My Son's Noble Spartan - NOW COMPLETE - Pic Heavy

[Spartan_127]

this is really shaping up! and yeah lookin' forward to your personal build, i haven't seen many other people using the dawn files so it'll be a unique set or armor to say the least. They got back to me pretty quick so hopefully they spare you the same courtesy.

Thanks Tenebrus. I got something back from them last night. I put a ?? in your thread about the bicep.

Your moving along nicely i see,
Everything is looking great, keep it up!
Cant wait to see your son actually wearing it

Thanks Mstruvmgc! I've got pics for ya! LOL

New Stuff

OK! Now that my son's back I can rest easy a bit. All the parts I built him while he was gone fit!!!!!! Yippeee!!!!!!!!! LOL I was worried about the thighs and shins for sure. The thighs have no room for anything other than him though. So, Maybe he'll grow up a little instead of out by Halloween. LOL He wanted to put on what he could so here you go. .. .

This is him Happy. . . . LOL

This is him trying to be a serious Spartan. . . LOL

I'm glad he likes it though. He was thanking me left and right this morning for what I got done.

Now on to the problems. . . . . And I'm going to needs y'all's help most likely.
I'm going to have to cut the torso open. There's no way his head is going through the opening now without it being in two pieces. I don't think that one is really the issue. The issue is the helmet. Before he could get it on because it flexed considerably. Now it doesn't move at all and even if I trim it, it might take too much off the bottom front and back. Solutions . . . . just trim the bottom OR thinking outside the box a little here. . . . . . Cut the back and hinge it. Kind of like some people have done with the Iron Man helmets. Here's what I'm talking about. . . .

Where I drew the red line is where I'm thinking of cutting it to make room to just slip in. Then the back would fold back down and either velcro or be held in place with magnets. This is what I need your help on. . . . . Any ideas on how to make that work would be a big help and greatly appreciated.

I know trimming would be the easier option, but I want to keep the look of the helmet with all the bottom pieces in tact. I'd have to cut the very bottom of the helmet in the back off and that still may not be enough room to get his melon in there. . . . I think it swelled up while he was gone or something. . . . .LOL

Please let me know what y'all think on this one. I need all the help I can get. Thanks again everyone.

EDIT

Forgot this when I first posted it. . . . . I didn't have to cut the Cod to get it on him and it fits perfect. Thankfully, one less thing I'll have to cut and mod. . . . . LOL

 

[thorn696]

Let start with, The newest pic's/parts look awesome. The paint really brings them to life. :cool
As for the helmet there a a few people whom have trimmed it then added those parts back in foam. The foam actually made the helmet look more realistic. So that is a good option for you.
I have also seen a Power Ranger helmet that used fasteners on either side to open and close the back of the helmet. The back piece was completely separate and used a clasp type fasteners (like on a tool box) to lock it in place. :cool
And then for the thighs if he grows you can still space them by cutting thru the lower inside and heating them, so no worry's for you there. :cool

Hopefully that helps you a little on coming up with you're concept.

 

[DagothDraal]

Wow! Great work Spartan!

Haha, I see you left out those little bits in the back just like I did :3

 

[Tenebrus]

Your pieces fit your little guy really well! and about the files, yeah the unfold isn't complete but theres not alot of work to be done. If you have the designer you can use the join/ disjoin tool to make pieces easier to assemble and then just arrange them on the page so they print easily. Another tip is to hide the flaps so you can see how the model goes together a little easier. Most of the unfold is ok i'd just recommend cutting up that big circle shaped piece of the front, it's kind of a mess. anyways best of luck with the new files and keep trucking on.

