Commander Sarah Palmer - Scout variant of the MJOLNIR GEN2

[Crimmson]

I believe that pepakura measures the model, in your case, from the tip of the middle finger all the way to the top of the elbow piece. I think that is what might be throwing you off. I dont know how well you know the pep program, but after you unfold it there is a measuring tool you can use. You can pick two vertices and it will give you a measurement. It helps me with scaling alot as I can then adjust it. I would recommend to get rid of the hand and finger plates and then try it again you should get better results. If you dont then just measure from opening to opening on the forearm and then again at the openings to get an idea of the diameter of the openings.

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

@ Crimmson

I believe that pepakura measures the model, in your case, from the tip of the middle finger all the way to the top of the elbow piece. I think that is what might be throwing you off. I dont know how well you know the pep program, but after you unfold it there is a measuring tool you can use. You can pick two vertices and it will give you a measurement. It helps me with scaling alot as I can then adjust it. I would recommend to get rid of the hand and finger plates and then try it again you should get better results. If you dont then just measure from opening to opening on the forearm and then again at the openings to get an idea of the diameter of the openings.

I used the measuring tool to take the measurements, not the whole width of the model. As I am a bit of a scrawny chick I figure that most of the pieces will need a lot of custom scaling work to even approximate a decent fit. I went ahead and adjusted just the elbow plate piece (shrink to 70% of original size) of the model you had made and I am quite happy with the proportion in the end. I have printed scaled models for both myself and my husband. We'll pep them up and see how it looks in real life (it may now be too small on his frame). But alas, the printing is done and for tonight so am I. Tomorrow is going to be arts & crafts day methinks.

 

[Crimmson]

I usually use this gem of a trick to scale everything and I get pretty close to what I need. I am short (5'5" ex bodybuilder) yeah try scaling for that. I either way good luck on your builds. I think I need to revisit the scout pieces as you arent the only one needing them I know dd117 asked for help on them as well.

 

[Demogorgon]

If you are comfortable with 3D modeling programs, one thing you can do to compensate for your body's build is to take pictures of the part of your body the armor will be on, load the pictures as a reference, load up the model and scale the armor to fit your body. This way you are not stuck with the proportionate scaling in Pep Designer and you can have the armor pieces fit a lot better. It will distort the armor from the game model a little bit but it would look better.

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

I usually use this gem of a trick to scale everything and I get pretty close to what I need. I am short (5'5" ex bodybuilder) yeah try scaling for that. I either way good luck on your builds. I think I need to revisit the scout pieces as you arent the only one needing them I know dd117 asked for help on them as well.

If you would like I could make notes of any adjustments as I go through them and send you the notes at the end. I'm making Sarah Palmer for me and regular scout for my husband (6', 230 lbs) so I am getting to scale for both body types.

Thanks for the luck.

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

If you are comfortable with 3D modeling programs, one thing you can do to compensate for your body's build is to take pictures of the part of your body the armor will be on, load the pictures as a reference, load up the model and scale the armor to fit your body. This way you are not stuck with the proportionate scaling in Pep Designer and you can have the armor pieces fit a lot better. It will distort the armor from the game model a little bit but it would look better.

I think I may perhaps move to this step after trying out the peps first; to get a real good look at what the proportions on screen are in real life and on my body. I know, however, that I will most likely end up adjusting the scout chest for me to provide Palmer's more emphasized bust.

 

[WandererTJ]

Keep up the good work. I think I would have unfolded just the Forearm piece and saved the finger armor for another day.
Not sure how close their scale was to what you want, but maybe it was spot-on.
They are one of those things where I think it would be better to have your gloves first and then figure out the finger armor after you have the gloves.

Also, cheers to the Pepakura Designer's Measuring Tool!

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

Keep up the good work. I think I would have unfolded just the Forearm piece and saved the finger armor for another day.
Not sure how close their scale was to what you want, but maybe it was spot-on.
They are one of those things where I think it would be better to have your gloves first and then figure out the finger armor after you have the gloves.

Also, cheers to the Pepakura Designer's Measuring Tool!

Yeah I didn't separate them before the unfold, I figured if I was unfolding I might as well unfold it all. I have only printed the pages with the arm pieces and will pep them up before deciding what to do with the hand plate pieces. I suspect the hand pieces will become dependent on the clearance available in the arm piece opening. Either way, by keeping them together in the file I know that at this point they are proportional to the arm piece's sizing.

