Clone Trooper Electrobinoculars with lighting

OddViking

New Member

As often happens at certain 501st Legion troops, we find ourselves trooping without a blaster. I wanted to find a general prop I could troop with that gave me something to do with my hands, and to interact more with the environment. I found an .stl file for some Clone Trooper Electrobinoculars kit on Thingiverse (called "Clone Trooper Macrobinoculars" link: Thingiverse Electrobinoculars stl files).

Reference from Attack of the Clones:

It was already broken down to fit easily in my Elegoo Saturn resin printer. Because I love adding lights to props, I modified it to have the red light and figured out a sort of lit screen insert.

I need to tune my printer settings, because there is some faint banding, but nothing like the sanding required from a filament printer. I am just loving resin-printed props.
I also tried something new on this, in the files there was a file of it all assembled, which I printed small as a sort of Maquette model so I could check where things go and at what angle.


I cut out one side into the hollow interior, in preparation for my view screen. I also cut in a slot for changing the battery and connecting the electronics, as well as a toggle switch that replaces a button detail on the outside.


Next, designing my viewport window that will have some depth and lighting inside. I thought through several ideas, before settling on a sort of back-lit box insert with a HUD in front from cut vinyl which ended up being an elegant solution that is removable. To get the retro screen look, I took some ribbed plexiglass and put two layers one way, airbrushed it with some thinned transparent acrylic (Phthalo blue), and then cut a third layer with the ribbing at 90 degrees, which created the square look.

To get the HUD look, I looked at a bunch of examples of Electrobinoculars in Star Wars, and most have a similar layout (markings on one side, range at the bottom, and two black side "prongs") and adapted it to this very wide shape in Adobe Illustrator. I took that vector file saved as an .svg, and I cut it out of black vinyl on my Cricut, with green for secondary number details at the bottom. These letters were so fine, it is about as tiny as you can get with that cutter. Super hard to remove those tiny letters, especially anything with a hole in it. Then I glued gels behind (red is self-adhesive brake light cover, green was glued with white glue to avoid fogging.

Because I knew I was going to install a light deep inside, I kept it separated until I mounted it in to make it easier to glue in place deep inside. I found a hard wired 12v light bar that was perfect (well, I had to grind a few mm off each side), And running a 12 V light off of a 9 V battery usually works pretty well for this kind of thing. It’s just a little dimmer than it would have been at 12v, which is fine.

Originally I figured I would glue the box in, but I realized that I would not be able to access the light bar ever again if I did. So instead I put two small stoppers at the back of my insert, and laid the screen in an then created these two half-round tabs to hold the screen in, making the whole unit removable if needed:

Video: view screen insert video
 
Continued:
Even though this is a resin print, it was fairly smooth, but because it was printed in so many pieces there was still a lot of Bondo and filler primer before painting.

The movie ones have this cool red design, so I masked it off. It was only 12 hours after the white paint, so I used purple 3M “Delicate Surface” tape to ensure it didn’t harm the not-fully-cured layers below. I painted on some latex masking fluid on the edges to allow me to "chip" the red paint on places of wear.

As I usually do, after taping, I mist it once again with the base color (in this case white) to seal any potential tap leaks. Once dry, I scuffed some ridge areas with coarse sandpaper, and I did a few passes of acrylic wash weathering.

I wired it all up with quick connectors on long cords (so I could pull them all out and connect it all, and stuff it back in), with a 9v battery clip bolted to my cover plate with small bolts, and then a rubber band to hold the battery in place.

Any time I can, I try and reinforce any parts that will be sticking out and can get caught or broken on a prop. The antena detail is one of those I didn't trust to be made of just resin, glued on. So I replaced the narrower shaft with a piece of steel nail, and added pins to help it stay glued if it catches on something:

For the front of the binoculars, I originally planned on using a plain mirrored acrylic piece. Then it looked sort of gold, but studying the reference, it is also bluish. This implies an iridescent quality to the "lens" so I added a layer of transparent iridescent plastic, and that really got the look.

Final touches: I glued in the inner viewport frame. Sometimes on thin connections like this, I drill out the plastic a little to give a deeper grab for the CA glue. CA glue can fog clear plastic, so I taped off the viewport while gluing so close to it. For the mirrored part, because fogging would prevent me from using CA glue, and white glue would be weak, I opted to use tiny screws from the back of the mirror into the frame, and then glued that into place (sanding the painted flat surface first for better adhesion). I weathered the mirrored visor in the edges with acrylic, and then taped it off (along with the lit viewport) while using matte varnish from my airbrush and fullers earth to add some Geonosis dirt in all of the cracks.


