**Carpathia's Mk VI Armor: Master Chief Going into Cryostasis!

After months of hard work, the director of the video, Charlie Stough, has finished the Halo short film we started back in November of 2012. Here it is!

[video=youtube;0-JmhDqCUOo][/video]


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It’s been a while since I’ve posted any sort of progress thread. My last WIP thread was my Carter build, which unfortunately has been scrapped. After seeing builds like LongshotX and Starvinartist, and with the announcement of Halo 4, I have been inspired to complete my Halo 3 Mk VI build. The problem I have had with other builds is time. I rushed my Carter build and that was it’s downfall. With Halo 4’s release date set in November of 2012, I have tons of time. So, I will be focusing on one portion of the armor at a time and as such, this may be a build that will go on for a long time.

I started this build over two years ago with the pepping of the helmet and only recently finished the helmet. This thread will show my progress toward completing my own Mk VI suit in anticipation of wearing it to a Halo 4 midnight release and any other conventions. I will be keeping most of the progress photos and the photos of the finished product in the first few posts so they will be easy to find. Any videos or requested images will be posted as needed further down the thread.

I hope you all enjoy this build, it’s going great so far.

Edit1: Looks like I'll be pushing this one to the wire again. Halo 4's release is less than 5 months away and I still have to complete the thighs, cod and gauntlets and start the biceps and the torso. At the rate I'm going, it will be close. I am, however, still confident I can complete this in time!

Edit2: It seems that finishing up the suit in time for the Halo 4 release is more and more realistic. I hope to be finished with everything except the torso and a weapon by the end of August, then finish up the torso by the end of September. After the suit is complete, I'll turn my focus onto a weapon. As of now (July 9), the most realistic option is a new Halo 3 pistol, but I may be able to finish up my battle rifle as well. With builds here on the 405th like MacAttack's and Cereal Killl3r's, the motivation is running high!

Edit3: I was saddened to learn yesterday that one of the builds that inspired me to start this, StarvinArtist's, has ended. With most of his students graduating and moving on, there is no one to continue the build. He was able to create a great looking suit, and hopefully he will find more students to share the hobby with! I remain on track to having my suit finished by the end of September, and look forward to donning the armor to show it off at the Halo 4 launch, and beyond.

Edit4: With the completion of the cod piece on the last day of August, I'm perfectly on schedule to finish the armor by the end of September, as I had planned! That will give me a month to make any adjustments/repairs/improvements to the armor as well as work on finishing up my Battle Rifle!

Edit5: Down to the wire. Less than 6 weeks left until the release of Halo 4. Unfortunately, I will not be finishing my torso before the end of September due to financial restraints. It will, however, be finished by the end of October, and realistically, around the middle of October. That will give me less time to work out all the issues before finalizing it for the midnight release. This also means that the chances of finishing my Battle Rifle will be slim as well (the store may not even allow a weapon, so it may be pointless to rush it anyway).

Edit6: With less than three weeks left until launch, I'm in great shape! All the armor pieces are built and painted. The only thing left is to light up the torso, and the armor is complete. I also have enough supplies and time to make a decent run on the battle rifle, and possibly the pistol!

Edit7: October 25th, and the armor is complete. I'm all set for Halloween, and the Halo 4 launch at my local Game Stop. I will be doubling my efforts to finish the battle rifle since I've been offered a small role in a short film a student from the University of Iowa will be shooting the weekend before launch. Since it is a battle scene and the spartan I will be portraying will use his weapon, I figure that having a BR would be appropriate.

Edit8: Well, here it is November 6, 2012.The Mission: Finish the suit before the end of October, Accomplished. Finish the Battle Rifle in time for the video shoot, Accomplished. Have a great time at the Midnight release of Halo 4, Accomplished!

















Upcoming...

Currently working on...

CQB Permutation



Foam Boots


Rifle finishing touches


Cryostasis pod display cabinet

Complete!!



