Spitfire22V's LD Mark VI build - Now Completed

[Swift]

Thanks guys, glad you like it!

Swift, please feel free to use any idea you found here. I'm curious to see how others tackle any similar issues I had during my build, and whether these solutions are universal.

Regarding the visor, I purchased THIS ONE.

Not sure what the dimensions are since I didn't measure it before I trimmed it and installed it. It's a regular motorcycle helmet visor though, so I imagine the size is pretty standard. Considering the visor opening of the Scout helmet compared to the Mark VI, I'm pretty sure something like it would work just fine for you. Since the visors are just plastic, they have a little bit of flexibility in them that you can use to get them to fit properly. Hope this helps!

Yeah, I had that one saved to favourites, just in case My issue was, I have a friend who is a bit of a motorcycle junkie, and when I showed him my helmet he didn't think that a visor would be 'deep' enough to cover the whole thing. I shall ty it anywayz, as it's only $8. Thanks!

 

[Spitfire22V]

Yeah, I had that one saved to favourites, just in case My issue was, I have a friend who is a bit of a motorcycle junkie, and when I showed him my helmet he didn't think that a visor would be 'deep' enough to cover the whole thing. I shall ty it anywayz, as it's only $8. Thanks!

I went through your thread looking for photos of you wearing your helmet so far, and based on those photos, I can almost guarantee you that the visor I used will fit for your Scout helmet. It fact, it might require some trimming to get it to fit better when the helmet is padded. Good luck!

 

[Swift]

I went through your thread looking for photos of you wearing your helmet so far, and based on those photos, I can almost guarantee you that the visor I used will fit for your Scout helmet. It fact, it might require some trimming to get it to fit better when the helmet is padded. Good luck!

Well, apparently that company doesn't ship to Australia... oh well. Plan B: ebay! Thanks for the help spitfire

 

[thorn696]

Spitfire, I don't know if this will help you or not, but here it goes. For my speed rig. I'm using a Pipe hanger that will be bent. a small dole (sp)(wood) in which will be fitted into the opening for pipe. And a long thin bolt. The bolt will inserted into a hole in the wood and the head is cut off. Just make sure you're bolt is the same Dim. as you're bore and it will hold the weapon in place. then just add 1 small strap to keep the handle from swinging out and you're all set. I will be posting a pic of this set up next month on my build. Hope this helps you.

 

[Spitfire22V]

Spitfire, I don't know if this will help you or not, but here it goes. For my speed rig. I'm using a Pipe hanger that will be bent. a small dole (sp)(wood) in which will be fitted into the opening for pipe. And a long thin bolt. The bolt will inserted into a hole in the wood and the head is cut off. Just make sure you're bolt is the same Dim. as you're bore and it will hold the weapon in place. then just add 1 small strap to keep the handle from swinging out and you're all set. I will be posting a pic of this set up next month on my build. Hope this helps you.

That's also definitely a possibility that I can look at if the magnet route does not work. Unfortunately, I still have not even gotten a chance to try the Magnet method!! :angry Magnets I ordered still have not arrived, which is what I suppose you get for going the cheapest option with free shipping...

In the meantime, I've completed the Magnum anyway. I am planning an "Unveiling Party/BBQ" this Thursday to finally show off the suit to my friends who knew about the project. Yes, none of them have seen any major parts of it yet. Against incredible temptation, I have given them very little information and sneak peeks of the suit. The only thing they've seen in person was the helmet, which blew them away. I figure they'll get the full, best effect if the first time they see the entire suit is when it's all finished and worn.

So, because of that, I wanted to finish the Magnum too. Of course, I can still add in the magnetic thigh attachment later, if I ever GET the magnets...:rolleyes

It's not perfect, but I think it does the job well enough

I did Bondo lots of it to smooth it, but I ran completely out of Bondo, and didn't feel like buying a new can just for touch ups, so it's not 100% smooth.

Glued in a red LED (non-working) for the laser rangefinder (if that's what it is). Also, the only part of it that I'm not satisfied with at all is the front and barrel hole. I really didn't get the required bevels right, and the barrel hole is really rough. Oh well.

With the magazine.

Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Shade88]

Looking good!

 

[Hyperballistik]

That pistol looks great man, how the heck did you put the lettering on? its amazing how little detail things make such a big impact Great job

 

[thorn696]

Mag looks great.

 

[Spitfire22V]

Thanks for the comment guys, glad you like it!
Hyper, the writing was done freehand with a paint pen. But when I sprayed the clear coat, it really diluted the look of the text. At first I was a little disappointed, but I actually prefer it this way so the text is more subtle.

Well, I had an "official" unveil party/BBQ yesterday. It was incredibly fun! Unfortunately, I seemed to have picked the hottest day to do it! It was over 100 deg Fahrenheit (37 dec Celsius), and I was melting inside that suit! The helmet fan helped a bit, and water was a must! However, it doesn't get hotter than that around here, so I know what to expect if I were the suit outside during the summer. For Halloween in October and for November Halo game releases, the temps should be perfect with the suit on, especially at night!

Anyway, here are the photos. Enjoy!

Testing out the armor durability!

Reading the user instructions on the back!

Trying out the Heisman pose.

Master Chief playing Halo? Why not!

Note the minor suit malfunction here. The two end shot shells came loose. Not sure how I'm going to get in there to re-glue! Also, one of my cod-to-thigh straps came loose, most likely due to too much tension when I sat down. Everything else held up fine as far as I can tell.

Go long! My friends just kept handing me props to pose with! lol

Only the best brews for The Chief.

