Making my first ever armor

[Akio202]

Hi,

I hope this is correct because I've never done something like this. I came here after revisiting some of impactprops videos and wanting to get back into halo. I have wanted to make a suit for a while but one that is more custom to me and not like a character from one of the games. I don't have a huge amount of money but I do have the option of getting the Jazwares Master chief helmet and I was thinking about taking it and repainting it to a color scheme of my choice and maybe adding foam inserts and etc. I just wanted some thoughts on it because I was scared of maybe messing up a collection item and I haven't seen anyone else do the same or something similar.

 

[MicaHusky]

I’ve seen a few people do the “buy a commercial mass produced armor piece / helmet and repaint it” thing. It’s not super common; as most people want to have the pride of making all their own stuff.

If you’re on a budget; potentially look into foam? Foam isn’t super hellishly expensive to get started with like 3D printing can end up being once you get into it. With foam all you need to get going is the foam itself, contact cement, and a sharp blade

 

[Akio202]

I’ve seen a few people do the “buy a commercial mass produced armor piece / helmet and repaint it” thing. It’s not super common; as most people want to have the pride of making all their own stuff.

If you’re on a budget; potentially look into foam? Foam isn’t super hellishly expensive to get started with like 3D printing can end up being once you get into it. With foam all you need to get going is the foam itself, contact cement, and a sharp blade

oh my god, thank you for the reply. I had looked into Eva foam originally and actually was going to do the helmet out of Eva foam but I then wanted it to be sturdier so I looked into the 3d printed side of stuff but I don’t own a 3d printer and the next best thing ended up being the helmet. I just got like worried that like doing something to one of those helmets might be bad or the plastic
Might be too thin but to it was just like buy a 3d printed helmet off Etsy.

I do! However, plan on doing the armor out of Eva foam out of the best of my ability. I don’t have any like models though so I’m going to have to free hand it.

 

[Akio202]

i don’t know why this is here and idk how to delete it so I’m just writing this

 

[KaeSpoon]

oh my god, thank you for the reply. I had looked into Eva foam originally and actually was going to do the helmet out of Eva foam but I then wanted it to be sturdier so I looked into the 3d printed side of stuff but I don’t own a 3d printer and the next best thing ended up being the helmet. I just got like worried that like doing something to one of those helmets might be bad or the plastic
Might be too thin but to it was just like buy a 3d printed helmet off Etsy.

I do! However, plan on doing the armor out of Eva foam out of the best of my ability. I don’t have any like models though so I’m going to have to free hand it.

We have folks in the 405th who sell helmet kits if you are interested in a helmet but don't have a 3D printer. There might also be local individuals who would be willing to print something out for you as well.

 

[Akio202]

We have folks in the 405th who sell helmet kits if you are interested in a helmet but don't have a 3D printer. There might also be local individuals who would be willing to print something out for you as well.

Where do I go to look at stuff being sold?

 

[KaeSpoon]

Where do I go to look at stuff being sold?

We have a Discord server HERE that has #Want-To-Buy and #Want-To-Sell channels that you can find services and information in. We also have a marketplace on this website, but it is not looked at/posted on as often as the Discord itself.

 

[Akio202]

We have a Discord server HERE that has #Want-To-Buy and #Want-To-Sell channels that you can find services and information in. We also have a marketplace on this website, but it is not looked at/posted on as often as the Discord itself.

Oh cool, thank you!

 

[Negativecacti]

Foam guy here. Floor mats are relatively cheap and easy to get, I'd say you can make a foam suit for around $500 with all the supplies. I do recommend good blades and a good blade sharpener it'll save you alot of headaches. I had a Disguise Master Chief helmet for a little bit that I repainted before I got my recon helmets. With helmets there are members who run shops that sell 3d print3d helmet kits, RogueWorkshop comes to mind on that one.

 

[Akio202]

Foam guy here. Floor mats are relatively cheap and easy to get, I'd say you can make a foam suit for around $500 with all the supplies. I do recommend good blades and a good blade sharpener it'll save you alot of headaches. I had a Disguise Master Chief helmet for a little bit that I repainted before I got my recon helmets. With helmets there are members who run shops that sell 3d print3d helmet kits, RogueWorkshop comes to mind on that one.

I had saw the Disguise helmet but I didn’t know if I liked it as much as the Jazwares. I will have to look into the floor mat thing, I didn’t even think of that. Thank you!

 

[Negativecacti]

It was the H4/5 Chief helmet I had used. With floor mats you can get 144sq ft. For around $150 that's the stuff I use and have no real issues with it

 

[Akio202]

It was the H4/5 Chief helmet I had used. With floor mats you can get 144sq ft. For around $150 that's the stuff I use and have no real issues with it

How thick were the floor mats? Cause is there like a better thickness to use for different parts of armor or can you just use all one thickness.

