mawrTRON's Fred 104 Build log (WIP)

[mawrTRON]

Introduction

Hi all, long time no speak.

I have been a bit of a scrub lately and haven't posted anything on the 405th of my latest build, Fred 104, That's all about to change!
For those who don't know me I have made a couple of suits over the last ten years based on my multiplayer armor.

My first suit I made over 7 years ago from Pepakura and Resin/Auto body filler.This was way before EVA/3D printing were popular.
Was happy with the suit when I made it and learnt a lot about Pepakura and painting techniques from this suit.


My second suit I made 3 years ago and is constructed from a mixture of EVA foam with a Pepakura and resin helmet.
I prefer to use Pepakura for the helmets as EVA helmets can look 'disfigured' in my opinion. (I have seen some amazing EVA helms, I just don't think I'm that good at foam)
The visor is a ghetto 'vacuum formed' acrylic sheet with a printed red one way vision on it.
I think this suit turned out okay, there is a lot of scrappy EVA work that I hid with a bit of weathering.
I'd like to clean up the foam work on new build.(first pic courtesy of SteamKittens)


In summary, I'd like to take what I have learnt from the last two builds and expand on that.
Please feel free to ask me any questions about my previous builds.

The plan of attack

This is the first main character I have attempted. Reason being is that I don't believe my skill set would have allowed me to build a convincing main character.
My theory is that with a main character everything has to be perfect as people will know something looks off. For example, no body knows how high the defender thrusters should be visually. But, I bet 80% of you could draw Master Chiefs thruster packs from memory!

This being said, colour, scaling, detail and form are crucial to pulling this off.

Construction
I will be using pepakura and EVA foam for the body and pepakura and resin for the helmet.
Basically I will be building each part of the armor in perakura first before dissecting them and transferring them onto EVA foam.
Doing things this way allows me to check the scaling of each piece and see how the general shape looks. Its a little long winded, but it does help me nail down the scale.

The helmet I will be using good old pep, resin and bondo. Keeping it OG.
I thought about using a 3d print. However none of the 3d printed centurion files I have seen seemed accurate to me. Besides, the H3 rogue and H4 defender helmets I had made previously came out really well, why quit while your ahead right?

Visor, not sure just yet! Most likely acrylic sheeting again.

Paint
I will be filling any gaps with quickseal then using PVA for sealing with acrylics paints on top. May even try a new secret technique during this process
I have opted for acrylics this time due to its flexibly, cost and satin finish.
To find Freds colour I have found an average colour across his body as an RGB value. I will then convert that RGB value into a PANTONE colour and take it into a paint shop to be mixed (A bit OTT I know but dam she'll be acurate)
If any one is interested I will make a video out lining my entire painting/weathering process, so please let me know if this is something you'd be interested in

Under-suit.
For the undersuit I will be using a morph suit with painted/eva detailing.
I have seen some truely breath taking work lately from people using this method.
The under-suit is something I have never attempted before and I think it finished off the whole suit.
Lets hope I don't mess this up!

Fitment
I will be sticking to industrial Velcro sewn to the undersuit to mount each piece of armor.
I like the adjustabilty of the Velcro as well as the price point. I potentially be adding EVA inside the morphsuit to add bulk and create raised mounting points.
This is untested at this stage so we will see how it goes.



I hope there is enough information here for everyone, If there is anything you'd like me to elaborate on please let me know and I'll be happy to do so.


-----THIS SPACE IS RESERVED FOR BUILD PICTURES-----

-------MORE TO COME--------

-----THIS SPACE IS RESERVED FOR COMPLETION PICTURES-----

-------STAY TUNED!--------

 

[SavedbyGraceG12]

mawrTRON

It's about time bro! Glad that you decided to make a post on your newest build. It's funny though, I've seen these pics of your Fred build about a week ago. And then I was like, why isn't he sharing this with us on the 405th! Anyways, beyond excellence! Whenever I do my next suit of armor, it will most likely be made from Eva! I say that because your builds are nothing short of pure inspiration!

 

[mawrTRON]

mawrTRON

It's about time bro! Glad that you decided to make a post on your newest build. It's funny though, I've seen these pics of your Fred build about a week ago. And then I was like, why isn't he sharing this with us on the 405th! Anyways, beyond excellence! Whenever I do my next suit of armor, it will most likely be made from Eva! I say that because your builds are nothing short of pure inspiration!

I'm am glad people are stalking me on the internet! Haha. Truth be told I didn't want to post anything until I was a little bit further along in the build. I have a very busy life and it has taken me 8 months to get as far as I have (maybe spending 8 hours a week on the build). The chest alone probably took me 5 weeks! Im glad you like my builds and please do yourself a favour and use EVA for your next build. I can't recommend it enough!

 

[RYNO 666]

Looking fantastic.

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[vivalablake89]

Looks amazing bro! Can't wait to see how the Morph suit turns out.

