Help with my first Halo Cosplay (MJNOLIR Mark VI [GEN 3]) from Halo Infinite.

DiegerfonGD

New Member
Hey guys, i created this account to receive some help on my first project.

So basically im trying to do this step by step but i dont know what the armor pieces measures should be.

 
As you are already on YouTube do a search for "scaling cosplay armor". Should be about 20 videos.
Personally, I like the ones by Frankly Built using a program called "Armorsmith"
 
As you are already on YouTube do a search for "scaling cosplay armor". Should be about 20 videos.
Personally, I like the ones by Frankly Built using a program called "Armorsmith"
Hey, sorry for replying late, but i think the Armorsmith link got deleted or sold, since i opened it and there was no download link or anything, and i checked newest comments on the Frankly Built video, with more people having that Armorsmith link problem, it would be cool if you could help me searching some files for pepakura or something since i cant use Armorsmith, the armor is the MJNOLIR MARK VI GEN 3
 
Hey, sorry for replying late, but i think the Armorsmith link got deleted or sold, since i opened it and there was no download link or anything, and i checked newest comments on the Frankly Built video, with more people having that Armorsmith link problem, it would be cool if you could help me searching some files for pepakura or something since i cant use Armorsmith, the armor is the MJNOLIR MARK VI GEN 3
The domain for Armorsmith expired and the owner has been MIA for a while, the website is still accessible through a way back, I forget the name tho
 
Hey, sorry for replying late, but i think the Armorsmith link got deleted or sold, since i opened it and there was no download link or anything, and i checked newest comments on the Frankly Built video, with more people having that Armorsmith link problem, it would be cool if you could help me searching some files for pepakura or something since i cant use Armorsmith, the armor is the MJNOLIR MARK VI GEN 3
I didn’t know armorsmith was having issues. But, if I’m being honest, it’s more of a rough guide. It helps when it works, but there’s a ton of bugs and things that can make it frustrating. I used these Cosplay Calipers that I saw on Uncle Jesse’s page and some good old tape measuring to get a lot of my suit right. Due to bugs and measurements changing and all kinds of wonky things, my first attempts at printing the suit were inaccurate. Using it in tandem with the calipers and tape measure did help a lot. I’ll link the calipers below to thingiverse.

Best of luck man. I’m extremely new to making this stuff but happy to give what little insight I have if you have any questions!

 
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Honestly,

I didn’t know armorsmith was having issues. But, from being honest, it’s more of a rough guide. It helps when it works, but there’s a ton of bugs and things that can make it frustrating. I used these Cosplay Calipers that I saw on Uncle Jesse’s page and some good old tape measuring to get a lot of my suit right. Due to bugs and measurements changing and all kinds of wonky things, my first attempts at printing the suit were inaccurate. Using it in tandem with the calipers and tape measure did help a lot. I’ll link the calipers below to thingiverse.

Best of luck man. I’m extremely new to making this stuff but happy to give what little insight I have if you have any questions!

Actually this suit is gonna be made out of eva foam, i dont have a 3D printer for the suit or calipers...

Anyways thanks for the help!!
 

You can buy Armorsmith - Its on the payment provider. There's a problem with the stand-alone website (the domain expired). But the program is fine and can be purchased.
I would but i currently have a limit to spend a max of 80$ a month, and the eva foam + Pepakura files price makes it a bit hard to buy Armorsmith at the same time... I think i'll just measure my body and add some inches to the parts to make them fit so i don't reach the money limit.

Anyways thanks!!
 
Ok so i think i'll use the Heroes Workshop Pepakura files for the suit, i'll use 15mm foam for the suit base and 5mm for the small details.

Also i'll buy the foam and templates the 29th november, so i expect to maybe start the 15th december.

I'll just measure myself and add some inches to get the right pieces measurements on Pepakura.
 
Hello DiegerfonGD

I'm just finding this thread, but I think I have some information that you may find useful.

First, Brad from Impact Props makes his foam suits entirely from scratch. He determines the sizing of the armour pieces and all of the details by looking at reference pictures and eyeballing approximately where those same armour pieces and details would be if he were to wear the armour. While this is a completely valid way to craft the armour, there is not much anyone can say to really help you develop this crafting method besides saying practice makes perfect. Building things from scratch really is lots and lots of trial and error. Brad has been making foam armour for a long time and he has a very good eye for making it up as he goes along, but I can't imagine making my suit of armour like that.

Most foam crafters follow a template like the one you've linked. This is the method I would recommend for foam crafting because there is a lot less guess work involved. You will still have to read between the lines sometimes and fill in some gaps yourself, but the template will do most of the heavy lifting for you. You will still need to figure out what size you need to scale the template to however. Many folks have mentioned Armorsmith, which is what I used for my most recent suit. If you're not keep on using the program because of it's apparent lack of support currently, you can still get a pretty good idea of how big to print the templates by measuring the space it will take up over your body and scaling appropriately in Pepakura. There is a nice tutorial for this that I will link here:

Even with the best tools and accurate measuring the final size of your armour is ultimately just your best guess. There is not really an exact science to figuring out the scale. Your main goal is that is looks like it's the right size, not that is actually is. Even with a template you may find that you need to do some trial and error. I had to remake a few of my armour pieces because I scaled them a bit too large/small. It's all part of the crafting process.