 

[Cadet]

Hello, Akio202

I strongly recommend checking out our Tutorial Section, as there are comprehensive Tutorial from our members there for all the popular build techniques, including foam:

Halo Costume Tutorials

www.405th.com

Tutorial Index

Tutorial Index Who can make a Tutorial? A: Anyone How do I make a tutorial? A: Create a thread in any part of the forum you think your tutorial pertains to such as Costume, Props, Soft Parts etc. How do I get the tutorial in the Tutorial Section? A: start a conversation with me...

www.405th.com

As for the Jazwares Infinite Style Mark VI, it is in fact a very well built piece, well worth the going rate of $60, that takes paint well, is well constructed, and has actually been used by several of our Infinite Style Master Chiefs in the group. Now, much like in Halo 4 and 5, Chief's helmet is unique to him in game and not available to use with other armor sets, so it is not very commonly used among custom Multiplayer Based builds, but if you are doing a Infinite Style, or even Halo 2 or 3 Master Chief, as the helmets are similar, the Jazwares helmet is a decent base for the money.

The DIsguise Halo 4 and 5 helmet is not as good of a bargain, as the helmet proportions are much more skewed and off on that product.

 

[Akio202]

Hello, Akio202

I strongly recommend checking out our Tutorial Section, as there are comprehensive Tutorial from our members there for all the popular build techniques, including foam:

Halo Costume Tutorials

www.405th.com

Tutorial Index

Tutorial Index Who can make a Tutorial? A: Anyone How do I make a tutorial? A: Create a thread in any part of the forum you think your tutorial pertains to such as Costume, Props, Soft Parts etc. How do I get the tutorial in the Tutorial Section? A: start a conversation with me...

www.405th.com

As for the Jazwares Infinite Style Mark VI, it is in fact a very well built piece, well worth the going rate of $60, that takes paint well, is well constructed, and has actually been used by several of our Infinite Style Master Chiefs in the group. Now, much like in Halo 4 and 5, Chief's helmet is unique to him in game and not available to use with other armor sets, so it is not very commonly used among custom Multiplayer Based builds, but if you are doing a Infinite Style, or even Halo 2 or 3 Master Chief, as the helmets are similar, the Jazwares helmet is a decent base for the money.

The DIsguise Halo 4 and 5 helmet is not as good of a bargain, as the helmet proportions are much more skewed and off on that product.

Ohhhh, okay cool thank you! I was thinking about doing either a master chief build from infinite or try to do something custom. Is there anything else you recommend?

 

[Negativecacti]

How thick were the floor mats? Cause is there like a better thickness to use for different parts of armor or can you just use all one thickness.

They usually around 10mm or 12mm but you'll want to have 2mm and 5mm for more details. But as Cadet said that tutorial will help out alot and should answer most questions you've got

 

[MicaHusky]

also, keep in mind that not all EVA is created equally. Floor mats from Harbor Freight won't cut NEARLY as cleanly as proper cosplay EVA foam from a place that specializes in good foam.

 

[Akio202]

also, keep in mind that not all EVA is created equally. Floor mats from Harbor Freight won't cut NEARLY as cleanly as proper cosplay EVA foam from a place that specializes in good foam.

I did go to my hobby store and buy some cosplay Eva foam, the only thing I’m working on now is trying to scale the pepakura template correctly

 

[Akio202]

I spent better half of about four hours to make this. It was literally just to see if I had my scaling right and luckily I did. It is the about the full forearm I’m pretty sure.

 

[N8TEBB]

also, keep in mind that not all EVA is created equally. Floor mats from Harbor Freight won't cut NEARLY as cleanly as proper cosplay EVA foam from a place that specializes in good foam.

See if you never let yourself try the good stuff then you don't know what you're missing. Floor mats all the way babyyyyyy

Hi Akio202
Another foam guy here. Both of my builds were build with 12mm EVA floor mats from the hardware store. I also did some details with 4mm and 2mm foam here and there.

What kind of contact cement will you be using? If you haven't already settled on a brand, allow me to suggest Barge. That stuff dries very quickly and holds really nicely. I've tried LePage, that stuff might as well be water.

Allow me to repeat a tip that has already been said but I think it's worth saying twice. When you start to cut foam, make sure you keep that blade nice and sharp! You'll want a knife sharpener for sure, even if you have the snap off blades. I try to sharped my knife every 3-5 cuts and entirely replace the blade every new armour piece.

 

[Akio202]

See if you never let yourself try the good stuff then you don't know what you're missing. Floor mats all the way babyyyyyy

Hi Akio202
Another foam guy here. Both of my builds were build with 12mm EVA floor mats from the hardware store. I also did some details with 4mm and 2mm foam here and there.

What kind of contact cement will you be using? If you haven't already settled on a brand, allow me to suggest Barge. That stuff dries very quickly and holds really nicely. I've tried LePage, that stuff might as well be water.

Allow me to repeat a tip that has already been said but I think it's worth saying twice. When you start to cut foam, make sure you keep that blade nice and sharp! You'll want a knife sharpener for sure, even if you have the snap off blades. I try to sharped my knife every 3-5 cuts and entirely replace the blade every new armour piece.

I actually just came across your video about your build the other day! I used some tips from that but since I don’t have too much of the software for scaling I’ve been making cardboard versions to test. Also- I kind of was going to use hot glue (impact props has had “bad” influence) cause I have a bunch of it and I did try and find barge before that but I just couldn’t find any in my stores but if I do end up wanting it I’ll buy some online.