Chainsaw ninja
Jr Member
I thought about making an undershirt,but dang yours blows mine out a the water!! Awesome build 
Sarlume's first Spartan Build W/Custom Undersuit (pic heavy)
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sarlume
Member
This is awesome. Your chest piece makes mine look weak.
Thank you! I think it needs a lot of work still (especially in the back), but I'll bet yours looks cool, too.
Thanks! I sure hope so; it is really, really, really time (and thread) consuming. ^^;
Hey, thanks! Yeah, I can turn my neck...not the same as bare, of course, but I can definitely turn my head farther than I can with the helmet and chest piece on. Also, Spartan chicks rock. ;P
You know, the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but I don't see why not.
Thank you thank you! ^___^
Seeing improvement so soon was not expected, but I know I've got a long way to go. Heh...a little at a time! ^^
I thought about making an undershirt,but dang yours blows mine out a the water!! Awesome build
Thanks! I'll bet a more simple undershirt is more comfortable, though. It's comfortable enough once it's on, but it is a pain to get in and out of alone. >.<#
Update!!
Not much of one, but still something...the undersuit is now wearable! I don't have the greatest pictures of it yet, but I will show you what I do have until I can get something better (daylight).
After adding a closure, before sleeves were added.
I did get good pics of the construction phase on the sleeves, at least...
First, the felt.
Then, the textured vinyl (using the felt that was also the mock-up as backing to make it bubble)
Repeat...
Tired Sara is tired.
After sleeves, but cruddy picture. This was my first fitting attempt with the chest.
Second fitting attempt. Added everything else I had (including the gloves that arrived!) to get the full effect.
The sleeves were made in two pieces; the black is made from the same spandex/fleece as the neck seal, and is a piece all on its own. They are connected by elastic across my back, and they zip from the wrist to the elbow for donning ease over the hands. You can't tell from these awful pics, but they are also textured. The white is part of the vinyl suit, some sewn by machine, some sewn directly on by hand; the suit was in no way behaving under my sewing machine's foot.
I'm going to reach out for opinions at this point. I kind of liked the suit better before I added the longer white pieces on the sleeves. Should I go back and take em off leaving the white only on the shoulders?
I love fittings. Frustrating, but better than falling apart at whatever event you're preparing for. The back needs touching up (and photos...doh!), and I need a plan for the pants. Don't wanna make em...ugh. Otherwise, the undersuit is done. I will be making another in the spandex/fleece combo I used for the neck seal eventually, but I'm not thinking I'll have time before Halloween. Sad face. In other news, the thighs will need some sizing tweaks unless I loose like ten pounds before Halloween.
I think that's it for now. I will hopefully get some better pictures very soon and update with more progress elsewhere, too. ^^
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Again I have to say it, amazing work! How long have you been sewing? You got skillz
I agree about the sleeves, I do like it better before you added the long pieces. Although it doesn't look bad by any means with them on. It really looks like its coming together. As for pants this is what I am using:
https://www.troyleedesigns.com/products/5210-02
Pic of them on:
Attachments
This is incredible! Fantastic work! I havent made it to the foam reading sections yet, but I love how the foam looks in everyone's builds. I'm going to have to try it on my next build. I'm torn on the white. Some pics I like it and in others it looks too wide. Maybe as more of an accent?
spartan IV
Jr Member
What a nice looking under suit. In my opinion the truly good Halo 4 under suits are all sown and yours is no exception.
sarlume
Member
Again I have to say it, amazing work! How long have you been sewing? You got skillz
As for pants this is what I am using:
https://www.troyleedesigns.com/products/5210-02
Thank you! I started sewing five years ago, give or take. I hope to grow here in the next five years as I have over the last five in the ball gown neighborhood.
Those pants look perfect! Sadly, they are currently out of my price range and I don't have much extra room in my thighs. I may just sacrifice the ones I've been using for the pictures if I can't find anything else suitable. Eventually I'll make a pair, but meh...
