RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pics)

[RobotChicken]

In a lot of ways we're vegan here too (including the kid, by his own choice, which is way cool). Auto-Saved occurs while I type posts but I haven't yet figured out how to recover the lost text when clicking "Post Quick Reply" or "Go Advanced" and the next page fails to load due to server too busy. The browser's previous page button doesn't help because that page also fails to load. I've contacted vBulletin and apparently they only provide the bulletin board software, not any hardware or hosting services. So this "server is too busy" error that keeps showing up more and more frequently is indeed a 405th server issue, or wherever the site is being hosted from. (Server should stop playing Halo and start serving up web pages!)

 

[SirPalesAlot]

In a lot of ways we're vegan here too (including the kid, by his own choice, which is way cool). Auto-Saved occurs while I type posts but I haven't yet figured out how to recover the lost text when clicking "Post Quick Reply" or "Go Advanced" and the next page fails to load due to server too busy. The browser's previous page button doesn't help because that page also fails to load. It's a problem with vBulletin, not 405th, and their tech support has acknowledged that they've been having issues lately. No ETA on any fixes.

I had the forum bug out on me a few minutes ago, and ever since then it has been showing an box at the bottom of the reply window that says "Restore Auto-Saved Content". I hit the button to give it a shot, but it only updated part of what I had typed before. I'm guessing the server had issues midway through what I was writing.

 

[RobotChicken]

it has been showing an box at the bottom of the reply window that says "Restore Auto-Saved Content"

If it were that simple then there wouldn't be anything to figure out. I've never seen such a button. The bottom of my reply window has Show your signature (left side) and Post Quick Reply, Go Advanced, and Cancel buttons (right side). In the advanced area there are only Post Icons on the left, and Submit Reply and Preview Post buttons on the right. Perhaps the restore button doesn't show up in Safari...?

 

[Nicktendo]

I've started hitting CTRL+A, CTRL+C before hitting reply, heh.

 

[RobotChicken]

Me too, usually. Sometimes me forgets... Anyways, massive update is coming soon, and then I can get on to less complicated building.

 

[Halo Master]

Who thinks this should be Elite if not already!?!?

 

[RobotChicken]

No vote from me on elite, and I wouldn't want this thread over there right now, anyway. "Elite" criteria (should) require finished pieces (note, plural), if not a full complete finished costume. I haven't even started sanding or priming anything yet! The goal here isn't to create an elite build. I'm building a costume for my kid who likes Halo, and making it to my standards for detailing, and simply sharing photos and techniques here for others to maybe take something away from for their own builds. I learned a lot from this site when I started out with the pep files, and this is how I give something back. Even though the peps are detailed - remember, they're just peps at this point...and that's a far cry from anything elite. Thanks for the flattery, though. :$

 

[Halo Master]

No vote from me on elite, and I wouldn't want this thread over there right now, anyway. "Elite" criteria (should) require finished pieces (note, plural), if not a full complete finished costume. I haven't even started sanding or priming anything yet! The goal here isn't to create an elite build. I'm building a costume for my kid who likes Halo, and making it to my standards for detailing, and simply sharing photos and techniques here for others to maybe take something away from for their own builds. I learned a lot from this site when I started out with the pep files, and this is how I give something back. Even though the peps are detailed - remember, they're just peps at this point...and that's a far cry from anything elite. Thanks for the flattery, though. :$

Hey I get what your saying. You mast have some pretty HIGH standards though. I wish I had a dad who build Halo suits for me. Hes lucky.

 

[foxleader]

wow when I frist looked at the title I was like oh god not this...

but now i'm like just keep going.

 

[Kinggoobero]

At first I'm like, "ultra detail suuuuuuuure that's what they all say." Only to briefly go through and look through your progress pics to be shamed into doubting you haha. You must poop excellence with such work like this being crafted by hand. Not even done with pep too! I'm very excited to see this go on.

 

[RobotChicken]

Thanks guys - I think the peps are turning out pretty good, and I will love to see them smoothed out and painted. I tried to convince him that it should be white armor with a pink bow on the helmet, so he could be Halo Kitty. That received a very stern "No".

 

[foxleader]

white armor with a pink bow on the helmet, so he could be Halo Kitty. That received a very stern "No".

no that's the bungie princess.

 

[Revo1]

I <3 this build.... I only hope mine achieves half the detail you've got happening here. Badass man, keep it up!

 

[RobotChicken]

Okay, FINALLY the detail parts for the forearms are completed and I can move on to easier tasks.

Why did it take so freakin' long? They were a challenge to make, plus a two week delay while building this year's Halloween costume for my son, and I had to update my signature....

 

[morkar78]

Ehy Robot, can you do one for me and send it to me by mail? I'm kidding...it looks great! It'd be hard to not cover all these details with resin and bondo...

 

[morkar78]

more seriously, what is the trick to bend small pieces of paper with that precision? I know I'm pretty good in pep but with small pieces I always get some trouble...

 

[NoMaybeYes]

The detail your doing is amazing. Cant wait to see what you do next!

 

[SirPalesAlot]

This piece looks great. I never noticed that the area to the right of the detail was raised that way. I'm still amazed at how you can build details that small. So what part is next on the list?

 

[Nicktendo]

Looking awesome! After seeing this I looked through my reference pics, and I love it.

 

[RobotChicken]

It'd be hard to not cover all these details with resin and bondo...

Nah, resin soaks into the paper and doesn't really obscure small details - the thing I'll need to be careful about with this piece is resin "pooling" in the small crevices. To combat this, I'm planning to apply NO resin to the crevices from the outside and instead saturate those areas from the inside (after the outside is hardened) where I don't really care about pooling. I'm actually looking forward to putting bondo on these parts because until then the rounded areas are all "stair-cased" and look pretty bad. The trick here is to apply the bondo sparingly, only as needed to smooth out the surface. The 3/8"-thick "I'm decorating a cake!" approach just will not be seen in this build, sorry.

more seriously, what is the trick to bend small pieces of paper with that precision? I know I'm pretty good in pep but with small pieces I always get some trouble...

I fold against my metal straightedge. For the minuscule tabs, I bend the tab with tweezers.

The detail your doing is amazing. Cant wait to see what you do next!

So what part is next on the list?

Next up is completing the bottom portion of the forearms. There are two "lines" on the inside of the forearms - a stepped V-shaped one on the upper portion, and a curved grooved one on the lower portion. The first time I built the forearms I chose to end with a full-height vertical seam, which was a little problematic in closing up. This time I'm pepping the full circumference, but building it up from the wrist (smallest diameter first) and ending with the top (largest diameter). The next custom detail to be added is the grooved line around the lower portion. I expect it to be groovy.

Looking awesome! After seeing this I looked through my reference pics, and I love it.

I'll bet I've looked through my reference pics more times than you have!


Thanks for all the feedback - these detail parts were a pain in the <ahem> to build and I'm so glad they're done. Now y'all get on over to my other thread and have a look at how they were made (with lots of closeup photos)!