ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM (COMPLETE, for now..)

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

^much appreciated!
Cannot say the same for my painting. Can't post pics ATM, but I just learned the hard way that my go-to enamel spray is foamaphobic... Trying to recover now.

Edit 1: killing time while I nerve-rackingly wait for this stuff to dry. I'll answer some questions!
FoxtrotZero, I of course don't mind but you might attract the help of more users with relevant expertise under your thread.
With regard to the weight, like I said its foam and you can imagine it is quite light. Negligible really, 7lbs thereabouts (glue & rigging, no helemt) last I checked. Gonna be nice come my first convention, pop that cherry in comfort.

Edit 2:

I'm still working off my phone for a bit so let me know if this post is wonky. If I can get these pics to work that's slick.
So as (I hope) you can see from these pics, this part was annoying to tape off, then that base coat turned out so beautifully using a new filler primer I'm trying. And then my black base coat was rejected and blotchy. Still trying to figure out why.
At this point I have half a mind to fall back into my comfort zone and just slather acrylic on everything. I wouldn't need to seal it that way.

 

[Harri51]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Hold on I need to pick my jaw up off the floor. Dang! That is one hot set of ODST man. Great job man.

I actually have a question for you I am looking at doing my own ODST now. What is the most time consuming area would had to encounter? Just so I do not get down and want to scrap the project. Did you form you visor? I made mine for my helmet but I think there are a lot of other ways to make an ODST Visor.

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Thanks!
Well the timeframe from the first cut of foam till where I am now (still very much a wip) has been about 3 weeks. Lots of prep and practice before hand though. Most time consuming was for sure the shins, lots of tricky shapes and long edges to line up. After that I would really recommend sinking lots of time into making that vest fit right, it pays off even if it doesn't feel like progress while you're doing it.
I always make my own visors yes, just by scoring/bending/heating whatever plastic I have on hand.
I haven't made the visor for this build yet, helmet is still at the cardboard stage pictured above. I will be attempting to make the visor for this build from one piece of some sort of easily available plastic, and quasi-vac forming it

Thanks for the interest!

 

[BlackClaw175]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

It looks great man. I love the detail work you've done to it.

 

[Mstruvmgc]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Progress looks great

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

^Many thanks guys!
So I think the problem was I just accidentally used some rank paint, seen too many frigid winters I suppose. I'll likely have progress ready to show by Monday so eyes peeled.
Also, I take my weapon builds pretty seriously too, and I'm wondering if the companion prop for this suit would be worth its own thread. The techniques are different enough so let me know what you guys think, please!

 

[Masterchief0624]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Fantastic build!!

 

[FWBulldog]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Nice seams and crisp edges. Looks great!

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Kk first thing first, here are the results after I managed to salvage my parts from that first attempt at painting. I took a different route than plastidip and went for vehicle underbody spray. It falls somewhere between plastidip and truck bed liner in terms of durability and flexibility. Also, at $8.50 a can it stung a lot less than the $22 per can o' plastidip. You Americans got it easy, I tell ya'.

This stuff gave the parts a really nice surface for painting and provided a much firmer exterior to the foam. 4 cans and 2 coats later added several pounds (4-5) to the overall weight, which would be a bigger deal if it wasn't already all foam, haha.

^ finally applying that first coat of paint was über satisfying. I had to really hunt around to get a colour I was happy with and then had to stretch 1 can across the suit. I've gotta tone that shine down a bit and get to all the weathering and detail painting but for now I'm shifting my attentions.

I drew these up while I was waiting for painting weather and decided to keep going because my mind was racing with anticipation and its been a while since my last gun build (been playing with swords since I got into metal-work)


All I got for now but I won't take as long a break this time!

Also, I didn't get a chance tonight, but there's been some interest in my initial templates, so I'll be uploading those that I free handed to provide the general shape to follow if anyone was interested in recreating a similar pattern.

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Excuse the double post.
Here are those template pics I mentioned. I tried to position them over my imperial measurements grid to provide rough sizing for your own recreation if you so choose.
Lower back raised detail
Lower sides of torso
Crotch plate
Shoe plates
Stomach plate
Shoulder soft armour
Vest
Shoulder band
Stomach sides

The rest followed Hughs templates close enough that I won't bother posting. A quick note about scaling to get the proper fit though. I'm not a small guy, average at 5'11", but I still found that all the models I used required downscaling anywhere from 10% - 20% which surprised me.

 

[RobTC]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Not sure what you downscaled to match, but the M6C/S is a very large gun. From screenshots and promo images, it seems like it's about the length of an entire forearm, plus that extended mag in the other direction. Overall it's probably about on par with a folded MP5K, which seems kinda crazy but it's certainly imposing for a pistol.

I've finally reached a point on my BR85HB build that I can almost just about put together something that resembles the final shape, and found that scaling templates to match the official given size specifications on halo.wikia.com give a slightly large-feeling but not inappropriate result.

