Spitfire22V's LD Mark VI build - Now Completed

[ventrue]

(Also, I was surprised to see this thread moved out of the Noob forum! I got a little worried when I couldn't find it! :confused Thanks! )

If you keep going like this you'll end up in the elite section with your "low def" *coughcough* suit :-D

 

[Spitfire22V]

Great job on the strapping, Im doing the same stuff on my build, did mine with magnets, but i like the way yours turned out, looks like we may finish our builds around the same time

Thanks! I contemplated magnets, but decided for the buckles due to their locking mechanism. Still, it's not very easy to remove...
You're right, we are both on track to finish our respective suits at around the same time; can't wait to see yours finished!

If you keep going like this you'll end up in the elite section with your "low def" *coughcough* suit :-D

Thanks, but we all know that only builds by people who make props for a living end up in the Elite section!

Quick question for you guys again.

I was wondering if someone could show or point me to photos or a build thread that shows how the ab plate was removed and reattached/strapped. I'd rather see how others get it to turn out before trying myself, so I have an idea of what direction to head. I'm pretty sure I'm capable of figuring it out myself, but it would be nice to avoid any potential headaches if I overlook something! Thanks again for any help!

 

[royalpain88]

You were at Andrews tis past weekend?

 

[Spitfire22V]

You were at Andrews tis past weekend?

Sure was! What a great show as usual! Did you make it?

I just finished posting some of my photos HERE. :cool

 

[thorn696]

You're chest plate is looking great. Love the way you did the strapping. As for the ab plate, Strapping to the inside of the main chest plate looks like it would work. Or you could make it a separate plate altogether sorta like how the 501 makes theres. On my test chest plate it was hooked to the inside of it hanging. And finely the third opp would to make it out of foam giving it full flexibly. Just a concept. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

 

[Spitfire22V]

You're chest plate is looking great. Love the way you did the strapping. As for the ab plate, Strapping to the inside of the main chest plate looks like it would work. Or you could make it a separate plate altogether sorta like how the 501 makes theres. On my test chest plate it was hooked to the inside of it hanging. And finely the third opp would to make it out of foam giving it full flexibly. Just a concept. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

Thanks for the tips Thorn. I went ahead and cut out the ab plate this morning, and it looks like it will work just fine to attach a wide strip of vinyl to strap it to the main chest piece. I tried on the chest piece after having removed it, and it fit much better; much more breathing room. With the ab plate free-floating/hinged, it also gives me more bending flexibility.

Update for today, got quite a bit done.

As mentioned, I cut out the ab plate. I originally was going to use a hack saw or something similar since I didn't think my Dremel could fit. But it did so I used that and it came out fine. It was ready for paint so I went ahead and sprayed it.

I added some stiffeners to the lower rear of crossbars since they felt a little flexible.

Per CoolC's suggestions, I created alignment/holding pieces for the top buckles. Simply some pieces of hard wood drilled out to accept a wooden dowel. The dowel is glued into one of the blocks, and then keyed into the other when closing the chest to ensure alignment.

Close-up view. I decided that one per side was sufficient.

After the epoxy dried and coat of black primer to blend it in.

Put on the final color coat on the chest.

Tomorrow, after the base coat has thoroughly dried, I will begin the masking of the parts to be painted black, paint any details ("UNSC", the logo, etc), weather, and clearcoat and it will be finished!

Finally, using the elastic nylon I ordered, I strapped up the handguards. As I have previously mentioned, I did not buy a pair of gloves for exclusive use with this suit. I will be using my shooting gloves, and as such do not want to permanently attach anything to them. The elastic allows easy attachment of removal without damaging the glove.

I cut the elastic short enough so they are very tight on the back of my hand, and will not slide off.

The only disadvantage is the visible elastic around the palm. I'm ok with this though, as it's not too noticeable.

That's all for now. Expect more photos of the finished chest in the next few days, since there's not much work left on it.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Hyperballistik]

Looking great man, I think im going to borrow your idea for the hand plates, I stuck a drop of hot glue to hold them to my gloves but I don't want to permanatly mount them to the gloves, your idea is perfect, What did you use to attach the elastic to the handplate?
Im impressed how you make the parts you can't even see look good

 

[Spitfire22V]

Thanks man, coming from you means a lot. :cool I just used hot glue too to attach the elastic to the handguards. Not shown in the photos, since I just did it, but I also hot glued a square of the vinyl material I'm using over the glue joint for extra security. Hope this works out for you too!

 

[Hyperballistik]

Thanks man, coming from you means a lot. :cool I just used hot glue too to attach the elastic to the handguards. Not shown in the photos, since I just did it, but I also hot glued a square of the vinyl material I'm using over the glue joint for extra security. Hope this works out for you too!