Finished! This prop will be really fun to troop with.

This was a good design challenge. My idea for a view port that felt like the real thing (without actually adding a camera and screen) and would glow against my helmet when I held it up worked. This was one of those occasions where it came out better than I imagined.

Video: Finished Electrobinoculars video

Time to pretend to survey the horizon!
 
These are awsome, your work is amazing!!

Never thougth that my model will look so great!! you've really enhace it, Thanks for make them into the real world!

Best regards!!

Tk-69222
Mexican Garrison
Awesome, I am glad you saw this. I loved building it, nice work! If you ever update, I was poring over the details, and I noticed some (unused) little strap brackets are there that might be cool to add. I wish they had a strap!
 
It really is a fantastic model. Very little is needed to bring it up. And you did a lovely job of adding features. Excellent call on the iridescent front lens. Note the color shift:

4k-swattack-starwarsscreencaps.com-21697.jpg

4k-swattack-starwarsscreencaps.com-21702.jpg

4k-swattack-starwarsscreencaps.com-21703.jpg


Where'd you get the film? Or, alternatively, might you have enough left over for me to do mine? :lol:

You definitely strike me like someone with the same mental affliction I have. One of my main credos is, "It it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing." With mine, I redid the side lever -- thinner -- in steel and narrowed the slot, redid the front lens "frame" with thinner walls, the eyeshield piece was one of my first practice models in Blender -- I made it one piece and made the curve match the Phase I and II helmet-front shape, as it definitely seems to me intended to be conformal:

4k-swattack-starwarsscreencaps.com-21315.jpg

4k-swattack-starwarsscreencaps.com-21325.jpg


Printed that in TPU so it's rubbery and has give. I drilled out where the light is supposed to be and, y'know, put a light there. My only two criticisms on your build are heckin' minor. One is the top "dial" piece. The 3D model is open, but the film asset has a flat surface closing in that center opening, below the return edge:

4k-swattack-starwarsscreencaps.com-21705.jpg

4k-swrevenge-starwarsscreencaps.com-8605.jpg


And that last one shows the other, as well: the screen is 1) green and 2) looks to fill the whole space inside the eyeshield...

4k-swrevenge-starwarsscreencaps.com-8602.jpg

4k-swrevenge-starwarsscreencaps.com-8603.jpg


That said, you did an amazing job. I especially like how you got depth to the screen. And I agree with your desire for strap anchors -- they're definitely there. I'm hunting for good found-part candidates. I'm very happy to see you do this build. Not nearly enough of these out there in the costuming world. :)
 
It really is a fantastic model. Very little is needed to bring it up. And you did a lovely job of adding features. Excellent call on the iridescent front lens. Note the color shift:

View attachment 1551999
View attachment 1552000
View attachment 1552001

Where'd you get the film? Or, alternatively, might you have enough left over for me to do mine? :lol:

You definitely strike me like someone with the same mental affliction I have. One of my main credos is, "It it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing." With mine, I redid the side lever -- thinner -- in steel and narrowed the slot, redid the front lens "frame" with thinner walls, the eyeshield piece was one of my first practice models in Blender -- I made it one piece and made the curve match the Phase I and II helmet-front shape, as it definitely seems to me intended to be conformal:

View attachment 1552002
View attachment 1552003

Printed that in TPU so it's rubbery and has give. I drilled out where the light is supposed to be and, y'know, put a light there. My only two criticisms on your build are heckin' minor. One is the top "dial" piece. The 3D model is open, but the film asset has a flat surface closing in that center opening, below the return edge:

View attachment 1552004
View attachment 1552005

And that last one shows the other, as well: the screen is 1) green and 2) looks to fill the whole space inside the eyeshield...