Best of luck on your build!
 
Hello DiegerfonGD

I'm just finding this thread, but I think I have some information that you may find useful.

First, Brad from Impact Props makes his foam suits entirely from scratch. He determines the sizing of the armour pieces and all of the details by looking at reference pictures and eyeballing approximately where those same armour pieces and details would be if he were to wear the armour. While this is a completely valid way to craft the armour, there is not much anyone can say to really help you develop this crafting method besides saying practice makes perfect. Building things from scratch really is lots and lots of trial and error. Brad has been making foam armour for a long time and he has a very good eye for making it up as he goes along, but I can't imagine making my suit of armour like that.

Most foam crafters follow a template like the one you've linked. This is the method I would recommend for foam crafting because there is a lot less guess work involved. You will still have to read between the lines sometimes and fill in some gaps yourself, but the template will do most of the heavy lifting for you. You will still need to figure out what size you need to scale the template to however. Many folks have mentioned Armorsmith, which is what I used for my most recent suit. If you're not keep on using the program because of it's apparent lack of support currently, you can still get a pretty good idea of how big to print the templates by measuring the space it will take up over your body and scaling appropriately in Pepakura. There is a nice tutorial for this that I will link here:

Even with the best tools and accurate measuring the final size of your armour is ultimately just your best guess. There is not really an exact science to figuring out the scale. Your main goal is that is looks like it's the right size, not that is actually is. Even with a template you may find that you need to do some trial and error. I had to remake a few of my armour pieces because I scaled them a bit too large/small. It's all part of the crafting process.

Best of luck on your build!
Yo, thanks for the link, i already buyed the templates and 4 Eva Foam rolls (1500x500 mm), which are 10mm thick. I'll try to use the tips you sent me for parts like the arms and legs, since i'm currently starting with the torso.
Btw i saw your tutorial some days ago and i'll use some of the methods you did so it gets easier.

I'll try to make progress in my house and at school so it gets finished faster.

Some prog here!
 

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Hey guys, been working on the project but i cant send progress due to my phone being dead, i have lots of progress and all the back pieces are cutted, and the chest pieces are traced onto the foam, i have a material list and its gonna be like around 500$, btw i want to try and add the halo infinite hud when the helmet arrives.

Also, i want to ask if any of you guys has the Jazwares Master chief helmet, so they could send me a pic of the visor in the interior helmet
 
Also, i want to ask if any of you guys has the Jazwares Master chief helmet, so they could send me a pic of the visor in the interior helmet
Here are some interior shots of the Jazwares Chief helmet. Let me know if these help, or if you need any more!
 

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I got a problem

I currently use:

- 10mm EVA Foam
- Hot Silicone Sticks to put all pieces together
- Pepakura Templates from heroes workshop
- Dremel

The main problem is something i noticed with the cutting angles, i cutted all the pieces without thinking about that, and i ended up doing this. Instead of pasting 2 pieces with a 45° cut angles, i cutted the thickness of the foam (10 mm) on one of the pieces, and then pasted the other piece on the place where i cutted, this makes the part have a small line beetween the 2 pieces that just won't look right.

I also use silicone inside the parts and beetween 2 pieces so it doesnt get noticeable, but sometimes i need to Dremel out silicone that is noticeable from the outside (Which i'll soon switch to contact cement) + My cuts aren't perfectly smooth and plains like other cosplayers, currently i'm having to Dremel out the angles instead of doing them with the cutting angles.

I want some material that can mold out (Like that grey modeling clay but less fragile) and then get hard, to make the angles look smooth, i'll currently be using FX Plaid Paint, which is flexible with foam but i need that material to have compatibilty with that kind of paint, i also thought about using Filler Primer but still, i have no idea of how FX Plaid Paint will react.

I also noticed this cosplay from N8TEBB having smooth angles that are really noticeable, even though the Pepakura files make it seem more geometric (Picture Below), which is my currently goal.

And my biggest problem: 3 months just building the chest, i have all pieces cutted but only a few are pasted, and i really want to progress a lot more.

Thanks
 

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Hi! I'll do my best to help.

I want to understand what your problem is first. From what I understand, you are cutting the pieces out and gluing them together with hot silicon (which from my understanding is sort of like hot glue), although you want to switch to contact cement soon. One of the problems you have is that you didn't connect pieces together by angling the cuts, but rather you've made all flat cuts and butted the pieces together which causes an unsightly seam.

