Sci-Fire TDH Clone Trooper WIP

All right folks, jumping on my third Clone Trooper build-out (film not animated). This kit is by the good guys at Sci-Fire. My first complete clone was a Clonesix suit (built to be Commander Bacara specific) which I sold to whistle8mp recently (July 2008). I miss that suit terribly but due to significant weight loss, it was time to build out a new suit of armor to reflect my new physique.

The intent behind this build-out is to create a final, multi-functional clone, wherein I will be able to simply switch out accouterments between various Commanders (primarily with my custom snow clone, Commander Voltaire) and of course, preserve the ability suit-up as a simple Phase One AOTC Clone Trooper.

To start this build-out, I will be kicking off with the belt, boxes and thermal detonator, as I have those items in possession now. As of this initial post, I have not purchased the armor as of yet, and will very shortly.

All right, here is an update on the first phase of the Sci-Fire belt buildout.



EDITED August 6, 2011 - going in direction with regard to the belt. New belt project to be documented in the Part Two thread of this build, located here: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f47/c...part-ii-34386/

Originally Posted by ART ANDREWS

Something about the floating ammo boxes is just cracking me up... but I'll bet anyone with resin ammo boxes is eying those with envy!

Ha! Yeah, it was bizarre to come back to the sink to shut the water off to see them floating around. This belt will be fairly light when finished. I am diggin' the fact that there was no sanding involved in the clean up of the boxes. :thumbup

It was all that was available initially, many, many months ago. I won't do any final trimming of the length until I am finished assembling the entire armor, for a final, optimum look and fit.

Looking good Morgue! Yep, I realized last night it has been exactly two years since I started on my Clonesix armor project. Time sure flies!

Last night, after talking up a storm on the phone with Slavefive (armor is shipping overnight today!) I proceeded to add additional detail to the belt. The belt itself is awesome, and the imbedded fabric on the unseen backside not only adds flexibility, but addtional durability.

In the images below, you will see where I added this extra detail. With the center rectangular portions of the belt, I added solid, pre-cut 1/4 round solid tube styreene to the sides of the rectangles, as per reference. The porous nature of the material used to make the belt (for optimum paint adhession) made it easy for the super glue gel to properly interact (I used Loctite brand Super Glue Gel) with the tube styreene, for permanent placement. I used the gel as opposed to regular formula super glue, as the belt material would have soaked it up immediatly.

I addition to the side detailing, I also added super thin, sheet styreene to the surfaces of the exposed center belt recantangles, and also in the smaller areas in between, effectively plating these exterior areas (again using Loctite super glue gel, brushed on evenly). The intent is to airbrush these areas with traditionally formulated, non-water based paint, for a smoother finish and weathering foundation. These areas will be masked off prior to applying the appropiate flex-agent based paint to the rest of the belt:

Wont be ready for Wondercon. Though I will probably not attend this years any way. I have to many out of town things already planned and plus a huge wedding to attend in Hawaii in May. The dollar and time can only go so far, especially in this fierce economic climate.

After studying and re-reviewing countless reference images, I identified what I believe to be the correct placement of the two main, front ammunition boxes. With that in mind, I was required to move the boxes further inward toward one another, which then required me to add additional detail to the belt, to compensate for the movement of the boxes. I used styreene strips, cut to the appropiate size, to replicate the appropiate look. Again, I used Loctite Super Glue Gel, and once this stuff sets, it ain't coming off (see images below)

Of course, I do not intend to permanately install any of the utility boxes onto the belt, until the armor is fully completed, as I may need to sacrifice detail over practicality. As it stands now though, I am 100% greenlighted on placement of the front main boxes, based on my current physique and curvature when the belt is worn.

As you will also see in the images, I have painted the main front boxes. I decided to use Tamiya Fine White Primer and Tamiya Pure White, for all the belt boxes and added plastic detail. I washed the boxes again, in warm water, with a minute drop of dish soap, to remove any remaining mold release that might have been on the parts. Once I thoroughly dried the parts, I took a blow dryer to mildly heat the surfaces of the parts (mildly warm to touch only!!) and then I procedded to apply two light coats of primer. An hour later, I came back an applied two light coats of the Tamiya white paint. So far, so good! The boxes look amazing!

