employee was blow away by seeing a Clonetrooper walking around. He told us that he loved the suit. He also mention that he asked George to make 5 suits that could be photographed and taped. I don't think they wanted them for the film but to help out the animation crew. Unfortunately no helmets or suits were ever made by LFL.
The C6 helmet was the first fan made E2 helmet. It was build with the idea of it looking like the CG ones in the film. With that being said, it has a neck ring on it that no real person could ever put on. Since it’s built this way you have two options. One remove the lower part of he helmet completely. Two is to keep the helmet intact but cut it to pop apart and then put back together again.
What I am going to show you is how to cut it apart, add magnets then be able to put it back together keeping the neck seal on the helmet. C6 is the first person to do this and I am going to show you how it’s done.

First we are going to cut out the visor area. I use a hacksaw blade for this. I also cut one of the rounded corners off to create a sharp point.

Once removed clean this area up. Keep in mind that the visor will need to fit cleanly inside this area. Cleaning up the inside of the visor area is extremely important for the visor placement. You want it to fit flush against the inside of the helmet. The visor will be installed at the last stage of the helmet build.


Knocking out the holes in the mouth area is the next step. I use various tool for this. I use a drill first to get them going then a dremil to get them close to the desired size.
I use a set of small files for the cleanup.

Now that those two areas are done, I cleanup the rest of the helmet. The helmet is created using a two piece mold. Since it is a two piece mold, there is a seam line that is needed to be cleaned up. I use a mouse sander for most of this cleanup as well as various grades of sandpaper. Sorry no photo’s of this being done.

In the movie the fin area has a red blinking light. If you plan to run lights in you helmet a hole must be drilled from the inside of the helmet to the fin area. Now you don't want to go and start drilling into your helmet, if you did there is a good chance of the drill breaking through all the way and coming out the top. What I do is to take 4 popsicle sticks. I glue two of them together then slide them into the fin from the back. Now find a nice area in the inside of the helmet that looks like it will line up with the fin. I use several different tool on the dremil to get this to work. The popsicle sticks should help you in realizing when you have reached the inside of the fin. If done correctly the last photo below is how it will look.

Now we are going to add the Magic Sculpt to the inside of the helmet. I purchased the bigger size but if you are only building one suit and helmet the smallest size will be enough.

First thing is to figure out where you need to cut. Keep in mind that if you don't make the hole big enough, you will not be able to fit your head in. Mark the cut line with a pencil.
Once marked, use some heavy grit sandpaper to scuff up the area inside the helmet. The Magic Sculpt will stick much better if this is done.


Weigh the Magic Sculpt, mix and apply to the inside of the helmet. The Magic Sculpt can be smoothed out and cleaned up with water while it is still soft. Smooth out as needed. Once done, it will need a full day to completely harden.
See photo below for placement.


Once the helmet has set for a day the Magic Sculpt should be dried enough for cutting.
Start by working along the seam of the helmet. Get a nice grove worked into the white resin. Find a good spot and work it until you beak all the way through the Magic Sculpt. Once this is done, the rest should go a lot easier. I work on both sides of the helemt first.


Once both sides are cut I then cut the area below. Disregard your hand drawn line and try your best to split it up the middle.

Your finished helemt should look like the photo below.

The helmet has been cut and now we will add the magnets.
I have built helmet using only 8 magnets but sometimes you may need more. If you need to order more the can be purchased here. I use the D42-N52. The size is 1/4" dia. x 1/8" thick.
K&J Magnetics - Products
Pick 4 or 6 spots where the magnets will go. Mark these areas with a marker. We are only working with one of the two pieces of the helmet. Use your drill to make the holes. I like to start with a smaller bit then work up to my final size which is 1/4”.

It is important that the magnet fit into the hole properly. It needs to be level with the Magic-Sculpt.
It it is to high or low, it will cause major problems with the pieces fitting together properly.
It is also important that the magnets are all going in the same direction. I like to use tape to help get the my first set glued in properly. The tape just helps with keeping the magnets all facing the same direction while gluing.
Use Insta-Cure and Insta-Set to glue these into place.

Once all the magnets are glued into the base, now you will need to mark and glue the other magnets into place. Its always tough getting the placement holes correct to match up. I color the magnets with a marker, then place the chin into place. Hopefully the mark with transfer and this will help with placement. Once you are happy with your reference marks, drill the holes the same way you did before.
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO GLUE THE SECOND SET OF MAGNETS IN THE PROPER MAGNETIZED DIRECTION.

