**Carpathia's Mk VI Armor: Master Chief Going into Cryostasis!
- Thread starter Carpathia
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JUSTINIAN 117
Well-Known Member
looking forward to seeing the final paint.
Macattack64
Well-Known Member
Those are some sexy shins. Wanna trade? ;D
Carpathia
Sr Member
Well, finally, the shins are painted!! I tried a new paint thinner for the blackwash this time around and it turned out a little different than I had expected, but it'll do. I will have to put a final dull clear coat on since the thinner created a bit of a sheen.
So, here is what the shins looked like before the blackwash...
Not bad on their own, but they looked too clean, so...
...now you know what I mean by the sheen. Keep in mind that the camera picks up the blackwash really well, and it looks a lot more subtle first hand. But there they are! The only thing left to finish them is to add in the padding and strapping. Also, I will have to modify the lower portion of the back. That is where the circumference of the armor is the smallest, and my foot barely fits through. I can easily squeeze my foot in, but getting the shin off is tough. I tried one on last night and nearly panicked when it wouldn't come off. Likely what I will do is cut the lower part of the back off and reattach them with a hinge and add in rare earth magnets to keep them closed. Hopefully that goes smoothly.
That's it for now. Time to start concentrating on the boots. Let me know what you think.
So, here is what the shins looked like before the blackwash...
Not bad on their own, but they looked too clean, so...
...now you know what I mean by the sheen. Keep in mind that the camera picks up the blackwash really well, and it looks a lot more subtle first hand. But there they are! The only thing left to finish them is to add in the padding and strapping. Also, I will have to modify the lower portion of the back. That is where the circumference of the armor is the smallest, and my foot barely fits through. I can easily squeeze my foot in, but getting the shin off is tough. I tried one on last night and nearly panicked when it wouldn't come off. Likely what I will do is cut the lower part of the back off and reattach them with a hinge and add in rare earth magnets to keep them closed. Hopefully that goes smoothly.
That's it for now. Time to start concentrating on the boots. Let me know what you think.
Gamemaster
Member
Those look very nice, good work. For taking them off I know Longshot-x spins his around 180 and this allows his foot to slip out, maybe try that before cutting and hinges? His paintjob is also similar to yours, only he paints all the tiny ridges flat black. This helps to augment the shadows and cause the detail to really stand out, at the expense of added time.
Carpathia
Sr Member
Nice! I hadn't tried flipping them around to try to take them off. When I do that, they come right off. Thanks! Now I just need to add in some padding and get the lights installed and they'll be done!
Macattack64
Well-Known Member
That's what I do for mine too!
Carpathia
Sr Member
Tutorial Time!!
So, while working on finishing my shins, I decided to document how I installed the lights that shine out the back. Now, this is just one way to do it, there are many other ways to light your armor. So, here we go.
First, I picked out a power source. I have a ton of these battery packs on hand. They hold two AA batteries which provide 3 volts of power (enough to light up a single LED without a resistor).
The only problem was that I needed to incorporate a switch, but didn't want the switch to be floating around or visible on the exterior of the armor. My solution was to install a switch into the battery pack itself. So, I removed the cover to see what I had to work with.
I noticed that there was a bit of room where the red wire starts (not where it exits the pack, but where it is connected to the lead). So, I cut a section of the pack off, just big enough for the switch I selected...
In order to keep the wiring as neat as possible, I decided to connect the switch directly to the lead where the red wire is connected. So, I pulled the red wire out of the pack exit point...
...and cut the wire down so that only about a quarter of an inch remained, and stripped the insulation off of that.
I connected the remainder of the red wire to one of the leads on the switch...
...and secured the switch to the pack. While securing the switch, I fed the exposed wire through the center lead of the switch and soldered it into place, ensuring there were no shorts in the circuit. Then, I re-fed the red wire back through the pack exit point...
Now that I had a battery pack with an integrated switch, I build the light box. This was done with a bit of mat board and two blue LEDs (scavenged from a strand of LED Christmas lights, a great source of cheap LEDs).
Now I mentioned that 3 volts is enough to light one LED. Having two in a series would not work, so I set them up in a parallel circuit. I soldered the LED's long leads together and their short leads together.
Then, going back to the battery pack, I soldered the red wire to the LED's long leads, and the black wire to the short leads...
And with that, I had my light circuit.
Now it was time to focus on the diffuser, which would even out the glow from the two LEDs. Adam and someone else (I can't remember who) introduced the use of the side of an old CD case as a diffuser. So, I cut out a rectangular slot about an inch long and as wide as the CD part, and using a bit more of the mat board, I installed that...
When that was installed, I secured the lighting circuit into place. In doing that, I made sure that I would have easy access to the switch when the armor was on AND that the cover of the battery pack could easily be removed in order to change batteries...