View attachment 1552006
View attachment 1552007

That said, you did an amazing job. I especially like how you got depth to the screen. And I agree with your desire for strap anchors -- they're definitely there. I'm hunting for good found-part candidates. I'm very happy to see you do this build. Not nearly enough of these out there in the costuming world. :)
Thanks for the feedback! I loved building it. So: regarding your notes:
- Color changing iridescent film: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X531DZ6
- The visor fit: I agree, it does look like it should fit closer to the helmet.
- The top dial: It was hard to tell, but based on the left pic here, it does seem to be recessed to the level of the other housing, and the paint appears to connect to the side markings, implying that the ring may swivel and focus, but be a ring shape. Not certain, but I assume that is what the modeler thought as well.
- The lit space: I agree, it could be full width, but for what I was attempting (depth) there is not a full wide depth past the handle shapes. The model had a rectangular space already, and I realized that was the only space that was deep enough for what I had in mind. Most Electrobinoculars view screens appear rectangular in canon, and the user's eyes are much smaller inside the helmet, so this felt like a concession I could make.
- The color: Most Electrobinoculars appear light blue, except this Gree image, and one other from Clone Wars. I thought they may have done this to look good for Gree's clearly custom style (with his green mirrored visor), but I just wanted a more classic look anyway when people saw it, so that it would feel familiar. Totally went off of preference on that one.
 
Iridescent film ordered. Found some good gridded plastic -- that's for leading the way on that. I'm sticking with my interpretation of the dial having a raised "hub" (I still intend for it to rotate). Good call on the viewer lighting. I'll go with the blue being light-spill from an enhanced optical, and green being a computer-generated tactical display (removing extraneous elements and color-coding relevant assets in the binocs' field). I am working on componentry and software to build a functional version, using this model as a basis, but in the meantime, I think a few switchable G/B LEDs behind a diffuser should do the trick. I'm going to do what I can to open up the viewer area -- at least round out the ends. The visor circuit boards I'm designing for Clone and Stormtroopers, Vader, and Mando applications will have a 270°x90° field of view (the maximum we can see without turning our heads) for their CCD cameras, so periphery feels important for the binocs, even if it's just a place to put flashing telltales the IFF radar thingie sticking off the front picks up.

I'm glad I ran across this before I got to the point of permanently gluing things together. I'd already been making a lot of resin dust opening things up for functionality at the front and in the middle (dial mount is an attenuator knob from a defunct stereo, high-viewing-angle LED for the front is mounted in an old bezeled lamp housing, hollowed out the sticky-off thing and replaced the ribbed bit with a heavy spring, etc.). Now I have more notions for when I get to the back end. I'm going to use your screen surround for inspiration, even if I don't copy it exactly. You have been a tremendous inspiration. :)
 
Oh! A) Do you only do clone costuming? and 2) Do you want or need any other non-weapon accessories to build out your options? I might have some files I could send your way to geep you going -- you do good work, and I'd like to see what else you could apply it to. ;)
 
Iridescent film ordered. Found some good gridded plastic -- that's for leading the way on that. I'm sticking with my interpretation of the dial having a raised "hub" (I still intend for it to rotate). Good call on the viewer lighting. I'll go with the blue being light-spill from an enhanced optical, and green being a computer-generated tactical display (removing extraneous elements and color-coding relevant assets in the binocs' field). I am working on componentry and software to build a functional version, using this model as a basis, but in the meantime, I think a few switchable G/B LEDs behind a diffuser should do the trick. I'm going to do what I can to open up the viewer area -- at least round out the ends. The visor circuit boards I'm designing for Clone and Stormtroopers, Vader, and Mando applications will have a 270°x90° field of view (the maximum we can see without turning our heads) for their CCD cameras, so periphery feels important for the binocs, even if it's just a place to put flashing telltales the IFF radar thingie sticking off the front picks up.

I'm glad I ran across this before I got to the point of permanently gluing things together. I'd already been making a lot of resin dust opening things up for functionality at the front and in the middle (dial mount is an attenuator knob from a defunct stereo, high-viewing-angle LED for the front is mounted in an old bezeled lamp housing, hollowed out the sticky-off thing and replaced the ribbed bit with a heavy spring, etc.). Now I have more notions for when I get to the back end. I'm going to use your screen surround for inspiration, even if I don't copy it exactly. You have been a tremendous inspiration. :)
Sounds like an amazing upgrade! Happy to inspire, and can't wait to be inspired!
 
Oh! A) Do you only do clone costuming? and 2) Do you want or need any other non-weapon accessories to build out your options? I might have some files I could send your way to geep you going -- you do good work, and I'd like to see what else you could apply it to. ;)
I do primarily Star Wars costuming. I have a few movie clones, a Rodian Jedi, an Endor Trooper, and a classic Stormtrooper. Sometimes I do photo edits from pics in my costumes, so the glow from the Electrobinoculars was used on this one:
 

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