Last night I began the process of unpacking the armor. The raw pulls are the cleanest I have ever seen, no question. The surface areas are smooth throughout, with no rippling of the plastic. I popped in Iron Man, called a girlfriend over, and I promptly began working on a forearm. The Iron Man soundtrack is great for setting the armor building "tone" LOL.

Let's just say that I was done, trimming to fit my forearm (rightside) within an hour. I trimmed off an excess of an 1" inch of material off the two indvidual forearm parts, and an roughly an 1" 1/4 inch off the back ends (shortening the length) and the two pieces clamshell/align perfectly, and still look very accurate as far as mass and scale. I also trimmed and excess of a 1/2 inch total of material off the right bicep halves, and those parts clamshell perfectly! I will post images on the leftside forearm and bicep proceedures over the weekend. Left my camera at the office last night. I am BLOWN AWAY by the precision and simplicty!

Below is the primary frontal reference image I am utilizing at this time. I am doing everything possible to capture the overall essence as seen below, which to me conveys that "hermetically-vacummed sealed" look. Though, the cod/abplate is Pre-Pro in this image, I will not be going with this set-up; rather the ab and cod as seen on the majority of clones, especially from Revenge of the Sith.

In your first post, any reason why Volt**** is censored?? haha. I doubt the French verb, taire, "to be quiet," is considered a swear word

Think this will be done at San Diego Comic Con?? You're doing a great job on it!!

Hey Jon! To say the assembly process has been enjoyable is an understatement! I cannot impress upon people how precisely the parts align together after cutting, it's like putting together a Snap-Tite model kit! Feel free to drop in any progress images as you go along, just as long as folks bare in mind that the modifications I am making to this kit will be slightly different than yours, with nip and tucks throughout to correspond with my physique and individual quirks LOL.

This weekend I have been concentrating on the arms. Though, today I will be primarily updating with the trimming proceedure of the handplates.

I spent roughly two hours a piece on the handplates, and the time and effort was entirely worth it. Initiallly, they are somewhat difficult to assess. I took a pencil and very carefully plotted my trim lines. Which in fact, I used my dremel with a sanding spool (with 80grit equivilant courseness) to cut away excess plastic. I used varying dremel speeds, very CAREFULLY to shape the pieces. Once the initial work was done, I used 80 grit sandpaper to clean up the newly trimmed/dremmled areas. Then, I proceeded to use a file, to set the final desired contours and nuances (on the underside edges) as per reference.

I then sanded the entire handplates with 220, then washed with warm water and dried both pieces. Finally, I sprayed both handplates with two super light coats of white Tamiya Fine Primer:

Left handplate, prior to trimming:






Left hand plate, next to finished right handplate:


Right handplate: note the angular nuances, filed into shape:


Both hanplates finished and sanded with 220 grit:




Left handplate:


Both handplates primed, and ready for multi-layer paint process. I will be sanding the primer coats, prior to applying the first under color coat:



I am totally stoked on the final result of these handplates. They are simply the best have ever worked with.

With the arms I had to shorten the lengths. I trimmed anywhere from 1" inch, to about 1" 1/4 on what is the backend of the parts (where the arm bends) I CAREFULLY penciled my trim lines, to follow the curvature of the backends. I also trimmed off roughly a half inch on both the tops and bottoms of each arm piece, bringing the overall width inward (an 1" inch total) to restore balance to the parts after cutting the length, and obviously for an optimum, specific fit to my forearms. The parts, after the aforementioned trimming, aligned perfectly!

