Foam My Fourth Armor Set - Halo: Reach Foam Build

[Sharpworks]

Since I finished building the armor for my costume today, I thought I'd post some pics of my progress so far. This is my fourth armor build as mentioned in the title, and I think it's turned out really well if I do say so myself. I plan on adding the Assault/Sapper chest accessory using some PVC pipe soon, and I'm also going to build myself a Halo 5 style Gravity Hammer. This was my first time putting electronics in a costume and I regret not doing it sooner - lights make everything cooler!

I'll be sure to post more updates as I make more progress on the costume, and I would be happy to answer any questions or post more pictures of anything if needed. Everything is made of foam in this build - no 3D prints or pepakura for me....

Let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions for things I should do!

 

[xXDashIVXx]

Since I finished building the armor for my costume today, I thought I'd post some pics of my progress so far. This is my fourth armor build as mentioned in the title, and I think it's turned out really well if I do say so myself. I plan on adding the Assault/Sapper chest accessory using some PVC pipe soon, and I'm also going to build myself a Halo 5 style Gravity Hammer. This was my first time putting electronics in a costume and I regret not doing it sooner - lights make everything cooler!

I'll be sure to post more updates as I make more progress on the costume, and I would be happy to answer any questions or post more pictures of anything if needed. Everything is made of foam in this build - no 3D prints or pepakura for me....

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Let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions for things I should do!

That is really REALLY good!! I love it! Do you have any pictures of your previous builds? The halo 5 hammer is quite the challenge. I am excited to see someone take it on!

 

[Sharpworks]

Thanks! And yes, I do have some pictures of my previous builds (Note, the quality increased almost exponentially on each one)

My Mk 1 and Mk 2 suits only exist in one photo each, actually, so here's the first 'suit' I made (it was only a helmet and chest due to time constraints)

The seams on this thing were beyond horrible but it was a fun project to do, and probably not too terrible for a 13 year old's first time.

The Mk 2 suit was my first and last attempt at pepakura because it takes too long and I'm impatient. I also didn't know that you need to use actual fiberglass and not just resin to harden the paper, so... It's really flimsy. Again, not a complete suit because of time constraints

For Mk 3 I used Angelegend's Halo 4 Master Chief tutorial on YouTube with some modifications to add some Halo: Reach parts to it, and it was my first full suit!

 

[he4thbar]

Love me some security shoulders. Good work, incredibly clean. can't wait to see further progress

 

[Sharpworks]

Minor update: After several days of brainstorming on the gravity hammer, I realized two things
1) I don't have the patterning skills (yet) or the patience to make a Halo 5 style hammer up to my current standard of quality
2) It would make way more sense for me to make a Halo: Reach hammer anyway because this is a Reach build and it's way closer to the armory pattern

So, that being said, I'm gonna do a Reach hammer instead now

 

[Sharpworks]

And after about 2 hours of sanding, I now have a blade for said hammer

 

[Sharpworks]

Made some progress on the gravity hammer head today. School and work are now both from home so I have more time to work on this, and I bought a bunch of supplies to start painting the armor tomorrow.

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Since I finished building the armor for my costume today, I thought I'd post some pics of my progress so far. This is my fourth armor build as mentioned in the title, and I think it's turned out really well if I do say so myself. I plan on adding the Assault/Sapper chest accessory using some PVC pipe soon, and I'm also going to build myself a Halo 5 style Gravity Hammer. This was my first time putting electronics in a costume and I regret not doing it sooner - lights make everything cooler!

I'll be sure to post more updates as I make more progress on the costume, and I would be happy to answer any questions or post more pictures of anything if needed. Everything is made of foam in this build - no 3D prints or pepakura for me....

View attachment 286168View attachment 286169View attachment 286170View attachment 286171

Let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions for things I should do!

I feel like my eyes have been blessed with an image only the worthy are chosen of seeing. I can't believe how clean and detailed that armor is!

 

[Sharpworks]

Despite losing feeling in my hands from the cold weather, I got the plasti dip layer done today

 

[Sharpworks]

I feel like my eyes have been blessed with an image only the worthy are chosen of seeing. I can't believe how clean and detailed that armor is!

Thank you so much! You have no idea how much that means to me, I put so much stress and effort into getting clean seams on this one

 

[FloodHunter]

That looks so good! I was wondering how to sand foam and get that kind of clean surface, because always when I sand it, it only gets more rough...

 

[Sharpworks]

That looks so good! I was wondering how to sand foam and get that kind of clean surface, because always when I sand it, it only gets more rough...

