**Carpathia's Mk VI Armor: Master Chief Going into Cryostasis!

[Carpathia]

You have a hell of a lot of straps it looks like! I guess this also means that come summer I should start on a legit ab section!

Yeah, it's a bit elaborate, but less strapping that I had originally planned.

Very righteous man

@redshirt my bad lol

Sweet update. You're bondo work is most impressive.

Thank you both very much.

I kid, of course. It looks absolutely beautiful! Keep it up, man!

The first rage comic directed at me! Sweet! Thanks man.

Small updated today.

I managed to get the rest of the bottom rib portion of the torso bondoed. It turned out pretty well. I also managed to get the coat of glazing on as well...

While I was at it, I used my rasp to knock down the few high spots there were on the torso front...

As you can see, there were only a few lines that needed pre-rounding. Bondoing these areas should be a breeze. Unfortunately, it will probably be a week before I can get to them since I've run out of supplies and money at the same time. I will, however, continue to work on the knee pad prototype and keep you all updated on that.

That's it for tonight. Let me know what you think.

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

Looking great.

 

[PigBenis]

Hello jason. Finally i managed to comment your unique work.

First of all thank you for everything u do for this community even if this isnt related to your thread . But i needed to say this cos u ARE a big help for many many people here including myself.

Now to your project. Its pretty damn accurate and smoothed. Its damn ready for the public. Be proud of your work even if u are this work means more than just an armor. I see the time u invested and the sweat u invested in this .

I really miss the words to explain how awesome this is . its not just awesome its emotional for me too since i know what work and what meaning is behind this .
Maybe it sounds weird but its how i think and how i see the things. i cant even stop saying thanks for everything.

U took your time and the result is an unique and outstanding work.

Im impressed mate. keep it up and dont change

 

[Carpathia]

Looking great.

Thanks!

Hello jason. Finally i managed to comment your unique work.

First of all thank you for everything u do for this community even if this isnt related to your thread . But i needed to say this cos u ARE a big help for many many people here including myself.

Now to your project. Its pretty damn accurate and smoothed. Its damn ready for the public. Be proud of your work even if u are this work means more than just an armor. I see the time u invested and the sweat u invested in this .

I really miss the words to explain how awesome this is . its not just awesome its emotional for me too since i know what work and what meaning is behind this .
Maybe it sounds weird but its how i think and how i see the things. i cant even stop saying thanks for everything.

U took your time and the result is an unique and outstanding work.

Im impressed mate. keep it up and dont change

Thanks buddy, I'm touched. And, wow, got the ol' RDJ thumbs up (my absolute favorite actor right now), nice!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Got a small update. I couldn't resist sanding down the portion of the torso I've worked on for the past few days and hitting it with a few coats of primer to see what it looks like. There's still a tiny bit of clean-up to do, but I'll let the pictures do the talking here...

More to come. Thanks for watching!

 

[Seth Knight]

My thumbs hurt for giving you so many thumbs up! You're build through it's awesomeness makes me sad, I fear I'll never get to this perfection (even with a great mentor like Mac.). Keep it up!

-Seth

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Man i really gotta get that spot putty stuff, looks awesome!

 

[Ninjetsu NL]

Naais! The bar was just upped a bit.... *sigh* I have to get my thesis done so I can start my armor!

Keep the outstanding work going!

 

[Carpathia]

My thumbs hurt for giving you so many thumbs up! You're build through it's awesomeness makes me sad, I fear I'll never get to this perfection (even with a great mentor like Mac.). Keep it up!

-Seth

Never say never. It took me three and a half years to get to the skill level that I'm currently at, and I still see room for improvement. Just keep at it!

Man i really gotta get that spot putty stuff, looks awesome!

Yup, it's pretty nice stuff as long as you use it in very thin layers. If you try to apply it too thickly, it will crack all over the place.

Naais! The bar was just upped a bit.... *sigh* I have to get my thesis done so I can start my armor!

Keep the outstanding work going!

Thanks! I can't say that I feel your pain with the thesis. I dodged the bullet and got my Master's without being required to do a thesis!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update.

Since I have a few days to nitpick my armor, I decided to fix that tiny bit of clean-up I mentioned in my last post. The major part that I needed to work on was the very front and center portion...

I was going to just add in a little more spot putty, but then I looked at a few reference pictures and noticed that there is a very distinct ridge there; so, I had to do something about that. Also, there were a few, minor parts that needed a bit of filling and some filing...

To make the ridge, I built up a small dam out of some scrap mat board...

...hot-glued into place...

...as well as puttied up the rest of the minor imperfections...

Then, I poured some rondo into the dam and let it cure...

**WARNING** When you pour rondo onto something that has been primed (and I dang well should have known this) sand away the primer first!!!

When I started to sand the rondo, the entire bit that I had poured popped right off. So, rather than repour, I sanded away the primer and reattached the rondo pour with some epoxy.

After the epoxy cured for a night, I sanded it down and applied some more putty...

Then I sanded everything clean...

...and applied a few more coats of primer...