Ooooh, I like that idea! Maybe I could just add a little directly to the black sleeves and leave it at that.
Thank you very much! ^^
Okie doke...update!
Over the last week or so, I practically dropped off of the world for everyone I knew and sequestered myself to work. After getting some things shipped off, I switched right over to the armor and began to work down the legs.
So, here's what I managed to crank out...
Didn't take a whole lot of progress pics because...well, I forgot. It happens. I started on the knees, but they really didn't take much time at all...they were pretty simple. After knees, I naturally moved down to the shins.
First, drew out templates.
Some three days later, I finally had shin armor!
I was pretty happy with the way they turned out even though there are still places that really bug me. I think they'll need to be held on with snaps at the bottoms so that they stay put, but they otherwise fit well and look right(ish).
The plan was to rig the stand-in pants to hold everything for the sake of fittings after finishing the shins, but I started working on the boots instead, minus a distraction. The best laid plans, and all...
Found him at Michaels with the Halloween goodies and couldn't resist putting the IWHBYD symbol on it...I may pick up another twelve of them and make a whole set.
Okay, not entirely a big fan of the boots that go with this particular leg set, but they were simple so I made em anyway. Took a slight artistic license on them and blew them up just a touch to at least cover a little of the shoe and have places to actually hold the shoe. They may be a bit too big, I don't know. Still not a huge fan, but they're usable...
Is it considered bad form to switch out the boot of a particular leg set to suit your tastes?
Here is all of it lined up on the floor. The left shin is backwards to show the back detail.
Then I rigged the pants as I had planned on, taking a page out of kitnip's book. I added snaps for the knees, and parachute clips for the thighs. I'm sewing mine on though, so that I can move them to the new pair once I find them (if I find them).
Finally, had to suit up and see how it looked and wore all together.
Forgot to don my gloves for these, but I remembered my new prop.
In the end, I decided to go ahead and remove the extra strip of white on the upper arms. I liked it better and it's easier to wear without em anyway. I will ultimately be wearing underarmor underneath everything because I can see skin where the sleeves meet the torso. Gasp! It was all in the interest of being able to re-use the sleeves and move properly though, so it's okay.Definitely have a couple tweaks to fix on the legs, and I still need to detail the thighs. The back of my undersuit is troublesome to operate on my own, so that may or may not be a problem. I don't like that the spine isn't as flush as it should be, so that'll take some working on, too. On that note, I actually remembered pics of the back this time!
I've still got to add that little piece on the back of the torso armor where it meets the spine, but I'll do that when I get to detailing it. I think I'm getting to the cod and butt plate next, but I've been known to deviate.
Until the next time! ^^
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cha0skn1ght
Active Member
Your build is absolutely phenomenal! I feel like mobility would be better with making an undersuit like yours than a foam one like I tried. I don't know if I will try and make something in the 10 days I have left before a con I'm going to, but I can dream about it!
Looking good and keep it up!
-subbed for my viewing pleasure
Looking good and keep it up!
-subbed for my viewing pleasure
sarlume
Member
Haha! We're going to have a lot of the same armor pieces in our builds; I've been planning on the Rogue shoulders, myself...though I liked the forearms from the concept art more than the other reference pics. Not sure if I want to tackle forearms from a concept drawing where you only see the top. :-/ Are the shins for your suit, or are they going with your girlfriend's build?
Oh boy! Thanks! Hey, why not dream? You can only learn, right? Ten days does sound stressful, but you do have a solid back-up!
Hyperballistik
Well-Known Member
Wow nice job, Isn't it really hot wearing all of the undersuit material, It looks great but really really hot, lol I about die of heatstroke just using the Black underarmor shirts, hope to see if all together soon
sarlume
Member
Thanks! Yeah it's hot, but the vinyl is only the torso area so it's not much different than wearing a large corset in my case (without all the cinching, that is). After working with it versus working with the spandex/fleece combo, I'm definitely replacing it with a suit made from that in the future. That'll be toasty too I'm sure, but a bit more breathable.
