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

[RobotChicken]

The main advantages of foam building are:

- Greater range of flexibility
- Ease of building over Pepakura (though I personally prefer Pepakura to foam)
- Lightweight (fibreglass builds can weigh an awful lot)

- Doesn't the "flexibility" aspect become nullified after applying resin, bondo, or rondo (each of which will "harden" the foam)? And if it were indeed to remain flexible, then wouldn't bondo or paint crack if the foam flexed too much? (Unless flexible paint is used...)
- Having worked with both foam and Pepakura, my opinion is that foam is not easier - but that's just my opinion.
- I really don't think foam is that much more lightweight than paper, especially if bondo and/or rondo is applied to both. Overall, I'd probably agree that apples-to-oranges foam is lighter (assuming more finishing materials are used with paper than with foam), but I'd counter that the finished Pepakura is probably more durable than foam in the long run.

So besides a potential slight weight advantage, I'm still curious why foam boots (the armor pieces which would take the most wear-and-tear)...?

(I'm in no way criticizing the decision, and the work looks excellent as usual - just trying to understand better the rationale.)

 

[Carpathia]

So far, I've only needed to apply bondo to areas of the boot that do not need to flex (the toe area in particular). The heel part of the boot did not need any bondo and the boot cover only needed a little bit to cover up a few unsightly seams. The resin itself remains flexible enough and the paint flexes well with the resin (even though it's nothing special, just Krylon). As I've mentioned, I have an uncut video demonstrating this resin. I'll have to break down, edit it and post it here.

The reason I'm using foam for the boots isn't weight, it's durability. I feel if I step wrong with my pep boots, they'll crack. This is probably due to the workmanship and the fact that I was rushing to meet a deadline, but they just feel weak. The left foam boot that I have painted feels worlds more durable. But, like I said, the real test will be when they're finished and I'm wearing them around (hopefully for Halloween).

 

[RobotChicken]

Okay, thanks. However, in my experience, foam is more susceptible to surface damage (scratches, etc). This changes, I presume, after coating with resin or Plasti-dip?

 

[Carpathia]

The surface of the foam is completely covered with the Envirotex resin, and thus a bit protected (in theory anyway). I plan on using something different for the tread of the boot for durability. However, even my old boots, which have EVA foam treads, are still holding up (granted, I don't wear them around as much as other people, but they were used outdoors pretty hard for the video shoot, and the foam held up better than the pep).

 

[Carpathia]

I took a break from my boots tonight to work a little on my battle rifle. I left the area forward of the ammo counter hollow with the intention of installing lights. I did that tonight...

Now, I've got to paint the white part around the switch black and build up the sides a bit to hide the mat board layers. After that, I've got to go out and pick up a 4"-5" picatinny rail to mount to the top and a new set of scope mounts that fit a picatinny (the mounts I have on the scope currently are meant for dovetail rails).

Let me know what you think so far.

 

[methadome666]

Looks amazing.....hope my sniper looks half as good

 

[Carpathia]

Thanks Methadome!

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I mentioned that I had an unedited video showing how well the foam takes the Envirotex resin. Well, I got it edited.

[video=youtube;OM9VWb5lK4c]

[/video]

The foam shin in the background was painted with this stuff with a decent result. Unfortunately, the shin itself was too small (not a huge deal since it was a test piece) and the video showing me coating it and the result got corrupted, and I've since thrown the shin piece out. However, you can see the progress of my boots here and that they're coming out nicely.

 

[annabellector]

very impressive resin. And thank you for the video. I keep passing that stuff in Michaels and shaking my head as I walk by it, not thinking of using it.
As I am trying foam (omg hard!) for the first time, I am excited to see this stuff in action.

btw, huge fan of your work.. beautifuullly done.

And THANK YOU for showing the buckles.... I have been stressing over how to fit pieces together, it really helps to see how you did it.

 

[Mstruvmgc]

DUDE thats awesome!
i might have to go pick some of that stuff up. I like the shine to it as well, makes it more metal like almost

 

[robospartan]

looks great love the short movie too nicely done

 

[Carpathia]

@Mstruvmgc and robospartan, thanks for the comments! This build is still chugging along, albeit slowly as of now.

I've taken a short break from my armor to work on a few things. Firstly, I've been working on a few airsoft guns for my local team since we have an OP on the 26th, which has been taking up most of my work space. Secondly, since Halloween is approaching, I've been working on a costume for my daughter. At first, she wanted to be a stereotypical bed-sheet ghost; but then she changed her mind, to this...

So, I've been spending the better part of a week getting this ready for her. She's wearing it today at her school, so it's sort of a test run to see if it will hold up for walking around the neighborhood on Halloween.

But that's finished for now. All I have to do is finish up the work on the airsoft guns, then I can get back to my boots and the permutation!

 

[Carpathia]

So...

I've made a bit of a decision...

 

[Chainsaw ninja]

So youve decided to make 343's mc good luck on ur build!

 

[DD117]

I just read your entire thread......I am not worthy! lol

This is a very impressive build! I sure hope mine will be as equally good as yours. ( I apologies for delays on mine, Im a bit down on my luck.) I mean you made an awesome short film too! Im definitely keeping my eye on this one for sure. I've learned so much from you already!

 

[drew159]

I spy a new H4 MkVI pep file and it looks to be the best 1 I've seen!! I'll definitely be watching to c how this turns out any chance you could upload a photo of the bk.

 

[Carpathia]

Absolutely.

Here are a few pictures showing all sides of the helmet...

As well as a few of the inside to give you an idea of what I did to reinforce to prevent warping...

The file I used was actually provided by someone who ripped the geometry from the game of the entire suit (apparently, a common practice). I didn't edit the file in any way, I simply unfolded it in Pepakura, organized it, and built it. With that in mind, it's missing a lot of the key details, but the shape is accurate (since it's straight from the game) and looks MUCH better than the helmet you'll find in the database (the reason I haven't started this until now).

I'll have to see if I can find who released these files, but if anyone knows off the top of your head, shout it out. If I'm not mistaken, I believe it's from the same set of files the files T-086 is using in his build originated from (even though he's not using the helmet), here...

http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/39940-First-build-WIP-Halo-4-Recon-Helmet-Halo-4-Mark-VI-Armor

 

[drew159]

Looks like a great file all round the only thing am not sure on is the back of the neck.

 

[Crimmson]

I believe they might be the ones edited by Aztlan. Check out the halo 4 pepakura files within thread page 116 I believe.

 

[Carpathia]

Yeah, after reading through T-086's thread, he's using the ones edited for pep by Aztlan. I've sent Aztlan a PM to see where they originated, no reply yet. The files I have are straight from the rip, intersecting masses and everything.

 

[thorn696]

Looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing how this comes out.