Making my first build (MK VII)

[Dragonjay09]

I'v spent about 7 hours on two of the parts. but I'm having some troubles with it. I'm making mine out of foam i would do the whole costume on my 3d printer but is small
but I have hot glue and cement glue holding the whole thing to gather does any one know how to fix this because I do not want to re make these.

 

[Legend 113]

I'd conside heating the glue and smoothing it off, or heat it and peal it off and replace it with contact cement in that area.

 

[MrBones]

When I do hot glue from hot glue guns, I like to go back over the glue with the tip of the glue gun on its side and smooth it out with the heat. If there is extra messy glue I try this method and it generally works:

• When it hards, I take an exacto and cut along lightly where I don't need the glue.
• Then I grab my heat gun and heat it up slightly until it makes a distinction.
• Let it cool. Reslice, reheat, cool down and you can then just peel it off generally.

It is a bit of a process but it saves a lot of material being wasted or restarting.
N8 does a great job showing his build process. You can check him out: N8tebb Youtube - Spartan Build

 

[N8TEBB]

I try my best to not put hot glue on the outside of the armour, because it can be difficult to make look pretty. Typically, I use contact cement to do the major holding, then reinforce the seams on the back side with hot glue. If your contact cement is not holding too your liking, consider a few things:

• What brand of contact cement are you using? Some brands simply do not work as well. Whether it's because they're water based, or some other reason, not all brands of contact cement will have a good hold. I prefer to use the Barge brand.
• Make sure you let the contact cement dry before putting the pieces together. If the contact cement is still wet when you put the pieces together it will not hold securely.
• Make sure you have an even, thin, layer of contact cement

As for the state of your armour pieces right now, they are definitely still usable! To cover over those large hot glue seams, try using thin EVA foam, say 2mm and covering over all of the rough seams. This is a technique that Impact Props uses to build his armour. Brad (Impact Props) makes the armour from scratch, without a template, which leaves many rough seams from making adjustments. He then goes over all of the armour with thinner foam to add details, but also hide the gnarly seams.

You could also consider smoothing the hot glue seam with the nozzle of the not glue gun, although I don't know how well that will work. You're best best is covering the seam with thin foam.

7 hours for two pieces is not a-typical. Especially if you're new to foam crafting. Don't be discouraged that it is taking so much time. I spent roughly 60 hours doing the foam work for my most recent suit, which also happens to be a mkVII. I ended up making my thigh pieces twice actually, because I originally made them too small haha. It's all part of crafting. Best of luck continuing on your build! We're always happy to answer any further questions you man have!

Edit: Also, if you want to see my general foam crafting process, check out my tutorial on YT that MrBones linked above

 

[ItsRaven]

Good luck on it
(I’m gonna follow this because I really like MK VII suits)

 

[Dragonjay09]

so I spent some time today on this project

and I fixed a good chunk of the glue so it looks better I'm going to start the chest pics next ( I'm so nervous for this one )

 

[N8TEBB]

May I recommend making the chest piece after you've done the shins, boots, and fore arms. If you're especially new to crafting with foam, or even if you're returning to foam crafting from a bit of a hiatus, I find that making the easier pieces first helps refresh your skills and does a good job to prep you for the big undertaking that is making the torso piece. The torso piece was the trickiest part to make for me. It's by far the largest and most complicated, especially because you have to try to keep it symmetrical. Best of luck!

 

[Dragonjay09]

so I've spent some time on the chest piece and I have to say is looking good

so that has been the last couple of days of work still have a lot to work on

 

[ItsRaven]

so I've spent some time on the chest piece and I have to say is looking good
View attachment 348381View attachment 348382View attachment 348383
so that has been the last couple of days of work still have a lot to work on

ayy nice

 

[VerdantCos]

so I've spent some time on the chest piece and I have to say is looking good

so that has been the last couple of days of work still have a lot to work on

Glad to see the progress being made with your armor! It's looking dope as hell, if I wasn't so lazy I'd also get started on a foam armor set.

 

[Dragonjay09]

so it been a little bit and I've gotten not a lot done (dose not help that I don't have much eva foam at my disposal I'm not able to get more all the time so this is taking more time then I hoped) but from what I had I made the thrusters out of 4'mm foam because that is what I had

and I have to say it looks good

 

[Dragonjay09]

I need help. I have been working on my shin piece...and it is way to big

if my head can fit in it then is way to big

does any one know how to fix this

 

[SomeDumbGamer]

I need help. I have been working on my shin piece...and it is way to big
View attachment 351892View attachment 351893
if my head can fit in it then is way to big
View attachment 351894

does any one know how to fix this

Unfortunately there's not really a fix that I know of for this...you will have to toss and remake the peice sadly . Consider it a learning experience on how important sizing your template is before you make a peice, I know I did when I made my halo 4 spartan armor chest peice too small . When you print your template either hold up the largest peice to your body to get an idea of the size or make the peice quickly with cardboard.

As for your original question on fixing the first peice, as others said using the hot glue gun tip is a good way. I personally use a method for building with foam that doesn't use contact cement as well. I use loctite super glue for the bonding and reinforce the back side liberally with hot glue. It makes super clean seams, dries within seconds, and can be sanded very smooth with a drimel quickly. It makes the cleanest seems I have seen, especially after you plastidip and paint the peice. The big downside is since it bonds so quickly and permanently you have to be very careful in lining up the seams and getting it right on the first go. But it's also much quicker and cleaner than contact cement. Something to consider.