As for today's updates - the arm pieces have been printed (6 pages for me, 10 for my husband), and I have started colour marking my valleys and mountains. Not a whole lot of progress for the rest of the night as we are headed to friend's to learn Arkham Horror.

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

Progress Notes

Meticulously highlighted the folds for the pepakura arm piece. Blue for Valleys, Red for Mountains. I think I need a blue pen that doesn't work so well. It isn't indenting through to the other side of the cardstock well. Begun cutting out and scoring the first couple of pieces (no blood shed yet!) and glued the first two together to test the glue I have, and to see if my fold scoring is providing the correct give. I used the Elmer's clear glue (I had it already stashed in my daughter's craft things) and it works well, but the time it takes to create a semi-permanent hold was a little bit frustrating - I can see why most people use hot glue or super glue. I may switch up with hot glue and see how it goes; I would go through a carton of disposable gloves trying to use super glue. Whenever I get my fingers stuck together I reflexively pull them apart as fast as possible, ripping the gloves. Here's a pic of the first seam:


I have taken the time to get my work area set up, which is going to really help as things progress. I took a pic of the work area too:

The shelf is waiting for all the pep pieces to sit while they are in progress.

Well I am going to take a break to write an article and make update notes for my blog. I have also been considering making a video of how I draft the patterns for the spartan exo-suits for my husband and I. There are some build threads that show how some people are making their own bodysuits, but not a whole lot of step-by-step for people who are not particularly sewing inclined. Do you think anyone would be interested in this? I know there are pattern making tutorials elsewhere on the web, but not specifically for the exo-suit.

I already have lights and camera equipment for filming, it would just be a matter of taking the time to do it rather than just forging ahead.

 

[Fireryne]

Geek Guardian Dee,

I have been following this build and it looks amazing. Personally i would love a video of how you make your undersuit/hubby's, this is one thing that is being planned out for my build with the help of two amazing seamstress's (mom and grandmother) but if they can watch a video of how you did yours they can hopefully help with mine and have a better idea of what i want.

 

[Ashuraa]

Guardian Dee,
There is not much I can say to your work other than it looks like you are going to have one amazing suit for both you and your spouse. I am also working with my husband on a suit for him. We are initially planning on making what we consider a basic pepped ODST armor for him, and utilizing bdu's for his undersuit for now. After we have this set done we were going to do another much more detailed one, which I would then be pulling out my seamstress skills on making a full undersuit for him. All the added touches you are planning on are just going to make that suit that much better. I commend you on your progress, and eagerly await more.

 

[KevZone]

Nice job of laying this out, I'll be watching this one for sure!

 

[Saeka]

Wow, you are meticulous (in a good way)!

Really interested to watch this come together!

Also, wanted to point out that the new admin may have fixed the Search IP banning that was occuring for you. You may not have to drive to a new Starbucks every time you want to search!

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

Wow, you are meticulous (in a good way)!

Really interested to watch this come together!

Also, wanted to point out that the new admin may have fixed the Search IP banning that was occuring for you. You may not have to drive to a new Starbucks every time you want to search!

Yes, absolutely the new server has meant I have free access to the forum now. Yippee! You'll notice much more frequent updates, although not necessarily a ton of progress. I still have many other responsibilities, alas.

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

Progress Notes

Not a whole bunch of progress today, spent some time working with my husband taking him through the steps to make his pepakura piece. While he did his work I wrote this article for a Facebook page I help admin, since it talks about the 405th I thought I might put a link here (Top 5 Sites for Halo Cosplay Resources). You can let me know of your favorites sites if you think they should have been included. I wish we had gotten more pep work done today, but Thursdays we have friends over for gaming so not so much time for pepping.

I have set out time this weekend to film the tutorial for how to pattern the exo-suits. I plan to go over marking up the reference photos, making a duct tape dummy, marking the pattern onto the duct-tape form, making pieces for a mock suit, and fitting and adjusting the mock suit. It will probably probably take me the entire weekend to film the content, and most of next week to edit the footage. I hope to get it up for your perusal sometime next weekend.

 

[WandererTJ]

Re: Progress Notes

Not a whole bunch of progress today, spent some time working with my husband taking him through the steps to make his pepakura piece. While he did his work I wrote this article for a Facebook page I help admin, since it talks about the 405th I thought I might put a link here (Top 5 Sites for Halo Cosplay Resources). You can let me know of your favorites sites if you think they should have been included. I wish we had gotten more pep work done today, but Thursdays we have friends over for gaming so not so much time for pepping.