Armor Parts
Helmet: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth/rondo, smoothed with bondo, painted and distressed. Electronics include 4 white LEDs and 2 fans.
Torso: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth/mat, smoothed with bondo, separated & reattached with posts and magnets, strapped, painted and distressed. Electronics include 8 blue LEDs.
Biceps: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth, smoothed with bondo, painted and distressed. Electronics include 2 blue LEDs each.
Gauntlets: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth, smoothed with bondo, painted and distressed.
Handplates: Pepped, hardened with Envirotex Lite (a slow-curing, non-toxic resin), painted, distressed and strapped with elastic strips.
Codpiece: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth + mat, smoothed with bondo, separated and reattached with buckles and alignment pins, painted and distressed.
Thighs: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth, smoothed with bondo, foam attached to inner thighs, painted and distressed. Electronics include 8 blue LEDs each.
Shins: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth, smoothed with bondo, painted and distressed. Electronics include 2 blue LEDs each.
Boots: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth, smoothed with bondo, attached to foam mats, strapped, painted and distressed.
Undersuit
Torso/Shoulders: Hand-sewn black vinyl from a pattern created by me by studying pics and stills of the game.
Neck Seal: Hand-sewn leather strips cut from a pattern, strips of Velcro hold the back closed.
Gloves: Paintball armored gloves (found here: http://www.amazon.com/Grip-Armor-Pa...7FFW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1315363340&sr=8-5)
Shirt: Black Fila Training Shirt
Pants: Black Fila Compression pants
Boots: Black work boots (non-steel toe)

Items I've finished so far

Helmet...


Torso...


Biceps...


Gauntlets...


Handplates...


Cod Piece...


Thighs...



Shins...


Boots...


Neck Seal...


Torso Undersuit...

Mk VI Helmet Progress
File Info
Modeled by: Flying_Squirl
Unfolded by: Ral Partha
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/GF9jlUqI/Mark_VI_helmet__Final_FS_versi.html

As stated, this helmet was started about a year before the release of Halo Reach. It is the third Mk VI helmet I pepped. The first was too small and the second I built without supports and it warped beyond repair.



After I was inspired, I turned on the afterburners and went to town on it. I rondoed and fiberglassed the inside, making it the strongest helmet I've built so far. The bondo work went pretty quick too and was a lot easier that I had expected.


I installed the visor and sealed the gaps using Blackula727's method (found here: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/31352-Tutorial-Install-amp-Detail-your-visor), although the sealing the gaps method I had thought of years ago, he just beat me to posting the tutorial.



The visor was cut in this shape to accommodate the black indents above the cheeks of the helmet...


The indents were sanded down and while I was closing the gaps around the rest of the helmet, I built up the ridges on the perimeter of these parts to cover that gap as well. As of now, it's only a single visor. I will be purchasing and installing a second for the dual-layer effect when I get the spare money.


And here is the helmet, pre-black wash and finishing...




CQB Helmet Progress
File Info
Modeled & Unfolded by: L3X BLU3R1V3R
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/CWmf4LGz/HD_CQB_Helmet_L3X_Pep3.html?

As of September of 2013, I've begun the first permutation for this suit, CQB armor. Here is the helmet thus far...

Shin Progress
File Info
Modeled by: Nicktendo & Crackhead09
Unfolded by: Ral Partha
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/-YgX4sqQ/Modified_HD_MKVI_Shin_by_Nickt.html

The first pair of shin armor I built turned out to be too small. They fit fine after they were pepped and resined, but when I applied the rondo to the interior, the interior volume shrunk and I forgot to take that into account. I tried everything I could to make them work, but in the end, they ended up warping beyond help (even after I had hardened them). So, I scrapped them and decided to start anew. Luckily, I found on my laptop, a set of shins that were super detailed. All the detail I was attempting to add in the previous shins are present in this file. So, here are the pics...





This time, I opted to harden them with fiberglass cloth rather than rondo to minimize shrinkage. The shins have been resined, hardened, smoothed, primed, painted, distressed, strapped and padded. They are finished and fit nicely.

Thigh Progress
File Info
Modeled by: Crackhead09
Link for Left: http://www.4shared.com/file/P9TPsTOO/Left_HD_Thigh_by_crackhead09.html
Link for Right: http://www.4shared.com/file/4Ojlqeby/Right_HD_Thigh_by_crackhead09.html
Support Structure: Carpathia
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/FZyxBeTV/Right_Thigh_Support.html? (Invert Pattern for Left)

This is the third size for the thighs I've built, and I finally got it right. After two tries with the HD file, I switched over to the LD file to size test. I tried about half-a-dozen sizes I finally determined that 399mm in height is perfect.




The thighs are complete.


Boot Progress
File Info
Modeled & Unfolded by: Robogenesis
Link for Left: http://www.4shared.com/file/jKYPc0LQ/MKVI_HD_LeftBoot_3-Piece_ROBOG.html
Link for Right: http://www.4shared.com/file/dAl2p64n/MKVI_HD_RightBoot_3-piece_ROBO.html

This is the third size of boot I have put together for this build. The first were too small (they looked fine next to the shins, but didn't adequately cover my shoes) and the second were far too large. This design is by far the most accurate I have seen, and the fact that the piece that covers my shoes is detachable is perfect.