If done correctly, you will have a freestanding helmet that is held together firmly with the magnets.

Great work so far! I'm really happy I found this thread, and can't wait to save up for one of these armour sets. I could suggest that if your buckle detail on the knee strap keeps falling off, you use methyl chloride (resinbond) to secure the styrene instead of superglue.

sabs

Moving right along now we are going to primer and paint or helmets. I am also going to paint a E3 helmet along with the E2 helmet.
First we will primer the helmets. If you see any problems here, now is the time to fix them. You may need to do some more sanding or use some spot putty or Bondo to clean up any blemishes in your helmet.
Once the helmets are primered and looking good, we are going to paint them white. At this point I tape out everything that will be grey on the helmet (with exception to the mouth area).You will need some good quality painters tape for this.

Now we will paint the helmets white. Since the E2 is now in two pieces you will paint them that way. The photo below show the E2 as one piece but I did not put it back together until the white paint was good and dry.

Once the white is good and dry we will move onto the black areas and the grey mouth. Tape off everything that is going to stay white. Make sure when taping to do a real through job. The black has a funny way of sneaking into the small areas that are not taped of very well.

Paint the mouth area’s grey and after they dry, tape them off.


Paint the remaining areas black.


Once dried, remove the tape and see how it turned out. Don't worry, any small area’s with black overspray can be cleaned up with some fine sand paper.

Originally Posted by sabs

Great work so far! I'm really happy I found this thread, and can't wait to save up for one of these armour sets. I could suggest that if your buckle detail on the knee strap keeps falling off, you use methyl chloride (resinbond) to secure the styrene instead of superglue.

sabs

I will have to give that a try!
Thanks, Darren

Originally Posted by DW Design

Reinforcing your chest and back pieces.
All plastic is not alike. I use .125 HIPS but the consistency sometimes tends to differ from order to order.
Some vacuform better than others. Like I said in a previous post, the chest and back
are the largest pieces on the suit. They are stretched more per square inch then any of the others.
If you troop a lot you may want to reinforce your suit. My first and most used suit has cracked over time.
If I had thought to reinforce these areas then it would have saved me from fixing them back up later.
My cracks appeared on the curved area’s below the shoulder straps on my original suit.
I went ahead and reinforce more areas on this one. I must say, they feel much more sturdy now.
I used epoxy and fiberglass tape for this.






*DO NOT ADD THE FINAL PLASTIC PIECES IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED SIZING YOUR CHEST AND BACK PIECES*
I will create a separate post on how to do this.

If you HAVE sized up you suit, then finish the back piece by adding the white plastic pieces.
Follow the directions below.
After the epoxy has dried you will add the two white plastic pieces to the back plate.
Once finished we will add velcro to them. This will hold the front and back pieces together while trooping.

Once finished. Primer and paint the pieces as needed.

Hi Darren,

Can I use this kind of fiberglass tape, in the Netherlands we only have the fiberglass sheets to work with, with all the fibers(hairs) getting loose, it's kind of nasty to work with, so I was thinking about starting to use the drywall fiberglass tape, is this the same kind you are using, or shouldn't I be using it for armor, because it's supposed to be for walls and ceilings?
Ofcourse I will be using the liquid fiberglass ontop of it.

65' FibaTape Fiberglass Mesh Drywall Tape FDW6561U | eBay

Your help on this will be greatly appreciated.

Hello Meneer Troepert,
Yes, they sell that stuff here at places like Wal Mart. I think it should work just fine. Just do like you mention and use the fiberglass liquid on top of it. I would try one piece first to see how it turns out. Please let me know, I might be a great alternative.
Thanks, Darren
BTW, here is a link for the stuff I use. You will need at least 4 yards. I use the 1" stuff.
Fiberglass Tape with Selvage Edge: TAP Plastics

Now we will add the chin greeblie to the E2 helmet. Like before, I add a small dowel to help keep it in place. Since this is two piece helmet their is a greater chance of this being knocked off while trooping.




Now add the mesh screen to the inside of the helmet. If you ordered the kit, also add the foam padding (not pictured).


Now all that is left is adding the visor. If you are going to airbrush the weathering I suggest adding the visor last.