Oh and about your son's helmet, if it's hard to get on why not cut the whole back bit off and make it out of foam? Then it can flex and he can just push his head through

 

[Spartan_127]

Let start with, The newest pic's/parts look awesome. The paint really brings them to life. :cool
As for the helmet there a a few people whom have trimmed it then added those parts back in foam. The foam actually made the helmet look more realistic. So that is a good option for you.
I have also seen a Power Ranger helmet that used fasteners on either side to open and close the back of the helmet. The back piece was completely separate and used a clasp type fasteners (like on a tool box) to lock it in place. :cool
And then for the thighs if he grows you can still space them by cutting thru the lower inside and heating them, so no worry's for you there. :cool

Hopefully that helps you a little on coming up with you're concept.

Thanks for the compliment. I didn't like the way the parts were "weathered" all together, so I did more to the paint today with damage effects.
Thanks a lot for the advise on the helmet. I'd been thinking about the foam stuff since I have two rolls of it and haven't used any. And thanks for the info on the thigh. I might use it to add some foam on the inside parts to make it look a little better. Your suggestions definitely helped me to get passed the concept phase tonight.

Wow! Great work Spartan!

Haha, I see you left out those little bits in the back just like I did :3

Thanks a bunch, Dagoth!
Yeah. . . I couldn't get those little boogers in there for anything so I left 'em out.

Your pieces fit your little guy really well! and about the files, yeah the unfold isn't complete but theres not alot of work to be done. If you have the designer you can use the join/ disjoin tool to make pieces easier to assemble and then just arrange them on the page so they print easily. Another tip is to hide the flaps so you can see how the model goes together a little easier. Most of the unfold is ok i'd just recommend cutting up that big circle shaped piece of the front, it's kind of a mess. anyways best of luck with the new files and keep trucking on.

Oh and about your son's helmet, if it's hard to get on why not cut the whole back bit off and make it out of foam? Then it can flex and he can just push his head through

Thanks for the compliments, Tenebrus. I appreciate it.
And as far as the idea on the helmet. . . . I really appreciate it. Like I said above to Thorn, I have two rolls of the stuff and haven't used it for anything so far. I took his and your suggestions and came up with something. Check it out below.

UPDATE

After the kiddo and wife were in bed tonight, I just kept staring at the darn helmet and couldn't leave well enough alone. LOL! So, I decided to do some stuff to it so I could sleep tonight when I lay down instead of just laying there thinking "what am I going to do" all night.

I'd been thinking of the whole foam idea for my own build on the back of the helmet and didn't know how I'd pull it off. I went ahead and made this the test run /guinea pig experiment so I have an idea of how to do it on my build later(selfish???? Maybe, but the end product works. . . . LOL). I appreciate the suggestions from you guys. Here's what I've done. . . . .

Scary right?!?!?! It took all my strength and nerve to do this!!!!!! I started and said to myself "if I stop now I can bondo it back". . . . . LOL!

It took me two hours to modify the templates for foam and figure out how in the world to cut the angles in it for the back of the helmet after I got the foam cut out. I think I'll stick to pepakura for all the major stuff so I don't have to brain storm on the foam stuff. . . .

I got it done though. . . . . I don't like the gaps that are in a couple of places where the foam meets. I think I stayed put with my hot knife when I was cutting out the angles too long. Oh well. . . . never miss a training opportunity. . . . LOL
I'm hoping I can take all the plasti dip I have and fix those spots though.

Right now it's just folded and sitting in there. I figured I'd do the foam back to see where I may need to add bondo, sand or something else to fill any gaps before I started sanding the rest of the helmet. It worked out pretty good I guess. I don't have any bad gaps between the helmet and the foam where I cut out. I think that you can see a big gap on the right and left side of the helmet by the ears from the shot from behind, but I pushed the foam out before taking the photos though, and it all the angles match up pretty good. Just a matter of getting it glued in or whatever. I just need to sand and blend a couple spots to make it look OK.

I don't know how I'm going to attach the foam to it yet other than maybe a lot of hot glue, but at least the foam part is built. If y'all have any suggestions about that and /or something that would work out better, PLEASE let me know. I have contact cement too, but I don't know if I could make that work out with the contours and where it's going to meet up on the inside of the helmet.

