Spitfire22V's LD Mark VI build - Now Completed

[tarsus]

That's like the visors i looked at when building mine...Though I in the end went with simply PETG plastic for ease or maintaining it...I am looking at vac forming a couple of newer ones.

This is looking really good

 

[Spitfire22V]

Time for another update! As promised, this update features the news that…..

I’M FINISHED FIBERGLASSING!!

A big relief, and now I am left with the monumental task of Bondo-ing and detailing essentially all the pieces. Still A LOT of work ahead of me to say the least.

Also as promised, the visor has been installed! I am now working on some finishing details before final primer and paint.

First, I covered the visor with plastic wrap to protect the mirror finish, and then covered the entire thing with masking tape.

I trial fitted it in and marked the visor opening on the tape to know how much to trim.

The Dremel did a quick job of cutting off excess on the sides. More masking tape was added to cover the new edges.

I built some mounting brackets out of plywood and 4-40 blind nuts. I want the visor removable if (when?) I decide to mount a better, actually GOLD mirrored visor in the future.

These were glued in, and reinforced with epoxy putty. Thanks to BLACKULA727 for leading me to this wonderful product!

Next, I reinstalled the visor, and glued in the side pieces back in. These were prepared earlier, and are simply pieces of plywood. You can also notice in this picture that I have drilled the holes for the LED’s and also added another cardboard detail piece

Using that wonderful epoxy putty, I filled in the gaps.

Visor removed, this is where I’m at now. Once I sand down all the stuff around the visor opening, I’m ready for final primer and paint! However, the weather is not really cooperating (it's raining here). :angry

Speaking of LED’s, I received the ones I ordered, and wired them up with ~350 ohm resistors to run on 9 V. Might also just go to Radio Shack and buy the micro fan I’ve had my eye on for the helmet.

Bonus photo: proof that the chest piece is all fiberglassed! :cool

So, next I will be working on finishing up the helmet (need padding! Ideas please?). Then, onto the long process of Bondo-ing everything else.

Stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by!

 

[Spitfire22V]

Sorry for the double post, but I was unaware there was a photo limit for posts. Especially since I got an error saying that the maximum limit is 15, and that's exactly how many I had.... :confused Apparently, the actual limit is 10?

Until I am able to post a dedicated WIP thread in the Weapons & Props forum, I’ll show some progress photos of the Magnum here. I’ve mainly been working on the magazine.

So, I went shooting this weekend with my friends, and picked up some of our spent 9 mm shell casings. Using that epoxy putty (love this stuff now!), I molded some “bullets”. (Yes, I know the Halo Magnum is not chambered in 9 mm, but it works )

After sanding and polishing:

I cut out a hollow in the top of the magazine, and lined it with cardboard. I was hoping to fit more than 1 bullet in there, but a single one will have to do. The magazine still fits well inside the gun, and the magnet still holds it in well, even with the added weight. Don’t mind the rough edges, the magazine will be Bondo-ed, sanded, smoothed, etc before painting.

We also went Trap/Skeet shooting that day, and I kept some of my empty shotshell hulls. I know I’m a long way off, but I decided to prep the shells for the day that I can mount them. Probably wont use all 7, but it’s good to have extras. Prepping involved closing these bad boys up, which was not as easy as you’d think…

They’ll be attached in a side shotshell holder like this one, which will be mounted to the right forearm.

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Not sure if this is allowed, but I figured I’d throw a photo of me in here. Don’t make fun of my groupings, it was my first time shooting a handgun! I think I did alright, considering the crappy, non-sighted in rental guns we were using.

 

[BLACKULA727]

I really like what you have done so far. I like the brackets you created to mount the visor. I think its a good improvement on the method I used in my tutorial (Which was jut putty holding the posts). Your method looks like it would be stronger and you wouldn't have to worry about the posts coming loose in the epoxy putty. Again, I like it. Also, would it be an issue if I saved some of your visor mounting photos to my photo bucket (When yor fnished of course)? I would like to add these to the tutorial. Great job! It's looking good!

 

[Spitfire22V]

Thanks! I wasn't sure if it was an improvement, it's just a method I'm used to from my RC airplane building. Actually, when I was doing it, I was telling myself "Why didn't I just do it BLACKULA's way?" because my way (the wooden posts) seemed maybe a bit more complicated.

Feel free to use any photos you'd like! I have a few more that I didn't upload, but they're essentially the same as the ones here (I take a bunch of photos and pick the best).

 

[Mensrea Prod]

Great idea about the bullets tips, nd the shell holder.