I have set out time this weekend to film the tutorial for how to pattern the exo-suits. I plan to go over marking up the reference photos, making a duct tape dummy, marking the pattern onto the duct-tape form, making pieces for a mock suit, and fitting and adjusting the mock suit. It will probably probably take me the entire weekend to film the content, and most of next week to edit the footage. I hope to get it up for your perusal sometime next weekend.

I can't wait to see it!

Hopefully it will help me with my Halo Reach undersuit, but if not, I've definitely been considering on doing a scratch-build custom undersuit that could work with both GEN1 and GEN2 armor pieces.

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

Help Needed - Ideas for Systems Features

I need good ideas for making this suit into a in-game interactive experience. I had a meeting with the prof who is thinking of using this suit as a special project in his 'Embedded Systems' class, and we are detailing out our proposal for funding this equipment. A large part of this proposal is creating a list of features that will be part of these systems. Unfortunately, I have a total of about 3 hours of gameplay on HALO 2, and no other Halo experience. I am hoping that those of you that are following this build can help me come up with ideas on ways we can make these suits really 'come to life' and provide a true Halo-like experience. I will include the list that we have come up with so far here, and look forward to seeing your suggestions below. A master list of the features we will be proposing will be posted to the 'Methods and Discussion' post at the beginning of this thread.

So without further adieu here they are:
Halo 4 suit proposed features

• Heads Up Display (HUD)
  • display provided by google glass worn inside helmet
  • displays indicators and warnings listed below
• Battery Indicator
  • Shows charge level on HUD
  • Flashes warning at 10% (Batteries at 10%)
  • Audible warning at 2% ('Spartan the battery levels are critical')
• Lights System
  • Shows lights status icon on HUD
    • Grey bulb for LIGHTS OFF
    • White bulb for LIGHTS ON
    • Red outline for TARGETING ON
  • control lights via control pad
  • control lights via voice controls
    • 'AI activate passive light systems'
    • 'AI de-activate passive light systems'
    • 'AI activate targeting systems'
    • 'AI de-activate targeting systems'
  • 'Targeting systems' are red lights in the helmet and red scope lights in the guns
• Cooling System
  • Turn Cooling system ON/OFF
  • Turn Helm Cooling ON/OFF
  • Detect coolant temperature
    • sensor located in water tank
    • display icon on HUD
    • display warning at moderate threshold
    • audible warning at critical level
  • Detect body temperature
    • sensor located against body
    • display icon on HUD
    • display warning at moderate threshold
    • audible warning at critical level
• Timed Warnings
  • Hydration
    • display warning at end of timed interval
    • audible warning if not reset within 20 minutes
  • Nutrition
    • display warning at end of timed interval
    • audible warning if not reset within 40 minutes
• Navigation Systems
  • In-suit GPS chip
  • When activated
    • display aerial mapping via HUD and control panel
    • input destination and AI provides directions and warnings
  • compass direction display on HUD
    • sensor located in Helm to show facing direction
• Experience Projection
  • Mirror helmet view and HUD on control panel and projector
  • have on-board cameras in helmet to show what the spartan sees (front and rear)
• Biometric Sensors
  • Track heart rate
  • Track blood pressure
• Spartan Locators
  • Specialized app for 405th members
    • App users can input their 405th profile
    • When active app will send out location information
  • HUD will indicate active spartans as triangles at screen edges
    • Voice control to bring up spartan names
    • Voice control to provide distance to a particular spartan

 

[AI Blue Fox]

Good luck with that. Many a member of the site have tried just what you seek, and none of which found an economical way to do it. Best way is probably some sort of in helmet projector but none interactive enoug hto use like that. In Halo they use neural interfaces to control all that, and we don't have brain plugs

 

[GeekGuardianDee]

Good luck with that. Many a member of the site have tried just what you seek, and none of which found an economical way to do it. Best way is probably some sort of in helmet projector but none interactive enoug hto use like that. In Halo they use neural interfaces to control all that, and we don't have brain plugs

The heads up display will be Google glass worn inside the helmet. We are not trying to achieve a military style helmet mounted display; and yeah, no brain plugs.
We aren't REALLY worried about economy at this point, just putting together a list of really cool ideas. Because we are going to be taking these ideas to the university (and some other companies) for sponsorship/funding we will be putting forward our pitch, seeing what kind of funding we can get, and then trimming the ideas down to whatever fits within the funding received.

 

[Dagger06]

This sounds super cool and I love this build thread.
That is all. \\(^.^)//