Halo 4 Orbital Armor build [first time + WIP]

FULL PROGRESS PICS HERE.

Build Status:
Undersuit:
- Complete

Armor:
- Arm/Shoulders: Foam build complete
- Forearms/gauntlets: Foam build complete
- Elbows: Foam build complete
- Gloves: Not started
- Chest/Back: Not started
- Thighs: Not started
- Calves: Not started
- Knees: Foam build complete
- Boots: Not started

Helmet:
- Foam helmet: Not started
- Visor: Not started


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Hola, I've always wanted to build me some armor and seeing all the killer stuff going on in here, I've decided to get to it. I've built a few props before (not using any specific technique) and I have a solid artistic background/working with my hands/different mediums, so I think I'll be able to pick it up along the way.

But, if you're gonna go, go big!

I've decided on the Orbital armor specialization type from Halo 4.


I'm going to be doing the armor in foam, building/sewing a custom undersuit, molding the visor out of acrylic, etc. I'll be following this color scheme as well. Process will more than likely be heavily inspired by the Kat/LilTyrant build (which is truly amazing).

Like I said, I'm new to full armor builds, so there will be sloppy mess ups, trial and error and fun times had by all.

I have a decent budget in mind as well as a very long timeline. Looking to be finished by end of the year working mostly after work hours (full time job) and on weekends, so updates will be slow, but hopefully steady.

I'll try my best to update as often as possible/use photos/multi-media/etc.

Really looking forward to being a part of the 405th! I've seen some amazing stuff from everyone here, so thanks for the inspiration! You guys are awesome already.

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July 23, 2013 update
• I've begun to put together a budget and a supplies list in a google doc. Unfortunately I'll be needing to buy some equipment (sewing machine/airbrush compressor being the biggest expenses).
• I think I'll be tackling the foam armor first as it's the part that I'm most inspired by right now and I think it will come the easiest to me (I <3 hot glue and xacto knifes, previous stencil maker).
• I'm considering putting a few tiny lights into the armor, but might cop out and do reflective tape - just jotting this note down for now.
• I'm worried the most about the textured fabric on the undersuit (the honey-comb like pattern). It looks like you could get that effect by sewing a pattern into some mildly reflective fabric, but I want the undersuit to be mostly spandex and breathable. I plan on wearing this thing all day when I do, so I want to go for comfort. An option I'm looking into is using a honey-comb like stencil and airbrushing on top of the spandex, then sewing in foam padding underneath to give it some bulk. But I'll address this when I get to the undersuit.

Next up:
1. Building a duct tape form so I can use it to work on for the remainder of the build.
2. Order some foam! and other stuff that I'll need.

I'm headed out of town on business for the next few days, so no updates for a few days. Comments/suggestions, etc welcome obviously!

Can't wait to see some WIP pics! This is one of my favorite armors in the game and I've got the chest piece planned for my current armor build too.

I think my best advice for buying supplies is to purchase as needed. It is easy to try to plan for the whole project and buy a lot in one go. The downside to this is you are out more money than is necessary early on. Eventually you may need certain items as a sowing machine, but if you focus on only certain aspects of the build at a time your wallet will hurt less in one go.

O and good luck the halo 4 armor intimidates me but that helmet is sweet.

its nice to see someone doing a different set of armor. everyone wants to be the chief but they all forget there were a ton of spartans out there. looking forward to your build.

Ohh Mah Gawshh! Finally someone else is also working on the H4 Orbital chest piece. I think im one of the first few ppl to make the Orbital chest as i got the file a day or two after its release. I can't wait to see progress pictures >.< Oh yeah, do check out my spartan build, you can use the pictures of my orbital chest build as reference. Im gonna sub so i can keep track with your work and learn a thing or two from you~~~Jen

@Kryios90 - Thanks, the foam build for the chest is what i'll be starting first (kind of parallel pathing with the undersuit), so let's def trade notes.

@spartan IV - good point on focusing only on one piece at a time. i'll need to work on that, ha! the helmet is totally awesome and i want to do it an equal amount of justice in building it. i've put in a good amount of research and next up is to do a good amount of experimenting on how to make it one piece. i've got a good idea on how i'll make it happen.

@dishabille - thanks! this is the armor type i play with in matchmaking all the time, so i figured why not. it' pretty bad ass!

@Jen-A266 - nice! great stuff so far. are you just working on the chest piece or anything else? i've subbed to your build, looking forward to seeing it come along!