Great tutorial, beautiful stuff you're making

Thanks for the tip

Gino

OK, now we are going to weather your suit and helmet. I like to use a airbrush for this. You don't need a real expensive airbrush, I use a Paasche 2000H H single action airbrush.
You can get them on ebay for around $50.00 but you will need a air compressor to run it. I use water based acrylic paint and I used Grimy Black on this suit and helmet. The water base paints are nice because of the easy cleanup.
I always try to highlight all the great curves and shapes on the suit as well as add some depth and realism to it. I start by taping off all the areas that I really want to stand out.





The other areas I use a loosely cut template like you see below. Hold the template and spray.

Once finished with the first coat, remove the painters tape and lightly spray the areas that were just covered. You don’t want these areas to be bright white. Just a lighter mist than the first one.
On the helmet do the same. Try to spray the offset and recessed areas to give it a little depth (Sorry, I didn't get a photo of this).
Once finished with the airbrush I knock the suit down with some sanding pads. I use the Gator Grit Flexible Sanding pads. I use to be able to find these at Home Depot but they no longer carry them. I think they can be found at TrueValue.
Another option is the 3M Sandblaster Pads. They can be found at OSH.

Do NOT use sandpaper or the 3M sanding blocks. They are just too rough on the painted suit.

The photo below has the strap on the left sanded down and finished.

Your suit and helmet should be ready for the hand painted details. The light sanding with the Gator Grit Flexible Sanding pads or 3M Sandblaster Pads should be done. I also completely knock down all of the pieces, this takes the shiny gloss off of the suit. I prefer a suit that the gloss has been knocked down. It gives it more of a real life feel.
I also think I read somewhere that the 501st is no longer accepting shiny white clones, so if you are planing on joining the 501st, the sanding pads are a must.
Once again, use the Grimy Black acrylic paint. For most of the weathering I use the brushes. It’s good to also have some tissue available. This helps any quick cleanup that may be needed.

Below are some piece that have been weather along with there counterparts that have not.


Finished weathered parts.

Hot glue or epoxy the biceps to the shoulder bells. This is done to keep the shoulder bell from siding under the biceps while trooping.

Once finished your pieces should look something like the photos below.

I guess this is it, the last day of the tutorial. If you found this useful or just enjoyed following along please join my new Facebook page. I will be starting a really cool non Star Wars project next!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DW-Des...56217621115393
We just need to add a few items to the helmets and we are done!
First we will add the padding and the visor. I use hot glue to attach these items.


Next we will add the light in the fin. Once again, I purchased these items at the Dollar Store. If you are handy with a soldering iron pick up a blinking bike light. I have never had much luck but I know C6 did when working on his helmet. You would need to take the bike light apart. Remove and extend the wires then splice them with the box inside the helmet and the lights coming out the fin.
Another option is to add a couple of book lights. First I take and cut the book light’s down. Then I add some hot glue to the area near the light and then wrap it with electrical tape. Then slide it up through the hole in the inside of the helmet.
Once both lights are in place, hot glue the on/off switch box to the inside of your helmet. Take the leftover red plastic and cut it down to fit in the hole in the outside of the fin. Super Glue this piece into place.



Some finished photo’s of the two helmets.

Darren, wasn't sure if this was covered in the thread, but do you add any foam in the thighs at all? I have the thighs trimmed down, but i feel like they would be pretty wobbly on me. Should this piece be taken down to fit snug on the thighs?

Thanks!

cool. i might buy depending on price. also if you can also include an episode III helmet as well as a DC-15 rife that would be awesome. thanks

Hello Phil,
Its extremely hard to make the thighs smaller other than shorting them. You best bet is to add foam to the inside. The best stuff to use is the same material that I use for helmet padding. It the foam egg crate stuff used for mattresses. You can get a full size for around $10.00 at Wal Mart. Trim and hot glue into place as needed.

Originally Posted by runJEDIrun

Darren, wasn't sure if this was covered in the thread, but do you add any foam in the thighs at all? I have the thighs trimmed down, but i feel like they would be pretty wobbly on me. Should this piece be taken down to fit snug on the thighs?

Thanks!

I wanted to pass along some new info. C6 created this great sanding board. The size is 30"x18". Four of the six squares are heavy grade sandpaper and two are a bit finer. They have been spray mounted down onto a piece of particle board. Its is perfect for getting straight lines for the seamless items. Thanks again C6 for another great idea!