Once I was done trimming, I proceeded to take a sanding block with 100 grit sandpaper, and lightly cleaned up the newly trimmed straight edges. I also cleaned up the trim work on back ends of the pieces, with 80 grit. I rounded the back end trim areas with the 80 grit as well, then washed the parts. Once that was done, I glued in the interior shims, and then proceeded to glue the halves together:

Rightside forearm halves, washed and ready for addition of interior shims:


Inside of Rightside arm halves:


Gluing Rightside forearm bottom shim:

With the right forearm unfortunately plastic from a "For Rent" sign LOL. I was out of the white sheet styreene I use. The for rent sign though is the proper thickness (very thin) for all intents and purposes. I will be sanding the red paint off tonight. I fully intend to line the interiors of all my parts, in sheet plastic. I am going inside and out with this one, full detail.

That's gonna be the drill on this one Chase, wherever it's required

Wow! I need lasik or contacts. The images I am using are not as clear as the image you just posted above. I also now see two new details that need to be added. I will do a quick tear down and rebuild based on this clearer image. Thank you Art!

Here below are images of the leftside forearm. Just like the right side, I took a sanding block with 100 meduim grit, and lightly sanded smooth the straight, newly trimmed seam lines. I beveled the backend edges with 80grit, then went straight up the scale to 220grit, making the backend trimmed areas nicely rounded and smooth. Addtionally, I took my file, and sharpened the areas at the base of the "triangle", near the wrist area, then sanded the entire piece with 220. What I am doing is sharpening and enhancing the molded-in nuances, to offest the loss of these particular nuances once the paint process takes effect. In short, preserving as much detail as possible.

As you will see, I am also experimenting with possible interior greeblies, and I have decided to go in a different direction, after analyzing the the bottom image closely this morning:











Quick mock-up of the rightside forearm and handplate:


Interior detailing experiment (leftside forearm):

Though I didn't mention this in my very first post when I iniated this thread, I do intend to dress the interiors of all the armor componentry. I am taking a Batman Begins/Dark Knight, Visual Dictionary approach to this build, impressing a "plausible reality".

My view on Clone Trooper armor is that it was very expensive for the Republic-Empire to manufacture, as opposed to the later stormtrooper variants. When you read the various descriptions offered in the Visual Dictionaries, with regard to the two different types off armor, it's clear that clones had a far more sophisticated panopoly.

According to the Episode II, AOTC Visual Dictionary, all armor is attached to the clone body glove via a type of interior magnetic plating, or "Mangatomic" plates as called out in the Visual D. Considering that the clone bodyglove is designed to fully encapsulate a clone for extreme combat environments, including the vaccum of space, the idea of all armor componentry being precisely locked in place makes perfect sense. This would not only help prevent the bodyglove from puncturing, preventing injuires and loss of pressurization, but keep all the the armor components properly spaced between each other for optimum movement and protection.

Please be advised that I am not finished with these parts.




At the wrist is a Mangatomic Coupler. This coupler attaches to an identical coupler on the bodyglove. The two plastron encased wires lead back to an Energy Sink, which serves the dual function of not only disapating electrical discharge that the armor may come into contact with (i.e., close combat conditions with battle droids, ect.) but also operates as a negative ground for the coupler.



I got the ridge plating design cue for the Energy Sink concept from the ridged/indented exterior pattern that runs along the forearms of the Imperial Stormtrooper:








The round disk is actually a resin clonetrooper shoe strap disc. I glued on a temp magnet, which will be replaced by a rare earth magnet. I have four of these discs, and I can't remember who I got these from. I will need 12 more of these if someone can help identify the maker, or make me some











I did a quick test fit last night too. I put on my current Under Armor and flight gloves, and the interior detail virtually goes unseen, keeping the componentry unexposed.

Thank you Jim! I hope all is well with you and the family!

Okay, this weekend I changed direction and did some work on the chest plate. When building armor, I have found that it's best to slowly bounce around, as a way of maintaining scale amongst the different parts. Contsructive A.D.D. lol!

Again, like I do with all the parts, I carefully penciled in my trim lines. This in itself took a few hours, and I in fact trimmed off as much of the excess plastic prior to setting my final trim lines, as it's a very slow process of balancing reference against your own physique. Let's face it, most of us know by now, that it has to be practical for real life usage. Striking that balance between practicallity over detail can be very ardous. In the case of clone armor, measure 10 times, trim once.....very carefully and slowly.

