Make a cosplay outfit of an Imperial Tanktrooper
by nbear1
Arts & Crafts Journey Overview
Follow this step-by-step arts & crafts journey to see real progress updates, challenges overcome, and practical experience.
Progress Updates (9 total)
Update #1: Make a cosplay outfit of an Imperial Tanktrooper
Make a 501st approved Tanktrooper cosplay.
Follow the approved specs: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TA_assault_tank_driver#tabber-Version_One
Challenges Overcome: 3d printed the helmet and began planning the armor sections.
Began to post-print process the helmet via assembly and priming.
Update #2: Assembled the helmet bits
10% completeGlued the neck ring pieces together, and test fit the magnets to hold the visor on the forehead.
Challenges Overcome: Gluing the helmet together is easy.
Obstacles Faced: The mating surfaces were smooth so they tend to slip when gluing. The accelerator was super helpful.
Looking Back: I wish I had known my bambu printer had the ability to add pegs and holes on mating bits!
Update #3: Big big bondo
10% completeAdded bondo at full strength to smooth out the layer lines and give me a high surface from which i can begin to sand. This is only step one of priming though.
Challenges Overcome: Bondo is like toothpaste you can easily smear it with a finger or a small squeegee.
Obstacles Faced: Getting the bondo smooth can be a bit tricky. But using a bit of cardboard or a cut up cereal box helps as a makeshift squeegee.
Looking Back: Bondo dries pretty fast and you use a lot. Need to get more for the future.
Update #4: Even more bondo!
10% completeYeah added a lot of bondo to the neck ring and the visor. Ran out of bondo for the helmet so I will do that separately.
Challenges Overcome: Thinned bondo is super easy-to-use. I was able to use a sponge brush to just brush it on. The bondo thinned had a real liquid viscosity to it so I had no trouble trying to spread it.
Obstacles Faced: Ran out of bondo to quickly. Need to get larger tubes!
Looking Back: Getting the right bondo and acetone mix is crucial to good layers of bondo.
Update #5: Positive progress & some minor setbacks
15% completeCheck out my imgur gallery here: https://imgur.com/a/YmSfLV2
made some good progress but also had some minor setbacks. Looking forward to moving along and learning from the mistakes!
Challenges Overcome: Made the harness
Obstacles Faced: Broke some pieces while testing new methods. This is okay since I can reprint them anyways with better strength settings.
Looking Back: Learned that sometimes you just have to wing it to make something work. Not everything can be thought out and perfect before implemented. Move onward and upward.
Update #6: Some more testing
15% completeThis is a quick update, after breaking the forearm pieces, I needed to print new ones but wanted to add some magnets to help snap them together. This required me to learn how to modify the mesh model as all I had was the .stl file. I used blender and got a working prototype of some magnets in a small sample section of the forearm armor as seen in the photo.
Challenges Overcome: Learned some neat blender tricks.
Obstacles Faced: Modifying meshes is difficult.
Looking Back: Blender. But also 3D prints DO NOT LIKE TO BE DRILLED.
Update #7: Gluing up some stuff
15% completeShort update: glued on some elastic straps and snaps to the abdominal armor pieces.
Challenges Overcome: More progress even small amounts is important
Obstacles Faced: Nothing this time... so far.
Looking Back: E6000 glue is very viscous and can be a challenge to keep neat. Have lots of wipes and scrapers when working with it.
Update #8: Wearing some pieces
20% completeCheck out my imgur gallery here: https://imgur.com/a/btWeG9a
So I got the forearm pieces basically ready to wear. Made a little video showing how I achieved this with some snaps and elastic straps. I can put the forearms on no problem, but will probably add some foam or something inside them and will need to prep the outsides. I also reprinted the calf pieces as the other ones I printed were too small and didn't fit around my legs. Still need to print out some correctly sized chest pieces... the printing doesn't stop sometimes lol.
Challenges Overcome: Completed some prototyping of how to attach and wear the arm pieces. This solution can be used with the calves as well.
Obstacles Faced: still getting some okayish printing with supports, but overall I need to do serious cleanup on areas that are supported.
Looking Back: Sometimes it's better to measure first then print second. Wasted time with the first prints allowed me to understand the importance of double checking the fit of parts before hitting the print button.
Update #9: Helmet glued and working on the visor
20% completeSmall update but feels good to get to this point.
Glued the upper and lower helmet pieces together and started test fitting some visor materials. Feels cool to finally wear it. The helmet needs more sanding and finishing before paint but it's coming together.
Challenges Overcome: I can wear the helmet and feel like a real member of the empire's finest.
Obstacles Faced: Some minor gaps require more bondo and sanding.
Looking Back: I need to embrace the sanding life and just do it already. I knew it would take a while to sand and prime but I can't keep delaying it jeesh!