Thanks for the info, hurry up and get that chest piece done I have to see this awsome build all together, and you will definatly be happy that you made the ab plate able to move around, it won't feel like your rib cage is being crushed, and you'll feel like you can breath

 

[0235]

ok this build is seriously an inspiration to everyone. the way you have the clips on bits of wood, and then glue them to the pieces, the way that you mod the low def files to make them look aweome, even the handplate of elastic is amazing. i truly dont know how anyone can come up with som my new ideas! are you sure that you have looked at anyone elses builds as this is truly amazing!
and yes, this is truly elite section worth, showing just what you can do with low def files. id love to see what you could do to some HD ones

 

[Spitfire22V]

Thanks for the info, hurry up and get that chest piece done I have to see this awsome build all together, and you will definatly be happy that you made the ab plate able to move around, it won't feel like your rib cage is being crushed, and you'll feel like you can breath

Yes, that's exactly how it felt before I cut it out. Bearable for about 5 minutes, but no way would that work for several hours of wearing at an event, con, etc.

ok this build is seriously an inspiration to everyone. the way you have the clips on bits of wood, and then glue them to the pieces, the way that you mod the low def files to make them look aweome, even the handplate of elastic is amazing. i truly dont know how anyone can come up with som my new ideas! are you sure that you have looked at anyone elses builds as this is truly amazing!
and yes, this is truly elite section worth, showing just what you can do with low def files. id love to see what you could do to some HD ones

Thanks man! Glad you like it! I looked at several threads before I started, trying to see what techniques methods people were using, and deciding which ones I would go with based on other's results. I did check out your build, and saw that you used low-def files too, and upgraded them with some more detail pieces. Great minds think alike!

Well, I'm pleased to announce that the CHEST IS FINISHED! Definitely took the longest to work on of all the pieces, with the exception of maybe the helmet.

With that, all the armor pieces are completed!!. Now all that's left to do is finish up some strapping and padding.

Black detail parts painted.

UNSC text and logo stenciled and sprayed, black-washed, weathered, and clear coated!

The ab plate was just attached with a wide piece of vinyl. Seems secure, and has just enough flexibility.

Also added some vinyl detail pieces on the rear neck area of the chest.

With the helmet, because it looks awesome! :cool

Just got finished padding and strapping the boots. I glued EVA foam to the sides to hold the boots in place, and glued on straps of elastic to hold them down.

A little difficult to get into now, but when they do slide on, they are nice and tight.

With the real boots on.

That's it for now!

All I really have left to do is to pad and strap the shoulders and forearm pieces, and I'm finished! Of course, I still have the Magnum to finish as well, but that's another story (waiting on some rare-earth magnets I ordered).

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[matth101]

Awesome stuff!!! Hurry up, suit up and take some pics!!! . Loving this build!

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

That looks great. What clear coat did you use?

 

[BLACKULA727]

I'm with Matt & Justinian. The build is awesome sauce!

 

[Hyperballistik]

Excellent job, the chest looks great, Hard to believe its a LD chest. now get the strapping done we want to see pics with this bad boy being worn

 

[Constrictor]

OMG it looks so great!

 

[thorn696]

Loving it. Not to mention the walk thru's are great. Thank you.

 

[Spitfire22V]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments; they have definitely helped keep me super motivated about this project that I started almost exactly 4 months ago. What an incredible experience. I couldn't have imagined that I would ever have my own, wearable Spartan armor.

I am pleased to announce that my suit is finished!

Thank you, 405th, and to everyone who helped, advised, gave tips, and just generally assisted me in any way or provided inspiration. I have learned so much from everyone, and it's been a joy being part of this community.

And now, say hello to Spartan V311 "Spitfire22V"!

Don't know what I'm doing here. Feel free to caption this photo for your amusement!

Any Grunts hiding in here?

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This was my first time wearing the suit in it's entirety, so I'm going to go over it all after this quick photoshoot to see how well it held up and look for any weak spots or trouble areas that could use some fixes before a long duration event. It gets hot in there!

I don't have the best mobility, especially with the arm pieces. Might do some tweaking or trimming there. Overall, I was very cautious about moving around in it, but I suppose that's just me being wary and not knowing the limits of the armor.

The only other things that it needs now are maybe a small "undersuit" to cover the waist area, and I have to finish and mount the Magnum.

Again, thanks everyone, and thank for stopping by!

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

Great photo shoot.

With the airplane overhead, it looks like you are looking up at some ODST's dropping in.

 

[Darkrider9]

Always nice to see someone else complete their suit. Looks really cool, the shotgun shells on the arm and bullets on the shoulder are an excellent touch. Have fun with your new suit.