Again, thanks for all the help. It's definitely appreciated. This isn't much of an update I guess, but I figured I'd share what I accomplished tonight. Keep the suggestions rolling in and until next time .. . . . make your builds fun so you can keep building.

 

[thorn696]

Looks great. As to glue I like contact cement and/or latex carpet glue. Ok I'll gone for a bit, So I'll see you in a bit. :cool Love you're build so far and I'm sure it will be awesome when it's finished. I hope to be there when you start you'res.

 

[onmi shift]

what i was thinking of doing with my helmet was to cut it out like you did but then hinge the top of the back to where it did connect to the helmet and then install velcro or small buckles on the inside of the sides. that way it fits snug and i could just unbuckle/velcro it and the back hinges open so i can get my head out

 

[Carpathia]

Looking at what you did with the helmet with the back, take the making of the "Delivering Hope" trailer (just kind of an awesome video overall). Here is the link...

There is one short clip of the Legacy Effects team putting the helmet onto the Kat actor (at about 1:52). The helmet's back is separate from the helmet much as you have done here. It's a good solution, but will require a bit more work to get the helmet on. I have no idea how they attached the back part to the helmet, looks like it could be something like velcro (maybe an idea for you?).

Good luck!

 

[Valcara]

your an amazing dad, your son is adorible too. the armor looks wonderful, keep it up!

 

[Tenebrus]

Ok when i suggested to cut it out it twas just an idea XD but there are a few options and don't take me too seriously here, im just brainstorming. Maybe ifyou could mount little bolts on the inside and cut holes through the foam to stick it in there. that or attatch it permanently, might have to ask a foam expert on that one but i use a mighty putty sort of epoxy which works really well, but i have no idea how the foam would react

 

[Spartan_127]

Looks great. As to glue I like contact cement and/or latex carpet glue. Ok I'll gone for a bit, So I'll see you in a bit. :cool Love you're build so far and I'm sure it will be awesome when it's finished. I hope to be there when you start you'res.

Thanks so much Thorn. Suggestions always help me find a direction to go with.
Hope you won't be off the site for too long man. Let me know when you get back up and running and I hope you get better soon.

what i was thinking of doing with my helmet was to cut it out like you did but then hinge the top of the back to where it did connect to the helmet and then install velcro or small buckles on the inside of the sides. that way it fits snug and i could just unbuckle/velcro it and the back hinges open so i can get my head out

Yeah. I decided against the whole hinge things because of where I cut all of it out at and went for hot glue and am trying to figure out how to get the velcro in now. . . . LOL

Looking at what you did with the helmet with the back, take the making of the "Delivering Hope" trailer (just kind of an awesome video overall). Here is the link...

There is one short clip of the Legacy Effects team putting the helmet onto the Kat actor (at about 1:52). The helmet's back is separate from the helmet much as you have done here. It's a good solution, but will require a bit more work to get the helmet on. I have no idea how they attached the back part to the helmet, looks like it could be something like velcro (maybe an idea for you?).

Good luck!

Thanks a bunch carpathiavh. I've watched that trailer and the making clip on YouTube at least a hundred times for details on things. I know exactly where you were talking about with the two piece helmet.

your an amazing dad, your son is adorible too. the armor looks wonderful, keep it up!

Thank you so much Valcara. I love your wings by the way. Hope you get your armor up and going.

Ok when i suggested to cut it out it twas just an idea XD but there are a few options and don't take me too seriously here, im just brainstorming. Maybe ifyou could mount little bolts on the inside and cut holes through the foam to stick it in there. that or attatch it permanently, might have to ask a foam expert on that one but i use a mighty putty sort of epoxy which works really well, but i have no idea how the foam would react

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't figure out a way to make bolts or a hinge work so I hot glued the heck out of it. Going to put in a couple pieces of velcro for the bottom of it later on.