That aside, this is turning out to be a magnificent thread for ODST image reference.

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Not sure what you downscaled to match, but the M6C/S is a very large gun. From screenshots and promo images, it seems like it's about the length of an entire forearm

I suppose the images have poorly represented my progress. I assure you its rather large indeed haha, my design measures about 14.5" which I believe puts it just a couple % smaller than a scale version. I'm building it in separate components and it is pictured without the suppressor at this stage.
I'll try and complete the base shape tonight and provide better documentation :thumbsup

 

[RobTC]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Oh, I see. It was a little hard to tell from the angle.

I just checked the wiki, and interestingly it's only around 10" long. I just measured my arm, haha, and that looks about right. (http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/M6C/SOCOM) - No height or width given, but if you have a model or blueprint views you can extrapolate that.

Looking forward to seeing this 140% scale beast.

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

LOL I just wigged out cuz I thought I flubbed it really bad eyeballing it like that

I think that 10" has gotta be for the m6's standalone measurement though, haha, just imagine how small that would all be 4" shorter!

 

[RobTC]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Good call. The M6C and M6D are also in that 9-10" range, so that must be sans muzzle brake. Which makes no sense, since the M6C/S comes with a brake integrated (operative word) as part of the standard SOCOM package. Why they'd list the bare pistol length for that, I have no idea. Maybe it's not available anywhere. I'm going to keep looking, because there's a good chance I'm doing a noob combo next, alongside or immediately after the BR85, and I'll be doing the M6 half as an M6X variable designation kit. Gotta know those extra details.

Your diagram above looks spot on in terms of finger spread to grip height ratio and finger spacing, definitely stick with that.

 

[FoxtrotZero]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Your M6C SOCOM is looking good, as is your armour, Moose. Your ability to maintain detail in anything you do is impressive. Do you have any sort of background in drafting and/or fabrication, or is this all just costuming experience?

The M6C is a massive gun. I'd like to build one, and I'm already considering losing the extended magazine. I wonder if it's better to use in-universe scale or downsize it to my own hand...

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Your M6C SOCOM is looking good, as is your armour, Moose. Your ability to maintain detail in anything you do is impressive. Do you have any sort of background in drafting and/or fabrication, or is this all just costuming experience?

The M6C is a massive gun. I'd like to build one, and I'm already considering losing the extended magazine. I wonder if it's better to use in-universe scale or downsize it to my own hand...

- - - Updated - - -

Your M6C SOCOM is looking good, as is your armour, Moose. Your ability to maintain detail in anything you do is impressive. Do you have any sort of background in drafting and/or fabrication, or is this all just costuming experience?

The M6C is a massive gun. I'd like to build one, and I'm already considering losing the extended magazine. I wonder if it's better to use in-universe scale or downsize it to my own hand...

I'm glad to hear my work is so well received! No official background in anything but economics for a couple semesters, just been fiddling with tools since I could grasp them. And living the starving artist lifestyle has forced creative use of cheap materials.
As for the M6, do it! Haha, its only half done but I love this thing, gotta go full-scale to preserve bada**ness. I had similar thoughts about the mag and decided I'm making attachments for both and will decide at the end.
To answer the ? In your Sig, I'd say plain old white glue in very small quantities (I use a q-tip). Never fails me and gives you a couple seconds to line up.

 

[Vampy]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Very nice work! I'm not sure if I could make foam look like anything other than a potato!

 

[FoxtrotZero]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

m00sem4n

Hah! I knew parading my questions around like that would pay off sooner or later. Thanks for responding. I think when I have incidental questions, I might start asking them this way, so I'm sort of promoting myself without directly badgering anyone. I'll give that a try, I heard that using white glue with toothpicks works, but I was honestly skeptical. I'll also try Q-tips, and see what I like more.

Sorry about my post, 405th had an anyeurism when I was trying to submit (reddit loaded fine, though).

Yeah, I agree, the intimidating size of the gun is fairly important. That, and the fact that it's supposed to fire a 12.7x40mm round, so if I downsize it, that no longer works. I guess my love of authenticity will win out. Plus I'm not exactly a small guy, I have big hands, so it might not be the end of the world. I'm not a huge fan of trying to pep a fully closed structure like that, so when I get around to making weapons, I'll probably do sliced builds (which requires everything be figured out first, as there's a few non-standard features I want to implement).

I didn't see you mention what you were making the pistol out of, by the way? Looks like some sort of foam with paper/cardstock patterns on the outside? Think you'll do any bigger weapons? AR, BR, Rocket Launcher? I've never seen a rocket launcher build, come to think of it, I bet you could pull it off.

 

[m00sem4n]

Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Haha, had the plans for years mate, I want to make everything but halo is not my only love. Although, like I've previously mentioned I'm taking a break from metalwork so I'll probably start uploading my weapon builds soon.
P.S. its cereal box card BTW, I save every box I ever get. Always good for something :thumbsup