Mark VI - first build - WIP

TheGimpMaster01 · Aug 16, 2011

Hey 405th!

My name is Ben (or just TheGimpMaster01). I was home from college for the summer and decided to start working on a Mark VI armor suit. I've been working with Oak Man24 (see his WIP thread for more info).

I guess I should've started this thread earlier, but I'm finally getting around to putting some pics up.

Current status:
2 layers of fiberglass on all pieces except for helmet and chestpiece. Helmet is pepped. Chest piece remains unpepped. All other pieces have also been dremeled. The next step is working with Bondo and spot putty.

Suggestions, feedback, and other comments would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry for the low-quality but HUGE pictures. I had to use my phone for pictures since it wasn't worth getting my huge digital SLR camera out for.

HD thigh piece before fiberglass:

HD thigh pieces after fiberglass but before Dremel:

LD boot piece before fiberglass:

LD shin pieces before fiberglass:

LD bicep, forearm, COD piece, and some reject pieces after fiberglassing:

Work table:

LD boot pieces after fiberglass:

HD helmet the night before I finished it:

Finished HD helmet!

The best part about the helmet... IT FITS:

Close-up view of the threads I used to pull the visor into its correct position:

Here are all the parts I have fiberglassed and dremeled and ready to bondo:

Again, suggestions, feedback, and other help is appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Carpathia · Aug 16, 2011

Very good progress. It looks like everything is pepped very well and maintained its shape during the hardening process. I can understand using the LD files if you wanted to get the suit done this summer. I've been working on my suit using the HD files, and it's dragging a bit (but I'm adding in a lot of extra details as well). I look forward to seeing this project complete!

Spitfire22V · Aug 16, 2011

Very nice work so far! Looks like you're on your way to a nice suit of Spartan armor. If you ever need any motivation, check out my LD build thread to see just how good a LD suit is capable of looking with enough work on it. :cool

Just a quick comment on the helmet: I've noticed that every person who has pepped that specific file (including me) has had that issue of the brim/sun visor bending upward. I ended up re-pepping a 2nd helmet with a different file and was very happy with the end result.

Keep up the great work.

Carpathia · Aug 16, 2011

I actually used that file for my daughter's helmet and had no problems with it. Maybe it's because the helmet was only 180mm tall.

HaloGoddess · Aug 16, 2011

Got some pretty good work going there.

One thing I DO want to point out is that the helmet you made is more like a medium def piece. I have the HD MK VI and you can actually find it on the Halo costume wiki and it's done by FLYINGSQUIRL.

You have a lot done so far and it looks like you got most of the pepping done which to me is the most annoying part! XD One thing I DO want to suggest though, for the inner thigh pieces, I would try getting some foam (they are floor mats and can be found at Harbor Freight) then cut them out in the shape you need them, but make them a bit longer and wider so you can glue them to the inside. This way it helps to keep the thigh pieces feel a little more comfortable when wearing them.

TheGimpMaster01 · Aug 16, 2011

Spitfire22V said:
Just a quick comment on the helmet: I've noticed that every person who has pepped that specific file (including me) has had that issue of the brim/sun visor bending upward. I ended up re-pepping a 2nd helmet with a different file and was very happy with the end result.

Interesting. I was looking at some various helmet files, and that one just seemed like the least awkward to pep. Some of the other files had very long, slender pieces, and that always makes me nervous for pepping

But good observation. If I ever re-pep the helmet, I will be sure to try a different file! Think I'll be able to just plug in the same value for height in mm that I used for my current helmet? (Although I think I would add the slightest bit of height... like 5mm or something)

HaloGoddess said:
Got some pretty good work going there. One thing I DO want to point out is that the helmet you made is more like a medium def piece. I have the HD MK VI and you can actually find it on the Halo costume wiki and it's done by FLYINGSQUIRL.

Ah, didn't realize there was much of a difference! I did look at tons of helmet files and decided I was going to do the one I did because it had the little LED bumps off to the sides of the visors. Heh, not the greatest reason, but yeah. Good to know as well!!

HaloGoddess said:
You have a lot done so far and it looks like you got most of the pepping done which to me is the most annoying part! XD One thing I DO want to suggest though, for the inner thigh pieces, I would try getting some foam (they are floor mats and can be found at Harbor Freight) then cut them out in the shape you need them, but make them a bit longer and wider so you can glue them to the inside. This way it helps to keep the thigh pieces feel a little more comfortable when wearing them.

Nice, thanks. I was DEFINITELY planning on putting at least SOME kind of padding on the thigh piece... I can put it on without any padding, but I'll tell you what, I would get rubbed raw after walking like 20 feet. Haha. How thick is the foam from Harbor Freight? Also, what tools would you use to cut foam? Just regular penny cutters or something?

TheGimpMaster01 · Aug 24, 2011

Update: 8/24/11

As of right now, I've resined the outside AND inside of the helmet. This is a new technique Oak Man24 and I are trying out. For the previous pieces, we had just been resining the outside of our pieces and then proceeding straight to glassing/resining the inside. This time, we added an extra coat of resin to the inside of our helmets, and we think it'll greatly enhance the strength and "dremel-ability" of the pieces.

Here's a pic of my helmet with the outside resined, inside resined, and the first layer of fiberglass:

Feedback please

TheGimpMaster01 · Oct 17, 2011

Hey guys, I know it's been awhile! I've been really busy at school, but I'd love more feedback on my project.

Here's a picture of the chest piece being pepped:

Here's a pic of the chest piece after finishing the pep:

I will have more pics of the fiberglassed chest piece... once I finish the fiberglassing!