 

[Spitfire22V]

Some more progress shots for the weekend. I will once again be away from the project until Sunday/Monday, which is a shame because I’m really excited about painting the helmet!

Pretty much all that’s stopping me from having a completed helmet is waiting for paint to dry, and getting the padding. I really want to use motorcycle helmet padding as I think it will give me the best fit, but I don’t want it to be too expensive. I’ll take a look around motorcycle stores in the coming days.

I sanded down the epoxy putty border:

Primed the entire helmet inside and out:

This is kind of a test for the weathering technique. I sprayed a metallic silver lacquer paint I had primarily on the edges so I can scuff through the final paint to hopefully get realistic wear and tear.

Finally, the final coat of color! I got really excited once I saw that olive green on there. Now all I need to do is mask off and spray the black parts, and then weathering.

I did end up buying the micro fan, and worked a bit on wiring it and the mount for it. It’s just some plywood to give a good base to secure inside the helmet.

That’s all for now, I hope you guys don’t mind the frequent updates that don’t show that much significant progress. However, I’m really enjoying documenting this build, as I’m sure I’ll look back on all this work and be happy that I recorded it for posterity!

Once the helmet is 100% finished, it’s all hands on deck for Bondo on everything else (assuming the stupid weather cooperates *sigh*).

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[LongShot X]

Fantastic progress on the Helm!
Glad to see that its going to be Chief's colors!
Excellent plans on the LED's and the FAN

Very impressed with how your project is going!

Cheers!

 

[CoolC]

I like what you did with the shots. Too bad I can get a hold of empty shell casings. Could go to jail where I live. I plan to do some greanade shells and attach to my kids ODST shins.

 

[Spitfire22V]

Fantastic progress on the Helm!
Glad to see that its going to be Chief's colors!
Excellent plans on the LED's and the FAN

Very impressed with how your project is going!

Cheers!

Thanks Longshot! Yes, it will be a "regular" olive drab colored chief; I prefer using the campaign colors instead of multiplayer colors.

I like what you did with the shots. Too bad I can get a hold of empty shell casings. Could go to jail where I live. I plan to do some greanade shells and attach to my kids ODST shins.

Thanks, glad you like it! Why would you go to jail for having empty shell casings? Since you're in the Northeast, you're not too far away from me. Looking forward to seeing the grenade shells though.

 

[CoolC]

Thanks, glad you like it! Why would you go to jail for having empty shell casings? Since you're in the Northeast, you're not too far away from me. Looking forward to seeing the grenade shells though.

NY and NJ has the toughest gun laws. I believe cops can nab you just being under suspect for having ammo. Not sure about empty shells. Still nothing I would want to toy with.

 

[Spitfire22V]

NY and NJ has the toughest gun laws. I believe cops can nab you just being under suspect for having ammo. Not sure about empty shells. Still nothing I would want to toy with.

Yup, I've heard about how strict NY is, so I figured you were probably from there or around there. Doesn't hurt to ask the police I suppose? As long as you tell them it's for a costume. I mean, the spent shells have struck primers and there's the little dent in the back as proof, so there's no way it could be live ammo or harm anyone.

On another note, the main reason I was going to be away from my build for the weekend is because I was going to attend the National Cherry Blossom and Kite Festival tomorrow. However, due to a forecast of snow (!!) tomorrow, it's been postponed. Stupid weather!! :angry I suppose I can hopefully keep painting and finish the helmet soon.

 

[thorn696]

Looking really good. The Helmet is coming along great. Bit of a side note most military and/or law enforcement use trainers (dummies) while training, these come in blue or orange. I personally will be using the color Baby Blue on all the tips (rounds) of my ammo. Baby Blue is used for inert ordinates. If you use orange on the tips it can be taken for tracers, and painting the whole thing orange would make it look funny. Hope that helps with you're ammo.

 

[jdosko]

Hey Spitfire, do you think you could maybe put up the templates for the detail stuff up? im doing the same thing except i suck at making that sort of stuff from scratch, so it would really help if you did.

 

[Constrictor]

Wow, they're looking great so far. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see when they're finish.

 

[sildeo]

looks really good keep it up, 1 question though, where is the best place for the fan to go, im having trouble with my visor fogging up?

 

[AbbyWanKenobi]

Wow! I'm just amazed! Keep up the fantastic work, I'll be sticking around for this!

 

[Spitfire22V]

Looking really good. The Helmet is coming along great. Bit of a side note most military and/or law enforcement use trainers (dummies) while training, these come in blue or orange. I personally will be using the color Baby Blue on all the tips (rounds) of my ammo. Baby Blue is used for inert ordinates. If you use orange on the tips it can be taken for tracers, and painting the whole thing orange would make it look funny. Hope that helps with you're ammo.

