First build: Thom A293 based concept armor

[Thom A293]

Thom A293

Was just thinking to myself, what skill you have with foam! If not on the same level, your foam work is better than Evakura's! I'll be watching this thread closely.:cool

Why thank you. Evakura's!!! Aww your going to make me blush .

This is looking great so far man. Keep it up. on a side note, isnt the m73 the saw?

Thank you, and the M739 is the saw from halo 4, the M73 is the older machine gun.

WOW your foam skills are exceptional!

what a build!

so far it's looking really, really nice

now, for a question...
View attachment 33913
how did you do that?:eek
that perfectly circular little indent!

I must learn!

Again, thank you. I didn't think my foam skills were going to be that great my first try but hey, I guess so. To get the foam looking the way I do I do a couple of things. When I first do my cut with the handy dandy blade in this picture:

It is nowhere near a flat smooth cut, I have to go over it with 3-4 passes before I am all the way through. Then to clean up it all and make it look oh so pretty, I use this handy dandy tool:


For the circles I have done, I just lightly trace the sharpied template with the knife (about half blade deep) then keep going over it until I am all the way through. Then just clean it up with a dremel and go over with a heat gun.

 

[ArmoredAmir]

Loving your work so far! I attempted the forearms before and it turned out not to good but yours are fantastic. Maybe invest in a sharpener for your razor blades it helps in the long run. If you need any help since we're working on the same concept let me know!

 

[Thom A293]

Well thank you. I have some extra blades but yeah, I need a sharpener, my current blade is getting dull and the foam is not cutting as well as it did. Yeah I for sure will. Love your build so far btw

 

[StayFrosty]

I'll be excited to see how your chestpiece turns out. Just from the one picture you posted with the blade, it already looks really good.

 

[Thom A293]

Its not done yet but I thought I would show you guys a progress shot or something. The two forearms were wayyyyy easier to make, probably partly due to the scale difference. Anyways, the chest piece is very hard and I'm taking my time on it. From what I have so far, I like it .

I still need to do the add-on that the concept armor has. Some people were saying that I would have to modify the chest and all, but on closer inspection I saw its just an add-on. So it shouldn't be to hard.

Here's one more:

I will probably do something more like what is in the second picture, its more clear and the pouch attachment piece doesn't look like it wraps so far around, instead its just in front. The add-on on the shoulder is also more clear and I might add a flashlight inside of it. I will have ones in my helmets, or at least one of them, but I think also in this over the shoulder unit would work well too, maybe even a fake camera. What do you guys think?

 

[StayFrosty]

The chest piece looks really good! I always liked reach's bulkier armor design, and this armor definitely fits that style.

 

[Thom A293]

The chest piece looks really good! I always liked reach's bulkier armor design, and this armor definitely fits that style.

Well thank you. Yeah I like reach's armor design too. It really communicates to you that it is bulky and can take a punch. Its also more realistic with not having all those curvy edges and such.

 

[StayFrosty]

Well thank you. Yeah I like reach's armor design too. It really communicates to you that it is bulky and can take a punch. Its also more realistic with not having all those curvy edges and such.

I think that overall, bungie's armor design was WAY better. I still like playing 343 halo games, but the only good armor designs they come up with are the ones based off bungie armors

 

[Thom A293]

I know I haven't posted in a while but hey, sometimes like gets a bit more busy! Posting time!!!!!

Progress update: I have been slaving away on the chest piece and am soo close to finishing it. It still needs some foam filler pieces and the arm sleeve things that go in the gigantic arm holes. I also have to build some add-ons including the console that goes snug under the chest piece, the over the shoulder unit, and the mag pouch mount that goes on the front of the chest. I made sure I went nice and slow on this and even though I had some moments where my dremel went rogue, I'm really happy how it tuned out!





There are some imperfections and glue showing so I know I will have to kwik seal to cover up all the gaps.

 

[Schankerz]

It's....*tears*....IT'S BEAUTIFUUUUUUULLLLLL!!! Seriously, your foam work is expert level stuff!! I'm really excitied to see how it looks finished and what it looks like with those extra mods. I'm not sure if you said this before but are you making the helmet from foam too? I think you could really pull off making a top notch foam helmet. :thumbsup (Noble 6 concept ftw! )

 

[Jme]

That is some seriously clean work. I know you probably see all sorts of glue bits and stuff but from where I am sitting that is one of the cleanest builds I have seen in a while. Keep up the great work!


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[Thom A293]

It's....*tears*....IT'S BEAUTIFUUUUUUULLLLLL!!! Seriously, your foam work is expert level stuff!! I'm really excitied to see how it looks finished and what it looks like with those extra mods. I'm not sure if you said this before but are you making the helmet from foam too? I think you could really pull off making a top notch foam helmet. :thumbsup (Noble 6 concept ftw! )

Why thank you, I'm really trying in this build to make it look nice. I know, I really want to see all the mods on it too . Yeah I am going to make the helmets from foam, my only issue is that the file for the noble 6 concept helmet is not that detailed, but I can still give it a shot and try to add detail to it.

