Day 549, Quasi-Quarantine: Busting Out The Black Paint To Build The Imposing Dark Troopers

One of the most intimidating and harrowing scenes of the second season of "Star Wars: The Mandalorian" involved the appearance -- and subsequent attacks -- of the dark troopers. My building partner did not love how easily and how often these droids pounded Din Djarin before the tide turned.

These combat droids removed the human element from stormtroopers, giving Moff Gideon an incredible new weapon for his Imperial remnant. He had the droids kidnap Grogu before they were dramatically destroyed by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in the season finale.

To replicate the third-generation design Dark Trooper, we ordered custom clone commander blank helmets from Etsy and dug up an old Nexo Knights armor/shoulder pad combo. We painted these accessories coal black and placed them over a blank red head to mirror the compelling red eyes from the show.

We topped off the ensemble with large blaster rifles, and even though the paint will require touchups from time to time to retain their imposing sheen, we were happy with the results. With more custom helmets available, we may put together a small army of these deadly droids for future missions.