UPDATE

Sorry I haven't done much the last few days. Been busy with work and it's been way too hot lately to spend a lot of time outside. Always in the 100's this last week. Got on the horse today and got some things accomplished.

Somewhat Finished Helmet (Needs Visor)

I didn't really want to paint it all up before I got the visor in, but I figured I'll use something paintable around it if needed, and it'll all be black anyway. . . . LOL

I hot glued in the back on the top three sections and left the others loose so they can be pulled out to slip my son's head in. It works pretty well. I had to redo the back from the first shot at it though. Since I made it out of foam the first one wasn't long enough to be velcro'd in on the bottom and the top piece was a little short also. I also melted in some details to the foam with my hot knife to try and spice it up a little. :cool

On the back of the helmet above the foam, I put a bar code like what I found in a screen shot and all the little triangles that I knew about from screen shots I found. Funny thing about the bar code. . . . I was wondering how the heck I'd do it and when I was going through my model paint box I found some transparent model sticker sheets and ink bonder that I've had for God only knows how long. Apparently I can't keep track of all the junk I've got laying around, but it sure came in handy for that.

Behind the helmet in the pics is the torso. I got it painted and weathered today, but haven't taken any pics to post yet. I still have all the little do dads to add like triangles, stripes and warning stickers. After I get all that on there (hopefully later today) I'll get some pics posted.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. It really helped me figure out things to look at and try. I hope y'all enjoy what I've been able to do to the helmet. I also was able to figure out how to shrink the T-Bagging warning sticker down and print it out so it is readable. I'll post a pic of that when I get the torso pics up.

Again, thanks to all that have been following this. I appreciate it very much. Because of y'all there is light at the end of the tunnel on this build. Until next time, make your builds fun and keep building.

 

[Tenebrus]

Your son is gonna be the coolest looking kid on the block! very nice work. Oh also it might be worth noting Blackula did a really great tutorial on detailing and mounting visors, you should check it out, really helped with my build

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Dude this is looking great! I am happy to see you found a good solution to the helmet problem

 

[Spartan_127]

Your son is gonna be the coolest looking kid on the block! very nice work. Oh also it might be worth noting Blackula did a really great tutorial on detailing and mounting visors, you should check it out, really helped with my build

Thanks again Tenebrus. I appreciate the compliments. Thanks for the info on the visor mounting. I got some stuff ordered to hopefully do that sometime next week.

Dude this is looking great! I am happy to see you found a good solution to the helmet problem

Thanks a lot Mstruvmgc.

No real update to post. . . . Sorry.
I ordered the visor and some magic sculpt to help me out with all that. Picked up some barrel nuts or whatever they're called for mounting them. Just waiting for that stuff to come in. It'll probably come in while I'm gone to the coast next week, so it may be a bit before I can get that in.

I did cut the chest piece up and ran into problems with what I originally had planned. Go figure right? As it turns out my son's armor is a bit small for the buckles and everything that I wanted to use. A Sergeant in the Army once told me "Assumption is the mother of all %@!% ups". . . . . LOL. Well, I assumed it would work and found out different. I got it all back together and printed out some more stickers for the details on it. Figured I try the sticker thing instead of painting them all on this time. I'll try to get some pics up late tonight or tomorrow morning to show what I did to the chest and how I did the buckles and roller latches I found. All depends on how my job goes and when I get off work.

Thanks again for following along and make your builds fun.

 

[Last Resort]

Spartan 127, this is CRAZY good for someone who's had very limited experience with Pepakura. Most people I know would go "Yeah, first try, I'll try just a helmet, or just a weapon, something small," but you just kinda looked at that and said "Pffft. Starting small is for sissies. THIS IS HOW REAL MEN MAKE ARMOUR!" and just kind of jumped right in, so kudos to that, man. The amount of time and effort you put into this is amazing, down to the little arrows and extra tags on the calf pieces, it's so inspiring! Add to that you're not even making this suit for yourself, so you won't be able to wear to fruits of your labour just make it that much more awesome! You're so dedicated!

