Reach Jun Build (Foam/fibreglass + custom undersuit)

[Electraknite]

WELL I’ve been detailing up a storm on this, it’s all pretty much with 2mm foam w has worked really nicely, I also like that the little bit of cushion will protect the resin from Impacts and it won’t clunk around. I’m QUITE pleased.
I used masking tape to make the patterns on top of the resin piece and very Carefully stuck them on aligning everything.
I modeled the little square nubs on the back part from JB weld and superglued them on. Side note, jb weld plastic smells like fish.



I’ll be priming it all with plasti dip, I did a test and as long as I’ve sanded the resin, plastidip wont rub off

does any one else find that working with foam turns you into a little lightning rod? ive been shocked by every single light switch ive touched recently, also the game model I’m looking at has the textures shifted lower than the geometry which is annoying but im managing.

 

[Electraknite]

The chest armour is done until final painting, yay

i added more detail to the back, everytime I looked at reference I saw more detail so oooof course I had to add it.

Made the stomach armour part too. it’s a single piece of foam folded in specific areas so it sits really close to my body. I didn’t want a gap between myself and the armour. I haven’t attached it yet, I’m not toyally sure what the best way to attach it will be. Probably hot glue but I’m open to suggestions.


I added Velcro before plastidipping the whole thing because I wanted the glue to attach to foam rather than the paint. the Velcro is working sooo well honestly better than parachute clips. trooping someday might reveal flaws but so far it’s perfect. I also discovered that bevelling the edges inwards makes it easier to Velcro them snug.


im saving the arm seals and padding for later so next ill probably do the leg armour unless somebody really wants me to do the arm seals right away. I do miss my sewing machine.
also remember when Dirtdives2424 told me I should shave my head to fit in my helmet? Well funny thing...

 

[TurboCharizard]

also remember when Dirtdives2424 told me I should shave my head to fit in my helmet? Well funny thing...

That's a bit ominous...

Congratulations on finishing the chest piece! That's honestly a huge milestone to check off the list.

 

[Electraknite]

That's a bit ominous...

Congratulations on finishing the chest piece! That's honestly a huge milestone to check off the list.

It’s very satisfying to have something wearable.
haha I gave myself a covid cut and shaved a mohawk, needs to be shaved again though. ill be a genderbent jun under the helmet XD tattoo and all.

 

[PaiganBoi]

It’s very satisfying to have something wearable.
haha I gave myself a covid cut and shaved a mohawk, needs to be shaved again though. ill be a genderbent jun under the helmet XD tattoo and all.

Picture of the Mohawk or it didn't happen!

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I too would like to see your new harido, but I am loving the progress shots of your armor. Looking great!

 

[Electraknite]

PaiganBoi PerniciousDuke
Ooohhhhhhh ok thats how it is, well take this!

(photo deleted)
Boom

 

[PaiganBoi]

But... But... It's not mohawky enough...

I was expecting one of these.
Jokes aside.
You look great.

 

[Electraknite]

PaiganBoi gawd dang thats heckin up
I had a pic that was super jelled to heaven but my phone pooped the bed and I lost many things. It’s a trend with me. Maybe I should start backing stuff up...... :\

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I agree, at this angle I wouldn't call it a mohawk, but it looks honestly really good. I don't know what you looked like before, but this is working. Nice job.

 

[Electraknite]

I agree, at this angle I wouldn't call it a mohawk, but it looks honestly really good. I don't know what you looked like before, but this is working. Nice job.

You can see what I look like at the end of my undersuit video on pg9 lol

 

[PerniciousDuke]

The jazz hands.. nice.

 

[Electraknite]

Hmm, I’m not thrilled about the way these thighs are fitting. they seem too big tho they’re the same size as the pep ones I did. I excluded the vinyl inner thigh parts with the foam so they might fit but I can’t tell until the vinyl Is included. Worst case I might have to cut a pizza wedge out and glue them slightly smaller.
I might Make the inner thigh Velcro together too For bathroom breaks though I actually want to see what’s possible before I do that.
this Is just the very base shape of the thighs. None of the details have been added. I really hope my dap job will hide the crimes well enough that I don’t have to wrap these in 2mm foam too. I don’t want them too much bulkier.


