Author Topic: Death Korps of Krieg Grenadier (Read 1518 times)

Tiberius · « **on:** May 13, 2021, 08:11:30 PM »

Hey there! So with the lockdown and everything else going on right now I have a ton of free time and so it was time for a new project.
After finishing my Chaos Marine I decided to never touch anything Marine-related ever again so I looked towards my 2nd favorite faction, the Imperial Guard.
Deciding on a regiment and unit was very easy since the Death Korps are my favorite regiment and Grenadiers are my favorite Death Korps unit.

I started at the top with the helmet and gasmask. I didn't find any good Stahlhelm pepakura files so I had to freehand everything.
The first prototype was a disaster, somewhere along the way I made a mistake and the entire thing ended up being as big as a salad bowl. I scaled the templates down and did it again, this time the helmet turned out good, although it was a little tight. The armor plate on the front sits on the two cylinders sticking out of the sides. It's easily detachable, I'll probably fix it with magnets before painting the whole thing.
For the mask I went with a more angular design rather than the round masks a lot of people use, since angled shapes are easier to work with (at least for me).
Since the helmet is already a little small the mask had to be small too. That means it's very tight and fogs up super fast. I added a breath deflector out of foam which creates a surprisingly good seal and actually completely prevents my breath from going up to the lenses.
The lenses were cut out from a motorcycle helmet visor and the hose plus the metal piece (sorry I don't know the proper term) were taken from a polish MUA gas mask.

The torso armor was rather complicated. Since the Forge World models are short and stocky you can't just take the armor dimensions from the model and put it on a normal human.
After a lot of experimenting I came up with a design that was accurate to the model while still having normal human proportions.
I'm not good with any 3D graphics software like Blender or ZBrush so I made the prototype in Roblox Studio. Yes I know, don't meme on me.

For the torso armor I wanted a comfortable and solid base for it to rest on, so nothing wobbles around while I'm moving.
I based everything on a 4 H-Point Harness by Templars Gear, which is attached to a Frag Belt by Warrior Assault Systems.
I didn't like the tiny pouches on the model, since according to the wiki a Grenadier carries "numerous anti-personnel and anti-tank grenades, spare respirator filters, ration packs and the Hellgun's maintenance kit". There's no way in hell all that stuff can fit into four tiny pouches, so I went with bigger ones. In the end I got 4 Double AR15 Mag Pouches from Warrior Assault Systems.
I highly recommend Warrior Assault Systems and Templars Gear to anybody working on military related costumes. Their products are rather expensive but they're super durable and very comfortable.

The torso armor was a rather straightforward build. The 3D model turned out good and fits surprisingly well. Both front and back plates are reinforced with aluminium strips so they keep their shape.

The back plate is connected to the back of the harness with two clips that go into the MOLLE loops. They're made out of 1mm ABS sheets which are glued to a strip of aluminium because they fall off if they get bent. The entire thing slides upwards into the loops and gets held in place by friction. The straps from the back plate connect to the straps on the front plate and the entire thing sits tight and doesn't move, even when I bend forwards.

Here's a detail pic of the straps. They're made out of 2mm thick high density foam and on the backside there's a thin cardboard strip that prevents the strap from stretching.
I made the details by cutting into the foam and then heating the entire thing with a heat gun so the cuts expand.

The filter on the back was rather simple. The cylinder is made out of 5mm low density foam over a thick cardboard tube, and the connector pieces that go to the back plate are high density foam.
The inlet on one side is a leftover piece from my Marine. It's a MDF ring with a ventilation grille from the hardware store.

The small rivets all over the filter are from the PlaUnit P107R Round Mold set by Kotobukiya. I highly recommend their Modeling Support Goods line. It's meant for Gunpla but it's perfect for adding details to cosplay armor and props.

That's all for now! Next is the power cell for the Hellgun.

adeptus mechanicus · « **Reply #1 on:** May 14, 2021, 05:30:42 AM »

Nice clean foam work. Just be careful with the straps and buckle pieces with the foam, they may tear on you. If they do, you might try sandwiching your foam over nylon webbing for strength. I've done that a few times and it works great. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more progress shots😎

Tiberius · « **Reply #2 on:** January 04, 2022, 08:45:32 AM »

This project isn't dead, it's time for an update!

I had serious fogging issues with the mask, and it wasn't really true to the miniature so I made a new one. It needed an airtight seal, so I went with a 3M filter mask as a base. I also got my hands on a polish SzM-41M KF Gas Mask and cut away the hose connector and the lenses.

I wrapped 2mm foam around the front and made sure everything was sealed with hotglue.

Next I made the outer part of the mask with more 2mm foam. I took the overall shape and size from a Soviet GP-5 mask. It wasn't perfect but it was accurate enough.

Last was the skull mask which was made with 5mm foam.

Here's one of the Frag Grenades. Made out of PVC pipe end caps with 2mm and 5mm foam around it.

All of the armor so far. I also bought a mannequin for easier display and storage.

Next is the Hellgun. I started at the back with the stock. It's made out of multiple 5mm and 10mm foam plates stacked on each other and sanded round with a rotary tool. It was my first time working with a Dremel and it turned out better than expected. The trigger and trigger guard are made with Sintra. I wasn't happy with the official design so I based the stock and trigger off the Karabiner 98k.

The barrel was made out of a PVC pipe with foam wrapped around it. Due to the PVC pipe it got REALLY front heavy so I had to reinforce it with two metal poles going through the entire thing.

Next was the worst thing, attaching the hoses from the backpack. Eventually I came up with a detachable connection. Due to the weight of the hoses I couldn't just make it entirely out of foam. The Sintra plates inside the mag well interlock with the foam plates on the hose connector, and both are secured with two pins. It's probably more complicated than it needed to be, but I couldn't think of anything else.

Here's the completed Hellgun, with scope and everything. The white parts are various ASA plastic profiles and Sintra pieces. It was a major pain, and it broke in half twice, but in the end it turned out great.

Shortly after I was done with the Hellgun I got the coat back from the tailor, now it had miniature-accurate cuffs and collar.

Now it's finally time for my favorite part: painting and weathering. It was rather simple, one base color, washed everything with black once and then weathering with black+brown paint and a sponge.

That's all for now. There won't be any updates untill mid-april at the earliest, since I'll be away at school on the other side of the country.