Foam Boot Progress
File Info
Modeled & Unfolded by: Robogenesis

Since the boots are the weakest part of the armor, I've decided to attempt to create a more stable pair. As of August of 2013, I've started building boots constructed of EVA foam.



By coating them with an epoxy resin called Envirotex Lite, I'm able to also apply a layer of bondo to achieve the same level of detail I get from a pep build...




Here's a quick video on how well the Envirotex works with foam...

[video=youtube;OM9VWb5lK4c][/video]

Cod Progress
File Info
Modeled & Unfolded by: Crackhead09
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/QoXWjIA2/hd_codpiece_by_crackhead09.html
Support Structure by: Carpathia
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/UN-qXrEd/Cod_Support.html

After developing a new structure system for the cod piece, it went together very quicky and is holding its shape remarkably well. This helped greatly in the resin and glassing stages and made the build go very smoothly.



One thing I was struggling with, and I think quite a few builders struggle with as well, was how to break the cod piece apart without losing the believably. After tons of time looking over reference photos and running it over and over in my head, this is what I have come up with...



By separating the back plate from the rest of the belt section of the cod, the cod itself holds up aesthetically. Additionally, the two buckles found on the back of the in-game model are not only present in this build, but functional.

Bicep Progress
File Info
Modeled by: Robogenesis
Unfolded by: Ral Partha
Link for Left: http://www.4shared.com/file/n_vRXmw2/MKVI_HD_SHOULDER_LEFT_ROBOGENE.html
Link for Right: http://www.4shared.com/file/n7IgbaDQ/MKVI_HD_SHOULDER_RIGHT_ROBOGEN.html

The biceps are pretty straight forward. I used the LD version to figure out the height, much like I did with the thighs and the gauntlets, and jumped right into the HD version. They were a little complicated, but not impossible.







The biceps have been finished.


Gauntlet Progress
File Info
Modeled and Unfolded by: Flying_Squirl
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/XTwSBmpg/mark_vi_md_forearms_by_fs.html

I attempted the high definition gauntlets before building these. They turned out being just a little too complicated for my taste. These were far easier to build, and they're detailed enough that they only require a little extra work.










The gauntlets are complete. They fit nicely and turned out great.

Torso Progress
File Info
Modeled by:Flying_Squirl
Unfolded by: L3X BLU3R1V3R
FS Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/4iKzAWHW/MKIV_HD_CHEST_A4_FLYINGSQUIRL.html
LB Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/z6DEkgmy/HD_TORSO_FILE_Unfldd_46cm_L3X_.html

I finally got the start on my torso. This is sort of a hybrid build. L3X BLU3R1V3R did a tremendously smooth unfold of Flying_Squirl's model. The only problem is that there were certain parts missing that I would have liked to have in the model, as seen here...



However, there were quite a few aspects of L3X's unfold and modification that I liked. Namely, the smooth and rounded shape of the peck area, which will need minimal shaping after the glassing stage. Another aspect I liked about this model is the fact that the back details are greatly simplified, as seen here...



Overall, this is turning out to be a delight to build, good thing too, since it's my last piece! Here is the progression...

Undersuit Pics
Shirt


This is a black Fila training shirt I found at Khol's.

Pants


These are black Fila compression pants I found on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Boots


I found these at Walmart for about $30 when I was working with a land surveyor. They are waterproof and very comfortable.

Gloves




I've seen other members use these gloves for their builds, and I think they will work out fine. They can also be found on amazon (post #2).

Neck Seal






The neck seal was made from light black leather, crafted using a pattern given to me by Adam for contributing toward the migration of the 405th site to its new server a few years ago.

Torso Undersuit







The torso section of the undersuit is made from hand-sewn black vinyl. I searched the internet and looked at dozens of angles on Halo 3 Forge to come up with what I think is a fairly accurate representation of the Mk VI undersuit.

BR55 Battle Rifle
File Info:
Sketchup Model: FuriousGeorge (Google 3D Warehouse)
Modified and Prepped: Carpathia
Link: http://www.4shared.com/file/RKRLmGa1/BR55_Battle_Rifle_V1.html

Since the Battle Rifle is one of the most recognizable weapons in Halo 3, i opted to build one for my armor. A while back, I attempted an HD version pep. While it came out fairly nice, it was still a little too sloppy for me. This time, I decided to edit an existing file and transform it into a hybrid build. The way I've designed this build, it is part scratchbuild, part pep and part slice. Here are a few pics to illustrate my point...

This is a picture of the file in one piece...


This is a picture of the file blown up...


Now, the purpose of all this is to greatly simplify the build, since pepping all the details on this weapon is tedious and rarely turns out well enough. As an added bonus, I currently have access to a laser cutter, and will be cutting all the sliced portions using that, so the cuts will be very precise and the detail great. I'll be posting at least one vid showing the laser cutting process.