That is some seriously clean work. I know you probably see all sorts of glue bits and stuff but from where I am sitting that is one of the cleanest builds I have seen in a while. Keep up the great work!

Thanks man, yeah there are some glue bits and dremel scars. The back is the cleanest, but the top of it right between the two shoulder pieces you can see the waviness and glue. I had to heat it due to detail I added but it then also warped that spot.

Right now, I'm working on the armor module out of foam, the little control console thing, and finishing up the basic chest. I still have a lot of more detail that will be added to it!

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Thanks man, yeah there are some glue bits and dremel scars. The back is the cleanest, but the top of it right between the two shoulder pieces you can see the waviness and glue. I had to heat it due to detail I added but it then also warped that spot.

Remember this, 99% of people looking at your suit in person are not going to see your mistakes until You point them out. Why ruin the illusion? Revel in your masterpiece. You really do have great skill. Your passion to create something unique and your level of detail in achieving it are why I'm subscribed.

 

[ThomasS316]

WOW! Just WOW! that is awesome so far. I'm thinking about giving foam a try now.

 

[Private Jenkins]

Thom this is pretty damn fine work! are you using a hot knife? the cuts you have are so clean it looks like either a laser cutter or a very hot knife. whats your secret?

 

[StayFrosty]

Remember this, 99% of people looking at your suit in person are not going to see your mistakes until You point them out. Why ruin the illusion? Revel in your masterpiece. You really do have great skill. Your passion to create something unique and your level of detail in achieving it are why I'm subscribed.

100% this. When you spend hours and hours working on something, you know every little thing about it, especially what's wrong with it. Everyone else however, did not spend weeks working on it, and therefore won't notice anything but the most glaring and obvious issues until you point them out. If you don't point out the issues, odds are, no one else is ever going to notice them.

 

[mawrTRON]

This puts all my work to shame. Sooo criiiisp

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[Thom A293]

Remember this, 99% of people looking at your suit in person are not going to see your mistakes until You point them out. Why ruin the illusion? Revel in your masterpiece. You really do have great skill. Your passion to create something unique and your level of detail in achieving it are why I'm subscribed.

Wow, thank you, really. I guess I will have to put that into practice. (And thank you for the sub)

WOW! Just WOW! that is awesome so far. I'm thinking about giving foam a try now.

Thank you. Do it! Why not right?? Just look up some tutorial stuff and buy some supplies and build your dream .

Thom this is pretty damn fine work! are you using a hot knife? the cuts you have are so clean it looks like either a laser cutter or a very hot knife. whats your secret?

Well thank you sir. I am not using a hot knife and I am way to cheep for a laser cutter, but I will take that as a compliment . All I am using to get those smooth cuts is a dremel. My actual cuts are sometimes cleanish, but most of the time they are a bit messy. I just go over it with a dremel and clean it out. My blade is also to short to do the angle cuts, so I just grind away with the dremel until I have the angle and depth that I like. It is a long process, but I think the result is worth it.

100% this. When you spend hours and hours working on something, you know every little thing about it, especially what's wrong with it. Everyone else however, did not spend weeks working on it, and therefore won't notice anything but the most glaring and obvious issues until you point them out. If you don't point out the issues, odds are, no one else is ever going to notice them.

I see that, I just never realized it before. Guess I need to stop pointing out the issues then .

This puts all my work to shame. Sooo criiiisp

Well thank you. I looked at your work and shoot, it puts my work to shame, really digging your new build. And if my suit could look somewhat near your second suit, I'd be a happy camper!

 

[KIsmay]

That forearm and your torso armour look excellent! Great details and awesome progress!

 

[Thom A293]

Hello people. Work has kept me busy but who does it not right? I have been working on the chest some more and I probably will add more to it, but I can do that later on in time. A helpful little tip to remove extra hot glue is to pull out the glue rod from your hot glue gun and reheat the dry glue. When it is all liquid again, you can wipe it off with your finger or of you are not one to really stand the heat (cause it is hot), you can use a pair of scissors. Open up the scissors almost all the way and use the backend of one of the blades to scrape away the hot glue. If you do it right, the cold blade will take off most or in some cases almost all of the leftover glue. Just be cautious because if you leave the hot glue gun on the foam for to long it will burn the foam, so move fast over the glue and try to just have the glue gun on the glue.




Pictures are a little different because now my phone wont connect to my computer, it just freaks out, so now I'm using my computers camera, ugg.
So as you can see, the chest piece was cleaned up a bit kinda. I was going to attach the control panel thing that goes below the chest but it would just be blocked by the ammo pouch add-on. I also didn't do the over the shoulder unit yet because I don't want the helmet to block it, so I will wait for when that's done. Basically I am just trying to get the whole suit, then I will add further detail where need be.
Next is onto the biceps! Hopefully I can get them done as fast as the forearms.