 

[spartan114x]

I need help. I have been working on my shin piece...and it is way to big
View attachment 351892View attachment 351893
if my head can fit in it then is way to big
View attachment 351894

does any one know how to fix this

Man I spent an hour messing with this today on my 3D print files. I feel like it would have fit on my head too. Armorsmith helped me do some non-uniform scaling to dial it in. I struggled because I couldn’t decide if I wanted it to “look like in the game” or “fit me properly” haha and decided on the latter because I am not a massively ripped super soldier. Good luck!

 

[N8TEBB]

I need help. I have been working on my shin piece...and it is way to big
View attachment 351892View attachment 351893
if my head can fit in it then is way to big
View attachment 351894

does any one know how to fix this

Unfortunately you will have to remake this piece. May I ask what you process is for scaling the templates? I may have a few tips for you

 

[Dragonjay09]

Unfortunately you will have to remake this piece. May I ask what you process is for scaling the templates? I may have a few tips for you

so I didn't scale the piece I had just printed it from its original size I did that for the thigh and the chest piece and they came out the right size but I guessed that is not going to work for this

 

[N8TEBB]

so I didn't scale the piece I had just printed it from its original size I did that for the thigh and the chest piece and they came out the right size but I guessed that is not going to work for this

Ah yes, I found this out in the same way you did (although it was on a different armour set). Turns out, the pepakura files are not always scaled consistently. Before printing the template, do your best to scale the patterns to fit you. Many of our members choose do do this in a program called armorsmith. Armorsmith creates a digital mannequin based off your body measurements and allows you to visualize the scale of your armour before printing it.

More info on armorsmith can be found HERE
I've also shared a few tips for scaling with armorsmith in THIS POST

If you choose to not purchase armorsmith, it is still possible to adjust the scale of your armour, although it may be harder to visualize what the suit will look like. See THIS TUTORIAL for a simple alternate scaling method that does not require paid software.

 

[SomeDumbGamer]

Ah yes, I found this out in the same way you did (although it was on a different armour set). Turns out, the pepakura files are not always scaled consistently. Before printing the template, do your best to scale the patterns to fit you. Many of our members choose do do this in a program called armorsmith. Armorsmith creates a digital mannequin based off your body measurements and allows you to visualize the scale of your armour before printing it.

More info on armorsmith can be found HERE
I've also shared a few tips for scaling with armorsmith in THIS POST

If you choose to not purchase armorsmith, it is still possible to adjust the scale of your armour, although it may be harder to visualize what the suit will look like. See THIS TUTORIAL for a simple alternate scaling method that does not require paid software.

Question on armorsmith. I recently heard about it here in the forums and almost bought it outright after seeing the features (I'm 6'3" and about 185-190 lbs with along skinnier but athletic build so many templates are too short or too bulky if scaled up, so it's tempting). But I did a little looking before pulling the trigger and saw alot of complaints about the program being buggy (mostly crashes and not saving data) and about the scaling being correct in the digital mannequin but way off once printed. Do you know anything about these issues and how prevalent they are?
Thanks!

 

[N8TEBB]

Question on armorsmith. I recently heard about it here in the forums and almost bought it outright after seeing the features (I'm 6'3" and about 185-190 lbs with along skinnier but athletic build so many templates are too short or too bulky if scaled up, so it's tempting). But I did a little looking before pulling the trigger and saw alot of complaints about the program being buggy (mostly crashes and not saving data) and about the scaling being correct in the digital mannequin but way off once printed. Do you know anything about these issues and how prevalent they are?
Thanks!

While armorsmith is not a well-optimized program, it is the only program that can do what it does currently. The only major issue I've run into is that is can both the 2D pattern if you scale a foam template non-uniformly. I can circumvent this however by just taking the scale from armorsmith and then printing from pepakura using that scale. Something folks can forget is that the mannequin is scaled to their body, not their under suit. So even though you've scaled a piece correctly in the program, if you have not left clearance for whatever you're using as an under suit, it will be too small. You can also accommodate for this by bearing baggy clothing when you do your measurements. I have never had armorsmith crash unexpectedly on me.

One last thing to consider; this program is not made by a large company to be used by millions of people. It was made by a smaller team for a very niche group of people. Therefore, it may not be up to the same standards of programs we use on a daily basis, but it does do a task that no other program can do as well. $40 may sound expensive, but I have found the program to be well worth the money. It is really nice to have a good idea of what the suit will look like before it is made. Of course, you may not nail the scaling for every piece on the first try. When I made my suit I still had to re-do a few pieces, but overall, it was much easier to do a good job scaling my armour, and I spent much less time remaking pieces than I would have if I didn't have armorsmith.

It is possible to scale your armor without armorsmith, but it is harder to be sure you're making your armour the right size until after you've already put in the time and money to make the armour piece. I made my first suit without it, and my second halo suit with it. About half of the pieces on the first suit ended up being remade because of scaling problems, the second suit only 2 of the 12 pieces were entirely re-made.

TL;DR
Yeah its buggy but it's the only program that scales armour easily. Worth it to me