Once all the trimming was done, I cleaned up the freshly cut trim areas with 80 grit, then proceeded up the scale to 220, for a smooth, even finish. I then sanded the whole entire piece in 220 (with the chest breast line areas, I hit it hard with 120 grit first, to sharpen up the definition, then followed by 220grit)

Next: Shocking

In the images below, I am using a type of "shocking" treatment to conform the plastic to a desired form. This is the process of carefully using moderated heat to warm the plastic, setting the desired form, then dipping the heated plastic into ice water. Prior to heating, I use clear packing tape, taping the oppisite sides together, to "bring in" the sides of the chest armor, to a predetermined, desired setting. Next, I fill one side of the sink in very hot water*, the other side with ice cold water. Next, I take a blow dryer to the areas that require warming to soften up the plastic; then set the entire piece in the hot water. I left it in the hot water for about 10 mins, then quickly dipped the chest plate into the iced water.

*Use caution! Some plastics may warp when placed in hot water!! You may also injure yourself, so be very carefull!

In the case of this armor, the plastic is the toughest I have ever worked with. The pull is so tight, the plastic thickness is exact throughout. Incrediably tough. I had to repeat this particular treatment 3 times, and I may have to go out and buy a heat gun to accomplish the final end goal.

PLEASE BE ADIVSED that I am not done trimming the chestplate as ot yet. Still need to work on the the strap areas, plus need to process the backplate, before any finalized, permanant trimming:


Hot water in the left sink, ice cold on the right.






Initial dipping into the hot water. If you look closely, you can see the clear tape. The use of the clear tape allows for ease of visual monitering during the proceedure.






Well, I just realized I didn't take a picture of the part in the ice water lol!
Here is the piece, after the process (conducted 3 times) I may need to do more aggressive shocking, but I will determine that once the backplate is trimmed, and I have I better idea of what I am against at that time:

No progress at this time folks. Taking a break and re-evaluating the project. I stopped work on the chest and backplate until I receive my Ab Plate components. I am trying to get the tightest fit possible, without sacrificing spacing as per reference (I don't want the top strap areas to be to close to one another) I am actually searching the net, and the local thrift stores for futuristic looking componentry for the interiors of the chest and backplate. I am expecting this suit of armor to be heavy, especially with the all magnets and a possible cooling system in the backplate. I am actually working out extra hard on the P90X, looking for 12% body fat for the best fit, and the strength to endure wearing this at C5.

Well, I know it's been awhile folks and, this update here is rather long and drawn out.

The part that I have been paying attention to the most lately has been the left forearm (the right forearm is semi-assembled as well, all seams bondo'ed and effectively knocked out).

I removed quite a bit of plastic from both halves not only in width, but length as well. In cutting back the length, I did in fact loose the undercuts, which the faux "thickness" of the piece was lost as a result.

In the following images, I highlight the procedure that I have been utilizing to restore thickness. In fact this procedure will be utilized on the legs, biceps, etc. any part that requires it, as you will all see in future updates.

The first image shows where I begin to shim the two-halves. This time I shimmed the leftside forearm differently than the rightside. Rather than cutting the shims as one piece (the entire legnth of the actual forearm) I cut the shim into 3 seperate pieces. The reason I did this was to create small gaps between the individual shim pieces, so Bondo would seep through to the inside, in a way creating a "bondo" rivet which I then sanded down. I am skinning the inside of these pieces with multiple layers of thin sheet styreene, so the bondo will ultimately go unseen:


Front, small shim clipped:



Rear shim glued and clipped till dry, front pieces super glued (used small dusting of baking soda as an accelerator, a CGClone trick) :



The piece effectively shimmed:



Test fitting. You can see the small gap between the rear and middle shim:


Prior to applying Bondo to the respective seams, I sanded the whole part down with 220grit, hitting the seams areas with 180grit for better Bondo adhesion:


All right, here is bit of a fast forward in the process, as you can see in this image, the bottom seam has been "knocked" out. I used 120grit to fight down the excess, un-needed Bondo, then 220grit to finish off the seam. Note the highly accurate, curved "tapered" effect on the left halve.