Thanks for the info! So you think I should paint the tips blue to designate inert rounds to stay safe? (Especially considering that the fake bullets in the mag will be glued in, so you might not be able to see the struck primer on the back).

Hey Spitfire, do you think you could maybe put up the templates for the detail stuff up? im doing the same thing except i suck at making that sort of stuff from scratch, so it would really help if you did.

Unfortunately, I really can't since the detail parts have to be custom made for the size of the armor. However, what I can tell you is that all of my detail pieces are based on the Pepakura template pieces themselves, scaled to my size. Also, if you're looking for Mark VI helmet detail, FlyingSquirrel's HD helmet has floating faces just like my helmet detail parts. I actually used those, but had to spend quite some time resizing and trimming them. Sorry I can't help more, but this is primarily custom stuff that is different from suit to suit.

Wow, they're looking great so far. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see when they're finish.

Thanks for the kind words, and for the motivation from your own awesome suit!

looks really good keep it up, 1 question though, where is the best place for the fan to go, im having trouble with my visor fogging up?

Well, this will be my first suit/helmet, so I'm not sure were the BEST place is, but I plan on putting it in that square chin area. I've seen others put 2 where the black rebreather tubes go, and you could also put on on top near the forehead area facing down. I'll be sure to report on how well the fan works where I plan on mounting it.

Wow! I'm just amazed! Keep up the fantastic work, I'll be sticking around for this!

Thanks so much! I'll be sticking around to see your armor progress too.

Thanks again everyone for following along with my build.

 

[thorn696]

I would, yes. Even if you get an officer that hasn't trained with this color he/she would pause just because they are a different color. That would give you time to explain what it is there looking at. And if some one else was to find them, most EOD are military trained. The small rounds really are not that big of problem as much as the Grenade shells. Thats the only thing about having something so real looking, you don't want to have a " ah Sh.. " moment with Law enforcement, better safe than sorry. Mine when I get to that point will be all Baby Blue with a Red stripe, And the muzzle of my weapon will have a orange stripe.

 

[Spitfire22V]

I would, yes. Even if you get an officer that hasn't trained with this color he/she would pause just because they are a different color. That would give you time to explain what it is there looking at. And if some one else was to find them, most EOD are military trained. The small rounds really are not that big of problem as much as the Grenade shells. Thats the only thing about having something so real looking, you don't want to have a " ah Sh.. " moment with Law enforcement, better safe than sorry. Mine when I get to that point will be all Baby Blue with a Red stripe, And the muzzle of my weapon will have a orange stripe.

Thanks again for the info thorn! Better to be safe than sorry.

So, pretty big update. Except for the padding…..

…..the HELMET IS FINISHED!!

And I am very pleased with how it came out!

Today I finished up the wiring and tidying up the inside, then mounted the visor. I also spent quite some time today driving around looking for the proper materials for the padding. I went to a few motorcycle stores, but I’m not ready to spend as much as they want for replacement motorcycle helmet padding. :eek I picked up some foam exercise pads, and will try to custom make the padding.

Here are some photos detailing the final steps it took to finish up.

Used up quite a bit of masking tape and newspaper in preparation for spraying the black parts.

Preliminary painting of the black parts.

Once everything was painted, I did a black wash to dirty it up a bit, then scratched up the finish as well as trying my hand at dry-brushing. I think I went a little over-board with the weathering, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid, but it adds up before you know it. It doesn't look bad in the photos, but it's heavier than it shows. (You can also see my Halo Reach service-tag on the brim)

I was struggling to figure out how to add this text on the back. It’s too small for stencils, and I didn’t want to use stickers. So, I just winged it and free-handed it. Again, not perfect, but I’m happy with it. I also painted the Cortana-chip slot silver.

Next, I taped up the helmet again, drew out the helmet lines, cut them out and scratched in the finish using BLACKULA727’s excellent detail method from his tutorial. Thanks again! :cool

Next step was to install all the lights, batteries, and fan. The fan is wired directly to a 9 Volt battery with a switch spliced in. The 4 LED’s are were installed in their metal mounts with drops of hot glue. The wires were joined together in a solder-less junction (the white box in the middle). Then, another switch was wired up in between the junction box and another 9 Volt battery. Both batteries are removable and rechargeable.

Front, inside view of the chin area where the fan is installed. Fan switch on the left, lights switch on the right. (Visor screwed in with lock washers and 4-40 bolts).

Close up of the left side LED installation.

The 99% finished helmet in all its glory! Very happy right now!

Hope you enjoyed the photos, thanks for stopping by!