As of now, I've pepped a few of the pieces. Here are a few pics of my progress...


And since I need a way to harden these elements, I've cut out access voids from the undersides of each piece...

...this allowed me to pour in the rondo which I used to harden the parts (pics to follow soon).

*EDIT: After laser cutting the base and sliced parts, this was the result of one night of work...

...and this is the combination of the sliced pieces with the pepped pieces...


*EDIT: Getting close...






The scope and the barrel have been scratch-built using wood dowels and PVC piping.

Credits

Helmet
Modeled by: Flying_Squirl
Unfolded by: Ral Partha

Torso
Modeled by: Flying_Squirl
Unfolded by: L3X BLU3R1V3R

Biceps
Modeled by: Robogenesis
Unfolded by: Ral Partha

Gauntlets
Modeled and Unfolded by: Flying_Squirl

Hand Plates
Modeled by: Robogenesis

Cod
Modeled by: Crackhead09

Thighs
Modeled by: Crackhead09

Shins
Original
Modeled by: Crackhead09
Unfolded by: Macattack64
New
Modeled by: Nicktendo and Crackhead09
Unfolded by: Ral Partha

Boots
Modeled by:Robogenesis

Neck Seal
Pattern Created by: Adam (Bluerealm Studios)

Battle Rifle
Original Model by: Furious George (Google Sketchup 3D Warehouse)

Mini-tutorials for this thread can be found on posts 22, 110, 139, 155, 225 and 269.

Woah. Amazing job on your helmet

Your build is looking realy good and i cant wait to see it finished and nice bondo work realy smooth

Your helmet is amazing. I want to see more.

Beautiful work. I've got a Mk. VI helmet in progress... Although I'm not going with the Master Chief paint job, it's gonna be Sarge's helmet from RvB. Also working on a Caboose Mk. V and an ODST helmet.

Thanks for the comments so far. I wasn't able to do any bondo work since it rained today, but I posted an up-to-date picture of my suit on post #2. Not much right now, but keep watching.

carpathiavh99 said:

This is where I will keep an up-to-date photo of my armor as it fits me as well as a quick description of the parts (ignore the mess in the background).

Helmet: Described below
Handplates: Pepped, hardened with a slow-curing, non-toxic resin and painted the same as the helmet
Gloves: Mechanic's gloves (not accurate, but will work in a pinch)
Undersuit: Black long-sleeve shirt and black scrub pants (also not accurate, but will do in a pinch)
Boots: Black work boots (non-steel toe)

Click to expand...

Just a quick update tonight. I did a lot of bondoing, even though it may not look like it. I've started on my other shin too, so you're only seeing half the progress. Just have to add a little detail to the back and a bit of detail to the front of the shins. Hopefully, I can get the detail applied to both shins by the weekend, then I can spend time strapping and painting them.

carpathiavh99 said:

...might seem a bit slow going, but once the detail is on the shin, it will go quicker.

Click to expand...

BTW, 329 views and only 4 comments, what's going on?

good job so far, very clean work on your Helmet. and I'm guessing you're posting when the people that often comment aren't on. same with me. im waiting for a comment before i can update *nudge nudge wink wink* haha.

carpathiavh99 said:

Update: 8/11/2011 - Did some more bondo work today. Nearly finished with one shin and close on the other, but I had to stop before I could sand the other shin.

Thigh Progress
File Info
Modeled by: Crackhead09
Unfolded by: Unkown

I've had these sitting around a while. Before today, I thought they were too large, but after building one that I thought was a better scale and having it turn out too small, I'm sticking with these.

As you can see from the picture, the fit is not bad. They will require a little adjusting so I can fully bend my leg, but my mobility as of now is fine.

Here is a quick picture of all the parts of the leg. The boot turned out a little small, so it will have to be redone.

More updates coming, keep watching!

Click to expand...

Another quick update on the legs. The shins are nearly detailed and the thighs are ready for hardening and detailing. I just have to repep the boots (pepped one and it was a bit small). So, keep watching and please comment.

I'm watching. I'm watching.

You have some serious skills. I like how you are using the bondo to add in the missing details on the back of the shin. I wish that I had the time to have done that for my build. Nothing that foamies and painting cant fix.

Love how your helm turned out. Well done!

Cheers!

Thanks, Longshot. It's a huge compliment to see you say the I've got skill since your suit is one of the ones that inspired me to start this back up.

I can't bondo or sand tonight since it's raining again, but I started installing the electronics and padding into my helmet. I'll have pics of that up sometime tonight or tomorrow.