1740977440054.png

If I am correct in assuming hot silicon behaves similarly to hot glue, then I can tell you that these seams will be difficult to make smooth. That adhesive you're using likely won't sand very nicely. If there's a small void in the seam that can be filled, you might consider filling it with a general use bathroom tub caulk like kwik seal. If you apply the caulk to the seam and smooth it out with a wet gloved finger you may be able to smooth out the seam. That's what I did to smooth out all of the seams on my suit. Although, from this next comment, I may have a better suggestion:

I want some material that can mold out (Like that grey modeling clay but less fragile) and then get hard, to make the angles look smooth, i'll currently be using FX Plaid Paint, which is flexible with foam but i need that material to have compatibilty with that kind of paint, i also thought about using Filler Primer but still, i have no idea of how FX Plaid Paint will react.
The product you are describing here is called foam clay. It is a product that can be molded and shaped onto your foam armour and dries with the qualities of EVA foam - a light, airy, somewhat flexible material. The reason I do not use foam clay is because it is much more expensive than caulking, although some folks like KaeSpoon find it well worth the extra expense.

I would not recommend using filler primer on foam armour. Filler primer, by nature, goes on very thick and is designed to be applied to a rigid surface. The flexible foam will cause the filler primer to crack much more severely than a regular thin layer of primer or spray paint.

Before you apply FX-Plaid paint to your foam work, so some tests with a scrap piece of foam! I tried using FX-Plaid paint on my armour but I couldn't get results I was happy with. The instructions say it can be applied directly to foam with a brush and it will level itself out. But even after 4 coats, there were still many visible brush strokes and the colour of the foam as well as the pen marking were still very visible. I may have had a bad batch, or there was something else I was doing wrong. Either way, it's a good idea to test it out first.

My cuts aren't perfectly smooth and plains like other cosplayers, currently i'm having to Dremel out the angles instead of doing them with the cutting angles.
One tip I can give you for making those cuts as smooth as possible is to keep your blade sharp! It's a good idea to get ahold of a high quality blade sharpener and constantly sharpen your blades as well as replace the blades frequently. I try to sharpen my blade every 5-10 cuts I make. I also replace my blade after I complete an armour piece because hand sharpening a blade can lead it to become uneven over time. A sharp blade will make a world of difference. EVA foam can dull a blade surprisingly fast!

Dremeling the angled pieces before you glue them together is a perfectly fine way of making sure your pieces go together nicely! It's best to not rely solely on the Dremel to angle the cut, rather cut the piece roughly on the angle you want and then clean it up with the Dremel. This way you can create those perfect angled cuts without creating a huge pile of foam dust, and you don't have to worry about your Dremel creating a wavy cut.

I also noticed this cosplay from N8TEBB having smooth angles that are really noticeable, even though the Pepakura files make it seem more geometric (Picture Below), which is my currently goal.
Let's look at those angled parts of my Torso section and I'll explain what compromises were made and why. Here is a picture of my cosplay, the in-game model, and the pepakura model. I've put a box around the area we'll focus on. You can click on these images to view them in full screen.

1740978946369.png


1740978995016.png


1740979094068.png

The angle of this particular piece in the pepakura model and the in-game model is very gradual. While sharp angles are easier to define, a very gradual angle is harder to make pop. Because these foam pieces are not just aesthetic but also structural, they have a bit of tension it them which pulls them to be flatter. This fact, along with the fact that my gluing is not perfect means that when I came by with the Dremel to even out the seams, this particular connection ended up becoming more rounded. To make this edge more defined, you will have to align the two pieces very precisely and do minimal to no sanding.

While it is possible to make that joint and similar edges more geometric, may may find that a rounder edge can be made cleaner with just a tad of sanding and filling, and may look better than a geometric edge with imperfections. This of course is personal preference and taste, and is something that's totally worth experimenting with. For myself though, I find the slightly rounded look, while not entirely canon, was an improvement over what my foam work looked like before.

And my biggest problem: 3 months just building the chest, i have all pieces cutted but only a few are pasted, and i really want to progress a lot more.
Don't be discouraged! Crafting takes time! If you find that you're simply not spending enough time building the suit, you may find it helpful to dedicate a chunk of time to crafting every day. While I crafted my suit for example, Immediately after I returned from work I would have a small snack, and then get right to crafting for an hour or two. Having a dedicated time slot every day made sure progress was constantly being made. I wouldn't schedule it as "free time", It was taken. I wouldn't make plans in that time slot, I wouldn't do any other hobbies in that time slot, just crafting.

Another tip is to start with the smaller things and work your way towards the bigger things. That way you feel like you're making more progress! Some folks work on their suit from bottom to top. They start with the shoes, then the shins, then the thighs, etc.. This way they can check the scaling as they go, but this also means they start with the smaller and more forgiving pieces, and end with the tricky and time consuming pieces. You'll be able to see visible progress that way, and as an added bonus, by the time you get to the helmet and torso sections, you'll have had lots of practice with the other pieces that you'll be able to do an especially good job on those final very important pieces.

Best of luck as you continue to work on your suit! I'm excited to see how it all comes along. I hope some of this message was helpful. :)
 

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