[Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... I̶n̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶t̶h̶s...

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Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Fantastic work!!! you really are pounding out the pieces.......Pep no less!!!! Great job. Looking forward to seeing some of your painting techniques.
 
[Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadline...

Really great job.

And I personally love glory pics. Having just one boot left to do on the foam crafting stage of my mark vi I know exactly what you are talking about. I can't wait to get to the next stage and will be so happy when I can take a full suit shot like yours. Keep them coming!

You are doing some really fantastic work. I look forward to the next step.


"I don't know what's weirder, that you're fighting a stuffed animal, or that you seem to be losing" - Suzie
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Fantastic work!!! you really are pounding out the pieces.......Pep no less!!!! Great job. Looking forward to seeing some of your painting techniques.

Thanks! :D I am quite encouraged by all you commenters/followers. Thank you all so much!
And I am with you, Idk how my painting is gonna turn out.. :eek



Really great job.

And I personally love glory pics. Having just one boot left to do on the foam crafting stage of my mark vi I know exactly what you are talking about. I can't wait to get to the next stage and will be so happy when I can take a full suit shot like yours. Keep them coming!

You are doing some really fantastic work. I look forward to the next step.


"I don't know what's weirder, that you're fighting a stuffed animal, or that you seem to be losing" - Suzie

I checked out your build, and almost got blown away. How yall do stuff with that foam is all beyond me!
I cant wait to see your Glory pics. Be sure to get a lot from a bunch of angles. I shall hold my drool until then :popcorn







Update No 6:
Day 36



I estimate around 20 days left.
If I get all the resining done in 3 days, bondoing/sanding/layer of primer in 5 days, a day for filling in some parts with expanding foam and a bit more spray-coverage. That will leave me with 11 days to paint.

Even then I wont have a visor or even straps :(

Worse, I dont have much cash just lying around the house at the moment. I try to make a point of not taking anything out of my bank acc unless I have too for important stuff.
So far that has held. With, pleasing results apparent by my account numbers :cool


I am literally mowing some neighbors lawns for some spare cash for straps and paint!




Anyway, resining process is started!


My work station in the back yard.
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And now 450th refuses to pull up the image editing gui for that first picture. Probably my laptops fault :facepalm

Some tools and what not.
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The heater among the mess, for late night resining. (You know how I work/play ;) #:wacko:sleep)
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My ODST helmet! Tape is there to bend the front a tad bit to keep the brim square.
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Moar Mess, with my regular sized Recon helmet in partial progress and a scary thigh.
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Helmet is coming along nice!
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Except for some hastily applied resin due to me accidentally putting to much reactant in. Thats the worst of the whole resining process so far though, so I am happy-ish :)
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Last night I had started with the flatter/easier/smaller pieces, so they are almost all done. Most just need one more coat front/back and they will be ready for a tad bit of sanding before bondo.
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All these parts are only partway resined on either the inside or outside.
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And these pieces have yet to be started on
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The two pieces I am scared about resining though are the thighs.
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They warp easy due to the lack of structure.
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And good/bad news! I got my PPE in the mail today, all ready for fire academy :cool:eek:(
Definitely mixed emotions there.
But above all, excitement for my future!
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Till next time!
-C.R

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Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

I checked out your build, and almost got blown away. How yall do stuff with that foam is all beyond me!

-C.R

Thanks man, I feel exactly the same way about pep!


"I don't know what's weirder, that you're fighting a stuffed animal, or that you seem to be losing" -Suzie
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Hey man, really great stuff. My younger brothers used a box inside the piece while resining their thighs and chests. Might be hard to find a box the right size. Otherwise Cereal Kill3r's trick using popsicle sticks and binder clips is a pretty cheap solution. Keep up the progress! 5 days for bondo? You're arm is going to be super buff after that. :)
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Something like Quagmire. 1 strong arm and that's it..........

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Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

This is the crazy stuff I envy. Knocking out piece after piece of high quality work. It took me 2 years to pep my one and only piece. Good job and hope you make your deadline . I can't wait to see your paint stage.
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

I can't believe you did that all in pepakura paper fiberglass thingy.. i made my first armor in full pepakura, spend so many months on that and got more and more frustrated with the resining and bondo and hell i won't step back from foam man!
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

This is the crazy stuff I envy. Knocking out piece after piece of high quality work. It took me 2 years to pep my one and only piece. Good job and hope you make your deadline . I can't wait to see your paint stage.