The top seam effectivley knocked out:


Here I begin to focus on building-up the thickness of the part. I am super gluing solid round , styreene rod, along the interior curvature of the part. This will act not only as a foundation for the styreene sheets I will be the skinning the interior with, but as base for expoxy putty that will be applied. This tubing also helps add strength too I can't recall the width of this rod styreene, and I will have that info soon (note experimental interior "greeblies" from previous updates have been removed):






Styreene rod in place on the front of the piece. Note first layer of sheet styreene in place:


Here is the part, after the first go around of puttying, filing and sanding. I am using an epoxy putty I have never tried before, that I found at OSH. I will post the brand later. Great stuff to work with. Here I think you all can see what I attempting to do. The part is probably at the 50% completion stage at this point. The final stage (as you will see soon) will be where I capture and finalize all the nuances. The egdes will ultimately be super sharp:





Second layer of sheet styreene being traced/scored with pencil, trimmed to fit (note seam and edge areas have been dusted with a light coat of white Tamiya Fine Primer):




The goal with the forearms, is to elminate the use of foam blocks, between the forearms and the pieces thenselves. I will be using Rare Earth Magnets on the front ends of the corresponding pieces, so they don't move around, and remain exactly in place. There will be magnets precisely installed either on the body glove, or on the back end of the gloves themselves. Not sure yet. One more layer of thin sheet styreene is all thats required at this point. I can't tell you all how secure the piece feels already, minus the magnets, with no foam blocks in use. Totally stoked!

The last few weeks have been go go go. I just recently moved, and I am 92% settled in, just need to set-up my workshop, so I can pick up on this project.

But, I do have some images that I took of preliminary work I did on my Biceps, back in January. The parts are not permanently set, just lightly glued.

The issue I am working on with these particular components are the widths of each of the sides of the respective parts; while maintianing the correct balance with regard to the height of the Biceps. Since this particular set of armor is scaled on a 6' build, I am removing plastic, scaling down the proportions to my build and height (5' 10" 176lbs).

Here is an image of the rightside Bicep, after trimming off required plastic (about 1/4 inch off each of the halves) They are shimmed, though lighlty glued, so I can make adjustments.




Here are both the right and left Bicep. These are the exterior sides which are the most exposed. Though I feel the widths are correct for my build, the parts now appear taller than they should. I have decided to remove the interior chims, and reset the width 1/8 wider. As with the forearms, I will be building up the thickness of the parts, at which time I will then adujst the the height of the component.






I am still amazed at the precision these parts line-up, after trimming. The beauty for me with this particular kit, is that I can effectively control the scaling down process, making for a strong and reliable end result.

Well I gotta say that the last 2 months have been insane, time has been precious. Though, once I get through my buddy's wedding next weekend, I am full bore on this Sci-Fire Project.

Over the weekend, I made an appearance at a little kids Star Wars Birthday Party which; I took the opportunity to mock-up my snow commander costume with my new Sci-Fire componentry. I also decided that I am going to finish off my final version of Commander V*ltaire in time for San Diego 09'.

As some may recall, this particular costume utilizes various Clone Trooper components mixed with Imperial Snowtrooper armor, for a plausible clone precursor to the classic snowtrooper.

In the image below (enlarged and cropped) is the Sci-Fire left forearm, at what I estimate to be at the 85% completion phase at this time. (the right forearm is still at around the 30% completion phase) As I had updated in Post Number 69, I am in fact building up the thickness of the forearms, to eliminate the use of foam blocks. With regard to the fit of the left forearm in my snowtrooper jumpsuit; I was thrilled beyond belief on the snug fit, and the overall look of the piece itself:


(Forearm armor thickness is on the very shy side of a 1/4 inch all around)

OK Scum and Villians, time to dredge this thread up from under the Outer Rim, and start updating and promoting progress. If Sansweet announces Celebration V at Comic Con, like I think he will, the clock starts clicking tomorrow afternoon.

