Soft Parts Mission: Make as accurate a Suit as possible.

[Dizzerak]

What's outlast? Sounds expensive lol! I'm starting to plan my undersuit too so I'm looking for ideas too

It's a material originally developed for NASA. something about little capsules in the fabric...might get more information with google... I found this.. http://www.outlast.com/index.php?id=1&L=0 It may be expensive though, I think.

I just happened to mention the under suit to a friend and she came up with the idea and bought the material. She says shes going to make me a suit from it.

 

[tsau mia]

I'm definitely going to rig some sort of system to hold the armor. Most of the parts will have to be tested to see if I can just make them tight with mattress foam (the old fashioned kind that just sorta squishes up) and that way I don't have to have a way to hold the forearms, shins and thighs up. I'm thinking that even the best ideas could go awry, so I may use a series of straps, snaps, and buttons to keep it on. Since I'm putting so much effort into this undersuit, I'm going to make sure to hide all the strapping. I want to look like I just walked off of Reach... little mini spartan, haha.

 

[tsau mia]

Update!!!
I have been working really hard on stuffing my duct tape dummy. After a serious amount of consideration, I bought some pvc at the hardware store for $9.41. It worked perfectly, and now the whole thing is getting stuffed. And now for what everyone really wants to see: Pictures!

So that's it! I also lucked out and got a $39.00 gallon of resin for $20.00 because it had a dent in it. Talk about good fortune!

 

[turtle509]

If you have any patterns you are willing to share could you share them with me, i want to make an accurate undersuit of my own.

 

[Road Kill]

looks awesome so far and it will be even more awesome when it is finished, keep up the fantastic work =D

 

[Finelargeaxe]

If you have any patterns you are willing to share could you share them with me, i want to make an accurate undersuit of my own.

+1 on this post, I wouldn't mind having those reference photos and diagrams. I'm still trying to decide whether to do a Mk.6 or a Reach Mk.5 suit.

 

[thorn696]

I love the concept that you're working with, that under-suit should be out of this world when finished. This build is going on my short list as of right now. Keep us posted.

 

[hellphoenix36]

It's been a while since I've visited the forums, and looking at this really lit a fire in me. As I said before, I have a lot of hope for this undersuit, it's looking good. Maybe for the restroom you could have the entire front be a flap held on by an invisible zipper and velcro? So it's l_l like that? Just an idea xD or you could be like master chief and develop a highly advanced system that recycles good luck (not that you need it )

 

[abriel2010]

Stretchy pants?

I know it sounds very luchador to say this, and by the time you read this you'll probably already be done sewing your under suit, but have you considered spandex fabric? I don't know how cheap it is or anything like that but it's what i was considering for my under armor. Also on the subject of what I was considering for under armor, I have this wet suit that seems to float. I imagine it was probably used for wake boarding and the like before I got it. Do you, or any one else think that that might work well for a sortof base under armor?

 

[Claws61821]

Abriel, if you had read through the thread instead of skimming it or skipping straight to the end, you would know that spandex, wetsuits and their ilk have been dismissed out of hand due the lack of ventilation, moisture wicking and anything else to do with body cooling. In other words, they're not being used because one would make you hotter in the armor than wearing it without any undersuit whatsoever. It's good that you're contributing to the efforts here, but try to keep the thread contents of previous replies in mind when possible - even if you'd rather be someone constantly thinking and saying tldr.

 

[Xephyron]

Abriel, if you had read through the thread instead of skimming it or skipping straight to the end, you would know that spandex, wetsuits and their ilk have been dismissed out of hand due the lack of ventilation, moisture wicking and anything else to do with body cooling. In other words, they're not being used because one would make you hotter in the armor than wearing it without any undersuit whatsoever. It's good that you're contributing to the efforts here, but try to keep the thread contents of previous replies in mind when possible - even if you'd rather be someone constantly thinking and saying tldr.

U mad bro?

Seriously, it's a rookie mistake, be more constructive and less harsh when helping a noob. Like we both are.