If you're referring to my gravity hammer blade, it's not as smooth as the surface of normal foam, but it's about as close as I could get it. When I have to sand an edge I'll start by marking the area I want to take off, and I'll cut the majority of it off with my blade first. Then I use a sanding drum on my rotary tool to smooth it out and remove the rest of the material. That still leaves it quite rough so after that I go in with some sandpaper and a lot of wrist exercise starting at 150 grit paper, then 220 grit. Usually at this point it's better but not where I like it to be, so to help with the fuzziness I'll hit it with my heat gun on high, though if you have a blowtorch I think that would probably work better (I work in my basement so I don't want my house to smell like burnt foam). Then if there's still some bigger fuzzy bits I'll lightly sand with 220 in specific spots, then 400 grit, and sometimes I'll wet sand with 400 grit as well. If you want super smooth sanded parts I've heard that sanding in the same direction each time can significantly reduce the fuzziness but I haven't tried it because I'm impatient.

As far as the actual armor, there aren't many pieces on there that are actually sanded. Most of the angles were cut that way after carefully studying each edge of each piece in the pepakura model right before I cut the piece out.

 

[xXDashIVXx]

Perfectly said. This is how you get it where you want, but just incase someone isn't already, I'll put it here. A roterytool/dremel works best on foam at high(er) speeds and when moving away from you quickly. Dont hold it in one place or slow its movement across the foam down. Go in the direction the sanding bit is spinning and let the dremel do all the work and walk itself. This will give a smoother and more even finish

 

[FloodHunter]

If you're referring to my gravity hammer blade, it's not as smooth as the surface of normal foam, but it's about as close as I could get it. When I have to sand an edge I'll start by marking the area I want to take off, and I'll cut the majority of it off with my blade first. Then I use a sanding drum on my rotary tool to smooth it out and remove the rest of the material. That still leaves it quite rough so after that I go in with some sandpaper and a lot of wrist exercise starting at 150 grit paper, then 220 grit. Usually at this point it's better but not where I like it to be, so to help with the fuzziness I'll hit it with my heat gun on high, though if you have a blowtorch I think that would probably work better (I work in my basement so I don't want my house to smell like burnt foam). Then if there's still some bigger fuzzy bits I'll lightly sand with 220 in specific spots, then 400 grit, and sometimes I'll wet sand with 400 grit as well. If you want super smooth sanded parts I've heard that sanding in the same direction each time can significantly reduce the fuzziness but I haven't tried it because I'm impatient.

As far as the actual armor, there aren't many pieces on there that are actually sanded. Most of the angles were cut that way after carefully studying each edge of each piece in the pepakura model right before I cut the piece out.

Oh thanks. I will definitely try it. It seems I have stopped at the second point last time.

 

[FloodHunter]

Dont hold it in one place or slow its movement across the foam down. Go in the direction the sanding bit is spinning and let the dremel do all the work and walk itself.

That makes sense now...

 

[Sharpworks]

Forgot to mention, if you're still not satisfied with your sanding, you can put a few passes of Kwik Seal on it after you're done. Smooths it right out.

 

[he4thbar]

Forgot to mention, if you're still not satisfied with your sanding, you can put a few passes of Kwik Seal on it after you're done. Smooths it right out.

agreed, that's what I do sometimes.

 

[Harpess]

Since I finished building the armor for my costume today, I thought I'd post some pics of my progress so far. This is my fourth armor build as mentioned in the title, and I think it's turned out really well if I do say so myself. I plan on adding the Assault/Sapper chest accessory using some PVC pipe soon, and I'm also going to build myself a Halo 5 style Gravity Hammer. This was my first time putting electronics in a costume and I regret not doing it sooner - lights make everything cooler!

I'll be sure to post more updates as I make more progress on the costume, and I would be happy to answer any questions or post more pictures of anything if needed. Everything is made of foam in this build - no 3D prints or pepakura for me....

View attachment 286168View attachment 286169View attachment 286170View attachment 286171

Let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions for things I should do!

Hey, how did you size the template. I'm a bit confused trying to use Pepakura designer and how measure out the pieces?

 

[Animix]

i want to start my reach build, but I have no idea what part I should start off on. i already have the helmet, but I need everything else. what armor piece do you think I should start with?

 

[Sharpworks]

Hey, how did you size the template. I'm a bit confused trying to use Pepakura designer and how measure out the pieces?

There are some really good tutorials available on the forums that can help you with scaling. Pepakura has a tool that allows you to measure the distance between two points on a folded piece, but there is also a tool to see the total dimensions of the build. I recommend looking at this tutorial to start.

How to Scale Your Armour- Tutorial V.2

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 Skype: xtremetactics101 405th PM: Xtreme TACTICS 101 - Keep this thread clear of ALL...

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