I am bringing my kit down, and plan on working on it at the TDH table during my shifts. I decided to shift the project from the forearm-gauntlets, and work on my Chestplate and Backplate exclusively, start to finish. This will include lining and detaling the interior surface of said components. What I realized is, that it's imperative for me to perfect, and complete these components FIRST. To where then, all other components can be scaled down, to properly strike a balance on the whole.

ALSO, I want to mention that using the hair dryer and ice shocking technique (as I showed in Post #47) was ineffective in maintaing the desired, permanent adjustments my physique requires. This plastic is thick, and the pull is very consistant throughout. It's tough stuff without a doubt. I decided to step it up with a heat gun, and I got it exactly how I want it now. I even cooled it off in a sink of regular cold tap water. Thanks to whstle8mp for messaging me about the heating issue too, which I believe he is facing at this time with his Sci-Fire kit.

Tonight I update on the latest work to the Left Forearm Gauntlet. I have stopped work on the Chest Plate Armor, as I have a few problems with it that I need to figure out and address. In the meantime, while I sort out my thoughts, I am moving full steam ahead to finish off both Forearm Gauntlets. My short term goal is to finish the Left before this Saturday, as I have a little kids Star Wars birthday party to appear at in the afternoon. Funny, thier parents-my friends were making fun of me a few years ago, but now because of Facebook I am getting all kinds of birthday party requests LOL!

One of the more obvious characteristics with Clone Armor is the somewhat combined geometry of each of the respective armor components. There are super sharplines, combined with the grace and flow of subtle yet, distinct curves. Part of my mission here is to preserve as much of the sculpt as possible, and enhance the sharp edges and lines. So much of the sharpeness is lost in the paint process, that I decided to get all the lines hyper-sharp, so the loss in detail after painting is miminal. The sharpest, cleanest Clone I have seen to date is TD-1536's Gree.

In the first image below, I apply solid Styrene rod, to the leading edge of the forearm triangle. The styreene I am using is by Evergreen Strip Styrene (Item #220) The diameter is .035" U.S. or, 0.88mm World Spec. After looking at a few diffirent diameters, I felt this would be the right size to use, to aid in the sharpening and enhancing of the lines (as we know, sharp lines tend to be softer on the final pull, over the master buck original specs)

Left Forearm Gauntlet with styrene rod super glued into place.





Top view looking down. Here in this image you can see how the forearm tapers inward toward the wrist area, not only the "triangle" side of the component, but the inner side as well. The sculpt that this armor is borne from is masterful. Even after taking away tons of plastic (to scale to my forearm proportions and overall body size) I am still blown away how precise the two halves mated. The pink line of Bondo down the middle is minute and will be invisble when all is said and done.



In the next two images below, I begin to add the final layer of sheet plastic to the interior. I am using paper-thin sheet styrene to finish off the inside.







After installing one sheet of styrene, I begin to score a template of the remaining area to be covered. Here I am using masking to tape to score a line with my pencil, the intent here to determine the size and shape for the remaining piece of sheet styrene, by using the outside of the component to assist.






Second piece installed.



Excess sheet plastic trimmed away.






First application of white putty, initially sanded with 220grit, then blocked with 320Fine, to combine the rod styrene into the forearm surface.

Thank you folks. Here is a quick photographic update of progress made since Tuesday evening. Here I have applied Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty to fill in the smaller pits and divets. Once that dried, I sanded with 320fine grit then proceeded to 400grit.










After all that sanding, I decided it was time to lightly prime with Tamiya Fine Primer, to see how it's all shaping up

Here's the money shot:













Here are some images comparing the left, against the unfinished Right Forearm Gauntlet. I have logged roughly 22 hours to achieve 95% completion of the left gauntlet: