Aztlan's Halo 4 Rogue + Binary Rifle + M6H + Exo-suit WIP, PIC HEAVY!

[Jen A266]

I have tried using the hairdryer technique before and it didnt turn out that well. When i heated the foam on both sides, the foam felt really hot but when i try to shape it it wasn't budging. It did work just a tad bit. Oh yeah, and for those recess cuts behind the foam, how do you know where to draw 'em? As in how do you recreate the lines on your foam to match the one thats on the template so perfectly? Besides that, after you drew the lines, how do you know the width of the foam to be cut out for the recess areas? What if i didn't use a marker to draw the lines but use a ball point pen to do it? I apologise in advance if the questions have been answered.

 

[EVAkura]

Thanks TomcatHeavy! Yes, making the videos does all of that, but I rather enjoy them (and the silence my children must maintain while making them!). As far as Cons go... I have no plans yet, but that may change. I guess it all depends on the timeline of completing my build and when the Con is. I want my first Con to be Epic

I have tried using the hairdryer technique before and it didnt turn out that well. When i heated the foam on both sides, the foam felt really hot but when i try to shape it it wasn't budging. It did work just a tad bit. Oh yeah, and for those recess cuts behind the foam, how do you know where to draw 'em? As in how do you recreate the lines on your foam to match the one thats on the template so perfectly? Besides that, after you drew the lines, how do you know the width of the foam to be cut out for the recess areas? What if i didn't use a marker to draw the lines but use a ball point pen to do it? I apologise in advance if the questions have been answered.

Thanks for the info on the hair dryer.

All the questions and more are answered in the following video that I created and posted today Enjoy!

Good new!!! My shipment of EVA arrived today! The (maybe) bad news is that it is 1/16" thinner than my other EVA. I guess that is what I get for going with a different brand Oh well, I will manage.

 

[EVAkura]

While I am waiting for yet more supplies for the Exo-suit, and nobody has asked for more videos, I am taking this time to start working on my buddy's H4 MC helmet.

I am using Harnor's file as reference, but am heavily modifying almost each piece. Mainly because the conversion to foam was never completed. But also because I don't like to cut the foam when it is not necessary. In addition, I am adding a ton of detail that was omitted.

Here is what I have as of tonight.

The back of the helmet



The first side finished



Both sides finished



And adding the center piece. I still have the back to do, but I need to hold off until tomorrow.



I welcome comments, questions, and suggestions... and as always, I am willing to assist if I can!

 

[Kroforce]

Really inspiring to follow your work, but also I get a little pissed over how good you are. Its really not fair how good that helmet is going to turn out. Simply epic! Keep it up

 

[EVAkura]

Thanks Kroforce!

I am kind of hesitant to continue on this thread with the MC build, but I hate to leave it at the same time... I mean, you all know where to find me and all!

So, until it is recommended or I am forced to, I will continue here. Especially since this is more about my technique than the actual build (in my opinion).

Still waiting on materials for the Exo-suit, so the MC build continues.

I want to reiterate, this is REALLY slow going and quite difficult since the templates I am using are not finished/missing details/not accurate. I am finding myself recreating each piece and making my own templates. I am simply continuing to use the Harnor file as reference. (I hope he does not take offense. In my defense though, he never finished the foam conversion of the file nor did he build a helmet from it... that I am aware of. So, for what it is, it has been very helpful)

Here is my update for today.

The face shield I purchased a long time ago in hopes to do a MC helmet one day



The brim, and the back. I ended up redoing the front-center piece because it was WAY too low. I believe it is at the correct height now.



This is the new parts I am working on now. The two sides and connecting the front to the back on the lowest part (the part around the base of the neck to the chin). Also, I build the vents for the back and did the detail ovals (5 for each side) just below them.



So far, this new foam I purchased is working out quite well. At first, I was not happy with it, but it is growing on me

 

[Mstruvmgc]

so much awesomeness! Its hard to look at lol jk
Keep up the great work man

 

[foxleader]

 

[SavedbyGraceG12]

Geez, this guy came out the womb holding a piece of foam in hands! Speechless don't know what else to say......

 

[EVAkura]

Thanks so much all!!!

Hey, I have a question. Would any of you tune in if I did a live stream on my YouTube channel while I am building? If so, I can work out a time to do so, and I will be sure to make myself available to answer questions while I am working.

Let me know!

At the very least, I should have a pretty exciting update tonight because I am making good progress today

 

[Kyre]

I would certainly tune in!

 

[ferret304]

Me too! I'd watch the hell out of that

 

[nosaint]

man, I would watch you sweep the floor....pick up my jaw while your there! LOVE it all.

 

[EVAkura]

Sweet! I will put together my "studio" (my RV LOL) in the next couple of days. I want to wait for the cold front we have coming to pass first. Since I already have a router wired to the RV, the streaming speed should be great.

Today was really productive. Not so much in physical work, but more mental planning. I have a whole bunch of parts I have figured out how I am going to progress on for tomorrow. I also have a few parts I want to go back over real quick because I noticed imperfections in the photos.

Here is where I am leaving off for tonight...

A layout of the parts I will be working on (everything is cut out minus the front part) Notice the little black piece in the center... that is a microphone housing from a video camera I tore apart



And here is an update on the side of the helmet (here you can see some of the lines I want to fix)



When I get closer to the live stream, I will post an update stating the start time and date.

Thanks for checking in!

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Looking great man, cant wait to find out if ill be able to watch the live stream

 

[vshore100]

You should totally do the live stream man. I'd love to watch. Awesome progress on the MC helmet too. Another foam master has emerged...

 

[EVAkura]

I will be doing the live stream here in the next couple of days (I will give a head's up beforehand). I am thinking of doing a bunch of pieces for the MC build, and going so far as to form and detail them just for the broadcast. It will give me great content for the stream, and allow me to progress with the build. I will be sure that I pick a piece of armor that is tricky and will demonstrate a lot of my techniques

As for an update on the MC helmet. WOW, what a day/night/day... I think I am working on close to 20 hours straight! Needless to say, I have to quit before I screw something up or get myself hurt! It may not seem like a lot got accomplished (and it sort of feels that way too), but I did. I nailed out a lot of the worrisome parts that I had great concern about, and now know that the helmet's parts will assemble correctly and mostly reference picture accurate the rest of the way. Phew!

Lastly, the four LEDs are installed as well. Not easy since I custom build two circuit boards for that project. Each light has it's own "fish eye" lens to help magnify the brightness and dispersion. Um, yup, they work... and now I am blind (another reason I have to quit!)

Enough with the chatter and here are two quick snapshots I took.

 

[AGENTREGENT]

This better become Elite if it isn't already. EVA, this is fantastic! You're a foam wizard! I'm honored to be in the same state as you, maybe I can become your apprentice Your work is fantastic! Keep it up! That Mk VII helmet is sexy, as well as everything else!

 

[Jen A266]

Holy Mother of Halo! Dayuuuumm that H4 MC helmet is badass already! I'm lost for words trying to describe your foam skillzzz.. I Shall Remain Silent then XD

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Everything is looking good EVA

I have a quick question, do you heat treat all of your pieces before putting then together??

 

[EVAkura]

This better become Elite if it isn't already. EVA, this is fantastic! You're a foam wizard! I'm honored to be in the same state as you, maybe I can become your apprentice Your work is fantastic! Keep it up! That Mk VII helmet is sexy, as well as everything else!

I am thinking all of us Western Washingtonians should get together one day in the future and have a build pow-wow Still not Elite status, but that is a really rare thing nowadays. I checked all of the elite builds and it appears only one made it in 2013, and non so far for 2014... so I will not hold my breath! I definitely appreciate the kind comments!

Holy Mother of Halo! Dayuuuumm that H4 MC helmet is badass already! I'm lost for words trying to describe your foam skillzzz.. I Shall Remain Silent then XD

LOL, thanks! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this part of the build!

Everything is looking good EVA

I have a quick question, do you heat treat all of your pieces before putting then together??

It depends on the part. There are evident struggles to heat forming after a part has been glued to other pieces, like the heat from the gun makes a mess of the hot glue, and seams start to separate. However, sometimes it is necessary to do so (perfect example is below in the photos). With that said, I try to heat form the pieces prior to gluing them together, but this too can cause problems with alignment. A lot of times I will plan ahead and cut out several pieces as one piece, heat form, then cut the pieces from that single large piece. Doing this makes sure that all the parts align perfectly.

Here is my major update for the day, as well as some pictures of techniques used

This is one of those circumstances where I had to heat form a part after a ton of surrounding parts had already been attached. Luckily, separation was minimal and easily corrected. This picture is of the outline of the part I was working on and after I cut out the area to be heat formed.



And here it is after I heat formed it (I also circled the same part in my reference picture)



Inside this area, I embedded a heavy gauge wire (steel coat hanger wire) into the jaw area to keep it rigid. I simply cut a slit into the EVA, pushed the wire into the slit, then hot glued it closed.



Here I used a different technique since the support needed to be higher. Where the yellow arrows are is the wire, and the blue arrows are the anchor points. The ends (by the ears) have EVA blocks that sandwich the wire in between the helmet with hot glue. The middle anchors are EVA blocks that I drilled a hole into, slid the block down the wire until it reached the desired position, then hot glued into place.



Here I finished off the bottom of the helmet (especially where I embedded the wire) with 2mm craft foam



Here I am showing the custom made battery holders I crafted. I needed three AAA batteries total, but could not find a place to put them together. So, I just made the holders and put them in three separate areas that didn't interfere with anything. They hold the batteries awesome.



And a demonstration of the lights. I am using a temporary push button until I get a proper switch. Also, I had to keep the camera at this angle because they are so bright with the fisheye lenses I installed over the bulbs.



And finally... the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Here is the back profile (the top is not attached yet, it is just setting there... and quite loosely at that!)



Side profile



Semi front angle



I figure a couple of more days on this stage. Then it will be time to break out my gallon jug of PVA