The Force Awakens Stormtrooper Armor Build [WIP]

My pepakura build of the new Star Wars Stormtrooper armor has barely begun, and I already know -- this is going to take forever.

With one full pep/fiberglass build in the bag already, I know what I'm getting myself into. For a normal person, that's probably reason enough to give up right now. But for whatever reason, several years later, I'm back at it. I have a lot less free time now, but I will not be denied! This is my story.

I found all of the files that I needed elsewhere online, but I've attached a link to increase the visibility of those files.

I went with the SW7 helmet file because the dimensions looked more accurate than the other file. There's probably still a little bit of work to be done for the file to be 100% perfect, but I certainly think it's serviceable.



It's also incredibly detailed. I don't remember my Chief helmet being this crazy! Maybe it was...

You all know this look...



More to come in the next days/weeks.

Re: The Force Awakens Storm Trooper Armor Build

Finished cutting out the first 7 pages of the helmet today. I put each set of pieces into a separate container, numbered by the page that it printed out on. I will do the gluing and scoring as a single hybrid step, and it helps to have the pieces separated by page so that I can quickly figure out what page the next similarly-shaped paper piece came from.



For anyone who hasn't pepped very many pieces before, one thing I learned from my previous build is that Pepakura doesn't correct for the thickness of 110lb card stock. That is no big surprise, but it does mean that if you cut everything perfectly on the lines, any extremely tight detail areas will bunch up slightly. What I do is error on the side of cutting *inside* the lines, and to always remove the smallest tab on seams that taper down to a point. This helps keep anything from getting mashed up.



This helmet seems to be extremely detailed, which should mean there will be less work with Bondo further down the line. However, the typical glossy finish might mean I have to finish the entire suit with a coat of bondo, so the jury is still out on that.

I'm on page 10 of the pep, and I've run into a series of extremely thin pieces that all need to be scored length-wise. I know from experience that scoring damages the structural integrity of the piece, so I took a look at where these appear in the helmet. To my dismay, they form a single continuous ring that attaches the top of the helmet to the bottom. I like the fact that this detail is built into the pep and doesn't have to be completely free-handed after the fact, but I'm concerned about how this might effect the pre-resin structure of the helmet.



Has anyone from on here built this file yet? What was your experience with the infamous page 10 pieces?

Made some progress on the helmet pep. Things are going well, and most everything has lined up nicely. I did need to make a few adjustments to keep things aligning nicely. Some material has been removed from a couple of panels directly in the middle of the head. I also started work with the incredibly tiny page ten pieces, and it has gone alright for the most part. At only a few millimeters wide and over 20cm long, they're some of the most delicate pieces I've ever worked with.




In the picture, on the creases for segments 72, 73, and 74, you can see that the dotted line has been split instead of compressed with the tip of a pen. I had to make a switch to scoring with an actual blade for these pieces, as they are just too small to score with the tip of a pen. I am using a crummy old pocket knife that's dull enough not to just cut straight through the material, and I have found that while this method takes a little bit longer, it yields much more reliable results than a ballpoint pen. I am also using the blade of the knife (remember, it's dull) to fold the pieces after scoring. These things are so thin that this is the only way I have gotten good results.



I've gotten the top of the helmet finished, along with the majority of the large pieces in the rear. Even though this is still the easy part, it's shaping up to be the hardest piece I have ever tried to pep before. All the detail in the mask and face sections make me a little nervous. I can't wait to get there!

Looks like a really nice pep file. Good luck with the build and great work!

Pep work looks excellent! Keep up the great work!

Good work on the pep! For scoring the fold lines I just flip my x-acto knife over, and use the tip of the blade. To be honest my first pep ever I did, I used the pens. Thought it was a total waste of time. Using the tip of a blade is so much better, and quicker. Also, some people use a red, and blue pen to distinguish between mountain, and valley fold lines. In the pepakura program I changed the valley lines from being dotted to solid lines. That leaves you with no guess work, and not having to keep looking at the computer screen to see which fold line it is. Lets be honest, when working with smaller parts it can be hard to see.

SavedbyGraceG12

Totally agree. I did my entire Master Chief with the pen scoring method, but using a knife here has just been mandatory. I don't think I'll ever use pens again, they're just too inaccurate.

As I move from the top of this bucket down towards the sides, I have some information about several tabs that did not line up for me. For anyone that builds this helmet in the future, here are some trouble spots I found, and how I avoided bunches or pinches in the finished pep.

The first is in the very front of the helmet, right in the center of the forehead. The lower area of the forehead (just above where the eyes will go) is a series of detailed layers, which is split down the middle. Above that, the forehead is a bit more simple -- it's just one large piece. The radius for the upper area was larger than the radius for the detailed portion, so I needed to remove some material between 93 and 94 in the picture in order to make the upper area lay flush.



The next area that was weird was the back of the crown. The space between 2424 and 2425 was inconsistent from one piece to the other, even though they were both solid pieces. I chose to cut one of them partially in half.



The last issue on the top of the helmet was one area that was just sticking out more than needed. If I left it as it was, I knew I would need to build up a lot of resin and fiberglass so that I could sand back through it and make it flat. Instead of doing that, I just cut through the offending piece, removed an appropriate amount of card stock, and added a tiny supporting tab inside.



I would not suggest removing any material until you've built up around the area in question, and you're certain that you aren't just incorrectly assuming that the pieces don't line up!