BEFORE

AFTER

So, rather than nitpicking any more on this portion of the torso and potentially effing it up, I'm going to set it aside, maybe temporarily install some strapping to see if it fits properly with better-installed strapping and move on to my knee pads.

Anyway, that's it for now. I can't wait until I can get some more bondo and get this sucker finished! Unfortunately, it won't be before the end of September at this point. It's looking like I'll have it completed by the middle of October. Still plenty of time before the release.

Let me know what you think (or if you think I'm crazy for nitpicking).

 

[ColFork85]

Your attention to the most minor of details is inspiring! I'm left frustrated being limited on funds to even get started, having to buy one thing at a time(gloves ought to arrive tomorrow), and hoping 110 cardstock can get through my crappy printer. But it does give me time to learn from all the threads you experts generously post for the rest of us to follow!

-Matthew

 

[Mstruvmgc]

I like the new fixes :-D

 

[Redshirt]

It's the unwillingness to settle for 'good enough' and just move on that puts your armor ahead of the pack. I love the attention to detail. Yes, it turns a $500 armor project into $700 armor, but no one will say the extra was wasted.

Redshirt

 

[Carpathia]

I've been going a bit stir crazy this week since I have to wait until Monday to purchase a few necessary supplies to finish up the torso. So, to keep sane, I've been jumping around working on different parts of what will eventually be the finished build.

For starters, I got the majority of the knee pad put together...

It still needs more work, but I did a test fit with my thigh on, and it worked pretty well.

Next, I worked on the connection posts for the torso; specifically, the underarm connection point...

The posts are rivets that I used to use for medieval armor building, they work quite well as I'm able to put the torso on and get it locked into position without any help. Now I just have to put together the upper connection points.

Next, I've started messing around with weapons again. I put all the parts I have for my battle rifle together with tape to see how it looks and how it feels...

Of course this was more of a "Oh man I'm really bored, let's do this..."

Finally, I had mentioned that I was working on a new pistol. Well, I started to rework the file as well, to make it even more pep-friendly. This is what I've gotten pepped so far...

I will be updating the M6X Multi-Pistol thread as soon as I get this completed, to make sure there are no issues with fit. Then I'll update the M6X Multi-Pistol thread, posting a number of pep files rather than all in one, we'll see.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to for the past few days. I'm itching to get at bondoing the rest of the torso, one more day to wait through!

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Looks great man, the connection works out wonderfully. and the weapons look good too.

ok so this is off topic, but i have to ask. Where you part of a group or guild when you used to work with the medieval armor??
I am part of the local renaissance festival out here in vegas, so thought id ask

 

[SirPalesAlot]

The lock pieces for the top of the torso look great. I have been checking out Cereal's WIP and had considered doing the same thing to the existing torso file. Right now I am working on taking out those pain areas in that file so the Pepping is a little easier. I have also considered changing the details on the back a bit, but I cant find the Halo reference picture pack anywhere. That isn't a big deal right now, but later on when I add details after the parts are made it will be a pain. The links on the Halo Costuming Wiki are down. Do you have that reference picture pack, and if so could you host it somewhere so that I could download it? I would certainly appreciate it.

 

[Carpathia]

I actually do have that reference pic folder on my 4shared account (plus a few pics of my own). I've been hanging onto these pictures for years.

http://www.4shared.com/zip/D7NKEWDU/Reference.html?

 

[thorn696]

Awesome detailing, I love the knee concept too.

 

[mkshane81]

Absolutely amazing work buddy!! Of all the details that you've added in to the torso, for some reason the attachment point on the side is the best looking to me. Keep it up.

-Matt

 

[SirPalesAlot]

I actually do have that reference pic folder on my 4shared account (plus a few pics of my own). I've been hanging onto these pictures for years.

http://www.4shared.com/zip/D7NKEWDU/Reference.html?

You sir have saved me a world of trouble. I had all the files a while back, but I lost them when my PC died lol. Thank You!

 

[Carpathia]

Ok, slightly more substantial update tonight. I got my supplies! I needed a new gallon of bondo, spreaders, spot putty and gloves.

Let's get right to it then. I got the left side of the front torso bondoed tonight. I'm still using Cereal Killl3r's method, and it's coming out beautifully...

Only one more half to go for the front...

Then I've only got a few details to add and then I can move onto the back.

After I ran out of light outside (well after since I was sanding to the light of my back porch light) I started on the top connection pegs. I had been wracking my brain for days to figure out what to use, and it hit me (sort of literally, it landed in my lap), the bondo container cap which I normally throw out right away. The plastic of the cap is strong enough that it won't give or stretch, but flexible enough that I can push the pegs down and out of the connection holes when I need to take the torso off. So, I cut two 1/2" strips at about 3" long and beveled the corners of the half that will lock into the back torso...

Then, after aligning the tabs with a hole in the torso, I drilled holes for the pegs (the same rivets I used for the bottom connection pieces)...

Then I applied epoxy and set in the rivets. They're curing right now, and I will get a chance to work on them a little later tonight, so there may be another update before the night is over.

Stay tuned! Let me know what you think.

 

[Carpathia]

Well, the locking posts using the bondo lid are a bust. I've got a few more ideas, so I'll let you know what happens.