How to Scale Your Armour- Tutorial V.2

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

STARTING NOTES:

- All questions regarding scaling you have you can direct towards me. My contact information is as follows:

E-mail: halo99567@yahoo.ca

MSN: xtremetactics@hotmail.com

1- A Ruler

2- A Pencil

3- A Piece of Paper

4- A Calculator

5- A Printer

6- Pepakura Designer 3 or higher

If you do not have a printer, use one at your school if possible, or use a friends or family members.

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STEP 1- Printing the figure

This step, like all the others is VERY important! You need to find a picture of the armour you are making. But, the armour has to be on a human being, or a video game character. This will not work if you have a bunch of random pictures of each separate armour piece.

For example, I will be using the Weta ODST. Here is the picture I used:

You need to print the picture you will be using. Make sure the picture has the full character in it! Make sure no parts of the figure are cut out of the picture, and the figure is standing straight up. He/she can not be kneeling down, or bent over in any way. Now, print the picture off your computer using your printer.

Once you have the picture printed, it should look like this:

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STEP 3- Finding the scale

In order to find the scale, you have to divide the height of yourself by the height of the figure in the picture. My height is 175cm, and the figures height is 25.2cm. So 175/25.2=6.9555. Now, if you get a very long decimal, just round it off. My number was 6.9555, so round it up (Or in some cases down) to 7, or just keep it at 6.9. For me, 7 is the magical scaling number. Now, draw this out on your piece of paper with the figure printed on it clearly so you can read all this information in the future.

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STEP 5- Making a dream a reality

Input the height of the armour piece you just scaled (AKA for me, the helmet) into the Pepakura Designer you own.

Print the pieces off, and pep the piece. Once finished peping, the helmet or what ever piece you just printed off using this scaling method, it should fit perfectly. Do this by opening your Pepakura Designer 3, click on "2D Pattern Window", then go down the list to "Change the Scale of Development". From there, click on "Specify Scale", and input the number into the height box. From there, all of the other numbers should snap into proportion with the height.

Remember, if you have the right picture, you can scale any piece of any costume to be perfect for you.

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RATINGS (out of 10):


Difficulty- 4/10

Accuracy- 9/10

Compatibility- 10/10



Overall- 9/10

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

METHOD #2

First you will need a few decent reference pictures. For demonstration purposes, I will be using an in-game screen-shot of the Master Chief in his legendary armour for the scaling of FlyingSquirls MK.VI Torso:

And finally, the Third step: Print, Pep, Smile. Simply make sure all of the pieces of the armour are within the dotted lines, and make sure everything is scaled to your calculations. Click "Print" and watch the Cardstock go into the printer blank, and come out with all of the solid lines, dotted lines, dots and numbers. From there pep the armour piece, and there you go. Ready for resin, Fiberglass/Slush Casting/Hot Glue:

Now, just a warning, this scaling method is NOT always the best to use. It sometimes will take 2-3 tries to get the piece peped to your liking. Also remember that both of these scaling methods are not perfect. They both have some problems, and some people will like one more then the other. Just remember you can mix and match these two scaling methods to your liking.

RATINGS (out of 10):

Difficulty- 8/10
Accuracy- 5/10
Compatability- 8/10

Overall- 7/10

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

Click OK, and move onto the next step.

Finally the Fifth step-Print, pep, and try her on for size. Simply print and pep the part you decided to make.

RATINGS (out of 10):

Difficulty- 10/10
Accuracy- 9/10
Compatability- 2/10

Overall- 7/10

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

F.A.Q

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A:
You can not scale in Pepakura Viewer. You need Pepakura Designer to open and scale the armour you choose to make.

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Q:
Can I just print the file as it is? Or is scaling it essential?

A:
Scaling is essential if you plan to wear the armour. NEVER skip the scaling of your armour!

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Q:
Can you scale my armour for me?

A:
No. Scaling armour is a long winded operation, especially if I scale your armour, and it does not fit you. There are always mistakes made, even by myself. The only person who can scale your armour is yourself. Why? Because you are right there with yourself, and you have all of the reference you need, IE: your body.

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Q:
Can you help me scale my armour?Q:
Where do I input the scaling number after I have done all of my math/measurements?Q:
Is there a way to adjust all three measurements separately, height, width and depth?