I can't believe you did that all in pepakura paper fiberglass thingy.. i made my first armor in full pepakura, spend so many months on that and got more and more frustrated with the resining and bondo and hell i won't step back from foam man!

Thank you for all your kind words. It really helps boost moral/gives me that much more reason to complete this thing.
That, and the look on my co-worker's faces when I come marching on it. (one of them is a HUGE Halo fan!)
Only one of them knows about my project, and its cuz she is also an extremely crafty/DIY person herself. Other then her, my family, and you guys, its quite hush-hush.

Funfact: My youngest brother thought (and still does think) that this is an extremely dumb project. He and my older younger brother have both made chainmail (the real stuff too!!) from fencing wire from homedepot. Hard core!
It was partly them who inspired me to start my project

Anyway, what my youngest brother dose not know, is that It wont stay 'just a stupid paper armor thing' for long. Infact, my mom just realized yesterday what the resin was for :p
Lil bro still thinks its a flimsy paper thing.
And part of it still is, which brings me too my next update!




Update No 6:

Day 37

Unfortunately flimsy paper dose not wear well when its just flimsy paper. I had a few random rips in a few random pieces, mostly the edges biceps and shins, and randomly on the torso piece.

I did some quick fixing with painters tape/glue. I am hoping the painters tape will resin just as nicly as the paper around it, as painters tape seems to be strongly based on paper, unlike packing or some kinds of scotch tape

Fist off though, some victory news!

I have finished all coats of resin on these pieces!
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It is a genuine relief to e able to wear the stuff without fear of ripping it via tiny moments.
Though comfort level suffers slightly as, well, there is no give/padding at the joints
But boy dose it look familiar!
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My one gripe with the so-far finished pieces is that the two fore-arms are not exactly symmetrical, though plenty close enough!
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Allright, victory dance over. Time fun.


Torso is getting completely structured. Er, restructured.

When its on me, you will notice from the side view, it sags; kinda hanging off my shoulders.
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At least compared with the model, which sticks out forward/backward a tad bit.
Here is my now structured pep compared to the model. Opinions please?
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I have not been able to find a direct side view of a Reach Spartan, so I based all my structuring after the model as best I can eyeball.

Front (most tape will be removed before resining those particular areas) Yes, I know the tummy area is less then desirable at the moment. It will be resined last, as well as straightened.
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Back
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Top view
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I used painter's stirring sticks, some Popsicle sticks, paper clips, and tape to hold it all together,
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Anyway, torso looks much more game accurate. I just hope I still fit well in it :p
I will fill the front/back of it with foam, to keep it up on my body, vs sagging forward when worn.





Armored pony is armored
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But seriously, how in the universe did they graft ceramic what-not into mastercief's bones.
Last I heard, blood was wet, and therefore wouldn't let the clay harden.
Plus, the clay has to get fired before it comes actually hard, in kilns!

And boy is ceramics heavy! Masterchief must weigh quite a bit alone.



Ok, enough randomness.
Any help/ideas would be awesome! I am scared to resin this whole entire torso piece.:eek


Next I will try and structure the thighs better...


Till then!


-C.R

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Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Sorry for the Double-post, but how many layers of resin should I put on? I got the 118 oz jug from Home Depot, but I am already more then half way through it, and have only finished about half the pieces.

I have done three layers on the inside and three on the outside of all the finished pieces, two layers in/out on the helmets, and one layer on each side of the current bicept and boot/toe parts.

At what point do I quit resining and apply the fiberglass/bondo?



Edit: Changed Necro to Double. I got em mixed up :facepalm
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Sorry for the Ncro-post, but how many layers of resin should I put on? I got the 118 oz jug from Home Depot, but I am already more then half way through it, and have only finished about half the pieces.

I have done three layers on the inside and three on the outside of all the finished pieces, two layers in/out on the helmets, and one layer on each side of the current bicept and boot/toe parts.