The secret behind my strength.

Formal time!

My friends couldn't help shooting at me with Nerf guns (yes, we're still children at heart!). The suit held up fine to their assault.

The Chief's other ride when the Warthog is in the shop. (I wanted to take the bike outside for the photos, but the owner wasn't around).

Wailing on the guitar!

Self explanatory!

Whew! What a workout, but all worth it!

Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I had taking them!

 

[Shade88]

Love the photo shoot, the suit looks great!

 

[Vow Of Pity]

Love this build great to see it finished You did an outstanding job with the low def files!

 

[LongShot X]

I love your photos! Looks like you had fun taking them.
Fantastic to see the Chief jamming, gaming and celebrating.

KUDOs!

 

[Spitfire22V]

Thanks for the comments guys, glad you enjoyed the photos! It really was a lot of fun, and only made me look forward even more to my first "real" public outing. That will probably be on the 4th of July, where there is lots of festivities at the main local park. After that, vacation, and back in time for Baltimore Comic Con! I plan on entering the costume contest there, and I plan on winning. :cool

In the meantime, I will do the minor repairs needed to the suit, and I will work on the undersuit and see if I can get that to work. Stay tuned!

 

[Jonus]

Thanks for the comments guys, glad you enjoyed the photos! It really was a lot of fun, and only made me look forward even more to my first "real" public outing. That will probably be on the 4th of July, where there is lots of festivities at the main local park. After that, vacation, and back in time for Baltimore Comic Con! I plan on entering the costume contest there, and I plan on winning. :cool

In the meantime, I will do the minor repairs needed to the suit, and I will work on the undersuit and see if I can get that to work. Stay tuned!

I like the photos from your little shoot. That's one thing I'm really looking forward to when I finish my build. That and the public appearances.

If you don't win that contest I'd hate to see your competition.

 

[Spitfire22V]

I like the photos from your little shoot. That's one thing I'm really looking forward to when I finish my build. That and the public appearances.

If you don't win that contest I'd hate to see your competition.

Yes, photoshoots are very fun! Inside that helmet, you're kind of "cut off" from the world, so your inhibitions are a bit lower I think!

Here's a link to a video montage of the 2010 Baltimore Comic Con costume contest. Assuming this year is similar, the only real competition would be the likes of Ironman, War Machine (last year's winner), and Bumblebee. Should be interesting!

(Hint: Got to 0:52 in the video and thank me later...)

Well, my suit is still in it's infancy, but it's still a work in progress and is already undergoing several upgrades. Here's the first. I'm very happy to check off something else on my list of things I said I would do!

Magnetic sidearm attachment! :cool

I finally received the magnets I ordered. Here's a link if anyone is interested:
DealExtreme Rare Earth Magnets. (Strange, I payed $3.00 even with free shipping. Looks like the price recently went up....)

I ended up using all 20 magnets, which is not what I planned, but it's what worked. The end result is as good if not better than what I hoped!

At first, I had planned on adding a small piece of wood dowel to the thigh that would support the pistol from the bottom from shear forces, but I don't need to!

There are 6 magnets in the Pistol (3 x two locations in the grip), and the other 14 are split evenly inside the thigh.

I epoxied all the magnets in place, and encased the ones in the thigh in epoxy putty.

Unfortunately, since the pistol was already finished before I modified it to accept the magnets, the installation is a bit sloppy. The magnets do not sit flush, so I had to Bondo them to smooth it up a bit.

Front view.

Rear view.

And here's a short video to show how well it works! Just like in-game!



Finally, I decided to reinforce the inner thigh padding since the hot glue wasn't holding as well as I'd hoped. So, I screwed in a 4-40 bolt and blind nut on the top corner in the front and back. Much more secure, and much more peace of mind!

You can see here how the hot glue just didn't hold.

More to come soon! Let's just say I decided my suit wasn't "billboard-like" enough....

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[workbook51]

hey spitfire you Mark VI is coming along epic
and poster-board can be bot at Walmart right? it will be a big help with my SMG if I can pick some up P.S. do you think it foam broad well do with something as big as a sniper rifle

 

[Spitfire22V]

hey spitfire you Mark VI is coming along epic
and poster-board can be bot at Walmart right? it will be a big help with my SMG if I can pick some up P.S. do you think it foam broad well do with something as big as a sniper rifle

Thanks man!

Yup, foamboard should be available at Wal-Mart. Also, Staples, Office Depot, CVS, etc. I definitely think foamboard would work just fine for a Sniper. For the record, I'm using about 4-6 layers for the weapons. At that thickness, they tend to have some weight, stiffness, and sturdiness, but are still super light for their size.

I'm going to be starting another weapon with foamboard again soon, and this time it will be a bit bigger than a Magnum.

Edit: Just realized you said posterboard instead of foamboard. You did mean foamboard, right?

 

[Hyperballistik]

Hey Spitfire great job getting the M6 attached to the thigh piece, I tried to do this also but failed, I hardened my pistol with Smooth Cast and the gun got to heavy for the magnets to hold, Do you plan to hide the magnets on the pistol, or paint black over them, also they do sell foamboard at Walmart saw it there the other day, are you planning on doing a sliced MA5? hope so I'd like to dee how a sliced one turns out but overall its going to look cool having a sidearm attached to your leg VS having to carry it the whole time

 

[RoxyRoo]

I couldn't resist. It was just too good to pass up. XDD
<3

 

[thorn696]

I couldn't resist. It was just too good to pass up. XDD
<3

Love this.