You'll nail this by Halloween, easy, at the rate you're going. Even with your horrible work times (3pm to 1am, wasn't it? Or has that changed), you're still pumping out armour pieces at an exceptional rate!

But yeah, keep up the great work, man! Your kid should be so proud to have you as a dad!

 

[Spartan_127]

Spartan 127, this is CRAZY good for someone who's had very limited experience with Pepakura. Most people I know would go "Yeah, first try, I'll try just a helmet, or just a weapon, something small," but you just kinda looked at that and said "Pffft. Starting small is for sissies. THIS IS HOW REAL MEN MAKE ARMOUR!" and just kind of jumped right in, so kudos to that, man. The amount of time and effort you put into this is amazing, down to the little arrows and extra tags on the calf pieces, it's so inspiring! Add to that you're not even making this suit for yourself, so you won't be able to wear to fruits of your labour just make it that much more awesome! You're so dedicated!

You'll nail this by Halloween, easy, at the rate you're going. Even with your horrible work times (3pm to 1am, wasn't it? Or has that changed), you're still pumping out armour pieces at an exceptional rate!

But yeah, keep up the great work, man! Your kid should be so proud to have you as a dad!

ROFL!!!!!!!!! Hmmmm . . . . interesting way of putting my taking on of this project. But YEAH!!!! It's my undiagnosed OCD issue that my wife says I have. She tells me I get obsessed so it must be OCD. LOL. And yeppers. Work 10 hour shifts (more like 11 to 14 hours shifts a lot of times) on a 3pm to 1am shift. Oh well. Someone has to do it. I really appreciate the compliments and thanks.

UPDATE TIME

Got some pics. I haven't got much accomplished by way of finishing the details on the torso, but figured I would share what I have. My sticker idea for the triangles and triangle warning sticker on the back fell through, so I have to get some of that done. Anyway, here's some pics.

Overalls (Going for thumbnails this time on them. . . Hope it works)


My solution to having to cut it

This is the bottom section in front where I cut it. I used drawer roller latches to join them together. They have a good grip and I was lucky and got it straight on the first try. . . . LOL. There's a couple more photos of the two parts of it in my photobucket folder with those pics if you want to take a look at what they are.

This is where I cut it on the top. I don't know if it was the best place to do it, but too late now. . . . It actually lines up really well. You can see all the Smooth Cast though from where the paint chipped off when I cut it. I haven't had the time to add touch up paint yet. . . . Some day. . . .

A pic of where I cut the bottom pieces. Towards the right in the photo between the gray and black arrows that I actually got to add tonight after being late getting off early . . . LOL I think it turned out OK as far as alignment. What do y'all think? Again, I haven't been able to add touch up paint. So be kind. . . .

Buckles I used were from some old life vests. I shouldn't have to worry about those coming apart. . . . LOL. . . Now if only the three sticks of hot glue I put on each side will hold through Halloween, I'll be good. . . .

Some other details that I got to put onto it tonight. . . .

The gray stripe on the back on the left and the UNSC on the right

And my special touch to personalize it for my son. His initials and B-Day on the right shoulder strap. :$

These are places I haven't been able to do yet. I printed off the UNSC Eagle and Globe as a sticker and going to try it tomorrow and hope it works. On the left (well in the pic on the left. . . LOL) figured I'd pay tribute to the Good Ol' 405th and put their emblem on it. Afterall, without everyone here, this build would not have been possible. Still working out the kinks in my stencil for that one though in case the whole sticker thing falls through.

I still have to add one of these to the back of the torso

This is the ones that I added to the thighs. They're tiny, but you can read them now. . . LOL

and I have a lot of other minor things that need to be done. I also need to reinforce the parts where the little things go under my son's arms where they join the back piece. After cutting it in two separate pieces, it's got way more give than I want it to have. I may just mix up some rondo and fill it to help out and make it last through Halloween.