At what point do I quit resining and apply the fiberglass/bondo?

It isn't a necro post. That is when you post to a thread that has been dead for a while.

The fibreglass is added with a layer of resin and adds strength and stability. I have only used it on a cardboard build but I think that if you have a layer of resin on your pep you can go ahead and fibreglass the inside of your pieces. Someone who works with pep can chime in here but I think the usual course is to put a layer of resin on the inside/outside and then fibreglass on the second inside coat. After that you should be ready for bondo.


"I don't know what's weirder, that you're fighting a stuffed animal, or that you seem to be losing" - Suzie
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

2 layers of resin is fine. Every layer you add is more weight you put on your body......keep that in mind when you FG each piece. The first 1-2 applications to the outside is to harden it enough to take the fiberglass on the inside. Any more than that and it puts a lot of weight in to the suit. It's a fine line. You want it strong enough not to break if you bump/hit/drop it but you also don't want it to weigh a ton because you will be wearing this for hours at a Con......
 
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Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Sorry for the Ncro-post, but how many layers of resin should I put on? I got the 118 oz jug from Home Depot, but I am already more then half way through it, and have only finished about half the pieces.

I have done three layers on the inside and three on the outside of all the finished pieces, two layers in/out on the helmets, and one layer on each side of the current bicept and boot/toe parts.

At what point do I quit resining and apply the fiberglass/bondo?

This would be called a double post and also frowned upon, but with how quickly you are building no one is going to complain.
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I'm sorry to say, but you are probably going to need to buy more resin.. if you want to use fiberglass that is. It takes quite a bit of resin to saturate the fiberglass, which is what makes it adhere to the pep making it stronger. Typically: 1 layer of resin on the outside, 1 thicker layer of resin on the inside, and then you are ready to fiberglass. You can do a second layer on the outside at any point if you want, it does help in the smoothing process, but like DD said, it does add weight too. (you'll probably only need 2qts more to finish the rest of the armor this way)

Many people will tell you also that using Spray Adhesive to hold the fiberglass down before you douse it in resin is very beneficial and I would agree. Keeps you from making a huge mess with all that sticky fiberglass.

As for the warping, just do as thin of a layer as you can on your first coating and doing 1/2 or or even 1/3rd of the chest at a time is fine and will help give you time to manage any problems that come up.


*update:
Your chest support/shape looks good to me. Your brother is in for a surprise. And, you were correct in using painter's tape, it has been shown to hold up against the chemicals in the resin. In short, you are doing awesome! :D
 

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Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

Just wanted to stop by and say that you are making amazing progress with the time that you have and the project in your hands. Keep working on it and I am sure you will get it done. Looks great so far! Definitely intimidated to work with resin and bondo haha. Subbing. :D
 
Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin

All right guys! Less then a week until my Fire academy starts!



Update No 7:
Day idk, idc xD





Finished resining everything but the thighs! I am now putting this project on pause until the fire academy is over.
So yea, its been a great pleasure and honor talking with yall and hearing your insight!


I promise, this project WILL NOT be dead. It is simply paused until I get my life back!
I hope to se yall somewhere late December-early January!

Sincerely,

-CoolRextreme
 
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Re: [Build thread (newbie)] - A custom Reach Spartan suit... With a two month deadlin



Thanks for the support!
Yes, very well cut out thank you ;)






When I need to focus attention on stuff, its always my social life that drops first. Then eating. Then sleeping. Then hygiene.
But I doubt anyone wants to see a smelly Spartan, so I think Ill make room for that last part!



Update No 1:
What I have started out with:

The ODST helmet I wont even be using for this build. It will likely be my test-piece for everything else, before getting painted and used as a display.
Or gift.
At least I know it fits me, so I can size the Recon helmet correctly in the future.

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Biceps where a true pain I remember.
WAYYYYY to much unnecessary detail for the Pepping stage. But almost worth it! Was definably a struggle but came out semi-good enough for me!


Stupid amount of confusing pep detail:
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First forearm has been cut out and is currently in progress. I hope it fits. I have gotten lucky so far with my ruler and guestimates....

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Looks really good
 
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