My current progress on the chest piece is a resined outer and inner surface. I will be glassing today, hopefully.

I will also begin bondoing soon, and will have pics of that as well.

Also, sorry for the necro-post... My project hasn't died, it's just had a break due to school.

Feedback would be lovely

TheGimpMaster01 · Oct 22, 2011

Well, I know I'm triple posting, but it's just another update with more pics. I finally finished fiberglassing the chest piece, so now I'm moving onto bondoing all the parts.

Here's the chest piece as of right now:

Here's the boot pieces with some bondo on them:

Here's the shin pieces with some bondo on them:

Finally, the COD piece with some bondo on it:

The plan for right now is to finish up applying bondo to these pieces by tomorrow, and possibly start sanding just those few pieces. I want to wait to put bondo onto the more... defining pieces of the armor (helmet, chest piece, etc) until i feel like I really have the hang of this.

Hyperballistik · Oct 22, 2011

Nice job so far, but a quick tip, You don't have to cover the whole part with bondo, your just going to sand like crazy, unless you enjoy sanding, just apply it to warped areas and areas that you want to round out or shape, believe me this will save you tons of time getting the bondo process finished. Your doing great so far keep it up and you'll have a complete suit in no time

TheGimpMaster01 · Oct 23, 2011

Hyperballistik said:
Nice job so far, but a quick tip, You don't have to cover the whole part with bondo, your just going to sand like crazy, unless you enjoy sanding, just apply it to warped areas and areas that you want to round out or shape, believe me this will save you tons of time getting the bondo process finished. Your doing great so far keep it up and you'll have a complete suit in no time

Ah, thanks for the tip. I was wondering whether or not I should cover the whole part in bondo. Now I have an answer! That will definitely save me time. I assume I should slap some on where I want to sand parts round as well, right? Like the back of the shins, etc? The breast part of the chest piece as well?

TheGimpMaster01 · Oct 24, 2011

I have now gotten both boot pieces sanded to a point where I will switch from my hand sander to sanding by hand. Pics of those will be up tomorrow when I finish sanding and wash them.

More pictures of my progress!

Here is a shin piece before I did the final sanding and washing:

Here is the same shin piece as above after final sanding and washing:

Here are both shin pieces after final sanding and washing:

From here on out, it's onwards and updwards! more sanding, more bondo! I am really hoping to get everything ready for primer on Thursday, but it will be a push for sure. I'm going to work at it like a madman.

Feedback is always appreciated.

AKDOV 4670 · Oct 25, 2011

To add to hyperballistik's tip, you can use primer before bondo to show the details/warped areas.
You will be there all day and night looking for areas to correct if you haven't covered the surface in a flat color.

You would probably have people advising against primer... But if you spray the whole piece then sand the areas that need filler, it will adhere to the sanded areas fine, and you can keep track of where you are.

TheGimpMaster01 · Oct 25, 2011

Ah, well that will be a good tip to make use of AFTER halloween

I don't have a lot of time left to finish this before Halloween, so I'm pretty much just gunning for the finish line for now, but will go back and redo lots of parts afterwards. But thanks for the awesome advice, I'll be sure to make use of it!

TheGimpMaster01 · Oct 25, 2011

Update:

Finally finished boot pieces. They are now ready for primer. I even got around to cutting them in half. Here's a pic:

I also got spot putty and bondo on a wide assortment of other pieces, which are now ready for sanding. Here's a pic:

Here's a pic of the helmet with bondo and spot putty:

Finally, here's a rando pic of the COD piece again... it's kind of a stupid picture because I've already posted pics of the front, but I put bondo on the back.. you just can't see it in this pic:

Thanks for your time!

Oak Man24 · Oct 25, 2011

Lookin good dude!! You should come up and visit after halloween and then we can roam around in the suits. And once you get paint on it, the areas you missed stick out like crazy...makes me feel like I did nothing haha oh well!!

TheGimpMaster01 · Oct 26, 2011

I have a quick question: How necessary is it to cut air holes/slits into the helmet along with the installation of a fan? Is it unbearable without it? Also, if I should install one, where is a good place to put the air holes/slits? What tool should I use to cut the holes? (dremel probs, right?) How long does it take? Etc...

Hyperballistik · Oct 26, 2011

Its completely up to you if you want to cut holes and add fans for ventilation, It will help with fogging and such, I personally don't install fans and I have no problems but I have to admit it does get a little warm, but I take the hellmet off and cool off every once in a while, and yes certain dremel bits do an excellent job at making holes in helmets, as for how long it takes to install fans and such, depends on how well you know how to wire it up and mount everything, I would suggest not installing a fan right now if you are rushing the build, do it later when you have more time, also if its cool where you live, fogging and heat probably won't be much of an issue

Spitfire22V · Oct 26, 2011

Looking good dude, reminds me a lot of my build!

Regarding fan cooling holes, I don't have any in my helmet, and I have one Radio Shack micro fan right in front of my mouth. So far, I haven't had any major problems with fogging. However, if I were to do it again, I would put slits (using a Dremel or rotary tool) in the "rebreathers" on the cheeks, and maybe locate one (or even a second) fan over those to draw in fresh air.

The reason I think I'm not having problems with fogging is that my neck guard completely covers my mouth and nose.

sithinstructor · Oct 26, 2011

A fan is a very good idea. If you don't have a fan the visor will fog up and you will have trouble seeing. The best area IMO for some vents is to hide the slits in the tubing on the chin piece. I suppose you could use just fans and no air holes but that will greatly reduce the effectiveness. To make the holes you can a dremmel, whole process shouldn't take long.

Edit: wow guess I type slow beat by two posts lol.

Mark VI - first build - WIP

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