My son had his hand in weathering the whole torso. In reality I think he was just happy to finger paint, but he said he wanted it dirty so he made it dirty. . . . LOL. After I get the bottom sections reinforced and finish the detail markings and blending in some of the chipping and battle damage, I'm going to get some foam in it around the arms and neck to finish it out. If that doesn't work I'll use the floor mat idea that Davik gave me for around the arms. Then, add whatever padding I need to.

Let me know what you think and if anyone knows a way to keep the joints on the top of the shoulders from separating that isn't too difficult, please let me know. They line up well and when I had some foam under it it didn't look like it would move much, but I was wanting to know if there was a way to keep it rock solid as if it were still one piece that someone has had success with. I've been looking. Just haven't found anything yet. As always, all feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Again, thanks so much to everyone here on the 405th and those especially that have helped me along the way. I'll try to get some more accomplished by Thursday evening and share if possible. After that though, I'm off to the coast for some R&R. :cool

 

[Tenebrus]

Chest looks deadly! it's pretty cool your son got to help a little bit too. I don't know about the chest though man, sorry i can't help. Im pretty flexible so i can actually slip into my chest as one solid piece. It's a little late now but one option would have been to just cut one of the bottom rungs. then you just slip into it sideways and replace the rung. But i dunno about the way you've cut it. :/

 

[DBmike]

That's looking amazing, tip of the hat to you sir!

 

[Mstruvmgc]

I love the way you put the chest together, very cool

 

[Spartan_127]

Chest looks deadly! it's pretty cool your son got to help a little bit too. I don't know about the chest though man, sorry i can't help. Im pretty flexible so i can actually slip into my chest as one solid piece. It's a little late now but one option would have been to just cut one of the bottom rungs. then you just slip into it sideways and replace the rung. But i dunno about the way you've cut it. :/

No worries. I had to cut it there because there was not a way to get his head through without cutting into the top straps. Thanks for the compliments.

That's looking amazing, tip of the hat to you sir!

Thanks, DBMike. I appreciate it.

I love the way you put the chest together, very cool

Appreciate that!!!!

No pics right now. I'm at work and fingured I's stay active while I'm not busy.

I was able to rondo the spots on the chest to reinforce them since they kept flexing. And OMG!!!!!!!!!!! I'm ditching the whole fiberglass cloth junk from now on out! LOL I love that process and it's all sandable. I should've done that from the beginning and saved myself countless hours of gluing in the fiberglass cloth and pouring Smooth Cast in it. See. . . . still learning. . . . I did manage to get some of the rondo on the outside of the torso though so I'll have to do some touch ups. I also did the touch up paint to the spots I cut and some velcro to the buckles on top to keep it from moving around as much. I added the 405th sticker and UNCS Globe and Eagle sticker to the front of the chest plate. I don't like the way it looks and may wind up redoing it, but my son says he likes it the way that it is. . . . . Ultimately it IS his costume, so I'm leaving it that way for now.

I'm hoping tomorrow between getting everything ready for the coast, that I can get the foam pieces cut out for the torso and get that scratched off the list. My idea is to make a separate piece all together for that so that my son can put that on and then put the torso over it. That should give him the padding he needs to keep it off his shoulders and save me some time having to figure out where to velcro and glue everything since the torso is in two pieces.

The visor and Magic Sculpt won't be in until this weekend or next week. I'll have to wait until then to tackle that one.

Other than that, I still need to add the triangle and T-Bagging warning stickers to the back and then I'll tackle pepping out the knees and handplates so I can get those done. But I'd say we're at about a 85 -90% complete area right now. My son suited up yesterday with what we have and wanted to take pics. I'll try to put them up tomorrow if possible.

Thanks again to everyone for following along and for all the suggestions and comments. I really appreciate it.