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Still away on business, but wanted to log a few things, (no pics other than planning sketches, which i'll save for later):

- duct tape form built
- Patten sketches done for the undersuit
- figured out the layering for the undersuit to give padded appearance
- undersuit will be done in three layers - bottom stretch lining, middle foam padding in select areas for detail, top spandex + marine vinyl for details. spandex will be painted with a hex stencil pattern for detail, then sewn in between padding for raised effect (will need to experiment with this) then marine vinyl for cod + accents
- tons of supplies/tools are already at my house waiting for me to slice n dice
- ordered about 20 different fabric samples-
- almost have the helmet visor figured out (dual-layer vac-forming, acrylic + red reflective window tints - experimentation def needed).

I'm stoked to get home and get going. build progress pics to come as soon as i have something to show. sorry for the "no progress" post, just wanted to make sure I captured some stuff.

Next up:
- focusing on building out the pattern designs for undersuit
- deciding on fabrics and ordering
- more supplies needed to order (sewing machine, foots/needles) (running up a nice tab!)

Ahhhhh can't wait to see this, best of luck to you!

Finally got back from traveling and was able to really dig into things. During my whole trip I planned everything out for the undersuit. This undersuit is definitely turning into a bigger-than-expected project (I was thinking I was going to jump right into armor, I was wayyyy off!). But, I've got a really good plan for the suit, the armor, and the helmet/visor. Things are coming together!

I'll be posting individual pics here, but if you want to see pics only album - head here. I'll be updating that every time I make progress.

So, onto the progress.

1. The plan - this is the undersuit.

I sketched everything out in pencil (old school I guess) and used a ton of references. I had to simplify as I'll be doing this in a mixture of fabrics.
-- Bottom layer - Stretch liner (first pic)
-- Middle layer - 1/2" and 1" upholstery foam, carved/beveled/etc (that's the second photo above)
-- Top layer - Marine vinyl and spandex. (first pic) I have about 15 samples in the mail to determine what's right, but it's looking like I'll be using a charcoal grey and a light grey marine vinyl for accents/cod/lower abs, and a charcoal grey/light grey spandex as well for everything else.

The first pic represents BOTH the plan for the top and bottom layers and the foam is in the middle like a nice sammich. I'll be doing some tests once fabric arrives to determine what works best.

In terms of the HEX pattern that I've seen a few posts trying to figure out - I am going to cheat. I've designed a stencil and I'll be airbrushing the spandex layers with fabric paint before I stitch everything together. The color of paint will be slightly darker than the fabric to simulate depth. Hopefully, it'll work out alright. (better than walking around in neophrene all day!)

2. Made me some patterns (upper body)
First, I taped off the form with thin masking tape and drew a nice dark line down the seams with a sharpie.



Then, using parchment paper (didn't have big enough tracing paper, and being able to see through it to the line below was ESSENTIAL for this process), I made the left side of the body patterns. Under arms and forearms were especially tricky.



Still need to work out the zipper situation... I don't want it to be visible so I'm skeptical about the right-down-the-back idea. Suggestions welcome.

It feels awesome to get things rolling finally. Huge ups to LilTyrant and her KAT armor & undersuit for being an amazing inspiration to me to get into sewing/making patterns.

Next Up:
- Order the fabric + foam
- Order a sewing machine + necessary tools (foots + needles)
- Possibly order an airbrush machine?
- Cut the hex stencil
- If I have to wait for stuff to come in the mail, I'll be doing some experimenting with some armor + eva foam building

Pleaseeeee tell me you're not thinking of wearing a duct tape undersuit and its just a mannequin. If you are, you'd better have a camel back with plenty of water and salt tablets if you're gonna wear it for more than an hour. Your core temperature is gonna be ridiculous and you're gonna lose a lot of fluids. Not trying to be a douche, just don't wanna see anybody get hurt by something preventable.

Reaper07 said:

Pleaseeeee tell me you're not thinking of wearing a duct tape undersuit and its just a mannequin. If you are, you'd better have a camel back with plenty of water and salt tablets if you're gonna wear it for more than an hour. Your core temperature is gonna be ridiculous and you're gonna lose a lot of fluids. Not trying to be a douche, just don't wanna see anybody get hurt by something preventable.

Click to expand...

It's just a form (mannequin) I'm using to help me design the undersuit. I wrapped myself in cellophane, then duct tape on top of that, then cut it off, then sealed up the holes, and stuffed with newspaper. It's basically like a body cast, only for about $3 and is my exact measurements. I'll be making one of my lower body and doing the same.