 

[Claws61821]

Not upset with Abriel (though I may have been channeling a bit of a bad day, there), and not meaning to be harsh. I'm just not exactly the best at judging how blunt to be or not be when bringing someone's attention to the facts (even myself) of a matter, especially when they've been stated repetitiously. That's part of why I included the last sentence, to try to make sure that I wasn't being misunderstood as making an attack - although, I will admit that the 'tldr' comment held a bit of...bias, shall we say.

Let's just return to the topic at hand before I make too much more of an ass of myself. @Tsau-Mia: How are things coming along now?

 

[tsau mia]

Things are coming along nicely. I am just about finished stuffing the dummy (many newspapers later) and I have purchased most of the test materials. At a friend's suggestion, I will be making two mock-ups first. One just for the shape and the main seams, and one with spandex and canvas. I will take apart the spandex/canvas one, and that way my pieces are already cut into a pattern that works. I am using canvas because it can be sewn through multiple times without worrying about the integrity of the piece. Leather will eventually tear if you put too many holes in it in the same spot. Like it's supposed to be: measure twice, cut once. Two mock-ups, then the real deal, haha. It's going to be a process, but I convinced a few friends to be fellow costume-makers, so I'll have a bit more incentive to work on it.

 

[Aradhel22]

Oh my god! Your work is great! Keep up the fantastic work.

 

[turtle509]

it sounds like you are making some progress. I am also making a complete mark 5b using your layout pics, so if you need any help feel free to ask and i will do my best to aid you.

 

[Ubu 036]

This is a very interesting project! I have seen some pictures of great armour out there that just seem to be ruined because the under-suit may only be a long sleeve black shirt and sweat pants.

I eagerly await the outcome of this project as I would like to attempt it myself prior to the construction of my own Mark VI next year. If you keep up the well thought out planning you have displayed throughout this build, I'm sure it will be nothing short of phenomenal. Keep up the great work!

 

[smallluke172]

hi there, i like this design and wouldnt of found it without turtle 509 sending me here! hopefully once you complete this project i will make this for myself but a male version just a thought though, i put my dads old motorbike leathers, as in full body leathers, and there quite padded, and i think with modification could look really good for an undersuit, except there not skin tight, anyway... couldnt you use the same leather and padding motorbike leathers have? they're designed to keep you cool as well, just a thought, good luck with the project and looking great so far

 

[tsau mia]

I've thought about motorbike leather, but I can't find a tutorial online to make sure it is properly made. I think I'm just going to go with a couple of instructions that I have for sewing leather. I really don't have a problem with it being warm, being as I live in Washington where October is super chilly. I may even wear a spandex suit underneath the whole thing to keep me warmer, I don't know. A test-day will probably be important.

So work has reached a one week hiatus on this project. My town is having it's annual "Irrigation Festival" and me and my shop have a ton of work to do to prepare for it. Great news though! Sunset Magazine wants to feature our shop in an article on my hometown next year! Horray for publicity!

 

[Erikm1811]

I hope you don't mind Mia, but I "Dudified" your design and plan on implementing at least part of it in my Jorge-ish build. Here's the pics I came up with, based on your excellent concept.

Here's the base layer:

And here's the over-vest:

Still has some refining to do, but you get the idea...;-)

 

[Ubu 036]

just a thought though, i put my dads old motorbike leathers, as in full body leathers, and there quite padded, and i think with modification could look really good for an undersuit, except there not skin tight, anyway... couldnt you use the same leather and padding motorbike leathers have? they're designed to keep you cool as well, just a thought, good luck with the project and looking great so far

I have a motorcycle back home where I had a suit of full leathers and it is true that they are designed to keep you cool, that design really only applies to when you are riding at speeds around 30 kmph and above. Wind chill happens at any temperature and leathers or padded motorcycle jackets and pants are used to keep the wearer warmer than they would be without it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't give it a try, but you may want to test it out before altering the leathers for your undersuit, that coupled with the weight could make for some hot armour.

Then again, maybe your dad's leathers are much cooler than mine, I'm from Canada and many companies here tend to insulate stuff more than they need to be. Just my 2 cents.

Erikim1811: That looks good so far, do you mind (and does tsau-mia mind) if I use the image to base my design off of? I'm not the best illustrator, but I'm working on getting better and a base like this would be very helpful.

Thanks!