It's funny, I almost made Rogue shoulders instead of EOD. Haha. It'd be cool to see someone do some of the concept art, I find concept builds cooler than the In-game builds. The shins are going to be for my suit, though my girlfriend may want the same (The only thing she is really heart-set on is the Scout helmet, haha). I, unlike most people, love the XG-89 Narrow boots; and the rest of the legs are very skeletal and streamlined, which is why I picked it for my suit.
-Ryan
sarlume
Member
I'm still a bit worried about making it look odd being a concept forearm, but I'm probably going to do it anyway. heh. I loved the skeletal look of these legs myself, but the boots are so minimal. :-/ I'm going with em anyway, though...I think they turned out okay.
this build is looking AWESOME! like many have already said before, your undersuit is working out perfectly. btw could you maybe provide the templates for the neck seal, that'd be really helpful for many halo 4 builds in WIP stage atm.
CrazyDav0
Hey, I can do that! I hope it does help in some way, though I have seen some great neck seal patterns floating around the site.
Lil' bitty update!
Well it feels like I should have more done, so I'm saying it's lil' bitty, but it's something. The long and short of it is that I got the cod and butt plate to a satisfactory level of completion, detailed the boots, and started on my arms.
Boots were first. The details helped make them look less like slippers...
The cod didn't really take long; not much to it.
The butt plate was a little more difficult, but it's alright. I don't like the wavy, bubbly look I get from the glue under the foamies, but I'll survive I guess. I know spray adhesive would solve that problem, but I'd worry about it lasting.
Pros and cons..sigh.I'll admit the rogue shoulders/biceps had me a little worried. On top of the intimidating look of all the little details they have, I also have some concern as to whether or not they'll constantly run into the chest piece every time I go to take a drink or pick my nose. In the pictures where the spartan is holding a magnum, they simply merge. This is me worrying. Still, my Muse is a spoiled brat and I had my heart set on Rogue shoulders. We will see how it pans out.
I'm showing my crazy a little by going with the forearms from here, cause...you know...I haven't bitten off too much already:
Here are my templates.
Starting from the top down
Where they are now
They look pretty cool, but I personally can't wait to see it all painted and uniform with the rest of the suit (and to test out the mobility of the pieces all together). I'm kinda far from the paint stage yet, though. I will still need to add details to the chest piece and maaaaybe make a new helmet. Depends on whether I can bring this one to a point where I'm happy with the fit and shape. As I usually say, we shall see.
Last but not least, here is a scan of my neck seal pattern if anyone wishes to use it.
The center piece is patterned to go all the way to the end of the chin, so I had to put a 'dart' into the center so that it would lay smoother along that drastic curve of the neck to the chin. In anyone's case I would suggest making it as is, and putting it on inside out before you put in the dart. That way, you could pinch the fabric where it gathers to know where and how deep your dart would work the best to lay smoothly. Note that these patterns are center, side, and back, arranged in order. The side panel and back panel will need to be flipped for the other side, of course. I used piping in the front seams to get the white lines down the front.
If it helps at least one person, I'll be a happy lady! ^_^
I will be rigging the cod and butt plate to the suit, and I'll be back with a pic of them together(hopefully with the biceps too).
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cha0skn1ght
Active Member
Those shoulders look amazing. They make me want to make mine better. Great job (again)
BHF Dark Phoenx
New Member
you are doing a great job hun keep up the good work i cant wait to see it all plastic dipped and painted im sure itll look awesome...er lol
Chainsaw ninja
Jr Member
With all of your sewing and experience with working with materials you should have a way to have the straps go from your armor and the have it go under your undersuit to hide them idk if you know what I meant but that'd give it a good floating armor look with great support from straps
sarlume
Member
Aww, yours turned out quite nice too! I do hope that my whole suit looks that cool once it's painted. ^^
You and me both. lol I don't wanna jump the gun without practice though, so I need to do some dummy runs first...I'm scared to ruin it with a rushed paint job; I'm starting to run low on time.
lookin good! keep it up
Thanks! ^_^
With all of your sewing and experience with working with materials you should have a way to have the straps go from your armor and the have it go under your undersuit to hide them idk if you know what I meant but that'd give it a good floating armor look with great support from straps
Oh, the thought of some hidden rigging system did cross my mind. I settled on snaps in the end, though I intend to improve over time and I may turn toward something more like that if it makes things more mobile for me.
