Halex's MkVI Build (WIP)

Hello 405th!

After admiring the work of others for well over a month and reading countless stickies on procedures, I decided it was time to delve in and try my hand at creating a MkVI.

Edit 2013/02/22: Made this a progress post with up-to-date photos. Removed some of the original photos to make room.


<< Current Progress >>

Helm: Finished!

Torso: Finished!

Shoulders: Finished!

Forearms: Finished!

Handplates: Finished!

Cod: Finished!

Thighs: Finished!

Shins: Finished!

Boots: Finished!

Undersuit: Finished!


Helmet:


Torso:


Shoulders:


Forearms:


Handplates:


Cod:


Thighs:


Shins:


Boots:

Scale looks ok mate. You need it a little big to accommodate your head, padding and electronics.
Once you have your torso done we can see a bit better, but for now looks good!

@DBmike - Thanks for the opinion, hard to tell for myself sometimes. Torso will probably be last since I want to get a little better at pep work in general before taking that on.
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Work's slow this morning so time to post the rest of the initial pics. So far I've completed two other pieces.

There's the forearm:


(It fits!)


And the shin:


I put in some time on the thigh last night and should have another update with it tomorrow. Starting to find that I enjoy the pep work as much as I did gaming... Scary.

Looks like you've got a great start. I'm seeing a lot of improvement in your pepping skills from the LD helmet to the HD helmet you built.

I highly recommend putting in the support struts that were designed with the helmet. Otherwise, you run the risk of the helmet warping/sagging when you resin the piece (trust me, I've been there). I'd hate to see all that work go to waste.

Everything else is looking pretty good!

@carpathiavh99 - Without sounding like I'm gushing, yours was the first thread I read on the site and was what gave me the necessary push to get started on this. Your kind words and advice are very much appreciated.
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I'll definitely add the supports in before I start the resin phase, but was keeping them out for now so I could test fit pieces. Weather permitting I may start that this weekend (never know in Atlanta). Will have to fabricate some for the pieces that didn't come with supports, too.

Hey all, it's been a week since the last update but you know how things are around the holidays. Hope everyone had a good time and didn't fall into too deep of a food coma.

Now, onto the important stuff!

Managed to get the thigh, two handplates, and the bicep finished over the long weekend.


The handplates were a good fit right away, though I'll have to make a support system for one as it's slightly warped.




Unfortunately, the thigh was the right height but not wide enough. I had to add some spacers into the inside, which will require some additional reinforcement before moving onto the resin stage.


They fit okay at best, but an additional backing piece will remove the gaps and line up the corners much more effectively.

No pictures of the shoulder yet as I just finished that late last night, but should have some tomorrow. I'll be starting the right boot next, the last piece of the right side armor.

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome!

Hello again all!

Been a few weeks since the last update, but I figured I may as well wait until I had something other than just pep pieces to post. Decided to plod along with the helmet first, with the two handplates tagging along for the ride.

Exterior resin: Success!


After adding an interior coat as well, I was looking at my various rondo/fiber options and decided I may as well go with the ones that are nearly impossible to work with.

Here's a (fuzzy) shot of my first awful idea, Rondo-Hair.


And the second, Rondo-Hair lined with Fiberglass mat.


I had to remove the bottom of the cheek pieces to get my head into the thing, since at this point I was -not- starting over. I'll re-attach them in a removable fashion later. All things considered, the helmet is amazingly strong and still not too heavy. I'm thinking I'll lightly sand the interior and add a lining of plasti-dip before the padding goes in.

Overall it turned out pretty well so I moved onto adding some bondo. Just regular bondo. Nothing impossible this time.

First application of the stuff to the top area.


Went better than anticipated for never having used bondo before, so I went ahead and covered the rest of the top to start adding some detail. The rest of the shots are throughout the next day.

Trying to get the sides even.


Still having issues trying to get these ports detailed the way I want. I'm about to order some more tiny tools for small stuff like that, so hopefully that will be what I need.


Not 100% happy with the lines yet, but they're coming along.


I need to increase the bevel on the lower edge that meets the brim, but it has the shape I want.




I'm very happy with the progress so far. Even went ahead and built a work bench out of scrap wood from Home Depot so I could work outside, despite living in an apartment. However, I don't think I'll be using bondo-hair and fiber mat in tight spaces like the helmet anymore. One or the other perhaps, but not both unless it's a very open piece that I can work in easily.