When everything was in place (and I tried on the shins to ensure that the battery pack wasn't in the way, which it wasn't) I cleaned up the area around the light on the exterior of the armor (notice that the paint does not exactly match, that's the camera picking up minor differences again, first hand it's far less noticeable)...
And it was finished...
Again, this is just one way to do this. I chose this way because of the parts I had on hand. I'm sure that there are battery packs out there with built-in switches.
The shins are ALMOST finished. I've put in some strapping. The only thing left to do is install a little padding at the base to keep them from slipping down over my boots and to keep them secure and not flopping around a lot (not that they do it now, but they do it just enough to bug me).
So, I hope you all liked this mini-tut and keep watching!
So, while working on finishing my shins, I decided to document how I installed the lights that shine out the back. Now, this is just one way to do it, there are many other ways to light your armor. So, here we go.
First, I picked out a power source. I have a ton of these battery packs on hand. They hold two AA batteries which provide 3 volts of power (enough to light up a single LED without a resistor).
The only problem was that I needed to incorporate a switch, but didn't want the switch to be floating around or visible on the exterior of the armor. My solution was to install a switch into the battery pack itself. So, I removed the cover to see what I had to work with.
I noticed that there was a bit of room where the red wire starts (not where it exits the pack, but where it is connected to the lead). So, I cut a section of the pack off, just big enough for the switch I selected...
In order to keep the wiring as neat as possible, I decided to connect the switch directly to the lead where the red wire is connected. So, I pulled the red wire out of the pack exit point...
...and cut the wire down so that only about a quarter of an inch remained, and stripped the insulation off of that.
I connected the remainder of the red wire to one of the leads on the switch...
...and secured the switch to the pack. While securing the switch, I fed the exposed wire through the center lead of the switch and soldered it into place, ensuring there were no shorts in the circuit. Then, I re-fed the red wire back through the pack exit point...
Now that I had a battery pack with an integrated switch, I build the light box. This was done with a bit of mat board and two blue LEDs (scavenged from a strand of LED Christmas lights, a great source of cheap LEDs).
Now I mentioned that 3 volts is enough to light one LED. Having two in a series would not work, so I set them up in a parallel circuit. I soldered the LED's long leads together and their short leads together.
Then, going back to the battery pack, I soldered the red wire to the LED's long leads, and the black wire to the short leads...
And with that, I had my light circuit.
Now it was time to focus on the diffuser, which would even out the glow from the two LEDs. Adam and someone else (I can't remember who) introduced the use of the side of an old CD case as a diffuser. So, I cut out a rectangular slot about an inch long and as wide as the CD part, and using a bit more of the mat board, I installed that...
When that was installed, I secured the lighting circuit into place. In doing that, I made sure that I would have easy access to the switch when the armor was on AND that the cover of the battery pack could easily be removed in order to change batteries...
When everything was in place (and I tried on the shins to ensure that the battery pack wasn't in the way, which it wasn't) I cleaned up the area around the light on the exterior of the armor (notice that the paint does not exactly match, that's the camera picking up minor differences again, first hand it's far less noticeable)...
And it was finished...
Again, this is just one way to do this. I chose this way because of the parts I had on hand. I'm sure that there are battery packs out there with built-in switches.
The shins are ALMOST finished. I've put in some strapping. The only thing left to do is install a little padding at the base to keep them from slipping down over my boots and to keep them secure and not flopping around a lot (not that they do it now, but they do it just enough to bug me).
So, I hope you all liked this mini-tut and keep watching!
Carpathia
Sr Member
Quick update. Since the only thing I have to finish my shins is back at my college dorm room, and I won't be going back there until Sunday night, I decided to start working on the next phase, the boots.
I already had one started for sizing purposes. Two coats of resin have been applied to it. I pepped the other boot the other night...
I had every intention of applying resin to the second and begin the hardening process, but...
The temperature only got up to 17 degrees today, so, no resin. Oh well, it IS winter after all.
I also started to rethink the thighs. I did a quick test fit with the thighs I have started and my shins, and the more I look at them, the more I think the thighs are too large. So, today I started to test out some sizes with LD files. Hint to me, 36cm height is too small.
Anyway, now that winter has officially taken hold AND I start school back up next week, there may be some longer gaps in this build. Stay tuned though.
I already had one started for sizing purposes. Two coats of resin have been applied to it. I pepped the other boot the other night...
I had every intention of applying resin to the second and begin the hardening process, but...
The temperature only got up to 17 degrees today, so, no resin. Oh well, it IS winter after all.
I also started to rethink the thighs. I did a quick test fit with the thighs I have started and my shins, and the more I look at them, the more I think the thighs are too large. So, today I started to test out some sizes with LD files. Hint to me, 36cm height is too small.
Anyway, now that winter has officially taken hold AND I start school back up next week, there may be some longer gaps in this build. Stay tuned though.
