1st Build My First Armor Build

[Mobius1ac]

So the gel layer turned out well. Unfortunately it started raining really badly after the first set dried so I was only able to get the right boot done.

A smart maker would have put dye in the resin to ensure full coverage. I did not think of that untill after the first drop of hardener went into the resin (ie the point of no return)

 

[Mobius1ac]

The helmet has been coming along nicely, though the rounded part on the top of the head has been a real pain from start to finish. I suspect about half of the joints in the helmet are in these two parts.

I'll probably wind up doing something similar to what I did to the mouth area and add some Scotch tape to the inside to help smooth out the lumps.

 

[Mobius1ac]

The inside for those who are curious

 

[Mobius1ac]

Yeah, the dye really helps. Just be sure to use a contrasting color and something different from any color-coding you may be doing; I'm using yellow for the right and blue for the left for those who didn't notice the patterns.

 

[Mobius1ac]

Yay progress!

It's looking a bit lumpy, but I will fix that once the back is together

 

[Mobius1ac]

I thought I'd take the time to list off the tools I'm using.

I have two Xacto knives: one sharp one for cutting, and one duller one for scoring. A triangular ruler (technically an English Engineers scale) as a straight-edge. Two sets of tweezers, I use both as a sort of break-press for small bends. I've used two kinds of super glue: a gel, which has been my main, and the liquid, which I've used as a filler and hardener for more delicate parts.

The two more obscure and unexpected tools are the 2x4 scrap and PVC cap. I've used both of these as flat surfaces to get up in-between rises in the parts to add the reinforcements and make sure they are flat.

 

[Mobius1ac]

So had some good weather today, decided to start the Rondo (is Rondo supposed to be capitalised?) process on the boots.

I've learned it's best to small patches like this rather than to do it all at once. This avoids the Rondo doing what liquids do and pooling at the lowest point and lessens warping from the curing process.

 

[Mobius1ac]

The board on top of the toe is to ensure the sole is flat when it cured. I tried doing that to the ankle, but couldn't get it to work AND be stable. I looked at it, and it won't be perfectly flat, but a bit of light sanding and some creative painting and noone but me will notice.

 

[Willnaut]

Wow, I’m amazed you got to that elbow section and still kept using Pep. Mad respect!

Looking very detailed, great job on what you have done so far.

 

[Mobius1ac]

Today's Rondo session.

I'm going to add layers untill I can't see any light shining through. Some parts are already thick enough.
Note: the red Rondo is where I made the batch too liquidy, so I used the cream hardener rather than the liquid. Btw, the liquid hardener that comes with the fiberglass resin and the cream hardener that comes with the Bondo Filler are (or at least, seem) interchangeable. The guy at Lowes was unsure when I asked.

 

[Mobius1ac]

It has now been over a month since I have made any significant additions to the armor. Still kicking, just really busy with work and dont have the energy to properly dedicate to this project when Im home. Hopefully, should start back on it soon.

 

[Mobius1ac]

So I have bought a number of new tools in the last few months and have decided to show them off.

At the top I finally bought a metric engineers scale (as opposed to Freedom Units). This one is exclusively for drafting rather than scoring because I actually care about this one. Then I bought a bulk pack of locking hemostats. These came in half and half straight and angled. The downside is that they are all textured in the pincers for grip; I might modify these to be flat.
The big one is a pair of extended alligator forceps. Less for the armor project, more just a cool tool I got with the others. And finally, a precision compass to help me with drafting.

 

[Mobius1ac]

Oh, and quick note. Something I learned about the liquid hardener for resin (MEKP); it's classified as a "high explosive". I thought it was just flammable and corrosive, so be careful with that s**t. It apparently also dissolves rubber as I found out from the dropper bottle I had it stored in. I have since moved it to a dropper-less glass bottle with a chemical-safe stopper.

 

[Mobius1ac]

Ok, so after a few days of having insomnia, I managed to finish most of the folding for the helmet.

And let me tell ya, that little piece over the solid semicircle was a major pain. I got to the last little bit of it and wound up just putting a bunch of glue into it and pressing it into shape.

 

[Mobius1ac]

This thing is going to need a lot of detailing when fully bondoed, but the hard part is now over.

I removed one of the supports on the bottom to do a fit test, and my head just barely fits into it...

Having the cowl really helps, I tried it with out and it caught on my ears a lot and my chin wound up ripping off part of the support I left in, so need to repair that later.

For those sizing their helmets using HaloGoddess' template (like myself) give yourself some extra space on the helmet. I made mine the default size straight out of the archive. I will say, her scaling guide is a great place to start, but it is not perfect.

 

[marinesniper]

i have to say for a first attempt man you nailed this pepakura thing my hats off to you great job!!

 

[CodeGreene]

So not to sound dumb, but are you just using normal paper and following the lines to cut/fold into shape?

 

[The Wolf]

So not to sound dumb, but are you just using fancy ol'e 110 pound cardstock and following the lines to cut/fold into shape?

Yes, yes they are(fixed it for you)

 

[Mobius1ac]

So not to sound dumb, but are you just using normal paper and following the lines to cut/fold into shape?

It's a mix of 110 and 65lb stock. There was a point when all I could find was 65 but I still use that for more intricate parts. Most of what I use is 110lb though. The inside elbow piece was actually regular printer paper due to the small folds required.

 

[Mobius1ac]

So it has taken 3 months to the day to get to this point, but the helmet is finally 100% folded.

Granted, about half of that time was lost due to lack of inspiration and fatigue, but I am glad to have the crown-jewel of the armor folded and ready to harden.

Speaking of hardening, the plan is to gel the entire thing as per usual, that part has not changed. What is going to be different in this is that the hole to put it on is slightly too small, so I need some way to squeeze my head into this.
I have some leftover molding rubber that should still be good and I will use that on this neck-seal area to make it more flexible.