So either I start the vinyl or move on to something else.. I’m thinking arms. The biceps will be another hybrid piece so they should be a bit easier for me to manage. I’ve grown to love bondo, and I haven’t tested the snaps on my undersuit yet.

edit: the thighs might be entirely too big, I just remembered I’ll have to be able to walk and sit in them.. the top bit on the front might get in the way... ohh boy adjustments... -_-

 

[Hein B287]

top part might be a bit on the wide side i guess. otherwise it looks great

maybe you can give it some heat treatement to shape it a bit? (if that's possible with foam)

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I think adding the vinyl now before putting more into it. I think you'll find you can pull the foam to your desired shape depending on where you secure it to the vinyl. It may be a bit of stress on the foam so maybe something not permanent like Velcro so it doesn't rip the foam. I also wrapped my vinyl in thin plastic to give it more strength.

 

[Electraknite]

PaiganBoi ive used my heat gun to shape it but there’s always some bounce back. hopefully the vinyl will hold it more closed though a small adjustment at the top might be all that’s necessary, but I won’t cut anything out until im sure I’ll need to.

PerniciousDuke ya I’m thinking of sandwiching 2mm or 5mm foam between the vinyl. Referace pics show that material is a bit thicker than just the vinyl would be anyway.

 

[Electraknite]

I cleaned up the seams on my thighs with the belt sander and I was able to unwarp parts of my resin bicep pieces with my heat gun. its been really useful little thing I learned. Neither of those is really what I’ve been working on though.

I made the belt.
The butt and cod parts are fibreglassed pieces hot glued onto the Eva foam shape, 2mm details on top of those. not too many though, Don’t need people staring at my fake nuts.
I added the hip padding to the belt rather than having it part of the undersuit. I’m really happy with the result. Looks very spacey.

It’s just a heat formed and belt sanded big ol piece of foam with marine vinyl contact cemented into it.
the front corners use snaps to keep them from popping out and the butt armour is Velcro‘d on In the back. Forms quite a unit all put together



The belt is in 2 parts, the back part clips onto the cod on both sides. It’s weird and one clip is redundant but I want symmetry. I might add a few extra snaps to the undersuit to keep the whole unit from shifting around as i wear it.
I still need to figure out how I’m going to make the spine attach to the belt, probably Velcro.

the belt has weirdly been a difficult part for me to figure out the attachments for.... the BELT.. like.. it ain’t that deep.

 

[Electraknite]

Oh, i forgot to mention, I got a 3d printer finally XD anycubic photon mono. Ive just been testing it out a bit over the past couple days. I only want it for little greeble-y parts and to enhance what i build by hand. maybe someday ill get an fdm printer too but for now im learning with this one.

I printed the test and it came out perfect. then I tried my undersuit clip thing and downloaded a darth vader model from thingiverse to try out adding supports and slicing and failed spectacularly. it started off fine i thought, the clip was coming along pretty well but vader didnt stick to the build platform at all. I ended up cancelling the print around halfway. the clip was missing its top bunch of layers and vader was just a gooey mess stuck to the fep. big sad

any tips? im assuming this is just part of the learning process. I didnt re-level the build plate on the second print so maybe thats why.. or im just a noob. which is true..

 

[KGSupreme]

For me it was/is still just part of the learning process. Too many times I would check up on my print and it had failed miserably because I didn't do that one thing I didn't know I had to do. All I can say is just get familiar with all of the parts and pieces that you have control of tweaking, removing, cleaning, or modifying. Look up as many troubleshooting guides online for your category of printer as you can, maybe bookmark a few of them.

I went with PLA extrusion printer instead of the UV curing like yours, I wanted to avoid the messiness of resin and fumes but I have heard the print quality is excellent. Show us a few pics of whatever you print!

 

[Electraknite]

I figured out the printer, it was rising too fast and not enough to pull the layer off the fep. Anycubics slicing software is aweful. I switched to lychee and all the print since have been great. I’m gonna need to get more resin soon lol. heres my fav test print. I’ve gotta paint it now.


anyway, time for the updatydoo
Im mostly finished the armor seals for the chest. I ran out of snaps but the hard part is over. its All one piece of vinyl fabric that Velcro’s to the armor around the neck and under the arms. I need to add 2 snaps inside just to keep some of the loose fabric from flopping around. the backside of the arm holes are pinned. I don’t think there’s a better way to do it. theres too weird of shapes to use Velcro, They can’t stab me and I wont need to remove the vinyl unless I’m storing the suit so I think theyll work really well. The vinyl will sort of protect the electronics in the front
eventually too.




normally I think the seals would be done but I noticed an extra layer on them so I’ll need to add that. Probably just sew/ glue it on. There’s also a bit of a shoulder pad that I’ll add.