HaloGoddess
Well-Known Member
I really like the undersuit! I'm still trying to figure out how to go about by doing mine for my Hayabusa. I also like the added detail parts you put on the shins. I'm using my 12" Master Chief figure for reference. 
It has some nice detail on it.
Oh, I also wanted to ask, since I noticed that you first sprayed your shins chrome then painted the final color and had the chrome showing under it, what did you do to make it so that the chrome shows through?? I know some people use vaseline, toothpaste or other strange product, but what did you use? I also need to find out if that effect can work on the foam. XD
It has some nice detail on it.Oh, I also wanted to ask, since I noticed that you first sprayed your shins chrome then painted the final color and had the chrome showing under it, what did you do to make it so that the chrome shows through?? I know some people use vaseline, toothpaste or other strange product, but what did you use? I also need to find out if that effect can work on the foam. XD
Carpathia
Sr Member
I used toothpaste to mask the damaged areas in this case, however, there is a little more to it. There are actually four layers of paint/primer on my armor. The first layer is a primer, then the silver color where i mask off areas I wish to show damaged with the toothpaste, then a dark grey primer layer, afterwhich I wipe away the toothpaste and add more being sure to cover some of the primer with toothpaste, then the final layer is the armor color (Italian Olive Green in this case). The reason I put another primer layer after the silver layer is to make the armor look like the paint has been chipped away, exposing the primer layer. It only makes sense to me that there would be a primer layer below the armor color. And with this method, I see no reason why it wouldn't work with foam as well.
You can see the effect better in these shots...
I've managed to completely finish the shins. I had to sew up some padding for the base, but the fabric I use is in my college dorm, so I had to wait until I came back to complete that step. Well, I'm back (school starts tomorrow) and they're finished, so here's the updated picture of my suit progress...
Current Condition of the Suit
Armor Parts
Helmet: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth/rondo, smoothed with bondo, painted and distressed.
Handplates: Pepped, hardened with a slow-curing, non-toxic resin, painted and distressed.
Shins: Pepped, hardened with resin/fiberglass cloth, smoothed with bondo, painted and distressed.
Undersuit
Torso/Shoulders: Hand-sewn black vinyl from a pattern created by me by studying pics and stills of the game.
Neck Seal: Hand-sewn leather strips cut from a pattern, strips of Velcro hold the back closed.
Gloves: Paintball armored gloves (found here: http://www.amazon.com/Grip-Armor-Pa...7FFW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1315363340&sr=8-5)
Shirt: Black Combat Shirt (found here: http://www.amazon.com/90010-ROTHCO-...M09G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315363317&sr=8-1)
Pants: Black Combat BDU's (found here: http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Force-B...U4SQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1315363330&sr=8-4)
Boots: Black work boots (non-steel toe)
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Carpathia
Sr Member
Guess what? I'm still here! I finally got some time to work on my armor today. It's been nice pretty much all week, but I've been too busy until today. I didn't get a lot done, but my boots are one step closer to being complete.
I finished resining up the second pair, while I applied the fiberglass to the first pair, hardening them...
I cut the bottoms out of the heel and toe pieces, making room for the sole I will be adding in later...
I also completed pepping one new thigh and got it resined today. The thighs I had were getting a little beat up and they were slightly too large (I couldn't bend my leg without heavy modification to the piece). This new thigh fits very nicely AND I can bend my leg. I also developed a new support structure for the thighs; I will show it better when I start the left thigh...
It's a good thing I stopped for the day when I did, it's thundering heavily outside right now and getting dark.
Anyway, more coming, but I still have 7 weeks of school left. So, it may be a few more weeks before another update. But I'm still breathing! Keep watching.
I finished resining up the second pair, while I applied the fiberglass to the first pair, hardening them...
I cut the bottoms out of the heel and toe pieces, making room for the sole I will be adding in later...
I also completed pepping one new thigh and got it resined today. The thighs I had were getting a little beat up and they were slightly too large (I couldn't bend my leg without heavy modification to the piece). This new thigh fits very nicely AND I can bend my leg. I also developed a new support structure for the thighs; I will show it better when I start the left thigh...
It's a good thing I stopped for the day when I did, it's thundering heavily outside right now and getting dark.
Anyway, more coming, but I still have 7 weeks of school left. So, it may be a few more weeks before another update. But I'm still breathing! Keep watching.
LongShot X
Well-Known Member
Excellent progress!
Glad that you had a nice day for resining and managed to get it done before the storm.
It's also nice to see that your using the propper saftey equipment and doing it in a safe environment. That sets a good example for the rest of the community. KUDO's!
Looking forward to your support structure for the thigh piece.
Cheers!
Glad that you had a nice day for resining and managed to get it done before the storm.
It's also nice to see that your using the propper saftey equipment and doing it in a safe environment. That sets a good example for the rest of the community. KUDO's!
Looking forward to your support structure for the thigh piece.
Cheers!
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