But ya, a duct tape undersuit would certainly be... sweaty. The duct tape form will probably be used to scare my girlfriend when I'm done with it :cool

Im actually doing a full spartan suit! but its pretty much on halt because i cant find my Banner Red glossy paint.... Other than that ill need plastidip and some resin

hey stat this is looking hella-cool! more people need to get into the undersuit game like you, liltyrant, and roxyroo. it take an already badass armor and jumps the awesome factor 10 fold. Keep us updated, looking real good.

dishabille said:

hey stat this is looking hella-cool! more people need to get into the undersuit game like you, liltyrant, and roxyroo. it take an already badass armor and jumps the awesome factor 10 fold. Keep us updated, looking real good.

Click to expand...

Thanks yo. I'm excited.

It's going very well so far. Today I tightened up the patterns and began sketching out the details/foam layers.

Also, ordered tons more supplies, decided on and ordered fabrics as well.

More updates to come this weekend/next week as progress continues!

@Jen-A266 - Bummer man - get the ball rollin' again! Your armor is lookin' great so far.

Update

So today I put my patterns to a test - and they failed... miserably! I used the armor selection screen from the game (it was amazingly helpful) and was able to pan, zoom, rotate, etc. and get a really good look at the undersuit and everything. My patterns were so far off that I decided to redo everything. BUT, I'm much happier with the result now. The suit will be ridiculously close to the game version.

I also redid the pattern pieces in newsprint (instead of thin parchment paper, which was great for tracing, just not very durable).

Front:


Back:


I also consolidated some pieces and fixed a few seams (more knowledge this time around).

Yesterday I also ordered:
- Upholstery foam (1/2" and 1") for the undersuit
- Fabrics: light grey spandex, white vinyl, black vinyl, and the black stretch liner (bottom layer of the suit) - I wasn't happy with the charcoal colored spandex that I recieved (it was too blue) so I placed an order for three other samples. Going to be another week before that's worked out and ordered.
- Sewing machine
- Sewing accessories (needles, foots, etc)

Next up:
- Sketch out foam accent layers, and embroidery on pattern pieces
- Cut and shape foam accent pieces
- Start cutting and pinning fabric!

This is excellent! Most builds that start with the undersuit end up good.

Rosh - Thanks! It's all totally new to me (sewing especially), I've planned the crap out of the undersuit so far and I just need to get sewing and start making mistakes so I can learn.

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UPDATE!
While I'm waiting for my fabrics to arrive, I decided to get cracking on some foam. I was able to complete both the upper arm assemblies. Everything is freehand.




Foam was trickier than expected, but I was able to pick up tons of tricks along the way. The one of the shoulders (my first) didn't come out as clean as I wanted. It's the one featured above. There are too many gaps and such. However, on my second shoulder, it came out great!

A few tips I've picked up through trial and error (that many of you may know, but were totally useful for me):

• Cutting EVA foam sucks with an xacto - I've been using a very sharp kitchen knife and resharpening as needed. Do it in long, easy strokes, gradually pulling down, with your hand under the EVA foam while it's hanging off of the table. I was able to cut VERY quickly and accurately this way.
• Additionally, I was able to make very accurate gradients/inclines on the EVA foam using the same kitchen knife method. I marked out where I wanted the gradients to start (ie. 1" or 1/2" from the edge) and very slowly and carefully sliced/fileted diagonally while pulling down on the knife. The results were fantastic once you got the hang of it.
• When covering edges/gradients with 2mm craft foam, put the main, top layer on first, then custom cut the individual cover-up pieces for the angles. this will ensure everything fits super snug.
• Also, when measuring out cover-ups, be sure to add a 1/16th or so at the bottom edge (that will be facing down/contacting other foam). It will help cover up the edge more.

The bending thing kind of messed with my plan though. As I bent the EVA foam, I forgot to accommodate for stretching in the templates, so everything was a bit too short (I was able to work around it and it's probably not noticeable unless you stare/compare with a reference). On my next rounded template, I'll probably start with the base layers, then build templates as I work my way up through the layers, as opposed to doing them all at once.

The pieces are just pinned in place for now, I need to do some research on best ways to assemble (perhaps nylon webbing with clips?) suggestions welcome.

PAINTING UPDATE: Also I tested out two different methods of sealing. I picked up some plastidip and gave that a whirl. Very quick and effective, but you do lose a bit of the hard angles of the piece. Also, I tested out the wood glue method as well (which you would then resin over the top, it's Xrobot's method, I didn't have resin though) and it's very different. It will be soft vs hard. Xrobot's method will yield rigid pieces that could be painted to a high, high gloss. I'll have to still thing about the pros/cons of each method. I have a while to figure it out.