A:
No, not in Pepakura Designer. If you wish to change all three measurements separately, you must know your way around a 3D modeling program, and you must edit the model to have those dimensions, then upload it to Pepakura Designer.

However, be sure you have the original modelers permission before doing this!

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Q:

I built my helmet/armour part, but it is too small, and I followed your scaling tutorial to the letter. What can I do to fix my helmet/armour part?

A:
There is nothing you can do to fix your helmet/armour part. If it is too small to fit you, and you have nobody you wish to sell/trade/give it to, you might as well scrap it and start over.

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Q:
I printed my helmet but the parts look too small. What do I do?

A:
There is no way to tell if the helmet is too small before assembly. Just assemble the helmets opening at the bottom of the helmet. If you can not fit your head through the hole, even after trimming the inside of the rim of the helmet, the helmet will be too small. I suggest you scrap the helmet and re-scale it.

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A:
Yes. It is always best to save cardstock, money, and trees.

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A:
No. Every helmet/armour part should be scaled for the person who is going to wear it.

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Q:
I am still growing taller, how do I anticipate my growth from now, to a few months after I finish my costume?Q:
How to I switch from Letter to A4, and vise versa?Q:
My parts are too big to fit inside of the pages. What do I do?

 

[Herzleid]

Wel.. waiting for the next post to complete tu new tuto
and its a privilege to me.. be the first to say.. Thanks a lot, for your time and your tutorials
many here couldn't make their dream without your help!

 

[swordofPHARAOH]

Thank you XT101 for putting your tutorial back up, yes I am a nooby but I got to start somewhere right? Im greatful its back up, as I was saying before my pep. ODST helm. came out too small, but I feel a lil better now that I can start again and have your notes to back me up, thanks bro

 

[Carpathia]

I seriously think that once Xtreme gets the other metods posted, this should be stickied and locked. That way the methods are there for everyone to see and use, and the thread won't get overrun with questions. I've used his method #1 many times with a lot of success.

 

[DeathKorps]

thanks this helps allot! got the same picture right to my left here haha.

 

[nrettenmaier]

glad this is back up, I think its one of the most important threads on the forum. Good job!

 

[Nyx]

Thx @ Xtream for the tutorial... it helped a lot...
now i can start working... *cheer*

 

[RedWolf]

I'm new to Pepakura and scaling. I'd like to make a Noble 6 Helmet ready for the launch of the game on September 14th and I was wondering about the measurements. Do I need to measure my full body height or can i just measure my head in order to make my Helmet?

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

RedWold- As the tutorial clearly states, you need to see the whole figure from head to toe, and measure the figure from head to toe.

Please read the tutorial more then once if you are unsure. The tutorial clearly answers your question.

 

[Shotgun Collins]

This is great and I understand how to do this part of the process but my question is how to measure your body I found this site and it looks promising but if this is not how everybody that creates the pep files measures then they will not be right correct. Here is a link to the site I found http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Armour_Measurements.htm

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

@SSPO Shotgun Collins

As the tutorial clearly says, please do not post your questions here. E-mail me, or contact me via MSN/Skype with your questions.

In this case, your question would be best answered via MSN/Skype. I will walk you through the proper scaling method that you wish to try out. That method turns out to be the unpublished Method #2 of this tutorial.

 

[llinformerll]

Damn. Im 5' 4''.

 

[Tyvern]

Hi Xtreme! I'm taking a commission for another member and fellow Halo sigma team member

I scaled 175/14 and got 12.2

175 is his height and 14 is the height of the Mk.V-B that I scaled from as that was the only full body image I could find.....

is this a correct scale or can you suggest another picture?

He wants a standard Mk.V-B N6 suit

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

I really can not help you with that Tyvern. Its up to your better judgement.

Anyway, I thought I would give this a little "bump". I've seen WAY too many scaling question threads popping up.

 

[Tyvern]

okay thanks anyways!

BTW... love your socom marine!

 

[nrettenmaier]

hey xtreme tactics are you going to publish the second and third methods? I've used your first method before but it always results in having to make a couple helmets to get it perfect.

I'm trying to remember your other methods from your old tutorial but can't.

 

[TKAmaterasu]

you saved my ass man