Helmet pep update:

I was away from home for the weekend, so I wasn't able to work on building the helmet. However, I was able to bring my portfolio with me, so I spent what free time I had scoring the remaining pieces. By the end of the weekend, I had scored everything, and figured that I was at a point where I should have been able to cruise through the rest of the pep process. "Cruise" was all relative, though -- yes, I don't have to score any more pieces for the helmet, but I was just getting into what has been the hardest part of the build: the eyes.

The pep has a set of rounded eyes, which is accurate according to the pictures I have seen. I don't know that this level of detail is necessary, since the eyes will be removed from practically every helmet built from this pep piece, but I understand the desire to have the most accurate model possible. It did, however, make for an extremely interesting couple of hours.



I am not happy with my results from this area of the build, and I'll probably come back with the glue gun and fix the right side of this picture here. However, I know I'll be removing the eyes, so in the long run it is not necessary to have perfection in this part of the pep. Still, I would have preferred it to look like less of a spaghetti-mess.



Regardless of what I do during the pep phase, I will certainly need to come back through with a dremel and fix the trim for the eye pieces. I might just leave it as-is to save any duplicate effort. The pep does give me a good reference point, though, which is nice. It also kind of forces you to be as accurate as possible -- it would be a shame to have all of this detail in the piece and not have it end up in the finished product.

It's starting to look more like the new trooper's helmet now. It's starting to feel a little more real.

Ah man... that looks awesome!!!!

Made a lot of progress tonight. Picking up where I left off yesterday, I needed to put together all of the little relief rectangles on the sides of the helmet. As it turns out, I had forgotten to cut/score these pieces, so I had to do that all in one go. This is what about two hours of work looks like...



I got all of those attached, but for the benefit of anyone who hasn't had to do anything like this before, I want to explain an interesting method. It is difficult to hold tiny pieces like this with two fingers, and also position them accurately. Fingers get jumbled, the glue sticks to them as you're trying to put it into position, and it turns into a fatiguing process. To fix that, I just apply a tiny dot of glue the bottom of the piece, and stick the piece directly to the end of my finger -- this is all before I try to put it into the main pep. With it attached to my finger, I can then apply the glue to the tab(s), and position the piece with relative ease. Twist your finger to un-stick the glue, and move on to the next one.



Another thing to keep in mind is that this the paper construction of this pep piece only really has to last you through until the end of the resin stage. I mention that because it's important to note that you don't actually need all of the tabs that Pepakura creates. In fact, there will be plenty of times that the tabs will actively inhibit your ability to put your whole pep together correctly. I had to remove over 50% of the tab material in this section to get these two pieces to mate together properly and sit [relatively] flush.



I'm also pre-bending each inward-bend tab before I attach any other pieces to it. If you glue first and fold after, the two pieces can get bound up, making it difficult to get the correct angles. Also, 110lb card stock is thick. I'm purposely setting the bend back a bit from the official line in order to offset for that fact.



I'm going to wait to post a whole-helmet photo until the pep piece is done. It will be a surprise for the three people reading this thread!

I'm finished with the helmet pep! The proportion and alignment of the entire helmet was looking a little bit off during construction. Nothing that couldn't have been fixed, but it was a little bit misaligned. After gluing in the final trim pieces around the bottom though, that issue disappeared. At this point, everything looks pushed/pulled/aligned correctly. The helmet is ready to head into resin stage!





There are a couple of small detail pieces that will still need to be built, but they are not officially connected to the pep according to the file. I may end up making those using the pep process, but they are incredibly small -- I may end up finding a different way to make them.

That, sir, is some mighty fine pep-work!

I look forward to seeing your process in the coming stages, keep it up :thumbsup

Yeah, that looks like a challenging pep. You did a really, really good job. sub'd. Like Moose said, keep it up, man!

Oh damn, this level of detail! O_O
It looks stunning

Thanks for the support guys!

I have had a trip coming up for a while, and I didn't want to start on resin on the helm until I knew I'd have a long time to dedicate to it. In the meantime, I have been working on pepping the rest of the suit, and I have been having a tough time figuring out scale for the rest of the pieces. I think I have it dialed, and I'll post an update/images later today!

I know you already finished the pep, but I just wanted to input on the infamous page 10 you were dreading in the beginning. I had several of those types of pieces on my pipboy (they were raised rings around the arm). The first note was more of a question.. have you tried using the other side of an Xacto knife to score the pieces? It is a very thin blade and allows for a very precise score. It doesn't actually cut since you're not using the blade side. Second was on the actual bending of those pieces. I have a ruler just like yours and I held the paper piece up to the metal side, lining the fold line with the edge of the metal and then bending it over. It just bends it a little and then you can fold it as much as you want with your fingers. It may not be as quick as your dull knife method, but even a dull knife can make a pretty good size hole in your hand if something goes wrong. :/ That photo with you and the knife just looked a little dangerous.

You are definitely right about the knife having significant downside if anything goes wrong! I have used the xacto for scoring, although I would use the actual blade side and just use a dull blade. I'm still not totally dialed in on my scoring situation, so I will probably experiment with some of the techniques you're talking about. As for the ruler, I haven't used it as a folding edge yet, that sounds like a good idea. With it being 12", it may be a little unwieldy for that kind of work, but I have a 6" coming that will probably do great.

Thanks for the tips!

My metal and cork ruler is 18"... Just sayin' Lol.

As per the knife, I definitely think you know what you're doing. I only worry about others who may try to do the same and who probably shouldn't.

Okay, I have to ask. What's the story behind your avatar pic? You look so pro. Like a movie set photo shoot or something.