Apologies for the multi-post, but I wanted to get these out for some comments/critiques. Please let me know how you all think it's going!

'Till next time!

Hey 405th! Hope everyone is having a good holiday season!

(Fair warning, long post with lots of crappy cameraphone pics!)

Wanted to post some updates of what I've been working on lately. I'm mostly happy with how things have been progressing... that bondo stuff takes some learning. Been realizing how much less I need to use than I did originally, which of course means I get to keep going back and touching things up that I did earlier in the project. It's all good though, as I know when I'm done the time invested will be well worth it.

Enough talk, time for pictures!

Recent pic of all the hardened pieces so far. Chest has a light coat of 50/50 rondo that still let me cut through it with an Xacto knife to split the piece. No saw/power tools necessary.


I like the chest as it is in the game, but my goal was never to make a 100% game-accurate piece. I figure that since I'm making it, I may as well tailor it to my uses and likes. To that end, I've customized some of the accent pieces on the torso. The cutouts will all be lit with blue LED's behind frosted plexi panels, as will the spaces between the "scales" on the lower back plate.




And here's me with the two reinforced pieces on.


Now, since the weather here in Hotlanta hasn't been living up to the name, I've been forced indoors. I live in an apartment, and that means no bondo/resin work for me =(

I realized that to go with the armor, I'll eventually need a weapon or three. Since I'm not going for 100% accuracy, I can take a few liberties and compile my favorite weapons from all the games. I loved the Reach DMR, but preferred the design of the one from H4. There's a great pep model by monkeyfuj in the database, but I knew there was no way I'd get it to turn out right. Instead, it became a pattern for foam-core board.




I saw later that there's another project that started very similarly by Kwameninja over in the Weapons and Props forum, but I didn't find that till halfway through. Very nice work they've done, though.

The body is 5 0.5mm sheets of board, though some parts are more or less in accordance with the actual planes. Accents are mat board.




Some pieces I made separately, since it was easier that way with the hollow construction. The left side still isn't attached, as I need a way to access the inside.






I've since finished up the T-shaped muzzle brake and forearm, then began work on the scope. Sadly, no plans exist for this that I've found. Freehand it is!

The scope mount is done, at least.




Whew, sorry for that lengthy abomination. Let me know what you guys think! Comments/crits/feedback always welcome.

Your doing some nice work there, keep up the great job, I like your take on things and hope to see more soon

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You have some awesome cutting Skills, my Friend. First i thought they are 3D Printed.

Everything's looking awesome buddy. Good to see the scale of the helmet and torso turned out well together!

Everything looks great so far, especially that DMR. Keep up the good work!

Wow, awesome progress.

Hyperballistik said:

Your doing some nice work there, keep up the great job, I like your take on things and hope to see more soon

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I have a strange fascination with blue and silver... once I decided I was going to do a custom paint job it spiraled from there.

Sisko4 said:

You have some awesome cutting Skills, my Friend. First i thought they are 3D Printed.

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Thanks, mat board is a pretty nice medium to work with and allows for some very nice cuts.

DBmike said:

Everything's looking awesome buddy. Good to see the scale of the helmet and torso turned out well together!

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Me too! That was actually the first time I'd seen both on at once, though it's the second torso I pep'd. First came out far too small, but this one fits nicely!

RTWHOCKEY said:

Everything looks great so far, especially that DMR. Keep up the good work!

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Appreciate the kind words, been working on the scope upper portion for hours and hours today. It helps during those long stretches on tiny parts.

Corweena said:

Wow, awesome progress.

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Thanks! Can't wait for a day above 50 so I can get back outside and really make some headway.

Update time! The scope shell is done until it's time to detail the rest of the weapon. Here are some pics, along with one of what's been built so far.

The three parts. I want to add a couple of LED's to the ammo counter and scope before it's assembled, so I still haven't put it all together yet. Or figured out how to make it able to be disassembled...


Some other views of it put together.








And one of everything put together.


Just need to make up the couple pieces that go on top and the magazine, then it's onto the detailing part. Still a long way to go, but it's coming along. Any feedback is welcome!

Awesome work on the DMR, the attention to detail is what's standing out to me

So is it 5mm foam-core board you're using and where did you get it from?
For the body of the DMR, are you going to keep it hollow or eventually slushcast / fill it with something for rigidity?

