Spartan Fred and Kelly Build

[brkiker]

Continuing the slow work on Kelly's armor. I mocked up some pieces for the top of the foot. Now I just need some feed back on which looks better. the .5 inch thick form or the .25 inch thick. I'm leaning towards the .25 inch, but would like to hear from everyone else. I know I need to redo the size, but this is just a simple cut the middle spread it apart.

I also took some time to mock up a hand plate using .25 inch foam. Pretty happy with the size, but don't think I'll be making it out of foam. I plan on 3D printing the finger tips, so figured I'd just 3D print the whole glove.

That's all for now. Like to hear from you.

 

[Hibson]

Very nice! I am following this closely as I'd like to do Kelly in the future

 

[Austin3991]

Can't wait to see more updates man! You're doing an amazing job!

 

[mawrTRON]

Awesome. More Kellys and Freds!

 

[brkiker]

Making headway and finally cutting out pieces of the boot armor. However, I'm stuck on a problem that I can't quiet figure out. Not sure how or what would be the best way to transfer the heel template to foam.

Most tutorials I've looked at show to cut the darts and tape the piece back together, and then press it onto the foam. However, the curve of the template is making that really hard. Anybody have suggestions?

 

[PaiganBoi]

Have you tried mold the foam to the shape of the heel after heating it up with a heat gun?

 

[brkiker]

Have you tried mold the foam to the shape of the heel after heating it up with a heat gun?

I was trying to figure out how to transfer the pattern as is to foam. I ended up having to put in a couple of darts in order for the template to lay flat enough on the foam for me to trace it. The idea is that after I clean it up some I'll heat shape it to the heal then glue the darts together.

 

[brkiker]

Took a day to cut the boot pieces, and now putting it together. Here's what I got.

There are still some detail pieces that I'll have to add, and naturally I'll go back and clean things up some more.

Though something went side ways on the heel, so I'm going to have to cut another one. As always, I really would like to hear back from all of you on what you think.

 

[Austin3991]

Looking good man! I'd still say 3D print the toe cap. That's just me and like 3 other people saying that though

 

[brkiker]

Well, I managed to get the left boot to a point I'm happy with. I just need to do the heel for the right boot now.

Next step on them is to add all the little detail. After that, I'll do one more quick over on cleaning it and filling in some of the seams and imperfections. I won't worry about strapping until after I paint it, but I'm thinking a combination of velcro and elastic straps.

As always, let me know what you think, and if there's any improvements I could do.

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Have you thought of covering the exposed area w/ something or leaving it as is?

 

[brkiker]

Have you thought of covering the exposed area w/ something or leaving it as is?

Probably going to leave as is which is why we picked the motorcycle boots. The boot has enough interesting look to it that once mixed with the armor and under suit, when we get that done, should blend nicely.

 

[Austin3991]

Looks sexy!

 

[NZSpartanz]

Some great ideas here, liking the boot idea as I have mine to make within the next month. Nice clean lines and bevels on the foam.

 

[brkiker]

Some great ideas here, liking the boot idea as I have mine to make within the next month. Nice clean lines and bevels on the foam.

Thanks. Working on the final details and final clean up before paint. We went with motorcycle boots because you can find them without lances and they tend to have and interesting and different design that sets them apart from other boots or shoes.

 

[brkiker]

Well, the boot armor is done and ready for paint.

I'm at that point where I have to tell myself to step back and move on even though there's a little voice inside of me pointing out flaws and saying just a little more.

They've been coated with about 5 layers of Plastidip. I still may put a little heat to them to fine tune the fit, but primer and paint is next. After that, I begin to figure out strapping and attachment to the boot. I have a basic idea on how I'm going to do that though: combination of elastic straps and industrial velcro.

As always, would love to get any feed back.

 

[Austin3991]

Looking great man!

 

[Dirtdives2424]

I think that they look great......Keep in mind that the more time and effort you put in to your build, the better the end result will be.

 

[brkiker]

I think that they look great......Keep in mind that the more time and effort you put in to your build, the better the end result will be.

Yep. I think this was the third set of boots I made. Of course the time factor is a luxury I'm quickly running out on.

 

[brkiker]

Well, things are picking up a little better now. I've managed to get the base coat on to the boots. The color Laura picked was Rustoleum Wildflower Blue. I think it's a pretty close color to Kelly's armor color. Now I just need to find a shade color to apply to all the panel lines and recessed areas.

I also managed to get the butt plate put together fairly quickly. I still need to put one last piece on, but I need to figure out how I'm going to attack that one since it might also be what holds the armor to the body suit.

There's just a little bit of clean up to do, but then it can get the Plastidip and paint treatment.

As always, leave some feedback, and I'll see you in the next post.