UPDATE (finally...)
I know it's been a bit, but I have been a busy bee and this update will have a lot in it. Though a lot of the work I've done centered around making the suit actually wear-able and movable. Stairs are a cinch now, but sitting is a bit more difficult. sigh.
Okay, you're all here for pictures, so I'll just jump right in. I finished my shoulders/biceps.
From there, I went right into the forearms. It was both challenging and unquestionably fun to work with a design that only showed the top, but the cool part was matching the underside to the top and to the shoulders. I hope I did the designer's concept some justice, cause it's what I'm rolling with. lol -_-;
Okay. So those were done, I went to rigging snaps to the new pants for this suit. They were inexpensive and the pattern works well in a pinch. I'm happy with the sheen matching (unlike the sleeves and neck seal, but that's one reason why a new undersuit will be made in the future.), and the fit is good. So, I originally put parachute clips in my thighs to hold them up like kitnip did in her build, but my thighs are not - by any means - small. Therefore, one parachute clip did not do the job for me. Darn. So, with mobility and the same practicality in mind, I went further down the snap spiral and just snapped the thighs directly onto the pants instead of making them click together with clips. This way I was able to have them fit snugly, yet lend the thighs the elasticity of the pants when they needed it.
I also altered the undersuit to close on the side instead of at the back with the spine covering it. I didn't like the way the spine was sitting that way, and now it is muuuuuuuch easier to put on. No brainer...why didn't I do this from the beginning again?...
Coolest thing about all these small changes is that I put on the whole thing alone. Woot!
I need to sharpen up the fit of the thighs a bit more; the left thigh wiggles oddly when I walk, but that's nothing big. Forearms need to have a closure of some kind put in, and the shoulders were sitting too low. I think I will need to make a new helmet though; I have kinda long-ish hair and it doesn't all quite fit in the helmet comfortably. I'm thinking probably the same one, but I'm severely drawn to browsing helmets again. So very tempted to try that EVA helmet, but the visor is scary. lol Should I go for it, or just make another Mark VI? Decisions, decisions.
The magnum I'm holding was purchased from a fellow artist friend of mine who makes Halo replica weapons. He recently moved out of town. :'( Anyway, it is a basic prop with no fun lights or removable clips, but still needs to be painted and the clip adhered after painting. I'm new to the replica weapons, so is there any specific paint I will need to use, or will simple acrylics work? Before that however, there is a bit of ugliness that I need to fix at the front of the gun.
Is there something less toxic and less involved than Bondo that I could use to patch that up, or am I stuck with the ugly barrel?
One more little thing I've been working on,
My son's grunt costume. (I hope) I'm a little terrified that I won't be able to pull it off in time, but I work at home so I am hopeful. We do have a back-up plan, but man, I wanna make this happen. My nephew wants one, too. I want so bad to give them awesome grunt costumes, but that might be more than I can chew. I will try, but I did let him know that he is going to need another costume to fall back on in the event that the juju doesn't work for us this year.
Okay, I think that's all for now. I have a few rush orders to fill, so I'm chained to the sewing machine for a few days (not that I mind). Once they are shipped off, I will be working several late nights to try and get that grunt looking like a grunt, and finishing up the chest's details so I can start the painting stage. So nervous just typing that...
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Chainsaw ninja
Jr Member
Not trying to dissuade you, but maybe you should try the reach pilot helmet with that attachment. That way you can have that eva kinda look without huge curve to worry about in the visor. Either way I'm subbed!
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