Morphine said:

Awesome work on the DMR, the attention to detail is what's standing out to me

So is it 5mm foam-core board you're using and where did you get it from?
For the body of the DMR, are you going to keep it hollow or eventually slushcast / fill it with something for rigidity?

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Thanks, the detail is the fun part. And you're correct, 5mm foam core with 1.5mm mat board over top. Both from the local Hobby Lobby.

As far as the body goes, it's 5 layers of foam board and has decent strength as-is. Once I get the attachment mechanisms for the scope/magazine in place, I'll see if it needs anything more. Hoping not, just to keep weight down so I can magnetically mount it to the rest of the armor.

Halex said:

Thanks, the detail is the fun part. And you're correct, 5mm foam core with 1.5mm mat board over top. Both from the local Hobby Lobby.

As far as the body goes, it's 5 layers of foam board and has decent strength as-is. Once I get the attachment mechanisms for the scope/magazine in place, I'll see if it needs anything more. Hoping not, just to keep weight down so I can magnetically mount it to the rest of the armor.

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Sweet, cheers for letting me know. I'll have to head to my crafts store when I decide to tackle a DMR (which will be after my MC suit is built).

Weight is definitely a factor, especially if you're going to be running around holding it for hours on end and not wanting to put it down somewhere.
Rare Earth magnets would have to be the go, but I'll work out logistics if it closer to armour completion - I'll most likely be using magnets to join some armour parts in addition to strapping / velcro.

Looking forward to your next update, maybe paint as well?

Hey everyone, back with an update!

Been working on a lot of things lately and it feels like I'm barely making progress on any of them. Here's what's happened:

Decided I needed a sidearm. Since I seem to have an affinity for sliced files, I went with carpathiavh99's sliced Reach M6G. Didn't take much for progress shots, but it's a sliced file. Nothing exciting...




And who leaves home without a knife? I tried the pep model (again from carpathiavh99) but had limited success getting it to come out right. So I decided to go a different route.


Blade covered with fiberglass mat on each side.


Made a sliced handle, too.


And the rough finished product.


Here's the armory, pre-finishing. The DMR is assembled minus the scope, as I still have some additions I'd like to make there. The barrel looks crooked but it's not as bad in person. It may be a little low, but I can still adjust it until I seal everything.


Beyond that, did some more work on the helmet! Just about ready for primer, but I have a hard time taking that step since I keep finding things I'm not satisfied with.


Didn't have room for all four detail sections on the side, but it looks fine with three.


Decided to go with some customized details on the back, too. Discovered I am *not* a fan of freehanding with bondo. Will be sure to use forms for anything else I do in the future.


Any suggestions on the helmet? Is it good to cover with spot putty before primer, or prime it and sand/spot putty afterwards? Let me know what you all think! I'm excited to get going on the torso over the weekend, if the weather allows. Might even paint the handplates if I can get the right gloves tomorrow. Will post pics as I go for sure.

'Till next time!

Another update, omg! Wanted to post what I did over the weekend and get some thoughts on what I may be able to do better on future pieces. Without further ado, pics!

Forearms are rondo'd on the inside and marked for bondo detail levels on the outside.


Also decided to test my paint scheme on the handplates. After a layer of primer...


And finished, sans clear coat.


I have a matte finish I'll be using to seal them, but didn't have time to do it tonight. Might switch to a satin if I can find it, but there weren't any at Home Depot when I went today. I also dyed the brown places on the Impact Pro gloves black so they wouldn't clash with the rest of it. Fabric paint was under $4 at Wal-Mart so it was worth a shot, rather than look for a pair of pure black ones somewhere.

I'm overall satisfied with the colors. The blue accents are exactly what I imagined, and though the gray is nearly black, I still like it. Unfortunately it's pretty much impossible to "black wash" any of it, but I did try a little dry brushing on the edges. Turned out okay! Hard to see in the pics though, since the grayblack is metallic as well. The lower areas are painted with acrylic black, which is ever so slightly darker than the metallic paint.

Also need to cover the back logo plate on the gloves and attach the plates... which I have no idea how I'm going to do. Open to suggestions, especially if anyone has used these gloves before.

Any thoughts guys? Go ahead with the matte finish or wait for satin? Try black washing again or leave as is? Paper or plastic?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.