Sandtrooper Sniper Plate Tutorial

Sandtroopers have a number of differences in their armor that distinguish them from regular Stormtroopers, but one of the most obvious ones is the diamond-shaped kneeplate on the top of their left shin armor. The majority of armor kits don't come with this version of the kneeplate so here's a tutorial for building one yourself. Special thanks to Brak's Buddy and all those on the RPF who helped define the details and measurements of this piece to make it as accurate as possible.

MATERIALS:

• White styrene sheets approximately 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch in thickness (enough to make the four pieces described below, the extra belt pieces from the Armor FX kit are suitable as well)
• 2 flathead bolts with flat hexagonal nuts (bolts should only be approximately 5/8" long and about 1/8" diameter)
• Glue (ABS cement, 2-part epoxy or Plastic Welder)

TOOLS:

STEP 1: Print out the following templates at the appropriate size and trace onto styrene sheets (see metric scale on each template to help you print at proper dimensions).
[Template 1] [Template 2] [Template 3] [Template 4]

STEP 2: Cut out each of the four styrene layers with an Xacto knife (scoring and bending works well for snapping styrene on a clean line). Be sure to cut out the center of Template 4.

STEP 3: Remove your old standard Stormtrooper kneeplate and check the placement of the new sniperplate. Use a pencil to mark the location of the bottom of the new sniperplate (see "V"-shaped mark on this photo).

STEP 4: Stack and glue together styrene layers for Templates 1 and 2. Separately, stack and glue together styrene layers for Templates 3 and 4. Use clamps to hold until glue dries.

STEP 5: Take stacked Templates 1 and 2 and place in position on the left shin armor, lining up with your pencil mark from STEP 3. Drill small pilot holes where indicated through the stacked templates AND the shin armor. Then, using the appropriate size drill bit that matches the size of your two flathead bolts, enlarge the holes until the bolts fit snugly. Test fit bolts. (Note: Even though you are using flathead bolts, you may need to dremel a "crater" to get the bolt head to sit as flush as possible so the remaining styrene layers can be glued flat on top of the bolts.)

STEP 6: Remove stacked Templates 1 and 2 from the shin armor after test-fitting and glue stacked Templates 3 and 4 on top, thereby hiding the bolt attachment system. Let glue dry.

STEP 7: Sand all edges smooth and even, but don't round them too much.