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Oh great.....another Centurion build that makes mine look like crud.......Dude you foaming skills are EXTREME!!! I don't see why you would think you couldn't do a main character build......The chest piece (despite your arms being in the way) is amazing, the boosters are killer and the helmet ......Could you do mine for me please.....I'm on attempt #7.....The whole thing looks FANTASTIC!!!!!! What color are you going w/? I'm trying to match that blue but I haven't come even close to finding what it's called.

 

[SavedbyGraceG12]

mawrTRON

For under suit spine I'd would check the file archive. I had hunted Spacemeat down on Facebook. He told me thanks for getting him off his lazy butt! On the other hand he was happy to upload the files to the Archive! Hope that helps if ya haven't got around to finding his templates.

 

[RomanW]

This. Is. Incredible.

Your detail is the stuff of legend my friend. Well done! Makes my helmet look like a 3 year old did it...

Looking forward to see this progress!

 

[mawrTRON]

mawrTRON

For under suit spine I'd would check the file archive. I had hunted Spacemeat down on Facebook. He told me thanks for getting him off his lazy butt! On the other hand he was happy to upload the files to the Archive! Hope that helps if ya haven't got around to finding his templates.

Awesome, I need the spine pieces! Thanks for that.

Update.
Finished the bicepts/tricepts/shoulder pieces foam work last night. Will still require some gap filling before painting.

Sadly, I feel that my shins are 12mm or so too short so I will have to remake them. At least I will have some armour pieces to try my new painting technique on.

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[SavedbyGraceG12]

This guy here! Loving the bi's/tri's armor!

 

[MasterSensei]

Damn son, where'd you get your foam work? i might want to buy mine from there

 

[Chiefwannabe]

Fantastic work mate! im loving this build! good luck with the rest of it! Quick question, what part of Australia are you from?

 

[mawrTRON]

Fantastic work mate! im loving this build! good luck with the rest of it! Quick question, what part of Australia are you from?

Thanks for the feedback. Actually Its a bit complicated. From NZ originally, then lived in the UK for 4 years and now Im in Sydney

Fun fact, Im also the 1SQN CO (which is ACT and NSW) so if you need anything or have any questions send them my way and I can direct you to the right direction


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[mawrTRON]

Update:
Have finished the but plate and the hands.
I redrew the spine under suit in illustrator and ready for some foamage.

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[vivalablake89]

I think it was Spacemeat that said it best "that spine will make you miss the simplicity of the MARK V" haha. Everything looks amazing dude cant wait to see how the rest comes out!:thumbsup

 

[Dirtdives2424]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161215/2af9fe92b716d720b37d1f7e260eacfe.jpg

Update:
Have finished the but plate and the hands.
I redrew the spine under suit in illustrator and ready for some foamage.

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Looks psychotic!!!! Love the look of that. Going w/ EVA or something thinner? I want a copy ......One question though, have you tried the chest piece w/ a helmet on? It looks to be very high on your shoulders and the top piece on the chest; even more so.......I just wondering if wearing a helmet will interfere w/ motion.

 

[mawrTRON]

Looks psychotic!!!! Love the look of that. Going w/ EVA or something thinner? I want a copy ......One question though, have you tried the chest piece w/ a helmet on? It looks to be very high on your shoulders and the top piece on the chest; even more so.......I just wondering if wearing a helmet will interfere w/ motion.

I was going to make the spine from a mixture of 5mm and 10mm foam with a a lot of sanding to round off each segment. Never done a spine before but Id like it to articulate and flex to some degree. Was thinking about running some sort of elastic/tubing array in behind it.

Oh, How do I get this PDF onto the Database?

For the sake of scale, I cant actually fit my helmet on in its current state. The neck hole is simply too small. My intention is to make the back half of the helmet 5mm eva which means it will be a mega snug fit. (I did a test fit when pepping to make sure it would fit at all).

The helmet sits nicely in between and down from the top of the chest plate. There will be a lack of motion, however this is accurate. (My Fred figurine can barely turn his head at all!).
I will try grab pic the morning.

Maybe Im trying to make this TOO accurate [emoji29]

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[Dirtdives2424]

I watched a vid review of the Fred figure.....It had decent movement, not full but decent. As for too much accuracy, provided the sizing is correct, that shouldn't be a factor. Perhaps removing some of the bulk of the arm holes by the shoulders the whole chest piece will sit lower allowing your head w/ a helmet more room and motion.

 

[StayFrosty]

Not having a lot of movement isn't a huge deal, but you probably want to make sure that you can fully look left and right. Your build looks awesome so far! As for your whole spine situation I think that tubing would work well, but you could maybe even get away with some thin plastic or something for backing.

 

[mawrTRON]

I watched a vid review of the Fred figure.....It had decent movement, not full but decent. As for too much accuracy, provided the sizing is correct, that shouldn't be a factor. Perhaps removing some of the bulk of the arm holes by the shoulders the whole chest piece will sit lower allowing your head w/ a helmet more room and motion.

But I like that bulk tho [emoji22].
Yeah the scaling is as good as I can get and I may just have to alter the armholes when it comes to the fitting stage.
At the moment all the pieces are pretty raw, the all still need to be fitted and adjusted to make everything work. :/

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