UNDERSUIT STATUS: Fabrics are in the mail, sewing machine is here, ready to go... just need stuff to sew! I've also printed and began cutting the hex stencil for the undersuit. You can see a test spray in the photos above (orange hex on the chest of the duct tape form).


VISOR UPDATE: Lastly, a sample of see-thru mirrored red acrylic came in the mail today and it's amazing! However, in through a bunch of research I've been told that vac-forming acrylic is hard and vac-forming mirrored acrylic is impossible (metal makes it too hot). I'm going to try it with my sample though. Not sure when, but eventually. If it fails, my back up is to vac-form the visor using PETG and then either a) vac form red mirrored window tint film over the top or b) use the mirrorchrome/airbrush method that is outlined in one of the threads here (I forget who's method it is, sorry!).

Lastly, if you want to view more photos of the build process, etc. I'm keeping a full ALBUM and updating when there's progress.

I'm traveling again for business tomorrow for another week, but when I get back all of the fabric should be in and the undersuit fun will begin! Comments/suggestions welcom in the mean time!

if you want to skip the constant cutting, a local sign shop should be able to print and cut your stencil out for relatively cheap. not sure on pricing really but shouldnt be too much.

and its all looking really awesome! keep up the good work!

Looking good, I might have to check on this thread at a later time

@dishabille - Thanks! and thanks for the tip. I have tons of experience in stencil making/cutting so this was a quick cut for me. I actually got about a third done, did a test spray and realized the Hex patterns were too large, so I redesigned and recut the stencil. Took a couple of hours, but it's worth it.

@Seiryuu - And yes please do! I'm slow to update it feels (about every week or two), but progress will come slowly but surely!

--- UPDATE! ---

After much effort I have come to a conclusion: sewing and pattern making is hard as hell! Not insurmountable, but man, there's definitely a learning curve for me. I redid my pattern two more times after I started sewing a practice version of my upper body using some cheap, nude color (gross) stretch liner. I've been learning a boatload and the things that have helped the most are trying stuff out on test fabric, and watching TONS of youtube videos.

After a bunch of effort, I've got a practice run completed of the upper body. Again, the below pics are done in crappy fabric just to test out the pattern and practice. I've labeled which sections of the suit will be which material to give you a better idea on what the future suit will look like.

Of note, the fabric used below is a 4 oz stretch liner which I found VERY hard to sew. It's suuuper thin and when I tested out my spandex (which I believe is 6 oz or 8 oz) it was much easier and I didn't have nearly as much issues with dimpling/bad stitching etc.

Also of note, i ditched the idea of having a layer of padding under the suit. It looked very "hockey-pad" Like and i wasn't a fan. I didn't want it to look like foam under a spandex suit, so therefor I removed the foam. It makes my life a TON easier too now that I don't have to sew three layers together...

Front:


Side:


Neck close up:


Back:


The bits of pinned on paper represent where I'll be appliqué-ing different pieces of embroidered black or white vinyl (leather-like fabric) to get the look I want. Also, I think the shoulder appliqués will have a bit of foam in them to give a raised effect as will the rear elbow circles. As for the back embedded armor and "upper cod", I haven't decided how I'll do it yet, but they'll more than likely be sew directly into the suit. Perhaps cutting out of thin foam, then embroidering around the gaps with a lighter thread on white vinyl and then painting the vinyl to look more like distressed armor pieces later. TBD.

Also, here's the final black and grey spandex:


And a test spray of the hex pattern that will be over the entire suite (only the spandex parts though):

I really like how subtle the pattern is. I used a very dark grey spray paint (montana black brand).

Overall, I've obviously sacrificed a bunch on "accuracy". However, I think it will still garner the same effect. What I came to realize was that fabric and sewing sometimes "just doesn't work that way". There are definite things you can and cannot do (just like with everything), so in order to keep pushing forward, I had to make a few sacrifices. I'm totally fine with it though, and I think the suit will really shine once I start adding on all the details and finishing pieces.

Then armor

Comments and suggestions welcome!

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Next up:
- Figure out how to sew multiple seams that come to a point better (my biggest issue at this time)
- Tweak pattern a final time if needed
- Begin sewing the actual upper body undersuit!

As someone who's done quite a bit of sewing before, I can completely relate with your pain in patterning things out. It can be absolutely awful sometimes, but your work is looking amazing! I'm so excited to see someone working on the under-suit, and will definitely be checking back on your progress.